Simple Chi Kung – Read Now and Download Mobi

Acknowledgments

We extend our gratitude to the many generations of Taoist masters who have passed on their special lineage, in the form of an unbroken oral transmission, over thousands of years. We thank Taoist Master I Yun (Yi Eng) for his openness in transmitting the formulas of Taoist Inner Alchemy. We also wish to thank the thousands of unknown men and women of the Chinese healing arts who developed many of the methods and ideas presented in this book.

We offer our eternal gratitude and love to our parents and teachers for their many gifts to us. Remembering them brings joy and satisfaction to our continued efforts in presenting the Universal Healing Tao system. As always, their contribution has been crucial in presenting the concepts and techniques of the Universal Healing Tao.

Thanks to Juan Li for the use of his beautiful and visionary paintings and drawings, illustrating the Taoist esoteric practices.

We thank the many contributors essential to this book’s final form: The editorial and production staff at Inner Traditions/ Destiny Books for their efforts to clarify the text and produce a handsome new edition of the book and Gail Rex for her line edit of the new edition.

We also wish to thank the following people who contributed to the earlier editions of this book: Mattew Koren for his research, writing, and editorial contributions; Udon for his illustrations, book layout, and beautiful cover; Wilbert Wils and Jean Chilton for their assistance in preparing, editing, and proofreading the manuscript; and Jettaya Phaobtong and Saumya Comer for their editorial contributions to the revised edition of this book. A special thank you goes to our Thai production team: Raruen Keawpadung, Saysunee Yongyod, Udon Jandee, and Saniem Chaisarn.

Contents

Acknowledgments

Putting Simple Chi Kung into Practice

Introduction

1  •  The History of Chi Kung

2  •  The Meaning of Chi Kung

3  •  Basic Terms and Concepts

4  •  The Styles and Forms of Chi Kung

5  •  Chi Kung and Abundant Health

6  •  Simple Chi Kung Exercises

7  •  Guidelines for Simple Chi Kung

Appendix 1. Supplementary Practice: Laughing Chi Kung

Appendix 2. Scientific Research on Universal Tao Practices

Index

The Universal Healing Tao System and Training Center

Footnotes

About the Authors

About Inner Traditions

Books of Related Interest

Copyright

Putting Simple Chi Kung into Practice

The practices described in this book have been used successfully for thousands of years by Taoists trained by personal instruction. Readers should not undertake the practice without receiving personal transmission and training from a certified instructor of the Universal Healing Tao, since certain of these practices, if done improperly, may cause injury or result in health problems. This book is intended to supplement individual training by the Universal Healing Tao and to serve as a reference guide for these practices. Anyone who undertakes these practices on the basis of this book alone, does so entirely at his or her own risk.

The meditations, practices, and techniques described herein are not intended to be used as an alternative or substitute for professional medical treatment and care. If any readers are suffering from illnesses based on mental or emotional disorders, an appropriate professional health care practitioner or therapist should be consulted. Such problems should be corrected before you start training.

Neither the Universal Healing Tao nor its staff and instructors can be responsible for the consequences of any practice or misuse of the information contained in this book. If the reader undertakes any exercise without strictly following the instructions, notes, and warnings, the responsibility must lie solely with the reader.

This book does not attempt to give any medical diagnosis, treatment, prescription, or remedial recommendation in relation to any human disease, ailment, suffering, or physical condition whatsoever.

Introduction

This is a book about chi—a simple introduction on how to cultivate, enhance, and utilize this innate power that we all have within. The methods of working with chi recommended here are part of the practice of Chi Kung, a form of energy-enlivening exercise that emerged from Taoism, China’s oldest philosophical system. An integral part of the Universal Tao practice, Simple Chi Kung is a series of revitalizing exercises that develop flexibility, strength, resilience, and suppleness. Through their integrative principles, these exercises create harmony within the body, mind, and spirit. This sense of harmony leads us to discover balance within nature and a way to move freely within the ebb and flow of life’s ceaseless current. Practiced by millions around the world, Chi Kung delivers a complete body/mind/spirit workout. There are literally thousands of Chi Kung forms ranging from dynamic stretches to stationary standing postures, from healing sounds to bone breathing, from meditations that circulate internal energy to standing flowing movements.

With so many forms, it is difficult to decide what to learn and what to practice on a daily basis. This book is intended to give you a condensed Chi Kung practice that will strengthen your body, mind, and spirit in a simple but powerful way. Simple Chi Kung is the foundation of Taoist practice, opening and preparing the body to move and cultivate more internal energy. Simple Chi Kung will give you the inner resources to transform stress into vitality, to cultivate more internal energy, to clear constriction and tension, and to feel connected to the life force that flows within you and all around you.

In today’s highly competitive, fast-paced world, Chi Kung’s versatility has tremendous practicality. The exercise world is full of props, gizmos, tricks, music, classes, machines, fancy outfits, and competition. If the goal is to “get in shape,” exercise our bodies, and get our blood moving, Chi Kung is a fantastic alternative. In fact you don’t need anything, just you and your chi! You can practice Chi Kung almost anywhere, wearing anything, and in a short amount of time. Simple!

Modern life requires a completely different kind of energy than the years past. In our complex world, Chi Kung’s utility as a personal resource—for promoting productivity, preventing disease, balancing emotions, and calming the mind—has greater potential for the individual than it has ever had before. By clarifying the direct relationship that each individual practitioner has with the creative power of the universe, Chi Kung will foster a renewed sense of creativity and power—one that enhances the individual and the natural world simultaneously. Perhaps that’s what Chi Kung is really all about—empowering individuals to take care of their own health, to transform self-destructive behaviors into a positive relationship with the self, and to restore our own personal connection with the primordial wisdom of nature and the Tao.

A HISTORY OF HARMONY

Since prerecorded history, men and women in China have studied the essential harmony between humans and nature. Led by the principles of this harmony, Taoists through the centuries have seen humans as living organisms within a larger living organism—nature—which itself exists within an even larger living organism—the universe. Tao means “the way”: the way of nature, the way of humans (human nature), the way of the universe, and the way to flow with the essential harmony of all things. Taoists place their attention on an invisible energetic force that gives all of these organisms life. They call this invisible energy “chi.”

The earliest Taoists discovered that there is no separation between the physical, emotional, psychological, and spiritual selves; whatever happens to us on any of these levels affects us on all other levels as well. The body, mind, and spirit are intimately related, as they are all unique aspects of the same source of energy. Thus, by exercising the body and its energy system, all aspects of the self are benefited. The Taoists asserted that a healthy body is the foundation for emotional balance, emotional balance leads to clarity of the mind, mental clarity leads to spiritual insight and awareness, spiritual awareness creates a healthy body, and so goes the flow of energy.

HEALTH

Our health is our most valuable asset; without it, we can accomplish nothing in life. Taoists have always valued health and longevity not just for their own sake, but as requirements for spiritual development. Cultivating our spirit through virtue and wisdom takes time. Even the common Chinese people have traditionally honored the elderly, for they recognized that wisdom, like a strong tree, grows slowly over the years. Therefore the ever-practical Taoists of old developed many practices for strengthening, repairing, and conserving life-force energy in order to reap the many spiritual rewards available to one possessing long life and good health.

Health is an ongoing process, not a destination. Every day we are either getting healthier or unhealthier. Health is fluid—a process of nurturing ourselves a little bit every day, through the weeks, months, and years. In Chi Kung philosophy, pain and sickness occur from an imbalance of internal energy. If you think of chi like water, imbalance occurs when there is blockage. Water that is dammed up or obstructed pools up on one side and dries up on the other side. The pooled water creates stagnation, dampness, or murky energy. The area of dryness creates tightness, heat, or inflammation. The goal of Chi Kung is to create a smooth flow of healthy energy like a flowing river, bringing healthy energy to all parts of the body.

The History of Chi Kung

Movement and exercise have always existed in the Chinese culture, yet the specific history of Chi Kung is shrouded in mystery. The first written records of Chi Kung exercises are literally thousands of years old, dating from the period of the legendary Yellow Emperor, Huang Ti, who reigned perhaps as early as 2700 BCE. However, even before that, there were records of movements or special “dances” for warding off illness. Some speculate that these movements could date back five to ten thousand years. And certainly by the sixth century BCE scholars had already begun to classify various methods of exercise and breathing techniques for maintaining health—some of which seem to be depicted in jade carvings dating from this time. Later, during what is known by historians as the Warring States Period (480–222 BCE), we find the emergence of what are called Tao Yin (daoyin) disciplines—special exercises for health that may, in part at least, have been derived from the much earlier era of the Yellow Emperor.

Tao Yin was the name given to a set of exercises that helped to circulate life-force energy in the body. Later, these exercises became known as Chi Kung. Tao Yin means “energy directing,” or “guiding and directing” life force through the body by means of specific movements. Tao Yin also refers to the fact that physical movements are guided by the strength of the mind and in turn stimulate the flow of chi within the body. In this way, the flow of chi from the center (tan tien) helps to link the yin and yang meridians of the body before returning to its starting point. Tao Yin is a practice known as “nourishing the vital principle.”

During the Warring States period, special Tao Yin breathing techniques combined with meditation were also being introduced by Taoist philosophers. They claimed that these techniques were not only effective treatment for certain illnesses, but they were also capable of preventing disease. It is important to understand that in those times a philosopher was someone who meditated and probably also practiced medicine. All these subjects were linked, making up what we would today term a “holistic” approach.

From this point forward, individual styles of Chi Kung began to emerge—for example, the eighteen forms of health exercises attributed to the alchemist Ko Hung, who was active around 325 CE. And toward the end of the Han Dynasty, we have the famous practitioner of oriental medicine Hua Tuo advocating special regimes of exercise—called Wu Chin—again specifically in order to boost resistance to disease. Hua Tuo taught his movements openly and they were widely disseminated, as were a much later set of well-known pieces from the Song dynasty (around the twelfth century) called the Eight Brocades, which are thought to have been developed by an army officer to maintain the internal strength of his troops. Through the centuries, however, other systems were being developed in secrecy among certain families or clans, usually centered on the Imperial Court and often developed in tandem with the martial arts.

The Six Healing Sounds was a medical Chi Kung set taught during the Qin dynasty (221–207 BCE) as a way to “nourish long life.” During the Sui Dynasty (590–618 CE), a Taintai Buddhist high priest, Zhi Zhuan, pointed out the healing potential of the Six Healing Sounds, which have been described in detail in Mantak Chia’s book The Six Healing Sounds.¹

During the Tang Dynasty (618–906 CE) a medical expert and doctor of traditional Chinese medicine, Sun Si-Miao, wrote in the Song of Hygiene about the Six Healing Sounds, which can be paraphrased as follows:

The liver and spring are classified as wood elements; the xu sound (pronounced “sh-h-h-h-h-h-h”) in the spring will brighten the eyes and relieve liver stagnation. The heart and summer are classified as fire elements; the ke sound (pronounced “haw-w-w-w-w-w”) in the summer will relieve fire in the heart. The lungs and fall are classified as metal elements; the si sound (pronounced “sss-s-s-s-s-s”) in the fall will nourish the lungs. The kidneys and winter are classified as water elements; the chui sound (pronounced “choo-oo-oo-oo”) in the winter will keep the kidneys at ease. The xi sound (pronounced “hee-e-e-e-e-e-e”) will regulate the Triple Warmer and eliminate annoying heat. The hu sound (pronounced “who-o-o-o-o-o”) during the four seasons will assist the assimilation of food by the spleen. The benefit is greater than miraculous pills.

Most of the styles of Chi Kung that we recognize today have developed from this illustrious past. The list of such styles is endless, and it is clear that the use of exercise for maintaining health and circulating vital energy around the body is probably one of the earliest recorded activities in the history of human civilization. It has, moreover, been in continuous use for at least four and a half thousand years.

With a few well-known exceptions, Chi Kung was traditionally a secret art, passed down through oral tradition from master to select students in unbroken lineages, practiced quietly in Taoist and Buddhist temples and monasteries and in the guarded palaces of emperors. Those fortunate enough to receive the secret transmission became members of an exclusive group of practitioners, a sort of informal fraternity of aspirants that included princes and poets, monks and martial artists, warriors and wise men, all of them dedicated to the Tao.

All that has changed in modern life; we live in a time when information is exchanged freely, and people are open and receptive to esoteric ways of thinking. In most places, we are free to practice our beliefs without fear of persecution. Like so many other teachings from the ancient world, Chi Kung is yielding its long-guarded secrets, and practices that were once revealed only to the most select circles of initiates may now be utilized by almost anyone.

The Meaning of Chi Kung

Chi (also spelled qi) means “energy” or “life force.” It can also mean “breath” and “air,” and by extension it also means “vitality.” Kung (also spelled gong) is a general term meaning “work” or “skill.” Hence, the term Chi Kung may be translated as “breathing exercise” as well as “energy work.” Putting the words together and thinking about the practice of Chi Kung exercise, the name signifies an expertise at working with life-force energy. Becoming an expert at working with our own internal energy gives us the resources to have choices and to manifest the kind of day—and the kind of life—that we want to have.

WHAT IS CHI?

The Chinese character for chi signifies vapor or mist rising off of rice. Vapor or mist is a wonderful metaphor for chi because it is invisible yet tangible. Despite being somewhat beyond the senses, chi nourishes our bodies and minds, just like rice. Vapor also alludes to breath or breathing. The subtle skill of breath control is one of the keys to circulating the flow of chi in the body.

Chi is the basis of all traditional Chinese healing arts, from acupuncture to herbal medicine. It is the very breath of life, animating every function of our body and mind. When we are healthy, our chi flows smoothly through every part of us. Chi gives our blood the energy to flow and nourish all our cells; it powers our immune system, our digestion, and our nervous system. Chi is the power behind our mental energy, our ability to think clearly, our reason, our willpower, and our decision-making ability.

We are born with chi. It is the inherited life-force energy derived from the egg and sperm of our mother and father. This energy is our Prenatal Chi or Original Chi. It is stored in the lower abdomen around the navel, kidneys, and sexual organs; this area is known as the lower tan tien, the Elixir Field. Our Original Chi is like a battery; it is the basis of our constitutional strength. If our battery has a strong charge and can easily recharge after a slight drain, then we are “preserving our Original Chi” and will enjoy good health.

Our Original Chi also helps us to process and absorb energy from other sources, particularly from the air, food, and water. We also absorb energy from the sun and moon, the earth, the stars and planets, and directly from nature. All of these sources of energy provide us with Postnatal Chi, which combines with our Original Chi to form the chi of the organs and the energy channels.

Chinese medicine views each individual human being as an interconnected and inseparable whole of body, mind, and spirit, unified—in part—by the flow of chi. In Chinese thought, chi is the life-force energy that powers the “machine” of the body. Chi is the power source that enables your eyes to see, mouth to taste, muscles to move, organs to function, and your mind to think. Chi is the human equivalent of the electricity that makes a TV work; without electricity to drive it, a TV becomes merely a useless shell filled with wiring.

Chi Kung is based on the premise that the human body is an energy system. As long as it has energy or chi, it is alive; when energy is gone, it is dead. This makes good scientific sense. A living cell has an electric charge and the differences in electric potential allow nutrients to flow into and out of the cell. Messages and information pass through the nerve cells via electrical impulses. The life-force energy that moves through the heart, spreading circulation to the entire body, comes from this bioelectrical energy.

LIFE-FORCE ENERGY

Energy is the invisible, immaterial substance that propagates life and animates our bodies with movement. It gives birth to our thoughts, emotions, and consciousness. Energy describes and infuses both the infinite space of the universe and the infinitesimal space of the smallest particles. It is the spiral dance of the planets, the magnetism between the electron and proton, and the attraction between male and female. Energy is in the air we breathe, the food we eat, and the emotions we feel. It is the force that allows the planets, stars, and galaxies to work in perfect harmony. Mountains arising, forests growing, rivers flowing, and all of life’s proliferations are expressions of this life-force energy.

Energy is that elusive substance we are all seeking. It is that vital force that makes life exciting, fun, creative, and joyful. Call it chi (Chinese), prana (Sanskrit), ruach (Hebrew), spirit, youthfulness, or vibrant health, energy is what we crave. Quantum physicists describe energy as the nature of the universe, but even they can’t really explain what it actually is. We can allude to it and we can feel it, but it is beyond our best mental concepts and explanations. Instinctively, we know that the more energy we have, the better we feel.

Physicists and mystics from all ages agree that we are literally made of and living within a limitless sea of energy. How is it then, that we can suffer chronic low energy, fatigue, or poor health? Medical surveys show that “lack of energy” and high levels of stress are the biggest complaints in physicians’ offices today.

Think about it this way: if the power lines go down or flicker on and off during a storm, everything in the house stops working or works only sporadically. Without electricity, we have no heat, we can’t cook our food, watch TV, or use the computer. If we apply the same principles to our minds and bodies, we see that low energy causes shortages in our overall vitality—the way we metabolize food, our stress levels, our libido, our creativity, and our enjoyment of life.

Energy level is a great indicator of our general health. A Yale University study found that energy levels had the highest correlation with general-health status and were the best predictor of both physical and psychological health over time. Energetic people, the study showed, are generally healthy, whereas the enervated are often ill, becoming ill, fighting off illness, or struggling with their low-energy condition. Illness, apathy, fatigue, anxiety, chronic stress, depression, and the like are all signs that we are becoming depleted.

In Eastern terms, the more energy we have circulating in our bodies, the healthier we are. Abundant energy manifests as better functioning organs, more flexibility in the muscles, supple joints, and balanced emotions. Loss of internal energy, on the other hand, creates fatigue, tension, low metabolism, inability to cope with stress, insomnia, depression, and turbulent thoughts.

CULTIVATING MORE ENERGY

Nature pulses with energy. Abundant energy is not something that we have to create or make; it is always there, wanting to flow, wanting to express itself as creativity and abundance. Chi Kung exercise taps in to this abundant energy around us and helps us to cultivate it within. Sometimes cultivating more energy is as simple as getting out of our own way—letting go of tensions, old emotions, destructive tendencies, and discordant thoughts.

Searching for energy in the material world, as we so often do, easily leads to disappointment. It is important to remember that the path to more energy is not product related. What we want in the material world is a reflection of an inner desire—for security, fulfillment, health, power, excitement, youth, or vitality. These are all inner qualities, which can only really be attained by internal work. The notion that acquiring something material will give rise to these inner joys leads to continual grasping at external things. In the Tao, the incessant craving for material goods is likened to searching for “dragon eggs”: we are trying to squeeze emotional energy out of the products we desire. It’s a futile quest because the energy that we are seeking is within.

Energy cultivated from the inside is something that lasts; it comes directly from the source and it can continue to grow. Happiness and joy already exist inside you. By cultivating energy from within, you can enjoy the material world without attachment. When we approach the material world from a place of internal balance and strength, we can appreciate all our possessions without being controlled by them.

As our internal energy increases, so does our ability to handle stress; it’s when we are depleted that stress seeps into our body and mind. The choices we make every day—from what we eat to how we move—change the way we feel and work from the inside out. As we cultivate more energy within ourselves, the stresses that we normally face aren’t so overwhelming, and we become more and more able to find effective solutions to our problems.

Basic Terms and Concepts

Based on the principles of classical Taoist philosophy, Chi Kung is a simple and practical approach to becoming skilled in matters of health, happiness, and spiritual attainment. Chi Kung practitioners learn how to tap into their inner resources to become self-sufficient and skilled at working with their own internal energy. As a practitioner develops her skills, she grows more healthy, emotionally balanced, spiritually connected, and full of vitality. These attainments create an inner balance and harmony that encourage longevity and a deep sense of purpose in life.

People watching Chi Kung see only slow graceful movements or simple stretches. They often ask, “How can that get you in shape or train you to be a better martial artist?” But there is a lot more to Chi Kung than meets the eye. Like an iceberg, what you can see of a Chi Kung practice is only the surface of a much deeper and potent internal power. As we mentioned earlier, Chi Kung is simple: it requires no equipment, little space, and can be practiced in a short amount of time. Yet it gives an incredible amount of healing power to the practitioner, so much so that some of the cures and other effects it achieves have been called “miracles” even by direct observers. Chi Kung can enhance your body’s natural healing potential, allowing you to tap into your inner resources to bring forth whatever is necessary for you.

THE TAO

“The Tao that can be told is not the real Tao” is the first line of the Tao Te Ching, the original classic of Taoist thought. This passage describes the paradox of the Tao—that you can allude to it, but you can truly know it only through experience. The term Tao transcends precise definition and is better understood by direct contact, by mirroring the movements of nature and sensing the life-force energy within the body and in the universe all around.

The original Chinese ideogram for “Tao” consists of the symbols for “head” and “walk.” As a noun, Tao generally means “way” or “path,” while as a verb it means “to say” or “to know.” These meanings imply that the Tao is a path of life that leads to fulfillment. It also indicates that the Tao is the original source of all knowledge and ultimate truth.

The word Tao also signifies the way of nature and the way of the universe. Think of it as “the path of natural reality.” It also alludes to a way in which we can open our minds to learn more about the world, our spiritual paths, and ourselves.

The Tao is both a philosophy and an energy science for seeking and finding the truths of the universe, nature, and humanity. Its focus goes beyond one single path or viewpoint. The Tao is not a religion, as it requires no initiations or ceremonies, steers away from dogma and strict rules of conduct, and focuses on what truly empowers the individual to find freedom.

Instead of being a religion about life, Taoism embodies the spirit of life. It is perhaps the only philosophic system in the world that revolves more around practice—Chi Kung and meditation—than preaching. In fact, Taoism includes many practical disciplines that can restore lost youth, energy, and virtues while awakening our deepest spiritual potentials. Taoists regard these practices as technology that can help us learn universal truths.

Taoists often lead without words, through example and experience. Thus the Taoist way of life precludes the common hypocrisy of preaching one thing while practicing another, for by definition the only way to know the Tao is to experience its power in practice, not just to talk about it in theory.

Chi Kung is an integral and essential component in the ancient Taoist system of health care, life extension, and spiritual self-cultivation. Cultivating spiritual virtues such as wisdom, compassion, patience, and tolerance is every bit as important in Chi Kung practice as cultivating physical strength, health, and power. The goal is balance—equilibrium for the body, mind, and spirit.

The goal of the Universal Healing Tao system has always been to develop a practical system of Taoist practices that are a balance between the mind, body, and spirit, and not just a philosophy of the mind. It is understood that by cultivating a true sense of the Tao—of real knowledge and wisdom—we will enable ourselves to make wise decisions in our lives.

Human beings often enslave their minds and squander their energy to satisfy temporary desires. In the Tao, the practitioner transforms these base emotions so that spirit becomes the master and the guide through the journey of life. In order to harness the power of the universe for the benefit of humanity, human beings must pattern their bodies as well as their minds on the universal order of creation reflected in nature and the cosmos, for this is the context in which human life evolved. When practicing the Tao, one must learn to balance physical health and vitality with spiritual awareness and virtue, and in this way, one truly goes with the flow of nature.

YIN AND YANG

The Tao Te Ching says, “One gave birth to two,” which came to be known as yin and yang. Yin and yang are the polarities of the universe—night and day, life and death, male and female. This basic polarity is the premise of all manifest existence, the foundation of all creation, and the basis of all movement and change. Yin and yang form the field in which energy and matter engage in their ceaseless play of formation and dissolution, interaction and transmutation.

Yin, whose ideogram originally meant “the shady side of a hill,” refers to the negative and the dark, the passive and the female, the moon and water, the soft and the yielding, the internal and the lower aspects in any field, formation, or system of energy. Yang, which meant “the sunny side of a hill,” denotes the positive and the light, the active and the male, the sun and fire, the hard and aggressive, the external and the upper aspects and parts of any whole. It’s important to realize that yin and yang are not two different types of energy, but rather they are the two opposite but complementary poles in any given form, function, or field of energy. Yin and yang are also mutually transmutable: as the day progresses, the sunny side of the hill becomes shady and yin, while the yin side lights up and becomes yang.

The Chinese characterized the chi of the heavens as yang: outward flowing, expansive, positively charged; they characterized the chi of the earth as yin: inward flowing, receptive, negatively charged. In general, energy flows up the front of the body from the earth, flowing up the inside of the legs and arms toward the heavens. Correspondingly, energy flows down from the heavens, flowing down the back and down the outside of the arms and legs to the earth.

This external pattern of yin and yang chi should not be confused with the body’s internal meridian patterns. The body has its own directional map, defined by its meridian system. The yin meridians of the upper body flow from the chest down the insides of the arms. The yang meridians then take the energy up the arms to the head. From the head, the yang meridians bring the circulation of energy down the outside and back of the body to the feet. From the feet, the yin meridians of the legs bring the circulation of chi back up the insides of the legs into the chest. From the chest, this cycle of energy repeats. While it’s good to have a general sense of energy flow in the body, it’s not necessary to know all the meridian pathways in order to benefit from Chi Kung, just as you can benefit from cardiovascular exercise without knowing the anatomy of the heart.

According to the tenets of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), imbalance in the yin/yang polarity of various energy systems in the body is the root cause of all disease. The best way to cure disease and prevent degeneration is therefore to restore natural, healthy balance in all facets of the human energy system. Chi Kung is the most direct and effective way of achieving this goal, as its practices naturally balance the yin and yang energies of the body.

Some Chi Kung practices are inherently more yin—specifically the ones that involve meditation or postures with little or no movement—while others are more yang, focusing on activities such as stretching muscles, articulating joints, and flowing movements that move internal energy. By combining these two styles, yin and yang, practitioners are able to facilitate the movement of internal energy and find internal balance.

THE FIVE ELEMENTAL ENERGIES

As modern physics has conclusively proven, all matter—from atoms and molecules to planets and stars—is composed of energy. In the traditional Taoist paradigm of creation and manifest form, all matter on earth is composed of and regulated by what are known as the five elemental energies (wu shing). The Yellow Emperor’s Classic of Internal Medicine states, “The five elemental energies of wood, fire, earth, metal, and water encompass all the myriad phenomena of nature. It is a paradigm that applies equally to humans.” Another ancient Chinese medical text notes, “the five elemental energies combine and recombine in innumerable ways to produce manifest existence. All things contain the five elemental energies in various proportions.”

The five elements are also known as the five processes of energy. This description is a little more true to the actual meaning of the words, for the processes are, in fact, observations about the movements of energy. The five elemental processes can be observed in nature and throughout the universe. In space, they regulate the motions of all the planets, stars, and suns. In nature, they promote interactions between the elements of fire, water, wood, metal, and earth. Within the human body they affect the five major organs; the heart, kidneys, liver, lungs, and spleen.

Just as Western science understands atoms and subatomic particles to be the fundamental units of all matter, the five processes of energy are understood in Taoism to be the essence of all processes. “As above, so below” expresses this principle of the five elements: the understanding that the forces that regulate nature and the cosmos are the same forces that regulate our bodies and minds.

Each of the five elements has myriad associations and interactions. For example, wood represents energy expanding and is associated with spring, the liver, kindness, and vision—among many other things. Fire represents energy activating and is associated with summer, the heart, love, and speech. Earth represents energy stabilizing and centering and is associated with Indian Summer, the spleen, open-mindedness, and taste. Metal represents energy solidifying and is associated with autumn, the lungs, courage, and breath. Water represents energy sinking or resting and is connected to winter, the kidneys, inner peace, and listening.

In the body, all of the vital organs are paired in matched sets of yin and yang, and each pair is associated with one of the five elemental energies. For example, the yin heart and yang small intestine are paired organs governed by fire energy, along with their related functions of circulation and assimilation, the emotion of joy, and the color red. Similarly, the yin kidneys and yang bladder are governed by water, which also controls the associated tissues of bone, brain, and marrow, regulates the fluids of urine and semen, houses the emotion of fear, and is reflected in the color dark blue.

There are two basic transformational cycles whereby these elemental energies interact and counterbalance one another to sustain homeostasis. One is called the creative or generative (sheng) cycle, in which one energy stimulates and amplifies the next. In this cycle, water generates wood, which generates fire, which generates earth, which produces metal, which completes the cycle by creating water. The other is called the control or destructive cycle (ke), wherein one energy impedes and reduces the activity of the next. In this cycle, water impedes fire, fire reduces metal, metal controls wood, wood reduces earth, and earth impedes water.

Chi Kung provides a mechanism through which one can guide and balance these five elemental energies that compose the human system. By working with the elements, practitioners restore normal balance and maintain natural equilibrium among the vital energies that govern the internal organs and regulate their related functions and tissues.

Since there are specific Chi Kung exercises to influence the energies of each of the vital organ systems, a weak heart may be tonified by exercises that stimulate the fire energy of the heart, and conversely, an overactive heart may be controlled by doing exercises that boost the water energy of the kidneys, which then quells the excessive fire of the heart through the control cycle of water over fire.

Similar results may be achieved by applying other associated elements to stimulate or pacify various energies. Thus, the fire energy of the heart may be amplified by wearing the color red and eating bitter foods and herbs, while the wood energy of the liver may be boosted by wearing green clothing and consuming sour foods. The earth energy of the spleen and stomach is tonified by the color yellow and sweet foods and herbs, and the metal energy of the lungs and large intestine may be strengthened by wearing the color white and eating pungent foods. The permutations and combinations of this system are countless, and they reflect the vast potential of Chi Kung for curative healing as well as preventive health care.

ENERGY MERIDIANS

While Western medicine recognizes and deals with only two circulatory networks in the human body—the nerves and the blood vessels—traditional Chinese medicine (and Chi Kung) includes a third system: the energy network of the meridians. These are the pathways through which life-force energy flows in the body and on which the acupuncture points are located.

Collectively, the meridians an an invisible but highly functional network of channels that forms a complex grid throughout the human body. This grid serves as a sort of master template for both the circulatory and nervous systems and for all the other vital organs and their functions. Meridians are translated as jing and are categorized in relation to the twelve vital organs in traditional Chinese medicine. Flowing through the body and branching out like large rivers and small tributaries, these meridians create an intricate web of smaller vessels (called luo), which transmit energy to every tissue and cell of the body. Located along the jing luo or meridian lines are points along the channel that are terminals known as shueh, or “vital points.” These serve as relay stations through which energies along the related channels may be amplified or pacified by means of acupuncture, moxibustion, acupressure, or massage.

Acute sensitivity at these points serves as a warning indicator of imbalance in those meridians and their related organs. Pathology occurs when any imbalances begin to affect the surrounding energy flows. Think of the meridian system like rivers of energy moving through and nourishing all aspects of the body. Energy can become blocked or stagnant, like a boulder in a river. This usually occurs from stress, repetitive motion, pollution, injury, or negative emotions. Like a blocked up waterway, this can lead to excess water in one area, too little water in another area, and stagnant or swampy water somewhere else. This is how imbalance is first created. Over time, this leads to tightness, pain, and disease.

Keeping the chi flowing within our bodies is the key to optimal health and wellness. The Yellow Emperor’s Classic of Internal Medicine tells us that “energy commands blood: where energy goes, blood follows,” which means that the decisive factor in the circulation of blood to the organs and tissues is the free flow of energy to those areas via the network of energy channels and points. The points are like whirlpools within a river, which can affect the entire flow of the body as they are consciously redirected.

Similarly, disorders of the nervous system respond so well to Chi Kung and acupuncture treatment precisely because these methods can selectively stimulate or sedate the flow of energy through the meridians, which in turn balances the nervous system and permits the nerves to function properly.

The Eight Extraordinary Channels

The most powerful energy vessels in the human system are called mai, or “channels,” and they constitute a sort of reservoir from which all the other meridians draw their energy. The main system of these channels is called chi jing ba mai—the eight extraordinary channels—and this is the network that is activated, balanced, and replenished in most forms of Chi Kung work, including still-sitting and moving meditation exercises. The three major channels in this network are the Governor Channel (or Governing Vessel) that runs up the back along the spine, the Conception Channel (or Conception Vessel) that runs down the front of the body, and the Central or Thrusting Channel, which runs from the crown down through the center of the body to the perineum.

By replenishing the reservoirs of energy in the eight major channels through Chi Kung practice, or by drawing energy from external sources in nature, Chi Kung provides a simple, efficient way to recharge and rebalance the entire human energy system on a daily basis, thereby preventing and correcting the deficiencies and imbalances that give rise to disease and degenerative conditions in the body. Chi Kung prevents problems before they begin and preempts health concerns that may have already begun by restoring optimal balance and harmony to the entire system, thereby activating the body’s own healing responses.

BASIC MODES OF DIRECTING ENERGY

In life, we need different qualities of energy for the many different circumstances around us and for the constantly changing conditions within. For example, you might need to strengthen your energy and get it “fired up” in the morning to start your day. The Chi Kung exercises you perform at this time would be tonifying, to meet that energy need. Yet in the evening you might need an entirely different type of energy, and you would practice Chi Kung to clear or purge out the stressful energy of the day.

Individual Chi Kung exercises are designed to direct energy in particular ways to support the changing energy requirements of the body, mind, and spirit. The basic modes of directing energy most frequently employed in Chi Kung are briefly discussed below:

• Cultivating. This term refers to methods that draw energy from external sources into the system through vital energy gates on the body. The points most often used for this purpose are the Yung Chuan (Bubbling Spring) points on the soles of the feet, the Lao Gung (Labor Palace) points on the palms of the hands, Bai Hui (Hundred Confluence) point on the crown of the head, the Hui Yin (Yin Confluence) point at the perineum, and the Tan Jung (Central Terrace) point at the heart. Cultivating energy with this method requires one-pointed mental focus on the energy gates selected for practice, the visualization of energy as light flowing through the points, and the concerted application of intention to draw energy in through the gates. Energy usually enters the system on the inhalation phase of the breath and circulates or spirals at these centers on the exhalation.
• Circulating. This mode is used to circulate energy through the major channels, vital meridians, and minor capillaries of the human energy network. Its purpose is to clear obstruction and eliminate stagnant energy from the channels, irrigate the organs and tissues with fresh energy, balance yin and yang polarity throughout the system, and harmonize the vital functions governed by the five elemental energies. It may also be employed to target specific organs or tissues for treatment with healing energy, or to circulate energy in particular channels for refinement and transformation, such as in the Microcosmic Orbit meditation practice.
• Clearing. This mode of energy direction is used to expel stagnant, toxic, excess, or other unwanted energy from the system by moving it out through specific energy gates, such as on the palms and soles, and the point between the eyebrows. This sort of energy is usually visualized as dark, cloudy gray energy as it is driven from the system, and it is expelled on the exhalation phase of breath. Clearing methods may be used to clear the entire system of stagnant chi or to purge specific organs via their related meridians and points.
• Exchanging. Exchanging energy means to intermingle your energy with an external source in order to refresh, recharge, and rebalance your entire energy system. For example, practicing energy exchange on the beach or high up in the mountains quickly recharges the whole system with the pure, potent chi generated by oceans and mountains. Practicing in a forest allows one to exchange energy with trees, which produce very powerful chi. In the dual cultivation style of Taoist sexual yoga, male and female intermingle and exchange their energies in order to boost and balance one another’s vitality through the internal alchemy of sexual essence and energy.¹
• Transforming. Transformation is about moving energy from one state into another. Transformation of essence into energy and energy into spirit is one of the fundamental formulas in the internal alchemy. It’s the ability to take energy from an unuseful or negative state and change it into something positive or useful to the mind and body. Exercises like the Six Healing Sounds are great ways to transform negative emotions back into positive ones. Energy is always changing, and Chi Kung gives us the techniques for creating change in a positive uplifting way.²
• Storing. This refers to the phase of practice in which internal energy is concentrated and stored—either in the lower Elixir Field center below the navel, in other major storage centers, or in a specific organ targeted for tonification. For example, you may wish to store wood energy you have cultivated in your liver or store the essential energy of hormones in your kidneys to boost your vitality.

The human body is considered to be a network of energy and information that mirrors the energy network of the whole universe. “As above, so below” is an ancient maxim that describes this concept. In this way of thinking, the human body is a microcosmic replica of the macrocosmic universe at large—complete with its own “Heaven” and “Earth,” its internal emotional “weather” and organ “ecosystems,” its “rivers” of blood and “mountains” of flesh, its mineral “ores” of bone and its saline “oceans” of cellular fluids.

Chi Kung helps the microcosmic human body to recharge and renew itself by “plugging in to” the macrocosmic energy of the universe. Each cell, tissue, organ, and other part of the body emanates its own specific electromagnetic field, which pulsates at its own particular frequency and regulates its own internal energy currents, while the entire body itself radiates an auric energy field that extends about one meter around the surface.

The Styles and Forms of Chi Kung

There are thousands of styles of Chi Kung, but in general they fall into three major categories: martial, medical, and spiritual. The Universal Tao practice incorporates each of these aspects. Although the goals of this practice are mainly better health, more energy, and greater spiritual awareness, there are many martial styles of Chi Kung that are also very important and have great benefits.

Most styles of Chi Kung involve various kinds of stretches, flowing movements, and standing postures, all quietly harmonized by rhythmic breathing and a calm, unhurried, focused mind. Soft, slow movement of the body prevents the stiffness and stagnation that lead to degeneration. As Lao-tzu states in the classical verse of the Tao Te Ching:

Truly, to be hard and stiff is the way of death;

To be soft and supple is the way of life.

The importance of soft, flowing movement was also noted by Confucius. In the classical text called Spring and Autumn Annals, the sage says:

Flowing water never stagnates, and the hinges of an active door never rust. This is due to movement. The same principle applies to essence and energy. If the body does not move, energy does not flow. When energy does not flow, energy stagnates.

The same is true of our bodies. When we move, stretch, flow, and circulate, our bodies stay healthy. If energy and blood become constrained or constricted, our bodies become stagnant. Stagnation is the cause of pain, sickness, fatigue, and disease.

MARTIAL CHI KUNG

Martial Chi Kung was one of the first forms of practice, used as a means of strengthening the body to prepare for combat. In volatile times, when troops invaded temples and bandits stole from cities, martial arts training was used as a means of self-defense to protect the welfare of the family, temple, and town. The Shaolin monks are a great example of the balance between martial training and spiritual cultivation. As practitioners trained in martial styles of Chi Kung, they became extremely healthy and full of vitality.

Iron Shirt Chi Kung is a perfect example of this blend between martial arts training and physical health. As the martial need for this training faded away, the practice transformed into a Chi Kung set that builds energy and vitality for health, wellness, and inner balance.¹

MEDICAL CHI KUNG

Medical Chi Kung activates the innate healing power within the body. Whether you are practicing Chi Kung movements, stretches, or meditation, medical Chi Kung is designed to heal imbalances that currently exist and to prevent disease from ever occurring. There are two distinct styles of medical Chi Kung practiced today. One involves performing Chi Kung exercises to strengthen the body and cultivate healing energy. These exercises are used like prescriptions, offered by a Chi Kung doctor to cure a client’s specific ailments. So if you have low back pain, for instance, then the Chi Kung teacher would give you exercises to increase circulation in your lower back and strengthen your kidney energy. Or if you have digestive problems, you would be given exercises to help you strengthen your internal organs.

The other style of medical Chi Kung is practiced by the doctor on the patient. In this form, the Chi Kung doctor uses his or her healing capabilities to direct chi into and through the patient’s body. Here the patient is passive and receives treatment. Like in acupuncture, the Chi Kung practitioner looks for imbalance and blockage and uses his/her energy to facilitate the healing process of the patient.

Medical Chi Kung practitioners go through years of training to become skilled at manipulating the subtle energy of their clients and at maintaining their own energy at a high level. This way they don’t take on the sick energy of the person being worked on. Also, these Chi Kung doctors are able to tap into the unlimited energy of nature and the universe so that they don’t become depleted of their own life-force energy.²

SPIRITUAL CHI KUNG

Spiritual Chi Kung enhances compassionate, virtuous energy to support a life of love and kindness. It is usually practiced in meditation, with the practitioner sitting still and using the mind to move and circulate internal energy. This is a process of Internal Alchemy, whereby energy is transformed into a higher and more refined vibration. In this practice, practitioners also often draw energy from the universe into the body. This cultivates a sense of unity with nature, with the Tao, and with each other.

The Microcosmic Orbit is a spiritual Chi Kung practice that opens the body and meridian pathways (Govenor and Functional channels) to cultivate higher frequencies of energy. By bringing energy through these particular channels, the practitioner distills energy from the lower centers to the higher centers, expanding consciousness and spiritual awareness.

It’s difficult to discern, sometimes, a single category for a specific Chi Kung exercise. For example, the Microcosmic Orbit could be used for medical and health purposes as well as for spiritual purposes. As energy opens in the body, it’s natural for physical vitality to increase along with spiritual insight.

MOVING FORMS AND STILL FORMS

The many styles of Chi Kung blend movement, flow, stretches, and stillness. Tai Chi, for example, is a flowing, martial arts form of Chi Kung that blends soft, gentle movements of the body with a calm, expanded state of mind.

Still practice (Jing Gong) and moving practice (Dung Gong) are the yin and yang of Chi Kung, the two complementary poles of practice in all styles. Movement and activity are yang, while stillness and passivity are yin. When the body moves, chi circulates; when the body is still, chi harmonizes.

The basic principles governing all moving forms include relaxation, softness, slowness, and fluid movement. This creates a rhythmic regularity within the body. The purpose of moving forms is to keep the moving parts of the body limber and flexible, to promote circulation of blood and energy throughout the system, and to harmonize external movement of the limbs with internal flow of energy. One of the major guidelines in the practice of moving forms is summed up in the phrase “Seek stillness within movement and seek movement within stillness.”

To fully understand the role of movement in Chi Kung, however, one must also comprehend the central significance of stillness. In the sitting meditation forms of Chi Kung, for example, there is also movement, but it is all internal—in the flow of energy through the channels, the circulation of blood in the vessels, and the cyclic waves of breath—while externally the physical body rests in motionless serenity. The rhythmic external motions of the moving forms can only be maintained and kept in harmony with the cyclic rise and fall of breath by a mind that rests serenely in an undistracted state of internal stillness. Thus, like the eternal ebb and flow of the waves on the sea and the cyclic turns of day and night in the firmament, movement and stillness constitute the essential yin and yang poles of Chi Kung and comprise the complementary cornerstones in all forms of practice.

BALANCING THE BODY AND THE MIND

In Chi Kung, balance of the body is achieved through relaxation. To relax, the practitioner performs a series of stretching and loosening exercises that eliminate tension from the muscles, joints, and tissues. Total relaxation of the body is a prerequisite for maintaining proper posture, freely circulating blood and energy, breathing correctly, and establishing a stable sense of mental quietude. Conversely, any tension in the muscles and tendons, or tightness in the joints, tends to throw the body off balance, obstruct circulation, inhibit deep abdominal breathing, and distract the mind.

With practice, as the body becomes progressively more relaxed, the autonomic nervous system switches over to the calming, restorative, parasympathetic branch, which balances the endocrine system and activates the body’s internal healing mechanisms.

Balancing the mind is one of the most challenging aspects of spiritual practice and meditation. Chi Kung seduces the mind into stillness with its slow rhythmic movements and circulation of energy. As the energy or frequency in the body increases, so too does the “one-pointed awareness” in the mind. Your intention—Yi—is the power of your mind to circulate energy, heal your body, and connect to the energies of the universe.

Chi Kung and Abundant Health

Numerous studies conducted in China and the United States have established a solid scientific foundation for Chi Kung as a means of preventing and curing disease. It is an effective adjunct in the treatment of chronic pain, asthma, arthritis, diabetes, high blood pressure, headaches, gastrointestinal disorders, chronic fatigue, heart disease, and cancer, among other ailments. Heart disease and cancer are considered the two major killers of modern times. Despite an amazing surge in medical technology, our ability to cure or prevent these two scourges has made limited progress; in fact, arterial disease and cancer are more widespread than ever before. The age-adjusted mortality rate for cancer has remained the same since the 1940s; one third of all Americans will contract cancer during their lifetime. In the face of these discouraging statistics, Chi Kung gives us a way to take control of our health and help shift the odds in favor of a long and healthy life.

Chi Kung is based on the premise that the human body is an energy system; its fifty trillion cells all require energy to maintain their function, and that energy needs to flow continuously and smoothly. Regular practice of Chi Kung facilitates the smooth flow of energy throughout the human organism. Indeed, it is known as “the method for preventing disease and prolonging life.” Chi Kung exercises improve health by way of three major effects on the human energy system. They:

• Purge impurities, toxins, and pathogens from the body. Chi Kung cleanses the system so that cells replicate and repair with optimal efficiency.
• Tonify the chi and infuse the body with life-force energy. This creates a surplus of healing energy within the system, which in turn leads to greater vitality.
• Circulate the chi, clearing blocked or stagnant energy so that life force flows through the body. When there is good circulation of energy, pain and tension are alleviated. As chi moves, it becomes clearer and healthier.

These events are not just concepts, but actual experiences within the body. The Chi Kung practitioner learns to actually sense energy moving in the body and learns how to enhance it. He or she is able to detect when chi is blocked, turbid, deficient, excess, or generally out of balance, and can utilize Chi Kung as self-healing therapy to restore harmony. My students often ask if I ever get sick. My response is, “Yes, all the time . . . but, it’s usually for just a few seconds.” And it’s true! When you can feel an imbalance in your energy system, it is a prephysical manifestation. It’s much easier to correct an energetic imbalance then a physical imbalance. So after a few minutes of deep breathing, some healing sounds, some gentle Chi Kung movements, the imbalance is gone. Like magic!

PREVENTIVE MEDICINE

Typically in the West we are trained to specialize, to segregate, and to compartmentalize. For example, if you have a physical injury, you see a doctor. If you have mental or emotional challenges, you visit a psychologist. If you have spiritual concerns, you seek the advice of a pastor, priest, or rabbi. This is how it has worked in our culture since the rise of modern medicine. There is great benefit from this system and it allows for great improvements in many specific areas.

The downfall of this paradigm is that we become fragmented. In reality, we are not segregated into the body, mind, and spirit. Just because you put up a fence between you and your neighbor doesn’t mean that the earth is divided underneath.

From the Eastern perspective, the body, mind, and spirit are a continuum, and the integrative whole is more important than the separate parts. Take water, for example. It can be in three different states; solid (ice), liquid (water), or gas (steam). Yet in each of these states, it is still H₂O at the fundamental level. The same applies for us: the physical body is the densest form of energy, like ice; the mind and the emotions are more liquid, like water; and the spirit is like mist, more evanescent. But at the fundamental level, we are entirely composed of energy.

Eastern medicine has always described how each of these aspects of our being—the body, mind, and spirit—influence each other. For example, negative emotional energy and stress have a negative influence on the health of the body. Poor health, on the other hand, will have a negative influence on emotions and the mind. The relationship is reciprocal; the energy of the body, mind, and spirit are part of one continuous cycle.

We are more than all our separate parts; more than organs, tissue, and muscles; more than emotions, thoughts, and feelings; more than our religious beliefs and cultural ideologies. We are the unity of all of these seemingly separate facets. One reason why people are so unhappy and unsatisfied, according to Eastern medicine, is that they feel disconnected, disjointed, and out of touch with this knowledge of wholeness.

As it stands now, our Western health care model revolves around people having pain and getting sick. If no one gets sick, nobody gets paid. Where conventional medicine differs from Eastern medicine is that it is passive rather than dynamically proactive. Doctors give you things to take and do procedures to you. In contrast, Eastern medicine and other holistic traditions focus on prevention and the root cause of problems rather than their symptoms.

In classical Asia, there were places where this health care model was reversed: clients paid their health care practitioner a monthly fee as long as they stayed healthy. When they got sick, they stopped paying. Imagine a system where your health care practitioner is thus motivated to continually keep you healthy. It is a complete paradigm shift. How different would our Western medical system be if this were the practice today? As the saying goes, what you put your attention on grows.

When a health care model immerses itself in prevention and wellness, these qualities flourish. It is like the sports coach telling his players that a good offense creates a good defense. By being proactive and focusing on health, we become stronger and more resilient, so that even when we do get sick, it is for a much shorter period of time.

True healing goes to the source of the problem and uproots the pattern of disease. If you only focus on symptoms, it is like trying to hold Ping-Pong balls under water: they eventually spring up in many different directions. In the same way, masking symptoms often creates other health issues. For example, those who take anti-inflammatory medicines for an extended period of time can sometimes cause life-threatening damage to their internal organs. Real healing solutions lie in our ability to prevent problems before they arise and to attain long-term transformation of existing problems in a holistic manner.

Pharmaceutical drugs can temporarily alleviate pain, diminish anxiety and depression, or kill hostile germs in the body. Yet the root causes of these ailments are often left untouched. The containment, suppression, or elimination of symptomatic problems does not sustain vitality or vibrant health. Pharmaceutical treatment of secondary symptoms prunes the branches of our health problems while ignoring the roots. And these short-term solutions often come with long-term costs.

Despite continual advances in medical technology, we have more illness and pain than ever before. This is not to say that Western medicine is not truly amazing. It is. Just look at all the medical wonders it has achieved. Nothing compares to Western medicine when it comes to emergencies, vaccines, or finding solutions to life-threatening diseases. But this approach falls short when it comes to creating abundant energy, intrinsic health, and a sense of integration within. The East reminds us to focus on enhancing our life-force energy and becoming healthy from the inside out.

Eastern medicine and Western medicine are starting to move closer together in philosophy, as Western medicine takes an increasingly holistic approach to health. Recently, Western medicine is recognizing how stress and negative emotions can cause all kinds of problems in the body.

There is a saying in Chinese medicine that trying to get healthy after you’ve become sick is like digging a well when you are dying of thirst. The idea here is to focus on your health while you are healthy. That is not to say that if you are sick or in pain there is nothing that you can do. It just means that wherever you are on your path to health and vitality, now is the best time to begin.

From an Eastern perspective, and more and more from a Western medical perspective as well, prevention is the key to lasting health and happiness. In encouraging you to take charge of your own preventive health, we are not suggesting that you start performing acupuncture on yourself or that you start concocting herbal potions. Let the professionals do what they do best. But controlling your own health destiny is real. By doing a little energy cultivation and stress clearing each day, your entire system will become much more resilient and strong. That is what Simple Chi Kung is all about—a little bit of water and sunshine every day.

STRESS = STAGNANT CHI

Stress has become a modern epidemic. Our lives, despite modern technology, are busier than ever and full of all kinds of stress. In energetic terms, this stress creates stagnation of our energy flow, which in turn leads to pain and disease. This is why medical research declares that 89 percent of primary care doctor visits have their root in stress. Even though all kinds of exercise combat stress, Chi Kung focuses directly on preventing and clearing stress at its energetic source.

Within every person there is a place that is full of energy, health, and happiness. This is our natural state, but we so often lose touch with it in our busy, distracted lives. However, a visit to this place of inner vitality and harmony every day—even through a brief Chi Kung routine—allows us to access a higher level of energy, to strengthen our immune system, and to transform the patterns and assumptions that limit our body and mind.

Stress compromises the immune system, while exercise, deep breathing, and flowing movements strengthen it. By clearing physical and mental stress every day, the body finds its natural state of balance.

In our modern world, life has become ever more fast-paced, increasingly complex, and, in a word, stressful. Although electric lights can turn night into day, and stores make it easy to get whatever we want at any time, our bodies still operate on the same cycles and rhythms as they have for thousands of years. It’s no wonder that balance is so difficult to achieve when we push ourselves in so many unnatural ways.

The modern lifestyle, with its constant stimulations and requirements, leaves millions too depleted to get sufficient exercise, relaxation, play, or even to spend quality time with their families. This energy-depleting way of life and chronic stress lead to anxiety, fatigue, depression, a weakened immune system, and a host of serious physical and psychological ailments.

These problems arise not only from stress itself but from the ways that people handle stress. The steady rise of addictions, drug use, unhealthy relationships, too much TV or computer use, and excessive shopping for material possessions are all examples of how we respond to stress in detrimental ways. These are especially common pitfalls for people who feel a lack of support or a lack of inner resources.

It isn’t always possible to remove an outer problem. You can’t always quit your job, make your child behave, get out of a traffic jam, or heal a serious injury. But you can change your response and your inner state of consciousness. Dealing effectively with the stresses and problems in your life is a choice. When you have more energy and vitality, stress and problems don’t seem so overwhelming. By taking time for yourself, you will cultivate the energy you need to handle your problems more skillfully and effectively. This is a skill developed through Chi Kung practice.

The stress response evolved for a good reason—to protect us from danger. Our ancestors had stresses, but usually only for a moment. When a saber-toothed tiger attacked our ancestors, their bodies were able to shift gears, inciting a nervous system cascade known as the “fight-or-flight” response.

Physiologically, here’s what happens to the body during the fight-or-flight response: the sympathetic nervous system kicks into high gear. The hypothalamus (a gland in the brain) activates the pituitary, which releases a hormone into the bloodstream called ACTH (adrenocorticotropic hormone). This hormone goes to the adrenal glands, which in turn produce more adrenalin (also known as epinephrine), along with other hormones called glucocorticoids (cortisol is an example). Collectively, these chemicals set off an array of biochemical changes in the body:

• The heart rate speeds up and blood pressure increases, so that more blood is pumped to the muscles and lungs.
• The breath becomes rapid, nostrils flaring, bringing an increased supply of air to the lungs.
• Blood is directed away from the skin and internal organs and toward the brain and skeletal muscles. The muscles tense.
• The blood clots faster, in case of bleeding.
• The pupils dilate, giving better vision.
• The liver converts glycogen into glucose, which teams up with free fatty acids to supply the body with fuel and quick energy.

When someone is face to face with a ferocious animal, the fight-or-flight response is totally appropriate. This reaction served the cave man confronted by a saber-toothed tiger: whether he chose to fight it or to run away, he would have increased energy in his muscles and lungs due to his bodily changes. He would be both faster and stronger than normal. Yet for modern people, this same response can be elicited by getting stuck in a traffic jam or giving a presentation to a group of colleagues. In fact, any perceived stress can put a person into this fight-or-flight state.

This incredibly important, life-preserving stress reaction is hardwired into our system. The reality is, in today’s modern society, we are required to deal with very few grizzly bears or life-threatening stresses. The problem is that our bodies do not know the difference between a grizzly bear and a traffic jam, and they react in the same way to each.

When the stressor is a tiger or a grizzly bear, this stress response has an outlet: the body uses its enhanced energy to get away or fight off the enemy. In a traffic jam, however, the stress response has no outlet, and the extra energy runs around the body like a caged animal. Over time, this type of stress energy is detrimental to our health.

In today’s modern jungle, public speaking, a disgruntled spouse, dealing with a difficult client, having a demanding deadline, and raising children are all stressful situations, but they are not life-threatening. Yet these situations release the same bombardment of stress hormones into the body as a truly life-threatening moment. In these cases, your body isn’t just reacting; it’s overreacting. Repeatedly triggering this fight-or-flight response wears down the body and mind. It was designed to work best in short-term situations—not the prolonged stresses that we deal with on a routine basis.

Every bodily system is affected when our stress chemicals linger in the body. The statistics are striking: 112 million people take some form of medication for stress-related symptoms. One reason this figure is so high is that stress seeps into all aspects of our lives and can even exacerbate previous health symptoms, both physical and psychological.

From muscle tension to headaches, from irritable bowel syndrome to acid indigestion, from heart disease to cancer, the steady rise in stress-related illness reflects our inability to cope with our lifestyle. This gives birth to a billion-dollar health care industry that tends to mask the deeper roots of stress.

SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS OF STRESS IN THE BODY

• Tight muscles and body aches
• Fatigue, lethargy
• Shallow, short breathing
• Chest tightness, rapid pulse
• Heartburn, indigestion, diarrhea, constipation
• Dry mouth and throat
• Excessive sweating, clammy hands, cold hands/feet
• Skin irritations, eczema
• Nail biting, fidgeting, hair twirling
• Lowered libido
• Overeating or loss of appetite
• Insomnia, excessive dreaming
• Increased use of alcohol and drugs

PSYCHOLOGICAL SIGNS OF STRESS

• Frustration, irritability, anger
• Impatience
• Worry and anxiety
• Sadness, depression
• Insecurity, fear
• Panic attacks
• Moodiness, emotional instability
• Intrusive and racing thoughts
• Memory lapses, difficulty concentrating
• Indecision
• Loss of a sense of humor

Stress can take many forms, including work pressure, financial concerns, health issues, relationship challenges, being single, a new baby, a new mortgage, or having too little time for oneself. Unfortunately, stress robs people of many of life’s pleasures and deprives them of many of life’s satisfactions—including laughter.

The following facts begin to reveal the problems so many of us face:

• Eighty-nine percent of adults describe experiencing “high levels of stress.”
• Seventy-five to ninety percent of adult visits to primary care physicians are for stress-related problems.
• One million employees are absent on an average workday because of stress-related problems.
• More people have heart attacks on Monday morning at 9:00 a.m. than at any other time of the week.
• Stress is linked to the following diseases: hypertension, heart attack, diabetes, asthma, chronic pain, allergies, headache, backache, various skins disorders, cancer, immune system weakness, and a decrease in the number of white blood cells.
• Stress can affect sexual performance and rob you of your libido. Disturbed sexual performance may appear in the form of premature ejaculation, erectile dysfunction, and other forms of difficulty in reaching orgasm.
• Stress is more powerful than diet in influencing cholesterol levels. Several studies—including one of medical students around exam time, and another of accountants during tax season—have shown significant increases in cholesterol levels during stressful events, even when there was little change in diet.
• Stress is now considered a major risk factor in heart disease, right up there with smoking, being overweight, and lack of exercise.
• Stress can affect the secretion of acid in your stomach and can speed up or slow down the process of peristalsis. Constipation, diarrhea, gas, bloating, irritable bowel syndrome, and weight gain can all be stress related.
• Your muscles are prime targets for stress. Under stress, your muscles contract and tense. This muscle tension affects the nerves, blood vessels, organs, skin, and bones. Chronically tense muscles can result in a variety of conditions and disorders, including muscle spasms, pain, and teeth grinding.
• Stress hampers the immune system. Four hundred people were intentionally exposed to common-cold viruses. Those who scored highest on a test of stressful life events were more than twice as likely to develop colds after exposure than people who scored lowest.
• Severe stress is one of the most potent risk factors for stroke—more so than high blood pressure—even fifty years after the initial trauma. In a study of 556 veterans of WWII, the rate of stroke among those who had been prisoners of war was eight times higher than among those not captured.

The good news is that stress can be alleviated with the right exercises, movements, stretches, and relaxation techniques. This is exactly what this Simple Chi Kung program is designed to do. It helps you tap into your resources so that the inevitable stresses and tensions of life don’t get you down. Instead, these Chi Kung practices can give you the ability to transform stress into a catalyst for creativity and a stepping-stone toward manifesting what you want out of life. You will learn to change the leaden, lethargic, low-energy state that so many of us experience when we wake up or return from a day of work into the golden, abundant, high-energy state that everyone craves and needs for true well-being.

CHI KUNG’S EFFECTS ON SPECIFIC BODY SYSTEMS

Numerous medical studies have shown that Eastern practices like Chi Kung and meditation can reverse the incursion of many stress-related ailments. Master Chia himself has participated in many experiments that recorded remarkable changes during Chi Kung and meditation practice. Details from some of these experiments can be found in appendix 2.

Brain and Nervous System

Chi Kung switches the autonomic nervous system from the stress-induced fight-or-flight mode of the sympathetic branch over to the restorative healing mode of the parasympathetic branch.

The parasympathetic branch of the nervous system creates feelings of pleasure and harmony, like the feeling you get sitting on a beautiful beach watching a sunset, or listening to your favorite music, or gazing into your lover’s eyes. It’s the feeling of deep relaxation, bliss, or simply put, the feeling of “Ahhh.” This feeling isn’t a passive or sluggish state of mind and body; rather, it’s an aliveness that is both buoyant and pleasurable. Because Chi Kung practice can bring your nervous system into a state of parasympathetic dominance, it gives your body a chance to restore and heal, clearing the damaging effects of day-to-day stress long before serious physiological damage can occur.

To function in this healing mode, the cerebral cortex (where the constant chatter of the internal dialogue arises) must be stilled. EEG studies show that in people practicing Chi Kung, the cerebral cortex enters a state of calm and quiet that very few people experience even in sleep.

We have all been told that most people only use 5 to 10 percent of their brains. What this really implies is that the average person uses only 5 to 10 percent of his or her 15 billion brain cells. No wonder that so many people’s immune systems fail to respond appropriately to harmful stimuli. However, an EEG study done in 1996 showed that Chi Kung activates the other 90 percent of the human brain. It suffuses even the deepest layers of the cerebrum with stimulating bioelectric currents. These currents activate long-dormant function and cause measurable electrical excitation of the brain cells that previously showed no activity. So, in a sense, Chi Kung allows the practitioner to tap into more of his or her brain’s potential. Maybe this explains how Chi Kung masters can accomplish amazing feats or connect to an unimaginable source of universal information.

Numerous studies show that practicing Chi Kung increases the level of essential neurotransmitters in the blood, brain, and cerebrospinal fluid—particularly norepinephrine, acetycholine, serotonin, and dopamine. Deficiencies of these neurotransmitters are known to be associated with Parkinson’s Disease, Alzheimer’s, chronic depression, insomnia, and drug addiction, and may be responsible for countless other ailments.

IMMUNE RESPONSE

One of the primary factors in immunity is the activity of white blood cells. Chi Kung stimulates and enhances white blood cell production within the bone marrow, especially through the practices of Bone Breathing and Bone Marrow Nei Kung. (Chinese medicine has recognized the importance of bone marrow for thousands of years, whereas it was only discovered by Western medicine less than a century ago.) Chi Kung also increases phagocytic activity of these scavenger cells in the blood, increasing the power of the immune response.

Blood tests show that Chi Kung can also increase the production of T-cells in the thymus gland, another pillar of human immune response. Thirty minutes of Chi Kung shows an increase in red blood cell count, which enhances the bloodstream’s capacity to carry and deliver oxygen to the cells and improves immune response.

Chi Kung also inhibits secretion of the immunosuppressive hormones adrenaline and cortisol, which are released in response to stress, overexcitement, and hyperactivity. It further helps to keep the endocrine system in balance by regulating pituitary, adrenal, and other glandular secretions as well.

Psychoneuroimmunology

Psychoneuroimmunology is a relatively new term in Western medicine that describes how the mind/emotions and body work together. Psycho refers to our mental and emotional patterns and processes. Neuro refers to how these thoughts and emotions interact with the nervous system and release hormones and chemicals into the body. Immunology describes how the immune system is affected by this process. For example, two people who have just fallen in love have a dramatic boost in their immune systems, increasing immune markers like white blood cell count by 30 percent. On the other hand, a person with depression might experience a huge decline in immune function, and their immune markers might go down 20 to 40 percent.

The most celebrated exploration of psychoneuroimmunology came from Norman Cousins. After enduring the extreme discomfort and debilitating effects of a long medical battle against a crippling spinal disorder, Cousins suddenly decided to switch tactics. He literally laughed himself to a complete cure and full recovery by watching old Marx Brothers and Laurel and Hardy films. He also insisted on moving from the hospital room to a comfortable hotel room, thereby freeing his system from the immunosuppressive effects of the unhealthy energies—and notoriously unhealthy food—to which patients in large medical institutions are subjected. Before long, Western medical science began to realize what traditional Chinese medicine has known for thousands of years—that a patient’s state of mind can make the crucial difference between illness and recovery, and life and death, and that the mind has the power to heal the body by rebalancing its energies without any assistance from drugs and doctors. As Cousins notes in the book he wrote about his experience, “The will to live is not a theoretical abstraction, but a physiological reality with therapeutic characteristics.”

Chi Kung masters have touted the power of laughter and smiling for thousands of years. They say it elicits a powerful healing energy within the body and transforms sick or old energy back into positive, healing energy. Appendix 1 of this book includes a set of Chi Kung laughter practices.

STIFF JOINTS, ARTHRITIS, AND BONES

Over time, repetitive motion, stress, and improper posture deplete our joints and bones of essential life force. According to the wisdom of Chi Kung, stagnant energy is an underlying cause of this deterioration. Chi Kung masters say that movement clears stagnation, just as the regular movement of a hinge will prevent it from rusting.

Chi Kung helps us to regain health in our joints and bones through specially designed movements. One of the oldest books on Chi Kung—called The Classic on Bone Marrow Washing—contained numerous exercises for strengthening the bones and opening the joints. Chi Kung sees the bones and bone marrow as a great source of energy for the whole body, vital to the maintenance of healthy blood, good immune function, and overall vitality. In chapter 6 of this book, we will go through exercises that “oil the joints” to enhance the production of synovial fluid (the body’s natural lubricant), making them more supple and youthful.

Studies have shown that Chi Kung exercises assist in prevention and treatment of arthritis and osteoporosis while also relieving common problems attributed to overuse of the joints.

HEART AND CIRCULATORY SYSTEM

One of the most pronounced effects of Chi Kung in the human system is a dramatic improvement in blood circulation throughout the body, particularly in the microcirculation of the brain, extremities, and deep tissues of the vital organs. As another axiom of traditional Chinese medicine states, “Blood goes where energy leads.” By circulating energy to the deepest levels of the body and the meridian system, Chi Kung enhances the circulation of blood to every tissue in the body, making sure that all the cells receive enough oxygen, the life-force energy of every cell.

Chi Kung literally strengthens the heart muscle and increases stroke volume (the amount of blood pumped by the heart per minute), so that more energy and oxygen are delivered to the cells and more waste products can be carried away.

Through deep breathing and movement, Chi Kung takes a tremendous workload off the heart. It effectively turns the diaphragm into a “second heart” that supports circulation, thereby preventing exhaustion of the heart muscle and prolonging life. When this sort of breathing is practiced throughout the day, it serves as a highly effective preventive against heart disease.

BLOOD PRESSURE

High blood pressure has become one of the biggest banes of human health today, and the conventional approach to this problem is to prescribe drugs. However, high blood pressure can be readily prevented simply by practicing Chi Kung, which balances blood pressure throughout the circulatory system. A study conducted on one hundred cases of chronic hypertension at the Shanghai Research Institute for Hypertension showed that after only five minutes of Chi Kung practice, blood pressure in every patient began to drop, and after twenty minutes, blood pressure was reduced to the same level it had reached three hours after taking standard blood pressure medications.

Chi Kung also lowers the resting heart rate. As stress and tension clear out of the mind and body through Chi Kung exercises, this relaxes the heart and blood vessels, creating less resistance to blood flow. Chi Kung practitioners tend to have a low resting heart rate—like athletes—along with a calm and relaxed nervous system.

RESPIRATORY SYSTEM

Breathing can be both conscious and unconscious. Most of the time, we don’t think about how we are breathing. Therefore, our breathing patterns are determined by various internal and external energy factors, such as thoughts and emotions, tension and stress, weather and environment. In this unconscious mode of breathing, energy is not regulated and balanced by breath; instead, it takes on emotional patterns and becomes shallow with a busy and stressful lifestyle.

Chi Kung increases vitality through the lungs and respiratory system by relaxing the body, lowering the metabolic rate, and quieting the mind. High levels of stress constrict the chest and muscles in the upper body, creating the tendency to breathe rapidly. Chi Kung decreases the average resting respiratory rate by emphasizing a more efficient and deeper way to breathe using the abdomen, diaphragm, and rib cage. This method of breathing is called tan tien breathing, chi belt breathing, or simply deep abdominal breathing.

A study on deep breathing revealed that after fifteen minutes of practice, the average volume of air taken into the lungs on inhalation rose from 482 ml before practice to 740 ml afterward, while the average number of breaths per minute dropped from fifteen down to only five. This represents a huge improvement in respiratory efficiency. These benefits are due to the important role that the diaphragm plays in breath control. Chi Kung, which engages the diaphragm as a pump to regulate breath and circulation, strengthens this powerful muscle and restores its natural role in breathing, resulting in a cumulative improvement in respiratory efficiency the longer Chi Kung is practiced. For example, a recent study in China demonstrated that after only two months of daily practice, the average flex of the diaphragm, which is only about 1 inch (3 cm) in people who do not practice diaphragmatic breathing, rose to between 2½ and 3½ inches (6–9 cm)—a two- to three-fold increase.

Deep breathing, as taught in Chi Kung, is more important than ever before. Two hundred years ago, the air we breathed contained 38 percent oxygen and only 1 percent carbon dioxide. Today, due to factors such as deforestation, burning fossil fuels, and industrial pollution, the level of oxygen in the air has dropped by half to only 19 percent, while the carbon dioxide level has risen to a dizzying 25 percent. Chi Kung trains practitioners to become more efficient breathers, drawing in more oxygen with less effort.

The deep breathing and the long, rhythmic extensions of the limbs and torso performed in moving Chi Kung exercises also stimulate the movement of lymph throughout the body. Since lymph helps purify the blood and intercellular fluids, Chi Kung exercises promote detoxification of the entire body, right down to the individual cells.

DIGESTIVE SYSTEM

Chi Kung is a fantastic way to support digestion, improving everything from weight loss to IBS, from constipation to ulcers. Chi Kung brings healing energy to all the internal organs and helps to create balance and harmony throughout the digestive tract. Anyone who has been in a Universal Tao workshop knows that belching, yawning, and moving wind are common occurrences with Chi Kung exercises and meditations like the Six Healing Sounds. People spend millions of dollars on digestive drugs to help ease indigestion or alleviate abdominal pain. This may be largely unnecessary, since doing just a little Chi Kung can clear up most of these problems in minutes. You will find that as you practice Chi Kung, your body will naturally detoxify and clear your “pathogenic” or “evil” chi.

There are many ways that Chi Kung practice improves digestion. Abdominal breathing, for one, massages the internal organs and brings more circulation to the lower abdomen. As the diaphragm descends on inhalation, it squeezes the stale blood, bile, and other stagnant fluids from the liver and other organs, and when the pressure is released on exhalation as the diaphragm ascends, fresh blood rushes into the organs and replenishes them with oxygen and nutrients. During this process, the muscles involved in peristalsis are also stimulated.

In addition, Chi Kung stimulates the salivary glands and gastric enzymes. Just fifteen minutes of practice has been shown to produce a major elevation in the secretion of pepsin, one of the most important digestive enzymes in saliva. In fact, we frequently teach students how to swallow their saliva! Because digestion starts in the mouth, increased production of saliva helps break down the food before it even gets to the gut. This way the organs have less work to do and are able to pull more nutrients out of your food. What’s important to remember is that eating is for energy: the better your digestion the more energy you will get from your meals.

Many digestive problems have a strong psychological component. Stress or other emotional issues can cause bloating, constipation, or loose bowels. Because Chi Kung effectively reduces stress and helps your body to manage its stresses differently, it helps to protect the digestive system from stress-related problems.

“Acid indigestion” has become such a common condition in the West that many people never leave the house without a pocketful of antacid remedies. Among the most important preventive health care benefits of Chi Kung is the way it immediately balances the pH level of the blood, digestive juices, and other bodily fluids. Balanced pH is one of the most important aspects of yin/yang balance in human health.

CHI KUNG AND SPORTS

Chi Kung is a powerful way to improve almost every aspect of sports performance. Chi Kung practice increases strength, improves flexibility, prevents injuries, improves coordination, and enhances sensitivity. In short, practicing Chi Kung helps athletes get into “the zone” and truly immerse themselves into their sport. If you watch a skilled athlete, they seem to make very difficult feats look easy. In Chi Kung, this sensation of “effortless power” is an achievable state wherein everything just flows.

Traditionally, Chi Kung was practiced by martial artists who would use it to develop internal power, increase awareness, and become able to anticipate an opponent’s strikes. Nowadays, a Chi Kung golfer knows that his practice helps him move from the center and hit the ball with relaxation, as if the swing, club, player, and ball were all one motion. Basketball players might use Chi Kung for focus and entering the zone, where shots, passes, and movements all flow with natural ease. Chi Kung teaches the whole-body coordinated power necessary for sports excellence and maintaining a competitive edge.

In addition, athletes who practice Chi Kung are less injury prone, and they are able to recover more quickly from any injuries that do occur.

CURATIVE APPLICATIONS OF CHI KUNG

“Breathing and related exercises are one hundred times more effective as medical therapy than any drug,” wrote the Ching dynasty Tao master Shen Chia-shu. “This knowledge is indispensable to man, and every physician should study it thoroughly.”

The Chi Kung exercises practiced for curing disease are much the same as those used for daily preventive health care, but they are practiced much more intensively when used for curative therapy. For mild diseases, for example, a person might practice his or her Chi Kung regimen for three or four hours a day until cured. For serious ailments, such as cancer, patients in China often practice for eight to twelve hours per day! With this type of training and practice people have seen miraculous results. After being diagnosed with cancer, national badminton champion and popular hero Feng Jiang practiced Chi Kung every day for ten months, sometimes up to twelve hours a day. When he went back to the hospital to have his condition checked, his doctors were astounded to discover that the cancer had completely disappeared!

In America, more than forty billion dollars have been funneled into cancer research since the mid 1960s. In this time, Western medicine has revealed some amazing medical discoveries. But with the help of natural medicine like Chi Kung, cancer treatments can become more effective and less stressful on the body.

Health writer Luke Chan was invited to sit in front of an ultrasound monitor and watch a patient’s bladder cancer literally dissolve before his eyes. Prior to the treatment, the tumor could be plainly seen attached to the wall of the bladder. While Chan kept his eyes riveted to the image on the screen, the patient was treated with emitted chi by four therapists. Within minutes, the tumor began to dissolve, and, by the end of the treatment, it could barely be detected. Ten days later, after several more treatments and daily self-practice, the patient was checked again and the cancer had completely disappeared.

Factors involved in Chi Kung therapy for cancer include enhancement of the immune response, which allows the body to fight and destroy malignant cells, great improvement in microcirculation, and the rebalancing and recharging of bioelectric currents in each and every cell of the body. Since Chi Kung’s overall effect is to properly balance the body, what it seems to be doing is creating conditions in which cancer simply cannot exist. Sufficient oxygen and alkalinity are two basic parameters of balance that can be easily measured, but no doubt there are also many other factors—some of them as yet unknown—involved in the optimum balance that Chi Kung establishes in the human system.

Simple Chi Kung Exercises

The secret of Chi Kung, whether you are a beginner or a more advanced practitioner, is practice. The trick is to find a routine that works for you. It’s important to remember that a practice session doesn’t have to be elaborate or time-consuming; a little practice is always better than no practice. There are, however, certain guidelines to follow as you learn Chi Kung that will deepen the benefits and make it easier to feel chi more profoundly. As your experience of chi expands and deepens, so does your desire to practice Chi Kung more and more. In fact, Chi Kung should be one of the most enjoyable aspects of your day. Practice becomes easy when something feels so good.

Our habits—both internal and external—shape the outcome of our lives. To lead healthier, happier lives we need routines that support that outcome. Our bodies, like nature, grow from the inside out. To cultivate greater levels of energy and strength, the body needs consistent growth in that direction. A little bit every day is all it takes!

THE FIVE PRINCIPLES OF CHI KUNG

1. Relaxation (water element): This is a fundamental principle of Chi Kung. Think of the way water moves, like a river flowing down the mountain—effortless, fluid, unified, and powerful. This is the essence of the principle of relaxation. When you practice Chi Kung, you want to mirror the movements of water and feel your body moving fluidly. Relaxation is more than sitting on the couch with the remote in your hand; it’s a dynamic balance of effortless power.
2. Resilience (wood element): Resilience is the power that is reflected in trees: the combination of strength and flexibility. Think of bamboo in the wind, how it bends but doesn’t break, how it stays rooted and pliable at the same time. In Chi Kung, we should embody this principle, feeling a sense of being grounded and flexible, strong and centered all at once.
3. Enjoyment (fire element): Enjoyment is so important in all forms of exercise and meditation. In Chi Kung, feeling good and enjoying the movements, stretches, and flows helps circulate energy. When you force yourself to do exercise that you don’t enjoy, it’s like eating a bowl of ice cream while running on the treadmill. It goes against the flow. Enjoying your workouts and exercise helps to create a connection between the mind, emotions, and body so that harmony is created throughout the entire system. The feeling of energy circulating in your body, a sense of strength at your core, and a tapping into your own inner power should feel really good. Enjoyment is what uplifts the heart, both physically and emotionally. Chi Kung is a fantastic way to make the heart smile!
4. Centering (earth element): Centering implies both a principle of movement for the body and an emotional feeling of being connected inwardly. This principle is connected to the earth element because it is a stabilizing force and cultivates a sense of feeling grounded. When you are centered mentally and emotionally, you don’t feel pulled off by other people, situations, or events. There is a sense of inner balance. During Chi Kung practice, moving from your center—your lower tan tien or abdominal area—moves power and energy through your whole body.
5. Energy (metal element): The metal element is the element of the lungs. Chi Kung uses the breath as a way to improve, cultivate, and transform energy in the body. Chi Kung movements are synchronized with the breath as a way to relax the body, strengthen the tendons, create flow, and balance energy. Chi is energy and the movements of Chi Kung are ways to cultivate this life force.

The ultimate goal of practicing Chi Kung exercises is to become soft, supple, strong, responsive, full of vital life force, and pure like a child. Although these exercises are surprisingly simple to perform, they are sophisticated and effective in reestablishing the harmony we have lost between ourselves, nature, and the universe.

STRETCHING

Nearly everyone stretches, whether they realize it or not. Why? It feels good. What do you do if you’ve been sitting a long time? Stand up and stretch. It’s natural. What do you do after a long drive in the car? Right, stretch. It balances the body. We do many stretches during the day, and this natural movement is what the Chi Kung practitioner seeks to exploit. As your knowledge of stretching expands, your body feels better and better. The right stretches at the right time can make all the difference between being in pain and feeling really good in your body.

However, we also all move in repetitive ways, or stay in static postures for too long, whether they’re dictated by our work, home life, or just being inactive. Sitting is one of the most common forms of repetitive motion. We sit as we drive to work, sit all day at work, sit driving home, sit for dinner, and then sit watching TV after dinner—the typical Western day. This creates stagnation in our muscles, poor circulation, and a fatigued energy system.

We avoid certain movements too, because of habit, laziness, structural imbalances in our bodies, or simple ignorance of proper exercise. Chi Kung teaches basic stretches and exercises to compensate for these problems. Initially some of the techniques may seem quite odd or foreign, but this is because they are taking you beyond habitual movement.

Stretching will help your joints and your muscles and will physically stimulate the meridians along which chi flows. When the muscles get tight and tense, the tension impedes circulation, creating stagnation in the body’s energy system. Anything in nature that is full of youthful life force is supple. A tree that is healthy is resilient; if you bend a branch down, it springs back. But if the tree is old or stiff, the branch breaks when you pull it. This same idea applies to our bodies; if we want to cultivate youthful vitality, becoming supple and flexible is a necessity. As the Taoist sage Lao-tzu says in the Tao Te Ching, “Those that are supple are disciples of life. Those that are brittle are disciples of death.”

The goal of all physical practice is to guide and harmonize chi. “Guiding” chi means controlling it, strengthening it, increasing or decreasing it. “Harmonizing” chi refers to freeing it, opening up the energy in the body, learning to feel it, regulate it, and open the meridian channels so it can flow more smoothly.

BREATH—THE BRIDGE BETWEEN YOUR MIND AND BODY

The benefits of working with the breath are profound. The way you breathe directly influences the quality of your life. In fact, the way you breathe might be the most important factor in how you feel.

Think about how people breathe when they are sad and crying. They inhale with short, shallow gasps and exhale with either long wails or choppy sobs. If someone is angry, in-breaths are usually constricted and out-breaths are long and forceful. During stress, the breath can actually become so shallow that it is almost nonexistent. On the other hand, when someone is feeling good, the breath is calm, deep, and even. The amazing thing about breathing exercises is that the relationship also works in the reverse; by changing the way you breathe, you can also change the way you feel. If you breathe deeply, down into the abdomen, this sends a message to the body to transform negative emotions into positive ones. Deep breathing moves chi and clears stagnant energy.

It is almost impossible to breathe deeply and feel negative emotions at the same time. Chi Kung recognizes this connection between the body and the emotions and prompts us to change the body—our posture and breathing—in order to transform our mental/emotional states. Some years ago, there was a great study done on depression. One group took antidepressant drugs; the other group simply had to look up, smile, and breathe deeply periodically throughout the day. Surprisingly, the group that worked on their posture while incorporating the deep breathing had even better results than the group on drugs. The way we hold our body powerfully affects how we feel. If you want to feel better, breathe more deeply and smile more. Remember that breathing is a reflection of thought and emotion, the bridge between the mind and the body.

Breath unleashes the vital energies of life. Inhale fully to be inspired and take in more of life; exhale completely to get rid of what is old and no longer useful. This process refreshes the system in every moment, clearing out stagnant emotions and thoughts and taking in the new possibilities with each breath. If we cannot inhale completely, we cut ourselves off from new experiences, adventure, and creativity. If we cannot exhale completely, we hold on to the past and are weighed down by old emotional hurts and wounds. To breathe is to be alive. To breathe more deeply is to delve into life more fully.

Think of your breath as Vitamin O, oxygen being the most important nutrient that you take into your body. Oxygen is our most essential food, the fuel that ignites the essential bodily processes—everything from digestion and assimilation to hormone secretion and numerous brain functions.

Deep Breathing

Where deep breathing enlivens and revitalizes every cell and tissue in the body, chronic shallow breathing drains our energy and allows stress to take root. It underoxygenates the blood, the organs, the muscles, the glands, and all the cells in the body. It overworks the heart, suffocates the brain (15 to 20 percent of our oxygen goes to the brain), weakens the immune system, and leads to disease and premature aging. Underoxygenation also leaves toxins in the blood that are then recirculated through the body.

Many catastrophic illnesses have their roots in chronic underoxygenation caused by chronic shallow breathing. In fact, medical researchers believe a lack of oxygen in the system is the prime cause of 1.5 million heart attacks each year. Dr. Otto Warburg, winner of two Nobel Prizes for cancer research, explains that cancer has only one prime cause, which is the replacement of normal oxygen restoration for the body’s cells by oxygen-deficient respiration. Deep breathing increases oxygen to the cells, which is one of the most important factors in living a disease-free and energetic life. He goes on to say, “Where cells get enough oxygen, cancer will not, cannot, occur.”

The Benefits of Deep Breathing

• Energizes the entire system
• Provides cells with sufficient oxygen for optimal functioning
• Clears stress and tension from the muscles
• Supports the lymphatic system for cleansing the blood
• Detoxifies the blood
• Massages the internal organs for better functioning
• Increases our lung capacity for more energy
• Calms the mind
• Facilitates communication between the conscious and unconscious mind
• Acts as a bridge between the mind, body, and spirit for balance, harmony, and spiritual growth
• Promotes health and healing
• Increases communication between the left and right hemispheres of the brain, by stimulating both sides at the same time
• Helps to harmonize the nervous system and reduce stress
• Increases our fundamental vitality
• Deepens meditation
• Expands consciousness

Mouth Breathing versus Nose Breathing

In Chi Kung, there is a saying that “the mouth is for eating, the nose, for breathing.” This seems fairly intuitive, yet the majority of us are sucking air in through our mouths much of the time. Energetically, we are not making use of the amazing health features of the nose, which is the body’s primary defense against germs, impurities, dust, and bacteria. The nose has bacilli-fighting glands, mucous membrane passages, and thousands of filtering hairs to keep outside impurities from entering the lungs, the bloodstream, and the body. The mouth has none of these protective features, and allows a virtually undefended passage directly into the lungs.

When we breathe through the mouth, there is a tendency to fill up the chest only. When you inhale through the nose, on the other hand, your breath naturally penetrates the body more deeply. Try taking a deep breath through your mouth and notice where you feel the expansion. Now, take a slow deep breath through your nose. Did you notice how your breath is drawn more deeply into your body, expanding into your lower abdomen? Breathing through the nose uses the diaphragm, which is the most natural, healthy way to breathe. Watch the way babies and children breathe: their abdomens and rib cages naturally expand and contract.

The proper functioning of every cell in our body depends upon the quality of our breathing. Breathing is the dance of life, uniting all living things in a necessary symbiotic life-support system. We live on the exhaled oxygen of plants, and plants live on our exhaled carbon dioxide; every breath reveals interdependence with the environment. We live in an ocean of energy from which life offers each of us a full portion of vitality. Why decline this abundance of life force through shallow breathing? Why breathe just enough to get by, when you can breathe deeply enough to truly thrive?

Though the lungs have a total air capacity of about 5,000 milliliters, the average breath is only about 500 milliliters. With the proper breathing techniques, we can learn to increase our breathing capacity, taking in twice the amount of energy per breath.

Magic Breathing—The Wave Technique

Think of the tide of the ocean lapping up onto the shore. The water rolls in, pauses, then returns to the ocean. Between the incoming and outgoing tide there is a lull—a stillness before movement. This is how we should breathe, mirroring the movement of the tide.

As you will soon experience, the movement of the breath can flow through the entire torso like a wave in the ocean. It starts in the lower abdomen, then rises up through the ribs, and crests in the chest. Upon exhalation, the wave of movement descends—from the chest, through the ribs, and down into the abdomen. Try it for yourself.

1. Find a comfortable position, either sitting up with a straight spine or lying face up on a comfortable surface. Sitting is preferable and keeps you more alert, but lying down works well too.
2. Bring your right hand over your navel and place your left hand on your sternum at the center of your chest.
3. Take a deep breath in through your nose. Feel your lower abdomen expand first.
4. As you continue to inhale, let the breath rise up through your ribs.
5. Keep inhaling until the breath reaches your chest, beneath your left hand.
6. Exhale out through your nose; feel your breath relaxing and your chest descending.
7. Allow the breath to exhale outward through your ribs.
8. At the end of the exhalation, allow your abdomen to move back toward the spine as you squeeze the breath all the way out.
9. A pause in the breath is like the lull of the tide and creates balance in the mind and energy in the body. Allow the breath to pause for 1 or 2 seconds at the top of each inhalation, and again at the bottom of each exhalation.
10. Continue taking these full deep breaths for at least 7 breaths. You will start to feel the benefits almost immediately. If you can do this exercise for 7 minutes, it’s even better.

WARMING UP THE BODY

The term warm-up means to begin the chi and blood flow and invigorate their circulation throughout the body. Warm-up exercises are particularly important for areas of the body that are rarely stretched, such as the spine and the sacrum. Even a person who does weight training and aerobics is still not properly prepared for the conduction of large amounts of energy. Without an adequate warm-up before exercise, the muscles may be stiff and tight and lack sufficient blood supply to meet the sudden demands placed on them by strenuous activity. This is one major cause of athletic injury.

Simple Chi Kung can be used as a warm up for many other Taoist activities, such as Tai Chi or meditation, but it can also be seen as a warm-up to your everyday life. It will help you meet the day with more energy or clear stress at the end of the day. Done on its own, Simple Chi Kung can effectively create healthy chi flow in the body, which benefits all aspects of life.

BEGINNING YOUR CHI KUNG PRACTICE

Listen to the messages from your body as you do the various exercises. Pain is the body’s warning signal that you may be overdoing it. The goal is not to overstretch or to develop large muscles, but to loosen the joints and relax the muscles so that the chi and blood can flow without obstruction. Don’t force yourself beyond your limits: less is better, especially at the beginning. If you feel any joint pain or discomfort while doing any of the exercises, back off until you feel comfortable. If you still feel strain or pain, discontinue the exercise altogether.

Be especially respectful of any injuries, chronic problems, or physical limitations you may have. If you are kind and gentle to your body, it will start to trust you and relax by itself. You will find yourself starting to loosen on a deeper level without having to force the issue. In this way, you will develop naturally, gradually, and safely. In Chi Kung practice, you learn to reorganize the structure of your body as you sit, stand, and move. In particular, you discover how to use the power of the lower tan tien, the perineum, and the spine to stand in a strong, stable, integrated way. You will see that many of the movements focus on training the waist for this reason.

OVERVIEW OF THE SIMPLE CHI KUNG PRACTICE

OPENING THE JOINTS

• Bouncing
• Foot and Hand Kicking
• Knee Rotations
• Hip Rotations
• Rotating the Sacrum
• Waist Loosening
• Standing Crane and Turtle
• Spinal Cord Breathing
• Empty Force in the Lower, Middle, and Upper Tan Tiens
• Upward Stretching and Twisting to Four Sides
• Windmill Exercise: Opening the Spinal Joints
• Stretching the Neck
• Exercising the Eyes
• Stretching the Shoulders
• Forearms and Palms Slapping the Organs
• Hand and Wrist Stretches
• Opening the Door of Life
• Elephant Swings His Trunk
• Squatting to Open the Sacrum
• Clenching and Tapping the Teeth

CHI MASSAGE

• Knocking on the Kidneys
• Slapping Down the Yang Meridians and Up the Yin Meridians of the Legs
• Knocking on the Chest
• Slapping Down the Yin Meridians and Up the Yang Meridians of the Arms
• Knocking on the Abdomen
• Middle Line of the Abdomen
• Left Side of the Abdomen
• Right Side of the Abdomen

BONE BREATHING

• Bone Breathing Process
• Sacrum Bone Breathing
• Bone Compression

Bouncing

Bouncing the body can be compared to a brief ride on the subway. For those of you who commute, this can be practiced on the way to work as well.

1. Just relax your body while concentrating on opening your joints, and bounce on the floor without any tension (fig. 6.1).
2. Let the vibration in your heels work its way up through the entire skeletal system: from legs to spine to neck to skull. Your shoulders and arms should vibrate as they hang loosely by your sides. To enhance this vibration, you can hum a vowel sound to hear your voice tremble as well.
3. Rest and feel the chi entering your joints.

Fig. 6.1. Shake all the joints loose and feel them open.

Foot and Hand Kicking

1. Draw out one leg and the opposite arm and kick out your leg, letting go of any tension, pain, and stress (fig. 6.2). Repeat 30 to 60 times.
2. Repeat 30 to 60 times with the opposite leg and arm.

Fig. 6.2. Foot and Hand Kicking

Knee Rotations

1. Stand comfortably upright with your feet together. Bend your knees and place your palms lightly on your kneecaps (fig. 6.3).
2. Slowly and gently rotate your knees to the left.
3. Rotate your knees to the back.
4. Rotate your knees to the right.
5. Repeat steps 2 to 4 additional times.
6. Now reverse direction and repeat 9 times.

Fig. 6.3. Knee Rotations

Hip Rotations

Stand with your feet parallel and slightly wider than shoulder-width apart. Place your hands on the sides of your waist (fig. 6.4). As you perform these hip rotations, keep your head still and above your feet. Move slowly and easily, breathing deeply and continuously.

1. Bring your hips forward and swing them in a large clockwise circle.
2. Now tilt your hips backward and swing them in a large counterclockwise circle.
3. Repeat steps 1 and 2 an additional 8 times.
4. Now bring your hips forward and swing them in a large counterclockwise circle.
5. Bring your hips backward and swing them in a large clockwise circle.
6. Repeat steps 4 and 5 an additional 8 times.

Fig. 6.4. Hip Rotations

Rotating the Sacrum

Rotating the sacrum is an excellent exercise to open the lower back and activate the spinal cord.

1. Place both hands over the sacrum.
2. Rotate the sacrum in a circle, 36 times in each direction (fig. 6.5). This movement activates the sacral pump.

Fig. 6.5. Rotating the Sacrum

Waist Loosening

1. Stand with the feet parallel, slightly wider than shoulder-width apart. Allow the arms to dangle loosely at your sides (fig. 6.6).
2. Begin to turn the hips from side to side. Let the arms swing naturally and easily with the momentum of the hips turning. Explore your natural and comfortable range of hip motion. Don’t go to extremes; just stay within your free and easy comfort zone.
3. After turning just the hips 10 or 12 times, allow the lumbar vertebrae to relax and loosen and gently twist with the hips. You should still begin the movement from the hips, but now allow the lumbar vertebrae to respond as well.
4. Next allow the middle spine, upper back, and neck to twist gently with the movement.
5. Keep the shoulders loose and let the arms swing with the movement. Don’t use effort to move the arms; let them be totally limp and just let the body swing them. At the same time, be aware of the gentle twisting of the knee and ankle joints as you twist the whole body. Do this at least 36 times to each side.

Fig. 6.6. Waist Loosening

Standing Crane and Turtle

Standing Crane

1. Stand with your feet apart and your knees slightly bent. Place your hands on your thighs.
2. Keeping your back straight, extend your chin forward (fig. 6.7).
3. Bring your chin down toward your chest as you hinge forward from the hips and waist. Tuck your tailbone under, gently press your hips forward, and roll up from the lower back. This should feel like a wave flowing from the lower body and moving up the spine through the upper back and neck.
4. Then begin again by extending the chin forward and repeat the exercise 9 to 18 times. Your head leads with the chin, tracing a big circle in the air. It’s important to relax and flow with this exercise, moving the spine like water.

Fig. 6.7. Standing Crane

Turtle

Turtle is the reverse movement of Standing Crane.

1. Stand with your feet apart and your knees slightly bent. Place your hands on your thighs and tuck your chin into your chest (see fig. 6.8 on page 72).
2. Keep your chin tucked into the chest as you bend your knees and roll your upper body forward and down. Roll the movement and energy down the back to the tailbone.
3. Then extend the chin like a turtle’s head coming out of its shell, and come up. Look up and keep the neck extended and elongated as you stand up, almost straightening your legs.
4. Then tuck the chin back into the chest and roll down again, repeating the entire sequence 9 to 18 times.

Fig. 6.8. Turtle

Spinal Cord Breathing

1. Stand with your feet a little more than shoulder-width apart, arms at your sides.
2. Inhale and expand your chest, bending your arms at the elbows.
3. Exhale, tucking your tailbone in and rounding your back. At the same time, bring your elbows toward one another in front of your chest (fig. 6.9).
4. Inhale, expanding your chest. Tuck your chin in toward the throat, raise the crown of your head, and bring your arms back to your sides, elbows still bent.

Repeat this back and forth movement 36 times. This movement activates the cranial and sacral pumps and loosens all the joints in the spine.

Fig. 6.9. Spinal Cord Breathing

Empty Force in the Lower, Middle, and Upper Tan Tiens

1. Breathe in to the three abdominal areas (lower, middle, and upper), and exhale deeply with your mouth open (fig. 6.10).
2. Breathe in deeply to the lower abdominal area and exhale, sticking your tongue out and curling it under as you empty the air from your lower abdominal area.
       Optional practice for men: Pull your genitals down at the same time as you breathe out (fig. 6.11).
       Optional practice for women: Use a string and jade egg.¹
3. Repeat step 2 for the middle abdominal area, then repeat again for the upper abdominal area.
4. Move the tongue and abdomen in a circular motion to the right, then reverse direction and circle to the left, continually emptying the body of any air.

Fig. 6.10. The Empty Force practice

Fig. 6.11. The Empty Force practice showing optional genital pulling for men

Upward Stretching and Twisting to Four Sides

1. Raise your hands above your head and stretch as far as you can reach, moving up onto your toes (fig. 6.12).
2. Grab your elbows, lower your feet, and lean to each side several times.
3. Raise your hands again, and twist your spine to the right and then to the left.

Fig. 6.12. Upward Stretching and Twisting to Four Sides

Windmill Exercise: Opening the Spinal Joints

Do each phase of this practice very slowly and mindfully.

Outer Front Extension

1. Begin in the same stance as for Waist Loosening. Bring both hands together and hook the two thumbs together.
2. Keeping your hands close to your torso, inhale and raise your arms until they are extended straight above your head, with the fingers pointing upward (fig. 6.13).
3. Gently stretch up in this position, extending your spine slightly backward. You can even say “Ahhhhhh” as you would when you stretch first thing in the morning.
4. Begin to exhale slowly and bend forward, reaching as far out in front as you can, keeping your head between your arms. Try to feel each joint of the spine releasing one by one in a wavelike motion. Bend first from the lumbar vertebrae, then from the thoracic vertebrae, and finally from the cervical vertebrae. At this point you should be completely bent over.
5. Slowly straighten your back, once again feeling each joint of the spine as it opens, from the sacrum to the lumbar vertebrae, then to the thoracic and cervical vertebrae. Allow your arms and head to hang heavily until you are back in the starting position.

Repeat 3 to 5 times. Finish with your arms over your head as at the end of step 1.

Fig. 6.13. Windmill: Outer Front Extension

Inner Front Extension

1. Now do the same movements, but move from downward to upward. Begin in a comfortable standing position. Point your fingertips downward and slowly lower your arms, keeping your hands close to your torso (fig. 6.14).
2. When the arms are completely lowered, begin to bend forward. Release your head, cervical vertebrae, thoracic vertebrae, and lumbar vertebrae, until you are bent all the way forward as at the end of step 4 of the Outer Front Extension. Feel each joint become open.
3. Keeping your head between your arms, start to straighten back up. Your arms should extend in front as you slowly move back to an erect position.
4. When you finish straightening up, your arms should be straight above your head.
   Repeat 3 to 5 times.

Fig. 6.14. Windmill: Inner Front Extension

Left Outer Extension (Left Side Bend)

1. Keep your head between your arms in an overhead position, and twist your torso to the left, pivoting on your feet but not lifting them. Stretch forward and down toward your left foot. You should feel a gentle stretch on the left side of your waist. Continue stretching down and to the side until you are bent all the way down (fig. 6.15).
2. Then circle back up on the right side until you are once again standing straight with your arms overhead.
   Repeat 3 to 5 times.

Fig. 6.15. Windmill: Left Outer Extension (Left Side Bend)

Right Outer Extension (Right Side Bend)

Repeat the side-bending movements of the Left Outer Extension described above, but bend to your right, and come up on the left.

Do 3 to 5 times.

Conclusion

To finish, unhook the thumbs and let the arms slowly float back down to the sides.

Stretching the Neck

During these neck exercises, breathe calmly from your abdomen and make sure you keep the rest of your joints loose (fig. 6.16).

1. Neck tilt: Let your head drop gently to one side, then the other. Let gravity do the work as you move your head back and forth. Try to feel how much it weighs. Keep both shoulders dropped—relaxed and motionless.
2. Side-to-side rotation: Look over your shoulders one after the other, looking further and further back as you warm up. Let your eyes direct the movement and let your neck follow so it is always in extension, never in contraction.
3. Up and down: Look up over your head, then down between your feet. Alternate up and down for 9 cycles.
4. Around the clock: Let your eyes make a slow clockwise circle around the edges of your face, allowing your head to follow. Make several clockwise rotations, then a few counterclockwise rotations.

Fig. 6.16. Neck stretches

Exercising the Eyes

During these eye exercises, make sure you are breathing steadily from your abdomen and keeping your neck unlocked. Repeat each exercise 3 to 6 times.

1. Lateral movement: Spot an object at the extreme left edge of your peripheral vision and another one at the extreme right edge. Move your eyes back and forth between the two extremes without turning your neck.
2. Up and down: Spot an object over your head and another one by your feet. Move your eyes from one to the other without tilting your head.
3. Contralateral movement: Move your eyes from the upper right corner of the right eye to the lower left corner of the left eye, and back again.
4. Move your eyes from the upper left corner of the left eye to the lower right corner of the right eye, and back again.
5. Rotations: Sweep your eyeballs in a slow and steady circle around the periphery of your vision. Catch yourself when your eyes want to skip an angle, and go back and forth there until you have a smooth movement.

Stretching the Shoulders

The stretch in this exercise starts from the tips of the fingers and involves all tendons, ligaments, and fasciae from the fingertips to the spine. It is an excellent set of exercises for prevention and correction of carpal tunnel syndrome and tennis elbow.

Shoulder Rotations

1. Stand in a relaxed manner with your feet shoulder-width apart.
2. Bring your shoulders all the way up to your ears (fig. 6.17).
3. Move your shoulders as far back as possible, as if trying to touch the shoulder blades together.
4. Drop your shoulders down to a normal resting position. Repeat several times.

Fig. 6.17. Shoulder Rotations

Shoulder Rotations with Forward Arm Stretch

1. Stand in a relaxed manner with your feet shoulder width apart, and your arms extended forward.
2. Bring your shoulders all the way up to your ears.
3. Slide your shoulders as far back as possible, as if trying to touch the shoulder blades together.
4. Let your shoulders drop back down into a normal position.
5. Stretch as if you were being pulled forward by your fingers—stretch all the way from the tips of your fingers to your spine. Repeat several times.

Shoulder Rotations with Arms Overhead

1. Stand in a relaxed manner with your feet shoulder width apart, and your arms stretched overhead.
2. Bring your shoulders all the way up to your ears.
3. Slide your shoulders as far back as possible, as if trying to touch the shoulder blades together.
4. Let your shoulders drop back down into a normal position.
5. Stretch as if you were being pulled by your fingers toward the ceiling; stretch all the way from the tips of your fingers to your spine. Repeat several times.

Shoulder Rotations with Lateral Arm Stretch

1. Stand in a relaxed manner with your feet shoulder-width apart and your arms stretched out to the sides.
2. Bring your shoulders all the way up to your ears.
3. Slide your shoulders as far back as possible, as if trying to touch the shoulder blades together.
4. Let your shoulders drop back down into a normal position.
5. Stretch as if you wanted to touch the walls on either side of you; stretch all the way from the tips of your fingers to your spine. Repeat several times.

Forearms and Palms Slapping the Organs

1. Stand in a relaxed manner with your feet shoulder width apart and your arms hanging loosely at your sides.
2. Twist your spine rhythmically from side to side, letting your arms flop loosely so that your forearms and palms “slap” the organs lightly as they come into contact with your body. Slap your lungs, heart, kidneys, spleen, pancreas, and bladder several times each (fig. 6.18).

Hand and Wrist Stretches

In these exercises, one arm at a time is active. The active side gives the stretch while the passive side receives the treatment exercise. The stretch is given upon exhalation.

Simple Flexion

1. The active hand lifts up the passive wrist to the level of the sternum, then flexes the wrist by pushing the hand toward the inside of the arm. Repeat several times.
2. Switch sides.

Fig. 6.18. Forearms and Palms Slapping the Organs

Internal Rotation with Flexion and Abduction of the Wrist

1. Hold the palm of your passive hand in front of your face. Wrap your active hand around the back of your passive hand, placing your active hand’s thumb between the little finger and the ring finger of the passive hand, and your active hand’s middle and ring fingers around the wrist of the passive hand.
2. Rotate the passive wrist by pushing the thumb of the active hand (which is between the little finger and the ring finger of the passive hand) toward you, while the middle and ring fingers of the active hand pull the passive wrist in the opposite direction. Repeat several times (fig. 6.19).
3. Switch sides.

Fig. 6.19. Wrist stretches

External Rotation with Flexion and Adduction of the Wrist

1. Stand with arms outstretched, palms facing each other.
2. Turn your passive hand outward, cradling it in your active hand, which should support its weight.
3. Let the passive side relax, dropping the whole weight of the elbow and shoulder into the cradling active hand.
4. Use your active hand to flex and stretch the passive wrist by bringing it closer to your sternum. Repeat several times.
5. Switch sides.

Upward Hyperextension of the Wrist

1. Extend your passive arm in front of you with your palm facing forward and fingers pointing toward the ceiling.
2. Place the palm of your active hand against the fingers of the passive hand and pull them gently toward you, hyperextending the passive wrist as the whole weight of the passive arm and shoulder drops (fig. 6.20).
3. Then use the active hand to lift up all the weight of the passive arm’s wrist, elbow, and shoulder in a stretching movement toward the ceiling. This stretch should be felt all the way from the fingers to the neck. Repeat steps 2 and 3 several times.
4. Switch sides.

Fig. 6.20. Hyperextending the wrist by pulling upright fingers toward the body

Downward Hyperextension of the Wrist

1. Stand with the passive hand palm up.
2. Let your active hand bend the fingers of the passive hand down toward your leg, hyperextending the fingers, hand, wrist, and arm in one motion (fig. 6.21). Repeat several times.
3. Switch sides.

Fig. 6.21. Hyperextending the wrist by pulling the fingers down toward your leg

Opening the Door of Life

1. Begin in the same stance as for Waist Loosening. Twist to the left as in the Waist Loosening exercise, initiating the movement from your hips. Let your right arm swing across the front of your torso, raising it up to head height with the palm facing away from you. At the same time, let your left arm swing around the back and place the back of your left hand over the Door of Life point—the point on the spine opposite the navel (figs. 6.22 and 6.23).
2. When you reach your full extension, relax, and then extend again by loosening your lower back. Feel the gentle stretch and increased extension coming all the way from the Door of Life area, not from the shoulders. Extend in this way 2 or 3 times.
3. Twist to the right and repeat the steps as above on the right side. Repeat 9 times on each side.

Fig. 6.22. Opening the Door of Life

Fig. 6.23. The Door of Life

Elephant Swings His Trunk

Let go of your arms and move your hips back and forth, throwing your arms forward and back with the momentum of your hips and loosening your shoulders and neck (fig. 6.24).

Fig. 6.24. Elephant Swings His Trunk

Squatting to Open the Sacrum

During these squatting exercises, breathe into your lower tan tien. Keep your chest relaxed and feel a force pulling you down as you squat down to the earth, and then a force pulling you back up.

Squatting in Front of a Wall

A good strategy for developing the squatting position is to face a wall while you practice. Some people tend to bend the head forward first, or bend the back and then lean forward. Using a wall will help you see whether you are bending too much.

1. Start by standing 18 cm or more in front of a wall. (Eventually you can move closer to the wall.) Stand with your feet shoulder width apart. (When you improve your squatting ability, place both feet together.)
2. Place both hands at your sides, with the tips of your fingers touching the thigh bones (fig. 6.25).
3. Slowly drop down from your groin, like you are sitting down; drop till you can’t go any further, and lightly bend your knees. If you bend too much your knees will hit the wall.

Fig. 6.25. Squatting to Open the Sacrum

Squatting with a Partner

To squat down you can also use the help of a partner or the edge of a table. Be sure that you go straight down and bend from the kua (the groin).

1. When you work with a partner, stand facing each other with legs shoulder width apart. Stretch out your arms and firmly grasp each other’s wrists.
2. From this position, squat straight down together from the kua while supporting one another. Sink as deep as you both can without leaning forward.

Clenching and Tapping the Teeth

Clench and tap the front and both sides of your teeth several times (fig. 6.26).

Fig. 6.26. Clenching and Tapping the Teeth

Chi Massage

Knocking on the Kidneys

1. Locate the kidneys just above the lowest, or floating, rib in the back on either side of the spine. Make a fist and hit the kidneys with the back of the fist between the wrist and knuckles. Hit only as hard as is comfortable.
2. Alternate hands and sides of the back.
3. Rub your hands together to warm them. Then rub your palms up and down over the kidneys until they feel warm.

Slapping Down the Yang Meridians and Up the Yin Meridians of the Legs

The yang meridians of the legs run from the lower back down the outside of the legs to the feet. The yin meridians of the legs run from the feet, up the inside of the legs to the front of the hips.

1. Using the palm of the right hand with as much force as feels comfortable, start slapping at the low back and kidney area on the left side. Ideally you want to activate the energy with a firm but comfortable slap.
2. Slap from the low back area down the outside of the left leg and connect to the yin meridians on the inside of the ankle.
3. Slap back up the yin meridians on the inside of the leg.
4. When you get to the front of the hips, return to the lower back and go down the yang meridians and back up the yin meridians again. Complete this entire cycle 3 times.
5. Then switch hands and slap down and up the right leg 3 times.

Knocking on the Chest

Make loose fists with your hands and knock briskly on both sides of your chest and over your sternum (think of Tarzan).

Slapping Down the Yin Meridians and Up the Yang Meridians of the Arms

The yin meridians of the upper body flow from the chest down the insides of the arms. The yang meridians of the upper body take the energy up the outside of the arms to the head.

1. With the right hand, slap over to the left side of the chest and down the yin meridians on the inside of the left arm.
2. Slap up the yang meridians on the outside of the left arm to the neck area and return to the left side of the chest.
3. Repeat this sequence 3 times.
4. Then change hands and repeat the sequence 3 times on the right side of the chest and right arm.

Knocking on the Abdomen

1. Place your hands at oblique angles on the lower tan tien (3 inches below the navel).
2. Rub the tan tien 30 times with the hands alternating, one pulling back and up as the other slides down and forward.
3. Make loose fists and rap the lower tan tien 30 times, alternating your hands as you rap.

Middle Line of the Abdomen

1. Knock with a loose fist over the navel.
2. Then knock up to the solar plexus and down to just above the pubic bone.
3. Go up and down this middle line 3 times.

Left Side of the Abdomen

Come over to the left side of the navel and knock up and down the left side of the abdomen 3 times. Knock from the bottom of the rib cage to the inside of the left hip.

Right Side of the Abdomen

Come over to the right side of the navel and knock up and down the right side of the abdomen 3 times. Knock from the bottom of the rib cage to the inside of the right hip.

BONE BREATHING

Another way in which the human system transforms the energies it assimilates through Chi Kung practice is by virtue of what is known in Western science as the “piezoelectric effect.” This refers to a unique property possessed by all crystalline structures, whereby any sort of vibratory or wave energy applied to a crystal structure is transformed into electromagnetic pulses.

The human body contains a variety of tissues with crystalline matrices, particularly bone, connective tissue, and the electrolytes in certain body fluids. These crystalline structures have the capacity to transduce high-frequency wave energies to which they are exposed—such as light and sound waves—eliciting specific electromagnetic pulses from them. These pulses are conducted through the body by the meridians and nerves, and utilized by various organs and tissues. This is the mechanism by which mantra, music, and various sacred syllables can effectively balance and heal the body: as the sound waves vibrate through the body, crystalline structures within the tissues transform them into pulsed currents that are then conducted to specific organs and glands, depending on the frequency and amplitude of the incoming wave signal.

Chi Kung opens the human system to some of the highest bands of wave energy in the universe, which are transformed within the body to produce healing energy pulses that rebalance the whole system. They can be used to cure and prevent disease and to heal specific organs. The piezoelectric effect is one of the most distinctive and important aspects of Chi Kung as a method of health care and life extension.

Bone Breathing Process

Bone Breathing is the method of drawing external energy through the skin into the bones to clean out fat in the bone marrow. This process helps to regenerate the bone marrow, thereby rejuvenating the production of blood and chi. It is vital to the practice of advanced Chi Kung techniques, but it is also used in more basic practices to increase blood and energy circulation. When chi flows freely into the bones and blood, it can carry nutrients and oxygen to areas in need. This reduces tension in the muscles surrounding the bones, which can then grow stronger.

The Bone Breathing exercise is a three-stage process of inhaling and exhaling through the fingers and toes while using the mind and the eyes to absorb cosmic force into the bones. The mind and eyes can also be used immediately after every exercise to bring energy down to the navel.

1. Use the powers of the mind and eyes to breathe outside energy in through the fingertips, gradually bringing this energy up the hands and arms to the skull, and then down the spinal column (figs. 6.27 and 6.28). A sensation is felt as you breathe into each area.
2. Inhale and exhale the same way through the toes and then, step-by-step, inhale up to and into the shins, thighbones, and hips. Then inhale up your legs to your sacrum, where the energy will enter your spinal column and surge up through the nervous system.
3. Finally, breathe into your arms and legs simultaneously, through the seventh cervical vertebra (C7) and up into your head.

Fig. 6.27. Bone Breathing

Fig. 6.28. The flow of energy during Bone Breathing

Remember that you absorb and eject energy more effectively at specific points, many of which protrude from the body: toes, fingertips, elbows, knees, sacrum, Door of Life, C7, shoulders, and nose.

Sacrum Bone Breathing

Because the sacrum controls all the bones and bone marrow in the body, this exercise will benefit all of your bones.

1. Touch your sacrum and feel the sacral holes breathing and pulsating.
2. Become aware of the bone marrow inside your sacrum.
3. Feel the chi rise up from your sacrum and activate all the vertebrae in your spine.
4. Feel the chi activate your temporal bones.
5. Become aware of your third eye (between your eyebrows) and feel it open. The third eye is a major gate for receiving cosmic energy.
6. Rest and enjoy the feeling of being both quiet and energized at the same time.

Bone Compression

This exercise is another means of increasing the flow of chi to the muscles and the bones, in order to squeeze out toxins, sediment, waste material, and negative emotions that have become stored in the muscles. Once these negative elements have been cleaned out, positive ones have room to grow. Positive emotions relax the muscles and the entire body.

Bone Compression practice is also known as the “Power Exercise,” or the dynamic tension that serves to greatly tone up the muscles and strengthen the bone and bone marrow.

Practice the exercise in the following progression: (a) hands, forearms, upper arms; (b) legs, lower legs, thighs; (c) neck and head; (d) back (spinal cord) and chest (rib cage). Feel the muscles and bones separate from each other as you relax.

1. Inhale as you tighten and squeeze the muscles of the hands, forearms, and upper arms to the bones.
2. Exhale strongly, releasing and totally relaxing those muscles.
3. Repeat the above practice for the muscles of the legs, squeezing them all the way to the bone.
4. Repeat steps 1 and 2 for the muscles of the neck and head.
5. Repeat steps 1 and 2 for the muscles of the back and chest.
6. Complete the exercise by standing upright with your palms resting on your navel. (Men should have the left palm over the right; women should have the right palm over the left.) Stand for a while, and feel the chi flow in your Microcosmic Orbit.
7. Concentrate on collecting the energy in your navel. Men should spiral the energy outward in a clockwise direction 36 times—being careful not to go above the diaphragm or below the pubic bone—then inward 24 times, finally collecting the energy at the navel. Women should spiral outward in a counterclockwise direction 36 times, reversing to clockwise when spiraling inward 24 times before collecting the energy at the navel.
8. When you are finished, relax, and use your palms to gently brush any remaining energy down from the chest.

PRECAUTIONS

The following is a warning to all practitioners, especially those with high blood pressure, emotional instability, heart or chest pain, or any acute illness.

• If you have high blood pressure, check with a doctor before attempting to practice any exercises. Do not do the exercises and breathing techniques strenuously.
• Women may practice the structure, standing meditations, and Bone Breathing practices while pregnant or menstruating.
• Be sure that the diaphragm is lowered while practicing these exercises to avoid accumulating energy in the heart and to facilitate the flow of the Microcosmic Orbit. Do not pack the chest, as this can cause energy to congest there, which can affect the heart. Again, you should always relax the chest.
• Always breathe into the lower abdomen and perineum to avoid trapping negative energies in other parts of the body, especially in the brain, the heart, or the liver.
• After practicing the postures, be sure to place the tongue on the roof of the mouth to connect the Microcosmic channels so that all energy from the head can be drawn down through the Functional Channel to the navel for storage. Do not leave energy in the head or upper body.

Guidelines for Simple Chi Kung

One of the most powerful aspects of any Chi Kung practice is the ability to experience the vital connection between our individual being and the infinite being of the universe. In traditional Chinese thought, this connection is built in to our bodies before we are born, and it is known as the Three Treasures.

The Three Treasures constitute the triunal link that connects each and every human being to the infinite power and wisdom of the universe; these treasures are the basic components of the Inner Alchemy that comprises the Nei Kung (“internal work”) school of Chi Kung.

Prior to birth, the Three Treasures are bound in a seamless undifferentiated unity, which is known as their “prenatal” (sian-tien) aspect. This seed of the Three Treasures begins to sprout at the moment of conception, differentiating itself from the rest of the universe like a drop of water spraying loose from a wave in the sea. The seed forever retains its primordial links to the universe from which it sprang, but once it sprouts and takes on an individual life cycle, this unity transforms: the Three Treasures separate into their distinctive postnatal manifestations of body, breath, and mind, while their primordial roots are held in deep reserve as primordial essence, energy, and spirit.

Essence

Prenatal essence is the primal urge to procreate and proliferate life in material form. It manifests in the polar power of gender, ensuring perpetual regeneration of all species of life. Prenatal essence gives rise to the production of sexual vitality, which is stored—in the form of hormones—in the adrenal glands and sexual glands.

Postnatal essence is synthesized from the material nutritional essences of food, water, and air. Its most important forms are the vital bodily fluids, such as blood and hormones, neurotransmitters and cerebrospinal fluid, enzymes and electrolytes.

Energy

Prenatal energy is the primordial power of the universe—the movements and cycles of the stars and planets, the vibration of atoms and molecules, the universal energies of the cosmos, such as light and heat, and the electromagnetic and nuclear forces.

Postnatal energy refers to the energies we derive from the earth’s natural resources, such as food, water, air, and the five elemental energies. Our bodies transform these resources into the energies of our vital organ systems, breath and speech, bodily movement, cellular metabolism, and the energies of emotion.

Spirit

Prenatal spirit is the primordial Mind of Tao, which endows every sentient being with the original light of awareness. It may be compared to the wetness of the ocean’s water.

Prenatal spirit lies hidden like a precious pearl deep within the temporal shell of the postnatal human mind. Like a restless nomad, it wanders from lifetime to lifetime, pitching camp in this body, then moving on to the next, without ever being recognized or remembered by its temporary hosts—until the day in the life of a particular being that the temporal human mind awakens to primordial spirit’s subtle presence and sets it free from the delusions that bind it to mortal flesh. It is this prenatal aspect of the human mind that is immortal.

Postnatal spirit is that part of our consciousness that is tied in to everyday living. Part of the goal of the Taoist practice is to connect the postnatal spirit to the prenatal spirit through meditation and quieting the mind.

The term “Three Treasures” describes both the primordial triune of essence, energy, and spirit and its temporal expression in the body, breath, and mind of postnatal life. Chi Kung practice and balanced living are methods for protecting the Three Treasures to enhance well-being, vitality, and a deep sense of spiritual connection to the universe.

GUIDELINES FOR SIMPLE CHI KUNG PRACTICE

In this section we will list the twenty-three rules that have been passed down by generations of Chi Kung masters. These rules are based on much study and experience, and you should observe them carefully.

Don’t Be Stubborn about Plans and Ideas

This is one of the easiest mistakes for beginners to make. When we take up Chi Kung we are enthusiastic and eager. However, sometimes we don’t learn as fast as we would like to, and we become impatient and try to force things. Sometimes we set up a schedule for ourselves: today I want to make my tan tien warm, tomorrow I want to get through the tailbone cavity, by such and such a day I want to complete the Microcosmic Orbit. This is the wrong way to go about it. Chi Kung is not like any ordinary job or task you set for yourself, you cannot make a progress schedule for Chi Kung. This will only make your thinking rigid and stagnate your progress. Everything happens when it is time for it to happen. If you try to force your progress, it will not happen naturally.

Don’t Place Your Attention in Discrimination

When you practice, do not place your attention on the various phenomena or sensations that are occurring. Be aware of what is happening, but keep your mind centered on wherever it is supposed to be for the exercise you are doing. If you let your mind go to wherever you feel something “interesting” happening, the chi will follow your mind and interfere with your body’s natural tendency to rebalance itself. Do not expect anything to happen, and don’t let your mind wander around looking for the various phenomena.

Furthermore, don’t start evaluating or judging the phenomena, such as asking, “Is my tan tien warmer today than it was yesterday,” or “Just where is my chi now?” When your mind is on your chi, your Yi (intention) is there also, and this stagnant Yi will not lead the chi. Instead, be aware of what is happening, but don’t pay attention to it. When you drive a car, you don’t watch yourself steer and work the pedals and shift gears. If you did, you’d drive off the road. You simply put your mind on where you want to go and let your body automatically drive the car. This is called regulating without regulating.

Avoid Miscellaneous Thought Remaining on Origins

This is a problem of regulating the mind. The emotional mind is strong, and every idea is still strongly connected to its origin. If you cannot cut the ideas off at their source, your mind is not regulated, and you should not try to regulate your chi.

You will also find that even though you have stopped the flow of random thoughts going through your mind, new ideas are generated during practice. For example, when you discover that your tan tien is warm, your mind immediately recalls where this was mentioned in a book, or how the master described it, and you start to compare your experience with this. Or you may start wondering what the next step is. All of these thoughts will lead you away from peace and calm, and your mind will end up in the “domain of the devil”—confused, scattered, and very often scared—and you will tire quickly.

Your Mind (Hsin) Should Not Follow the External Scenery

This is also a problem of regulating the mind (hsin). When your emotional mind is not controlled, any external distraction will lead it away from your body and toward the distraction. You must train yourself so that noises, smells, conversations, and such will not disturb your concentration. It is all right to be aware of what is happening, but your mind must remain calmly, peacefully, and steadily on your cultivation.

Regulate your Sexual Activity

You should not have sexual relations at least twenty-four hours before or after practicing Chi Kung, especially martial or spiritual Chi Kung. The essence-to-chi conversion training is a very critical part of these practices, and if you practice Chi Kung soon after sex, you will harm your body significantly. Sex depletes a man’s sperm and leaves the chi level of his lower body lower than normal. Practicing Chi Kung under these conditions, it is like doing heavy exercise right after sex. Furthermore, when the chi level is abnormal, feeling and sensing are also not accurate. Under these conditions, the Yi can be misled. It is better to wait until the chi level regains its normal balance before resuming Chi Kung. Only then will the essence-to-chi conversion proceed normally and efficiently.

One of the major purposes of Chi Kung is to increase the essence-to-chi conversion and use this chi to nourish your body. Once a man has built up a supply of chi, having sex will only pass this chi on to his partner; during sexual relations the female usually gains chi while the male loses chi during ejaculation. As a matter of fact, many Chi Kung masters insist that men should not have sex three days before and four days after practice. A woman should not practice Chi Kung after sex until her body has digested the chi she has obtained from the man. There are certain Taoist Chi Kung techniques that teach men how not to lose chi during sexual activity, and teach women how to receive chi from the man and digest it.¹

Don’t Be Too Warm or Too Cold

The temperature of the room in which you are training should not be too hot or too cold. You should practice in the most comfortable environment so as not to disturb your mind and cultivation.

Be Careful of the Five Weaknesses and Internal Injuries

The “five weaknesses” are the weaknesses of the five yin organs—the heart, liver, lungs, kidneys, and spleen. Because Chi Kung practice is an internal exercise directly related to these five organs, if one or more of them is weak, it is like forcing a weak person to run ten miles. This will not build up his strength, rather it will injure him more seriously. If you find that any of your organs are weak, you should proceed very gradually and gently with your Chi Kung practice.

For the same reason, you should practice very gently when you have an internal injury. Because your internal chi distribution is already disturbed by an injury, your perceptions and assessments of your chi may be inaccurate. If you practice Chi Kung at such a time, your feelings may mislead you; your practice may worsen your problem and interfere with the natural healing process. Although certain Chi Kung exercises are designed to cure internal injuries, you need to have a very good understanding of the chi situation in your body to use them properly.

Avoid Facing the Wind When Sweating

When you practice Chi Kung you are exercising internally, or both internally and externally. It is normal to sweat as you practice—all the more so because you are relaxed and your pores are wide open. If you expose your body to cold wind at this time, you will catch cold. So it is important that you not practice in the wind, especially facing the wind.

Don’t Wear Tight Clothes or Belt

Always wear loose clothes during practice because this will help you to feel comfortable. Keep your belt loose, too. The abdomen is the key area in Chi Kung practice, and you must be careful not to limit your movement here because it will interfere with your practice.

Don’t Eat Too Much Greasy or Sweet Food

You should regulate your eating habits while you are practicing Chi Kung. Greasy foods and sweet foods will increase your fire chi, making your mind scattered, and causing your shen to stray away from its residence. You should eat more fruit and vegetables and keep away from alcohol and tobacco.

Don’t Hang Your Feet Off the Bed

In ancient times, a common place to practice Chi Kung was sitting on the edge of the bed. However, since most beds were high, if you sat on the edge of the bed your feet would dangle above the floor. In order to stay in contact with the energy of the earth, it is important that your feet touch the floor when you practice. If they do not, all of your body weight will press down on your thighs and reduce the chi and blood circulation. For the same reason, you should not put your feet up on a table when you practice, because this position will also stagnate the chi and blood circulation.

Don’t Practice with a Full Bladder

You should go to the toilet before you start your practice. If you need to go during practice, stop your practice and do so. Holding it in disturbs your concentration.

Don’t Scratch an Itch

If you itch because of some external reason, such as an insect walking on you or biting you, do not be alarmed and keep your mind calm. Use your Yi to lead the chi back to its residence, the tan tien. Breathe a couple of times and gradually bring your consciousness back to your surroundings. Then you may scratch or think of how to stop the itching. However, if the itching is caused by chi redistribution as a direct result of your Chi Kung practice, remain calm and do not move your mind toward the itch. Simply ignore it and let it happen. Once your chi has reached a new balance, the itching will stop. If you scratch this kind of itch it means that your mind has been disturbed and also that you are using your hands to interfere with the natural rebalancing of your body’s chi.

Avoid Being Suddenly Disturbed or Startled

Try to avoid being suddenly disturbed or startled. However, if such a disturbance does occur, calm down your mind as fully as you can. You must absolutely prevent yourself from losing your temper: what has happened has happened, and getting angry cannot change anything. What you should do is prevent it from happening again. The most important thing to learn from such an experience is how to regulate your mind when you are disturbed.

Don’t Take Delight in the “Scenery”

It is very common during practice to suddenly notice something that is going on inside of you. Perhaps you feel chi moving more clearly than ever before, or you start to sense your bone marrow, and you feel excited. You have just fallen into a very common trap: your concentration is broken and your mind is divided. This is dangerous and harmful. You have to learn how to be aware of what is going on inside you without getting excited.

Don’t Wear Sweaty Clothes

This happens mostly in moving Chi Kung practice, especially in martial Chi Kung training. When your clothes are wet from sweat you will feel uncomfortable, and your concentration will be affected. It is better to change into dry clothes and then resume practice.

Don’t Sit When Hungry or Full

You should not practice Chi Kung when you are hungry or when your stomach is full. When you are hungry it is hard to concentrate, and when you are full your practice will affect your digestion.

Heaven and Earth Strange Disaster

It is believed that your body’s chi is directly affected by changes in the weather. It is therefore not advisable to practice Chi Kung when there is a sudden weather change, because your practice will interfere with your body’s natural readjustment to the new environment. You will also be unable to feel and sense your chi flow as you do normally. You must always try to remain emotionally neutral whenever you do Chi Kung; even if you are disturbed by a natural disaster like an earthquake, you must remain calm so that your chi stays under control.

Listen Sometimes to True Words

You need to have confidence when you practice Chi Kung. You should not listen to advice from people who do not have experience with Chi Kung and who are not familiar with the condition of your body. Some people listen to their classmates explain how they reached a certain level or how they cured a certain problem and then blindly try to use the same method themselves. You need to understand that everyone has a different body, everyone’s health is slightly different, and everyone learns differently. When the time comes for you to learn something new, you will understand what you need. Play it cool and easy, and always have confidence in your training.

Don’t Lean and Fall Asleep

You should not continue your Chi Kung training when you are sleepy. Using an unclear mind to lead chi is dangerous. In addition, when you’re sleepy your body will tend to lean or droop, and your bad posture may interfere with the proper chi circulation. When you are sleepy it is best to take a rest until you are able to regain your spirit.

Don’t Meditate When You Have Lost Your Temper or Are Too Excited

You should not meditate when you are too excited due to anger or happiness. Since these emotions scatter your mind, meditation will bring you more harm than peace.

Don’t Keep Spitting

It is normal to generate a lot of saliva while practicing Chi Kung. The saliva should be swallowed to moisten your throat. Don’t spit out the saliva because this is a waste, and it will also disturb your concentration.

Don’t Doubt and Become Lazy

When you first start Chi Kung, you must have confidence in what you are doing and not start doubting its validity or questioning whether you are doing it right. If you start doubting right at the beginning, you will become lazy, and you will start questioning whether you really want to continue. In this case, you will not have any success and your practice will never last.

Appendix 1

Supplementary Practice

Laughing Chi Kung

“When a man smiles only with his eyes, not with his belly, do not trust him.”

My (Mantak Chia’s) wish is for everyone to be spiritually independent and connected personally to the Source, Cosmos, or Primordial Force in our common quest to return to Wu Chi (God). Through this process we can gain inner peace, happiness, and compassion for others and ourselves. We can also develop the ability to heal ourselves and to serve as positive energy sources. Naturally, the first step is to cultivate peace within. The Laughing Chi Kung meditation is a tool that aids in the following:

• Strengthening the connection we have to ourselves
• Opening to the abundant chi available from the cosmos
• Developing the skills of self-healing

I remember one day practicing the many forms of breathing exercises I had learned. After practicing the whole day I had not finished. I asked myself why there were so many different breathing exercises, when we have only one nose and two nostrils? At this point I started to laugh and laugh. After a few minutes of laughing I felt more relaxed, more open and full of chi, than after an entire day of complicated breathing exercises. I realized that laughing is a natural and powerful method for calming the nervous system, stimulating circulation and digestion, activating the immune system, and generating more energy. This is what this meditation practice and breathing technique is: laughing for our health.

Laughing Chi Kung teaches us how to laugh from all the way down in our lower bellies, strengthening the deepest abdominal muscles, the diaphragm, and the muscles of the pelvic floor—the urogenital muscles. When our lower abdomen is enlivened through deep belly laughing, we create a good solid home for our awareness and energy.

Explanation of Benefits

When we laugh from our lower tan tien—our second brain—a vibration moves through the body. This vibration stimulates all the functions of this area and activates the heart brain and the thymus gland. Allowing the laughter to reverberate through the diaphragm, sternum, spine, and all the organs is a fantastic internal workout. All the tension and tightness is vibrated from the inside and is released through laughter. Laughter is nature’s best form of stress release. The relaxation you will feel in your abdomen and the rest of the body is unbelievable (fig. A1.1).

Fig. A1.1. Laughing Chi Kung

Laughing Chi Kung provides the following benefits:

1. It increases the mind’s attention and improves circulation.
2. It activates the diaphragm, which in turn activates the abdominal area.
3. It activates the lymphatic system and improves the immune system.

The Laughing Chi Kung Practice

Preparation

1. Sit comfortably near the edge of your chair with your feet flat on the floor. Relax your body while maintaining the alignment of your spine. Breathe from your lower abdomen.
2. Smile to your heart and feel your heart grow soft.
3. Move the energy from your heart down to your lower tan tien. Feel your three minds rest in your lower tan tien. Be aware of your tan tien filling with chi (fig. A1.2).

Boisterous Laughing

1. Place your hands over your lower tan tien and laugh loudly from your belly. Feel your laughter shake your sternum and lower abdomen and reverberate deep inside your body. Continue laughing for 5 minutes.
2. Rest and place the tip of your tongue on your upper palate. This allows the energy in your head to drop down to your tan tien.
3. Guide any excess chi in your body to the area behind your navel and in front of your kidneys.
4. Turn your eyes down to your abdomen. Spiral the energy there counterclockwise, like the earth spirals around the sun. Keep on spiraling until the area becomes warm and filled with chi.
5. Direct the accumulated chi up to your crown, until it pushes down to your nose. Feel your nose open; then breathe deeply as the chi starts to flow down to your tongue. This will help open the Microcosmic Orbit.
6. Rest and enjoy the sensations of lightness and peacefulness. Feel the spaciousness inside your body and mind.

Fig. A1.2. Empty your mind down to the lower tan tien.

Giggling

Rest at the lower abdomen and start to laugh again. This is a quieter, more internal laugh.

1. Place your hands over your lower tan tien and giggle from your belly. Feel your laughter reverberate throughout your body. Continue giggling for 5 minutes.
2. Rest and place the tip of your tongue on the upper palate. This allows the energy in your head to drop down to your tan tien.
3. Guide any excess chi in your body to the area behind your navel and in front of the kidneys.
4. Turn the upper mind down.
5. Rest and enjoy the sensations of lightness and peacefulness. Feel the spaciousness inside your body and mind.

Silent Giggling: Hit the Belly Drum and Feel It Vibrate Inside

1. Place your hands over your lower tan tien and giggle silently from your belly. Feel your laughter shake and reverberate throughout your body. Continue laughing silently for 5 minutes. Rest and feel the energy rise up to the crown.
2. Place the tip of your tongue on the upper palate. This allows the energy in your head to drop down to your tan tien.
3. Guide any excess chi in your body to the area behind your navel and in front of the kidneys.
4. Gather the excess energy in your body by spiraling the energy around the navel 36 times outward and 24 times inward. Men spiral clockwise outward and counterclockwise inward; women spiral counterclockwise outward and clockwise inward. You may use your hands to help you spiral. Feel as though your intestines are physically spiraling.
5. Rest and enjoy the sensations of lightness and peacefulness. Feel the spaciousness inside your body and mind.
6. Hold both hands near your heart and smile into it. Breathe in to your heart, and feel its calmness. Feel peace, and feel that all three tan tien are alight together.

THREE MAIN GOALS

The practices of Taoist Laughing Chi Kung have three main goals:

1. Learn to heal, love, and be kind to ourselves as we develop compassionate hearts and a wholeness of being.
2. Learn to help, heal, and love others from the abundance of healing and loving energies we receive from the forces of nature, heaven, and earth.
3. Learn about Original Source and help it to unfold within us.

I trust that you will use these techniques for the benefit of your health and well-being. When you create joy in your life through laughter it will heal your physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual bodies. This is why comedians in the entertainment industry are loved by so many people and earn so much money—because they heal people with their comedy. Laughter heals, so enjoy the practice of healing yourself with laughter.

Appendix 2

Scientific Research on Universal Tao Practices

On October 25, 1996, Dr. Rhonda Jessum, Ph.D., conducted a study at the Institute for Applied Biocybernetics Feedback, in Vienna, Austria. Her study focused on how Universal Tao practices impact the brain’s abilities. She presented the findings of her study—EEG, Meditation, and the Healing Tao, A Case Study of Master Mantak Chia—in May 1997.

The study focused on four Universal Tao practices, measuring brainwave frequencies during the Cosmic Inner Smile, the Six Healing Sounds, the Microcosmic Orbit, and the Orgasmic Upward Draw. It also measured ultraslow brain potentials as Master Chia meditated.

The first test was conducted while Master Chia was practicing the Cosmic Inner Smile: he smiled down to his abdomen and warmed it up, smiled to his heart, and felt love. His energy levels increased, the heartbeat remained calm, the body relaxed, and energy charged up to his brain. The measurements of his brain waves during the meditation showed that a high level of alpha waves were present.

“The test shows that when I lower down my mind and feel my navel warm, my mind very quickly calms down, indicated by a lot of theta waves. As long as I keep on holding my attention on my tan tien a lot of theta happens. However, the machine only measures the waves of the brain, not the tan tien waves. During the Microcosmic Orbit my brain produced alpha and beta as well as theta waves, creating a healing energy. The results of the study support our experience that this practice—which teaches us to use the lower brain and rest the upper brain—helps to conserve our energy. This helps us to be strong and healthy, to live longer and be happier.”

The study also showed that different brain waves are associated with different meditations. A number of Universal Tao meditations increase the brain’s ability to do many more functions and move flexibly between the states of consciousness. For example, in the Orgasmic Upper Draw, we are in high arousal while maintaining a deep state of consciousness, which activates the brain. When we feel arousal inside and move the orgasm into the body, we feel a very high and deep state of consciousness.

Master Chia notes that “during each practice, I always kept awareness in my tan tien and spiral. The brain was not working; it was resting while I used the lower brain. The left and right brain became increasingly synchronized as I progressed from the Inner Smile to the Six Healing Sounds and up to the Microcosmic Orbit. Finally, as I did the Orgasmic Upper Draw, the left and right brain started to synchronize on all levels.”

Index

Page numbers in italics refer to illustrations.

abdomen, 48, 95–96

acetylcholine, 44

acid indigestion, 40, 50

ACTH (adrenocorticotropic hormone), 38

addictions, 37–38, 44

adrenal glands, 38

adrenalin, 38

allergies, 41

Alzheimer’s, 44

anger, 113

anxiety, 11, 37

apathy, 11

arthritis, 32, 46

asthma, 32, 41

autonomic nervous system, 43

autumn, 18

backaches, 41

Bai Hui, 22

balance, 15, 30–31

bladder, 110

bloating, 42

blood, 9, 21, 38, 47

blood pressure, 47

body, mind, and spirit, 34

Boisterous Laughing, 116

Bone Breathing, 63, 96–101, 98–99

Bone Compression, 100–101

bone marrow, 46

bones, 46

Bouncing, 64

brain, 43–44

breath and breathing, 8, 38, 48–49, 51, 56–61

Bubbling Spring, 22

cancer, 32, 40, 41, 51–52

carbon dioxide, 48–49

centering, 54

Central Channel, 21

Central Terrace, 22

cerebral cortex, 43

cerebrospinal fluid, 44

Chan, Luke, 52

channels. See eight extraordinary channels

chest, 95

chi, 1, 2, 8–10

directing, 22–24, 56

effects of Chi Kung on, 33

stress and, 36–42

Chia, Mantak, 5–6, 120–21

chi belt breathing, 48–49

chi jing ba mai. See eight extraordinary channels

Chi Kung, 4

arthritis and, 46

benefits of, 1–2

bones and, 46

brain and nervous system and, 43–44

curative applications of, 51–52

digestive system and, 49–50

guidelines for practice, 105–13

heart and circulatory system and, 46–47

history of, 4–7

human energy system and, 33

meaning of, 8–12

modes of directing energy, 22–24

as preventive medicine, 33–36

principles of, 53–55

respiratory system and, 48–49

scientific foundation of, 32–33

sports and, 50–51

stiff joints and, 46

styles and forms of, 26–30

Three Treasures and, 103–5

See also exercises; health

Chi Massage, 63

Knocking on the Kidneys, 94

Slapping Meridians, 94–95

cholesterol, 41

chronic fatigue, 32

chronic pain, 32, 41

chronic stress, 11, 12, 36–42

circulating energy, 23

circulatory system, 46–47

Classic on Bone Marrow Washing, The, 46

clearing energy, 23

Clenching and Tapping the Teeth, 93, 93

clothing, 109, 111

color, 19

compassion, 15

computer use, 37–38

Conception Channel, 21

confidence, 112, 113

constipation, 42, 49

cortisol, 38, 45

Cosmic Inner Smile, 120–21

Cousins, Norman, 45–46

Crane, 70–72

crystalline structures, 96

cultivating energy, 22

curative applications, 51

deep abdominal breathing, 48–49, 58–59

depression, 11, 37, 44, 45

destructive (ke) cycle, 19

diabetes, 32, 41

diaphragm, 48, 101–2

diarrhea, 42

digestive system, 49–50

disease, curing, 51–52

disturbances, 111

Door of Life, 89–90, 89–90

dopamine, 44

doubt, 113

driving, 55–56

drugs, 35, 37–38, 44

Dung Gong, 29–30

Earth, 24–25

earth element, 17–19, 54

Eastern medicine, 34–36

EEG studies, 43–44

effortless power, 50–51

Eight Brocades, 5

eight extraordinary channels, 21–22

elderly, the, 3

Elephant Swings His Trunk, 90–91, 91

Elixir Field, 9, 24

emotional instability, 101–2

emotions, 57

Empty Force, 74–75, 74–75

energy, 10–11, 22–24, 104. See also chi

energy (principle), 55

energy meridians, 20–22

enjoyment, 54

epinephrine, 38

essence, 104

exchanging energy, 23

exercises

Bone Breathing, 97–101, 98–99

Bone Compression, 100–101

Bouncing, 64, 64

Clenching and Tapping the Teeth, 93, 93

Elephant Swings His Trunk, 90–91, 91

Empty Force, 74–75

Eye Exercises, 81–82

Foot and Hand Kicking, 65, 65

Forearms and Palms Slapping the Organs, 84, 85

Hand and Wrist Stretches, 84–88, 86–88

Hip Rotations, 67, 67

Knee Rotations, 66, 66

Knocking on the Abdomen, 95–96

Knocking on the Chest, 95

Knocking on the Kidneys, 94

Laughing Chi Kung, 116–19, 117

Magic Breathing, 60–61

Opening the Door of Life, 89–90, 89–90

Opening the Joints, 73, 73

Rotating the Sacrum, 68, 68

Sacrum Bone Breathing, 100

Slapping Meridians, 94–95

Squatting to Open the Sacrum, 91–93, 92–93

Standing Turtle and Crane, 70–72, 70, 72

Stretching the Neck, 80–81, 81

Stretching the Shoulders, 82–84, 82

Upward Stretching and Twisting to Four Sides, 76, 76

Waist Loosening, 69, 69 Windmill Exercise, 77–80, 77–79

Eye Exercises, 81–82

fatigue, 10–11, 37

fight-or-flight response, 38–39

fire element, 17–19, 54

five elements, 17–19

five weaknesses, 108–9

food, 109

Foot and Hand Kicking, 65, 65

Forearms and Palms Slapping the Organs, 84, 85

forests, 23

gas, 42

gastric enzymes, 50

gastrointestinal disorders, 32, 42

genital pulling, 75

Giggling, 118

glucocorticoids, 38

glucose, 38

glycogen, 38

Governor Channel, 21, 29

grounding, 54

Hand and Wrist Stretches, 84–88, 86–88

Han Dynasty, 5

happiness, 12

harmony, 2–3

headaches, 32, 40, 41

health, 3

immune response and, 44–46

preventive medicine for, 33–36

scientific foundation of, 32–33

of specific systems, 43–50

stress and, 36–42

heart, 46–47, 108–9

heart disease, 32, 40, 41–42

heart rate, 38

Heaven, 24–25

high blood pressure, 32, 101–2

Hip Rotations, 67, 67

Huang Ti, 4

Hua Tuo, 5

Hui Yin, 22

humans, nature and, 2–3

Hundred Confluence, 22

hyperactivity, 45

hypertension, 41, 47

hypothalamus, 38

illness, 3, 11

immune response, 44–46

immune system, 9, 37, 41, 42

Indian Summer, 18

Inner Front Extension (Windmills), 78–79, 78

insomnia, 44

Internal Alchemy, 28–29

internal injuries, 108–9

Iron Shirt Chi Kung, 27

irritable bowel syndrome, 40, 42, 49

itching, 110

Jessum, Rhonda, 120–21

jing. See meridians

Jing Gong (still practice), 29–30

joints, 46

joy, 12

ke cycle, 19

kidneys, 18, 108–9

kindness, 28–29

Knee Rotations, 66, 66

Knocking on the Abdomen, 95

Knocking on the Chest, 95

Knocking on the Kidneys, 94

Ko Hung, 5

Labor Palace, 5

Lao Gung, 22

Lao-tzu, 26, 56

Laughing Chi Kung, 114–19, 115, 117

laughter, 45–46

laziness, 113

Left Outer Extension (Windmills), 79, 79

Left Side Bend, 79, 79

libido, 41

life-force energy, 10–11. See also chi

liver, 18, 38, 108–9

longevity, 3

love, 28–29

lower tan tien, 54, 62, 74–75

lungs, 18, 55, 108–9

lymph, 49

Magic Breathing, 60–61

mai. See eight extraordinary channels

martial artists, 50–51

martial Chi King, 27

medical Chi Kung, 27–28

menstruation, 101

meridians, 20–22, 94–95

metal element, 17–19, 55

microcosmic body, 24–25

Microcosmic Orbit, 29, 102

middle tan tien, 74–75

mind, 30–31, 106–7

modern lifestyle, 37

mountains, 23

mouth breathing, 59–60

moving forms, 29–30

muscle tension, 40, 42

nature, humans and, 2–3

neck, 80–81, 81

negative emotions, 57

Nei Kung, 103

nervous system, 43–44

neurotransmitters, 44

norepinephrine, 44

nose breathing, 59–60

oceans, 23

one-pointed awareness, 31

Opening the Joints, 62–63

Bouncing, 64, 64

Clenching and Tapping the Teeth, 93, 93

Elephant Swings His Trunk, 90–91, 91

Empty Force, 74–75, 74–75

Eye Exercises, 81–82

Foot and Hand Kicking, 65, 65

Forearms and Palms Slapping the Organs, 84, 85

Hand and Wrist Stretches, 84–88, 86–88

Hip Rotations, 67, 67

Knee Rotations, 66, 66

Opening the Door of Life, 89–90, 89–90

Rotating the Sacrum, 68, 68

Spinal Cord Breathing, 73, 73

Squatting to Open the Sacrum, 91–93, 92–93

Standing Turtle and Crane, 70–72, 70, 72

Stretching the Neck, 80–81, 81

Stretching the Shoulders, 82–84, 82

Upward Stretching and Twisting to Four Sides, 76, 76

Waist Loosening, 69, 69

Windmill Exercise, 77–80, 77–79

Orgasmic Upper Draw, 121

Original Chi, 9

Outer Front Extension (Windmills), 77–78, 77

overexcitement, 45

oxygen, 57

pain, 3

Parkinson’s Disease, 44

pepsin, 50

perineum, 62

pituitary, 38

practice, 53

guidelines for, 105–13

importance of breathing, 56–61

Magic Breathing, 60–61

overview of, 62–63

principles of, 53–54

Three Treasures and, 103–5

warming up the body, 61

See also exercises

prana, 10

precautions, 101–2

pregnancy, 101

Prenatal Chi, 9

preventive medicine, 33–36

principles, 53–55

psychoneuroimmunology, 45–46

pupils, 38

Qin Dynasty, 5

relaxation, 30–31, 53–54

resilience, 1, 54

respiratory system, 48–49

rib cage, 48

Right Outer Extension (Windmills), 80

Right Side Bend, 80

Rotating the Sacrum, 68, 68

ruach, 10

sacrum, 68, 91–93, 92–93, 100

Sacrum Bone Breathing, 100

saliva, 50

salivary glands, 50

serotonin, 44

sex and sexuality, 41, 107–8

sexual yoga, 23

shallow breathing, 58

Shanghai Research Institute, 47

Shaolin monks, 27

Shen Chia-shu, 51

sheng cycle, 18–19

shopping, 37–38

shoulders, 81–82

shueh. See vital points

Silent Giggling, 118–19

sitting, 55–56

Six Healing Sounds, 5–6, 24, 49

Six Healing Sounds, The, 5–6

Slapping Meridians, 94–95

sleepiness, 112

smiling, 45–46

Song of Hygiene, 6

Spinal Cord Breathing, 73, 73

spine, 62

spirit, 10, 104–5

spiritual Chi Kung, 28–29

spitting, 113

spleen, 18, 108–9

sports, 50–51

spring, 18

Spring and Autumn Annals, 26–27

Squatting to Open the Sacrum, 91–93, 92–93

Standing Turtle and Crane, 70–72, 70, 72

stiff joints, 46

still forms, 29–30

storing energy, 24

strength, 1

stress, 11, 12, 36–42

stretching, 55–56

Stretching the Neck, 80–81, 81

Stretching the Shoulders, 82–84, 82

strokes, 42

Sui Dynasty, 5

summer, 18

Sun Si-Miao, 6

sweating, 109, 111

symptoms, 35

Tang Dynasty, 6

Tan Jung, 22

tan tien breathing, 48–49

Tao and Taoism, 2–3, 14–15

Tao Te Ching, 14, 15–16, 26, 56

Tao Yin (daoyin), 4–5

T-cells, 44

teeth, 93, 93

temperature, 108

Three Treasures, 103–5

thymus gland, 44

toxins, 33

traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), 17

transforming energy, 24

true words, 112

Turtle, 70–72

TV use, 37–38

ulcers, 49

Universal Tao, 26, 120–21

upper tan tien, 74–75

Upward Stretching and Twisting to Four Sides, 76, 76

vapor, 8

vitality, 11–12, 48

vital points, 20

Waist Loosening, 69, 69

Warburg, Otto, 58

warm-up, 61

Warring States Period, 4–5

water element, 17–19, 53–54

Wave Technique, 60–61

weather, 112

weight gain, 42

weight loss, 49

wellness care, 35

Western medicine, 34–35

white blood cells, 41, 44

wind, 109

Windmill Exercise, 77–80, 77–79

winter, 18

wisdom, 15

wood element, 17–19, 54

wrists, 84–88, 86–88

Wu Chin, 5

Yellow Emperor, 4

Yellow Emperor’s Classic of Internal Medicine, 17, 21

yin and yang, 15–17, 18

Yin Confluence, 22

youthfulness, 10

Yuan Chuan, 22

Zhi Zhuan, 5

The Universal Healing Tao System and Training Center

THE UNIVERSAL HEALING TAO SYSTEM

The ultimate goal of Taoist practice is to transcend physical boundaries through the development of the soul and the spirit within the human. That is also the guiding principle behind the Universal Healing Tao, a practical system of self-development that enables individuals to complete the harmonious evolution of their physical, mental, and spiritual bodies. Through a series of ancient Chinese meditative and internal energy exercises, the practitioner learns to increase physical energy, release tension, improve health, practice self-defense, and gain the ability to heal him- or herself and others. In the process of creating a solid foundation of health and well-being in the physical body, the practitioner also creates the basis for developing his or her spiritual potential by learning to tap into the natural energies of the sun, moon, earth, stars, and other environmental forces.

The Universal Healing Tao practices are derived from ancient techniques rooted in the processes of nature. They have been gathered and integrated into a coherent, accessible system for well-being that works directly with the life force, or chi, that flows through the meridian system of the body.

Master Chia has spent years developing and perfecting techniques for teaching these traditional practices to students around the world through ongoing classes, workshops, private instruction, and healing sessions, as well as books and video and audio products. Further information can be obtained at www.universal-tao.com.

THE UNIVERSAL HEALING TAO TRAINING CENTER

The Tao Garden Resort and Training Center in northern Thailand is the home of Master Chia and serves as the worldwide headquarters for Universal Healing Tao activities. This integrated wellness, holistic health, and training center is situated on eighty acres surrounded by the beautiful Himalayan foothills near the historic walled city of Chiang Mai. The serene setting includes flower and herb gardens ideal for meditation, open-air pavilions for practicing Chi Kung, and a health and fitness spa.

The center offers classes year round, as well as summer and winter retreats. It can accommodate two hundred students, and group leasing can be arranged. For information on courses, books, products, and other resources, see below.

RESOURCES

Universal Healing Tao Center

274 Moo 7, Luang Nua, Doi Saket, Chiang Mai, 50220 Thailand

Tel: (66)(53) 495-596 Fax: (66)(53) 495-852

E-mail: [email protected]

Website: www.universal-tao.com

For information on retreats and the health spa, contact:

Tao Garden Health Spa and Resort

E-mail: [email protected], [email protected]

Website: www.tao-garden.com

Good Chi • Good Heart • Good Intention

Footnotes

1: The History of Chi Kung

1. The Six Healing Sounds (Rochester, Vt.: Destiny Books, 2007).

3: Basic Terms and Concepts

1. For more information on Taoist sexual yoga practices, see Mantak Chia’s book Healing Love through the Tao (Rochester, Vt.: Destiny Books, 2005).

2. For more information, see Mantak Chia’s book Taoist Ways to Transform Stress into Vitality (Huntington, N.Y.: Healing Tao Books, 1985).

4: The Styles and Forms of Chi Kung

1. For more information about Iron Shirt Chi Kung, see Mantak Chia’s book Iron Shirt Chi Kung (Rochester, Vt.: Destiny Books, 2006).

2. To learn more about the medical Chi Kung practiced by the Universal Tao, see Mantak Chia’s Taoist Cosmic Healing (Rochester, Vt.: Destiny Books, 2003).

6: Simple Chi Kung Exercises

1. For a complete description of the jade egg exercises, see Mantak Chia’s Healing Love through the Tao (Rochester, Vt.: Destiny Books, 2005).

7: Guidelines for Simple Chi Kung

1. For more information on cultivating sexual energy, see Mantak Chia’s books Healing Love through the Tao (Rochester, Vt.: Destiny Books, 2005) and Sexual Reflexology (Rochester, Vt.: Destiny Books, 2003).

About the Authors

MANTAK CHIA

Mantak Chia has been studying the Taoist approach to life since childhood. His mastery of this ancient knowledge, enhanced by his study of other disciplines, has resulted in the development of the Universal Healing Tao system, which is now being taught throughout the world.

Mantak Chia was born in Thailand to Chinese parents in 1944. When he was six years old, he learned from Buddhist monks how to sit and “still the mind.” While in grammar school he learned traditional Thai boxing, and he soon went on to acquire considerable skill in aikido, yoga, and Tai Chi. His studies of the Taoist way of life began in earnest when he was a student in Hong Kong, ultimately leading to his mastery of a wide variety of esoteric disciplines, with the guidance of several masters, including Master I Yun, Master Meugi, Master Cheng Yao Lun, and Master Pan Yu. To better understand the mechanisms behind healing energy, he also studied Western anatomy and medical sciences.

Master Chia has taught his system of healing and energizing practices to tens of thousands of students and trained more than two thousand instructors and practitioners throughout the world. He has established centers for Taoist study and training in many countries around the globe. In June of 1990, he was honored by the International Congress of Chinese Medicine and Qi Gong (Chi Kung), which named him the Qi Gong Master of the Year.

LEE HOLDEN

Lee Holden is a senior instructor of the Universal Tao and of Master Mantak Chia’s teachings. He has been studying with Master Chia since he was eighteen years old. Lee first discovered the healing power of Chi Kung after experiencing injuries that nearly sidelined his varsity soccer career at UC Berkeley. Impressed at how these ancient practices healed his body and allowed him to return to playing, he made their study a priority. Today, he is an internationally known instructor in meditation, tai chi, and Chi Kung, as well as a licensed acupuncturist, herbalist, and author (7 Minutes of Magic: The Ultimate Energy Workout, Penguin 2007).

Lee has been on staff with Mantak Chia and Deepak Chopra, teaching, writing, and facilitating seminars and workshops around the world. In addition, his popular library of Chi Kung DVDs have made him a regular fixture on PBS stations throughout the United States and Canada. Holden is a graduate of UC, Berkeley, with a B.A. in Psychology and is a licensed acupuncturist in the state of California. He is the owner of the Santa Cruz Integrative Medicine and Chi Center in northern California.

About Inner Traditions • Bear & Company

Founded in 1975, Inner Traditions is a leading publisher of books on indigenous cultures, perennial philosophy, visionary art, spiritual traditions of the East and West, sexuality, holistic health and healing, self-development, as well as recordings of ethnic music and accompaniments for meditation.

In July 2000, Bear & Company joined with Inner Traditions and moved from Santa Fe, New Mexico, where it was founded in 1980, to Rochester, Vermont. Together Inner Traditions • Bear & Company have eleven imprints: Inner Traditions, Bear & Company, Healing Arts Press, Destiny Books, Park Street Press, Bindu Books, Bear Cub Books, Destiny Recordings, Destiny Audio Editions, Inner Traditions en Español, and Inner Traditions India.

For more information or to browse through our more than one thousand titles in print, visit www.InnerTraditions.com.

BOOKS OF RELATED INTEREST

Cosmic Detox

A Taoist Approach to Internal Cleansing
by Mantak Chia and William U. Wei

Chi Self-Massage

The Taoist Way of Rejuvenation
by Mantak Chia

Healing Love through the Tao

Cultivating Female Sexual Energy
by Mantak Chia

Taoist Shaman

Practices from the Wheel of Life
by Mantak Chia and Kris Deva North

Living in the Tao

The Effortless Path of Self-Discovery
by Mantak Chia and William U. Wei

Healing Light of the Tao

Foundational Practices to Awaken Chi Energy
by Mantak Chia

The Healing Energy of Shared Consciousness

A Taoist Approach to Entering the Universal Mind
by Mantak Chia

The Six Healing Sounds

Taoist Techniques for Balancing Chi
by Mantak Chia

INNER TRADITIONS • BEAR & COMPANY

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Rochester, VT 05767

1-800-246-8648

www.InnerTraditions.com

Or contact your local bookseller

Destiny Books

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Rochester, Vermont 05767

www.DestinyBooks.com

Destiny Books is a division of Inner Traditions International

Copyright © 2008, 2011 by North Star Trust

Originally published in Thailand in 2008 by Universal Tao Publications under the title Simple Chi Kung: Exercises to Awaken the Energy Within

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Chia, Mantak, 1944–

Simple chi kung : exercises for awakening the life-force energy / Mantak Chia and Lee Holden.

p. cm.

Includes index.

ISBN 978-1-59477-333-4 (pbk.)—ISBN 978-1-59477-812-4 (e-book)

1. Qi gong. I. Holden, Lee, 1969– II. Title.

RA781.8.C4726 2011

613.71489—dc23

2011033289

Photographs by Saysunee Yongyod

Illustrations by Juan Li and Udon Jandee