Library

Sit upright with the body straight, palms flat and facing upward as if supporting heaven. Hold the hands together in a fetal position, applying force that is round and soft. Form the "Pure Yang Mudra" (a specific hand gesture), let the eyelids droop like a curtain, and do not deviate from this method. Rotate the back left and right, lift and contract the anus and Gu Dao (valley gate). Swing and fold the Weilu (tailbone area), click the teeth and swallow the profound fluid (saliva). Perform these few movements, repeating them six times six (36 times) each. Maintain a state of emptiness and stillness, with nasal breaths long and continuous. Like wind, fire, thunder, and lightning clearing away clouds to allow Qi to rotate naturally. Once the Tuoyue (bellows mechanism of respiration) is revealed, diseases are expelled and longevity is extended.

Calm the spirit and sit quietly, regulating breath by drinking spring water-like true Qi. Align with the living Qi of the current season, avoiding stagnation like daytime smoke. Visualize the Zu Qiao (ancestral opening) in the brain, where clouds rise into the abyss. Do many good deeds, gradually reducing worldly attachments. When the fetal work bears fruit, demons and Yama will avoid you. Though in the post-heaven stage, one does not age; shedding the mortal form, one transforms into an immortal.

Counting breaths is the initial practice for beginners. Humans have been tempted by external things for a long time; once separated from their environment, they cannot control themselves. Thoughts scatter before they can coalesce. Therefore, use the method of mind and breath relying on each other to tether this mind. Moving from coarse to subtle, counting from one breath to hundreds or thousands allows the mind to detach from external objects, becoming gradually proficient, and the breath regulates itself. This method is the fastest, easiest, and most free from pathology, differing from methods such as guarding the Dantian, guarding the Niwan Palace, or guarding the Huangzhong.

There are four types of breath: Wind, Panting, Qi, and Breath (Xi). When sitting, nasal breathing with sound is called Wind; frequent and hurried movement is called Panting; unrefined entry and exit is called Qi; continuous and dense breathing is called Breath (Xi). Wind leads to scattering, Panting to perversity, Qi to labor, and Breath (Xi) to stability. What is meant by "regulating breath" is simply desiring it to be neither windy, nor hurried, nor panting, nor labored. This differs from counting breaths. Regulating breath is unintentional; counting breaths is intentional. Continuous and dense, existing yet non-existent, when breath is regulated, the spirit naturally returns to its root, hence it is called Fetal Breath (Taixi).

After regulating breath for a long time, the spirit becomes more concentrated, and the breath becomes finer. After a longer period, there is no sensation of breathing through the nose; only a faint breath moves up and down above the navel, just like an infant in the mother's womb. Hence it is called Fetal Breath (Taixi). The state of Xi is: the heart has no thoughts, the eyes see nothing, the ears hear nothing, and the four limbs move not. It is like preserving a fire ember; true intention burns and consolidates, Yin and Yang gather, fine breaths continue endlessly, merging with the Void, and naturally sharing the longevity of the Void.