Great Nature Path 歸真道
Chinese Medicine Therapy - Daoist Cultivation
Great Nature Path
Life Cultivation is to not only to achieve a general state of conserving and enhancing health, prevent disease and prolong life, but to nourish the mind and essential energy, Qi, within, in order to develop control of the mind and emotions. When the mind and emotions are at ease, clear, and unobstructed by the 6 senses, the body is at ease, and thus the general states listed above are attained. However, when the mind and emotions are at ease, turned inwards, one illuminates within, and realizes inherent wisdom.
Applying Tai Ji Yin-Yang Mapping
The Tai Ji symbol, or Yin-Yang, is a map of the Sun's rays on our planet. It displays the highs and lows of seasonal changes, representing a time frame of how to live in accordance with the astronomical influences of the Sun on living things. We can utilize this map for our own personal development towards controlling our mind and emotions with the following instructions:
First 3 days, for the first 3 hours of the day, from the time you wake up, write down 3 states of mind/emotion you are feeling. 3 words is all you need.
When you are washing up, recognize what thoughts you are entertaining. Write down up to 3 of them. One word for each is all.
When you arrive at a destination, office, cafe’, social gathering, write down 3 words to describe our state.
On the fourth day you must purposefully do that which equates the positive words you have written down. Make it a habit in thinking and action. Body, Mouth, and Mind are interlinked! Think, Say, and Do what you want to experience in order to make it a real, tangible thing. This allows you to realize the ebbs - Yin, and the flows - Yang of your 6 senses and their cycles according to your mind and the influences thereof.
Daoist Yi Jin Method
Mind-Body Cultivation "Flexing"
A practice set of 25 postures combining posture, movement, breath, body and Qi awareness methods to oxygenate and revitalize the internal energy of the organs, and body systems, but also the mind, and bio-energy of the entire body. Presented below is a video of the first 8 postures, and basic steps to begin this dynamic, and amazing practice.
Daoist Yi Jin Xiu Fa: Mind-Body Cultivation "Flexing"
Stage 1
Stand upright, and practice each posture without tension, meaning do not contract your muscles. Learn to time your breath by inhaling and moving to the next posture, and exhaling once you are in position.
Follow pictures for posture
Step 2
Work each section of your body individually beginning with your feet. Contract your muscles from your feet to your knees on your exhalation lightly. Do not use all your strength. Once you have exhaled fully, slowly relax your contracted muscle, and slowly inhale and bring focus from your feet to your hips. Repeat this method of piece by piece contraction till you reach your full body, feet to shoulders, arms, and hands.
Step 3
Inhale and move to your posture, and on exhale, slowly contract (flex) your muscles from your feet to your shoulders and hands, do not contract your neck, face and head. When you exhaled fully, slowly release the contracted muscles, and inhale, moving to the next posture. Repeat this method for the remaining postures, fulfilling 8 full body contractions (flexes) completing one set of 8 repetitions.
A.I.A. Qi Directing
Attention. Intention. Action.
A.I.A. is short spelling for the words Attention, Intention, Action. It can be pronounced by saying each letter individually, or altogether to sound the phrase “Ai Ya”. The name refers to the application of the mind in directing one’s own Qi throughout the body, and to another. This method is direct, and free from any dogma in philosophy, and relies only on the practitioner’s strength and ability to concentrate, and direct their focus.
The Method
Practice:
The A.I.A. method is simple, and requires one to simply apply their attention, their purpose/intent on what they want to happen, and the maintaining of focus to attain the result, which is basically the action of the name A.I.A, attention, intention, action.
Each step in practice will eventually become one step. It is broken down to allow the cultivator to develop skill, strength, and function, basically skill-in-means. The entire practice is best done after having done some Wu Zong cultivation, in order to calm the mind, and Qi, as well as bring Qi to the dan tian and make it stronger.
Step 1: Attention
Sit comfortably with your hands on your legs, with your palms turned up to the sky. Your breathing should be to the abdomen, in and out from the nose, tongue touching the roof of the mouth (upper lock), anal muscles lightly tightened (lower lock). Inhale, expand the belly, exhale, contract (pull in) the belly. Attention should be placed at the palms of your hands.
Attention Application:
There are many ways to apply attention:
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You can image your breath while expanding in your belly, spreading to the palms of the hands
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You can imagine from the belly that a stream of energy, light, is moving up from the middle of the belly, to the chest and then spread to the arms to the palms of the hands
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You can directly place your attention to the palm of your hands by imagining ”you” are in that space.
The most direct application of attention is the last point. However, if you need a framework to carry your mind to the palms of the hands, by all means use one, basically make it up, and get good at that framework. Whenever you change a way of applying your attention, it will take a few tries before you become familiar with it, and the senses accommodate the mind. The senses are the eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, and mind, if you need a reference for what they are in cultivation.
Once you gain focus, and your attention is at the palms of the hands, for this first step, stay there with each inhale and exhale, which is called a breath cycle. Your purpose for this step is to build strength in maintaining focus. The only sensations I can tell you that will arise, without planting hallucinations, hypnotic suggestions, are those sensations of warmth and pressure. Anything else you feel will be based on your mind, and what makes sense in associating such sensations. Know that all states of experience are because of the action of doing the practice. Because of this “doing”, there is a response.
Maintain focus at the palms of the hand, if you need a fixed point, refer to this picture of the Lao Gong acupoint:
When using the Lao Gong point as a reference, do not assume the stream of attention, or Qi, that emanates will be small, thin. The pressure will emanate throughout the whole palm of the hand. The point is a reference for focus, that is all.
Intention Application:
Know what you want to do first before applying your hands on someone, something. When applying intention, what you want to do with the Qi, you mix your thoughts of what you want to accomplish with where you want it to go. They will be applied not with words but with visualizing, imagining, and maintaining the clear image of it happening the way you think it.
Examples of Intent Application:
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Qi moves into the knee, filling the knee, and moves down the leg to the calves and ankles, foot and toes.
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Qi moves into the abdomen to the stomach, spleen, name your organ of choice, and fills it up to soothe, relax, clear inflammation, clear phlegm/damp (Chinese Medicine reference)
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Qi moves into the head, fills it up, and moves down to the neck, and disperses throughout the body (for headaches)
The idea with intent application is that you know what the discomfort is, and you want to relieve it. The purpose is to give the stagnant/stuck Qi a pathway to move, and a reason to do it.
Action Application:
Action implies you are maintaining the applying of focus to the intent. Simply put, keeping your attention on the intent of the Qi moving from your palms to wherever you have placed your hands. For each breath cycle the Qi flows consistently from you, through your hands, and into the place you put them on.
Finishing:
When you finish depends on how long you intend to apply Qi directing. Count by breath cycles, not seconds or minutes. You can decide on the desired breath cycle based on feeling out whether or not you attained the outcome you wanted.
Whenever you decide to finish, simply stop applying focus on maintaining the intent, and lift your hands off the place you had them. Take a breath, and release the intent, release the technique.
Place your hands on the place of the dan tian, 3 fingers width down from the belly button, or atop of the belly button if you can not tangibly conceive of the dan tian position. Take three breath cycles while focusing your attention at the dan tian or belly button, and you are finished.
This concludes the self direction of Qi through the body.
Wu Zong Method
Cultivate Qi, single minded focus, and clarity of the 6 senses
Full Notes
Full Notes:
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On the inhalation, bring your attention to your pineal gland.
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Exhale, keep it there. Do that for as long as you can in one sitting. When you are ready, bring your attention down to the belly button, stay there for 3 breath cycles, and finish your practice.
Recap the full technique.
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Inhalation to the abdomen. Focus on the belly button for 3 breath cycles (inhale/exhale is one cycle)
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On the 4th breath cycle, bring your attention up to your pineal gland. Maintain focus there.
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You keep your focus when you inhale and exhale. If your focus is at the belly button, keep it there throughout your breath cycle, and if it is at the brain, pineal gland, keep it at the brain, pineal gland.
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Maintain your focus at the brain, pineal gland, as long as you can. When you feel to stop, bring your attention back to the belly button for 3 breath cycles, and you are done.
