Walking as Cultivation: The Natural Breath-Switching Method (A Secret Technique of Heaven-Human Unity)

I. The Natural Breath-Swapping Method Is Different from Ordinary Walking

The "Natural Breath-Swapping Method" is said to have been created by Lü Dongbin while wandering the Zhongnan Mountains. Practitioners hold a posture of relaxed, calm, and natural ease, with the 意念 (mind-intention) of "I am the universe." Their body and mind, a small cosmos in their own right, expand and contract freely with this intention. As this opening, closing, expansion, and release occurs, practitioners can enlarge or shrink their personal biofield at will.

The Natural Breath-Swapping Method is fundamentally different from mindless, casual walking or strolling. In mindless walking, breathing and footsteps have no set rhythm, and the mind holds no focused, directed intention. As a result, the breath, steps, and mind of a mindless walker cannot merge into a single, unified whole.

Practitioners of the Natural Breath-Swapping Method use rhythmic walking, breathing, and intention to expand and contract the human biofield, merging the individual with nature into a unified whole. This practice brings the benefits of regulating the breath and nourishing the spirit, strengthening the brain and sharpening the mind, warding off illness and supporting health, and extending lifespan.

The best places to practice are lush, plant-filled outdoor spaces with fresh air.

II. Flat-Step Three-Step Practice

Posture: Stand naturally, relaxed and calm, with your arms hanging loosely at your sides, palms facing your legs. Softly gaze into the distance toward the "heavens." Gather your spiritual light, close your eyes for a moment, then open them again. Your eyes may rest straight ahead or sweep gently across the surroundings. Your hands may swing naturally or rest loosely behind your back. Walk with ease.

Method: "Breathe in for one full breath as you take three steps; breathe out for one full breath as you take three steps."

Requirements: Take three steps forward during each inhale, and three steps forward during each exhale. Repeat this cycle, moving with relaxed, calm, and natural ease.

Intention: As you inhale while walking, intend that qi (vital energy) is drawn from all directions into the pores of your entire body. As you exhale, intend that qi radiates outward from your body’s pores in all directions—the farther and more circular the radiance, the better.

Notes: Practitioners of the Flat-Step Three-Step Practice who have liver or gallbladder disorders, or liver or gallbladder discomfort, should step out with the right foot first. Those with spleen or stomach issues or digestive discomfort should step out with the left foot first. Pairing the Three Immortals Practice as your core practice with the Natural Breath-Swapping Method as a supplement brings stronger healing effects.

Elderly or physically weak practitioners should start with the Flat-Step Three-Step Practice. Once you have built a steady foundation, you may move on to the Flat-Step Six-Step Practice.

III. Flat-Step Six-Step Practice

Use the same posture as the Flat-Step Three-Step Practice.

Method: "Breathe in for one full breath as you take six steps; breathe out for one full breath as you take six steps."

Requirements: Take six steps forward during each inhale, and six steps forward during each exhale. Repeat this cycle, moving with relaxed, calm, and natural ease.

Intention: Same as the Flat-Step Three-Step Practice.

Notes: For those with liver, gallbladder, spleen, or stomach issues, first do the Three Immortals Practice, then pair it with the Natural Breath-Swapping Method’s Flat-Step Six-Step Practice for far stronger effects.

The Flat-Step Six-Step Practice is especially well-suited for women going through menopause. Pairing it with the Three Immortals Practice can ease the discomfort of this life stage. Mental workers, physical laborers, and anyone who feels generally healthy should start with the Flat-Step Three-Step Practice and the Balancing Practice.

IV. Single Breath-Holding Three-Step Practice

Posture: Same as the Flat-Step Three-Step Practice.

Method: "Breathe in for one full breath as you take three steps; hold the breath as you take three steps; breathe out for one full breath as you take three steps."

Requirements: Take three steps forward as you inhale, then hold your breath while taking three more steps forward, then exhale as you take three final steps forward. Repeat this cycle, moving with relaxed, calm, and natural ease.

Intention: As you inhale, intend that qi is drawn from all directions into the pores of your entire body. As you hold your breath, imagine your whole body forming a single, unified small cosmos. As you exhale, imagine qi radiating outward from your body’s pores in all directions—the farther and more circular the radiance, the better.

V. Single Breath-Holding Six-Step Practice

Method: "Breathe out for one full breath as you take six steps; hold the breath as you take six steps; breathe out for one full breath as you take six steps."

VI. Double Breath-Holding Three-Step Practice

Method: "Breathe out for one full breath as you take three steps; hold the breath as you take three steps; breathe out for one full breath as you take three steps; hold the breath as you take three steps."

Notes: The Double Breath-Holding Natural Breath-Swapping Method is a required practice for anyone cultivating the Lingbao Tongzhi Neng Inner Skill Method.

VII. Double Breath-Holding Six-Step Practice

Method: "Breathe in for one full breath as you take six steps; hold the breath as you take six steps; breathe out for one full breath as you take six steps; then hold the breath again as you take six more steps."

Notes: As you practice the Natural Breath-Swapping Method, gradually increase your step count from three to six, then twelve, then twenty-four. At this stage, you will reach the state of "qi circulating through your inner cosmos, the five elements rotating on their own, the four symbols merging, and intention and qi unified as one."

Breath-Holding: For beginners, hold the breath by maintaining a state of neither inhaling nor exhaling after each full inhale or exhale.

The Natural Breath-Swapping Method is divided into three foundational practices: Heaven, Earth, and Man. Ancient teachings hold that the point a practitioner gazes toward until it passes beyond sight, yet remains held in the mind’s intention, is the practitioner’s "Heaven." The space a practitioner can sense but not see is their "Earth." The space a practitioner can see clearly with their eyes is their "Man."

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VIII. Keys to Practice

Gaze levelly forward before beginning practice to cultivate a special human faculty: using the eyes to convey spirit, emit spirit, and gather spirit. Gaze forward with both eyes all the way to the "place of Heaven," gather the distant spiritual light, then close your eyes for a moment. You must draw this gathered spiritual light back to the "Ancestral Acupoint" and guide it into the Middle Palace. Lü Zu said: "The natural Way runs deep with skill and art; when spirit enters the Middle Palace, the body has its master. One who has a master is a true noble one—the spirit of all things, ten thousandfold and myriad."

The breathing method of the Natural Breath-Swapping Method follows a steady rhythm and uses a specific intention. During practice, you must breathe through the pores of your entire body. This full-body pore breathing allows you to access what is called "the breathing of the womb," anciently known as "fetal breathing." When you coordinate mouth and nose breathing with pore breathing, this is called the "unity of spirit and qi" method. Qi from the natural universe is drawn from all directions into the pores of your body’s surface. As you inhale, send your intention to the far distance, then draw it inward.

As you inhale, cultivate a sense of drawing force and inner listening; as you exhale, project spirit-qi-force from your core outward toward the far distance. You must also cultivate a sense of expansion and gentle tautness in the body.

The Natural Breath-Swapping Method is the practice of cultivating the experience of merging the human body with the universe. As you practice, you must fully embody this principle: "Treat the body as the heaven and earth within, to sense the heaven and earth without. The heaven and earth without responds to the heaven and earth within. When the heaven and earth within is centered on and governed by the lower dantian, the qi of heaven and earth is fully gathered within. If you lose the core of the lower dantian, the qi of heaven and earth within will flow outward entirely. You cannot achieve the Way this way, and will instead stray from the Great Dao."

IX. Precautions:

(1) The Natural Breath-Swapping Method may look simple, but mastering it takes real practice. It’s not just a matter of walking three, six, or twelve steps—these are just guidelines for your movement. Start with three steps, walking slowly at first. Once your movement feels smooth and steady, move up to six steps; once six steps feel easy, add a breath hold. If you feel your qi running low during a breath hold, drop back to three steps immediately—forcing it will cause harm. When six steps feel completely comfortable, move on to twelve. Twelve steps is already a challenge; adding a breath hold at this step count is even harder. Only increase your step count when your movement feels stable and smooth. If you cannot smoothly shift from three to six steps, do not force the transition.

(2) For the pattern of one inhale or exhale per three or six steps, keep your strides short. Start slow and gradually speed up, accelerating until you reach the fastest pace your body can comfortably sustain. Within your physical limits, the faster you walk, the better—the practice asks you to find slowness within speed, calm within motion. Everyone’s constitution is different, so the pace you can maintain will vary. After less than ten minutes of walking, your whole body will grow warm, but you will not feel fatigued.

(3) Keep your body and mind fully relaxed throughout the walk. Focus your breathing on the surface of your skin—breathe through your pores. As you inhale, imagine qi from all directions pressing gently into the pores of your whole body, with a slight, subtle drawing-in of the body. As you exhale, imagine the pores of your whole body releasing outward; do not worry at first about where the incoming qi travels. Walking this way feels wonderfully light and effortless. Your breathing should be fine, even, and prolonged.

(4) As you walk, hold your body like a pregnant woman: lift and straighten your chest, and let your belly protrude slightly forward. At the same time, keep your shoulders, upper arms, elbows, wrists, and hands fully relaxed, with your fingertips pointing downward loosely. Push gently through your toes into the ground. Walk in a state of relaxed calm.

(5) There is a mechanism in the throat that Daoism calls the "Twelve-Story Tower." When you eat, your esophagus opens; when you breathe, your trachea opens. As you exhale, both the trachea and esophagus can open at the same time, letting lung qi exit through the trachea and stomach qi exit through the esophagus, allowing the stomach to release qi as well. For this practice, breathe in through the nose and out through the mouth: when exhaling, part your lips slightly to release the breath. People with tumors or cancer must follow this nose-inhale, mouth-exhale pattern, as the therapeutic effect is very pronounced.

(6) Your meridians can only open fully when your whole body is completely relaxed. Let your fingers point slightly downward and backward as your hands swing to open the Heart Meridian and Pericardium Meridian. Lifting your chest and breathing finely, evenly, and at length opens the Lung Meridian. Pushing your belly forward opens the Bladder Meridian and Kidney Meridian along your back, as well as the upper section of the Gallbladder Meridian. Gently push your Mingmen (the Gate of Life, not the Mingmen acupoint) forward to open the Stomach Meridian and the upper portion of the Large Intestine Meridian. Grip the ground with your feet and push forward to connect the Large Intestine and Stomach Meridians via your little toes.

(7) Full, whole-body relaxation is essential for your meridians to open. Even small areas of tension can block meridian flow. Lifting your chest while pulling in your belly will prevent the Bladder Meridian from opening fully.

Article source: https://www.dadaojiayuan.com/daojia/158897.html

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