合气道的呼吸法（詹姆斯.罗瑟）
AIKIDO INSIGHTSBreathing Mechanisms in Aikido
by James Loeser
You are midway through a few rigorous Aikido exercises, and you realize that your face is turning red because you have been holding your breath the entire time. As regular cleaning of machine elements is required to keep an engine functioning smoothly, breath is an important, essential part of any sustained bodily movement. Most marital artists will tell you that you are most powerful when you exhale or kiai –a shout delivered for the purpose of focusing all of one’s energy into a single movement. Olympic track and field coaches instruct their sprint athletes to hold their breath when they assume the set position in the starting blocks, roughly one second before the gun goes off, and continue holding it until they are several steps out of the starting blocks, thereby producing an effect tantamount to a silent kiai. Either way, many martial artists and athletic experts consider breath control an integral part of any reflective, explosive movement.
如果你正在进行一些严格的合气道训练,你会发现，如果你一直憋着气，你的脸会涨红。就像要保持发动机运转正常，就必须对部件的经常清洗一样。呼吸是很重要的，是对保持身体运动起关键作用的要素之一。大多数武术家会告诉你，当你要把所有力量贯注到一个动作中时，你必须吐气，这样才是最有力的。奥林匹克田径教练会告诉你运动员在起跑前准备的时候都憋着气，直到枪响前一秒钟，枪响后跑离起跑器的几秒内也都是憋着气的，这样就产生一种等同于呼气的效果。还有许多武术家和运动专家认为呼吸控制是任何反应性和爆发性动作的内在组成部分。
In humans, breath control is initiated and maintained by the central nervous system (CNS). First, the CNS must produce a rhythm for the periodic cycle of contraction and relaxation of respiratory muscles. Second, the CNS must adapt and adjust this rhythm so that the appropriate inhalation and exhalation of the lung is maintained for proper blood gas (dissolved oxygen and carbon dioxide) homeostasis. Third, the CNS must integrate respiratory movements with other body movements such as speech, swallowing, postural changes, and locomotion.
人体的呼吸控制由于中枢神经发动和控制的。首先，中枢神经必须赋予呼吸肌的周期性收缩和放松一种节奏。其次，中枢神经必须适应和调节这种节奏，以便让肺的呼吸适应血液供氧（溶解氧气和二氧化碳）的动态平衡。再次，中枢神经必须使呼吸活动和其他活动相配合：比如说话、吞咽、姿态变化和活动。
To produce rhythmic respiratory action, the CNS operates by utilizing aggregates of motoneurons –nerves that connect directly to and stimulate muscles. Motoneurons responsible for the breathing mechanism originate at the brainstem (rear side of the lower head and upper neck) and extend to the lumbar (lower back) regions of the spinal cord; motoneurons carry an excitatory signal from the brainstem, down the spine, to respiratory muscles, which contract upon stimulation. The minimum neural circuitry necessary for the pattern generation of rhythmic breathing is contained within the pons and medulla, located within the brainstem. In mammals, rhythmic contraction of the respiratory muscles continues to function even after the cerebrum and cerebellum have been removed. Thus, the brainstem alone is responsible for rhythmic generation of your breath patterns; moreover, breathing patterns can persist even if the rest of the brain is clinically dead. However, simple rhythmic breathing is not conducive to survival in a dynamic world, and the CNS must adjust breathing patterns to adapt to changing internal and external environments.
为了产生呼吸节奏，中枢神经是通过运用运动神经元的集合---即连接和刺激肌肉的所有神经。负责呼吸的运动神经元发源于脑干，直通腰椎的脊髓。运动神经元把兴奋信号从脑干传到脊椎，再到呼吸肌，呼吸肌对刺激做出收缩反应。产生呼吸节奏的最短神经线路位于脑干，包括神经桥和髓体。对于哺乳动物来说，甚至在大脑、小脑被切除之后呼吸肌的有节奏收缩仍然会继续。因此是脑干独立负责产生有节奏的呼吸模式；甚至在大脑的其它部分已经处于医学死亡的情况下呼吸模式仍能继续。然而，单纯的有节奏的呼吸并不能对生存有什么帮助，中枢神经必须调节呼吸模式，使之与变化中的内外部环境相适应。
When you engage in strenuous exercise, your tissues require increasing amounts of oxygen to maintain heightened activity levels. The CNS must determine how much to increase breathing rate to adequately supply the body with oxygen, while expelling used up oxygen in the form of carbon dioxide. To determine the adequacy of ventilation and to optimize the effort expended in breathing, the CNS depends upon feedback from chemo receptors. Chemoreceptors are molecules on the surface of cells in the body that respond to specific chemicals or molecules, such as oxygen, and their essential function in breathing is to provide information to the brainstem about the status of respiratory gases (oxygen and carbon dioxide) so that optimal activity levels can be maintained. If chemoreceptors –found in major blood vessels– detect increased levels of carbon dioxide or decreased levels of oxygen, they send this information to the brainstem. The brainstem then sends signals to the respiratory muscles to increase the tempo and depth of breathing. The major respiratory muscles that make breathing possible are the diaphragm, which separates the abdominal (stomach) and thoracic (chest) cavities, and the intercostal muscle groups, which are located between the ribs. Normal breathing is accomplished by contracting the dome-shaped diaphragm downward into a flat shape. This contraction increases the volume of the thoracic cavity and lowers the pressure inside the lungs. Since air prefers low pressure to high-pressure environments, air is sucked in through the nostrils, travels down the windpipe, and enters the lungs (i.e., inhalation). We exhale by relaxing the diaphragm –a primarily passive process– into its original dome shape, which decreases the volume of the thoracic cavity and raises the pressure inside the lungs, thereby, pushing the air inside the lungs to a lower pressure outside the lungs. During heavy breathing the intercostal muscle groups are engaged, in addition to a deeper diaphragm contraction, which lifts the rib cage up and outward, further increasing the volume of the thoracic cavity and drawing more air into the lungs. In addition, muscle groups in the throat and neck may be contracted or relaxed to decelerate or accelerate forced airflow created by the respiratory muscles. Furthermore, muscles of the abdominal wall (external abdominal oblique, internal abdominal oblique, transversus abdominis, and rectus abdominous) may be contracted, stabilizing the spine during heavy lifting or sudden, explosive movement.
当你进行激烈的运动时，你的组织需要增加供氧以维持更高的运动水平。中枢神经必须决定呼吸频率提高多少才能给身体提供足够的氧，同时排出耗氧后产生的二氧化碳。中枢神经通过接受化学感应受体的反馈来决定呼吸的频率和优化呼吸的效果，这些化学感应受体是体内细胞表面的分子，他们对特定的化学物质和分子起反应，比如氧气，他们在呼吸活动中基本的功能是向脑干提供呼吸中氧气和二氧化碳状况的信息，以便保持最佳的活动水平。如果化学感应受体发现在主要血管当中氧不足或者二氧化碳增加,它就会向脑干发出信息。接下来脑干会向呼吸肌发出信号让它加快节拍和呼吸的深度。产生呼吸活动的主要肌肉是横隔膜（它把腹腔和胸腔分开）和肋间肌群（它位于肋骨之间）。一般的呼吸活动是通过将穹顶状的横隔膜向下压缩成水平状来完成的。这个收缩活动增加了胸腔的容积，降低了肺部的压力。因为空气是从高压环境流入低压环境，所以这时空气就从鼻孔吸入，沿气管进入肺（以吸气为例）。我们呼气的时候是放松横隔膜—基本是一种被动行为---回复到原来的穹顶型，这样减小胸腔的容积，提高肺部的压力，把肺部的空气压到外部的低压区。在深度呼吸的时候肋间肌也参与运动，除了使横隔膜收缩的更紧外，肋骨也会向外扩张，这样增加胸腔的容积把更多空气吸入肺部。此外，颈部和喉部的肌肉群也会收缩或者放松来减慢或加快呼吸的速度。另外，腹腔壁的肌肉（外斜肌，内斜肌、横肌和直肌）在人体进行举重和突然的爆发性的运动时，通过收缩来保持脊柱稳定。
With the scientific understanding of breathing outlined, we can better appreciate, from a Western point of view, the importance of breathing in Aikido. Aikido ("Ai" = blending, joining; "Ki" = internal, life energy; "Do" = way, path) training requires a holistic retraining of the mind and a complete reconfiguration of the muscles in the body is necessary; one must learn to deconstruct their present conceptual system and unlearn all previously learned and conditioned responses. Technique alone is not sufficient in Aikido; the psycho-physiological state of the Aikidoka is more important than the mechanics of movement. Aikido proficiency requires one to extend Ki, and the Aikidoka must be in a centered state of being to successfully do so. Aikido techniques should be executed through one’s hara –the location of one’s spirit (source of Ki) and one’s center of mass, located about two inches below the navel. One’s awareness radiates outward from the hara, bestowing equanimity, stability, and freedom from doubt and anxiety. The hara is also the one’s physical center from which all major muscle groups symmetrically radiate. Fundamental Aikido skills teach one to begin movement from the hara and allow this initial movement to flow outward into one’s surroundings. Once aware of your centered physical state, you may begin to enter a centered mental state of being. When you are centered physically and mentally, you can effectively extend Ki. Thus, a centered state of being requires both a physical and a mental transformation.
通过对呼吸活动的科学描述，我们就更加容易从西方的角度来了解合气道呼吸法的重要性。合：结合;气：内在生命力；道：路。（译者：应该是 “技艺”的意思。）合气道要求对头脑进行的全面再训练，以及对肌肉的全面调整。一个人必须忘记现在的概念体系和以前所学的东西。（译者：这是对西方人说的。我们没必要。）单纯技术在合气道里是不够的，合气道的心理和生理状态比运动技能本身重要的多。纯熟的合气道要求用气，合气道练习者要达到此目的必须全神贯注。合气道技术要用丹田—--人的灵魂所在（气的源头），人的中心，位于脐下二英寸。人的意识来自于丹田，要保持镇定和平和的心态，不要有焦虑和不安。丹田也是身体各主要肌肉群的对称中心。基本的合气道技术训练告诉人动作要从丹田开始，然后流畅地进入周边环境。一旦知道了你身体的中心，你就可以开始进入全神贯注的境界。当你在精神和身体方面都全神贯注，你就能很好的运用气。因此全神贯注的境界需要经理生理和心理方面的转化。
第二部分
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To extend Ki, one must center both the physical and the mental organism. In Japanese culture, breath joins the mind and the body, and breathing techniques are used to attain a centered state. In Aikido, Misogi (literally, "ritual purification") breathing focuses one’s physical and mental awareness in the hara. During Misogi breathing, the practitioner comfortably sits seiza (on one’s knees) or cross-legged, with spine erect. He slowly draws breath in through the nostrils and to the hara, and then he takes a moment to focus all of his awareness in the hara. Slowly, he releases his breath from the hara and out through his mouth, while visualizing all tension, negative emotion, and illness leaving his body with the expelled breath. After many repetitions, the practitioner will begin to relax and feel revitalized; an experienced practitioner will quickly enter a trance-like, hypnotic state, and, among other experiences, he will "see" a thick, cleansing fog being drawn into the nostrils and a murky cloud exiting the mouth. Therefore, breath is one’s peace, freedom, and power, i.e., one’s centered state. This centered state resembles accounts of the physical and mental state of great athletes at the height of achievement, sometimes referred to as "entering the zone" in athletics. Similarities between being centered and entering the zone are thoughtless, reflexive action, heightened awareness of oneself and one’s surroundings, time dilation, merged peripheral and focused vision, and diminution of physiological reflex mechanisms.
为了运用气，人必须使身体和精神都集中。在日本文化中，呼吸是连接心灵和身体的，呼吸技法也是用来实现集中精神的。在合气道中，“身扫除”（译者：“身扫除”是日语,就是洗澡，引申为净化身心。）呼吸法用来把身体和精神方面的意识集中在丹田。在“身扫除” 呼吸训练中练习者可以正坐（译者：就是跪姿）或者盘腿坐，脊背正直。他慢慢吸气，从鼻孔吸入丹田，然后全神贯注意守丹田。他再慢慢地从丹田提气，从嘴吐出，同时想象所有紧张、消极情绪和疾病通过吐气排出体外。通过多次反复，练习者会感到轻松和重新获得活力；高级的练习者能很快进入恍惚，仿佛催眠的状态，在其他练习中，他会看到一股厚重的、清洁的雾吸入鼻孔，浊气从嘴里呼出。因此，呼吸就是他的平静、自由和力量。这种全神贯注的状态汇集了正值颠峰状态的运动员的多种精神和身体方面的最佳状态，它的特点是无思想、放松、对自己和周围事物的清晰意识等。。。。。。
第三部分
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With the physical and the mental state centered, the Aikidoka can now extend Ki in the execution of his techniques. First, the Aikidoka must reflexively react to an attack, and, to successfully do so, he must be aware of the automatic system regulating breathing patterns in the body. Second, the Aikidoka must enter and remain in a centered state of being, and, to successfully do so, he must become familiar with and eventually learn to control the CNS’s response to increased demands of oxygen required to sustain heightened activity levels. Third, he must learn voluntary control over muscles involved in breathing to produce efficient breathing and coordinated, effective movement.
当精神和身体实现了全神贯注，练习者就可以在技术动作中运用气。第一、练习者要对受到的攻击做出反应。要做到这点他必须意识到他有控制呼吸的内在系统。第二、练习者必须进入并保持全神贯注的状态，为了做到这点，他必须熟悉并最终达到控制中枢神经为适应高强度运动对增加供氧的要求。第三、他必须学会无意识地控制调节呼吸的肌肉，达到有效的运动。
When a beginning student of Aikido is attacked, his unconscious bodily reactions will cause his breathing and movement to be inefficient. His natural breathing pattern will increase in tempo and depth, causing a greater but inefficient exchange of respiratory gasses. His throat and neck muscles will contract which protect the soft tissues under the muscle but also lead to restricted airflow. Muscles in the abdominal area will contract to form a more solid base, but are often overstimulated, depleting energy reserves. The number and frequency of neural charges will increase causing his senses to be heightened, but the beginner will become overwhelmed by sensory input, causing confusion and disorientation. The increase in neural charges also causes natural reflexes to be enhanced, but can lead to overreaction. All of these natural responses begin with heightened breathing activity, and are inefficient and not conducive to sustained movement. On the other hand, the expert Aikidoka is cognizant of his body’s reaction to automatic systems, can control his central nervous systems’ response to an attack, and has learned voluntary control over unconscious bodily movements.
当一个合气道的初学者受到攻击时,他无意识的身体反应会导致呼吸和运动方面效率的降低。他自然的呼吸模式将加快和加深，导致强度增加但是效率降低的呼吸方式。他的咽喉和颈部会收缩，这样可以保护肌肉之下的软组织但是导致呼吸气流受阻。腹部肌肉也会收缩，但是常常由于过度刺激造成能量消耗。神经方面的负荷将导致意识的加强，初学者会因为刺激过强而头脑混乱和不知所措。神经发面的负荷也造成自然反应的加强，但是也会使他做出过度的行为反应。所有这些自然反应都是从加快的呼吸活动开始的，也都是有损于进行有效的持续运动。与此相反，合气道高手能意识到自己身体的自然反应，能够控制中枢神经对外界攻击的反应，学会控制身体的无意识动作。
By focusing on the automatic breathing pattern generated by the CNS, the advancing Aikidoka will become aware of this natural cycle, and he will soon realize that the natural pattern is often times too rapid for present activity levels. In addition, one will recognize that the throat and neck muscles are tensed up, causing airflow to be restricted. Recent neurological studies of the brain have demonstrated the plasticity of the human brain. In other words, the brain is not immutably "hardwired," and it may reorganize itself to better serve the organism and adapt to its changing internal and external environments. Since we have the ability to retrain our automatic breathing rhythms, we have the ability to customize more efficient breathing patterns; typically a slower, deeper pace is most suitable. Also, the Aikidoka will learn to relax muscles involved in breathing that will up open airflow. Thus, the body will have a more efficient mechanism to supply its tissues with oxygen, while allowing the body to relax by decreasing the number and intensity of neural impulses reaching the CNS’s breathing center. Furthermore, the Aikidoka can dampen reflex responses or learn to reconfigure emotional reactions to events, which always seem to accompany the CNS’s response to a changing environment, such as a perceived threat or an attack. It is plausible that if we can exert control over our automatic breathing mechanisms, we can exert control over other automatic body responses such as reflex responses or emotional reactions to stressful situations.
通过专注于中枢神经产生的呼吸模式,高级的合气道练习者会感知自然的气息循环, 他会意识到自然的模式比现在的运动模式要快很多倍。他也会知道咽喉和颈部肌肉的紧张会使气流受阻。近来的神经学研究证明了人脑的可塑性。 换句话说，人脑不是不变的线路， 它可以调整自己来更好地为机体服务，适应内外部的环境。因为我们有能力重新训练我们的自动呼吸节奏，我们就能使呼吸模式更加高效。比较典型的就是用一种更慢、更深的节奏是比较合适的，。还有， 合气道练习者会放松呼吸肌来增加气流的流量。因此，人体有一种更加有效的方式为组织供氧，这种方式是通过减少中枢神经呼吸中心接受的神经脉冲的次数和强度，从而使身体放松来实现的。合气道练习者能够迟滞自然反应，或者学会调整我们对外部事件的情绪反应，这种反映通常伴随着中枢神经对外部环境变化的反应，比如感知到的威胁或者攻击。我们认为如果控制了内在的呼吸系统，我们就能对身体其他的自发反应进行控制，比如对令人焦虑的情况的自发反应和情绪反应。
Although we can consciously control our breathing patterns and other bodily responses, most of our preprogrammed responses are conducive to our survival. For example, if a man takes an extended series of deep breaths or holds his breath for too long a duration, the brainstem will take over breathing patterns, making it impossible to kill yourself by holding your breath. However, these general, preprogrammed responses, propagated by nature through species, can be altered to better suit the individual. For example, since biomechanics requires muscle force against a stationary object to produce bodily movement, muscle contractions must occur; however, the typical person overexerts himself on simple, preprogrammed movements, such as climbing stairs, because of a lack of efficient movement. So the Aikidoka strives to have the most efficient movement with the least amount of muscle contraction, i.e. the strongest, most supple movement with the least amount of energy expenditure. This means that the Aikidoka’s stabilizer muscles, including those around the abdominal area, are minimally contracted to effectively stabilize a base. The same customized alterations can be accomplished in breathing, in emotional responses to stressful situations, in heightening or dampening physiological reflex responses, in heightening perceptual awareness, and in maintaining relaxed, erect posture which is essential to good airflow and efficient bodily movement.
尽管我们可以有意识地控制我们的呼吸模式和其他身体反应，但是我们的决大多数先天反应是对我们的生存有利的。比如，如果一个人进行一连串的深呼吸或者长时间憋住气，脑干就会接管呼吸系统，使我们不至于把自己憋死。然而这些先天模式是可以变化的，以便更好地适应环境。例如，生物力学要求肌肉通过对固定物体发力来推动身体的位移，肌肉收缩是必然的。而一般情况下，由于不会有效的运动，人们都会过度用力，比如上楼梯。所以，合气道练习者努力达到用最少的肌肉收缩产生最有效的运动；换句话，最少的能量支出产生最强的运动。这意味着合气道练习者身体上用于稳定的肌肉，比如腹部肌肉，用最小的收缩动作来来稳定身体。同样的变化也可以用在呼吸上，用来控制在令人焦虑的情况下的反应，用来加快和放慢生理自发反应，用来提高感知能力，用来保持放松。保持躯体正直是使气流通畅和身体有效运动的基本条件。
In summary, the first step toward efficient, controlled breathing is awareness; you must concentrate on your current breathing patterns, and you must believe that you can change your nature –because you can. The second step is optimistic, diligent, and patient practice. Systemic body changes do not happen overnight, or even in a few months; they happen over the course of many, concentrated practices. The third and most crucial step is reflection: you must look back upon your progress and acknowledge your small gains in voluntary control over your inherent breathing mechanism. In this way, you can fully utilize the fruits of your endeavors, and you may begin to refine the changes you have made and begin new systemic body changes.
总之， 向有效的，有所控制的呼吸方式迈进的第一步是意识；你必须把思想集中于现在的呼吸方式，你也必须相信你能改变自己-因为你能够。第二、是乐观、勤勉和耐心的练习。身体上系统性的变化不是一夜之间发生的，也不是几个月能改变的，这种变化是要经过大量精神高度集中的训练造就的。第三、也是最重要的是要反思，你必须不断回顾自己的进程，以及在控制内在呼吸机能方面取得的每个小成就。通过这种办法。你就能充分运用自己实践和努力的结果，不断提高，不断改进。
James Loeser has his M.S.from Northwestern University, in Biotechnology - Specializing in Medicinal Chemistry /
Bioinformatics. He is a student of Aikido and a dental student at the University of Illinois at Chicago.
詹姆斯.罗瑟 西北大学生物技术学硕士，主攻药物化学，在伊立诺伊大学期间学习合气道。
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