Chungliang Al Huang: Understanding Qi and the Breath

By Don Campbell and Al Lee

"True breathing is like a flower blooming. If we hold our breath, the bud never opens."
-Chungliang Al Huang

To watch Tai Qi master Chungliang Al Huang move is to witness pure grace. At a recent class on the grounds of his Oregon coast retreat, attendees watched with awe his focus on these ancient body movements. But his attention goes much deeper. His are lessons in qi, and he seems to have an innate way to draw his devotees in and fully experience qi and its power within our bodies and minds. Initially in his lessons he forgoes the usual focus and attention on form and detail. He attempts to fully engage people, encouraging them in his own inimitable way to open their hearts and minds and to drink in that childlike wonder and experience of the “Big Qi.”

Chungliang is a Tao master, philosopher, author of Embrace Tiger, Return to Mountain and The Watercourse Way (with Alan Watts), and he is founder/president of the Living Tao Foundation. Affable and delightfully outgoing, he is the living embodiment of the power of the breath. Chungliang was kind enough to work with us for our forthcoming Sterling Publishing book, Perfect Breathing: Transform Your Life One Breath At a Time.

Herewith, are a few nuggets of his wisdom:

Understanding the Importance of Qi
In our hectic modern lives, Chungliang stresses the importance of understanding qi and using it to one’s best advantage. “I try to remind myself and encourage my students and people I teach and share the learning with, to just constantly pay attention to when you're not breathing properly,” he says. “For me, philosophically, I continue to realize the breath I take is much bigger. The breath I take is much more natural in nature than the way I am as a human being. We try to be natural but often, we are very unnatural.”

“We live in very unnatural surroundings,” he continues. “We live in square rooms, in cities with traffic. We become very unnatural, very quickly. It is easy. When we become unnatural in our life patterns, we become unnatural in our breath patterns. That is when we need to pay attention to the relationship of our own breath to the bigger life force that we call qi. It takes constant practice. That is why we need to practice, and that is why I use tai qi and qi gong day to day.”

The Dance of Breathing
For Chungliang, “Breathing in life is not a straight line. There is no period between breaths. It is circular, and much like dancing. When people are dancing, they are not dancing to get from one side of the room to the other side of the room in a straight line. They curve around and enjoy the dancing. Same with breathing. You enjoy the breath, the process of your breathing. The goal is not to finish or accomplish your breathing.”

Breathe for Joy
And remember, conscious, intentional breathing of any kind should be looked upon as an enjoyable discipline. Says Chungliang, “Many people forget that breathing is fun. It is not a military drill. In true dancing enjoyment, you learn to move around and circulate. You are not getting anywhere, but in the Western mind we have to get somewhere, get to our goal, hit the target, but nature is not like that. You enjoy the breath, the process of your breathing. The goal is not to finish or accomplish your breathing.”

Earth and Sky Connection
Chungliang says, “I use my body as a link to the sky. I funnel the sky qi into my body. I then dig down and connect to the earth qi like the grass and the trees. Even though we are small and finite, we can tune in and connect to this eternal expansive qi.”

Don Campbell and Al Lee are the authors of Perfect Breathing: Transform Your Life One Breath At a Time (Sterling Publishing/January 2008). They write, speak, train, and blog tirelessly on the subject. Discover more ways you can improve your health, performance, and wellbeing at www.perfectbreath.com. Reach them at info@perfectbreath.com.
© 2008, PerfectBreath.com