Qigong, wushu, and daoist alchemy

The culivating man should regard himself as a one who is condemned to death, who is being dragged to the square and who is approaching death step by step, and, conforming himself to death, discard thoughts of irrelevant matters ... (Ma Danyang)

修行之人，当观此身如一死囚，牵挽入市，步步近死，以死为念事事割弃...

...even if thou hast caves of gold and mountains of silver, thou shalt not buy Xing and Ming, (having) worthy offspring, thou shalt not be able to share sorrows with them.

纵有金穴银山，买不得性命；孝子贤孙，分不了忧愁

Liu Yiming

THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN QIGONG AND TAOIST ALCHEMY
The Teacher of the Single Yang said:
Some types of qigong increase Yang, while others increase the Yin. If there is an excess of Yang in the human body, one should decrease Yang and increase Yin, achieving their balance. If there is an excess of Yin in the human body, one should decrease Yin and increase Yang, also achieving the above goal.
If one is practicing one type of practice, one can only either increase Yang or increase Yin. Therefore, at the stages of qigong practice, practitioners have no way of balancing yin-yang in the body; at the beginning of practice, the student feels relatively well, but time passes and illnesses recede, then come again, and the further one goes, the more and more problems arise.
Reasoning from the position of theory, it would seem possible to solve this problem by practicing several types of qigong at once, but in fact, they also do not coincide with each other and in time will cause even greater deviations.
Therefore, relying only on qigong methods, it is impossible to maintain health. (translation by D.A. Artemiev.)

Not to harm the body and coverings received from one's father and mother is the beginning of filial piety.
Becoming a person and practicing the Dao Way, spreading one's glory to succeeding generations, and thus the glory of one's father and mother, is the end of filial piety.

「身體髮膚，受之父母， 不敢毀傷，孝之始也。
立身行道， 揚名於後世，以顯父母，孝之終也。」

Greetings to our new followers!

Here we articulate traditional practical daoism of YuXianPai and WuLiuPai schools, which we have official transition from, as well as internal martial arts of Dai and Che XinYiQuan, where we have official teachers to learn from/under, and some theoretical/practical knowledge based on original sources.

How about you tell here a few words about yourselves, about your experience and desires in these and adjacent areas? We (or more accurate, I, for the sake of our branch) are developing our presence for english-speaking (i.e. international) audience and eager to know it better.

Yours,
Andrey

(When) a man is being born, the right "kidney" is born first, with the seed outside and the blood inside, Yin is coiled.
(When) a girl is being born, the left "kidney" is born first, with blood on the outside and seed on the inside, Yang is coiled.
"'Kidney' gives birth to 'spleen', 'spleen' gives birth to liver, liver gives birth to lungs, lungs give birth to heart, heart gives birth to small intestine, small intestine gives birth to large intestine, large intestine gives birth to gallbladder, gallbladder gives birth to stomach, stomach gives birth to 'inner kidney', 'inner kidney' gives birth to bladder, bladder gives birth to 'the primal three', "primal three" give birth to 'three heaters', 'three heaters' give birth to 8 vessels, 8 vessels give birth to 12 tracts, 12 tracts give birth to 15 luo collaterals, 15 lo collaterals give birth to 180 secondary luo, 180 secondary luo give birth to 180 binding luo, 180 binding lo give birth to 36000 grand luo, from 36000 grand luo (capillaries) 365 bones are born, 365 bones give birth to 84000 hair pores.
(Once the formation of) the fetus is fully completed, the mysterious rays enter the body, (the fetus) is separated from the mother and thus man is created.

男子之生，先生右腎，以外精而內血，陰之裹也。
女子之生，先生左腎，以外血而內精，陽之裹也。
腎生脾，脾生肝，肝生肺，肺生心，心生小腸，小腸生大腸，大腸生膽，膽生胃，胃生內腎，內腎生膀胱，膀胱生三元，三元生三焦，三焦生八脈，八脈生十二經，十二經生十五絡，十五絡生一百八十繼絡，一百八十繼絡生一百八十纏絡，一百八十纏絡生三萬六千孫絡，三萬六千孫絡生三百六十五骨，三百六十五骨生八萬四千毛竅。
胎完既足，靈光入體，與母分離而為人也。

Question about replenishing the life force.

Seeker: "Where do Taoist alchemists obtain qi to replenish Ming (life force), if "Big Tree" and other practices of using external qi do not bring results, and "from within" there is nothing to take energy from, except for Ming itself, which can only be spent?

D.A.Artemiev: "The whole point is that the methods known today as qigong originated once from alchemy, passed into the stage of popular Yangsheng, and were completely unified in modern schools of qigong. Therefore, the whole secret is to combine in a certain way the energies of the cosmos and the inner structure of man (remember unity with nature), but in such a way that it all coincides with the laws of Сhanges. In other words, for this you need to know very well the structure of man (microcosm) and the Cosmos (macrocosm) and the laws of their harmonization.
Cosmic cycles change with time. The Earth's rotation rate changes, and the Earth's axis itself changes with time, as well as the position of the solar system relative to the center of the galaxy changes, etc. For this reason, in my opinion, it is pointless to decipher ancient treatises and use calculations that are thousands (and maybe tens and hundreds of thousands of years old)?
When it is said that the cosmos is changing, it does not take into account the following: only the external part is changing, the internal structure will always be unchanged. I.e. there is an outer and an inner part of the cosmos. This internal part is the laws of changes, and annual cycles, spatial changes, etc. are often the connection of internal and external or just external changes. These are no longer laws, but external chains and manifestations.”

上者生烂石，中者生栎壤，下者生黄土。凡艺而不实，植而罕茂。法如种瓜，三岁可采。野者上，园者次。 阳崖阴林，紫者上，绿者次；笋者上，芽者次；叶卷上，叶舒次。

"The best tea grows on crumbled stones, the average quality tea grows on stony soil, the worst grows on yellow ground. The domesticated tea bears no fruit, branches but is seldom luxuriant, for it the method of cultivation is used as in growing pumpkins, on the third year it can be harvested. Wild tea is the best, garden tea is worse. Of the tea that grows on sunny cliffs and in shady forests, red-brown tea is the best, green tea is worse; tea in buds is the best, tea sprouts are worse; twisted leaves are the best, unfolded leaves are worse”.

from Lu Yu's "The Classic of Tea"

Liuhe (六合) is the “six unities” (3 external and 3 internal) in the internal styles of wushu.

The three external unities 外三合 (the connection of shoulders 肩 and hips 胯, elbows 肘 and knees 膝, hands 手 and feet 足) depend on the development of the body's joints and serve as the basis for creating and controlling a unified force in the body. They also make any bodily movement holistic, economical and efficient.

The three internal unities 内三合 (heart 心, representing spirit 神, is connected to intention 意; intention controls energy - qi 气; qi combines with physical force - li 力) are manifested in the dynamic effort jin 勁. Combined, they transform the body into a perfect “instrument” and enable the mind to use it with maximum precision, power, and efficiency.

Yuxianpai lying sleep techniques (continued)

Almost all of Yuxianpai's lying methods affect the Ren-mai channel and allow one to sleep his fill. Also, many of them can be performed while sitting if necessary. Let's consider other, more specialized methods:
6. The method of "regulating qi, nourishing qi and supporting the heart". Involves the foot channels, helps with bronchitis, chest pain, chest congestion, heart and diaphragm problems, and emotional disorders.
7. The “liver protection and gallbladder nourishment” method helps with chronic hepatitis and other liver and gallbladder problems, irritability and anger, helps to cleanse the liver and open the bile ducts.
8. Methods of “nourishing the spleen and strengthening the stomach”. The first method has a good therapeutic effect in diseases of the spleen and stomach, gastritis, stomach pain, poor digestion. Harmonizes the stomach and relieves pain, helps to nourish the spleen and eliminate flatulence. The second method, more specialized and longer lasting, involves self-massage of the stomach area and straightens stomach prolapse (gastroptosis).
9. The "return of the infant" method. Returns to a state similar to that of a breastfed infant, has a rejuvenating effect (返老还童).
10. The method of “strengthening Yin and raising the Palace.” Helps women with uterine prolapse, uterine inflammation and tumors, irregular menstruation, infertility and other gynecological problems.

Lying sleeping practices in Ma Danyang's school

Lying sleep methods (睡功) are an important part of Daoist practices and inner alchemy. They are also called sleep immortal (睡仙) methods. These practices develop spiritual strength, energy and physical stamina. They can be performed at any time, from a few minutes to a few tens of minutes. They are suitable for restoring strength and vital functions in conditions unfavorable to other practices, for people in a weakened state and bedridden. The body is in a sleeping posture and the mind is in an active state, which is a combination of rest and movement to restore and promote health.
Here we will briefly review some of the Shuigong methods used in the Wang Chunyang - Ma Danyang school:
1. The “spirit nourishment” method mainly has a positive effect on the nervous system. It helps to restore and strengthen the spirit in people engaged in mental labor, and for those who do physical work, it helps to relieve fatigue and achieve relaxation and harmony.
2. The methods of raising and lowering blood pressure do exactly what they are designed to do, allowing blood pressure to be regulated.
3. The method of “nourishing the jing and helping the blood” is mainly effective in treating cystitis, enuresis, urinary incontinence and other disorders.
4. The method of "protecting yang and enhancing strength" is useful for diseases of the sexual system, spermatorrhea, pollutions, gonorrhea, lower abdominal pain, menstrual disorders and amenorrhea.
5. The method of “replenishing emptiness and returning Yang” is called “lying zhuanggong” by some. It has a good therapeutic effect in conditions of double depletion of Yin and Yang, weakness of the body, loss of strength, shortness of breath and weakness of spirit, allows you to fill the body with energy and replenish the strength.

To be continued.