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Shen Gong and Nei Dan in Da Xuan
The teaching and practices of the ancient Daoist tradition of Da Xuan have been kept secret for generations. In this ground-breaking book, Serge Augier, the current inheritor of the Da Xuan system, presents this unique approach to Daoism and reveals the basic principles and theory behind the practice of Da Xuan. Weaving a masterful presentation of both astonishing depth and refreshing simplicity, Serge Augier covers the Daoist practices for developing mind, emotions and internal energy and provides specific exercises for cultivating and transforming the Jing (body energy), Qi (life force) and Shen (mind or spirit) on the path to enlightenment. He explains theory and practice in clear, easy-to-understand terms and explores the deeper reaches of Daoist internal alchemy in a way that gives access to practitioners of all levels to the necessary knowledge.
240 pages, Paperback
First published February 21, 2015
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
November 8, 2015
The main reason emotions linger on is because we are not in survival mode any more, so when an emotion arises it has time to develop and time to be commented on, which then leads to another emotion. This is endless.
It is not the muscles that give force; they are only the vector for tendons. The actual use of force comes from the tendons, which is why, in our tradition, we train them through twisting and turning in our motions.
What you don't need is the "one you claim to be."
Practice is only by yourself for yourself.
If you think you are over-training, remember this. You can never have too calm and available a mind, your breath can never be too extensive, and you can never have too much energy and too strong a body!
Use percussion on your body to thicken fascia and make it stronger.
We have lost our balance skills because for too long we have based our balance only on vision. Vision is actually 2/3 of what we base our balance on! But vision is the sense that is most linked to the mind and words - not to our ability to balance. In order to rediscover and develop the qualities of balancing based on feeling with a kinesthetic approach, you must cut yourself off from the visual space reference by closing your eyes during specific exercises. ~ one foot > to engage center lift one thigh horizontal to ground > same position with hands behind back
If your knees are straight, rather than slightly bent, this means you will be aligned with your heels and not with the center of your feet.
Focus on the sensation during training.
When you condense, you bring the sensation towards the center into the bone marrow.
We do not practice to add on to our condition, we practice to get rid of things that bother us.
After all the your practice and the accumulation of all your knowledge you want to go back to acting in a simple way. YOU UNDERSTAND THINGS AND YOU DO THEM. You do not have to go through the process of questioning and commenting on your actions.
The thing you learn with a long-term practice is that any motivation is always wrong. Good motivation for practice does not exist:
Practice should be practice because it is practice. It is the free aspect of practice that is the way you explore the real meaning of life.
By your example you attract people to the practice.
Five aspects of the practice to have a complete practice:
- The Wai Gong, related to the Yin, is the training related to the body.
– The Nei Gong, between body and spirit, is a more subtle way of moving the physical structure by the conscious feeling of the breath;
– The Nei Dan is the breathing practice, aiming at developing the three energy centres;
– Xin Yi Dao Yin Fa, between energy and mind, teaches awareness and sublimation of emotions;
– Shen Gong, the most Yang aspect is the training of the mind.
If you are in pain or injured in any way, when you inhale, you pick the painful spot, when you exhale, you dive into it.
If I don't have my own values, or never took time to set them up, they will have been established by the education I received, and I got with them and react accordingly. But if I take time to look at this, now as an adult and independent, a lot of the rules I have are not necessarily what I think today and I need to make the distinction.
The four levels of training (1/2 concerns me, 1/2 concerns the world):
I train to clarify the relationship I have with myself.
I train to look at myself in action.
I look at my values and what I have been brought up with.
I look at the way I interact with society.
It is not the muscles that give force; they are only the vector for tendons. The actual use of force comes from the tendons, which is why, in our tradition, we train them through twisting and turning in our motions.
What you don't need is the "one you claim to be."
Practice is only by yourself for yourself.
If you think you are over-training, remember this. You can never have too calm and available a mind, your breath can never be too extensive, and you can never have too much energy and too strong a body!
Use percussion on your body to thicken fascia and make it stronger.
We have lost our balance skills because for too long we have based our balance only on vision. Vision is actually 2/3 of what we base our balance on! But vision is the sense that is most linked to the mind and words - not to our ability to balance. In order to rediscover and develop the qualities of balancing based on feeling with a kinesthetic approach, you must cut yourself off from the visual space reference by closing your eyes during specific exercises. ~ one foot > to engage center lift one thigh horizontal to ground > same position with hands behind back
If your knees are straight, rather than slightly bent, this means you will be aligned with your heels and not with the center of your feet.
Focus on the sensation during training.
When you condense, you bring the sensation towards the center into the bone marrow.
We do not practice to add on to our condition, we practice to get rid of things that bother us.
After all the your practice and the accumulation of all your knowledge you want to go back to acting in a simple way. YOU UNDERSTAND THINGS AND YOU DO THEM. You do not have to go through the process of questioning and commenting on your actions.
The thing you learn with a long-term practice is that any motivation is always wrong. Good motivation for practice does not exist:
Practice should be practice because it is practice. It is the free aspect of practice that is the way you explore the real meaning of life.
By your example you attract people to the practice.
Five aspects of the practice to have a complete practice:
- The Wai Gong, related to the Yin, is the training related to the body.
– The Nei Gong, between body and spirit, is a more subtle way of moving the physical structure by the conscious feeling of the breath;
– The Nei Dan is the breathing practice, aiming at developing the three energy centres;
– Xin Yi Dao Yin Fa, between energy and mind, teaches awareness and sublimation of emotions;
– Shen Gong, the most Yang aspect is the training of the mind.
If you are in pain or injured in any way, when you inhale, you pick the painful spot, when you exhale, you dive into it.
If I don't have my own values, or never took time to set them up, they will have been established by the education I received, and I got with them and react accordingly. But if I take time to look at this, now as an adult and independent, a lot of the rules I have are not necessarily what I think today and I need to make the distinction.
The four levels of training (1/2 concerns me, 1/2 concerns the world):
I train to clarify the relationship I have with myself.
I train to look at myself in action.
I look at my values and what I have been brought up with.
I look at the way I interact with society.
March 3, 2018
I liked it, really, and there’re a lot of useful informations in this book. So, why only 3 stars? Well…I found the structure quite confusing: some exercises are clearly outlined in dedicated paragraphs, other ones were briefly mentioned “en passant”. On top of that, a lot of linked concepts and techniques are explained in different chapters and this makes difficult to use the book as a reference.
Overall the books look like a “trailer” aimed at making you seek a teacher, more than a manual for individual practice.
Overall the books look like a “trailer” aimed at making you seek a teacher, more than a manual for individual practice.
July 29, 2019
On the plus side it is quite down to earth and it has some good ideas.
On the downside, the structure is a bit missing. Also, I am not sure how traditional are the teachings. The author doesn't mention his background or his master or lineage or anything like that. To be honest, I am fifty fifty as to this being all invented by him or being an actual tradition. It might be either way.
Of course, I could also write an e-mail and ask him. Perhaps I will do this in the future.
On the downside, the structure is a bit missing. Also, I am not sure how traditional are the teachings. The author doesn't mention his background or his master or lineage or anything like that. To be honest, I am fifty fifty as to this being all invented by him or being an actual tradition. It might be either way.
Of course, I could also write an e-mail and ask him. Perhaps I will do this in the future.
November 7, 2018
Deep and insightful
This book does a brilliant job of breaking down challenging concepts into a practical practice. It can be very difficult finding clear info on such profound concepts as learning to clear the mind, and internal alchemy. The author seems to have a deep understanding of the ins and outs and guides the reader step by step how to proceed.
This book does a brilliant job of breaking down challenging concepts into a practical practice. It can be very difficult finding clear info on such profound concepts as learning to clear the mind, and internal alchemy. The author seems to have a deep understanding of the ins and outs and guides the reader step by step how to proceed.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews