Fetal Breathing Exercise
For Youth & Vitality

The fetal breathing exercise is the only qigong/chi kung breathing technique specifically designed to reverse aging and promote youth and vitality by generating large amounts of prebirth intrinsic chi energy.

Also called fetal breath, prebirth, prenatal or reverse breathing, xiantian huxi or fetal breathing supposedly imitates the breathing pattern of the unborn fetus in the mother's womb. In contrast to postbirth, diaphragmatic breathing, the lower abdomen of the fetus contracts during inhalation and expands during exhalation.

This type of reverse breathing technique promotes generation of xiantian qi or prebirth chi — a type of yang chi energy that is essential for its antiaging quality. Upon its first inhalation at birth, the infant absorbs houtian qi or postbirth chi, a type of yin chi from the atmosphere, initiating the lifelong process of growth and aging.

The only way to reverse or slow down this aging process is to practice the fetal breathing exercise regularly. Many qigong/chi kung exercises and meditation techniques use fetal breathing as part of its antiaging technique.

Fetal breathing is a process of combining and separating prebirth yang and postbirth yin chi. During inhalation, the lungs fill up with postbirth chi and pushes the prebirth chi from the abdomen up towards the diaphragm, integrating the two together.

Then the postbirth chi is exhaled through the nose as the prebirth chi sinks down to the lower dantian or Field of Elixir, a vital point and source of life-giving chi energy —located about three inches below the navel. Filling up this area with intrinsic chi energy causes the lower abdomen to expand.

This type of breathing is also known as qi tong or "permeating chi" and refers to the mixing and separation of both types of chi energy, excercising the muscles of internal organs, tonifying and strengthening the body.

Here are the basic steps to the fetal or reverse breathing technique:

1. As you breathe in, visualize slowly filling your thoracic cavity with postbirth yin chi, at the same time emptying and flattening out your abdomen.

2. Pause between breaths for a couple of seconds. Then slowly breathe out as you visualize emptying and collapsing your lungs, while the prebirth yang chi sinks down into the lower dantian, filling your lower abdomen with yang chi and causing it to expand.

3. Continue the fetal breathing exercise by repeating these two steps throughout your meditation or until your belly begins to feel hot.

This breathing technique is usually practiced regularly at the advanced levels of jinggong or still meditation, but is also found in many other more basic qigong exercises. At first, you may feel easily fatigued after only a few minutes of practice, or you may find yourself automatically reverting to the more familiar postbirth diaphragmatic breathing.

The trick is to continuously visualize the process of reverse breathing until it becomes natural and automatic. Practice for brief periods of time until it feels more natural and easier to extend the length of practice.

Not a very easy breathing exercise to do, but practiced regularly, will reap tremendous antiaging and other health benefits.




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