What does it mean to “RIDE THE TIGER”? Daoism perceives superhuman ability in those who are able to “RIDE THE TIGER” to spiritual freedom. Only the most evolved persons can transform potentially destructive processes into inner liberation.
We come from sex. Our sexuality is one of our most powerful resources. Yet we see this energy as confusing, distracting, suppressed, untrained, and almost completely misunderstood in modern culture. What does ancient Daoism say about cultivating healthy libido and sensuality?
As a long-time student of Daoist sexuality, I would like to share cutting-edge, scientific and spiritual insights that can show how your erotic nature can work FOR you. Some foods and activities promote libido and long life. But some cause our health and libido to deteriorate. These suggestions from Chinese medicine can help increase happiness, improve memory, increase bone regeneration, enhance immunity, revitalize your health, wellbeing, and self-love on every level, to live a longer and more fulfilling life.
- Daoist Tradition sees health, life force, longevity, and libido going hand in hand. These terms are almost synonymous.
- For Joy and Pleasure – Practice the “Inner Smile” and know your own body.
- Foods, Supplements, Recipes for Libido and Longevity. In general, fresh natural living foods promote health. On the other hand, old, chemically produced, processed, and dead foods make us sick.
- Activities and Lifestyle to Vitalize Health and Longevity: QIGONG! Is easy to do, fast to learn, and you can feel the benefits immediately.
- Sperm Count and Birth Rates are declining in the world. Here are the reasons why.
- Conclusion: LIFE is all about BALANCE. The TWELVE KEYS to good health.
1. Daoism and Tradition: Health, Longevity, and Libido go hand in hand with LIFE.
HEALTH, LONGEVITY, LIBIDO – these are pretty much synonymous in Chinese medicine. A healthy person embraces their sensual nature as part of their wellbeing. The root of sexual wellness in TCM is not in the genitals or hormones, but the Kidneys. Western medicine views the kidneys as a filtration and waste-removal organ. But Chinese Medicine sees the body-mind-spirit as a unified system in which all the organs have a role that is psychological, physical and also spiritual. The Kidney system of organs controls your root life force, your “Jing”, or life energy that is inherited from your family lineage. So, it is no surprise that the kidneys are also the root of procreative energy, the Yin-Yang equilibrium, the seat of sexuality and desire.
Health in the body is all about balance and harmony.
A balanced body is a healthy body. It will naturally procreate. Ying Yang, Male-Female polarities will come together to continue the lineage of life and future generations. So, if you’re thinking of promoting sexual joy, your best focus is to upgrade your health in every area, get happy, and enjoy your life right now! Ha Ha! I guess it’s all about being present and finding joy in the moment.
The worst way to damage libido and health is to worry, be afraid, dwell on angry situations, or be overwhelmed with grief about something in the past. Chronic stress, financial worries, and working too much will bring premature gray hair, a lackluster life, and no sexual joy.
Sex is a skill to be studied and mastered for health and longevity.”
The Ayurvedic tradition gave us the gift of the “Kama Sutra”
However this knowledge is just the tip of the iceberg of Eastern sexual knowledge. Young men and women were instructed in ways to bring their own body to orgasm, as a simple tool of hygiene and knowing themselves. After all, how can you expect another person to bring your particular body to sexual peak if you cannot do it alone for yourself? Practice first by yourself, then you are more likely to be successful when you “ride the tiger” with a life partner.
Ancient Chinese tradition held that sexuality was a skill to be passed on from parents to children.
When it was the time, a bride and groom would receive instructions on how to perform these important functions. In China it would often take the form of a “pillow book”, to show the new couple ways to find pleasure together. The pillow book might include pictures of positions, or drawings of fantasies, imaginative games to play. Every pillow book is unique, and a treasured keepsake. Antique pillow books often sell for thousands of dollars. Others were just simple line drawings and memories.
Most of us in the West were trained to think about sensuality in a shameful light.
My Mother came from a good Victorian British family, and I’m working to overcome those mental limitations. Relaxing is a key. If you notice you are overwhelmed with stress, find some time to decompress, get to bed earlier and just enjoy life. Think of it as your “job” to love yourself and live a full life. Move your body with exercise. Take a vacation or much needed break from work to help free up stress, stagnation, and frustration.
2. For Joy and Pleasure, practice the “Inner Smile” and know your own body.
Chinese Medicine, Qigong, and Taichi are essentially spiritual practices to vitalize vitality, health, and also libido.
My Qigong teacher always talked about finding the “Inner Smile” in whatever part of the body you are working. That means it is filled with beauty, light, fun, and maybe secret pleasure. The “Inner Smile” is just simple pleasure of living in a physical body.
Daoist sexual practices have a strong emphasis on female satisfaction.
This requires a man to be sensitive to his partner’s level of interest and arousal. Men were taught to learn to delay ejaculation indefinitely, or to stop ejaculation at the moment of peak arousal, in order to truly be a complete partner in integrity of sharing a life together.
Eastern practices required both men and women to become deeply aware of their own body functions, and to control what is known as the ‘nine orifices’ as a true practitioner of the art. So, the training for a warrior, a king, a monk, and a nun were all similar. The goal is refinement of the life force and achievement of health, longevity, and balance in all things.
High Buddhist and Daoist spiritual practices use chanting, visualization, prayer, chakras, and physical stimulation. They used the body as a vehicle to merge ecstatically with the divine, with or without a partner. “
It turns out that when performed in a harmonious way, the sex act can vitalize our health. The sexual act can re-balance the exchange of fluids, open the meridians, clear out the chakras, promote blood circulation, enliven all body functions. It brings our one-pointed focus truly into the present moment. It can free mental constriction. And it does so in a unique way. Maybe we all know this intuitively.
3. Foods, Supplements, Recipes for Libido and Longevity
In general, fresh natural living foods promote health. On the other hand, old, chemically produced, processed, and dead foods make us sick. However, there are different body types, so not everyone can benefit from the exact same diet. Listen to you own body.
Here are some of the BEST Foods for Longevity and Libido
EAT ORGANIC FOOD, as Farming Chemicals Harm Your Health and Reduce Libido.
- Asparagus
- Avocados
- Beans, Lentils, Black beans
- Beetroot
- Black Sesame Seeds
- Blackberries, Blueberries
- Broccoli
- Chestnuts
- Onions, garlic, leeks, chives, (Alium family)
- Coconut oil
- Coconut Water
- Cucumbers
- Eggs
- Figs
- Ginger
- Goji Berries (Wolfberry)
- Green Beans
- Lamb
- Moringa Leaves or Powder
- Nuts, Brazil nuts, Walnuts, Pistachios, Pumpkin seeds
- Oysters
- Raw Cacao
- Saffron Crocus sativus
- Salmon
- Turmeric
TOP Herbs and Supplements for Longevity and Libido
- Ashwagandha Root
- Astralagus Huang Qi
- Cordyceps
- Eleuthero Root
- Ginkgo
- Ginseng Root, American
- Ginseng Root, Red Chinese
- Lingzhi mushroom
- Lion’s Mane Mushroom
- Lu Rong, Deer antler tips
- Maca root
- Reishi Mushroom Ling Zhi
- Rhodiola root
- Schisandra Wu Wei Zi
Avoid These Foods that Deplete Libido and Lower Longevity
Chinese Medicine suggests that certain foods make our internal system “damp”, or congested, sluggish, swollen, groggy, or cold. This brings stagnation in the body, which shows up as weight gain, bloating, low energy, poor immunity, tired lungs, yeast infections, inflammation, bacterial infections, acne, and flu. These foods are the common culprits to avoid excessive consumption.
- Alcoholic beverages
- Baked goods, refined grains, cereals, white rice
- Bread, cake, cookies, white flour
- Coffee
- Cold foods and drinks
- Concentrated fruit juices, esp orange juice and tomato juice
- Dairy products, including milk, cheese, ice cream (yogurt is an exception)
- Fast foods
- Flour
- Fried foods
- Greasy foods
- Noodles
- Peanuts, peanut butter
- Pork and rich fatty meats
- Refined and processed starches and carbohydrates
- Spicy Hot peppers and Nightshade vegetables
- Sugar and sugary foods
- Wheat products
Are you Eating your Beets? Importance of Nitric Oxide for Sexual Function
Nitric Oxide facilitates intra-cellular communication and plays an important role in inflammation, sensual vasodilation and nerve health. It is one of the most important components of health of our blood vessels.
Approximately 80% of nitrates in food come from eating VEGETABLES. And the VERY top of the list is BEETS!
Recipes to Nourish Your Erotic Nature:
Black Sesame Seed Brownies
Apricot Blueberry Goji Salad with Basil
My 1-Minute Turmeric Shot!
Pumpkin Seed Basil Pesto, Vegan
Wild Dandelion Avocado Pesto with Pumpkin Seeds!
Detox Spinach Avocado Walnut Dip
Spinach Beet Brain-Food Salad
Cauliflower Risotto with Lentils & Mushrooms
4. What Activities Vitalize Health and Longevity? QIGONG!
I highly recommend Qigong, because it is easy to do, fast to learn, and you can feel the benefits immediately. Qigong is based on simple movements that use deceptively powerful energy. We don’t exactly notice while we do it, but when the session is over, we are far more balanced. The key is to get energy moving through the body. Many people have a lot of stagnation in the body, so the number one priority is to just get the energy moving.
Think of the meridians and lymph system as a kind of series of rivers and lakes in the body. So, if they are moving and flowing, the environment is alive, clean, the plants and animals are happy, everyone has fresh water to drink. Running water never gets sour or stagnant. We want to avoid congestion, because when the waters get stopped up and stagnant, all kinds of problems show up. All of a sudden bacteria, viruses, bugs, and negative emotions start gathering. So, in the same way, in order to have sexual vitality, we need to have physical vitality in the body, and balance in the mind. That is why Chinese medicine sees libido and life force as synonymous with longevity and wellness.
Sex helps to balance the emotions. Healthy libido is a play of balancing the sacred cosmic polarities of Yang and Yin, Male and Female, Water and Fire. If the cycle gets stuck in any way, then nasty emotions build up and we find ourselves obsessed with selfish thoughts, limiting beliefs, control, money, status, and worry. All these are the antithesis of joy, the opposite of health.
I love Qigong because it subtly moves the energy of the body. And it moves the all-important fluids. Hydration is extremely important for healthy sensuality and longevity. In fact, what we call “old age” is nothing more than dehydration, which means the lymph gets stuck, dry, and stops moving. You get to choose: Movement vs. Stagnation. You’re either getting happier and moving your fluids, or you’re getting dried out and moving toward the end of life. It’s all about balance.
5. Sperm Count and Birth Rates are declining in the world.
It’s no secret that sperm count in the world has been falling for as long as they’ve been measuring it. A 1992 research publication showed the quality of male sperm count in the USA was reduced by half in the past 50 years. A 2017 review confirmed this trend, showing a 50% to 60% drop in total sperm count. Male sperm motility and testosterone have also declined, while miscarriages among women and erectile dysfunction among men have been steadily rising.
Lifestyle factors that reduce fertility include farming chemicals, phthalate plastics, vaccines, obesity, smoking, drinking alcohol, and stress. Two of the biggest culprits seems to be endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) such as phthalates, and vaxxeens.
If you got the vax, you’ve probably heard about decreasing sperm counts among men after the jab. It’s not just men that are affected. Covid jabs impact both male and female fertility. Studies show impaired semen concentration and motility in men, irregular and heavy menstruation in women, with rising miscarriages, fetal deaths, and stillbirths after the rollout of the shots.
The big takeaway is that libido, reproductive fire, sexual health, longevity, happiness, and wellness are inseparable. They’re each sides of the same wholeness we all strive for in our lives. We must take control of optimizing our health, joy, and longevity by every means possible.
6. Conclusion: LIFE is all about BALANCE.
The longest-lived and healthiest people in the world live mostly on natural whole foods locally grown. Eating pure, whole, organic foods grown on chemical-free humus-rich black soil is one of the secrets of centenarians.
The Bulgarian diet, for example, consists largely of whole rye and barley bread, sunflower seeds, vegetable soups, and fermented foods such as yogurt, sauerkraut, sourdough bread, and soured milk. These people work hard. They consume fermented goat or sheep milk and fresh raw honey.
According to Sexuality Guru, Mantak Chia, in his book “COSMIC NUTRITION” there are TWELVE KEYS TO GOOD HEALTH. To ensure that our vital functions continue, it is important to follow these twelve rules of healthful eating.
- Eat only when hungry, and stop before you are full.
- Maintain proper balance of acid and alkaline and yin and yang.
- Chew your food well and mix thoroughly with saliva.
- Refrain from eating when emotionally upset or physically exhausted.
- Eat food at room temperature.
- Eat fresh, natural, organic, raw, and cooked foods daily.
- Fast or follow an elimination diet when necessary.
- Combine food properly so that foods digest fully according to their nature.
- Refrain from close eye work or intense brain work before, during, or after meals.
- Eat your last meal at least three to four hours before bedtime, so that sleep time is rejuvenating.
- Be cheerful and calm at mealtime.
- Follow the law of moderation.
Sex is the one human activity that integrates and synchronizes the physical body, the imagination, and the spirit. It promotes balance, health, and joy. Then longevity is a natural result.”
Srijana, aka Jane Barthelemy, is an intuitive medium, channel, author, and energy healer with over 50 years experience in meditation, Kundalini, Buddhism, Qigong, Taichi, and Daoist sexuality. She has an MBA and was CFO of the original Rudi’s Bakery. Her life path followed many careers including opera primadonna in Italy and owner of a Venetian glass jewelry company. Serious health challenges led her to write two cookbooks: “Paleo Desserts” and “Good Morning Paleo”. Her healthy food & lifestyle website JanesHealthyKitchen.com recently won the 2021 CEO Magazine award for the “Best Healthy Food & Lifestyle Blog – North America”. Her upcoming books include: “Heal Your Past Lives”, and “Buddha Speaks – Channeled Passages from the Master”. She and her Bhutanese husband, Lama D, are on the faculty at the NewEarth University. They live in Bali where they offer meditation and healing workshops.
Resources:
- cosmic-nutrition-the-taoist-approach-to-health-and-longevity
- https://academic.oup.com/cdn/article/3/Supplement_1/nzz039.P18-042-19/5517354
- https://www.acupuncturetaproot.com/post/10-libido-boosting-foods-according-to-chinese-medicine
- https://www.magnoliawellnessoc.com/blog/traditional-chinese-medicine-tcm-and-sex-drive
- Inner Alchemy Astrology, a book by Mantak Chia, https://www.mantakchia.com/inner-alchemy-astrology
- Taoist Sexuality: Ancient Feminism for Modern Mastery, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1_dH3J3mAb4
- https://www.herstory.ie/photo-essays-2/2021/9/26/taoist-sexuality-and-the-feminine
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8xTri8G-0x4
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21084789/
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15315255/
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23790229/
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5005297/
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3731873/
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18801111/
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3861174/
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18274887/
- https://www.activeherb.com/blog/sexual-wellness-in-chinese-medicine.html
- https://tcmblog.co.uk/foods-to-boost-libido/
- https://www.lotusblossomclinic.com/chinese-medicine-longevity-practices-foods/
- https://needtoknow.news/2022/07/covid-jabs-impact-both-male-and-female-fertility/?
- https://alexberenson.substack.com/p/urgent-the-covid-vaccine-paper-on/comments?
- @KanekoaTheGreat, The 3 Ways Metabolic Health Impacts Sexual Health with Dr. Casey Means Dhru Purohit Podcast
- https://drrichswier.com/2022/05/14/sperm-counts-drop-50-are-these-chemicals-part-of-a-depopulation-agenda/
- https://www.newsweek.com/sperm-count-health-decreasing-15-16-years-american-men-us-study-1642303