In Traditional Japanese Reiki, the breath is a primary tool. It is used to clear the mind, settle your energy, and keep you steady as a channel for Reiki. Joshin Kokyu Ho is the core breathing meditation of the system. The goal is to clear out mental noise and gather your energy into a stable center.

What the Name Means

The name breaks down simply:

• Jo: To purify or cleanse
• Shin: Mind, heart, and spirit
• Kokyu: Breath or breathing
• Ho: Method or technique

Translated, it is “the method for purifying the mind and spirit through breathing.” It involves using the breath to move past mental distractions and stabilize your center (the Hara).

When to Use It

Joshin Kokyu Ho is a flexible practice. You can use it:

• Before a session to get centered.
• After a session to re-ground and bring your energy back to your core.
• As a daily five-to-ten-minute meditation.
• In stressful moments to pull yourself back into your body.

Setting Up: The Earth Diamond

You can practice this in any position. The main requirement is relaxed stability.

• Sit in a chair with your feet flat or kneel in seiza.
• Keep your spine upright but not stiff.
• Rest your hands on your thighs or over your lower abdomen.
• Let your shoulders and jaw relax.

Bring your attention down to the Hara (the area just below the navel). Acknowledge this spot as your base—the Earth Diamond.

The Practice: Breathing into the Hara

Maintain a natural, easy pace. Do not strain the breath.

1. Settle: Take a few normal breaths. Notice the movement and invite the breath to settle lower toward the belly.
2. Inhale: Breathe in slowly through the nose. Imagine or sense light being drawn in through the top of the head (the Heaven Diamond), traveling down through the body, and settling into the Hara.
3. Pause: For a brief second, rest your awareness in the Hara. Feel the weight and quiet collecting there.
4. Exhale: Breathe out through the mouth or nose. Sense that light expanding from the Hara out through your whole body and skin into the space around you.

Repeat this cycle: Inhale to the Hara, exhale through the whole body. If you find it hard to visualize light, just follow the physical feeling of the breath moving down and out.

The Three Diamonds in this Practice

This meditation works on all three energy centers:

• The Head (Heaven Diamond): Focusing on the breath helps quiet a busy mind.
• The Chest (Heart Diamond): As the breath moves through the chest, the ribcage and heart area soften and release tension.
• The Belly (Earth Diamond): This is the main focus. Each inhale feeds this center, and each exhale spreads that stability through the rest of you.

Over time, you may notice a permanent sense of heavy, quiet calm in your belly, even when your mind is active.

Dealing with Thoughts, Anger, and Worry

Joshin Kokyu Ho is a practical way to live the first two Precepts (do not anger, do not worry).

• When anger shows up: Notice where it is in your body—usually the chest, jaw, or head. As you exhale, let that energy sink down into the wider, steadier space of the Hara.
• When worry shows up: Worry pulls you up into your head. Use the inhale to pull your attention back down into the body. Use the exhale to feel the ground and the weight of your center.

If the mind starts creating stories, just return to the rhythm: “Inhale to the Hara, exhale through the body.”

The Gassho Variation

You can also do this with your hands together at the heart (Gassho).

• Lightly touch your thumbs to your chest.
• Keep your attention in the Hara while staying aware of your hands.
• In this version, the Hara provides the stability, the Heart softens, and the mind becomes spacious. This is a good way to prepare for self-treatment.

A Quick Version for Daily Life

If you are short on time, use this five-breath reset:

1. Drop your attention to the lower abdomen.
2. Inhale to the Hara.
3. Exhale through the whole body.
4. On one of these breaths, repeat a precept like “Just for today, do not worry.”

Summary

This practice builds an internal weight and makes you less reactive to stress. It strengthens the Earth Diamond so your energy isn’t easily drained, and it prepares you to be a steady channel during sessions. You don’t need perfect concentration; you only need to keep returning to the quiet in the belly.