CHAPTER 4
THE BREATHING
EXERCISES
Now that the physical puffing and panting of the asanas are behind us, it is time to turn our attention to the more subtle area of developing the mind-body connection via Breathing Exercises. This is like a halfway house, a transition if you like between the physical asanas of the previous chapter and the meditative practices coming up in the next chapter.
In yogic talk, the breath control topic is collectively termed PRANAYAMA. The first half of the word, “Prana”, we already touched upon earlier in the book, and if you remember, is the vital energy that pervades everything in existence. “Yama” means control, so putting it all together we are looking at the subtle use of the breath, to tap into the vitality that flows through you and me and all of existence.
The Breathing Exercises help you to understand and control the essential energy or life force which fires all beings. With each breath we bring fresh prana into the body. Stagnant energy is expelled with each exhalation. Breathe in the good, breathe out the bad.
The benefits of pranayama practice can be utilized in your everyday dealings with people and situations. It is an invaluable tool in times of stress if you can just remember to compose yourself and focus on the breath at these times. This ability to defuse yourself does take practice and comes in due course, where the rhythmic motion of the breath subdues anxiety and composes the emotions. Try the 3 breathing exercises in this chapter and notice how clear and peaceful the mind is afterwards. Know that this feeling is available in your normal waking state in the hustle and bustle of life, if you take the time to make these exercises part of your regular practice and learn to draw on the teachings at will.
You should know my style by now. I’m not about to launch into the exercises straight away without giving you a gutful of theory. So here we go. Brace yourself.
Oxygen – What’s the Big Deal ?
Oxygen happens to be the most vital nutrient for our bodies and is essential for the integrity of the brain, nerves, glands and internal organs. You may think that food and water are important, however we can do without food for weeks if we have to, we can go without water for a matter of days, but without oxygen we would die within minutes.
The brain is by far our most important organ. It requires more oxygen than any other organ in the body, and if it doesn’t get enough the result is fatigue, mental sluggishness, negative thoughts, depression and so on. In older folk it is common for clogged arteries to reduce oxygen to the brain, resulting in the senility and vagueness we associate with getting old. An acute circulation blockage depriving oxygen to the brain results in a stroke, while the same deprivation to the heart leads to a heart attack.
One of the precursors to vitality and rejuvenation is a purified blood stream. Along with healthy diet, the quickest and most effective way to purify the blood stream is by taking in extra supplies of oxygen from the air we breathe. By saturating the blood with extra oxygen, we burn up the waste products (toxins) in the body, as well as recharging the body’s batteries (the solar plexus from where we draw our energy). Every part of the body benefits from a purified blood stream, as well as the mind. Your complexion will become clearer and wrinkles will be put on hold as rejuvenation starts to take effect.
All these previous points were picked up on a long time ago in yogic philosophy and from this developed Pranayama, the “science of breathing techniques”, if you like. It was discovered that different techniques would produce different predictable and repeatable results. There are a multitude of different exercises and then variations upon similar exercises. We are only looking at 3 of the basic exercises here, but it will be enough to gain benefit for your overall health. These exercises are especially important for people who have sedentary jobs and spend most of their day in offices.
It is common for the office worker’s brain to be oxygen starved to some extent due to their environment, with their bodies just “ticking over”. They are typically always feeling tired, anxious and irritable and are not as productive as they could be. To compound matters, they sleep badly at night which rolls over into a bad start for the following day and on and on it goes. This operating at reduced efficiency lowers their resistance to disease, so they tend to catch colds and any other “bugs” going around.
It is interesting that the yogis of so long ago knew of the importance of adequate oxygen levels in the body without any scientific chemical knowledge. Medical science today agrees with the yogis on the importance of oxygen. It is known that the chemical basis of energy production in the body is a chemical called Adenosine Triphosphate (ATP). If something goes wrong with the production of ATP, the result is lowered vitality, disease and premature ageing. It is also known that oxygen is the most vital component in the production of ATP.
Western Breathing Habits
In the fast paced society we live in, our breathing tends to be too shallow and quick, almost in an attempt to keep up to life. Shallow breathing results in not taking in sufficient oxygen and not eliminating sufficient carbon dioxide, which causes our bodies to be both oxygen starved and in a
state of toxic overload. This prevents our body at a cellular level from operating at peak efficiency and causes our total overall health and vitality levels to be decreased since they both rely on the total health of all the individual cells.
Shallow breathing also doesn’t exercise the respiratory system sufficiently, and these organs lose some of their capacity and function, causing a further reduction in vitality.
So how did we in the West get into this habit of fast, shallow breathing? Some of the major reasons may be:
We get over emotional at the drop of a hat without any control. We get excited easily, angry easily and for the majority of the time we suffer from anxiety due to worry. These negative emotional states affect the rate of breathing, causing it to be fast and shallow.
We are in a hurry most of the time. Modern life is fast paced, and our movements and breathing mimic this pattern
Modern technology and innovations have resulted in less and less physical exertion being required over the years. This means there is less need to breathe deeply, so we develop the shallow breathing habit.
Modern life increasingly involves working indoors and if outdoors, exposed to pollution. Both these conditions lead to impure air being available, which causes the body to instinctively inhale less air in order to protect itself from pollution. The result is the body just taking in enough air to tick over.
The increasing stress of modern living also tends to make us breathe more quickly and less deeply
To summarise all this, I guess I’m suggesting that our modern unnatural lifestyle is the root cause of our poor breathing habits. The best solution in this tricky situation is to consciously breathe more deeply and slowly, especially when walking where the air is relatively fresh, and also adopt the breathing exercises later in the chapter.
In comparison, primitive man lived under more natural conditions. Living was mainly outdoors and involved activities such as walking, hunting and warring which made them naturally good breathers. Add to this that the law of “Survival of the Fittest” was firmly entrenched, and they could be killed at any minute, making it in their interest in to be in good physical condition.
The Case for being a Nose Breather
The Golden Rule for correct breathing is that “thou shalt breathest through thine nose”. You may already do this and believe that this is an obvious part of living, however a large proportion of the population breathe principally through the mouth.
Just stop reading for a moment and check how you are breathing. Are you a mouth or nose breather? If your mouth is open, there is a good chance you are a mouth breather. The only way you are going to break the habit is to concentrate on keeping your mouth closed while you’re breathing and you’ll then automatically breathe through the nose. Your health will benefit considerably.
If you have kids, teach them to be nose breathers. It has been shown in medical circles that mouth breathing in children can affect the development of the thyroid gland and predispose them to infection of the tonsils. Of course the tonsils can easily be removed but, contrary to medical opinion, they play an important role in health. The tonsils themselves are lymphatic glands situated at the entrance to the throat and their function is to fight infection before it gets deeper into the body. Once the tonsils have been removed, you have lost an important defense
mechanism. Studies show that even the mental development of a child is affected adversely by mouth breathing.
To further argue the case for nose breathing, it is noted that the nose has various defense mechanisms to prevent impurities and excessively cold air entering the body. At the entrance to the nostrils, a screen of hairs traps dust, tiny insects and other particles that may injure the lungs if you were to breathe them in via the mouth. Further into the nostrils there is a long winding passageway lined with mucus membranes, where excessively cool air is warmed and very fine dust particles that escaped the hair screen are caught. Then there is the inner nose which contains glands which fight off any bacilli which have slipped through the other defenses, and contains the olfactory organ – our sense of smell. This lets us know if there are any poisonous gases around or if any food we are about to eat may be off.
The yogis go even further and state that the predominant reason we should be breathing through the nose is that the olfactory organ has a secondary function in that it absorbs the prana from the air we breathe. Next time you’re at the beach or up in the mountains where the prana level is naturally high, breathe deeply through the nose a couple of times. You will notice a light, fresh feeling come over you. Allow the feeling to subside and then try the same deep breaths, but this time through the mouth. You won’t feel the same refreshing feeling as when you breathed through the nose. You’re breathing in the same air, so obviously the nose is extracting something from the air that the mouth isn’t. So, if you find yourself breathing through the mouth the majority of the time, as many people do, you are cheating yourself of all this free pranic energy, which as stated before raises your overall vitality level.
How will the Breathing Exercises benefit me?
The Deep Breathing Exercises produce the following benefits:
Improves the oxygenation of the bloodstream which assists all cellular function and aids the elimination of toxins from the system.
Increases the digestion and assimilation of food due to the digestive organs operating at higher efficiency with a good oxygen supply. Food is also broken down more fully in an improved oxidation process for maximum uptake by the body.
Improves the health of the nervous system, including the brain, spinal cord, nerve centres and nerves via increased oxygenation and nourishment of the system. This has the flow on effect of improving the health of the whole body, since the nervous system provides the communication link to all parts of the body.
Rejuvenation of the glands, in particular the pineal and pituitary glands situated in the brain. This is because the brain has a special affinity for oxygen, requiring three times the quantity than the rest of the body.
Rejuvenation of the skin causing increased smoothness and a slowing down of wrinkle development.
The movements of the diaphragm during the deep breathing exercises massage the abdominal organs – the stomach, small intestine, liver and pancreas. The upward action of the diaphragm also massages the heart. This causes increased blood circulation and stimulation of all these organs.
The lungs become healthy and powerful providing a resistance to respiratory problems. Causes a reduced work load and less strain for the heart. This adds up to a more efficient, stronger heart which will perform better and last longer and not be as susceptible to the ravages of high blood pressure and heart disease. The heart is benefited in two ways by the Breathing Exercises: (1) deep breathing gives rise to more efficient lungs, which means more oxygen is brought into contact with blood sent to the lungs by the heart, in turn meaning the heart doesn’t have to work as hard to deliver oxygen to the tissues, and (2) deep breathing
leads to a greater pressure differential in the lungs, which leads to an increase in the blood circulation, thus resting the heart a little.
Assists in weight control and finding the ideal weight for the individual, through the increased oxidation of body fat for the overweight ones amongst us, and the supply of extra oxygen to feed the starving tissues and glands of the “skinnies” out there.
Provides relaxation of the mind and body. The slow, deep, rhythmic breathing causes a reflex stimulation of the parasympathetic nervous system, which results in a reduction in the heart rate and the relaxation of the muscles. These two factors cause a reflex relaxation of the mind, since the mind and body are interdependent. Increased oxygenation of the brain also tends to normalize brain function, reducing excessive anxiety levels.
The effects of the Breathing Exercises are not only felt while the exercises are in progress. The exercises cause an increase in the elasticity of the lungs and rib cage and create an increased breathing capacity which can be taken advantage of all day.
The Yoga Complete Breath
It is getting closer now to the pointy end of the stick where you get to try the Breathing Exercises, but before we go there we must learn a certain method of breathing. The process is quite simple, it just takes a little practice. The Complete Breath is a combination of three methods, high breathing, mid breathing and low breathing.
High Breathing
This type of breathing is also referred to as “collar bone breathing” and is performed by raising the ribs, collar bone and shoulders. This is the least desirable form of breathing since only the upper lobes of the lungs are used and these have a limited air capacity.
The upper rib cage is also rather rigid, so there isn’t much scope for expansion of the ribs to take place to enable a large volume of air to be drawn into the lungs. This type of breathing is quite common among females who generally have the habit of wearing tight fitting clothes around the waist, which discourages and prevents the far superior style of abdominal breathing.
In yogic tradition it is considered that high breathing may result in diseases of the respiratory system, and tends to go hand in hand with the habit of mouth breathing.
Mid Breathing
Also known as “rib breathing”, this is where the ribs and chest are expanded sideways only. This is a step better than the previous high breathing habit, but still far inferior to low breathing and the yoga Complete Breath.
Low Breathing
To perform low breathing, when you inhale you push the stomach gently forwards without strain. When you exhale you simply allow the stomach to return to its normal position.
This is also termed “abdominal” or “diaphragmic” breathing and is far more effective than the aforementioned high and mid breathing methods for the following reasons:
More air is taken in when inhaling, due to the greater movement of the lungs and the fact that the lower lobes of the lungs have a larger capacity than the upper lobes.
The diaphragm acts like a second heart, where its piston-like movements expand the base of the lungs, allowing them to suck in more venous blood which improves the general circulation
The abdominal organs are massaged by the up and down movements of the diaphragm The main store of body energy in the solar plexus is stimulated
The Complete Breathing technique is as the name implies – complete. It includes all three types of the breathing methods just illustrated, and brings into play the whole lung capacity as well as all the respiratory muscles. It is the basic technique used in all the different types of yoga breathing exercises, and therefore should be mastered before you learn the specific breathing exercises.
Keep in mind that this type of breathing is only done when performing the Breathing Exercises. At all other times throughout your day you should be executing the low breathing technique by pushing the stomach out slightly when you inhale, and then just letting the stomach fall back to its original position when you exhale. Also, make sure you are breathing through you nose and not your mouth.
The Yoga Complete Breathing Technique
Maximum benefit is gained if you sit with the spine erect while performing the breathing exercise.
Inhaling
1) Push the stomach forward as you breathe in.
2) Push the ribs sideways while still breathing in. The stomach will automatically go inwards slightly
3) Lift the chest and collar bone up while still breathing in
Even though this is described as three separate processes, it should be done in a smooth, continuous rhythm with each part following smoothly on from the previous part. Try to avoid any jerky movements.
Exhaling
1) Just allow the collar bone, chest and ribs to relax – the air will go out automatically
2) When all the air seems to be out, push the stomach in slightly to expel any remaining air in the lungs
Exhaling is a more passive affair, except for the second stage when the stomach is pushed in slightly.
Basic Instructions for the Breathing Exercises
1) Find a quiet place either inside or outside away from distractions
2) Sit on a chair or cross legged on the floor, but either way, ensure your back is straight and relaxed. This sounds like a contradiction in terms I know, straight and relaxed, but it is possible with practice. Note that unless your spine is maintained erect, some of the benefits of the breathing exercises will be lost.
3) Breathe without strain. Breathe deeply, slowly, smoothly and quietly.
meal, and about an hour or so after a light snack. This is for a couple of reasons. Firstly, a heavy meal will reduce your concentration, and secondly, food in the stomach causes some of your blood and oxygen supply to be diverted to the stomach for digestion and away from the brain which we are trying to stimulate.
The following three exercises are completely safe and can be performed where you like and as often as you like without fear of overdoing the process. I do these exercises formally in the morning, but sometimes do them during the day as well as a way to relieve accumulated stress.
#1) The Rhythmic Breathing Exercise
Everything in the universe is in vibration, from the atoms to the planets themselves. Now, in all vibration there exists a certain rhythm, so it can be postulated that rhythm pervades the universe, and is evident in the basic things such as the seasons, the planets orbiting the sun, the ebb and flow of the tides, and so on, all following rhythmic laws.
Our bodies are subject to rhythmic laws called biorhythms of which a lot of study has been done on over the years. Our sleep and waking periods also have their own rhythm. Sleep itself is governed by the sleep cycle which contains a definite series of stages which occur when we sleep. The waking period also has precise cycles of varying metabolic rates which differ between individuals. For example, some people are wide awake early in the morning (the larks), while others reach their peak efficiency in the afternoon or evening (the owls).
The fast, jerky tempo of modern life tends to upset our natural rhythms. This causes a loss of equilibrium, resulting in irritability, tension, mood swings and general nervousness. Some people are very sensitive to this negative external influence, which may result in mental instability or nervous breakdown.
Yogic philosophy claims that you bring yourself into harmonious vibration with nature and the rhythm of the universe by breathing rhythmically.
Technique
1) Sit up straight in a chair or cross legged on the floor with the hands resting in your lap or in any other manner you feel comfortable with, like you’re about to recite a poem for instance.
2) Inhale slowly and deeply for 8 seconds (remember the old 1-1000, 2-1000, 3-1000 etc technique to count if required, instead of carting a clock around with you or trying to look at your watch – plus then you can close your eyes and relax into the exercises!). The 8 second inhalation count is composed of the following motions – push your stomach forwards to a count of 4 seconds, push your ribs sideways for a count of 2 seconds, and then finally lift your chest and collar bone upwards for a count of 2 seconds.
3) Don’t breathe out straight away; instead hold the breath (called retention) for the count of 4 seconds.
4) Exhale slowly for 8 seconds. For the first 6 seconds just allow the collar bone, chest and ribs to relax, so the breath goes out automatically. For the last 2 seconds, push the stomach in gently, to expel all the air from the lungs.
5) Keep the stomach in this position for 4 seconds before you take the next breath (retention again)
Perform the above exercise daily for 3 rounds in the first week, and add an extra round per week until you’re performing 7 rounds. Don’t get too keen and go for broke too fast, as your enthusiasm may result in headaches, skin rashes and fatigue due to toxins being released from the tissues into the bloodstream too quickly in the early stages, as a consequence of performing the yoga breathing exercises to excess. Just take it slow and pace yourself. There’s plenty of time. Trust me.
All you mathematicians out there have probably worked out that the Rhythmic Breathing Exercise is based on a ratio of 2:1:2:1. That is, the units of inhalation and exhalation are the same, while the units for retention are half that of the inhalation and exhalation.
When just starting out, if you find that inhaling for 8 seconds is making you a bit red in the face and gasping for air, inhale for just 6 seconds instead, hold the breath for 3 seconds, exhale for 6 seconds, and pause for 3 seconds before taking the next breath. In a matter of weeks you will be up there doing the 8:4:8:4 ratio.
Adding Visualisation
As with all the yoga exercises, this exercise is made much more potent if you use visualisation while performing it. Visualisation works on the principle that whatever you concentrate on, an extra supply of oxygen and prana (life force) will be directed to that area. The secret to successful yoga is combining the exercise with visualising the specific area the exercise affects.
The technique here is simple. When you breathe in, visualise the prana accumulating in the solar plexus area, just above the navel. If you remember from the section on asanas, this is where the body stores its energy. When you retain the breath and exhale, visualise the prana going to the brain.
This visualisation technique achieves two things. Firstly, it produces a reserve of energy in the solar plexus, thereby increasing your general energy level. Secondly, since some of the stored energy is directed to the brain, brain function and vitality are increased.
#2) The Retained Breath Exercise
It is recommended by physiologists that the air breathed in should remain in the lungs for ten to twenty seconds to maximise the gaseous interchange in the lungs. The yogis devised an exercise in which the breath is retained for four times the duration of inhalation (about twelve to sixteen seconds) to take maximum advantage of the air inhaled.
The benefits to be expected from the Retained Breath Exercise are:
It provides the optimum supply of oxygen to the body. Even jogging and other aerobic exercise doesn’t achieve this, since the breathing is quick and shallow and there is no retention of oxygen.
The lungs increase their elasticity and capacity and become more powerful. This allows benefits to be enjoyed all day, not just during the exercise session.
It builds a bigger, more powerful chest and is claimed for you gals out there to prevent or assist in correcting sagging breasts.
Technique
1) As always, sit up straight. (Like being back at school, eh?)
2) Inhale for 4 seconds – push the stomach forward for a count of 2 seconds and then push the ribs sideways for 1 second, and finally lift your chest and collar bone upwards for 1 second.
3) Hold the breath for 16 seconds. If this is literally putting the wind up you at the start, just aim for 8 seconds, and then gradually over a period of time build up to 16 seconds.
4) Exhale for 8 seconds. For the first 6 seconds, just allow the collar bone and ribs to relax, so the breath goes out automatically. For the last 2 seconds, push the stomach in gently to expel the air from the lungs.
Perform this exercise daily for only one round in the first week. Add one round per week over the next fortnight until you are performing three rounds.
The rule for the retention breath is that exhalation should be twice that of inhalation, and retention should be four times that of inhalation; that is, a ratio of 1:4:2.
Use the visualisation technique as for the previous Rhythmic Breathing Exercise.
#3) The Alternate Nostril Breathing Exercise
With this exercise, we breathe through only nostril at a time. Unbeknownst to most of us, at various times throughout the day our breathing alternates from one nostril to the other, and this exercise is designed to mimic this phenomenon.
Go ahead and prove to yourself that you are breathing predominantly through one nostril at any one time. Squeeze one nostril closed with your thumb and try breathing through the other nostril alone. Now change nostrils. You should find it easier to breathe through one nostril than the other. This should prove to you that one nostril will always be partially blocked, so we are always breathing through mainly one nostril at a time.
As a rule of thumb, the breath should alternate between nostrils about every two hours. According to yogic philosophy, when the breath flows in one nostril for more than two hours, as it does with most of us, it will have an adverse effect on our health. If the duration of breath through the right nostril is excessive, the result is typically in the area of mental and nervous disturbance. If the excessive flow is through the left nostril it is generally thought that there are problems with chronic fatigue and reduced brain function. The seriousness of the ailment is in direct proportion to the time the breath flows through the one nostril without changing to the other.
The Alternate Nostril Breathing Exercise is designed to restore the normal breathing pattern between nostrils and raises the health and vitality levels.
Benefits
The exercise produces optimum function to both sides of the brain: that is the creativity of the right brain and the logical verbal activity of the left brain
This exercise is considered to be the best technique to calm the mind and the nervous system
Technique
1) Close the right nostril with your right thumb and inhale through the left nostril for the count of 4 seconds
2) Immediately close the left nostril with your right index (1st) finger and at the same time remove your thumb from the right nostril, and exhale through this nostril to the count of 8 seconds.
This completes half a round.
3) Inhale through the right nostril to the count of 4 seconds. Close the right nostril with your right thumb and exhale through the left nostril to the count of 8 seconds.
This completes the full round and you are right back where you started from.
Perform the exercise daily starting with three rounds, adding one round per week until you are doing seven rounds.
Breathing Exercise Summary
Oxygen is the most vital food of all. It is all around us in abundance and is non fattening. Something so basic as increasing your uptake of oxygen to increase your level of health sounds too simple to be true for most people, but it is there right under your nose (pun intended). You just need to make a concerted effort to tap into the supply.
While aerobic exercises such as jogging are very beneficial, they are not sufficient for optimum vitality and rejuvenation. With aerobic exercise, some of the energy gained in the exercise is lost in supplying energy to perform the exercise, whereas with the deep breathing exercises there is no energy loss and all the oxygen taken in is used for vitality and rejuvenation.
Don’t get me wrong, the aerobic exercises still play a part in achieving good health. The main benefits from aerobic exercise come from the training effect, which produces a healthier heart and blood vessels and increased circulation. It makes sense to do both aerobic exercise and the deep breathing exercises as part of your health regime. This gives you all the benefits of deep breathing and fitness and will provide a comprehensive insurance policy for a long, sickness-free life, with vitality and youthfulness along the way.
Before we close off here I wish to make mention of a couple of practical uses for breathing exercises in general as a bit of an aside from the health benefits just outlined.
Firstly, as you venture along the spiritual path, you may be drawn to the area of bodywork or rebirthing. From direct experience I found this is an interesting and rewarding area to explore to perturb the normal mental constructs and crack the shell of perceptions and long held beliefs imprinted since childhood. I won’t elaborate any further than that here as I will go on and on and before we both know it another chapter will be born.
Secondly, let’s talk shit for a moment. Literally. Breathing techniques are useful when sitting upon the throne and you know you want to, but the little darling cannot be roused. Peristalsis is the term used to describe the muscular contractions along the alimentary canal, and yes this includes the intestine. Breathing in a certain manner combined with visualistion can help greatly in accelerating the peristalsis and resulting in you getting off your arse quicker and onto more productive pursuits. And don’t try and tell me you have nothing better to do. For further commentary and one and one coaching on this fascinating topic, please sent me a gmail to the address outlined at the end of the book in the Wrap Up and Conclusion chapter, and we can talk “crap”.
The following chapter goes into the meditative and contemplative aspects of yoga. Don’t let these terms scare you off. There are many stereotypical images and ideas around in society regarding these practices, that have done an injustice to the calming and clarity delivering aspects enjoyed by so many practitioners. You’ve made it this far through the book, don’t stop now. Just visit the next chapter for a browse if you are still hesitant. You don’t have to buy into anything until you are ready. Remember, time is on your side, this is not a race. Yoga will wait for you until you are ready.
The following is just a friendly reminder to have fun with all this, and don’t take it all too serious. We’re not playing for “sheep stations” here!
The Eight Winds
Su Dongpo, one of the great Chinese poets who lived about a thousand years ago, in the Song
dynasty, was an avid student of Buddhist teachings. He often discussed Buddhism with his good
friend, the Zen master Foyin. The two lived across the river from each other – Su Dongpo’s residence
on the north side and Foyin’s Gold Mountain Temple on the south side.
One day, Su Dongpo felt inspired and wrote the following poem:
I bow my head to the heaven within heaven Hairline rays illuminating the universe
The eight winds cannot move me Sitting still upon the purple golden lotus.
Impressed by himself, Su Dongpo dispatched a servant to hand-carry this poem to Foyin. He felt
certain that his friend would be just as impressed.
When Foyin read the poem, he immediately saw that it was both a tribute to the Buddha and
a declaration of spiritual refinement. The “eight winds” in the poem referred to praise, ridicule, honour,
disgrace, gain, loss, pleasure, and misery – interpersonal forces of the material world that drove and
influenced the hearts of men. Su Dongpo was saying that he had attained a higher level of spirituality,
where these forces no longer affected him.
Smiling, the Zen master wrote “fart” on the manuscript and had it returned to Su Dongpo.
Su Dongpo had been expecting compliments and a seal of approval, so he was shocked when
he saw what the Zen master had written. He hit the roof: “How dare he insult me like this? Why that
lousy old monk! He’s got a lot of explaining to do!”
Full of indignation, Su Dongpo ordered a boat to ferry him to the other shore as quickly as
possible. Once there, he jumped off and charged into the temple. He wanted to find Foyin and demand
an apology.
He found Foyin’s door closed. On the door was a piece of paper, with the following two lines:
The eight winds cannot move meOne fart blows me across the river.
