Some exercises are designed to "soften" the body and develop flexibility, others relate directly to specific organs, while others have a more general effect on the health. fluid") develops into ghosts and living organisms, "When the fluid is harmonious in itself, it produces and develops things [養生], when it is not, it does injury. Daoist zuowang ("sitting and forgetting") and qingjing (清静, "clarity and stillness") meditating were influenced by Buddhist practices (Despeux 2008: 1149). When you find the low-level niggle isn’t shifting, you still have low energy and wake up feeling exhausted, or you just can’t shift those last few pounds.

Besides shiqi ("eating qi/breath") above, the Lunheng also refers to Daoist breath yoga as daoqi (導氣, "guide the qi/breath"). In addition to these things, you will practice sexual intercourse in the right fashion; you will eat and drink moderately; you will avoid drafts and dampness; you will not trouble about things that are not within your competence. Together and through the qi dynamic of the body, the qi is transformed, and we use it for all of our needs. If you huff and puff, exhale and inhale, blow out the old and pull in the new, practice the Bear Hang, the Bird Stretch, the Duck Splash, the Ape Leap, the Owl Gaze, and the Tiger Stare: This is what is practiced by those who nurture the body [養形].

Truly the art of Chinese self-healing that you cannot ignore or underestimate its relevance to our balanced mind, body, and soul. Fifteen medical manuscripts, among the Mawangdui Silk Texts, were excavated in 1973 at the Mawangdui archaeological site (modern Changsha, Hunan). The Song author Chen Zhi's (陳直) Yanglao Fengqin Shu (養老奉親書, "Book on Nourishing Old Age and Taking Care of One's Parents") was the first Chinese work dealing exclusively with geriatrics (Engelhardt 2000: 81).

This work is of "unprecedented scope", and the first systematic treatise on the etiology and pathology of Chinese medicine. That is why those who know recipes for sexual intercourse [房中之術] say that only these recipes can lead to geniehood. The Daoyin tu (導引圖, "Gymnastics Chart") above contains color illustrations of human figures performing therapeutic gymnastics. It categorizes 1,739 diseases according to different causes and clinical symptoms, and most entries cite from an anonymous text titled Yangsheng fang (養生方, "Recipes for Nourishing Life"), which closely resembles the fourth-century Yangsheng yaoji.In addition, you will never weary of circulating your breaths [行氣]; morning and night you will do calisthenics [導引] to circulate your blood and breaths and see that they do not stagnate. I am a firm believer of science, though I do respect the wisdom of the collective that has been passed on from generation to generation. As I am already familiar with Daoism I personally would have loved a little bit more explanation of the theoretical backgrounds of the exercises - but I also see that I am not the typical target audience and that the theory described in the book is probably enough for the majority of readers. I have spent over 20 years practicing and experiencing the unequivocal power of Chinese Medicine, and know first hand that the answer to so many of our emotional, physical and spiritual afflictions can be alleviated through simple, self-managed practices. A person’s life ( sheng) is sustained by three “treasures,” or principles: jing (“essence”), qi (“vital breath”), and shen (“spirit”).