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by Morra Talion (MT)
from
Zelator Website
Lesson One:
[First published in TNTC Vol.
1, No. 1 July '89]
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The Charger
Breath
Here are your first instructions, your key Lesson in the Power
Breathing technique. This first exercise is called the
Charger Breath. Become very familiar with it, use it often every
day, for it is the foundation of the system.
1. Do all breathing exercises
sitting down, the first few days of practice. Use a comfortable
chair, preferably straight-back so that your spine is nice and
straight at all times during the exercise. Your feet should be
flat on the floor, hands resting in lap or on knees. Head
straight, facing frontally. Clothes should be loose (or none)
and all belts, buttons or zippers about the abdomen should be
loosened for maximum comfort and abdominal expansion.
2. Fix your gaze on a point straight ahead. This is an
important step to begin with because it helps you concentrate on
the breath without distraction. Later when you do the breathing
randomly throughout your day while walking etc., this step may
of course be eliminated.
3. The Charger Breath
Inhale deeply, strongly, even
fiercely through the nostrils. Inhale just as deeply and
powerfully as you possibly can. Inhale all the way, til you've
gotten every last possible drop of air. Without holding or
pausing, immediately exhale, strongly, evenly and thoroughly.
This is a very strong, powerful breath; there's nothing timid or
half-way about it. This is not the slow, quiet and gentle breath
you may be used to or come to expect in association with the
ordinary yogic techniques.
This is more like a Tibetan
Bomber, a full-throttle Samurai Snort. In order to
perform it properly, you should go so far as to scrunch up your
face, actually wrinkle your nose into a kind of ferocious
expression similar to those stylized masks of Japanese Noh. With
your Noh nose properly crinkled and pumping, you ought to look
very much like a cartoon bull, snorting and blowing the bellows
of those nasal wings as if you could lift full sail by tacking
into the wind.
4. Now in your best, cartoon bull fashion, take three
successive Charger Breaths. Remember as you concentrate on
the point in front of you, to make each breath as strong and
even and thorough as possible, both in and out. The expiration
of each breath should be done as thoroughly as the inspiration,
so that you are forcefully expelling the very last drop of air.
As you do these breaths in succession, you should—if you're
doing it properly— sound like a freight tram bearing down the
track.
Don't forget, this is a very
powerful breath, not at all a timid or faint-hearted breath.
It is accomplished crisply, with incisiveness. It should produce
a loud rushing sound as it surges through your nostrils, like
the suction of a powerful vacuum. As you become more
accomplished, you should be able to whisk gnats out of the air
and produce eddies of loose papers on your desk (anyway, you get
the general idea).
5. At this stage you may do several complete rounds of
the three Charger Breaths. Take three deep, powerful,
decisive and thorough Charger Breaths. On the exhalation of that
third breath, pause for a few moments (the third breath should
be done with particular strength and emphasis; there is a
tendency for some students to let the last breath tail off, as
if they're in a hurry to go through the repetitions. The
opposite should be the case; the last breath of the series
should be particularly strong, thorough and emphasized).
.
During the few-moments pause, you
should make sure that your facial muscles, shoulders, neck, arms
and legs are completely returned to a state of relaxation. The
spine should always remain straight. Don't ever slouch or slump
forward. Do another series of three breaths, pause a few
moments, relax; then do the third series of three Charger
Breaths. After the last series, sit still and feel. What do you
feel like? What is the difference?
6. Increase the number of series-repetitions of the
three Charger Breaths (for example, increase the count to
seven by performing three Charger Breaths, pausing and relaxing,
another three and so on until you've gone through seven whole
rounds). Again, after completion of the seventh round, sit still
and feel.
7. After some practice with the increased
series-repetition, you should practice a shorter three-round
series again only with a larger group of Charger Breaths,
i.e. you should practice in clusters of five or seven Charger
Breaths, repeating each cluster three times with pause and
relaxation etc., as per previous instruction.
Next, using the larger group of
Charger Breaths (clusters of five or seven etc.), you should
increase the overall series-repetition again to a five or seven
round series, i.e. take seven deep, strong Charger Breaths,
pause and relax, take seven more etc. until you've completed
five (or seven) repetitions. Always sit still afterwards, relax
said feel the effect.
Remember that the Charger Breath
should be practiced sitting down at least the first couple
days; one of the effects you may feel when first practicing the
Breath is a kind of light-headed or giddy feeling. This is an effect
of possible hyperventilation, and is the reason we recommend
doing the Breath at first only while sitting down.
Consistent practice of the Charger
Breath will acclimate your system to a more positive and
invigorating ratio of oxygen to carbon dioxide in the bloodstream
and tissues, and the threshold of hyperventilation will quickly be
pushed back. After a few weeks of regular practice you may well be
able to do high numbers of series-repetitions using a big
seven-group of breaths without experiencing any effects of
hyperventilation at all.
Breathing Tips:
the proper way to breathe is by
abdominal expansion and contraction, not chest expansion and
contraction. When you inhale, the Breath should cause the
abdomen to be expressed or pushed out; it should not inflate the
chest exaggeratedly as we are sometimes taught (improperly) in
gym class, and it should not cause the shoulders to heave up and
down unduly.
On the exhalation the abdomen should
automatically deflate and relax. Practice this abdominal
breathing, even watch yourself in the mirror to see that the
chest is not acting more than the abdomen, until it becomes
second nature. This is in fact the body's natural breath, so
that anything which emphasizes chest expansion over abdomen is
artificial, learned and inappropriate.
Note:
You may practice Charger
Breathing every bit as much in a relatively polluted
atmosphere like Los Angeles, as you can in relatively
pollution-free environment like the country (if you can find a
pollution-free country). It may seem that you'd be taking toxins
and pollutants more deeply into the lungs than would ordinarily
be the case; but chronic, superficial or shallow breathing takes
all those pollutants in as well, and because it doesn't respire
so deeply and thoroughly it fails to flush the alveoli of the
bronchi, leaving harmful and carcinogenic pollutants to stagnate
in the deeper strata of the lung-tissue.
Charger Breathing cleanses
and purifies those tissues by bringing necessary quantities of
oxygen to their cells which otherwise would not penetrate, and
by flushing old impacted pockets of carcinogenic matter
sedimenting the deeper layers of the system. In future issues of
The New Thunderbird Chronicle we will describe further
benefits and health-residuals to be obtained from practicing the
Charger Breath.
Note:
Do not practice Charger Breathing
in the car with the windows rolled up, or on the highway.
You may feel after weeks of practice that you are past the
point of hyperventilation, so that it would be safe to
Breathe while driving. However, the automobile (and especially
in conjunction with the freeway system) circulates exhaust fumes
through the cab of the car; exhaust fumes are tricky, for you
may do a long series of Charger Breaths in the car
feeling no ill effects, no giddiness or blurring of perception,
then stop for a few moments and suddenly feel the onrush of a
fainting spell produced by the accumulated intake of fumes.
In the following months we will add to
the technique and application of Power Breathing, with
special reference to the cornerstone method of the Charger Breath.
Look for us, and follow the special instruction we give to all,
freely, in these pages month to month; follow the instruction as
it's given, and you can't help but feel the resultant Change.
In order to know what the great Change is that we're talking about,
you must follow and do the practice.
Don't forget: Do your Charger
Breathing daily. It is very important. Make the Power Breath
more popular than jogging.
Lesson Two:
[First published in TNTC Vol. 1, No.
2 Aug.-Sept. '89]
For those who're coming to this column
for the first time, we recommend you practice a few days on the
preliminary Charger Breath before progressing to the current
lesson. A summary of that Breath is as follows: (until you become
acclimated to the very tangible, strong, awakening power of this
breath, we recommend that you practice it seated, in a comfortable
chair which keeps the spine straight and vertical; face straight
ahead, feet flat on floor, hands relaxed on knees or in lap).
Breathe very strongly, evenly and
thoroughly through the nose, powerfully drawing the air in as
deeply as possible; exhale through the nose with equal
strength and thoroughness. This is characterized as a fierce
breath. It should produce a loud rushing sound, like the steam
blasts given off by old-time engines.
Do this fierce, pumping Charger
Breath several times in a row; pause. Relax. Feel. Repeat.
Do a few such repetitions of this basic cluster of Charger
Breaths. Increase the number of breaths in a cluster, and then
the number of repetitions of the—expanded—cluster (i.e., do five
Charger Breaths, repeat this group five whole times with pause
and relaxation between each group performance).
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Whole Charger
Breath
1. Do all new breathing
exercises sitting down at least the first several sessions of
practice, regardless whether you've already practiced the
previous variations.
This is because each modification of
the basic breath, or each introduction of a supplemental
technique, produces a different effect on the system (whether a
strongly different or subtly different effect); even if you're
thoroughly acclimated to the effects of previous exercises, this
does not therefore "inoculate" you against the modified effects
which each new lesson introduces.
Always sit with spine straight,
clothes loose (or none), feet flat on floor, hands relaxed on
knees or in lap. Fix your gaze on a point straight ahead to aid
in concentration while performing the Breath.
2. Perform a succession of three powerful Charger
Breaths, as you should be by now accustomed. Inhale strongly
and sharply, thoroughly through the nose, then exhale with
similar vigor, evenness and maximum expulsion of air also
through the nose—except, this time, on the last repetition of
the Charger Breath, the exhalation is to be performed through
the mouth. To do this correctly, the lips should be
compressed leaving only a very slight gap, virtually
imperceptible to vision, through which the air of the exhalation
is allowed to escape. This has the effect of greatly slowing the
last exhalation.
The use of such scarcely-pursed lips
regulates the flow of air much more dramatically and "voluntaristically"
than can be done by breathing out through the nose. There are
two basic ways of allowing this last exhalation of the series to
take place: the breath may be expelled by a kind of deliberate
pressure, i.e. actually blowing out through the slight gap of
the lips; or it may be allowed to "ease" away as if on its own,
the air being leaked very slowly and evenly by the natural
contraction of the abdomen and consequent deflation of the
diaphragm without any deliberate "blowing" on the part of the
practitioner.
This last breath makes the final
series-exhalation especially slow; and it is only when the
escaping air has left the lungs in their normally-relaxed state
that deliberate expulsion of the remaining CO2 in the
air sacs is called for, finishing off the final series-breath
with a distinct, pressurized puff.
It is recommended that the practitioner favor the method of
deliberately (though slowly) blowing the air through the lips on
the last exhalation, at the beginning of each Whole Charger
Breath session; but that, during the numerical increase of
breath-clusters and series-repetitions in which the Breath is
performed, the practitioner should gradually switch to the much
slower method of allowing the air to simply "leak out" the tiny
labial opening (like the scarcely perceptible leak of air from a
minutely punctured balloon) on the automatic deflation of the
diaphragm.
The reason for this progression has to do with the greater
comfort experienced while "relaxing" the breath out of your
system, the more saturated in surplus oxygen the system becomes;
the further into your Charger Breath session, the more deeply
you will have succeeded in altering the ratio of oxygen to CO2
in the blood in favor of oxygen; therefore the less
likelihood there is of feeling that faint "panic" for air that
might otherwise be felt if you tried "leaking" the last
series-breath at the beginning of your session.
3. Perform several complete rounds of the three
Whole-Charger-Breaths always breathing through the nose,
in and out, except on the last series-breath where you
breathe very slowly, evenly and thoroughly out the mouth,
through scarcely pursed lips. Pause, relax completely (always
keeping spine and head straight) and feel at the end of each
round, before proceeding to the next cluster of three
Whole-Charger-Breaths.
Next, increase the number of breaths
in a cluster (i.e., from 3 to 5, later from 5 to 7 etc.); and
then increase the number of rounds each amplified series of
Breaths is performed (i.e., from 3 rounds to 5, later from 5 to
7 etc.).
Remember: always breathe out through the mouth only on
the last exhalation of the given series (for example,
the three-breath series: in-nose, out-nose; in nose, out nose;
in nose, out mouth—end of round). There is no "count", as in
many breathing exercises, so don't worry about measuring the
inhalations and exhalations against each other according to some
standardized ratio (2 to 4 etc.).
After practicing in the seated position
several times during each day, you will have succeeded in pushing
back the threshold of possible hyperventilation to the degree
that you can perform the Whole-Charger-Breath randomly, while
walking, standing etc. You should resort to this random
charge-up often. You'll find it makes you feel better in general,
more alert and vigorous in particular, with a balanced amplification
of the overall sense of poise, ease, confidence and well-being.
Best of all, this practice sets the
first (though necessary) foundation-tiles for succeeding months'
instruction in which you'll learn to apply the Breath and its
modifications for important work in rousing dormant faculties and
functions, sparking higher agencies of psychic, emotional, mental
and spiritual potential while speeding the harmonious integration of
whole-Being systems and circuits for improved health and a deeper,
more essential happiness.
But you must keep up your practice daily. Maintain a diary or
calendar to remind yourself, and to record your successes in meeting
your schedule with the Power Breath. Also, leave helpful
notes and messages around the house (taped to the refrigerator,
wedged in the mirror-frame), in the car (visor, dashboard) and even
at work (fixed to the file-cabinet, under the glass of the desktop).
Such messages can simply remind you: BREATHE!
Follow the instruction as it's given, and you can't help but feel
the resultant Change. In order to know what the great Change
is that we're talking about, you must follow and do the practice.
Don't forget: do your Charger Breathing daily. It's very
important. Make the Power Breath more popular than jogging.
Do you have any questions about your practice of the Power Breathing
techniques? Any observations you'd like to share? We'd welcome
hearing from you, so simply address your remarks or questions to
Letters to the Editor: The New Thunderbird Chronicle, 15237 Sunset
Boulevard, Suite 29, Pacific Palisades, CA 90272. We'll toy to
respond to any significant questions you may have, either in the
monthly Power Breathing column itself or in Letters to the Editor.
Lesson Three:
[First published in TNTC Vol. 1, No.
5 Dec. '89]
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Tips For The
Balance
From our recent enjoyable experience at the Expo, we find that many
have begun a conscientious practice of daily Power Breathing
as taken right out of these pages; many others should now be
encouraged to join the practice having been initiated directly into
its healthy, rejuvenating and Awakening benefits. We find (in
speaking with people, fielding questions or simply hearing general
comments) that, once having overcome the plain inertia discussed in
our very first lesson as the principal impediment to even trying the
easy methodology, the inherent effectiveness and immediacy of the
practice encourages quickly turning up the front-burners of
enthusiasm.
Thus those who've experienced even the
preliminary, first-time uplift of the practice sense a self-renewal
stirring suddenly inside that's so innately exciting they wish to
know immediately how to extract all the gold out of their newly
discovered Mine. It's to this question that we address our
(abbreviated) column this month.
Though you're sure to feel that, if just a little of this breathing
regimen does so much and moves your systems so far then a lot must
portend some rapid and inconceivable Transformation, it's
wise to allow the practice to open all the centers and energetic
lines in a natural, balanced way. Your systems know, and can
certainly tell you, how much you're capable of absorbing and
efficiently processing at one tune; but it is possible, in an
overriding rush of enthusiasm, to push the practice down a
long-distance stretch right away thus forcing into far zones before
the cues of your system have a chance to register.
This inordinate enthusiasm,
perhaps fueled by the gratifying upsurge of additional energy but
coupled to a long-starving psyche just now realizing the extent of
its deprivation and wishing to "make up for lost time", may serve
temporarily to overtax the present capacities of your system.
The common result may be,
No. 1: Unnecessary extremes of
hyperventilation
As was explained at our
lecture-demonstration at the Expo, "hyperventilation" is only an
initial effect or potential of applying the Power Breathing
regimen; the light-headedness you may experience at first
progressively diminishes with practice. It results in any case
from the increase of energy—produced by the Charger
Breath—driving the consciousness-systems to the ceiling of their
current (conditioned) capacity for sustaining the minimum degree
of focal resolution necessary to maintain effective alignment
with the "waking" zone of common perceptual coherence.
Those systems are temporarily pushed
past the ordinary threshold separating the narrow-band waking
zone of consciousness from the more diffuse medium of
psychic energy-processing in which the concentrated spark of
self-reflective awareness has yet to be struck. That "region" of
energization in which the ordinary low-level harmony supportive
of—normal—self-reflective awareness tends to dissipate,
accompanied by the seeming "swoon" of that awareness, represents
the pons asinorum in the present intersection of your
optimal "conscious lights" with the zone of your greater
Being (presently understood as subconscious, and only
"known" by reflection from fragments reclaimed out of the
dream-state).
Progressive, balanced and unhurried practice of the Whole
Charger Breath (in conjunction with supplemental techniques
you'll be receiving in the following months, or those
specialized meditative practices available on tape through
Southern Crown) will serve unerringly to push back that
threshold of hyperventilation.
In this way increasingly integral,
intensified values of self-reflective consciousness are
installed in the place of that threshold so as to constitute a
continuous salient into the frontiers of formerly "subconscious"
regions—or dimensions of the greater Being—making
them available to consciousness and progressively incorporating
their functional values as accessible agencies of the "ordinary"
waking state. In this way the phenomenon of "hyperventilation"
has progressively less to do with the effects experienced as a
consequence of consciously applying the Charger Breathing
regimen.
No. 2:
The second common result of
(understandably) "overdoing it" at first in the initial burst of
enthusiasm, is that of straining facial or neck muscles. If
you've overdone it to the degree that portions of your face,
head, neck or back of the head seem to go numb, simply relax,
sit still and breathe normally; it's a temporary effect and
swiftly recedes. Similarly, if you've failed to be punctilious
in these precautions and seem to have strained some muscle or
tissue (typically, facial muscles or buccal tissue) again, relax
and resume normal breathing.
You may have to desist from
practicing the Charger Breath with any real vigor or
energetic force for a few days until the strain relaxes. These
types of over-exertion are minor and transitory disturbances.
They do not happen at all when the practitioner conscientiously
monitors the response of his systems to those increments of the
practice he's assumed according to instruction.
You may find that "progress" in the overall strengthening of
tissue and muscle groups and the receding of the
hyperventilation-threshold enabling more extensive application
of the practice, seems "uneven"; it may increase smoothly at a
clip and then suddenly seem to hit a "hill"; you may find
yourself remaining at a particular number of repetitions and
rounds (say, a 7-breath set for 7 rounds) for a much longer time
than was the case with previous sets and rounds, as if having
come to an impasse. You should enjoy this provisional "upper
limit" for as long as it seems fixed, and refrain from
impatience.
There is no contest to "mount to
ever-expanding heights of hyper-intensive breathing".
Cooperate with the inherent wisdom of your systems—just
don't let lethargy, the fickleness of psychological mood or
conceptual restraint dictate to you in the pretext that they
speak for your actual energy-processes and mind-body systems.
No. 3:
The third common result of
overpracticing the Power Breath, is the onset of a minor
temporary "headache". This is a result of energy-concentration
produced in amplification of the carrying "current", but
processed through ordinary avenues belonging to relatively
imbalanced circuits of the system that haven't benefited as yet
from the greater harmony which measured application of the
technique over time inevitably yields.
Interestingly, the balanced and
intelligently graduated practice of the Whole Charger Breath
serves ultimately to relieve even long-time difficulties
involving headaches, including migraines. This isn't so
difficult to understand, once we note that medical research
ascribes the general symptomatology of "migraines" to a
pathological condition of local oxygen-deprivation.
Always remember, then, to apply yourself
steadily, conscientiously and wisely to the daily practice of
Power Breathing. Your enjoyment will increase, your enthusiasm
will increase, and ultimately a balanced and harmonious outlook will
arise through which you may successfully apply yourself, extracting
maximum benefits from the Charger-Breathing techniques in the
most economic span of time compatible with smooth natural progress.
Therefore enjoy your practice.
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