Swallowing Saliva

Stuart Alve Olson

Two types of regimes call for swallowing. One is the swallowing of saliva (嚥 液 Yan Ye) and the other for the swallowing of Qi (breath) or, more accurately, “ingesting Qi” (吸收 氣, Xi Shou Qi). Initially, the swallowing of mouthfuls of breath/Qi is purely imaginary, as with each inhalation you imagine the mouth filling with Qi and then swallowing it down like when swallowing saliva. Over time, the air in the mouth will begin to feel more substantial when swallowing.

The main function and purpose of swallowing saliva is to refine the “Essence” (精 , Jing), and it occurs in three parts:

In the first part, Rousing, the tongue is used to stir up and accumulate the saliva. Circle the tongue outside of the teeth in both clockwise and counterclockwise directions thirty-six times each way.

In part two, Rinsing, the accumulated saliva is sucked back and forth across the tongue thirty-six times.

The last part is the actual swallowing of the saliva. To perform Swallowing, suspend the head slightly upward and feel as though the nose is contracted inwards.1 Then divide the saliva by a third and with a slight force, swallow. When doing so, feel as though swallowing from the Mysterious Well (玄 井, Xuan Jing) cavity (the center of the clavicle bone beneath the throat). Sense the saliva passing through the solar plexus and then into the lower Elixir Field. Perform two more actions of swallowing the saliva.

The practice of ingesting Qi begins with inhaling (through the nose) and visualizing the Qi as a white cloudy substance filling the mouth. Then swallow it while exhaling, visualizing and sensing it descending into the lower Elixir Field (abdomen).2

The following section on the practice of swallowing saliva comes from Li Qingyun: Longevity Methods of a 250-Year-Old Taoist Immortal (Valley Spirit Arts, 2016). The teachings and

1 Eight Brocades and other practices say to raise the Dragon (left hand) and Tiger (right hand) fists up to ear level with the palms facing forward before swallowing, but this isn’t necessary here. 2 See Refining the Elixir and Chen Tuan’s Four Season Internal Kungfu for more information on ingesting Qi. protocols for swallowing saliva is such an important aspect of Taoist Longevity and Internal Alchemy arts that it’s imperative the student knows all the particulars for the practice. Like most Taoist works the text of The Lofty and Foremost Jade Emperor’s Canon on Embryonic Breathing simply mentions to “swallow the saliva” and assumes the reader knows what this means.

The quoted material contains Li Qingyun’s instructions on swallowing saliva from his teachings on the Elemental Skills (more commonly called the Eight Brocades Seated Qigong, and specifically are from the Third Brocade: Red Dragon Stirs the Sea). The Translator’s Notes are my commentaries on Li Qingyun’s instructions.

The Red Dragon stirs up the saliva.

[赤龍攪水津, Chi Long Jiao Shui Jin] Red Dragon is a name for the tongue. The tongue is the tool by which the saliva is produced and therefore functions as the source of good health. It is said that a bright red tongue is a sign of good health. Here it functions as the collector and stimulator of saliva.

The correct procedure is to place the tongue up against the cheeks. First follow a leftward rolling motion [clockwise] towards the right side; alternate and follow a rightward rolling motion towards the left side [counterclockwise]. Continue like this, to and fro, rolling and stirring, collecting the saliva within the mouth.

If during this proc¡edure you should become unsettled or disturbed, you should pause to compose yourself and get rid of any anxiety, otherwise the source of your good health may well become damaged.

Translator’s Notes Grasp the hands firmly into loose fists and place them above the knees or on the upper

thigh area. Grasping the hands firmly means to press the middle and ring fingers into the center of the palms, the Dragon (left hand) and Tiger (right hand) Qi cavities. Pressing the middle and ring fingers into the centers of the hands also reduces tension in the fingers by having to extend and round them out more to reach the palm centers. This looser hand position also helps vent the heat that generates in the hands from Embryonic Breathing. (As noted, this positioning of the hands is optional in this book.)

Place the tongue in front of the upper teeth and begin rotating it toward the right cheek, then to the lower jaw, up to the left cheek, and then back to the top, staying in front of the teeth for each rotation. Circle the tongue smoothly in this manner, moving clockwise thirty-six times, and then circle the other direction, moving counter–clockwise. This is called rousing.

When you get the knack of rotating the tongue in this manner, include following the circular movements with the eyes. When the tongue is up, the eyes gaze inward and up. As the tongue circles down towards the cheek and lower jar, the eyes follow along with it. Keep the eyes fixated on the tip of the tongue as it circles.

Rouse and rinse the saliva thirty-six times. [鼓漱三十 六, Gu Shu San Shi Liu] Rouse and rinse means to gather the saliva within the mouth. The Qi is stimulated during the in and out motions of rinsing. Thirty-six is the number of revolutions. This procedure in effect causes the circulation and stimulation of Qi so that it can penetrate deeply.

Translator’s Notes To coordinate your breathing with the movements, inhale when placing the tongue in front of the upper teeth and rotating to the right cheek. Exhale when circling the tongue downward to be in front of the lower teeth. On the next inhale, circle the tongue up to the left cheek, and then back to the front of the upper teeth on the exhale. Keep the tongue in front of the teeth during each rotation. This breathing pattern calls for two inhales and exhales per rotation (two breath cycles), but you can also perform it in one cycle (moving halfway around on the inhale, and completing the rotation on the exhale).

Rouse the saliva in thirty-six clockwise rotations, then repeat to the opposite (counterclockwise) direction.

The method is to use the tongue to stir-up and produce saliva and to accumulate it into a single batch. Then, press it forward as if to spit it out. When it reaches the tip of the tongue this is the completion of issuing the saliva; when reaching the base of the tongue this is the end of withdrawing the saliva. One out [issuing] and one in [withdrawing] is counted as one full cycle. When having completed thirty-six cycles, stop.

Translator’s Notes The mouth should now contain a large quantity of saliva. Place the tongue against the back of the teeth and begin sucking the saliva back and forth over the length of the tongue. Do this thirty-six times (each back and forth motion being one cycle). This is called rinsing.

Evenly fill the mouth with Divine Water. [神水滿口 勻, Shen Shui Man Kou Yun] The term Divine Water refers to the saliva. With the mouth full of saliva after having performed rousing and rinsing thirty-six times, the saliva becomes a uniform mixture and spreads evenly throughout the mouth. At this time the breath and Qi will also be uniformly spread throughout the body.

Translator’s Notes Taoists consider saliva as one of the main components of Jing, and this is for two reasons: 1) when we chew food, saliva is

stimulated to help break down the food, which aids in digestion; 2) saliva also helps break down fats in food and so aids in keeping the body at a healthy weight.

Infants primarily survive on and receive most of their basic nutrients from saliva. Observe how much saliva an infant constantly produces and you’ll understand how important this substance is to the body. Saliva is not a bodily excrement, it’s a nutrient.

In Taoism there’s an important practice called “Refining the Jade Secretions” ( 練玉 液, Lian Yu Yi), which is based on the notion that all the fluids of the body are a Jade Secretion. The reason for the description of jade is because in Chinese culture it is considered as valuable as gold. Jade is healing, and just wearing it is said to promote good health. Even deeper is the belief that jade is said to be refined dragon semen (Jing) left by dragons who inhabit a mountain. Referring to body fluids as being jade then carries the idea that the secretions are cultivated and refined into jade, and so the body will become immortal and indestructible just like dragons and the jade they produce.

Within the practice of Refining the Jade Secretions, an important point of instruction is to keep the tongue connected to the upper palate. This will stimulate the salivary gland to keep the throat moist during long meditation periods. It also creates a connection of the Renmai Meridian with the Magpie Bridge Cavity (鵲橋 穴, Que Qiao Xue), so the Qi can flow directly through the mouth. It likewise opens up the areas underneath the tongue, directly on each side of the frenulum that attaches the tongue to the lower palate. On the right side is the Golden Saliva Cavity (金津 穴, Jin Jin Xue) and on the left side is the Jade Fluid Cavity (玉液 穴, Yu Ye Xue). These cavities when stimulated properly produce a sweet tasting nectar called the “Upper Peak Medicine,” “Sweet Dew,” “Jade Juice,” or “Divine Water.” Other traditions call it “Amrita.” Keeping the tongue raised onto the upper palate is crucial for acquiring this medicine. In fact, it is only when the saliva thickens, turns pure white, and takes on this sweet taste can it be considered as refined and reverted.

A main reason for practicing Refining the Jade Secretions is to make the saliva thicker and more whitish in color, rather than letting it remain clear and thin in consistency. Making the saliva more substantial produces a greater effect when ingesting it.

Anytime an exercise calls for rousing the tongue about the mouth to build up the amount of saliva, then to rinse the saliva back and forth along the tongue, and finally to swallow (or gulp) it down into the Elixir Field—this is one of the processes for Refining the Jade Secretions.

Each mouthful is divided into three parts and swallowed. [一口分三 嚥, Yi Kou Fen San Yan] Each mouthful means the mouth full of saliva. Three parts and swallowed means that the mouthful of saliva is divided into three equal parts and swallowed down successively. It is completely unintentional that this is analogous to the Three Powers [三 才, San Cai].

Translator’s Notes With the tongue placed back up on the upper palate, divide off one-third of the saliva and swallow with a gulping action. When doing so stretch the neck up a little and tilt the head back just slightly (this is to ensure the saliva’s proper descent down the esophagus and the descent of the Qi down the Renmai Meridian.) Divide another third of the saliva and again

gulp it down in the same manner. Finally gulp the last third down. When gulping, listen for a “gu gu” sound in the throat, like water sounds when going down a drain. This is swallowing.

A rarely mentioned principle of the practice is to focus on the Mysterious Well ( 玄井 穴, Xuan Jing Xue), a point directly in the center of the clavicle, when swallowing the saliva. After gathering the saliva in the mouth, put your attention on the Mysterious Well Cavity, contract the nose, suspend the head, and sense that the saliva is being gulped straight down from this point through the esophagus, called the TwelveStory Pagoda (十二重 樓, Shi Er Zhong Lou), and in some texts the Mysterious Receptor (玄 迎, Xuan Ying). Then the saliva is sensed passing through the solar plexus, the Bright Palace Cavity (絳宮, Jiang Gong) and from there directed into the lower Elixir Field. Focusing and swallowing in this way enables the saliva to travel down the esophagus correctly and thus affect the Renmai properly.

Eventually, you should practice the Four Activities while you are inhaling before each swallow: 1. Grasp the hands firmly using the

Dragon and Tiger fists. 2. Draw in the Tail Gateway (Wei Lu), which equally affects the perineum and anal orifice. The Wei Lu naturally draws in when inhaling with Embryonic

Breathing. 3. Place the tongue on the upper palate. 4. Close the eyelids and roll the eyes upward and back to visualize the

Muddy Pellet (泥丸, Ni Wan) Qi center—fontanel area on top of the head.

Hearing the Sound of Thunder

When swallowing saliva (or Qi) it’s important to perform the following visualization: when preparing to swallow, inhale according to the above instructions but when making 10 the gulping down gesture and beginning the exhale, first visualize lightning in your mind. Envision it as when a rain storm is imminent and the lightning first lights up the clouds. Then when swallowing and exhaling, visualize and feel the saliva descending through the Mysterious Well directly into the solar plexus and then into the lower abdomen Elixir Field. At this point, sense, through imagination, a vibration in the lower abdomen. This is the initial sense of “Hearing the Sound of Thunder.” Repeat the gulping down of the saliva (or Qi) two more times.

Initially this is all purely imagination, but with consistent practice you will begin to truly see and sense a flash of light in the mind, and then hear and sense a vibration in the lower abdomen. At first you may feel and hear a faint gurgling sound and then a subtle movement within the abdomen, but gradually over time the sensation will grow more pronounced.

The idea here is to create and imitate the forces of nature, not externally but internally. First lightning and then the sound of thunder rumbling off in the distance, just as it occurs in nature. In Taoism this procedure is seen in the activities and functions of the Book of Changes images of Chen (2, 震, Thunder and Lightning) creating the effect of Xun (6, 巽, Wind, the movement of Qi). Without delving into the mystical, philosophical, or science of all this, suffice to say that all creation is first based on vibration and movement, be it a storm, earthquake, birth of a child, mutation of a seed sprouting into a plant, and so on. Regarding the teachings of this book, it’s the basis of creating the Spiritual Embryo (opening the lower Elixir Field). Consistent practice of Hearing the Sound of Thunder will greatly aid in opening the Elixir Field and effect the mobilization of Qi thereafter. Just swallowing the saliva will stimulate the Jing, but including the visualization and sensation of lightning and thunder will greatly stimulate the Qi and help bring about the creation of a new life within the Elixir Field.

Reprinted, with permission, from Embryonic Breathing: The Taoist Method of Opening the Dan Tian by Stuart Alve Olson. ©2016 Valley Spirit Arts.

Stuart Alve Olson is a teacher, translator, and writer on Daoist philosophy, health, and internal arts. Visit www.valleyspiritarts.com for information on his other publications and projects.