Body, Mind, Breath
In the Da Xuan tradition we engage in practices with the aim of exploring, understanding and developing ourselves as human beings.
Our practices can be grouped into three main areas for developing the body (Waigong), the mind (Shengong) and the breath (Neidan). We can see the correspondance of these groupings with the famous three treasures of Taoism; Jing, Shen and Qi.
Jing is the most material aspect, related to the body itself and in Traditional Chinese Medicine, the most densely manifested elements of the body, the bones and the marrow. Linked with the Waigong, the work of the body, we can see the most rapid and quantifiable improvements when we practice the exercises daily. To cement those physical changes deeply in our systems, we need to practice for an entire Jing cycle, anywhere between 7-10 years depending on an individual's personal rhythm.
Shen is the mind, the least physically manifested of the three treasures. The Shen is anchored by the Jing, however is completely without a physical component. The Shen is without limits and through the practice we can begin to see that the limits we seem to face are those created through the action of our ego and our fears. The progression in the mind training is less tangible and more frustrating as a result, but every moment spent practising is of great value and subtly feeds into practice and life.
Qi is the energetic aspect linked to the breath, separate to the structure of the body and closest to the function of the human, between the manifest physical and the non-manifest mental. From the first moment of practice we aim to begin building an excess of energy in our daily life. We look for a tangible experience of energy in our work, not to be tied to a fantasy of Qi which wastes our time lost in imagination. Through a greater understanding and experience of energy in all it's manifestations, we can build a sufficient stock not only to function, but to invest in and improve the natural circulations of the body.
Through the methods to understand and interact with the three treasures we have the power to drive the evolution of their resultant unification, the human being.
