The First Step of Cultivation ·Nourshing Qi and Gently

The First Step of Cultivation

Nourishing Qi and Blood · Gently Regulating the Body

The Huangdi Neijing states: “When the spirit is inwardly settled, illness has no place to arise; when upright qi is preserved within, external disturbances cannot take hold.” This describes the ideal state of health in Chinese medicine, the state known asyin in balance and yang well contained.

The Su Wen further says: “ When yin is balanced and yang is secure, the spirit is at ease.”

Yet in daily life, many people experience restlessness of mind, floating qi, and difficulty falling asleep .This is often not a matter of insufficient discipline or cultivation, but rather the result of long-term depletion of the body :yin no longer able to support, yang having no place to return, and internal and external disturbances remaining unresolved.

Therefore, the first step of cultivation is not to force inward focus ,nor to reject or aggressively remove what feels wrong ,but rather to—

gently regulate the body ,allowing yin and yang to return to their proper places ,so the body no longer needs to remain in a state of resistance.

When the flow of qi is restored and upper and lower are reconnected ,what does not belong naturally departs ,and what should remain naturally settles.

When yin is insufficient, the spirit cannot settle ;when yang is not secured, qi tends to rise; when internal and external factors remain unaddressed, true stability cannot be reached.

A more grounded sequence of cultivation follows the body’s own pathways:

• First, gently ease stagnation, allowing qi and blood to move in an orderly way

• Let unnecessary disturbances withdraw on their own

• At the same time, warm and support the lower focus ，nourishing Yin , so yang has a firm root to return to

As balance gradually re-emerges ,there is no longer a need for resistance, nor for forced control. Inner stillness arises naturally.

When the body is gently regulated and qi and blood are restored ,disturbance no longer needs to be expelled, for it does not remain ;upright qi settles, and the spirit becomes calm.

If wind, cold, dampness, dryness, heat, or summer heat linger for a long time, or if excessive or insufficient emotional states induce illness, medication should be used to adjust the Qi, blood, Yin, and Yang of the internal organs to relieve the symptoms in a timely manner.

Heat subsides, yin is preserved. Cold recedes, yang returns.

When yin and yang are in harmony ,the spirit finds ease.

This is not achieved through suppression ,not through willpower, and not through the thought of “I should be more stable.”

It comes from allowing the body to slowly return to its natural state of ease and balance.