Moving Jing to Change into Qi

From a talk by Wang Liping
Written by Hu Qiao
Translated by Nathan Brine

(Translator’s note: due to the impact of the coronavirus, Wang Liping would like to share some Taoist wisdom with the world to help us stay healthy.)

The Yellow Emperor’s Inner Classic can be split into medicine based on human physiology, and medicine based on scientific inquiry into the relationship between humans and the cosmos. In the latter, the Inner Classic discusses how people can stay healthy and live longer by understanding the correct time and space to do things, and the relationship between people and things. When external disturbances such as wind and cold do enter, the inside of the body might go through some small adjustments, but we will not get sick.

The Inner Classic also pays particular attention to what a person should do if they are already ill. The Body’s Order of Life (人體生命之續 renti shengming zhi xu) is an important concept that arose out of medical research into organ function. The Order of Life refers to energetic processes in the body. In the old days, even when a serious illness or epidemic had basically been cured, there was still the issue of rebalancing the Body’s Order of Life. Whether the person is still sick or not, the illness leaves traces behind. Mind and body, energy channels, internal organs, etc. will all be damaged to some extent. So we need to work through four stages to rebalance the mind and body and bring the Body’s Order of Life back to normal.

The Four Stages

1. Rebalance (調整 tiaozheng)
2. Condition (調理 tiaoli)
3. Repair (修復 xiufu)
4. Rehabilitation (康復 kangfu)

In the rebalance stage, we follow the cycles of heaven and earth to rebalance daily life. We use the outer world, such as medicine and food, to rebalance internal energetic function (jing-qi, blood-qi, etc.). Gradually, the Body’s Order is restored.

In the condition stage, the emphasis is on rebalancing a person’s mental state and mood.

In the repair stage, the focus is on repairing the harm done to the internal organs and energy system. At this point the Body’s Order has already been restored to normal, but after going through an epidemic a person’s whole body will be weak, so we need to repair each internal organ one by one.

In the rehabilitation stage, people can work to recover the body by doing baduanjin, tendon changing practice, tai chi, etc. to nourish vitality and return to full health.

During the repair stage we must fill our body’s jing-qi (vital energy) and bring the blood-qi back to normal. For this we must use the yi jing bian qi 移精變炁 (Move Jing to Change into Qi) method. Yi jing bian qi is an ancient method that uses yinian (意念 intention/awareness), yishi (意識 consciousness), and shenyi (神意 energy of our spirit and intention together) to move the jing-qi and blood-qi and rebalance the energy channels, internal organs, surface of the skin, etc. This returns the disordered energy system of the body to a state of ordered homeostasis.

In the old days, yi jing bian qi was divided into three stages:

1. Use yinian to regulate the movement of the torso and four limbs to replenish jing-qi and bring us back to normal in our daily activity.
2. Use yinian and yishi to rebalance the breathing and the movement of the torso and four limbs, allowing jing-qi and blood-qi to flow unobstructed. This softens the breathing, stills the mind, and relaxes the body.
3. Use yinian, yishi, and shenyi to regulate the movement of jing-qi and blood-qi in our body. By using our yishi to regulate our qi, we restore internal organ function, open the energy channels, and let the body’s entire energy system run smoothly. This process re-establishes the Body’s Order of Life.

Yi jing bian qi has many techniques. To begin with, we recommend a Taoist technique for rebalancing the upper and lower parts of the torso, what medical practitioners call the upper and lower burners. There are four methods for rebalancing the upper and lower burners: standing posture, stool-sitting posture, cross-legged sitting posture, and moving posture. The three static postures are all done the same way (including how to use the yishi, yinian, shenqi, and shenyi). For now, let’s discuss the three static postures.

Standing Posture

Use the wuji standing post posture. Stand naturally, feet shoulder width apart or a bit wider, both arms hanging naturally at our sides with shoulders, arms, elbows, and wrists all relaxed, palms facing inwards, spine straight, chest relaxed, the two kua 胯 (two insides of the groin area) relaxed, two knees bent slightly, and two feet firmly planted on the ground.

Stool-Sitting Posture

Sit on a stool with two feet naturally hanging down or touching the ground. Fingers naturally open, palms facing down, lightly placed on top of the knees. This hand posture is called “Peaceful Form.”

Cross-legged Sitting Posture

Sit on a cushion or the floor with legs crossed in front. Palms of both hands face down on our knees. Relax the whole body.

After settling into our chosen posture, use both eyes to look straight ahead, look afar, the farther the better. Put yinian in the distance. Slowly bring the light of our spirit (神光 shenguang) from the horizon back to between our eyebrows. Slowly close our eyes.

First, become still. Put yinian on our breathing. Make our breathing fine, even, and long. Inhale and exhale evenly. Slowly let our physical body relax. Let our heart beat more calmly.

PRACTICE

Regulate Upper Burner

1.

Breathe In

Take a deep breath through our nose. Put yinian in our chest cavity and lungs. As we breathe in, contract tightly. Let the qi reach the chest cavity and lungs (this is called Qi Fills the Metal Chamber). Breathe in until we cannot breathe in anymore. Do our best to also tightly contract the ribs.

Hold Breath

Now, do not breathe. While holding our breath, use yinian to forcefully expand the ribs, chest cavity, and lungs, and at the same time let the spine become straight and centred. Hold it for a bit.

Breathe Out

Slowly exhale through the nose (or nose and mouth together). As we exhale, relax the ribs, chest cavity, lungs, spine, and whole body. Completely expel the old air from the lungs.

2.

Breathe In

Again, take a deep breath through our nose, and use yinian and yishi to tightly contract the chest cavity and lungs. Do our best to fully inhale, filling the tips and lower parts of the lungs.

Hold Breath

Do not breathe. While holding our breath, figure out how to use yinian and yishi to forcefully expand our lungs, ribs, and chest cavity, and slowly extend the spine upwards. Hold it for a bit.

Breathe Out

Slowly exhale through the nose (or nose and mouth together), and completely expel the old air.

3.

Breathe In

Use yinian and yishi to breathe into our lungs, contracting the lungs at the same time. Then breathe in again, and again contract the lungs tightly, until we cannot inhale anymore.

Hold Breath

Do not breathe. As we hold our breath, use yinian, yishi, and shenyi to expand our lungs, chest cavity, and ribs. Figure out how to let the chest cavity expand to the point where the whole body gets hot. This will fill out the couli 腠理 (protective layer between skin and muscle) of the body with jing-qi.

Breathe Out

Endure a little longer, and then slowly and completely empty the breath out of the lungs.

Regulate Lower Burner

4.

Breathe In

Take a deep breath through our nose. At the same time, lift up the anus, pull up on the genitals, and contract the xiaofu 小腹 (lower abdomen; we lift up the anus to seal in digestive qi, and contract the genitals to seal in qi from our urinary tract). Use yinian to contract the xiaofu. Contract as tightly as we can. The best is to have the front and back of the body stick together. Inhale until we cannot inhale anymore.

Hold Breath

Do not breathe. Hold it. Use yinian to let the xiaofu and the outside of the xiaofu expand. Then hold it some more.

Breathe Out

Slowly exhale through our mouth (or mouth and nose together). When we breathe out, the xiaofu and the outside of the xiaofu relax.

5.

Breathe In

Breathe in, lift the anus, pull up on the genitals, and contract the xiaofu. Contract as tightly as we can.

Hold Breath

Do not breathe. Hold it. Forcefully expand the inner cavity of the xiaofu. Again hold it.

Breathe Out

Slowly exhale through our mouth (or mouth and nose together).

6.

Breathe In

Breathe in, lift the anus, pull up on the genitals, and contract the xiaofu. Increase yinian, yishi, and shenyi, and contract as tightly as we can.

Hold Breath

Do not breathe. Hold it. Forcefully expand our xiaofu. Make the inner cavity of the xiaofu, the xiaofu, and the outside of the xiaofu expand. Expand until we cannot expand anymore. Again, hold it. Think of a way to expand the xiaofu cavity to the point where the whole body gets hot. This will fill out the couli of the body with jing-qi.

Breathe Out

Slowly exhale through our mouth (or mouth and nose together).

The six steps above are done together as one set of practice. If our body still has strength, we can repeat the whole set again, or even a third time.

Things to Pay Attention To

1. The upper and lower burners must be practised one after the other. When we work on one area, the shenyi will be in that area. If other parts of the body move, ignore them.
2. When working the upper burner, the eyes look straight ahead and then move down slightly to look within the chest cavity. When we start working the lower burner, the eyes look down. Use yinian to quickly move the eyes from the chest cavity to the abdominal cavity.
3. All the practices related to the yi jing bian qi method must be used with the Hold Breath and Cease Breath segments, otherwise nothing will change! To make it convenient for casual practitioners, and to avoid confusion, we have left out the Cease Breath segment. After doing this set of practices the body will be very hot. The body becoming hot is a manifestation of qi changing. This is the point of the practice.

Depending on how tired we are after the practice, we can also Bathe and Cleanse (do silent sitting). Let the whole body relax. Let the hands hang at our sides and stand or sit quietly. Wait for the body’s internal energy system to change. No random thoughts. Do not think about anything. Just think about our body. When our random thoughts start up again, finish off practice by rubbing hands and face.

The main point of regulating the upper and lower burners is to strengthen our defensive qi and replenish our internal organs. This practice will definitely heat up the chest cavity and abdominal cavity, and even the whole body. This is a sign that the defensive qi is full. The defensive qi inflates the body’s couli, and yi jing bian qi is a great way to activate it. Defensive qi goes from the inside out to protect the skin and pores of our physical body. When our couli is filled out, bad qi cannot enter our body. So if you are stuck at home with nothing to do (due to the coronavirus), I suggest giving it a try.