SILKEN FORMS
PART I
THE CONCEPT OF BREATHING CONTROL
"In the beginning to learn the proper use of breath, one should inhale a breath through the nose. Stop up the nose and mentally count one's heart beats. The breath should be exhaled through the mouth. In this method of breathing, everyone should make it his aim that his own ears might not hear the sound of either inhalation or exhalation. The rule is to inhale generously and exhale sparingly. One should suspend the feather of a wild goose in front of the nose and mouth that the feather might not stir while the breath is being expelled should be one's aim. With gradual practice, One should increase correspondingly the count of the heart beats during which the breath is held. After a very long period of time, one should be able to count a thousand heart beats. When an old man has arrived at that stage, then he will be transformed into a young man... each day adding to the transformation." — Pao Po Tzu.
Dr. Ko Hung, 470 B.C.
Chapter 1: Body energy or the unseen life force
Everything created by the Tao is part of the unseen life force, and Tao is the creative and receptive principle in the universe. In the universe, there exists two primal forces—the negative and the positive, light and darkness—which make up the Great Whole or the Tao. These two forces exist in that which is microcosmic to that which is macrocosmic.
Energy flows from left to right and right to left unceasingly and is evidenced in changes. It flows like the flowing of a mountain stream. The Chinese consider blood circulation akin to a flowing steam. Only natural flowing water like a river can bring forth life and growth. The Chinese call flowing water, "alive," as water in a swimming pool, which does not flow is "dead." Nothing can be grown, and if the water is not changed, it will soon decay and bad elements like mosquitoes will be created.
The Chinese understood the Tao, or Nature, from which all beings are conceived. They understood that all life is embodied with an unseen life force—a force which can be cultivated and developed to enable one to live life more fully. Ch'i Kung seeks to nurture the unseen life force.
Our prehistoric ancestors, residing in the cave and the forest, lived in harmony with Nature. They watched the trees grow, and saw the animals at play. They watched the seasons pass, and listened to the flowing of mountain streams. By living in Nature, they understood the life-giving force of Nature. The life force was the source of all existence.
To our ancestors, life was a cycle of changes, coming and going like the four seasons. This understanding is recorded in one of the world's oldest books, the I CHING, OR THE BOOK OF ETERNAL CYCLES OF CHANGES:
"The
