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Shanae Maerz
In spite of the importance of hara in Japanese culture, few people know of it in the West. This is a shame. The purpose of this blog is to remedy this situation, so that people everywhere can benefit from developing and using the hara: their own vital center.
Much of the evolution in my thinking comes from a new collaboration with Ellen McKenzie. Ellen brings a fresh perspective to hara development. She has created a set of exercises that can give beginners a better on-ramp to abdominal breathing and, eventually, hara breathing. The exercises can also help experienced hara breathers refine and deepen their practices. Ellen and I will be introducing this new approach in future posts.
At that time, I was training in another Zen lineage (which did not emphasize hara breathing) and was also sitting regularly with Alex. Together, we were exploring the ways that practices like Hanna Somatics, yin yoga, TRE, and bodywork could support and deepen Zen meditation.
Before the launch of the training, he taught me about hara breathing. Initially, I found it counter-intuitive (specifically the abdominal expansion on exhale), conflicting with prior yogic breathing techniques I had learned, but ultimately very intriguing. I had trouble finding my hara, but even in the fleeting connections, I felt its grounding potential.
My relationship with my hara has evolved since then, but grounding was my top priority at the time and a useful motivator for further exploration. Additionally, after 10+ years of yoga training, I still struggled with yogic pranayama; I found many of the practices (and there are many) to be agitating to my system.
The largest hara challenges I faced were creating and sustaining abdominal pressure throughout exhale and doing that without creating tension. Fortunately, all the hours doing somatics, TRE, and yin yoga between sitting periods at Somatic Zen provided fertile ground for insights.
To this day, many of the exercises I use to support folks come out of the two years Alex and I ran Somatic Zen. Since then, I have learned more, experimented more, and worked with Kushner Roshi to create a methodology out of those insights. Together, we will introduce new concepts here in the blog. We are also developing an asynchronous course that will focus on practices to support hara development.
It has been quite a while since I posted to this blog. Over that time, I have received numerous inquiries from readers which have led to very productive email exchanges. This has given me an idea: I would like to invite you all to submit questions and/or suggest topics for future posts. You can send them to me at haradev...@wisconsinzen.org.
First, I will be conducting an interactive webinar on hara development on November 9, from 7:30 PM to 8:15 PM (CST). This will be a good opportunity to ask me questions about hara development, especially about the exercises I have posted to this site in the past. You can find more information and a link to the Zoom registration on the Chosei Zen website.
Finally, I want to let you know that my colleague, Ginny Whitelaw Roshi, has just published a book entitled Resonate: Zen and the Way of Making a Difference. The book has considerable relevance to hara development, and I urge you all to read it. Order Resonate here.
To return to zazen, my teacher used to say that in Zen we learn to change the way our body vibrates. Just as tension damps the resonance of a young musician, tension inhibits the way our bodies vibrate. The practice of zazen (and the martial and fine arts) teach us how to relax our bodies. And, the key to this is hara breathing, which, when combined with proper posture, enables us to take unnecessary tension out of our bodies, allowing us to vibrate at our natural frequencies. And, it can have a calming effect of others because it can actually change the way the other person vibrates. This is a possible physical explanation for what we call kiai (chi in Chinese).
I recently came across a fascinating book chapter that I think has relevance to hara development. Its subject is Noh, a classical Japanese dance theater tradition. Noh is characterized by slow, deliberate, highly stylized movement. The actors wear masks, which cover their facial expressions. While there are spoken words in Noh, emotions are also conveyed by the masks and by movements and bodily gestures.
Just as in Noh, it is possible for a martial artist to copy the superficial physical form of a kamae. I know this because that is what I did for many years. Now, I see it all the time in beginning students. But, mimicking the external, physical aspects of a kamae does not have the same impact on others if the person is not breathing from the hara.
But, why a belt? Why is this accessory so important in a martial arts uniform? Well, there is the obvious reason that it keeps the keeps the hara (top) tied together. But, it certainly would have been possible to design an outfit with ties on the top, which would not require a belt. I am convinced that the belt, regardless of color, has another, ultimately more important function: it facilitates hara breathing.
I discovered that there is an art to tying an obi. If I tied it too tightly, it constricted the expansion of my lower abdomen and stifled hara breathing. Tied too loosely, it did not give enough support or resistance in my lower abdomen; this also inhibited hara breathing. I found that there is a sweet spot between tying it too tightly and too loosely. With time, I could hit that spot without thinking.
While I prefer the traditional wide obi for zazen, kyudo or and most hara development exercises, it has two limitations. First, because it ties in the back, it becomes uncomfortable when you lie on the floor on your back or when doing rolling activities, such as in aikido. The second limitation is that it is too bulky to wear under everyday clothing. Of course, it is possible to wear it over your clothing, but that is rather conspicuous and you might run the risk of looking eccentric.
I have found that a good alternative to traditional obi is a thick one made of natural fabric that is secured with Velcro. The Velcro makes it easier to hit the sweet spot between too tight and too loose. Since it is made of natural fabric, it gives and takes with the breath. Because it does not tie, it is fine for floor and rolling exercises. Finally, you can wear it unobtrusively under everyday clothing; it can become your secret weapon at work or when you are doing intense, physical activity. This will allow you to better practice your hara breathing in everyday life.
There are three factors that facilitate the ability to use minimal muscular tension when hara breathing. The first is the feeling of gravity. It should feel like the pull of gravity against the lower abdomen drives both the inhalation and the exhalation. Second, you should have muscle tone in your pelvic floor. You can do this by putting slight tension in your anal sphincter. When done properly, it feels like it sets up a platform for your breath. Finally, it is important to maintain proper posture. As your breath goes down, you should extend the nape of your neck.
While the HaraMeter can be a very useful tool in learning and refining hara breathing, many people have the tendency to exaggerate the amount of tension required when using it. I think the dial brings out our natural sense of competitiveness, as we want to get the needle as high as possible. So, if you are using a HaraMeter , try backing off on the amount of muscular tension. Pay more attention to relaxation and the pull of gravity.
Over the next few posts I will introduce several exercises based on PMR. The first exercise, described below, teaches how to inflate the lower abdomen by taking a relaxed inhalation. I have discussed the importance of a relaxed inhalation in hara breathing in a previous post. You might want to review that before proceeding with this exercise. I have also included an instructional video of the exercise in this post. It is important to remember that hara breathing is a skill that must be developed through practice. So, like other skills, you will get more out of this exercise if you practice it regularly.
Additionally, I would like to call your attention to a hara development workshop that Alex Greene (featured in the video) and I will be conducting March 2-5 at the Spring Green (Wisconsin) Dojo. You can find more information about it at: -zen/.
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