YANG SHENG FA

TheArtOfNourishingLife

WhatisYangShengFa?
YangShengFameanstechniquesfornourishinglife.Itisasetoftechniquesand
methodsbasedontheprinciplesofChineseMedicine,aimedatprolonginglifeand
improvinghealthandwellbeing.
TheseideasweredevelopedmainlybytheTaoistsinancientChina,anddatefrom
atleast500BCE.Therearenumerousdifferentapproaches,butthemainstrands
generallyincludethefollowingareas:
QiGongand/orTaiChi
Usingdietandherbs
AcupressureandTuiNa
Followingtheseasonsandnaturalchanges
Meditation&spirituality

st
YangShengFainthe21Century

Inthemodernworld,wesufferfromthediseasesofaffluencestress,poordiet,
pollution,obesety,heartdiseaseandsoon.Chronicdiseasehasunfortunately
becomecommonplace.Whilewehavemadehugeadvancesinmedicineinmany
areas,theartsofmaintainingwellbeingandqualityoflifearelittleknown.
ThatswhereYangShengFacomesin.Anyonecanusethesetechniques.Theydont
needspecialequipment,youdontneedmuchspace,andmostarefree.Thereare
YangShengFaartsthatyoucanpracticewhateveryourageofleveloffitness.You
canusethemtoimproveyourhealthifyouareill,ortomaintainwellbeingifyou
arewell.
Usedregularly,theytakeyoutowardsoptimumhealthphysically,mentallyand
emotionally
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TheThreeTreasures
Thethreetreasuresarethefundamentalenergiesthatmaintainhumanlife.They
areJing(Essence),Qi(Energy)andShen(Spirit).Nourishingandstrengtheningthe
threetreasuresisoneoftheprimaryaimsoftheYangShengFaarts.
Whenthethreetreasuresarestrong,wehavemental,physicalandemotional
strength.Thisleadstoadaptability,acalmoutlook,abundantenergyreservesand
strongimmunity.Whenthethreetreasuresarestrong,allaspectsoflifebecome
easier.

TheImportanceofJing
Jing,translatedasEssenceisanimportantconceptinChineseMedicineandYang
ShengFa.Jingisadeep,vitalessence,inheritedfromourparents,andstrengthened
withtheessencefromthefoodweeat.OurJingisresponsibleforourgrowthand
developmentaschildren,andourabilitytoreproduceasadults.
OurJingalsoservesasanemergencyenergystore.Ourdaytodayenergy(orQi)
isconstantlybeingcreatedfromthefoodweeatandtheairwebreathehopefully
wemakeenoughtouseaswegoaboutlife.However,ifweneedextraenergywe
candipintotheJingtotopup.YoucanimaginethatQiislikeourcurrentaccount,
andJingislikethesavingsaccount.
Withthefranticpaceofmodernlife,mostofusareregularlydippingintoourJing
weloseJingbypushingourselves,byburningthecandleatbothends,andby
usingstimulants.Jingisalsodepletedbyseriousorlongtermillness.
Jingisalsothebasisoftheother2treasures,QiandShen,sostrengtheningtheJing
isvitalinordertoprovideafoundationforall3treasures.

Neil Kingham 2009 All rights reserved

www.neilkingham.com

ConservingEssence
ThepracticesofYangShengFateachustobalanceYinandYanginorderto
conserveJingandprolonglife.Thismeansacombinationof3things:
StoplosingJing
IncreaseQitoconserveJing
IncreaseJingdirectly

1StopLosingJing
Overwork,beitphysical,mentaloremotional,damagestheJing.Bymakingsure
thatwebalanceourphysical,mentalandemotionalliveswithsufficientrestand
enjoyment,weconserveJing.
StimulantssuchascaffeineandrecreationaldrugshavetheeffectofliberatingJing
theygiveusfalseenergybyfreeingupsomeofourvaluableEssence.Thisislike
raidingthesavingsaccount,andhasaverydepletingeffectinthelongterm.
SexdecreasesJingformen,andpregnancyandchildbirthdecreaseJingforwomen.
Menshouldavoidexcessivesexualactivity,andwomenshouldmakesurethatthey
donothavechildrentooclosetogether.ThesocalledTaoistBedroomArtsare
techniquesforconservingJingduringsex.

2IncreaseproductionofQitoreduceamountofJingneededdayto
day
Thismeansmakingthemostoutofourfoodanddrink,andtheairwebreathe.By
followingtheadviceofChineseNutritionwecaneathealthy,easilydigestablefood
withplentyofavailableQi.
Thismeansusingnatural,wholefoods,preferablyseasonalandorganic.Thediet
shouldbebasedaroundwholegrainsandvegetables.Furthermore,wecanalter
ourdietstoourownspecificconstitutionsinordertomaintainhealth.
QiGongorTaiChiimprovesthegenerationandabsorptionofQifromfood,air,
andtheenvironment,andisoneofthemaintoolsofYangShengFa.

Neil Kingham 2009 All rights reserved

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3IncreaseJingdirectly
Thisisacontentioussubject,andsomesaythatitisimpossibletoactuallyincrease
Jing.However,mostYangShengFateachersdowntheageshavetalkedabout
increasingJinglevles,mainlythroughTaiChiorQiGongpractice.
CertainfoodssuchasWalnuts,Nettle,OystersandKidneyarealsobeneficialto
increaseourJing.ChineseherbssuchasCordycepsmayalsobeused.

QiTheLifeEnergy
Asdescribedabove,Qiislikeourdaytodayenergyourcurrentaccount.Itis
producedfromtheairwebreatheandthefoodweeat.Thismeansthatweneed
goodqualityfoodandair,andstrongdigestiveandrespiratorysystemsinorderto
produceQi.OurJingalsoneedstobestrongtoformgoodQi.
AlltheYangShengFaartsworkwithQi.

ShenTheSpirit
Shenisnormallytranslatedasspirit,butitdoesnothaveareligiousconnotation.
TheShenecompassesourintelligence,thoughtprocesses,emotions,and
spirituality.WhentheShenisstrongandsettled,wearecalm,peaceful,andwise.A
weakorunsettledShenmanifestsasanxiety,aracingmind,depression,trouble
concentrating,ormoreseriousmentaloremotionalconditions.
ThechieftoolforworkingwiththeShenismeditation.AstrongandsettledShen
alsoreliesonstrongQiandJing.

TolearnmoreaboutalloftheartsofNourishingLife,visitthe
authorsblogatwww.neilkingham.com

Neil Kingham 2009 All rights reserved

www.neilkingham.com

TheTechniquesandMethods
QiGong/TaiChi
ThemaintechniquesforanyfollowerofYangShengFahavealwaysbeenTaiChior
QiGong.TheseancientexerciseshelptoregulateandstrengthentheQi,Jingand
Shenbyusingphysicalmovementsthatworkonthejoints,musclesandmeridians,
deepbreathingexercises,meditationsandmentalfocus.
QiGongsetssuchas8strandsofthebrocadeor5animalfrolicshavesurvived
throughtheagesasveryeffectivedailypracticesthathavebeenrepeatedlyshown
tobenefithealth.Youcanchooseasimplesetlikethistobeginwith,oroptforone
ofthemorecomplexandinvolvedstyles.TherearenowmanystylesofTaiChi
andQiGongavailable,providingagreatamountofchoice.

DietandHerbs
EatingagoodnaturaldietandfollowingthebasicideasofChineseNutritionhave
alreadybeendiscussedasaneffectivewayofstrengtheningtheQi.Usingherbal
supplementscanalsobeuseful,andhaslongbeenapartoftheYangShengFaarts.
HerbssuchasHuangQi(astragalus),FuLing(poria),RenShen(ginseng)andGou
QiZi(gojiberries)areregularlyusedinChinaeventodayascookingingredientsto
impartmedicinalqualitiestodishes.IntheWestwecanusethesameherbsinthe
sameway,useournativeherbsandplantsforthesameeffect,ortakeadvantageof
modernprocessingmethodsandtakeherbalpreparations.

SelfAcupressureandTuiNa
Stretching,rubbingandtappingthebodyusingTuiNamassagetechniqueshelps
tokeepthebloodandQimovingsmoothly,whichkeepsdiseaseandillnessatbay.
Appropriatechoiceofacupointsforstimulationcanalsomaintainhealthandwell
being.

Neil Kingham 2009 All rights reserved

www.neilkingham.com

Followingtheseasonsandnaturalchanges
ThisistheTaoistArtofbeingpartofthenaturalworld.Todaymorethaneverwe
arecutofffromthenaturalchangesgoingonaroundus.Bytuningintothenatural
worldweregulateourQiwiththatofenvironment.Wefeelcalmer,more
grounded,morepresent,andmorealive.
Inspringwecanbeboldandlively,insummeractiveandjoyous.Autumnistime
toslowdownandgatherin,andwinterisatimeforconservationandquiet.
Eatinglocalandseasonalfoodisagoodwayoftuningintoseasonalchanges,
especiallyifyougatherwildfoodsyourselffromyourlocalarea.Regularlygetting
outandgoingforawalk,observingthenaturearoundyoualsoconnectsyouwith
thelocalQi.

MeditationandSpirituality
InthesenseofYangShengFa,spiritualityisvital,butdoesnotnecessarilymean
religion.Ifyouareareligiouspersonthenyoumayalreadyknowwheretogofor
spiritualnourishmentandgrowth.Ifnot,youmayfindyourownway.
Spiritualitycancomefromgraduallyfindingyourplaceintheworld,fromfinding
apurpose,orfromhelpingothers.Itmaydevelopfromfollowingtheseasonsand
thenaturalworld,fromartisticexpressionorfromselflesslove.Itisasenseof
belonging,understanding,centrednessandcalm.
Itisimpossibletoattainwithoutperiodsofquietreflection,andspecific
meditationsareoftenusedforthispurpose.ThisistherealmofSheninChinese
medicineandYangShengFa.AsShenrequiresbothQiandJingtoflourish,itis
importanttoworkonthebody,mindandemotionsfirst.Shenwillunfoldand
becomeapparentonitsownoncethecorrectpath(Tao)isfollowed.

Neil Kingham 2009 All rights reserved

www.neilkingham.com

Summary
ByusingthefoundationsofYangShengFamethodsandtechniques,wecanbuild
ourJing,QiandShenthe3treasureofChinesemedicine.Thiscanimproveour
healthandwellbeingonalllevelsphysical,mental,emotionalandspiritual.
Tobeginwith,itiseasytomakesmallchangestothediet,bemoreawareofthe
cyclesofnature,andtakeupTaiChiorQiGongpractice.Anyofthesechanges
willbenefityourhealthandstartyoualongthewayofNourishingLife.Takeyour
timeandworkslowly,addingotheraspectsasyoulearnaboutthem,and
dependingonyourareasofinterest.Remember,thereisnosetpath,youmustfind
yourownWay.

TolearnmoreaboutalloftheartsofNourishingLife,visitthe
authorsblogatwww.neilkingham.com

Neil Kingham 2009 All rights reserved

www.neilkingham.com