The Relationship of Organs and Viscera in Qigong:

In this article I will introduce the chapter on Organs and Viscera from the TCM Qigong textbook The Study of Chinese Medicine Qigong which is used in many TCM Universities in China.

If you like this article please review past articles in my newsletter since I have translated several chapters of the text.

I am also happy to announce that I am now collaborating with Qigong Project, a webpage promoting Qigong, its practice, culture, history and theory.

My articles will be featured on the page and I will contribute to the Chinese Medicine Qigong section of the site.

Please check out www.qigongproject.blog to find out more!

Just a quick note about the text:

this textbook is for TCM students in Chinese Universities and assumes some knowledge of the organ and viscera system so it does not go into an exhaustive analysis of every feature of TCM physiology, pathology and diagnosis but instead focuses on how the organs relate to Qigong practice. It is paired with the next chapter on Meridians and Collaterals which I plan to translate soon and feature on the newsletter.

Here is the chapter on the Organs and Viscera:

The Heart is the commander of the Spirit and the Blood Vessels, it is the commander of the body. When the heart spirit is nurtured it has the ability to better adjust the entire body system.

The Internal Classic Simple Questions says: “if the commander is brilliant then all below will be at peace. Using this to nurture life leads to longevity.”

Conversely if the commander is not clear the entire body and all of its parts will be negatively impacted.

When practicing Qi Gong and protecting the mind in the Dantian the heart and kidneys mix together, this is the merging of fire and water's Yin and Yang so they become level and make perception clear while nurturing the spirit.

As a result if practicing for a long time it is possible to improve sleep, and become more energetic, at the same time vertigo, insomnia, heart palpitations, sore waist and back, and many other problems associated with the heart and kidney not properly communicating can be gradually reduced and returned to health.

Protecting the mind in the Dantian can also descend heart fire and warm and nurture spleen earth. The spleen and stomach are the source of nourishment for each part of the body and serve as the center of the system of the Qi of Water and Grains, so practicing Qigong can also be used to adjust dietary desire, improve digestion, and regulate body weight, often with good results.

The Qigong methods of adjusting breath such as spitting out the old and grasping the new not only protect and nurture the lung Qi, they also help make the lung capacity able to assist the function of the heart in its circulatory activities in order to adjust all the organs.

The idea of Qi penetrating the Dantian is related to the regulation of liver Yang Qi. It also improves the kidney Yin Qi and makes Yin and Yang Qi and blood circulation normalized. The system of the Qi moves more freely and spreads to the whole body and it also assists the spleen and stomach in movement and transformation as well as absorbing.

From the perspective of Qi Gong adjusting the body the liver governs the sinews, kidneys control the bones, the spleen governs the flesh and limbs, the heart governs the blood vessels, the lungs govern the hair on the skin surface, thus Dao Yin, Massage and other movements can connect the movement of the muscles, flesh, bones and sinews, and can assist the liver Qi in its dredging, the spleen in its ascent, stomach in its descent, Qi and Blood in their circulation, hair and follicles in their luster, and sinews and bones in their strength.

Many people who practice Qigong sense their emotions and mind relax, their appetite is improved, their face has a brighter sheen, their bodies become more healthy, their movements are lighter and more flexible, their bodies become stronger.

When practicing you should let your mind and breath cover each other, the intention and Qi should follow each other, the mind and body resonate with each other and after enough time wherever your mind goes your Qi will also go, wherever your Qi goes your power will also arrive. At this level your perception will be more balanced, your blood will circulate more smoothly, and you can use Qigong to reduce the impact of illness

The modern Chinese philosopher Feng Youlan once claimed that Chinese Metaphysical philosophy is more stable than the metaphysics of the West since throughout most of Chinese history there has only been one dominant theory of metaphysics which has been broadly accepted by most scholars. I’m not a philosopher so I don’t know if that is true or not, but it is true that the theory of Yin and Yang has been broadly accepted into almost every portion of Chinese civilization including Chinese Medicine and Qigong. From today forward we will start a small series on how the principles of Yin and Yang, the Five Elements, Eight Trigrams etc.. impact the theory and practice of TCM Qigong. Whether there was anything to what Feng Youlan said or not is beside the point, what we care about here is taking care of our health using TCM and Qigong and so we want to use philosophy as our guide rather than purely as a mental exercise. If you like this and other articles here please subscribe so I can keep sending them to you when they come out!!

Hi everyone! It has been a while since I posted because I have many things going on right now, but this post is a continuation on our discussion of TCM Qigong.

Today I would like to begin translating the theory section of the textbook “The Study of Chinese Medicine Qigong,” a popular textbook used in China for more than 30 years which has multiple revisions.

We will start with the core theory of Yin and Yang and the Five Elements, how they apply to time and space and the changes of living bodies, and then in the next posts we will go into more detail about TCM specific concerns. I hope you like the post and if you would like to see more please consider subscribing!!

The study of Yin and Yang and the Five Elements were explained by the ancients as Taiji as the origin of the universe. Taiji generates Two Poles (Liang Yi) and they are called Yin and Yang.

Liang Yi generates Four Images which transform and create the Five Elements. The Four Images also generate the Eight Trigrams and Eight Times Eight Trigrams generate the Sixty Four Hexagrams.

From this all things in the universe transform. This way of counting nature can be simple or complex and has always been advanced in Chinese culture including our TCM way of understanding the life processes of the body.

The Si Sheng Xin Yuan explains this clearly when it says: “before Yin and Yang have split, one Qi was mixed in the original state, its Qi contained Yin and Yang, this means there are turbid and clear variations of Qi. Clear rises and Turbid sinks, Yin and Yang change their positions, the Two Poles are split into their places. The clear Qi rises from the left and is fire, the turbid Qi descends from the right and is water. That which has only half risen is not called fire, it is called wood.

Wood's Qi is warm, it rises constantly, it collects warmth and becomes hot, then it transforms to become fire.

When there is only half descend water has not been achieved, instead it is called metal.

Metal's Qi is cool it descends constantly， it collects in coolness and becomes cold, then it transforms into water. Water and fire metal and wood

are called the four images, the four images are the rising and falling of yin and yang.

Yin and Yang have central Qi which rises and sinks, the central Qi is the earth element.

This can be split out and described as the Four Images, in discussing them they never go beyond Yin and Yang, if we split them up we can discuss their Yin and Yang nature, but they never go beyond the transformation of Yin and Yang.

The turning of the four images complete their cycle in one year... When Yang has emerged half way it is called spring, when it entirely rises it is called summer... when Yin has descended half way it is called fall, when it entirely descends it is called winter.

Spring belongs to birth, summer belongs to growth, this is the Qi of wood and fire. Fall collects, and winter contains, this is the Qi of metal and water.

The earth combined with the four images forms the five elements.”

We can see here that Yin and Yang and the Five Elements are how the ancients described the changes of time and how they explained the changes and transformations of plants and animals during their life cycle. This also relates to the metabolism of human beings the rising and falling of clear and turbid and its circulation relative to the changes of the body. This is more broadly speaking a theory of the universe, and time and space.

Did you know that Traditional Chinese Medicine holds that there are five main types of Qigong practice? We aren’t talking about Medical, Daoist, Buddhist, Martial and Folk here, instead we are discussing Five major genres of practice regarding how the body is used to generate and manage energy. Are you interested? Read on to learn more and remember to subscribe!!

The Schools of Qi Gong according to Chinese Medicine:

Modern Chinese Medicine understands Qi Gong according to Five Major Schools of thought.

Most people know about the distinction between Daoist, Buddhist, Martial, and Medical Qi Gong, but today Chinese Medicine Universities in China also distinguish between the type of practice performed in various different methods of practice according to how the body and mind are used in practice.

Today I will share definitions of the five major types of Qi Gong practice recognized in modern Chinese Medicine and draw on Chinese Medicine Qi Gong text books used in contemporary Universities in China to teach undergraduate students.

The Styles:

1: Dao Yin:

The Dao Yin School uses the body is the focal point of practice. This method of leading and stretching refers to stretching the exterior while leading the interior, this means the body movements stretch and lead the inner Qi in movement. The Dao Yin school uses exterior observation of body movement and self massage as its special features. It can broadly be referred to as movement practice.

There are two major types of moving Dao Yin practice, one is a pre made set of movements where the movements connect to each other in a routine similar to Ba Duan Jin, Simplified Taijiquan etc...

The other is spontaneous movement which is not linked in a pre set routine.

Dao Yin can connect the meridians and collaterals as well as make the body strong and tendons and bones stable.

Dao Yin Massage techniques include pushing, grasping, rolling, twisting, pressing, striking, patting etc.. most of the massage techniques are performed by hand and and connect meridians, benefit blood, assist circulation to send away pathogenic Qi etc...

Spontaneous movement Dao Yin starts from absolute stillness and then movement occurs spontaneously. Usually the movement begins small and becomes larger, it can also include self striking massage exercises, and is good for moving the sinews and bones as well as connecting Qi and blood in order to repel illness and strengthen the body.

2: Tu Na:

The Tu Na School uses inhalation and exhalation control as its method. The exhalation and inhalation of breath typically involves using the nose to inhale and mouth to exhale. The drawing in of breath brings in fresh oxygen to the body and can move the Qi. The exhalation pushes out old breath via the mouth in order to clean the body. Tu Na has three methods:

• Drawing in Qi,

• Pushing out Qi,

• Embryonic Breathing,

Drawing in Qi is called Bi Qi which means to seal the breath.

It especially focuses on the in breath.

The breath is drawn in until it reaches its maximum and then is held in the body for a period of time.

The Pushing out Qi method focuses on the exhalation and typically focuses on making a sound on the out breath such as in the Six Character Formula Qi Gong style.

Embryonic Breathing style uses slow and shallow inhalation and exhalation through the nose, it emphasizes softness and inner calm while the breath remains unbroken.

Usually people who practice this method always focus on the area behind the umbilicus or on the skin surface. These two methods are called Qi Xi (Navel Breathing) and Ti Xi (Body Breathing) respectively.

3: The Jing Ding School:

Jing Ding means still and stable, it requires practitioners to calm the mind and focus the attention.

Stillness means the practitioner is silent and clear minded, stable means the practitioner must not move.

The Jing Ding school focuses and adjusts the intention in the body center in order to attain a sense of mental and physical unity.

The goal of the practice is for the mind to become totally clear without any pollution by thought or mental processes such as emotion, sensation etc... Once you attain this level of practice the energy of the body will spontaneously begin to move, it is not a matter of staying deadly still in one place without any energy sensation.

This school was especially promoted in the Confucian and Daoist Schools of meditation as well as the Buddhist Chan School.

4: Visualization:

Visualization uses the containment of the mind as its main focus. After visualizing something it is possible to observe its image.

Visualization is mainly concerned with the degree to which the mind is focused, it can be used to heal from some illnesses and is a form of stillness practice (Jing Gong). Visualization has various methods including visualizing something inside the body, something outside the body, something in nature, focus on the organs, meridians, natural things in the world, the sun, stars and constellations, clouds moving in the sky, mountains and streams, the sea, the emptiness of the sky, and many other things.

They all have different benefits which can be used to attain specific health goals.

5: The Heavenly Circulation School: this school focuses on moving Qi as its main method. The Heavenly Circulation School comes from ancient Internal Alchemy arts and is sometimes also called Neidan. This method uses focus on the Dan Tian and breath as its main method. It can make a sensation of Qi run up the Du Meridian in the back and down the Ren Meridian in the front of the body while being used to nourish the brain and organs. There are various different levels in this school including the small and large microcosmic orbits which have different meanings relative to what style of Qi Gong you practice.

This article is the summary of my most recent set of articles about the Three Adjustments of TCM Qigong including adjsuting the breath, adjusting the posture and adjusting the mind. If you haven't read them, please go back and look.

This article is about the high level result of mastering these three adjustments which is called the Three Adjustments Merged as One.

The Three Adjustments Merged as One level of practice has the following features during practice:

When practicing the three adjustments as one all three adjustments of breath, body and mind stop existing as individual elements of practice. Since each of the adjustments is joined together they form only one nature during practice and thus it is possible to enter into a state of unity rather than having to focus on individual things like breath, posture or intention.

Once you can practice at this level you will begin to feel that each type of adjustment has no difference, so when you move the sense of energy will travel to the entire body and any change in your Qi will make your entire perception of the environment change.

As a result of this increasing awareness the Three Adjustments as One level has multiple levels of practice.

At the beginning of this practice the three adjustments will meld together as one body, at this time you will begin to simply sense the feeling of unity but you will still have to partly use your mind to hold the state together so it is not yet fully mature.

After this you will enter into a deeper level of practice and your mind will begin to gradually recognize that the Three Levels as One will begin to show the original nature of the body. When this level is mature it is possible to realize a state of primordial unity of spirit and body in your practice.

After these first two levels it becomes possible for the body and mind to merge as one and can lead to the later level of nature and humanity as one.

Aside from this the Three Adjustments are not a type of skill that you can create by your own intention, it happens naturally as a result of sincere practice of adjusting the breath, mind and body together during Qigong practice.

When the Three Adjustments Merging as One becomes deep its result spontaneously appears and makes it so that you will feel suddenly present and without any thoughts during practice. You will feel clear minded and completely at east just like a happy child.

When the practice is very mature it can actually begin to profoundly change your body and mind as you become naturally more flexible, open, calm, and focused without having to intentionally affect any of these things.

As a result this practice must be approached completely naturally. When you feel totally free in practice you will know that you have already begun walking on the road of the Three Adjustments Held as One.

Eventually this state leads to the Qi of your body constantly being generated deeply in the body during this state, this is the realization of high level skill in Chinese Medicine practice.

Hi everyone!

This article is about the breath adjusting method of Chinese Medicine Qigong.

I based the article on several of the most standard textbooks used in TCM universities in China to make sure it is accurate.

This is part of my series on the Three Adjustments of TCM Qigong which include adjusting the body, adjusting the mind, and adjusting the breath.

The next article will be the last in this series before we move on to the next subject and will be about merging the three adjustments so if you haven't already I hope you will subscribe so you can receive it when it comes out!!

Adjusting the breath is the method of controlling the actions of inhalation and exhalation.

It is also called refining Qi, adjusting Qi, Spitting and Grasping etc..

adjusting the breath is mainly focused on promoting the movement of Qi in the body and filling the Dan Tian, it is an absolutely required method of Qigong practice.

Inhalation and exhalation has a direct impact on levels of internal Qi.

Normally refining Qi goes through the process of gradually softening the external breath while the movement of internal Qi gradually increases.

One inhalation and one exhalation is one full breath cycle and within this cycle it is exhalation of breath which has a profound relationship with the internal Qi of the body. The internal Qi has a tendency to follow the exhalation and thus tends to move with it. This is why many Qigong methods focus on adjusting exhalation such as is the case with Daoist Internal Alchemy.

Aside from this, modern research verifies that the breath can be used to adjust the central and peripheral nervous systems by calming or stimulating them,

Adjusting the breath includes two major areas of study:

1: inhalation and exhalation adjustment, advancing to spontaneous breathing, abdominal breathing etc...

This may be mutually applied with breath and physical posture.

2: entering and exiting of Qi with the breath cycle adjustment. This method may be strong or soft, it may be heavy or gentle.

These two categories are related in practice and can be used in a number of situations such as Dao Yin and meditation in order to cause change of the basic condition of Qi in the body.

The form of breath adjustment:

Qigong uses various types of breathing practices which include common practices and special practices which are used in different circumstances.

Common breathing practices have universal usage and are used as the basic medium to adjust Qi at a basic level in the body.

Each method has its own particular benefit but all of them are used to arrive at specific health related goals in practice.

1: Common use breath adjustment:

Common use breath adjustment methods include chest breathing, abdominal breathing, and embryonic breathing.

These three types of breathing include many subcategories and are typically considered to be internal practices.

In the practice of stillness Qigong it is common to change between various forms of breath adjustment in one practice session.

The three types of practice have various different levels of practice.

Chest breathing: chest breathing causes the rising and falling of the chest with the chest expanding on the inhalation and relaxing on the exhalation. When practicing standing Qigong you should spontaneously breathe in and out and allow your chest to move naturally with the breath.

After you have mastered this method it is easy to combine chest breathing with deep abdominal breathing so they become linked together (just like a singer or athlete).

The Qigong practice of natural breathing can be further advanced by adding a little intention in order to attain intentional chest breathing.

The key to this is using the mind but not using strength.

However when you practice breathing at the outset of your studies it isn't easy to do it without any strength at all.

In that case the key point is to use your intention and use just a little strength, then over time you can gradually reduce it so your body softens and relaxes.

Once your breath relaxes enough you will feel the breath comes and goes very smoothly and your body relaxes and your Qi goes everywhere.

When you practice chest breathing you should breathe more slowly than your normal daily breathing.

Modern research shows that people typically breathe 16 -20 times a minute, but when practicing stillness Qigong you should breathe 1-2 times and eventually once you are advanced enough you may only breathe once a minute since the breath naturally becomes long and smooth.

At this time the breath becomes gradually slower but it is not the same as holding your breath, actually every time you breathe there is not a time when you stop.

The practice is merely a matter of the breath becoming longer and deeper as your lung capacity improves.

Stillness Qigong often practices chest breathing until the breath is stable and relaxed, then the breath is guided downward in the body with the Qi so that the chest breathing becomes abdominal breathing.

Usually it descends from the chest center Tan Zhong acupoint and activates from there as the breath comes and goes and becomes stable, then it can descend to the navel and finally arrives at the Lower Dantian. This Qi breathing gradually moves downward along this course and the chest breathing can then result in chest and abdomen combined breathing. When you breath it is possible to note the chest and abdomen both rising and falling.

2: Abdominal Breathing:

abdominal breathing is practiced by directing the breath to the rising and falling of the breath. There are various rising and falling methods and abdominal breathing can be split into smooth breathing and reverse breathing.

Smooth breathing causes the abdomen to inflate on the inhalation and relax inward on exhalation.

Reverse breathing draws the abdomen in on the inhalation and allows it to relax outward on the exhalation.

At the time when chest breathing becomes abdominal breathing normally the process begins as smooth breathing.

The method uses the intention to guide the breath so it gradually becomes deeper and transforms by descending to the abdomen.

The key to this method is that on the in breath the abdomen gradually enters and expands it and the out breath slowly and silently leaves it while you use your intention to relax your abdomen.

The abdomen spontaneously expands on the intention is used to relax.

Passing this level your breath will gradually become refined and the abdominal muscle gradually becomes accustomed to expansion and relaxation. Eventually the power becomes greater and the abdomen gradually carries the chest. Eventually it becomes natural breathing and the abdomen will show the natural resting of the breath in its change of shape.

The key point to mastering this level is not to use strength.

Reverse breathing requires specific instruction by a qualified teacher since it is difficult compared to smooth breathing.

There are many people who believe that reverse breathing can improve overall movement of Qi in the body.

For instance during the small heavenly orbit circulation it is common to use reverse breathing by drawing in the breath while pulling up the abdomen so the Qi rises up the back toward the peak of the head. When breathing out the internal Qi descends to the Lower Dan Tian. Practicing reverse breathing from the start requires special emphasis on the exhalation and does not require as much focus on the in breath. Instead you should focus on the out breath to lead the Qi to the Lower Dan Tian and the Qi will rise by itself on the in breath.

After enough time the exhalation will cause the abdomen to expand more and the inhalation will cause a natural inward relaxing withdrawing movement. Reverse breathing can then become a natural method of breathing.

Reverse breathing when practiced to maturity also accompanies small movements of the anus. When the breath is inhaled the anus slightly contracts and the genitals are slightly withdrawn. On the exhalation the anus relaxes and genitals also relax.

It doesn't matter if we practice smooth or reverse breathing, you absolutely never allow the upper abdomen to become tense. It is the lower abdomen that expands and relaxes on the inhalation and exhalation and the rest of the breath must move naturally without causing hardness and tension.

When you practice the skill of Tu Na the lower abdomen must also be activated.

When drawing in the breath the abdomen typically expands and then it follows and spontaneously contracts. This is the effect of the breath naturally pushing out the turbid Qi.

When you first begin to practice you should feel as though your whole abdomen is breathing and then gradually follow the Qi and adjust the breath so it becomes deeper, longer, softer, more slender,

Then eventually this will result in very even and harmonious breathing.

This point of allowing the abdomen to naturally contract allows the intention to collect within the abdomen easily at that time. Then when breathing in a little Qi enters and when breathing out a little bit naturally emits.

This part of practice usually allows to enhanced feeling in the Dan Tian. Usually this type of breathing is called Dan Tian breathing.

This type of breathing takes the Dan Tian and lower abdomen as its basic area of activity.

Then the question of where the Dan Tian is can be a small or large problem since for hundreds of years there has been debate over this subject. If we consider the adjustment of breath and practical experience the Dan Tian is located around four fingers width under the navel.

In that area there is a small hollow which easily accepts breath, so most people choose to breathe to that area and call it the Lower Dan Tian.

Using a more strict definition the concept of Dan Tian breathing must be based on the establishment of proper breathing practices in the Dan Tian as described above. The breath must gradually make it down to the area under the navel and be able to easily be maintained there or else it cannot be properly called Dan Tian breathing.

3: Embryonic Breathing: embryonic breathing has two main forms:

a: spontaneously coming from the area below the navel. The ancients said “at the beginning of study adjust the breath, you must first imagine the Qi enters and leaves from the navel, then it comes to rest and no longer moves in the navel... just like holding a fetus in the womb, this breath is embryonic in nature.”

the ancients put forward the idea that inhalation and exhalation could be used to “reverse from old age and return to youth.”

They observed that a newborn child breathes from its navel.

The Three Secrets of Absorbing Life says “when people are in the womb they do not use their nose and mouth to breathe, they use the navel at the waist and are connected to the conception meridians of their mothers. The conception meridian connects to the lung and the lung connects to the nose, this is how the mother breathes and causes the fetus also to breathe through its navel.”

The second type of embryonic breathing refers to breathing with the entire body and the pores of the body.

The Su Chen Liang Fang says: “one cycle of the breath spontaneously goes, it does not leave and does not enter, you may feel the breath comes from the pores and eighty four thousand hair follicles, it does not begin and yet it comes.”

embryonic breathing has these two types of practice and can also be considered to be comprised of two levels with the first method being the basic curriculum and later method being an advancement of practice after the skill becomes mature.

When practicing at a high level you must master embryonic breathing and then eventually you will spontaneously use the body to breathe. Navel breathing is the most basic level of embryonic breathing, then the next level is Dan Tian breathing and then the skill goes on from there.

The above discussion of Dan Tian breathing shows how after mastering basic Dan Tian breathing it is possible to achieve the first level of Embryonic Breathing. Once the Embryonic Breathing is mature it becomes body breathing.

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TCM Qigong uses the idea of Three Adjustments （三调）as the fundamental requirements of practice. The adjustments are of the body, breath and heart. Today we will look at important methods of adjusting the body which are called External Postural Adjustments. These adjustments are usually used in Jing Gong (stillness practice) and are part of the meditative element of Qigong practice which emphasizes Yin concentration and fixed posture to allow the Qi of the body to attain rest and circulate more easily so the muscles relax and vessels open.

Hi everyone,

today we will be discussing the TCM Qigong practice of posture adjustment.

Posture adjustment is part of the category of adjusting the body which is one of the three adjustments of TCM Qigong (adjusting the heart, adjusting the body, adjusting the breath).

Last time we discussed a bit about adjusting the heart so today we will talk about some body postures.

My sources for this are various TCM Qigong textbooks published in China and I just want to note that the postures discussed here are mostly static “Jing Gong” postures used for practicing in stillness in order to collect Qi and contain the mind.

Adjusting the posture is one half of body adjustment of Qigong with the other half being adjusting the movements, so please keep in mind that this list is not exhaustive and we will get around to movement adjustment in a future article.

What I want to do in these articles is to show you current thinking about TCM Qigong in China so you will understand its theory better and then in the future we can discuss more advanced topics.

I hope you like this article and please remember to subscribe!!

Adjusting the Body:

Adjusting the body is the means to making adjustments during times of stillness or movement and is called the “refinement of body and physical form.”

adjusting the body refers to the overall situation of the body as you practice Qigong that produces the basic requirements of practice.

For instance, when practicing stillness exercises (Jing Gong) the body has certain requirements of posture. This allows use to make progress when we practice Jing Gong.

When we practicing moving skill (Dong Gong) we have many practices that scour the meridians and collaterals, adjusting the movement of the inner Qi we must make appropriate adjustments and can then practice external movements to lead the inner Qi.

This aside, there are also some special postures where the body has different requirements used in order to obtain specific medical functions. Adjusting the body includes both external adjustment and internal adjustment. External adjustment is of the body and limbs and their locations and movements while internal adjustment is related to the sensation of the inner body.

Both adjustments mutually effect each other and are used to help one another in practice.

Today we will discuss the basics of external adjustment in TCM Qigong:

External Adjustment includes postural and movement adjustment methods. Posture and movement have important differences but also have an essential relationship since they are usually refined together within multiple different postures and movements. Each movement has its own postural elements which must be clarified and thus posture and movement mutually change and transform between one another.

1: Specific Postures used in TCM Qigong:

when practicing there are three major postures including standing, sitting and lying down. Each of these postures may be used while practicing Jing Gong.

1.1: Standing Postures: standing postures are the various methods of standing post and are considered to be basic postures in TCM Qigong. They have various ways to maintaining the arms and legs and there are many types:

1.1a: Holding the Ball (also called three circles posture): the two legs are open at shoulder width and the tips of the toes of both feet are turned slightly inward making a Chinese number eight ( 八). It is alright to keep the two toes pointing inward or outward depending on personal requirements and flexibility. The five toes should lightly grasp the earth.

The two knees should be slightly bent, and the knee caps should not pass the toes.

The waist should be naturally extended and comfortable, the thighs should be slightly bent as though sitting on a tall stool. The upper body should be straight and the chest should be relaxed and upper back should be allowed to naturally pluck up (like in Taiji Quan). The two arms should use a ball holding posture which is circular and feels like embracing a beach ball. The shoulders should be relaxed, the elbows should relax downward, there should be some space between the armpits and the ribs.

the two hands should not be fully extended from the body but instead should be slightly bent inward so that hands are facing toward the pectorals.

The fingers should point toward each other and should be no wider apart than the width of the sternum.

The five fingers should be slightly open, slightly bent, and should have a little space between each other.

The head must be suspended upright from above, the eyes should be lightly closed. The tongue must press to the upper palate and you should naturally relax down from that point. The chin should be slightly withdrawn and the posture should feel open and relaxed.

The Three Circles Posture has feet circular, arms circular, and hands circular which is why it is called by that name.

1.1b: propping up the ball posture, supporting and pressing posture, and embracing posture: these three postures are all modifications of embracing the ball posture.

When practicing you can change between them, but you must not use too much force to affect the skill.

propping up the ball is the same as embracing the ball but requires you to lightly raise up the posture slightly while extending your arms forward so the palms are facing upward and the fingers are open. Do not use strength and try to get the feeling that you are holding up a ball in your palms.

When you first start practicing holding the ball it is easy for the arms to become tired, in this case you can lightly turn the palms upward and slightly extend the arms forward, after a little while you won't feel tired anymore and you can go back to holding the ball again (this is the purpose of propping the ball posture).

Supporting and Pressing posture is the same as Holding the ball, it uses the two arms extended with the palms facing down, the five fingers open, and the two hands taking the attitude of being supported from something below, it is like the hands are supported by and lightly pressing the surface of water.

when you start out holding the ball this is another way to help when your arms become tired. You can use this posture to get a little rest.

Another posture is called the Floating Ball Posture. It is for when your arms become very tired after practicing Holding the Ball. You can let your arms come down to just under your belly button so the palms are facing up toward your heart. The posture is similar to propping up the ball but because it is held lower it allows the arms to rest.

1.2: Resting Posture: this posture has most of the same rules as the Three Circles Posture but the arms are totally relaxed at your sides with hands facing toward the seam of your pants. You can use this posture when you are tired and it is also appropriate for standing meditation such as the “Wuji” practice of Taijiquan.

2: Seated Posture:

seated posture is used in Stillness Practice and is its most frequently used posture, there are many types including upright sitting, cross legged sitting and leaning posture.

2.a: Upright Sitting: upright sitting is the basic method of sitting Qigong and is the most common posture. It requires you to sit on a chair or stool with your back naturally upright but not with chest pushing out. You should sit on the front 1/3^rd of the chair.

The chair should be such a height that your legs bend at the knees at about 90 degrees with feet touching the floor.

the two legs are open at shoulder height and they flat on the earth. The upper body and waist are in a comfortable resting posture.

The head must be held upright. The two arms may adopt the ball holding posture or the palms can rest on the thighs, or the arms can naturally hang at the sides, or the hands can rest in the lap etc..

2. 2b: Cross Legged Posture: the cross legged posture is the most appropriate method for practicing stillness Qigong.

   This posture can be done naturally, in single or double lotus.

   We won't discuss these postures here since most people can't safely perform lotus posture, so simply crossing your legs comfortably is good enough to practice TCM Qigong.

The main point's such as keeping the back upright, head propped up etc... are all the same as the standard seated posture.

2c: Supported Posture:

supported posture uses a wall or something to support the back and is useful if you are sitting for a long time, have back pain caused by sitting, or simply want some support.

3: Lying Posture:

lying posture includes lying flat on the back, lying on the side, and half lying posture.

In these postures it is essential to have a pillow which is around 10 cm.

1. 3a: flat lying posture: this method involves lying on your back on a bed, your face should face upward and your head should be straight, the mouth and eyes should be lightly closed. Your four limbs should be relaxed and extended with your arms at your side and your legs straight. Your palms should face inward touching your legs, or can be palm up like Yoga corpse pose, or you can put your hands over your Dantian.

   3b: lying on the side posture: this posture can be done on either left or right side, but most people favor right because the heart is on the left so lying on the right is more comfortable for many people.

   Normally the bottom leg is straight, the top knee is bent at the back of the bottom knee with the top leg at a slight angle with the bottom leg. The bottom hand is between your head and pillow with palm touching jaw, index finger in front of the ear and thumb under the earlobe.

The top hand is placed either on the top thigh or on the Dantian.

There are various other lying postures also practiced in TCM Qigong which we may get into in a future article.

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Chinese Medicine Qigong uses the theory of the Three Adjustments of Heart, Body and Breath. In the next few weeks of articles I will introduce each of these methods in detail so you can understand the principles of TCM Qigong more clearly so it is easier to apply in your life and your professional career if you are a health professional in the field.

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For the next couple weeks I'll be talking about the theory of adjusting the heart in Chinese Medicine Qigong.

These articles are based on my research into current syllabus used in Qigong courses in Chinese Medicine Universities in China and in my opinion the level of Qigong research has become more advanced in the Chinese Medicine field than is currently reflected in Western Medical Qigong programs.

Because I want to share the great theory and practice of Qigong in China I've decided to dedicate the next several months specifically to explaining current opinions about Qigong in Chinese Medicine academia.

This means that opinions expressed in these articles largely come from textbooks published by University Faculties as well as research papers by well known TCM physicians in China.

Today we will discuss the practice of Adjusting the Heart and its first core practice of Collecting the Mind (also known as Collecting the Intention).

Next week we will discuss visualization practice in TCM Qigong, so please subscribe to my newsletter so you can see my new posts every week!

Adjusting the heart is the method of controlling and adjusting the movement of the mind, it is also called refining the spirit or refining the mind.

Adjusting the heart requires you to change your daily mindset and mental activities as well as your internal monologue in order to enter into the mental state most appropriate for Qigong practice.

Normal daily mental habits typically involve the expression of attention outward, but Qigong requires us to move our attention to our inner environment.

Typically when we begin to practice inward observation more seriously we can begin to notice gradual transformation of the way we experience our minds on a day to day basis.

Adjusting the heart involves both the adjustment of the way we use our minds and the way we relate to our environment.

The first step is to use intention in order to affect specific goals in practice, the second step is to learn how to practice without intention and become natural in our actions.

These two states of practice require us to master making our minds and intentions stable and making mental adjustments relative to the state of our bodies as well as the physical space we occupy.

Eventually we can become sensitive enough to register minute changes within ourselves and in our environment that can lead to a sense of freedom and ease not available to most people who do not practice Qigong.

1: Adjusting the Mental intention Called (Tiao Xin 调心):

Mental intention adjustment is performed by leading the mind during practice. Typically the body does not need to take on any special posture since the practice mainly involves using the methods of collecting the intention or visualization as a way to enter stillness.

Collecting the Intention/mind (called Yi Shou 意守):

Collecting the intention usually involves focusing the mind on the inner body in order to bring Qi to a specific area as well as move the attention away from where it usually rests in the head and upper body.

Collecting the mind typically uses the intention as a way to focus on something physical in order to stop the mind from wandering. It can also be performed by focusing on something outside the body as is the case in many Buddhist practices.

The practice could involve using the Dantian, Vertex of the head, or the movement of the breath and feeling of Qi,

After this is achieved it is also possible to practice by simply maintaining a steady awareness of things happening in your environment outside your body, for instance observing the scenery in front of you as you go for a walk. The purpose of collection the intention is to stop random thoughts from dominating your mind and simply using one intention in order to make your mind stable so it does not wander.

Then as a result of keeping the attention on a specific part of your body and specific object it is possible to trigger different energetic and biological results.

Cutting away random thoughts allows you to use one intention to calm down and change your mental state so that many common annoyances and sources of personal suffering can be reduced, giving you time to regain poise and focus which might have otherwise been compromised. Once the mind becomes calm it is typically the case that when focusing on the Dantian or the vertex the sensation of Qi will naturally begin collecting in that area.

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What is a Meridian in TCM?

Traditional Chinese Medicine uses the Meridian and Collateral system to explain the movement of Qi around the body.

Qi is a difficult to explain subject which I'll write about in a future article, but today I would like to explain what meridians are and how they work.

The idea of meridians in Chinese Medicine began before the Common Era during the Chinese Warring States Period.

At that time ancient doctors such as Bian Que discovered the inner anatomy of the body through experimental surgery.

Not only did they come to understand the structure and action of the internal organs and viscera, they also established the theory of “Vessels,” which later formed meridian theory.

The most ancient document discussing the vessels is called the 阴阳十一脉灸经 Yin and Yang Eleven Vessels Moxibustion Classic.

It was discovered at the Mawangdui funeral complex in Changsha Hunan during an archaeological dig in the mid twentieth century.

This text describes eleven blood vessels running from the heart to the limbs and head of the body.

There are a number of other similar documents and wooden medical models from the same period that show an eleven and later twelve vessel model.

Some of them have acupoints and some do not, but it is commonly theorized that the idea of acupoints came after the meridians and were used as a way to explain different points along the channels where Qi collects in greater abundance.

By the common era Chinese Medicine doctors began to exclusively explain the meridians as numbering twelve and established the idea that rather than being discrete blood vessels they were actually conduits for the Qi of the body.

Around the same time the idea of deep meridians called the Eight Extraordinary Channels began to be established.

Today I will explain in brief the function of the Meridians so that in future articles they can be described in more detail.

1: The Twelve Meridians:

The twelve meridians include:

• Lung Meridian,

• Large Intestine Meridian,

• Pericardium Meridian,

• San Jiao Meridian,

• Heart Meridian,

• Small Intestine Meridian,

• Spleen Meridian,

• Stomach Meridian,

• Liver Meridian,

• Kidney Meridian,

• Gallbladder Meridian,

• Bladder Meridian,

I will explain the precise locations of these meridians and their functions in a later article, but for now I would like to explain the nature of the meridians to help you understand how Chinese Medicine and Qigong use the Meridians to help cure illness and make the body stronger.

Basic structure of the Meridians:

The human body has three Yang and three Yin surfaces called the Six Meridians which include:

• Tai Yang: outermost outside surface including the little toe, outer leg, and body, and can generally be considered as the back surface of the body, this path also runs from the outer edge of the pinkie nail along the outermost section of the arm, to the head next to the ear.

• Shao Yang: another plane which runs along the middle section of the outer leg and outer arm and is associated with the body flank. It ends in the fourth toe and beginning on the outer tip of the ring finger cuticle,

• Yang Ming: The innermost outer surface of the leg which ends in the outer edge of the middle toe cuticle and begins in the inner edge of the index finger. This meridian path falls within the anterior torso in its outer aspect,

• Tai Yin: this innermost channel runs from the outer aspect of the big toe cuticle and ends in the inner edge of the thumb cuticle. This meridian runs along the anterior torso on its inner aspect,

• Shao Yin: this channel runs from the bubbling well point in the arch of the foot to the inner corner of the pinkie finger cuticle and represents the center Yin surface of the inner leg and arm.

  This path runs on the anterior body surface outside of the Tai Yin.

• Jue Yin: the end of the Yin channels, it runs on the outermost surface of the inner leg and arm from the innermost big toe cuticle to the tip of the middle finger. This path effectively runs along the anterior torso in a line with the nipples or just outside of them depending on position of specific acupoints..

If you were to hold your arms straight above your head the six meridians would fall directly along the lines I just mentioned.

They would establish two sets of three parts running from outer and inner and inner to outer along the outer and inner surfaces of the arms legs and body.

Before even thinking about what organs the Meridians are associated with we should first understand that the Six Meridians describe measurable surfaces of the body which describe six individual depths of surface relative to the interior and exterior aspects of the body.

This is why TCM Skeptics typically do not understand the actual theory of the Meridians since they do are not blood vessels, arteries, veins, or specific channels of the nervous system, but instead actually describe planes of the body which fall upon specific paths and are basically the same in all people.

Considering these planes we should recognize that they are made up of many different blood vessels, arteries, veins, nerves, muscles, sinews and so on and that these systems give rise to the function of our bodies!!

Therefore a meridian is not a conduit for blood, but a system of elements which comprise a plane of the body.

Some people might accuse me of misunderstanding the tracks of the Twelve Meridians, but I will qualify my statement by saying that they run at different depths relative to what part of the body is in question.

A brief summary of depths of the Twelve Meridians goes like this:

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Today I would like to share a big secret about Qigong,

actually it is an open secret since it is possible to learn, but few practitioners know it.

This Qigong secret is about the first stage of energetic sensation during practice.

Usually people think that Qigong starts from feeling Qi in the Lower Dantian and then moving it up the spine and down the front of the body in the Small Heavenly Orbit.

Actually this is incorrect, Qi sensation in the Lower Dantian takes a long time to develop and most people cannot feel strong sensations in the Lower Dantian in the early stages of their practice.

The easiest and fastest way to get Qi sensation is actually on the surface of the skin, but why is this?

1: The skin surface has many nerve endings:

The nerve endings near the skin surface elicit many feelings such as touch, pain, itching, burning etc...

When we do Qigong with a focus on the skin it can quickly bring sensation there and cause the nerves to fire, letting our brain know something is going on.

2: Blood flow near skin surface:

our skin surface can experience different degrees of blood flow relative to temperature (thermoregulation) and as a result of the ability for blood to be increased on different surfaces of the skin through mental concentration we bring more oxygen to those areas causing a higher degree of responsiveness in the nerves as they are better fed by the oxygen they receive.

3: The mind can lead Qi to the skin surface more easily than any other place:

stop what you are doing and focus on your palms.

Keep doing it for at least two minutes and when you stop notice whether or not there is any residual feeling there.

It is most likely that you can still feel a buzzing or tingling in your palms and this is because Qi infused blood has gathered there. This in turn activates the nerve endings in your hands and causes you to generate a sensation there.

The big secret about Qi in Chinese Medicine is that the Qi we work with on a day to day basis is actually in the blood.

Although the Kidneys do produce ancestral Yuan Qi, and the digestive process creates nutritional Qi and various other types of Qi in the body, the one we most commonly use to treat illness and as a guide in Qigong Yangsheng work is in the blood.

So what is the Qi in the blood?

Technically it is oxygen and nutrition from the food we eat.

The reason why Chinese Medicine says that the Liver is the organ which causes the Qi to be sent to the whole body is because the Liver receives blood containing nutrients from the digestive system and after filtering it sends it to the rest of the body.

This means that along with the air we obtain in the Lungs which enters the entire blood stream, we also obtain and filter nutritional energy which is directed around our entire bodies.

These two things make up the bulk of the Qi we work with on a daily basis and that Qi which can be intentionally practiced in Qigong and meditation to elicit comfortable feelings of warmth in the whole body.

After you master feeling Qi on the skin surface it is easier to store it in the Lower Dantian, so let's look at a few easy practices you can do anywhere, anytime:

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Love Qigong but don’t always have time to practice forms? This free article can help! If you want to find out how to practice Qigong in any place at any time without others knowing you are nourishing your energy then read on and of course make sure to subscribe!!

Practice Qigong Anywhere:

Did you know you can practice Qigong anywhere and any time?

It's true, you don't have to pick a secluded spot or do special physical exercises,

actually you can do Qigong secretly anywhere without other people even noticing.

Want to know how? Keep reading!

The top Qigong methods you can use anywhere:

• Breathing awareness: did you ever notice in times of stress it is harder to breathe? Being aware of your breath is a great solution which has many health benefits including being more calm, poised, and ready, as well as improving circulation since you naturally have more oxygen in your blood. Over time this can help reduce systemic inflammation and according to some studies might even benefit blood pressure. There are many breathing methods you can use, but a great way to start is by naming your breaths. On each inhalation you can silently say “inhale” in your mind, then on each exhalation you can silently say “exhale.”

• Positive mantras: you can use special Qigong mantras to make your mind quiet and peaceful, this can improve your levels of focus, inner peace, and awareness as well as potentially helping with anxiety. In China many people use the word 静 “Jing” which means to be still. Usually we will say it out loud on our exhalation, but you can also say it silently in your mind. If you don't like to speak Chinese you can use the word “Calm” or any other mantra you find useful. Many people include this together with abdominal breathing which you can read about in this article: https://marylinzhangchinesemedicine.substack.com/p/five-breathing-methods-in-tcm-qigong

• Place your attention on your body: there are many ways to focus on your body to achieve energy management but my top favorite ones are focusing on my whole body or on a stiff place such as shoulders or back. It is also possible to coordinate your breath with your whole body visualization which can produce deep relaxation. Recently I wrote this article about using mental attention to relax stiff parts of your body: https://marylinzhangchinesemedicine.substack.com/p/qigong-healing-basics-moving-the

• Self patting/massage: you can use your hands to pat various body surfaces to move blood and Qi to the area in order to promote circulation. This can be done with open hands or light fists. It is also possible to use your knuckles to massage a stiff or sore area, just make sure not to use too much power. The idea is to reduce discomfort gradually through light application of patting or self massage. Usually in China elderly people like to use loose fists to lightly strike their lower backs, thighs, torso and arms and their finger tips to tap the top of their heads. Facial self massage is also very useful and I plan to make some short videos about this soon.

• Observe your foot steps: when you walk you can make a count of your foot steps from one to four or one to ten in order to enter a state of meditative focus. This is a classic Qigong method which can eventually lead to “breathing through your heals.”

• rock back and forth of your heals and toes: When you are standing in line at the grocery store or anywhere else you can lightly rock back and forth between your heals and toes. This will attract more blood and Qi to your feet and open the channels of your legs. It is also great for balance and can prevent falls in the elderly.

• Relax your face: when you feel facial tension you can remind yourself to relax. Start with your forehead, eyebrows, temples, then move to your eye sockets, cheeks, nostrils, jaw, neck, and shoulders. You can also follow from here relaxing your chest, upper back, abdomen, legs and arms, then relax your entire body and maintain a calm focus on your whole body.

• Roll your eyes: moving your eyes around in small circles, up and down, left and right can help you relax the muscles around your eyes and maybe even improve your vision.

• Imagine your fingers and hands while you walk: imagine the tips of your fingers as you walk and you can attract Qi to your hands which will help relax your arms, shoulders and torso.

• Close your fists and then relax them: closing and opening your fists can bring Qi and blood to your hands and allow you to improve circulation.

• Pay attention: just paying attention to the world around you can be a powerful form of Qigong since it can make you more aware of natural processes of life and help you stop yourself from losing energy.

This are just a few ways to practice Qigong anywhere and without anyone else knowing, but there are hundreds and hundreds of methods, many of which are intuitive and completely safe to practice.

You don't have to stay at home and do Qigong exercises for six hours a day to get the benefit of Qigong practice, all you have to do is live the Qigong lifestyle and learn to practice in a way that keeps you comfortable and free throughout the day!

Thanks for reading!

If you found these methods useful please subscribe to my newsletter where I share Chinese Medicine Qigong and nutrition information every week.

If you really like my articles please consider buying a paid subscription since I often share extra learning material that can help you make progress in your practice by integrating Chinese Medicine into your every day life.

Many people associate Qigong with Taijiquan, but actually it has a much longer history and was traditionally used to heal specific illnesses from a Chinese Medicine perspective. In this article we will begin to look at the theory and practice of how that works!

In the last article we discussed five types of Qigong Breathing methods, today go a little farther and talk about how to use Qi to relieve stiffness in your body.

First we need to know how Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) understand Qi:

In TCM we see Qi as a combination of factors related to the circulatory system including:

• oxygen in blood: When we breathe we bring oxygen into the body. It circulates in the blood and arrives at every tissue of the body, nourishing them.

• Food nutrition: nutritional contents of food such as carbohydrates, protein, fat, vitamins and minerals circulate in the body and especially the blood, further nourishing tissues, organs etc..

• the original basic energy of the organs: each organ has its own structure and nutritional content which allows it to function properly. This is built of the original physical essence of the body but also by the energetic signature of the organ that allows it to perform its function. We broadly call this organ Qi as the Original Qi of the organs. It is nourished by nutritional Qi but also exists as an intrinsic aspect of the body.

There are other types of Qi too, but these are the important ones for our Qigong practice.

Now let's talk about the basics of Qi pathogenisis in muscle tension and pain:

Our Qi can become sick in multiple ways, but usually it either accords to:

1: Excess: too much collection of a pathogenic factor such as cold or heat in a specific area of the body.

2: Deficiency: a lack of Qi in a specific area.

Of course this can also relate to other problems, but most important from the Qigong perspective is:

• stagnation: the Qi in an area does not move smoothly due to blockage,

• stasis: the blood in an area does not move smoothly due to a blockage or collection (think of how a bruise or local inflammation work).

In either case we might feel pain since lack of movement causes muscle tension and local swelling or inflammation.

These are big principles which can apply to many types of pain.

Now I will give a quick overview of a few common problems people experience and then a more detailed analysis of possible deeper problems, then we will talk about using simple Qigong to treat them at home. This time we will just talk about shoulders and neck, but these can apply to any part of the body and we will talk about this in a later article.

1: Sore shoulder and neck from heat accumulation:

This patient has tight and painful shoulders and neck which radiate into the head and cause a headache.

The skin of the sore area is hot to touch compared to skin on other parts of the body and may present as reddish in color compared to other skin.

The patient will normally feel bothered, agitated, and always want to move around to try to relieve the pain.

2: Sore shoulder and neck from cold accumulation:

the patient has tight shoulders and neck which are hard to touch, may result in a headache but they do not show normal heat symptoms such as agitation but instead may feel tired, lethargic and lacking energy. This type often happens when people have a common cold or if they have been working outside in the winter for a long time.

3: Immobile pain in shoulders and neck caused by blood stagnation.

The pain is in a specific place and it may be hard to move such as the arm not being able to lift above the head or the neck being unable to turn. They may have a very severe and penetrating headache.

Although each of these problems result in shoulder and neck stiffness and pain their cause (etiology) is totally different and we can't treat them in exactly the same way.

Now let's look at some deeper causes of each problem:

1: Heat or could could be further complicated by organ issues:

heat or cold in the digestive system may cause the patient to experience muscular pain.

As I mentioned before, the Qi is carried in the blood, so if the patient eats food which generates heat or cold in the body it may be carried in circulation from the small intestine to other parts of the body.

Modern medicine is beginning to find that certain foods can cause inflammatory results which are systemic, so if you are sensitive to those foods they may make already existing pain conditions much worse. This is an example of heat related problems having a cause which is not local to the point where the pain is experienced. In terms of cold in the organs can also have many causes, but as an example if a person has a lung infection where they also feel lethargic, it is not uncommon to experience muscle stiffness, especially in already sensitive areas.

These are just a few examples since there are so many different ways to become sick, so if you are experiencing problems it is useful to visit a TCM practitioner or acupuncturist to get a diagnosis before you try to treat yourself with Qigong.

2: Stasis in an organ causing pain somewhere else:

people with stiff shoulders may experience issues if they eat too much food.

In this case their stomachs may experience bloating which then causes pressure in the upper body as well as demanding more blood to visit the stomach for digestion, making the flow decrease in the painful area in the body and making it easier to become aggravated.

These are just a few small examples, but let's talk about some easy ways Qigong can help.

1: Qigong to disperse stagnation:

If you are sure you have a stagnation of Qi or stasis of blood it is possible to practice Qigong to disperse the blood and Qi away from the pained area.

Here are a few great ways to practice:

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Five Types of Qi Gong Breathing:

Breathing is the foundation of Qigong practice and in China there have historically been many types.

In this article we will look at five of the most popular methods of breathing in modern Qigon, discuss how they are done and a little about what they are good for.

The five types are:

• Natural breathing,

• Nose and mouth breathing,

• Large capacity breathing,

• Focus on in or out breath,

• Abdominal breathing.

Each of these breathing styles have different uses which can benefit you depending on your situation. In the near future I will go into much more detail about breathing practices including tutorials of useful practices such as the Six Sounds Breathing for Chinese Medicine energetic self treatment.

This article is free for everyone to enjoy although if you enjoy my content please make sure to subscribe to see the upcoming more detailed articles on Qigong methods and techniques!

1、自然呼吸法

1: Natural Breathing Method:

People's normal breathing habits tend to differ between men and women. Natural breathing is separated into three categories of:

• chest breathing

• abdominal breathing

• chest and abdominal breathing.

Men tend to perform abdominal breathing while women are more likely to breathe with their chests.

Athletes or professional singers are more likely to perform chest and abdominal breathing simultaneously.

Beginners in Qigong usually practice natural breathing since they are already in the habit of breathing in this way.

After the body is made soft and enters stillness then the beath can be adjusted to become:

• soft

• slender

• and naturally spread out comfortably in the body.

At the beginning of adjusting the breath it is possible to perform a mantra of silently repeats the word “Jing” in your mind during the in breath. Jing means “still” in Chinese and is a way to calm your mind during breathing to enter a meditative state.

On the out breath you can repeat “Song” which means to relax.

These mantras can help you become more calm and relaxed during your breathing which will help the breath go deeper into your body and make more Qi enter your blood.

2、鼻吸口呼法

2: Nose In, Mouth Out Method:

The way we breathe can normally be separated into the following categories:

• inhalation through the mouth and exhalation through the nose,

• Inhalation through the nose and exhalation through the mouth,

• dual mouth inhalation and exhalation.

• Dual nose inhalation and exhalation.

When practicing this it is better to either breathe entirely through the nose or or breathe in through the nose and out through the mouth.

The method of breathing exclusively through the nose is usually used during meditation while breathing inhaling through the nose and exhaling through the mouth is typically done while practicing moving Qigong, Taijiquan, and walking exercises.

Sometimes if you have a cold and it is difficult to breathe through your nose it is acceptable to practice exclusively using your mouth, but these times should be limited and temporary as in the long term mouth breathing is a bad habit.

There may be some rare occasions in which you breathe in through the mouth and out through the nose in Qigong, but they are quite uncommon.

3、大呼大吸法

3: Big Inhalation and Big Exhalation Method:

Using the nose you use power to perform big inhalations in exhalations, or you can inhale through your nose and exhale through your mouth.

Every one cycle of the breath requires you to extend it for a long period of time and at the start your breath will not make much sound when it comes and goes.

This method strengthens your body and adjusts the internal energy movement in your body.

It can help to reduce certain chronic health problems and acts as a medicinal treatment.

When studying this method the sound may gradually become larger, but you should focus on obtaining as much fresh air as you can to break up stagnation.

4 、 练 呼 练 吸法

4: Refining the inhalation and exhalation:

The ancients said that the in breath is yin and the out breath is yang.

Because of this people who lack yang energy often have trouble exhaling while people who lack yin energy have trouble inhaling.

Thus the reason for refining the in and out breaths is to balance Yin and Yang.

Normally speaking refining the out breath is used for people who have upper body stagnation and vacuity in their lower bodies with high blood pressure. They have difficulty breathing smoothly, green light impressions in their vision, headaches which are distending, and abdominal distension.

Normally refining the in breath is for people with stomach and intestine function issues, yang vacuity and so on.

Refining the out breath uses the harvesting of long exhalation with a pause before the inhalation. On the exhalation it is possible to practice the original mantra mentioned in the first section. This can add to the strength of the out breath and make it longer.

When practicing long in breath usually you can also perform a mantra as mentioned before but breathe out a little faster to activate your lower abdomen.

5、腹式呼吸

5: Abdominal breathing:

This method is most commonly used in Qigong and helps the Qi build up.

Normally it is either done naturally with the belly expanding on the in breath and relaxing on the out breath, or as reverse breathing in which the bully draws in and up slightly on the in breath and relaxes on the out breath.

When breathing in using the first method (called smooth breathing) the abdominal muscles should be relaxed and although the power of the breath descends it should move down gradually. On the out breath the abdomen naturally shrinks inward or slightly withdraws inward.

In reverse breathing it is opposite with the in breath drawing in the abdomen and the out breath allowing it to relax.

This method is usually used to strengthen the core or the body while smooth breathing allows Qi to easily come to the lower abdomen and collect there.

Usually it is better to start with natural breathing and work your way to smooth abdominal breathing before trying reverse breathing.

I hope this article was useful to you.

If you liked it please subscribe to see more!

Most people think of TCM Qigong as sets of movements and clinical protocols for treating ill clients, but how did this come to be? Today I will share a short history of Qigong and how modern TCM Qigong came into being as well as new phenomenon in China related to clinical research and study of classical documents. In the subscription section I share a traditional piece of writing from the book Shang Qing Dao Lin She Sheng Lun, a TCM Yang Sheng document which combines Daoist and Medical ideas. Make sure to subscribe to see that and all my other great articles!!!

Understanding TCM Qigong: How it came to be.

In old times Qigong was not called Qigong, actually Qigong is a fairly modern name which came into popular use in the late 19^th century and became standard in the 1950s after the Chinese government standardized the practice for use in public health promotion.

In the old days Qigong went by many names according to the function of each practice.

These practices included:

• 导引 Dao Yin: leading and stretching, a type of therapeutic movement practice meant for opening the sinews to relieve tension,

• 闭气 Bi Qi: holding the breath, used for developing the oxygen capacity of the body, and developing the “Lower Dantian,”

• 吐纳 Tu Na: Spitting and Grasping, a method of drawing in the breath through the nose and letting out out by the mouth,

• 服气 Fu Qi: Eating the Breath, a method of specialized breathing used to fill the abdomen,

• 存想 Cun Xiang: visualization, many methods to develop Qi in specific parts of the body or become aware of the energy field outside the body,

• 行气 Xing Qi: moving the Qi, a method to move Qi around the body and treat illness.

• And other methods.

In the old days these methods were called 法 Fa and were considered as practices that people could do to make them more healthy which could also result in spiritual benefits.

They developed in Chinese Medicine, Daoism, and Buddhism all at the same time and each category has influenced the other.

Because I am an acupuncturist and have a family background in Chinese Medicine I will choose to talk about these methods instead of some religious ones (even though my grandfather always followed Daoism and did teach me a little meditation when I was young).

In Chinese Medicine our Qigong is about:

1: Treating illness:

Dao Yin especially is used to treat physical illness from shoulder pain to post stroke recovery and everything between. This is not the same as a daily routine of Qigong that you should do to protect your health, it consists of targeted individual practices designed to help specific illnesses.

This kind of Qigong is called 气功治疗发 Qi Gong Zhi Liao Fa/Qigong Treatment Method and can include stretching, posture holding, breath work, and mind work to:

• strengthen and tone the body,

• release tension,

• move and break blockages in the energy system,

• return circulation and improve energetic function,

• help improve the posture of bones, sinews and muscles,

• calm and improve nervous system function,

• and more.

2: Daily Health Preservation Qigong:

保健气功 Bao Jian Qigong/Health Preservation Qigong is designed to practice every day to improve strength, flexibility, circulation, vitality and emotional well-being, it usually consists of routines such as the Eight Silk Brocades, Five Animal Frolics, Sinew Changing Classic etc...

This practice is for people who are healthy or have mild chronic conditions which are well taken care of by a daily practice regimen.

So now we understand the two different approaches to TCM Qigong, let's talk about how this came to be...

In the old times the Qigong practices were categorized into something called 养生 Yang Sheng/Nourishing Health, a set of arts which can contain everything from diet to sleeping habits, stretching to toilet use and much more.

Yang Sheng is a big category and is so general that no one every really standardized it beyond a few Chinese Medicine texts which suggest many small arts people can use to be more healthy.

In modern times China changed very much from a largely rural to mostly urban country and during the difficult century between our first interactions with the West our best thinkers discussed, wrote and acted extensively to make China a country capable of competing against other modern powers (remember in that time of history colonialism was still very popular and Chinese people had to fight very hard to keep their status as an independent country).

Modern thinkers realized that in order for China to function well, our people must practice systematic modern science according to the scientific method.

Traditional Chinese science and philosophy is very powerful, but it is an indigenous worldview which works very well to explain the world to East Asian people, but maybe not as well in tasks like surviving in an international market economy or engaging in development of machine based technologies, biomedicine etc...

With the proliferation of modern scientific ideas, many people practicing traditional Chinese arts such as meditation, Buddhism, Medicine, the Martial Arts and Philosophy began to think that these ideas could benefit from modernization in the same way that government and agriculture did.

In those times there were many people who began to think about Qigong in relation to biomedical anatomy and physiology and even physics and materialist philosophy.

The time of the most development of these ideas on a philosophical and scientific level was during the Republic period from 1911-1949 when many important books about modern Qigong and Meditation were released by people like Zhao Bichen (also called Qian Feng Lao Ren), Jiang Weiqiao (a multi-talented meditation teacher who also studied physics, psychology and medicine) and others.

After the beginning of New China in 1949 the government began to be concerned about institution of public health legislation in order to make it so Chinese people could support themselves in the revolutionary environment.

It was in 1956 that the government began the first Qigong programs with the cooperation of Qigong master Liu Guizhen.

His story is that he was a low level political official who became very ill and was sent to his home village.

Everyone believed he would die, but it turned out his uncle was a great Buddhist Qigong master and he taught him family secret methods which he used to cure himself.

After he was healthy again he returned to Beijing and his government friends were impressed to see him in good health.

After finding out he had used Qigong to cure himself the government began to research and promote it.

Originally Qigong and Taiji Quan were promoted together as ways that people could stay healthy, but during the cultural revolution Liu Guizhen was criticized by the Red Guard and put in prison.

It was after the 1980s that Qigong saw its second blooming when the country opened up again.

At that time many Qigong masters such as Yang Meijun came out of the woodwork to promote their systems.

Most of the Qigong systems at that time were a combination of Daoist, Buddhist and Chinese Medicine methods put together as public health arts with some spiritual cultivation as well.

This was the time that two very important things happened:

1: Qigong was popularized outside of China:

much sharing of Qigong was advanced by the Chinese government and Qigong masters so the art began to spread to places like Taiwan, Japan and eventually the West.

2: Qigong became a standard research subject at Chinese Medical Universities:

Many Chinese Medicine universities began to research Qigong ad a viable means to treating patients with various health problems.

It was from this new popularity and research that Qigong began to gain credibility, become standardized and how its health benefits began to be better understood and proven to the world.

Because of this unique situation Qigong became very popular and there were many systems, but unfortunately because of the difficulties of the late 1980s and early 90s Qigong became taboo in China for a long time.

This means that at that time most people did not want to admit they practiced Qigong and so it became less popular while the Martial Arts became more popular.

Today Qigong in China is not a taboo subject anymore, but the government has moved responsibility of Qigong practice from the department of health to the department of sports, meaning that today there are only a few officially recognized Qigong routines and they are mostly done for physical athletic purposes rather than energy or spiritual cultivation.

Chinese Medicine still contains elements of Qigong, but there is a trend today of TCM experts choosing to go back to the ancient documents of TCM Yang Sheng to develop a stronger knowledge of the historical practice of treating illness with therapeutic movement and breath work.

From now on I will write articles mainly about these topics, review old texts and explain their meaning as well as providing context about many subtle details of Qigong not well understood outside of China.

Please subscribe to my newsletter to see all the good content to come!

Now I would like to share with you some classic Qigong theory from Bao Puzi a doctor who was also a Daoist more than 1500 years ago.

This theory was very influential in the ancient Chinese understanding of the energy body and has close ties to the Yellow Emperor Internal Classic, the most important Chinese Medical Document.

“一人之身，一国之象也 。胸腹之犹 宫室也，四支之列 犹郊境也，骨 节之分 犹百官也，神 犹君也，血 犹臣也，气 犹民也，故能治民 则能固也。

The one human body is like the image of a country. The chest and abdomen are like the palace halls, the four limbs are like the outskirts, the bones and joints are like the hundred offices, the spirit is like the prince, the blood is like the advisors, the Qi is like the people, if you can govern the country it can be made stable.

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Pictured: Bi Gu fasting is part of Qigong practice and you need to have already achieved a level of skill where you can feel abundant Qi in your Dantian before you start. After that it is a very natural process which is easy to enter and come out of. Did you know that Chinese Qigong started out with practices called “stop eating grains and swallow the breath”? Bi Gu has been part of Qigong since day one!

Welcome to my second article about Bi Gu Fasting for Qigong.

In this article I will go into more depth about the particulars of Bi Gu, why we do it and a bit about how long to do it.

In the last article we already mentioned that Bi Gu is not outright starvation fasting as is currently popular in the West. In China we think that starvation is not good for the Stomach and it makes the body weak, so the purpose of Bi Gu is definitely not about being extremely starved, but rather clearing the Intestines of food related pathogens.

Now let's look in more detail.

Natural habits:

it is normal for humans in a state of nature to go without food for a certain period of time.

Our ancestors were hunter gatherers and subsistence farmers, so sometimes they might not eat very much food except berries and other found food items for many hours of even days at a time.

Allowing the body to have a rest from heavy food consumption is the natural state of affairs for humans and our modern availability of any amount of high nutrient foods at any time we want is the cause of many illnesses.

Why you feel hungry if you miss a meal:

According to Chinese Qigong masters you feel hungry when you miss a meal because you are in the habit of eating at that time, so you can easily train yourself to miss meals and not suffer greatly as a result, in fact most religions have some form of fasting in order to clean the body.

There are certain times when this is not applicable such as in cases where people already have illnesses such as diabetes, and Bi Gu may not be appropriate in those cases, it is best for people who are already reasonably healthy.

In most cases people who eat large meals only absorb about half the food they eat and the rest becomes waste product, some of which is evacuated but some of which stays in the intestines.

This is a common root of many problems related to inflammation, skin problems, phlegm and fat accumulation and so on. Even just eating smaller meals is a good start before we train ourselves to do Bi Gu.

Another thing is that Bi Gu is not most appropriate for people just starting out in Qigong, it is important that you already have some Qi in your Dantian, otherwise it is hard to maintain lack of nutrition.

In fact, early Bi Gu was related to a Qigong practice called Fu Qi/Eating Qi where the practitioner would perform various breathing exercises to fill the Dantian and as such did not feel hungry.

Practicing dietary limitation or Bi Gu can help our bodies go back to their natural state and improve our energy practice.

This is one interpretation of 返本还原 Fan Ben Huan Yuan/Going back to the root and returning to the origin.

By doing this our Dantian can become very clear and we can achieve a higher level of practice since the Qi can directly nourish the body.

There are three stages of Bi Gu:

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Bigu: the art of Qigong Fasting:

In 1963 at the Mawangdui excavation site in Changsha Henan a tomb of a Chinese aristocrat named the Marquess of Dai was discovered.

Ms.Dai lived 2000 years ago during the Han Dynasty, one of the greatest times of Chinese culture and scientific innovation.

The mummified remains of Marquess Dai showed that she was around 56 years of age when she died and because her body was so well preserved an autopsy could be performed showing she died of a heart attack,

Her diet was rich as sugars and meats and it is commonly believed she developed an arterial blockage which ultimately led to her demise.

Chinese people have known that too much of the wrong food is harmful for a long time and interestingly in the tomb of her husband was discovered two of the earliest Qigong documents, one titled “Dao Yin Illustration,” which was a chart of different stretching poses performed for health.

Another was titled “Stopping Grains and Eating Qi” and is the first evidence of a famous kind of Qigong Fasting called Bi Gu, or Stopping Grains.

Bigu is a technique which developed over thousands of years and is used not only in Chinese Daoism but every part of Qigong culture.

Bigu as a technique is different from regular fasting, since fasting does not involve eating any food while Bigu only requires us to stop eating certain foods for a limited period of time.

In this article I will introduce the basics of Bigu so you can know what it is, why it is important and some general principles of practice.

Since I can't be with you to teach you I will not teach the precise technique, but this article will give you enough information to perform an adaptation of Bigu designed according to the modern technique of intermittent fasting.

Just a couple things before we start:

• Bigu should only be practiced by Qigong practitioners who have some experience cultivating internal energy,

• Bigu should not be practiced by people with diabetes, digestive issues, mental health issues, low or high blood pressure, cancer, or other serious health problems. If you are unsure of the safety of practice make sure to talk to a medical professional before trying even mild fasting practices.

1: What is Bi Gu:

although Bi Gu literally means to stop eating grains it actually refers to a practice of not eating specific types of food which can cause digestion not to be smooth.

2: Why do we practice Bi Gu:

Bi Gu is practiced in order to clean the digestion by using some of the reserve of True Qi that we develop in Qigong practice.

Allowing the body to get rid of excess left over food products can detoxify our organs, lead to a reduction of organ fat, LDL (bad cholestoral), weight loss, anti-inflammatory response, and much more.

3: What we don't eat:

During Bi Gu we do not eat:

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Pictured: Chinese Medicine doesn’t like cold food too much, but we really wanted popsicles and didn’t want to eat all the sugary junk outside. We followed a simple recipe of making a puree of raspberries and strawberries in our blender with a little lemon juice and a tea spoon of maple syrup, tossed them in the freezer overnight and enjoyed them after breakfast this morning. lots of vitamins and sour food is great for the Liver in Spring, so no regrets!!!

人之所受气者，谷也；谷之所注者 ，胃也。胃者，水谷气血之海也。

“People obtain Qi from grains, grain resides in the stomach. The stomach is the sea of water, grains, Qi and Blood.”

This section describes the real nature of the stomach from the TCM perspective.

The purpose of the stomach is to obtain food which is then converted into energy.

In TCM theory energy is derived from food stuff during the digestion process and since foods are a kind of Essence (physical material) with energy trapped inside them the energy is extracted through digestion and passed along to different parts of the body.

The stomach cannot perform its digestive function without blood to help it along since it is blood that allows for the stomach to serve its function of breaking down food without the walls of the stomach becoming ulcerated.

Incidentally Chinese Medicine deeply understands the role of blood in digestion and not only associates the meridians of the digestive organs such as Stomach, Large and Small Intestines with having a relatively higher abundance of blood, but also sees the Small intestine as associated with the heart, which from a biomedical standpoint is interesting because the Small Intestine is the point at which nutrients are drawn into the blood to be circulated through the rest of the body.

The Qi we obtain from nutrition is mixed not only with the blood but is first extracted by the stomach during initial breakdown of the food. The breaking down of the food releases the Qi from within the cellular structure and frees up it for easier digestion upon receipt in the Small Intestine.

Thus the saying that the stomach is the sea of water, grain, Qi and blood can be understood as meaning that the stomach serves the purpose of digesting liquid and solid food products in order to extract the energy from them so they can be absorbed by the blood.

One thing that many non Chinese students of Chinese Medicine might not know is that in China we rarely refer solely to the Stomach, we usually call it either 脾胃 Pi Wei/Stomach and Spleen or 肠胃 Chang Wei/Stomach and Intestines.

This is important to note because the Stomach is not understood as an independent entity, but rather an entity who's function works in a relationship with other organs.

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Have you ever tried to walk like a goose? In this article you will see why holding your head high and letting your feet sink into the ground is a kind of health protecting exercise you can do even when you aren’t practicing Qigong and Taiji. Are you interested? Read on for more!!

Last time we talked about five types of overuse and six injuries that come from them, so now I'd like to introduce four types of correct behavior to help protect your health and improve your life every day.

The Four Uprights are called 四正 Si Zheng in Chinese and are mentioned in various Chinese Medicine classical documents including 太清道林摄生论 Great Clarity Daoist Life Absorbing Discussion.

The idea of Four Uprights is that there are four types of behavior you can do to protect your energy and also make your daily life better.

This is a subtle part of Qigong culture which I think most practitioners never think about.

Let's look at the Four Uprights and then discuss a little.

1: 行正 Xing Zheng: Walk Upright,

2： 坐正 Zuo Zheng: Sit Upright,

3： 立正 Li Zheng: Stand Upright,

4：言正 Yan Zheng: Speak Upright.

If you master these four practices you will find it easier to master the ten types of Health Preservation we discussed here:

Here is a more detailed explanation of the Four Uprights so you can have a better idea of how to practice:

1: Walking upright doesn't literally mean forcing your body to stand taller when you walk, it means you should walk in a good posture where your head is held high. The Absorbing Life Discussion says you should walk like a “Male Goose.” Anyone who has ever seen a male goose knows that their heads and necks stand up tall when they walk and the rest of the body naturally sways under them. Every time they step the whole foot sinks and presses against the ground allowing them to be stable and absorb their weight through their entire bodies not just their heal or toes.

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Pictured: do you know the ancient Dao Yin Tu? This old picture was discovered in the Ma Wang Dui Funeral Mound in Changsha Hunan and is believed to be over 2000 years old. It as well as a breathing manuscript are considered to be the oldest stand alone Qigong documents in Chinese History. Today many scholars try to recreate the exercises according to this image, but the most important part is that we know Chinese people have used healing movement and breath work to cure themselves of disease for well over 2000 years. In today’s article we begin learning about how medical Qigong views illness, specifically how overuse of body and mind leads to extremes in the body. Usually extremes manifest as either excess of deficiency, just like in Chinese Medicine diagnosis. We will look into this and discuss the rationale for Medical Qigong practitioners to take this worldview, a subject frequently overlooked but of much value to both professionals and people wishing to heal themselves.

Summary:

in this article we learn about the Five Types of Overuse:

• will power,

• thought,

• concern,

• bother,

• extremity,

and how they lead to the Six Kinds of Extreme (excess/deficiency/stagnation):

• Qi,

• Blood,

• Sinew,

• Bone,

• Essence,

• Marrow.

These common illness causes and illness locations make up a major part of how TCM Qigong understands illness and can give us proper directions to create a Qigong prescription for sick patients or even ourselves!

Let’s start reading the article!

(ps: please subscribe to my newsletter to receive the whole article and learn all the details about TCM Qigong theory and practice!)

Chinese Medicine Qigong and illness:

Part 1: Overuse:

Chinese Medicine Qigong is focused on two things:

1: Prevention,

2: Rehabilitation.

Because religious Qigong is mainly focused on cultivating spiritual realization and modern Qigong is a mix of many things, most people don't understand that the real purpose of TCM Qigong is about preventing illness and recovering from it.

Religious Qigong and modern Qigong mostly don't pay much attention to the nature of illness since they are not focused on diagnosis and treatment.

This means that most Qigong practitioners do not understand pathology and therefore cannot properly target their own problems or those of their students.

I believe that a daily set of exercises or meditations is a valuable way to protect your health and attain well-being, but realistically they won't help you that much if you get sick.

This is where TCM Qigong can be helpful, so from time to time I will introduce information about illness, both physical and emotional that TCM Qigong can help.

In these posts I will describe causes of health problems, how they manifest, and some of the ways that TCM Qigong can help.

This will gradually lead to sharing translations of medieval documents about TCM Qigong which will include “prescriptions” of exercises for specific illnesses.

Today I will start by introducing some simple ideas about how people get sick from the perspective of overuse.

The 5 Types of Overuse:

In TCM Qigong theory we believe that there are five major types of overuse of the body and mind which can lead to illness. They are:

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Pictured: Henan Hui Ethnicity noodles are my favorite! Noodles are very good for the stomach and bone broth can give you many nutrients, so if you eat meat I can recommend that you should eat this type of soup once in a while to nourish your stomach and of course because it tastes great!

《内 经 》之旨，皎如日星 ， 犹 恐后人有所未达 ，故 《 灵 枢 经 》中复 申其 说 。 经 云：水谷 入口，其味有五，各注其海，津液各走 其道。

The Neijing the directive and illuminated like sun and stars, but there is a concern that later generations will not understand, so they must carefully return to investigate the sayings in the Spiritual Pivot.

The Classics say: “water and grains enter the mouth, their tastes have five, each one stays in the sea, the liquids and fluids each pass along the path.

胃者，水谷之海，其 输上在气街， 下至三里。

The Stomach is the Sea of Water and Grains, its highest acupoint is the Qi Wei and lowest point is San Li.

水谷之海有 馀 ， 则腹满 ；水谷之海不足， 则饥 不受谷食。

The Sea of Water and Grain if in excess will cause the lower abdomen to be full. If it is in deficit it causes hunger with a lack of ability to receive grain.

Explanation:

When we eat food and take drinks they enter from the mouth to the stomach and there are five major tastes including:

• sour,

• sweet.

• Pungent

• salty,

• bitter,

These tastes have constituent chemical compositions which include acids, carbohydrates, volatile oils, minerals, and alkaloids, each category has a different broad effect on the body.

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Yang Sheng is the Chinese Art of Well Being and it includes every part of our life. In standard understanding there are ten major categories of study in Yang Sheng which are absolutely essential and interact with one another to improve our lifestyles. In the free part of this article I will explain the idea and list all of them, then in the subscription section I will explain each of the categories and give some examples of how you can start using them in your life. In the future I will focus on Yang Sheng and helping you learn to practice each of these big categories in our lives so make sure to subscribe to my newsletter and share it with anyone who is interested in becoming healthier, happier, and more complete through Chinese Yang Sheng and Qigong!!

The Ten Types of Chinese Qigong Health and Well Being Practices:

The Chinese Art of Yang Sheng (Well-Being, or prevention) is a systematic approach to personal health which contains many methods and modalities.

It was designed over thousands of years to help people achieve good health and vibrant energy.

Yang Sheng is not only concerned with the human body and mind, but also the entire environment surrounding us, therefore it uses aspects of time and space to help people achieve their health goals.

Although there are many Yang Sheng methods such as Qigong, Meditation, Dietary Medicine, Daily Habits and much wisdom and philosophy, it is safe to say that there are ten primary categories of Yang Sheng. If you understand them well it is easier to start on your well-being journey.

Below I will list the ten types of Yang Sheng and then describe each of them a little.

The Ten Categories of Yang Sheng:

• 1: 啬神 Se Shen：Conserve Spirit,

• 2: 爱气 Ai Qi：Respecting Qi,

• 3：养形 Yang Xing：Nurturing the Form,

• 4： 导引 Dao Yin：Exercise,

• 5：言语 Yan Yu：Speaking Habits,

• 饮食 Yin Shi：Food and Drink,

• 房屋 Fang Wu：Household,

• 反俗 Fan Su：Changing Habits,

• 医药 Yi Yao：Medicine,

• 禁忌 Jin Ji：abstentions,

These are the main ten categories which can make or break our Yang Sheng practice but outside of China most people only know about one or two.

Because I want to promote Chinese Yang Sheng culture and help people jump above the level of just doing Qigong and taking Medicine, I've decided to explain the ten categories in detail in the subscribers part of this post, so make sure to subscribe to my newsletter if you want to read it all in detail.

Explaining the Ten Catagories:

• 1: 啬神 Se Shen：Conserve Spirit:

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