No. 3 Health Boosting Chi Gong ( Qi Gong ) –“Daoyin” Exercise was a kind of fitness exercise which combined breathing with limb movements in ancient China. The picture of NO. 3 exercises painted on a piece of silk from Mawangdui Tombs of the Western Han Dynasty ( 206 BC-AD 25 ) unearthed in Changsha, Hunan Province in 1973 not only demonstrates fitness exercises and medical treatment such as “ yinlong” ( Deafness prevention ) and “ yinxiang” ( neck stretching ), but also introduced limb movements and breathing exercise, such as “yanghu”, similar to modern chest expansion. In a addition, it contains exercises imitating animal movements, like “xiongjing” ( bear climbing a tree) and “xin” ( bird stretching its legs).

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Health preservation was developed and perfected in ancient China in order to enhance physical and mental health and proactively prevent illness after people gradually became known about the relations between mankind and nature and the changes and the laws of physiological activities and the occurrence of illness. Huangdi Neijing ( The yellow Emperor’s Cannon of Medicine ) , an ancient traditional Chinese medicinal bible, emphasizes the importance of illness prevention rather than its treatment. With this idea, the ancient people created a complete set of methods for health preservation, and some of them have developed into therapies for illness treatment.

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The Chinese health preservation theory not only stresses the concept of” illness prevention prior to treatment”, it also emphasizes health fitness. It is to fully stimulate the potential inner vitality of the body, advocate “ temperance” and “harmony”, and prevent various organs from injury.

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As people acquainted themselves more with pathogenesis, they also put forward the theory of maintaining the spirit as well as the body in order to strengthen the physical health and organic functions for illness prevention. This Suwen ( Plain Questions ) suggests that for the sake of physical health and vigorous energy people should abide by the laws of natural changes, and institute health preservation strategies in line with these laws. In order to strengthen physical health, prolong life and prevent illness, people should from regular habits of eating and drinking, living, labor and rest. Irregular living and on ordinate eating and drinking would impair the body’s resistance to illness, affect physical health and bring about illness.

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Meanwhile, in ancient times people paid special attention to the significant role of spirit cultivating in enhancing physical and mental health and preventing illness. All human beings are emotional, and emotions can alter their behavior and activities as well as the status of the viscera, even leading to physiological or pathological changes. Traditional Chinese Medicine classifies seven emotions-hap-piness, anger, worry, yearning, sorrow, horror and surprise. Generally, these seven emotions, as people ‘s mental responses to their peripheral environment, are normal physiological phenomena. However, excessive emotion and melancholy will bring about internal injury, impairing the five internal organs. Commonly, anger harms the liver, joy harms the heart, yearning harms the spleen, sorrow harms the lungs and horror harms the kidney. Therefore,  Traditional Chinese Medicine suggests that the secret of physical and mental health lies in reducing malign spiritual stimulations and avoiding excessive emotional fluctuations; in other words, to keep a board mind, smooth heart and optimistic attitude.

The NO.3 exercise, compiled in the principal of health preservation in line with mental cultivation, forms a completes set of meridian self-exercises combining mental concentration, breath control and body movement for life vitality.

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Mind
In ancient times people discovered that concentration could actively help to adjust the body and mind, keep a stable status inside the body, promote the balance of YIN and YANG, and lead to physical and mental health. This coincides with the concepts of “ mind leading QI, QI leading blood and blood circulation dispelling illness” describe by the ancient Chi Gong ( Qi Gong ) and “Daoyin” theories.

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However, in the course of mind cultivation, a “ moderate degree” is especially stressed by the 12-step Daoyin Health Preservation Exercise—NO.3 Exercise. This is because the mind regarded as being like water and fire: water cannot only float a boat, but can also sink it, fire can bring warmth, but can also burn. Moderate mind concentration is the important for practicing the NO.3 exercise. If we don’t  concentrate the mind at all, the effect will be discounted, but if we concentrate the mind exercise it will cause deviations. Therefore, for mind concentration, the NO.4 exercise need a “ combination of mind and movement, just like a clear brook flowing calmly”.

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QI
As early as more than 2,000 years ago, the Chinese people realized that QI is the mother of all life in Heaven and on Earth. Mankind is formed by the aggregation of QI, and so the NO.3 exercise pays attention to breathing regulation on the basis of mind concentration and body movement. “ Movement and breath should follow each other”, which means reconciling and harmonizing delicate, constant, deep and long abdominal breathing with slow and gentle movement. The requirement of breathing regulation is to circulate the QI to the navel every time, inhaling and exhaling like an immortal turtle.

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Form
Form refers to the corporeal body, including the viscera, skin and flesh, tendons and bones as well as meridians filled with vigor and blood. Traditional Chinese Medicine suggests that “ The form embodies the spirit which can’t exist without it”. This means that maintenance of the corporeal body ( including maintenance of vigor ) is crucial. In practicing the NO.3 exercise, for instance, a skewed form may cause blockage of QI; blockage of WI may bring unease of spirit; unease pd spirit may impair the effect of the practice.

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We should notice that mind, QI and form are interactive and three-dimensional. The “ mind practice” should follow “QI practice”, because an easy spirit doesn’t exist without fluent QI; “ Qi practice “ can’t be separated from “ mind practice”, because QI always follows the mind. However, mind and QI must be associated with “ form practice”, because form assists mind and QI, and a fluent QI and an easy spirit both come from proper form. That is to say that mind, Qi and form are integrated as a whole. All of them play significant roles in physical fitness, health preservation and illness prevention. Therefore , they are regarded as the essences of the NO.3 exercise.