THE THIRD REGIME

THE LESSEE HEAVENLY CIRCUIT

First lie down on your back in a quiet place with lots of fresh air. Begin filling the body with air through the nose and expelling it out the mouth with a ha sound. Perform this nine times. Next, close the mouth and place the tongue on the roof of the mouth and begin breathing naturally, for a total of twenty-four breaths. Then fold the hands over the Bright Palace cavity, with the left hand over the right, and begin holding the breath for twelve heartbeats. This is called the small cycle. To advance, perform this last step for a medium cycle of sixty heartbeats, and then move on to a large cycle of one hundred twenty heartbeats. Those who master one thousand heartbeats have entered the gate of immortality.

While the breath is being held, the qi must be guided by intent down to the Ocean of Qi cavity, into the Returning Yin cavity, and then down the legs into the Bubbling Well cavities; then up into the Gates of Life cavity, then the Jade Pillow cavity, then the Hundred Gatherings cavity, then down into the Mysterious Pass cavity, and finally back into the Bright Palace cavity.

While holding the breath, collect the saliva and, before inhaling new air, gulp it down into the lower abdomen. As described previously, this is called embryonic breathing. When the breath can be held for three hundred heartbeats, the ears will not hear, the eyes will not see, and the mind will be without thoughts.

Then sit up on a mat with legs bent and crossed, the left heel pressed in on the Returning Yin cavity. Regulate your mind, body, and breath. Place the right hand upon the left, drawing both close to the belly to cup the navel area. Next, begin tapping the lower teeth against the upper ones as though eating, thirty-six times, to regulate the body and spirit.

Then, Stir the Sea with the Red Dragon thirty-six times. With the eyes closed, direct the eyeballs to follow the Red Dragon’s movements, left and right. Place the tongue against the roof of the mouth. Relax the mind and count the heartbeats up to three hundred sixty times. When the mouth is full of Divine Water, rinse it thirty-six times and then proceed to perform the Four Activities: 1) gently draw in the anus to ensure that the qi has easy access into the Function meridian, which will allow its movement down into the Returning Yin cavity and then up along the spine to pierce the Jade Pillow cavity; 2) place the tongue on the roof of the mouth, forming the magpie bridge; this connects the qi from the Mysterious Pass cavity down to the Bright Palace cavity; 3) with the eyes closed, look upward and back as if to gaze at the Hundred Gatherings and Jade Pillow cavities; this will push the qi up along the Control meridian; 4) hold the breath for twelve heartbeats, which will prevent the qi from dissipating.

Next, swallow one-third of the saliva, sensing both the qi and Divine Water moving downward through the Bright Palace cavity and into the Ocean of Qi cavity. Repeat the Four Activities and swallow two more times, so that three circuits of qi are completed through the Function and Control meridians.

Now, relax the body and mind for a few minutes and then proceed to rub the lower abdomen one hundred eighty times, clockwise, with the left palm over the right. When finished, hold the right palm (with the left palm remaining on top of it) over the lower abdomen to keep it warm. Exposing the lower abdomen to cool air will dissipate the heat previously generated. While holding the lower abdomen, visualize the Ocean of Qi cavity for twenty-four heartbeats.

Then rub the Tiger’s Mouth cavities of both hands together until hot and proceed to massage the upper inside part of the eye sockets with the backs of the thumbs, fourteen times. Be careful not to forcibly push inward on the eyeballs. This massaging will relieve any fire in the heart region.

Next massage the sides of the nose thirty-six times with the backs of the thumbs. This will bring relief to the lungs. Still using the backs of the thumbs, massage behind the earlobes fourteen times. This will invigorate the spleen. Massage the face with open, heated palms fourteen times. This will also strengthen the spleen.

Cover the ears with the palms and beat the Heavenly Drum twenty-four times, left and right. Support the Heavens, slowly, nine times. Repeat both of these procedures three times. While supporting the heavens, inhale pure air through the nose when pushing upward and exhale the impure air out the mouth while gently making the sound ho to rid the stomach and lungs of any impurities.

Now, cross the arms over the chest and grasp the shoulders with the hands and shake the body nine times; this will help stabilize the nervous system and bones. Then, with the fingertips, massage the Jade Pillow cavity twenty-four times. Move downward and massage the Gates of Life cavity in the same manner one hundred eight times, and then the Bubbling Well cavities of both feet, one hundred eight times. Last, stand up and go for a walk in the fresh air.

Perform these exercises twice a day, once in the early morning and once in the late evening. In one hundred days, the qi can freely circulate; in one year your youthfulness is restored; and in three years you enter the gate of immortality.