View source for Methods for Ingesting Original Vital Breath During the Sui and Tang Dynasties

During the Sui and Tang dynasties, Daoist concepts of Ingesting Vital Breath ( 服氣 Fuqi ) placed a strong emphasis on the Ingestion of Original Vital Breath ( 服元氣 Fu Yuanqi ), Internal Vital Breath ( 內氣 Neiqi ) and Internal Original Vital Breath ( 內元氣 Nei Yuanqi ). They stressed that, in order to live a long life, people should not dissipate their body's Original Vital Breath and should retain their Vital Essence. Original Vital Breath was considered to be the root of life; only by guarding this root carefully could Dao be attained. The method for preserving that root was Ingesting Original Vital Breath and Internal Vital Breath. According to ''Perfect Man Yin's Art of Ingesting Original Vital Breath'' ( 尹真人服元氣術 Yin Zhenren Fu Yuanqi Shu ), "the body's Original Vital Breath is released through the mouth and nose. If exhalation of Original Vital Breath is stopped, the Elixir Field ( 丹田 Dantian ) will be filled. If the Elixir Field is full, you will not feel hunger or thirst, and you will become a Divine Man ( 神人 Shenren ). This is why people begin their life as embryos, without eating, nor drinking, nor breathing, and have Original Vital Breath in abundance. To have an abundance of Original Vital Breath is the way of longevity". If, just like an embryo, you can prevent your Original Vital Breath from leaking outside the body, you have attained the means of attaining longevity. In short, the basic principle of Ingesting Original Vital Breath is to preserve one's Original Vital Breath and prevent its dissipation outside the body. 


Concretely speaking, the methods for Ingesting Original Vital Breath are the following: