Allowing the breath to circulate
Hsing-ch’i Chin., lit. “allowing the breath to circulate”; Taoist breathing technique by which the practitioner allows the breath to circulate through all parts of the body. Hsing-ch ‘i forms part of embryonic breathing (t’ai-hsi) as well as the practices of tao-yin, t’u-ku na-hsin and other methods of nourishing the body (yang-sheng). The hsing-ch ‘i practitioner directs his breath by the power of his mind. Each practitioner develops his own method of doing this: some see the breath as two white lines (it enters through the nostrils and circulates through the body in two separate and independent streams); others prefer to imagine that the breath is led by a small figure whose progress they follow in their mind. The breath is circulated within the body as slowly as possible, endeavoring to dispatch it to all parts of the body. By this method sickness es may be cured and blockages dissolved.
Concerning hsing-ch’i practices Ko Hung writes, “The absorption of medicaments and draughts is a basic requirement for attaining immortality. However, by practicing the circulation of the breath, the process can be accelerated. Even without medicaments or draughts a person can reach the age of a hundred years by just practicing hsing-ch ‘i. It nourish es the body within and helps to ward off external evils.”
The hsing-ch’i practitioner should retire to a quiet room, lie on the floor, place a flat cushion under his head, and close his eyes. The practitioner should eliminate thoughts and sense perceptions, as well as all feelings and emotions. Then he should inhale and hold the breath for several heartbeats. A practitioner will not approach the state of immortality until he is able to let his breath circulate through his body for a thousand heartbeats.
Source: The Encyclopedia of Eastern Philosophy and Religion: Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism, Zen. Shambhala Publications, Inc.
Hsing-ch’i documents
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