1. Natural breath: How we breathe all the time without thinking.
2. Cleansing Breath: Inhaling through the nose and exhaling through the mouth.
3. Tonic breath: Inhaling through the mouth and exhaling through the nose.
4. Alternate breath: Inhaling through one nostril and exhaling through the other.
5. Natural deep breath: When we stretch our arms wide open and take a deep breath.
6. Long breath or abdominal post birth breath OR One Breath OR Buddha Breath: is a form of abdominal breathing. When inhaling the lower abdomen expands because of the air coming in, during exhalation the lower abdomen contracts.
7. Pre-Birth OR prenatal breath OR Taoist breath OR Reverse Breathing: Contraction of abdomen upon inhalation and the expansion of it during expiration.
8. TORTOISE BREATH: “Even the pre-birth breathing alone will not enable you to reach the ultimate breathing stage. Forgetting the pre-birth mehod after its mastery over many years leads you to the tortoise breath.”

According to Daoist theory, pre-birth breathing imitates the general breathing pattern of the fetus in its mother’s womb. Through the umbilical cord the fetus receives oxygen and food, and eliminates carbon dioxide and other waste products.

When the umbilical cord is cut, pre-birth breathing ceases and post-birth breathing from the mouth and nose begins. Pre-birth breathing is most commonly understood as the contraction of the abdomen upon inhalation and the expansion of it during expiration. Hence, this breathing patter is somethings called “reverse breathing”

After more than 30 years of researching qi development in the my practice of taijiquan, I have made a breakthrough in the understanding of qigong. Several old Daoist writings mention the phrase “breathing without breathing”.