where Mind and Body meet
We have spoken of the ten energy points, it is the place where mind and body meet.
The question now is how one actually learns to regulate these points. How does the mind, which so often lives in abstraction, meet the body, which so often lives in silence? The answer is closer than you think, it is through your breath.
Do not underestimate the power of your breath. It may be the most powerful tool you will ever need. Before we can understand the breath as a tool, we must recognize that the human mind has a consciousness, and so does the human body. They are two distinct intelligences, each with its own way of knowing, its own memory, its own voice. We must also acknowledge that the mind might resist this idea, as it is constantly seeking to be dominant.
The mind’s consciousness is the one we are trained in. It is linear, verbal, and analytical. It plans, compares, judges, and narrates. It can be brilliant at solving problems yet poor at being present. It can describe a sunset in exquisite detail while missing the sunset entirely.
The body’s intelligence is older, quieter, and in many ways wiser. It does not speak in words but expresses itself through sensations such as warmth, tightness, and expansion, or even through a cough, a sneeze, or a sudden choke. It remembers what the mind has forgotten. The body is not a passive vessel for the mind. It is a living intelligence that has been quietly keeping count and making up for what the mind has overlooked.
For mind and body to be in dialogue, the breath is the tool and the energy points are the meeting place.
Why the Breath?
Of all the functions the body performs (heartbeat, digestion, hormonal regulation, immune response), the breath is one of the few that is both automatic and voluntary. You do not need to remember to beat your heart or digest your food, but you can choose at any moment to breathe more slowly, more deeply, more consciously. This dual nature makes the breath a unique threshold between the involuntary intelligence of the body and the voluntary consciousness of the mind.
The breath also touches every dimension of your being:
- Physically, it governs oxygenation, pH balance, and the rhythm of the heart.
- Neurologically, it stimulates the vagus nerve, the tenth cranial nerve and the primary pathway of the parasympathetic nervous system, the “rest and digest” branch that calms the body and opens the mind.
- Emotionally, it is the carrier of feeling. Anxiety shortens it. Grief catches it. Joy expands it. Anger makes it sharp. The breath does not merely express emotion; it shapes it.
In other words, the breath is not just air moving in and out of the lungs. It is the interface between mind and body. When the mind places its attention on the breath, it is not merely observing a physiological function but entering into a relationship with the body’s own intelligence.
The Meeting at the Energy Points
When you bring awareness to your energy points, you are doing something remarkable. You are directing the consciousness of the mind (attention, intention, presence) toward the intelligence of the body. These points become junctions where the two streams of knowing converge.
When you breathe consciously while attending to a point, the breath softens the mind’s grip. It slows the rhythm of effort and creates space. The mind is no longer doing something to the body, as it is breathing with the body. In that shared rhythm, the two consciousnesses begin to synchronize.
This is why the traditions placed such emphasis on breath. They understood that it is not merely a tool for relaxation but a vehicle of relationship. When mind and body breathe together, they are no longer two things. They are one force meeting at a point.
At first the meeting may be subtle, but with practice it deepens. The point begins to respond. It may release tension you did not know you were holding. It may bring up an emotion that was waiting to be felt. It may simply open, like a window letting in light. This is the body’s intelligence speaking back to the mind. When the mind truly listens, without interrupting and without analyzing, the two consciousnesses enter into dialogue. This dialogue is what I mean by coherence.
Coherence is not a state you achieve once and then possess forever. It is a dynamic relationship, a continuous conversation between body and mind. The traditions called this flowing conversation balance. It is not static perfection but a living equilibrium, and it is more than a pleasant state as it is the foundation of health and wellbeing.
The Practice
How then do we practice this?
The practice requires commitment and a sincere willingness to learn. You may choose to approach the body as a living mystery that science is still unraveling.
Due to the different reproductive systems of male and female practitioners, the practice is divided into separate routines with different steps for each.
To end this chapter I leave you with these words for the practice, where awareness rests, energy flows.
Sunrise (Daytime Practice for Men)
Exercise 1: Awakening
Stand upright, elbows slightly bent, hands positioned slightly above your lower abdomen. Close your eyes and bring your attention to your breath.
Inhale as deeply as you can, filling your lungs completely and expanding your abdomen. Then exhale fully by contracting your abdomen to push out every bit of air. (Breathe through your nose, not your mouth. Let your abdomen expand as you inhale and contract as you exhale, keeping this rhythm steady throughout.)
Repeat 10 to 15 times, at your own pace.
Release the effort and let your breath settle naturally. Notice where you feel it most strongly, whether at the nostrils, the chest, or the belly. This is the first step toward awakening.
Exercise 2: The Backward Reversal
Step 1: Inhale
Take the same deep inhalation as in Exercise 1, filling your lungs fully and letting your abdomen expand.
Step 2: Hold and push
Tighten your lower throat muscles to push and direct the air down through your chest, then to your lower abdomen, hold it there.
Step 3: Exhale with a reverse flow
As you exhale, contract your lower abdomen to push a “pressure” back toward your lower spine, then tighten your upper back and neck muscles to carry the “pressure” up along your spine to the back of your head. Finally release it there..
Repeat 3 to 5 times, at your own pace.
You may feel a certain warmth behind your neck. Take a moment to catch your breathe if you feel dizzy.
This exercise may also be done seated on a chair.
Like learning to ride a bicycle, it becomes natural with practice and persistence.
Exercise 3: Heaven, Body, Earth
For the final Sunrise exercise, divide your body into three regions:
- Heaven: from the throat upward
- Body: from the lower neck to the waist, and both hands
- Earth: from the waist downward
These regions will make more sense at later stages of the practice.
Begin by bringing your awareness to each region in turn, at your own pace. Rest your attention in Heaven and practice expanding and contracting it as a whole. If sensations arise at certain points, focus on them. Then move on to Body, and finally to Earth.
You may repeat the sequence as many times as you like, and you may stop and rest at any time.
Sunset (Night Practice for Men)
Lie on a bed with the back of your head resting on a pillow and both palms facing down at your sides. As a warm-up, inhale deeply by expanding your abdomen, then exhale slowly by contracting it. There is no set number of repetitions for the warm-up.
Clear your mind and focus on your breathing, allowing your body to take more control. Follow its lead for any sensation that arises.
Rest attention on these “HEAVEN” points while breathing naturally:
- Your forehead
- A point between your eyes
- The center of your throat
While still focusing on the “HEAVEN” points and breathing naturally, use your lower pelvic region to draw up (suck) an upward pulling sensation from both feet. Let it travel upwards from your legs through your chest and throat, and release it when it reaches your head. You may pause for a few breath before resuming the cycle.
It may be mild at first, and it will take a few sessions to feel it more strongly.
I will not describe what to expect, so you can experience it without a preconception.
The Sunset exercise usually takes 30 to 60 minutes. Afterward, you may enjoy a cup of tea or a nightcap and spend some quiet time reflecting, just you and yourself.
Sunrise (Daytime Practice for Women)
Exercise 1: Awakening
Stand upright, elbows slightly bent, hands positioned slightly above your lower abdomen and close your eyes.
Rest your attention on the middle of your chest and breathe in slowly. Then let the breath out fully, long and unhurried. As you do, let your attention drift from the front of your face toward the back of your head and the back of your neck.
Release the effort and let your breath settle naturally. Notice where you feel it most strongly. This is the first step toward awakening.
Repeat 10 to 15 times, at your own pace.
Note: Breathe through your nose, not your mouth. Let your abdomen expand as you inhale and contract as you exhale, keeping this rhythm steady throughout.
Exercise 2: The Back Flow
Inhale deeply, exhale long and gently, then continuing from the back of the head, let your attention settle on one point there. From that point, generate a flow (a simple awareness) beginning to move downward. Let it pass through the neck, the upper back, the mid-back, the lower back, and finally settle in the lower pelvis.
Hold the sensation in the lower pelvis for a few seconds, then release it gently. Let your attention widen again, and take one or two ordinary breaths while you notice how your body feels.
Repeat 5 to 10 times, at your own pace.
Practice makes it easier, and patience makes it natural.
Exercise 3: Heaven, Body, Earth
For the final Sunrise exercise, divide your body into three regions:
- Heaven: from the throat upward
- Body: from the lower neck to the waist, and both hands
- Earth: from the waist downward
These regions will make more sense at later stages of the practice.
Begin by bringing your awareness to each region in turn, at your own pace. Rest your attention in Heaven and practice expanding and contracting it as a whole. If sensations arise at certain points, focus on them. Then move on to Body, and finally to Earth.
You may repeat the sequence as many times as you like, and you may stop and rest at any time.
Sunset (Night Practice for Women)
Lie on a bed with the back of your head resting on a pillow and both palms facing down at your sides. As a warm-up, inhale deeply by expanding your abdomen, then exhale slowly by contracting it. There is no set number of repetitions for the warm-up.
Clear your mind and focus on your breathing, allowing your body to take more control. Follow its lead for any sensation that arises.
Rest attention on these “BODY” points while breathing normally:
- The center of your chest
- Lower pelvis
- Both palms
Start by feeling your face, then shift the feeling to the back of your head.
Tighten your upper back and neck muscles and let a flowing sensation travel downward along your back toward your lower pelvis.
Hold briefly to feel the sensation, then release the flow through both sides of your hips and down your legs.
Pause to rest for a few moments before continuing with the same cycle.
I’ll leave the full experience undescribed, so that you won’t force any expectation.
The Sunset exercise usually takes 30 to 60 minutes. Afterward, you may enjoy a cup of tea or a nightcap and spend some quiet time reflecting, just you and yourself.