ABOUT THE KATSUGEN BREATH

By Haruchika Noguchi

Living creatures breathe, something that is particularly obvious in the case of animals. The
essence of respiration is not merely the superficial phenomenon of exchanging oxygen and
carbon dioxide; breathing is a fundamental activity necessary for the maintenance and
functioning of life. In fact [in Japanese] ikuru (to live) is iki suru (to breathe) I imagine you
know that when something - a candle, for example - burns, the carbon compounds that
make up the candle join with oxygen and decompose, and that the result is not only the
production of water and carbon dioxide, a source of heat is also generated. The way that
living creatures maintain their life is similar to combustion: substances taken from outside
become constituents of the cellular structure and are stored as energy in a material state.
At the same time, these substances are decomposed and consumed, the energy produced
in this process being used by the body's activity.

Considering the oxidation that takes place inside the living being, the beginning of the
process of decomposition of substances can take place in the absence of oxygen, but
without additional oxygen, the reaction will stop at that moment. The process of
decomposition of substances within the body in the absence of oxygen can be called
intramolecular respiration, anaerobic respiration, or catabolism respiration. On the other
hand, respiration that takes place in the presence of oxygen is called aerobic respiration.
This type of breathing is done through the respiratory organs, not just the lungs, but also
through the skin, which is an even larger respiratory organ. Among the simple creatures are
those that live only by breathing through their skin. Earthworms and leeches do this.
Creatures such as loaches [a type of small fish] and dragonfly larvae breathe as much
through their skin as in some other way. Lung respiration in human beings takes place
regularly according to the movement of the lungs.

Respiration is a process of anabolism and catabolism. What happens inside the body of an
organism does not have the speed of burning a candle, but it does so more slowly and in a
more complicated way. They can

Think of this combustion in terms of fermentation, like when making yoghurt or beer.
Oxygen is provided for the purpose of burning and breaking down substances stored in the
body; This results in oxidation, and what you may call the end product, carbon dioxide, is
expelled into the atmosphere. We call this breathing. So there are two types of respiration:
external respiration, in which there is an exchange of gases between body fluids and the
environment; and internal respiration, through which there is an exchange of gases
between body fluids and cells. External respiration is done through the respiratory organs.
But it is the internal breathing that we can consider as the breathing, in its true essence, of
living creatures. This internal respiration involves the breakdown and oxidation of
substances in order to obtain the energy necessary for the living activity of cells. Internal
breathing allows you to continue even in the absence of oxygen.
When you do some kind of physical activity, your breathing rate increases without being
aware of it. It is because the body needs oxygen. In the case of normal breathing, between
300 and 800 cc (the average is 500 cc) of air are inhaled and exhaled for each complete
breath, but if a larger amount is exhaled, then between 1500 and 3000 cc can be inhaled
the supplement required on average is 1600 cc) Even with everything in the lungs there is
on average 800 cc of air. These remain even if you try to empty all the air from your lungs.

With a breathing capacity of 3700 cc, the amount of air inhaled and exhaled to live is 500
cc, one-ninth of the total capacity of the lungs which is 4500 cc. Only the stomach is made
to work at 120 percent of its capacity so it is natural that its balance can become
disorganized.

Basically, human beings have an internal rhythm that works in harmony with the ratio of
four beats to each breath. The hands, the legs, the viscera and the stomach maintain their
functioning according to this rhythm and for this reason it is also true that, also the
stomach, should only use one ninth of its capacity. That is why maintaining a calm and deep
breath has always been considered, both in the East and in the West, as a way to stay
healthy.
In the forms of breathing used by the Hindus and in yoga, the breath is caught in the lower
part of the abdomen, rises up to the chest and again is carried towards the lower part of
the abdomen, or, also, it must maintain a breath that has a rate of six beats for each
complete breath. These ways [of breathing] were thought to give added importance to
breathing. The breathing used by the Chinese methods to prolong life, and in Taoism, is
more internal in nature and the method they use of gathering the breath in the lower part
of the abdomen is, even today, novel. Breathing techniques are used in Zen Buddhism, and
in Japan there is the art of "long breathing." The English word "spirit" from the Latin word
"breathe." These things definitely demonstrate the fact that human respiration was
remarkable to primitive peoples. Even today it is not an ordinary phenomenon but, as a
consequence of our knowledge, the fact that we breathe does not surprise us or lead us to
recognize how extraordinary it is. This attitude does not differ from the one implicit in
someone who says to a child, 'Thunder and lights - it's just electricity, you know', for this
reason the minds of city children today do not work with freshness [purity ]. Compared
with people in the remote past, the mental activities of people today do not possess any
freshness [purity].

In any case, the katsugen breathing that we teach is analogous to intramolecular breathing,
involves the use of imagination, and is one of the seitai breathing practices that we call
gyoki. We practice breathing through the spine.

The object of katsugen respiration is intramolecular respiration, so there is no direct

connection with external respiration; what you do is breathe calmly and deeply while
gathering your attention on a particular part of the body. When, after scratching a finger,
one realizes for the first time that it has been scratched, the pain increases. One can
assume that this is because the unconscious katsugen breathing has made that part more
sensitive. And not just sensitivity: if you realize that you are bleeding and direct your
attention to the fact, the bleeding will increase

suddenly. This way they will be able to realize that the blood circulation is also connected
with the rest of the vital functions. For the same reason, the mere thought of a stream of
water when, for example, you are in a boring meeting can make you unable to think of
anything other than going to the toilet.

In this sense, katsugen breathing, if it takes place in a passive way, can be inconvenient; But
if you practice it with the intention of actively exploring your body and the circulation of ki
in your body, you can make a function more active when you need it. If you do katsugen
breathing when your stomach hurts, the pain will increase somewhat but will soon
disappear; This happens because, although the sensitivity increases, the functions of the
stomach also become more active. Breathing katsugen through the palms of the joined
hands is the way to gain skill in yuki making, and done through the spine is the way to make
katsugen undó arise spontaneously. It is difficult to breathe through the spine, but once you
are able to do it, it is the most convenient. No matter how tired they are, if they breathe
through their spine three or four times, they will sweat slightly along the spine and their
fatigue will disappear with that sweat. When you are nervous before an exam or other
situation, if you breathe through your spine, you will soon feel calm and new energy will
emerge. Holding the breath in the lumbar vertebrae is the secret of regaining youth. Once
they have learned, through experience, to breathe through the spine, they will see that it is
immensely appropriate and they will be able to discover a self independent of what is going
on around them.
It is good for someone whose head is lazy to do katsugen, to breathe at the point between
the eyebrows. If they see someone in pain, all they have to do is katsugen them by
breathing through the palm of their hand, directing their breath towards the person. This is
what we call yuki and it has unlimited effectiveness. Although we don't know why it
happens, when someone is yukied, their body is enlivened and even their facial color
becomes bright and full of life. Through yuki, giving to the Iuz becomes quick and painless,
and children grow more energetic. Also with the yuki you can heal injuries and diseases of
cats, dogs and birds. Even the stiffness of a corpse is relaxed when yukiing it. The more one
wears the yuki, the more surprising things one will come across. In any case, katsugen
breathing is an interesting thing. Before you start arguing about it, start by testing it.

If you are of age, hold your breath through the spine at the lumbar vertebrae, doing this a
number of times a day for several days, and you will find that your withered sexual organs
have regained new vigor, and along with this , your feelings and physical strength will
probably go back to the way they were before they got old. If you have a weak, indecisive
character, breathe through the spine and, without being aware of it, you will become
human beings with strong willpower. You may think, before you start practicing katsugen
breathing, that I am exaggerating, but when you have practiced it for a while, you will think
that what I have said has been too moderate.
In any case, first experience it and then open your mouths, I am convinced that what the
same individual says before and after practicing will be different.