This website is dedicated to the Students of Seifu A.S. Umar Sharif, MA. It is also dedicated to the promotion and propagation of the Traditional Afro-Asian Martial and Healing Arts. Our goal is to inform, educate, inspire, encourage, and motivate others to improve their lives by applying The Wisdom of the Ancients.
As your teacher and host, Seifu Sharif [aka: Xia` Xue' Gong] [aka: Tobi Alakoso] is dedicated to helping each of you to remember and nurture the Spirit of Wu-Te and the powers dormant within you.
It is revealing that many of the Sacred Texts (the texts of Christianity and Islam for example) refer to the Breath as an essential and empowering component in the Creation Process. In these sacred traditions the last stage in the animation of the human being is the Creator breathing the Breath of Life into us. In the Buddhist Tradition the breath is the key to the mastery of the mind, body, and spirit (including your emotions, appetites, desires, thoughts, and actions). It is the energizing energy form that fuels your efforts to escape the world of suffering and to achieve enlightenment and ultimately Nirvana (the final goal of Buddhism, the transcendent state in which there is neither suffering, desire, nor sense of self, and you are released from the effects of Karma and Samsara, the cycle of death and rebirth).
As a Traditional Martial and Healing Arts practitioner, knowledge of the science of breathing and the continuous practice of this knowledge is an essential part of your training. Through disciplined breathing you can learn to gather qi (Ase) from the atmosphere (and other sources) and to use that energy to revitalize your body. Qi can be moved inside and outside of the body for healing, defensive, and (if necessary) offensive purposes. We refer to this disciplined breathing as Qigong in the Asian tradition and Emi Bawi in the African tradition. There are four dimensions or qualities of breathing that you must learn to control in order to maximize your ability to gather and move the qi.
First is Purification of the Breath
Purification is performed by moving the diaphragm downward with a deep inhale and then moving the diaphragm gently upward with a complete exhale while expressing, thinking, and feeling the sound of AHHHHH! This sound should be experienced physically as a release of unnecessary tension from the body and mentally as a detachment from all that is not relevant to the moment.
Second is Extension of the Breath
We achieve Extension of the Breath when we slow our rate of breathing and when we elongate the pauses in between the two halves of the cycle of a complete breath. Try beginning with an 8-count breathing cycle and then move to a 12-count cycle with a 2-second pause in between each 4-count half-cycle.
Third is Expansion of the Breath
Expansion of the breath is like filling a bottle or jug to its brim. The breath is guided to fill the respiratory cavity from lower abdomen to upper thorax allowing the diaphragm to go through its full range of motion downward (stomach expanding slightly) and then expelling or exhaling the breath from upper thorax to lower abdomen (stomach contracting slightly) like pouring liquid from a jug.
Extension and Expansion should be practiced as an integrated discipline. When Extension and Expansion of the Breath are combined the lungs and blood receive more oxygen and the body can generate and harness more qi.
Fourth is Rhythm of the Breath
The ancient wisdom teaches that everything in creation exhibits and follows the Law of Rhythm. Every major shift in your psychological and emotional state produces a corresponding shift in your breathing (a different rhythm). Qigong or Emi Bawi is the practice of riding this principle in reverse so that by controlling your breathing you are able to manage your psychological and emotional states and affect the overall health of your body-mind-spirit. To give rhythm to your breath you must maintain a constant timing and movement (expansion and extension) of the breath that is comfortable to perform, easy to maintain, and pleasant to experience.
By integrating Extension, Expansion, and Rhythm into your Emi Bawi (Breathing Discipline) you will be able to unlock your own abilities to experience, potentiate, and move the qi. Breathing Discipline should be practiced everyday and should become integrated into your everyday behavior and personality. The forces that your breath are able to unlock can be as accessible to you as your next inhalation and exhalation. This is the secret of the 'superhuman' feats of the great Qigong masters.
