Massage by Taoist women

(Nü dan yao yan 女丹要言)

…it is said that this work is just a fragment from another text, designated as “Scriptures Inscribed with Purple Qi in the Pure Heavenly Ether,” which was once owned by Xi Wang Mu 西王母 — the Mother Mistress of the West.

Following the instructions given in this book, she completed the purification of “gold and cinnabar” using the “Nine Cycles” method.

The first method is massage.

In the Taoist tradition, massage is a mandatory auxiliary exercise that precedes or accompanies almost all methods of higher cultivation. It is believed that a woman's use of a certain type of massage along with contemplative exercises leads to the "decapitation of the Red Dragon" (zhan chi long 斩赤龙), which means the "alchemical" transformation of dirty yin blood into pure yang qi.

This method is called "The Great Yin Beginning Cleanses the Body". The main place in it is given to breast massage. It is in this area, according to the ideas of "Taoist alchemy", that the concentration of a woman's vital forces occurs and the main action of "alchemical" blood purification and its transformation into breath-qi is carried out there.

It says that before starting the massage, the Taoist must immerse herself in self-contemplation and imagine how the Shen spirit is concentrated in a special place in the chest, which is called the "Cave of Qi". Once this is achieved, the massage can begin.

It is performed by placing the right palm on the left breast and the left palm on the right, lightly stroking both breasts 360 times. Having finished massaging the breasts, the Taoist begins breathing exercises, directing the qi breath from the chest to the abdomen and back, without removing the palms from the chest. Mentally concentrating on the chest, where the Primordial Spirit is fed, and moving the qi breath, the woman achieves the transformation of her body, which acquires androgynous features:

"Starting with [the Great Method yin “the beginning cleanses the body”] first you need to close your eyes and be spiritual-shen, <…> then calm the heart and even out the breathing, and then concentrate the spirit and direct it to the Cave qi (It is located between the breasts, above the solar plexus). Cross your arms, place them on your chest and gently massage [both breasts] 360 times. When the breath-qi itself will descend into the [lower] Cinnabar field, you need to take a shallow breath in and out through your mouth 24 times, continuing to hold your hands on your chest, and direct your breath back [to the Cave qi]. For a long, long time the Perfect Breath will come and go [from the lower Cinnabar Field to the Cave qi]. Thus, inhalation by inhalation, exhalation by exhalation, the Primordial Spirit will grow. Spirit-shen and breathing-qi reached fullness, Perfect yanskoe the beginning will be in abundance and the "river bed" will dry up by itself (menstrual flow will stop), the breasts will shrink, becoming like those of men. This is what is called "decapitating the Red Dragon."

Another method of breast massage is presented in "Illustrated Explanation of the Female Mastery of Self-Cleansing and Cinnabar Cycling."

It should be started with the right breast and only then move on to the left, massaging each breast 12 times. To the breast massage, you need to add a massage of the abdomen and navel, stroking this area of the body 36 times. Then the Taoist swallows the resulting saliva 3 times and immerses herself in self-contemplation. At this time, she must completely detach herself from the outside world in order to achieve absolute peace in the whole body. If a woman performs this exercise every day at noon and midnight, then in a month, as the source promises, the Red Dragon will be "beheaded."

"First, stroke your right breast 12 times in a circle, then stroke your left breast 12 times. Rub your navel and stomach 36 times. Swallow your saliva in your mouth 3 times, when you have completely [swallowed all the saliva], maintain extreme detachment and deep silence. If you do this exercise every day without a break, during the hours of zi and wu, then in less than a month the mechanism [of transformation] will start moving by itself. As a result, the Perfect Yin [qi] will be completely transformed into yang qi. The tops of the breasts will contract and the Red Dragon [will be] "beheaded", your body will become like a man. Then the method of "Perfect Yin Principle Purifies the Body" is complete."

As can be concluded from the cited fragments, in women's methods of self-improvement, breast massage did not have a unified method of execution and varied in detail from source to source. If in the "Illustrated Explanation of Women's Mastery of Self-Cleansing and Cinnabar Circulation" the Taoist massages each breast separately, starting with the right breast, then in another work on "women's alchemy", both breasts must be massaged simultaneously.

In the work "The Essence of Female Alchemy" the massage of both breasts should be done simultaneously, but with crossed hands. The authors of works on "female alchemy" also recommend massaging the breasts a different number of times - starting from 12 turns, 144 times and ending with 360 turns.

Some texts may not regulate the number of turns of the massage and name the total duration of the exercise, for example, as in the essay we are studying, for a quarter of an hour.

In works on “female alchemy,” it is recommended to massage not only the chest, but the entire body in order to remove obstacles that prevent blood and breath-qi from circulating freely.

According to the ideas of ancient Chinese healers, which later served as the basis for Taoist methods for women, it is the stagnation of qi and blood that is the cause of many women's diseases.

In the "Essential Teachings on Female Alchemy" the massage begins with the chest and abdomen, smoothly moving on to the lower back massage, and ends with a massage of the face and shoulders. It is necessary to begin the massage early in the morning. First, the Daoist must immerse herself in self-contemplation and sit in detached calm (jing zuo 静坐) for a quarter of an hour (one ke 刻). When the heart becomes calm, she can begin the massage. With her right palm she begins to stroke the heart area, and places the left on the stomach in the navel area and strokes the lower part of the body 20 times. After massaging the abdomen, she moves on to massaging the lower back, changing hands - with her left hand she massages the heart area, with her right hand she strokes the lower back, then with her right hand she massages the heart area, with her left hand she strokes the lower back, alternating massage movements - once she strokes the lower back, once she pats it. Then he does the same movements, but massages the lower back with both hands. After this, the Taoist moves on to massage the upper body.

With both hands she rubs her face until it turns red, rubs and kneads her ears with her fingers, strokes and kneads her shoulders, alternating massage movements and swallowing the resulting saliva. At the end of the massage, you need to stretch your lower back once, get up from your seat, stroke it again with both hands and walk a few steps. Having finished the massage, the woman can proceed to her daily activities. In the evening, she should repeat the massage using the same method.

Source