Exercise three.
Calm the three spirits.
Begin this exercise by finding somewhere comfortable to sit or lie down.
Check that the mouth is closed with the tongue resting against the roof of the mouth and the tip of the tongue resting against the back of the upper teeth.
The breathing is in and out through the nose,
Breathing into the lower abdomen.
As you breathe in,
The lower abdomen expands.
As you breathe out,
The lower abdomen shrinks.
This exercise works by bringing all the excitement and busy thoughts from the mind down into the lower abdomen area with the effect of feeling more calming and grounded.
So begin by women taking the middle finger of the right hand and men the middle finger of the left hand and just pressing it against the belly button,
Just holding it there for the duration of this exercise.
And we start by visualising a pathway from the tip of the tongue down through the midline of the body.
So down through the centre of the throat,
Centre of the chest,
Centre of the abdomen,
Between the legs and then up through the lower back,
Middle back,
Upper back,
To the base of the neck and then to the tip of the tongue.
So not allowing that visualisation to come up into the top of the head.
Allowing that visualisation to come up into the top of the head.
So we do that twice more,
So thinking of the tip of the tongue and then thinking of a pathway down through the centre of the throat,
Centre of the chest,
Down through the centre of the abdomen,
Between the legs,
Around to the lower back,
Up through the spine,
Through the middle back,
Upper back,
To the base of the neck and then to the tip of the tongue.
Thinking of the centre of the throat,
Centre of the chest,
Through the midline of the abdomen,
Down to between the legs,
Around to the lower back and up through the spine,
Through the middle back,
Upper back,
To the base of the neck and then to the tip of the tongue.
And with the middle finger on the belly button,
Just gently press three times on the belly button with that finger,
Just to bring your awareness to that point.
And what I'd like you to do now is think about the belly button.
So think about the belly button,
And what I'd like you to do now is think about the belly button.
So you're bringing your mind down to the belly button.
In your mind's eye,
See the belly button,
So visualising it.
And with your mind's ear,
Hear the belly button.
So directing all your senses down to the belly button area.
So from the umbilicus now,
Using it as a doorway to walk through into the abdominal cavity.
So this area behind and just below the umbilicus is the powerhouse or the engine of all the energy in your body.
And it's distributed and circulated from here around the rest of the body.
And this area has a name in Qigong,
It's called Dantian.
So now walking through the doorway,
Which is the umbilicus,
Into Dantian.
Think about Dantian.
In your mind's eye,
See Dantian.
And with your mind's ear,
Hear Dantian.
And now working even further backwards with your mind to a point in the spine,
Just under the spine,
And directly opposite your belly button.
Your belly button.
This point is called Mingmen.
So don't be concerned if you're not exactly in the right spot.
Just be thinking of a spot just below your spine and opposite your belly button.
Think about Mingmen.
In your mind's eye,
See Mingmen.
And with your mind's ear,
Hear Mingmen.
And now keeping your mind in your lower back,
Think about your kidneys in the lower back area.
And really imagining lots of energy,
Lots of circulation.
Around the kidney area.
And as you keep breathing and thinking of that area,
You may notice that you're producing lots of saliva in your mouth.
And that saliva in Qigong is believed to be a special nourishing saliva,
Different from the saliva you produce when you eat food.
And it's produced from this kidney area.
So what you're visualising is the kidneys pumping out this special saliva which travels up the spine to the base of the neck and into the mouth.
So you may have the sensation of it flowing up the spine.
You may not.
You may just feel it appearing in the mouth.
And if you notice that you have lots and lots of saliva,
Then divide it into three portions and swallow it down one portion at a time,
Back into Dantian in the lower abdominal cavity.
Thinking of it nourishing that whole area,
That whole powerhouse of energy.
If you only have a small amount of saliva,
Swallow it down in one go.
Thinking of it nourishing the whole of the Dantian area.
And when you've done that,
Just placing the hand in front of you,
And it's touching the umbilicus flat over the lower abdominal area with the other hand on top.
And circling first in one direction,
A few times,
And then a few times in the other direction.
Just breathing using your abdominal breath into Dantian.
And then to finish the exercise,
Just becoming aware of the contact your body has with the surface that you're sitting or lying on.
Listening to any sounds around you.
And then just gently opening the eyes.
This exercise is very useful for calming and clearing the mind.
What we call in Qigong,
Bringing down the exciting point in the brain to Dantian.
So all your senses are brought down,
All the busy thoughts are brought down and grounded in Dantian.
Your mind will feel much less chaotic and scattered.
You'll feel less overwhelmed,
Much more relaxed.
And this exercise,
Once you become familiar with it,
Can be used very quickly.
So often,
Once you've practiced it a few times,
You just need to place the middle finger on the belly button and it's almost like your body automatically calms down,
Literally within a few seconds.
And you can do this for a long time,
And you can do this for a very long time.
The middle finger on the belly button and it's almost like your body automatically calms down,
Literally within a few breaths.
So that concludes the Calm the Three Spirits exercise.
