Regulating the breath: Week One

• Day 1-3: Breath normally and pay attention to your breathing pattern for 5 to 10 minutes daily. You can do more if you are inclined to do so.
• Day 4-7 : Deep Breathing - Breath through the nose , long, slow, even, quiet breaths. Try to breathe into the diaphragm. Relax the chest. It doesn't rise and fall as much. Breath to a count of four. Do five to ten minutes daily.
• Supplementary Exercise : The Relaxing Breath - Inhale silently saying "calm." Exhale Silently saying "relaxed." This can also be used to relax a different body part as you breath, any time. It's good for relaxation, stress reduction and when recovering from an illness.

Instructions for Taoist Yoga

1. The most important preliminary instruction is to practice every day.
2. Find a space with good lighting and ventilation, neither too hot nor too cold.
3. Keep your mind peaceful and at ease during the physical exercise. Stay calm and relaxed.
4. Wear loose fitting clothes during the exercise. Cotton or a Raw - Silk Kung Fu outfit is preferred.
5. Don't eat before you practice in the morning as it effects digestion and tends to make you sluggish and tired.
6. Eat what your conscience tells you to eat. There is no hard and fast rule on maintaining a diet.
7. Smoking is frowned upon
8. Excessive alcohol should be avoided.
9. The use of narcotic drugs is forbidden.
10. Men should try to decrease the number of times they ejaculate.
11. Never practice with a full bladder.
12. The best time to practice is between 11 p.m and 1 a.m, 5 p.m and 7 p.m in the evening. In the morning, the hours of 5 a.m to 7 a.m are the best.
13. Practice everyday for at least for 15 minutes.

Regulating the Mind

Regulating the mind involves calming the mind, calming the emotions and learning to use your mind to guide and direct the flow of your CHI - Energy. A major goal of the Tao masters was silencing the mind. The Taoist Exercises help in working on achieving this goal. Silencing all the thought processes of the mind usually requires a real effort of will power applied over a substantial period of time. One reward for calming down the mind is our increased ability to concentrate. This results in becoming able to learn techniques to focus inside of ourselves and get in touch with our organs.

Sexual Yoga

The most powerful form of Essence in our body is our sexual energy. There is sufficient Jing in one sperm cell and one ovum to provide the vital energy necessary to create a life. The Practice of Sexual Yoga is based on the principle of our ability to convert Sexual Essence (Jing) into Life force energy (Chi). The Sexual energy is the only form of energy in the body that increases in force when activated. Sexual Yoga is used to transform Sexual Jing into Chi and provide the body with more energy.
Men lose Jing Chi when they ejaculate and women do so during menstruation. This energy can be conserved through Sexual Yoga and breathing. This can be further converted into CHI. The final step involves balancing the body's male and female energies. This cab be done through techniques like single cultivation and dual cultivation.

Self Massage Rejuvenation

Self Massage Rejuvenation consists of simple exercises and techniques that are aimed at specific parts of the body. There are a whole lot of techniques for massaging the face, ears, nose, teeth, gums etc. They detoxify the glans and organs using light slapping and tapping. A major part of these techniques involve massaging the abdomen using the navel as the focal point. Self Massage Rejuvenation revitalizes the body. It tones and beautifies the body. It gets your Chi and Jing flowing. This technique is really important for success in Taoist Yoga.

Packing Process Breathing

The Iron Shirt Packing Process breathing is a variation on the practice of Reverse Breathing. It was a secret technique of the Taoist Martial Artists and is the foundation of the Iron Shirt Chi Kung. These martial artists learned to build an internal "Iron Shirt" that was impervious to the blows of their opponents. It also softens the tendons and the rest of the body as well. It helps grow roots into the ground and draw energy from the earth.

Regulating the Organs and Fascia

The connective tissue that is highly important to the practice of CHI KUNG is the Fascia. It surrounds our internal organs. Its is the sticky stuff around our heart and lungs and liver and the rest of our organs. The Fascia is used to regulate the balance of Yin CHI and Yang CHI in the organs. Heat is released from the organs through the Fascia which acts like a thermostat. The Fascia can be packed with Vital Energy and this in turn strengthens the internal organs. By packing the Fascia with CHI, the Fascia is strengthened and protects the internal organs.

Regulating the body

Once you learn the basic breathing techniques, the movement of the breath is used in regulating the body. Movement of CHI within the body can be regulated within the body to flow with the inhalation and exhalation of the body. The basic goals of Chi Kung is to learn to control the flow of CHI within the energy channels. There are lots of places within the body where the CHI doesn't flow smoothly. Wherever it hurts or feels numb, the CHI is not flowing freely. The exercises involved in regulating the body is regarded as CHI KUNG. These are moving exercises. They combine movement and breathing.
The exercise involved in Taoist Yoga have many interesting names and histories. The Tao Yin is almost 2500 years old. It evolved to promote health and cure certain diseases by combining regulated, controlled breathing with physical exercises. It is very good for the lower back, legs, neck and shoulders. There are many such exercises which we will be learning in the coming few weeks.

Negative Ions

The Taoist's believed that there is a life sustaining force in the atmosphere apart from major components like oxygen, nitrogen and carbon dioxide. The Air has charged particles floating through it that are called IONS! The most important ions are NEGATIVE ions. They supply the electrical current within our body's cells. If our source of negative ions is depleted, we face weakness, we feel tired or become depressed. The Taoist's believe that the highest concentration of ions is found high up in the mountains. In cities, these ions have depleted due to pollution, working conditions and various other aspects of modern living. Negative ions attach themselves to the floating air and reduce the pollutants. This is proved Science and various high - end ionizers are being used to provide a healthier environment and better air.