[uniconr]

i have to disagree about the 'technique one step two' where the suggestion is to hold the breath. the longer you hold your breath, the longer its going to be before you inhale again and your brain will be starved for fresh oxygen until then. stopping the breathing apparatus can create a lot of tension in the body, especially neck and shoulders. i have found it far more effective to draw breath over longer counts and not interrupt your bodys natural desire to exhale.

i also stress breathing using the inward push and outward pull of the abdominal muscles to contract and release the diaphragm. you will feel the diaphragm as well as the intercostal muscles contract and expand, pumping the lungs for the deepest breaths. the abdominals, centred more or less on the navel, correspond to manipura, the stomach chakra. imagine manipura moving fore and aft, drawing and releasing your meridian like a bowstring. edit: this is for all breath, not only the sudden and rapid 'power breathing' of technique two.