In traditional Chinese medicine, Jing (tsing, ching) is often called ancestral energy. When our Jing is depleted, we die. There aren’t a plethora of ways to preserve or build Jing energy. But we can halt the ways we deplete and waste it. This will help preserve and often, even rebuild our Jing energy.
We receive prenatal Jing energy as embryos from our parents.
We derive Jing from our father's sperm and our mother's ovum. And we continue to accumulated Jing energy in our bodies after birth.
This is called postnatal Jing energy. We get it from food, water, and oxygen. But we also deplete Jing as a result of environmental and social conditions.
Lifestyle choices we make directly bear on our vitality. Do we regularly subject ourselves to substance abuse, pollution and toxins, for example? These all can directly deplete our Jing essence.
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Jing energy is not the same as chi (qi) or vital energy.
Chi is another term for vital energy and its five different aspects. Traditional Chinese medicine’s (TCM) Theory of the Five Elements (Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water) explains chi. TCM defines chi as a circulating life force. Chi forms the basis of much Chinese philosophy and TCM.
Both cosmic views of Taoism(1) and TCM see chi the same way. They see chi as the invisible life force regulating the universe, all activities on the planet, and the inner workings of the physical body.
But both disciplines also consider much more when it comes to energy. They very much consider an entire trilogy of interdependent energy forces known as the Three Treasures.
In traditional Chinese medicine, the Three Treasures of interdependent energy forces are Jing, chi, and shen.
There’s no clear definition for each of these in English but the closest notions are:
Jing is essence.
Chi is vitality and/or energy
Shen is mind and/or spirit.
All three interrelate. Without Jing, there is neither chi nor shen.
A strong chi or vital energy will strengthen Jing essence and vice-versa. Both cooperate to maintain a strong and healthy body, but they are also assisted by shen.
The mind is master of the body’s functions. A centered shen keeps Jing energy strong and it activates chi. Sane mind in a sane body is the ideal. All three in balance are the ultimate prize of the Three Treasures.
Jing essence and energy is centered in the kidneys.
With weak Jing energy, coping with even the simplest of tasks becomes difficult.
In our blog on the kidney as root of life, regeneration and vitality, we wrote:
[Kidney] provides us with a reservoir of energy we can tap into to regain self-assurance, trust, and faith in surviving our challenges in life.
Strong kidneys make us better able to work efficiently for long periods of time. We focus more sharply for greater productivity.
But weak kidneys do exactly the opposite. We lose endurance and physical strength. Fear and anxiety can grip and prevent us from productivity if we don’t take care of our kidneys.
Jing energy is fundamental to sexual energy and conception.
Recall that we discussed above that we derive Jing from our father's sperm and our mother's ovum.
Women lose a certain amount of Jing when giving birth and through their menstrual cycles. The good news for women is that menopause arrives to limit Jing energy loss. Women’s bodies innately know to commence menopause so they can preserve blood and Jing for a healthier longer life.
But when men continue to wastefully ejaculate they continue to lose Jing energy. Men can limit loss of Jing caused by ejaculation by practicing the Tao of sex. This is a tantric teaching instructing men to injaculate to recycle Jing. And it doesn’t prevent orgasm.
Taoist and other spiritual masters have long known about the practice of injaculation. In the near 100-year old book, Life and Teaching of the Masters of the Far East, a Himalayan Master says this about the practice:
Both Lao Tzu and Confucius recognized China’s founding father, the Yellow Emporer Huang Ti a foremost practitioner of Taoism (around 2700 BC).
In the book, The Tao of Health, Sex and Longevity, author Daniel Reid writes about the Yellow Emporer:
The Yellow Emporer kept a harem of 1200 women for frequent coupling but he followed the tenets of the Tao of Yin and Yang during sexual intercourse. He didn’t see it as yin energy vs. yang energy. He blended the two as they should be, yin and yang working in concert to balance each other.
Contrary to the yang masculine impulse, he practiced restraint so his female partner could enjoy her full measure of pleasure.
Huang Ti observed his partner’s responses in the “flowery battlefield” of sex and held reverence for the sexual act itself. He knew that sex is internal and injaculation is only achieved by harmonizing yin (inner/quiet) and yang (outer/active) energies. Here Jing essence transforms into energy.
The Yellow Emperor consulted with three women on sexual matters. They were known as the Plain Girl, the Mysterious Girl and the Rainbow Girl. He deduced a great deal from these conversations about the Tao of Yin and Yang Energies.
According to author Reid, their recorded conversations in The Classic of the Plain Girl provide:
The Yellow Emperor died at 111 after a lifetime of disciplined sexual encounters with his massive harem.
The lower belly sacral chakra is key to Jing energy.
For both men and women, the lower belly sacral chakra, located just below the navel, is the body’s natural center of balance and movement and source of the body’s vitality.
When energy flows freely through the sacral chakra, you feel strong, alive and full of vitality. In other words, you feel your Jing energy alive and well within your body.
When the goal is orgasm and orgasm alone, we close our sacral chakra and inhibit sexual energy flow. We most often achieve the goal of orgasm but at the cost of Jing.
Every metabolic activity of the body consumes Jing energy. When we’re young, we have Jing in excess. It’s that abundance of Jing energy that gives us with the vitality and immunity of youth.
When we advance in age, unless we practice Jing preservation, we no longer have excess Jing energy. This forces our bodies to draw on Jing energy reserves in the kidneys.
Progressive loss of Jing leads to weakness and aging.
The rate at which we consume Jing energy directly relates to how we live our lives.
By living in harmony with the energetic seasons and elements of TCM we can strengthen our chi and preserve Jing energy.
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You can rebuild a certain amount of Jing with mindful (qi gong and meditation) and lifestyle choices (acupuncture and sexual practices).
Here are seven specific ways to preserve Jing energy:
Eat in harmony with the energetic season. Subscribe for our newsletters. When each energetic season stars, we send best eating tips for the seasons and element. To start, make sure you consume a balance of flavors: pungent, sweet, sour, bitter and salty.
Get proper sleep to recharge the body. Sleep in alignment with the sun’s rising and setting. If you’ll subscribe to our e-newsletter, we’ll always send you sleeping tips according to TCM for each season.
Balance work with rest. It creates a vigorous healthy life. If you provoke imbalance in either work or rest, it can lead to sickness.
Exercise to a healthy normal degree. Exercise will help you store Jing.
Avoid drug and excessive alcohol use both of which deplete Jing.
If you’re a sexually very active man, investigate the tantric practice of preserving your semen. Guard against losing life essence through excessive sexual activity.
Meditate every day for at least fifteen minutes. It disintegrates Jing-depleting stress depletes.
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Endnotes:
Taoism is a Chinese philosophy based on the writings of Lao-tzu (fl. 6th century BC), advocating humility and religious piety.
Sources:
Reid, Daniel P. The Tao of Health, Sex and Longevity: A Modern Practical Approach to the Ancient Way. Simon & Schuster, 2014.
Anand, Margot. The New Art of Sexual Ecstasy: Following the Path of Sacred Sexuality. Thorsons, 2003.
Life and Teaching of the Masters of the Far East, Vol. 1. DeVorss & Company, 1935.