Buddhist and Taoist breathing

So there are two different types of basic breathing in qigong small circulation

Buddhist: Inhale and expand lower abdomen
Taoist (Reverse breathing): Inhale and contract lower abdomen

Is there any difference between these two? Advantages or disadvantages?

hmm I never knew they were called budhist n taoist techniques... duh...
I learnt lots of techniques but stuck with reverse one...
I've been doing reverse breathing from quite a while now...
ddidn't found much advantages/disadvantages...
-TkdWarrior-

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id say the buddha one is used for leisure or when youre not really doing anything to maximize air intake, plus babies breathe this way so i guess they figure that it must be good for you(i could elab more but im lazy) the taoist one is for strenuous activity when you have to force air in more quickly.but i guess if you are an ima master you could beat someone up while buddha breathing cuz you wont be exerting anyway?lol try doing both, buddha breathing first then to get more breath toaist one next.

“	Originally Posted By: Diamond Finger So there are two different types of basic breathing in qigong small circulation Buddhist: Inhale and expand lower abdomen Taoist (Reverse breathing): Inhale and contract lower abdomen Is there any difference between these two? Advantages or disadvantages?	”

Both are used for different kinds of meditations/focusing techniques. Be careful with the Buddhist breathing, if not done properly you can cause the abdomen to become distended.

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There is no religious significance to breathwork. These two techniques are abdominal breathing and reverse breathing.

The first type of breathing is called natural breathing and is also a Taoist technique, mostly for beginners. The second type or pre-natal breathing or whatever is more advanced.
These techniques date back long before Buddhism to very early Taoist Tao Yin or breathing exercises.

Natural breathing creates heat and pressure in the lower abdomen, this helps to stimulate the production and storage of Chi and massage the internal organs, it will also increase internal flexibility.

Pre-heaven breathing is more difficult so natural breathing paves the way. The theory is that babies in the womb breath through the umbilicus and actually compress this area to breathe in and expand it on the outbreath. This may not be literally true and I don't know how much evidence there is of it but the technique may also be related to early Taoist's observations of the way animals and especially birds with a long life span would compress the abdomen by pressing one leg against the stomach etc.

This kind of breathing will also stimulate Chi production and agreed doesn't have the disadvantage of distending the lower abdomen. By pulling in the abdomen on the in-breath a greater amount of pressure is created so boosting Chi production, that is probably the simplest explanation. Also the kidneys are compressed and stimulated and become more efficient and will yield greater amounts of essence or 'Jing' for conversion into Chi so enhancing the regenerative processes in the body and maintaining health and longevity.

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this subject is very interesting

Something interesting for y'all , Think of something funny , you know when you laugh see how the lower abdomen compresses mantain this compression and then take a breath and see what happens , Cool Eh?.

the uses or either contracting or expanding vary on the intent of the individual. When doing basic qi gong exercise like 8 brocades all you need to do is reverse breathing (stomach contract as you breathe) this called short breathe . long breathe (chest raises up no out)is what you would do in actual combat . The stomach expansion is easyier to do and more safe and can also be used for the same function. The Jade turtle nei gung style has 12 different types of chi gong breathing each level is more difficult and alot different then the previous. In that style the stomach expansion is used to help beginner iron shirt students to expand their dan tien to push protective (wei) chi to their skin. It is called toad breathing and is also used in a few styles of buddha palm. other breathing techniques such as wave breathing and expansion breathing are used for different higher level palm skills for example, shattering palm, burning palm, vibrating palm , wave palm ect........ I asked my instructor ones about the difference between wu tang and shaolin breathing he told me that they both use all the same methods after a higher level is reached. So it matters what techniques you want do is how you mach the type of breathing.

how can breathing help me though. if im in an unexoected situation i cant just tell someone to stop, start doing the breathing exercises and tell him okay im ready. its foolish,

In internal martial arts, training the breathing is in aid of coordinating the body's motions so that every source of leverage in the body, even the breathing, works towards your desired end. Why should I hit someone using just the muscles in my arm when I can hit them with every muscle in my body, all at once? This ability is what fraudulent groups and systems like Mantak Chia's "Healing Tao", Falungong, Reiki and Toronto's Taoist T'ai Chi Society want to mysticize as "ch'i" or "qi". These fuzzy bunny types invent for themselves a great cosmic boondoggle to hide their lack of ability - but in the oldest sense using "ch'i" is actually a directly reproducible physical skill. The old timers called it ch'i, but by that word they meant the ability to coordinate even the breathing that we all do all the time efficiently into everyday motions, experiencing an enormous savings of personal energy thereby that can then be applied to other areas besides martial arts (like health or meditation), if we desire.

You don't stand up and do your breathing training when you are being attacked, you have to do it in your classes with your teacher (assuming you have a teacher who knows it) for years before you get attacked. If you are well trained, if you have internal kung fu, then when you need it the ability will already be there. Breathing training is for conditioning before the fact.

That is how the subject is approached in the traditional T'ai Chi family schools, for the most part. Not everyone who has a traditional name still teaches traditionally, however. Caveat emptor.

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I've found reverse breathing to gently compress and massage the lower organs (under the diaphragm).

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“	Originally Posted By: buddha28 how can breathing help me though. if im in an unexoected situation i cant just tell someone to stop, start doing the breathing exercises and tell him okay im ready. its foolish,	”

Aesc is right - it takes training and more training.
I started Taoist breathing techniques years back - now I just do it when I do Tai Chi. (BTW - for me - it seems to give me stronger control of and "more" Chi)

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For me,taoist breathing is what I do prior to and during chi kung exercises ,meditate and other type workouts each day. I like reverse breathing for other stuff when I actually physically exert myself like working out on heavy bay and other similar activities.
Going along with what Aesc said, I was taught the same way as my teacher alway's said " Never stop training and when you need it,it will be there".
Jeff(fuzzy30)

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“	Originally Posted By: buddha28 how can breathing help me though.	”

Well if you don't breath you die. Even in Shaolin you need to breath.

“	Originally Posted By: buddha28 if im in an unexoected situation i cant just tell someone to stop, start doing the breathing exercises and tell him okay im ready. its foolish,	”

Well aesc answered that one, however I just want to quote my external kung fu version:-

"if im in an unexoected situation i cant just tell someone to stop, start doing the body conditioning exercises and tell him okay im ready. its foolish,