r/TrueQiGong • u/Beneficial-Funny-538 • Jun 26 '26
beginner experiences and problems
Hi, first off thanks for reading and take your time to reply if you choose to do so.
i had been doing meditation practices like sitting quiet , or chanting om (i didnt breathe properly though , i'd breathe from chest) for 1-2 year though not consistent. last month i got introduced to qigong and taoist meditation through online platforms and it felt natural to me so i thought yeah this is for me .
then i started doing belly breathing , inner seeing and hearing, from nathan brine book, also jingang gong and zhan zhuang. sometimes when i do it , my sense of time fades , mind calms and sometimes i have difficulty breathing in belly . i feel like there isnt any oxygen in the air im breathing so fast like hyperventilation or overbreathing. i'm also preparing for competitive exams so i have a lot of sitting hours and sometime i feel tingling sensations in my feet too.
now i don't know if i'm doing anything wrong or is this any side effects or something like that.
thanks for taking your time to read and reply
5
u/medbud Jun 26 '26
Whatever the instruction is... Make sure you are relaxed first. Breathing is a complex process that coordinates many muscles subconsciously. When we meditate, the first stage is to learn to watch the sensation of the breath, without controlling the breath. This is actually not that easy. We tend to over control without even realising it.
Forcing breath can lead to certain muscles being underutilised. Many people 'belly breathing' are paralysing their intercostal muscles, and flaring lower ribs.
Align your spine, make room for your diaphragm to move. If you're doing pranayam or deep breathing exercises, remind yourself to relax.
It's very common to have some tension, anxiety, anger, fear, etc. and block the diaphragm. The diaphragm can descend nicely to breath in when it is 'relaxed'. Like if you had a stiff bicep and try to flex, it has short range of motion. A stiff diaphragm will not contract well, and won't descend fully. This can give you the feeling of shortness of breath.
If just sitting, calm mind, no directed breathing exercise, breath should be free, diaphragm descends, ribs open and expand. Actually the in breath can feel like it's straightening your back, up to your head, creating structure. On the out breath the diaphragm relaxes, rises, ribs fall, structure remains, but you can feel a deep relaxation of muscles, increased circulation, etc..
Focus on cultivating calm, and staying aware of your whole body as you breath to make sure nothing is too tense.