. Two Immortals Life Nourishing Longevity System The Daoist Way to Health, Long Life & Boundless Energy Tom Bisio Copyright © 2020 Thomas Bisio All rights reserved. ISBN: 9798675661756 CONTENTS Preface 5 Introduction 8 Chapter 1 Two Immortals Life Nourishing Longevity System 11 Ancient Technologies for Modern Times Chapter 2 Mountain Sages 15 The Life Nourishing Tradition in Ancient China Chapter 3 Ge Hong & Chen Tuan 21 Inspiration & Insight into Longevity & Transcendence from Two Daoist Sages Chapter 4 Dao Yin 49 Unblocking the Meridians & Balancing the Qi Dynamic Chapter 5 Daoist Yoga 55 Balancing the Fascial Web & Opening Energy Gates Chapter 6 Qi Gong 63 Healing the Organs and Strengthening the Body Chapter 7 Longevity Diet 73 Nourishing the Life Force Chapter 8 Internal Martial Arts 81 Strengthening the Will & Adapting to Change Chapter 9 Ba Gua Energy Practices 91 Connecting Heaven & Earth Chapter 10 Daoist Meditation 95 Calming the Heart Mind & Transforming Energy into Spirit Chapter 11 Sexual Cultivation 105 Connecting Life Force with Qi & Spirit Chapter 12 Heavenly Qi 119 Living in Harmony with the Seasons Chapter 13 Herbal Medicine 127 Supporting & Nourishing the Three Treasures Chapter 14 Steps on the Path 133 Stages of Self-Cultivation Chapter 15 A Daoist Life Style? 137 Ongoing Change & Transformation Chapter 16 Two Immortals Life Nourishing Longevity System 139 Summary & Resources Preface After more than 30 years of clinical practice I developed unusual palpatory, massage, acupuncture and bone setting skills through martial arts training and apprenticeships in Chinese medicine. As these skills flourished and matured, my practice was very busy. I almost always got results, but my patients all-to0-often needed to return for more treatments. One of the unfortunate things I discovered was that the better I became at treating acute illnesses and acute trauma, the less patients were willing to implement the suggested life-style and dietary advice that could prevent them from becoming ill in the first place. Many patients asked me how I stayed healthy and fit. I would enthusiastically mention Qi Gong, internal martial arts, and living in harmony with the seasons. Most were not interested in pursuing these seemingly esoteric disciplines that were not the latest fad. It was also not unusual for people to continue to perform damaging exercises or to adhere to questionable diets, that I warned them would lead to the same problem we had just “fixed” recurring again. Several responded that they would rather pay me to treat them, so they could continue that behavior rather than changing it, despite my response that one day, too much damage would be done and at that point repairing the damage might not be possible. The exceptional patients were those who were genuinely interested in Chinese medicine or martial arts students and Qi Gong practitioners who were already engaging with Chinese health practices on more than a superficial level. These patients would only need to come in periodically, sometimes with years between appointments, because they saw that taking charge of their own health was the most effective way to prevent illness and lead a healthy and full life. There is an oft-quoted observation that there are three types of Chinese physicians: Superior doctors prevent the disease, mediocre doctors treat the disease before it is evident, and inferior doctors treat the disease when it is already manifest. By this standard, by the end of my clinical practice, I realized to my chagrin, that I would certainly be placed in the camp of the inferior doctor! However let’s look at the quote more closely. The Superior Doctor really does not treat anyone – he or she is not performing acupuncture and massage or giving out herbal prescriptions. The Superior Doctor teaches people how to prevent disease so their “patients” do not get sick and do not place themselves in positions that will lead to illness. The Superior Doctor is really a kind of Daoist Sage who acts effectively by “not acting”, or acting just enough. This person is not really “treating” patients but dispensing life wisdom. In internal martial arts training I learned very early on to treat small injuries immediately so they did not become big injuries. This is the so - called “mediocre” doctor (although actually quite sophisticated upon reflection), who treats the disease before it is really evident, when there are only small signs that something is amiss. The Yi Jing tells us that big changes begin with small, almost insignificant signs. If we act when things are small, it is easy to flow with the changing circumstances and restore balance. If we wait, heroic efforts are required. Unfortunately much of modern Chinese Medicine, just like Western Medicine, focuses on treating the disease after it has a lready occurred – the realm of the inferior doctor, where heroic measures are needed. Don't get me wrong, this is an important and necessary part of medicine, but ideally, being the recipient of heroic life-saving measures should be a wake up call, an entry point for the patient to begin to take care of their own health. In Western culture we have been culturally conditioned to love heroic measures - the physician who pulls out all the stops to save someone’s life, or the soldiers who turn the tide of battle at the last possible moment through remarkable heroism and bravery. We find the idea that the battle could have been won without bloodshed (or not fought at all), or that the doctor could have prevented the disease, if he or she intervened sooner, a bit lukewarm. In Asia the opposite is the case. The great general is the one who wins without fighting, and the great doctor is the one who acts minimally but prevents disease from taking root. In the West, we are drawn to the new restrictive diet that promises all kinds of benefits, even though it goes against the seasons, balance, and common sense, and we want the magic food supplement or herb that will prevent cancer. These things are touted publically and are great moneymakers for their creators. In the East, diet and supplemental foods must adhere to proven centuries-old principles that have withstood the test of time, and are woven into the fabric of daily life. No one get s famous or makes a lot of money touting these things. Reflecting on these experiences and ideas after closing my clinic several years ago to return to teaching martial arts, Yang Sheng (Life Nourishing) methods, meditation, and Qi Gong, led me organize the Two Immortals Life Nourishing Longevity System. The Two Immortals System is organized around very sophisticated methods of preventing disease, promoting health, and even extending life that were discovered over two millennia ago in ancient China. Daoist Life Nourishing methods are not esoteric; they are direct and practical, as relevant today as they were two thousand years ago. Some of their principles of operation are only now being substantiated by Western “science.” 6 The methods for Nourishing Life and promoting longevity taught in the Two Immortals System are effective and very quickly create profound changes in health, one’s sense of well-being and one’s outlook on life. These methods are life changing. To use another oft-quoted saying: Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach him how to fish and you feed him for a lifetime. By learning the methods presented in the Two Immortals System, you take charge of your own health. Instead of relying on an outside expert to figure out what is happening inside you, you become the master of your own inner and outer worlds. You learn how to prevent disease entirely, by moving in harmony with the world rather than against it, and you learn how to adjust small imbalances in mind and body, before they become large. You become the sage-like doctor who prevents disease within your own body. Over the years, people who have consistently engaged with some of the knowledge and practices that are part of this program have experienced vast improvements in health, less illness, increased energy, a more positive outlook on life, and even reversal of the aging process. This book outlines the philosophy and methods contained within the Two Immortals System. It is a useful guide to understanding how the different components of health and Nourishing Life fit together into a cohesive whole. The book is meant to help you as you begin to actively engage with and navigate the practices in the Two Immortals Life Nourishing Longevity System. I sincerely hope you find it useful. Tom Bisio (2020) 7 Introduction The Two Immortals Life Nourishing Longevity System teaches and promotes practical, contemporary Daoist approaches to improving health, balanced living, longevity, and an embodied spiritual path that is free of ritual, rules and constraint. I first encountered Daoist teachings almost 40 years ago through the martial arts, starting a path that would lead me to study and later teach Chinese Medicine, Daoist Meditation, Daoist Yoga, Qi Gong, and Daoist influenced martial arts like Xing Yi Quan and Ba Gua Zhang. The Two Immortal Life Nourishing Longevity System is a product of that journey. The Daoist approach to meditation and spiritual practices involves first balancing the body, promoting health, and augmenting and optimizing the life force. Balance and health changes the body’s internal energy patterns from which growth and change naturally must flow. By living longer and living well, one creates an energetic reservoir that acts as a foundation to allow further development of one’s higher self. Many people who practice the health and longevity methods taught in our online classes report a return to a level of health that they had decades early.