The Physiological Effect of Controlled Respiration and the Meaning of Respiration Method in Qigong Therapy

This study focuses on breathing in qigong (which include three breathing techniques for body style, respiration and mind). When the person controls the time of breathing (inhalation and the exhalation time) consciously, compared with the rest condition, and that their physiological phenomena are influenced by SpO2, CO2, PPG, ECG and so on, are known. Qigong breathing methods, XIE (reducing) with longer exhalation and BU (reinforcing) with long inhalation, use abdominal respiration (inhalation with the nose, as the belly is expanded followed by exhalation as the belly is depressed) are just one experiment in the long history of Qigong training. In this research we used breathing time as in a Qigong exercise (The Six-word Exercise) and observed the physiological phenomena of the controlled respiration period. The results were as follows. 1. In the inhalation (5 seconds ) and exhalation (15 seconds) (5-15), compared with the rest time: the SpO2 increased, O2 decreased, and CO2 increased. After controlled respiration most subjects had a blood pressure change to a balanced value (higher pressure became lower, but lower became higher). 2. In longer inhalation (15-5): the SpO2 increased, but the O2 increased, and CO2 decreased. The blood pressure did not changed ovbiously, but the R-point of ECG had some increasing tendency.