Three Treasures of Taoism - Basic Knowledge

Taoist exercises involve control of the "three treasures of Taoism": qi (or ki), jing and shen. Let's call them breath, body and mind. In studying the Three Treasures, we will follow the Threefold Approach.

Over the course of 100 days and fourteen weekly lessons, you will master the exercises of the “three treasures” of Taoist yoga: chi, jing and shen, or breath, body and mind, respectively, since only such a balanced and comprehensive approach to the system will produce the desired results.
This chapter is devoted to the basics of Taoist exercises, the study of which will be the key to successfully completing the fourteen weekly lessons.

As mentioned above, qi is both breath and life energy. We will mainly consider qi as the energy that circulates in a person along channels known as acupuncture meridians. The “first treasure” of Taoist yoga is related to the control of the flow of qi.

The basis of all Taoist yoga exercises is breathing exercises. The First Treasure exercises teach beginners to gain complete control over their breathing. In addition, there are two more exercises that must be mastered before beginning the course of study proposed in this book. They are called "belly breathing" and "reverse breathing."