Chapter 61: The Method of Guidance

The master and his disciples didn’t come back all night.

When it was just light out, I let out a breath of air and felt a little uneasy. What were they doing all night? Why hadn’t they come back yet?

With a creak, the bamboo door behind me opened. I turned around and saw Yang Sheng, who had gotten up with a messy hairdo. He really was something, sleeping like that and getting his hair messed up like that.

“Sanwa, what are you doing? I couldn’t sleep well, so I heard you get up early.” Yang Sheng casually wiped his face and asked me.

“Morning exercises. You can also understand it as morning exercises.” Actually, I didn’t have much of a mind to talk. I was worried about why the master and the others hadn’t returned overnight.

“What kind of exercise is it? Is it good for the body? Teach me, I always have no routine in my life, it would be good to learn this.” Yang Sheng became active at once, and I could see that he was still very yearning for the magic of Taoism.

But what could I teach him? The content of the morning exercises was obviously not suitable for him, but Yang Sheng’s lifestyle was really chaotic. After thinking for a long time, I told him, “I can’t teach you qigong, but I can teach you a little simple massage method, which can at least strengthen your body and improve your health.”

Yang Sheng was also straightforward and said, “Okay, you can teach me now.”

I looked at him and said, “What’s the hurry? At least go wash up first.”

Yang Sheng laughed and turned to wash up. This person is probably more relaxed than the soft meat nerve. The master and the others didn’t come back all night, and he didn’t feel anything.

That day, unexpectedly, there was sunshine. When Yang Sheng finished washing, just as the morning sun broke through the clouds and shone down on the bamboo forest, which had just been bathed in the morning dew and was so fresh and green.

Yang Sheng’s movements were so loud that he woke up Su Rou and Ling Ruyue. Everyone got up early, washed up, and gathered in the small dam where I practiced kung fu.

“Third brother, I’m worried about Grandma…” This was Ling Ruyue.

“Sanwa, have Master Jiang and the others ever come back?” Su Rou was also worried.

I couldn’t show anything at this time, otherwise Ling Ruyue would be making a fuss about going out of the tomb to find Grandma, which would not be fun. I said, “They must have a lot of things to deal with. It’s not just that they stayed in the tomb for a night. Don’t think about it.”

Yang Sheng put his glasses back on and said, “Yes, even if they finish the work in the tomb, they still have a lot of things to do, such as writing reports and submitting them. It will take three or five days before they can come back. Don’t worry.”

It turns out that Yang Sheng knew. No wonder he wasn’t in a hurry. I didn’t know what my master’s work process was like, but after Yang Sheng said that, I was relieved. After all, after a short day of contact, I knew that he was not a good liar.

Looking at the morning sun, my mood brightened a little. I said directly, “Yang Sheng, come on, I’ll teach you this set of guiding methods.”

When I said this, Su Rou and Ling Ruyue also became interested and expressed their desire to learn. I didn’t mind, because as long as it didn’t involve some secret methods and formulas that were passed down by word of mouth, some things were indeed worth promoting.

Of course, I won’t teach them qigong or meditation, because they are dangerous and have many restrictions.

I carefully demonstrated a set of guided exercises in front of them, and then asked them to follow along. I began correcting them one movement at a time.

“No, Yang Sheng, your first move is wrong. Your hands should be twisted together, like washing your hands. You should rub your palms together to warm them up, not just wash them quickly. Imagine you’re in a very cold place in winter, and your hands are very cold. Then you rub them together to warm them up. No, not like that. Do it a little slower. Do it slowly, like warming your hands in winter. Yes, that’s the feeling.”

“Su Rou, what did you make of this second movement? These two hands, lightly crossed, and then turned toward the chest, is a push hand movement. Cross your fingers, then push out, then turn your hands, turn your wrists, then draw them back toward your chest.”

I looked at Yang Sheng speechlessly. Su Rou and Ling Ruyue were practicing this set of Qigong methods, which was very messy. Ling Ruyue was annoyed by my words and simply threw her hands up and stopped practicing. Su Rou was absent-minded and happy, as if she was playing.

Only Yang Sheng practiced very seriously, although the practice was not like a real one.

While practicing, Yang Sheng said to me, “Sanwa, your teaching method is not right. Can you teach us by breaking down the movements word by word? I can’t remember what you just practiced.”

I thought about it and nodded, “Okay, I’ve already analyzed the first two movements in detail, let’s start with the third one.”

“Both hands grasp each other and press together on the knees. The same applies to the left and right. This mantra cannot be taken at face value. To put it simply, the steps should be taken in a horse stance, with both hands overlapping and pressing together above the knees. The most important thing is that after the pressure of the hands reaches the knees, the knees should naturally rise. It is not that the knees should move, but that in the face of pressure, the knees should make an effort to straighten, while the hands forcefully press down on the knees. Only in this way can the muscles be relaxed and blood be circulated.”

Any movement that does not use the right amount of force will not be effective.

“Cross your arms, press down on the left and right moon crescents with your hands, and slowly pull yourself up. The moon crescent here refers to the word “thigh,” which refers to the thigh bone. Yes, it is the position of the thigh bone under the ribs, which is the position of the two hands the two hands are clasped together, pressing down on the position of the hip bone, then squat down, then slowly stand up, the left hip bone once, the right once, the force of the press should be heavy, when standing up, you can imagine carrying a bag of rice on your back, so laborious, slowly stand up.

“If you were to draw a bow with a stone’s weight, you would need the same amount of strength in both hands. You can imagine it like this: a stone is 120 catties, and you are pulling a bow with 120 catties of weight. Think about it. It takes a lot of strength to pull a bow with 120 catties of weight. Yes, you need to pull with both hands. The reason why many people’s massage and guidance methods are not effective is because the strength is not in place. This kind of movement is very good for shoulder pain.”

“Make a fist and thrust it forward, left and right at the same time. Here, the fist must be clenched tightly. Yang Sheng, when you are angry, don’t your fists clench tightly? Yes, that’s it. Just take a big step forward, then swing your fist with all your might, as if you were hitting the person you hate the most. Don’t be limp, swing your fist with all your might!”

“Like lifting a thousand-pound stone, both sides are the same. Raise your hands. Now your hands are not empty, they are holding a very heavy stone. You must use all your strength to lift this stone. Understand? Use all your strength to lift your hands. Yes, both sides.”

“Fist clenching, this is called chest opening. Do it on both sides. Clench your fist and then stretch it back as hard as you can. That’s right, this is chest opening. It’s like the chest opening exercise in the radio gymnastics. The difference is that it’s not done together, but separately on both sides. Two on the left, two on the right, and then stretch back together.”

“Sit down with your back bent, leaning to the side like a mountain. Yes, sit down, sit down with your legs straight, then twist your waist sideways, that is, turn your body sideways, then push your hands out, slowly, slowly, imagine that there is a very heavy door in front of you, you need to push it open like this, your body cannot move, you must lean sideways like this, then you can only push the door open with your hands.”

“Hold your head with both hands, gently moving it from side to side. Here, stand still and then use both hands to support your head. First, move your head up and back from the left side, then the right side. This action is to stretch your ribs and move your body to the greatest extent, allowing your breath to flow. In order to achieve the best results, it is best to do both sides of the action.”

After analyzing the 10 movements, I felt a bit tired. The so-called guided meditation method must also be combined with imagination, just like the later yoga, but the effect is more direct. If the strength is in place, a guided meditation method should be done, and the person should be sweating profusely.

At this point, Yang Sheng was already sweating profusely, but there were still nine more movements to go.

However, if Yang Sheng can persevere in his practice, it will more or less improve his body, which is not very disciplined and he eats like a wolf.