dao

America is presently exercise-crazy. Yet, except for sexual activity, few exercises strengthen the crucial pelvic muscles. There exist pelvic exercises which greatly strengthen the reproductive organs and the complex network of tendons surrounding them. Strength in this department is of inestimable importance—it is the root of man's health. Leading into the pelvis are a vast number of nerve endings, and channels for your veins and arteries. Here terminate tissues communicating with every square inch of the body. All of the major acupuncture meridians carrying chi between the vital organs pass by this area. If it is blocked or weak, energy will dissipate and the organs and brain will suffer. This is what happens to most men in old age—their rectal and pelvic muscles become loose and their vital chi energy slowly drains out, leaving them weak and feeble.

It is important to remember that the foundation of penis strength is seminal retention. Without this nothing permanent may be accomplished, even with exercise. Spending the semen brings about premature impotence and decay. No one, no matter how strong or brutish, can ejaculate often without ultimately paying a stiff price. These exercises massage and stimulate the pelvic region. Life energy is driven down into the testes, filling them with extraordinary vitality. These exercises, combined with the "Big Draw" method of semen retention in Chapter Seven, will allow you to create a permanent store of sexual essence in your body. Only then can you begin to refine it into a higher state and combine it with your chi and spirit to regain wholeness.

THE PELVIC AND UROGENITAL DIAPHRAGMS

The body possesses not one but several diaphragms. Everyone is familiar with the thoracic diaphragm in the chest that causes it to expand on inhalation. Lesser known is the pelvic diaphragm and the urogenital diaphragm which separates the pelvis from the perineum. To practice Sexual Kung Fu properly you must use not only the chest diaphragm but also the pelvic one. Real deep breathing issues from this lower diaphragm. They are exceedingly important in transmitting energy during love-making in the Taoist practice of dual cultivation.

The pelvic diaphragm is a muscular wall that extends across the lower part of the torso. It is suspended concavely downward

Urethra

Hui-Yin

(Perineum)

Urethra

SIDE VIEW

Tip of Coccyx -" " ) Y

BOTTOM VIEW

These two diaphragms are the lower seals to hold the life force—the chi energies—from escaping out through the lower openings in the body. When tightly sealed they will increase the chi pressure in the abdomen. When chi pressure strengthens, it will invigorate the vital organs and move the chi and blood flow better. The importance of these anatomical structures will become apparent as you study the larger system of Taoist Yoga. The Iron Shirt Chi Kung exercises also help develop power and strength in these areas, and are a perfect complement to anyone seeking a daily regimen that will aid the practice of Sexual Kung Fu. (See Chapter 18 for a course description)

THE SCROTUM PUMPS COLD SPERM ENERGY UPWARD

Taoists regard the scrotum as the lowest diaphragm, one that functions like a pump. The scrotum is tight during youth and after a refreshing sleep. It is loose in old age or after fatigue. Strong flow of life energy tightens the skin. Scrotal breathing floods the region with energy, and the scrotum begins to tighten almost immediately.

The scrotum is the factory that produces the sexual energy, sperm, and male hormones. So there is a tremendous store of "yin" chi (cold life force energy) in this area. All sexual energy, whether male or female, is "yin" in its latent or resting state. Sexual fluids belong to the water element in the Chinese system of classifying the qualities of different types of chi. Water-rivers, lakes, and oceans are yin. However, yin energy can rapidly change its nature and become more "yang", or hot, when sexually aroused. This can only happen if the sperm is already manufactured while the testicles are still cool. In fact, western scientists have determined the male sperm count goes up dramatically when the testicles are put on ice and several companies are already selling special devices like a "freeze-pak" jock strap to aid infertile men. The cold quality of sperm energy means it must be circulated upward to harmonize with the hot mental energy in the head and the chest area and vice versa.

The testicles are constantly involved in producing sperm, hormones and, though it might presently be debated, or even denied by scientists, in creating ching chi, the life-force essence. The ancient Taoists, who had extraordinarily astute powers of empirical observation, noted that the energy of the sperm cells are of prime importance in that all of the vital organs must contribute some of their own reserves to create and maintain the potency of the sperm. Amongst those organs is the brain. The vernacular expression, "I screwed my brains out last night," suggests a common wisdom that bears out this connection between the balls and the brain.

The records amongst the Taoists on the subject of sex were surprisingly consistent over long stretches of time, which in China meant not hundreds but thousands of years. This is significant because many groups didn't even know of each others abilities or whereabouts or even existence, because these esoteric practices were very hidden. Their records point out that when the energy in the testicles is cold or mostly yin, that this is a sign of strong and youthful sperm energy. This experience of cold gives way to what has been described as a mildly warm quality when the sperm is moved into the body from its exterior scrotal sac and stored in the epidedymis and vas deferens.

The (cold) yin sperm ching chi is more dense than the hot (yang) ching or sexual energy. Most people experience their sexual energy only when aroused and the ching chi is hot, although cer-

tainly it is always present. This means the cold energy, since it is thicker and slower to move, needs all the help it can get on its path up to the higher center. If you can open the Microcosmic Orbit first it will make it much easier. This channel, which loops up the spine to the head and down the front to the navel, genitals and perineum, is recognized by acupuncturists as the main energy channel in the body linking the various organs, glands, and brain.

DIAGRAM 12

Sacrum

Rectum

Anus

The testicle breathing exercise that follows will also help you to open these channels and complete the microcosmic orbit, a process more fully described in Chapter Seven.

In the "testicle breathing" exercise you use your mind to draw the "cold" (yin), youthful sperm energy up the spine to your head. You draw not the sperm itself, but the energy generated by the sperm. At first it's slow going, but the energy is easy to deal with since it's still cool. Later just a thought will send a refreshingly delightful cool wave of energy up your back to your head.

72 Taoist Secrets Of Love

Taoists regard the sacrum as a pump which will help to hold the sexual energy coming from the scrotum and transform the energy at the same time it gives it a push upward. It's like a way station that refines the ching chi as circulates in the body. If the opening of sacrum, the Hiatus, is blocked, the life force cannot enter and flow back to the higher center.

The cranium of the skull has long been regarded by Taoists as a major pump for the circulation of energy from the lower to the higher centers. Medical research has recently confirmed that minute movements at the joints of the eight cranial bones occurs during breathing. Cranial movement is responsible for the production and function of the cerebrospinal fluid surrounding the brain and spinal cord and this is necessary for normal nerve and energy patterns in the entire body. Strengthening the cranial joints can increase energy and alleviate symptoms, such as headaches, sinus problems, visual disturbances and neck problems. In Taoist cultivation the pelvis, scrotum urogenital diaphragm, sacrum and cranial pump are very important to help move the sexual energy up to the higher center.

THREE POSTURES OF TESTICLE BREATHING:

SITTING, STANDING, LYING

Sitting: I generally recommend sitting on a chair. I prefer this position for its simplicity and comfort. Sitting lends ease to a practice that favors relaxation and good concentration.

Sit on the edge of a chair with the buttocks and legs supporting your weight. The scrotum hangs free in the air. This point is important because the testes must be freely suspended in order for you to push a maximum of air energy down into them. Raise the tongue to the roof of the mouth as this is essential in circulating the chi, completing the loop between the front and back channels of the microcosmic orbit.

The feet are firmly planted on the floor with hands resting palm down on the knees. The back should be quite straight at the waist but slightly round at the shoulders and neck. This very minor forward curvature of the upper back tends to relax the chest and helps the power flow through the neck, chest, and abdomen. Keep the chin slightly tucked in. Military posture, with shoulders thrown back and head held high, tends to lodge power in the upper body

and prevent its circulating back down to lower centers.

A variant of the sitting position is to sit cross-legged, either in lotus position or American Indian style. We appreciate the esoteric virtues of the lotus position, but Chinese practice attributes to the lotus serious disadvantages. Some Buddhist monks have been crippled by lengthy meditation in lotus position. Also, turning the soles of the feet away from the ground prevents one from directly drawing in through the feet the earth's yin power. The human body is designed to absorb earth energy through the kidney (K-l point) and other meridians in the feet and filter it before passing it up to the coccyx and brain. Some people can develop problems if they absorb too much "raw" earth chi directly into their sacrum, as occurs in lotus position. Eventually they become allergic to this undigested energy and go crazy.

Nevertheless, the lotus may be used by those accustomed and devoted to it so long as they are comfortable and can apply their whole attention to the exercise. Few cross-legged positions afford such freedom of scrotal movement as sitting on the edge of a chair. If you sit cross-legged, you should wear very loose pants and remove your underpants to prevent resistance to full inflation of the scrotum.

Standing: Another good position is standing. The above instructions on raising tongue tip to palate and maintaining correct posture apply equally to this position. Standing is particularly favorable for scrotal breathing because the testes hang quite freely. Standing up straight in a relaxed manner encourages good posture. The hands are at the sides and the feet at shoulder width. Discipline yourself to relax if you get too tense, or the chi power may stick in the heart region and make you irritable.

Lying: Never lie flat on the back when performing these exercises. In this position the chest sits higher than the abdomen and receives too much energy. Nor should you lie on the left side. Both incorrect positions unduly stress the heart.

The proper lying position is on the right side. A pillow placed beneath the head should raise it about 3" to 4", so that the head sits squarely on the shoulders. The four fingers of the right hand area are placed immediately in front of the right ear, while the thumb sits behind the ear and folds it slightly forward to keep it open.