Our three treasures series continues with Jing tonics, support for the life essence in its many manifestations.
Unlike Shen, which can be cultivated through meditation and peacefulness, or Qi, which is increased by many healthy activities and substances, our supply of Jing is finite. The amount we inherit from our parents depends on the quality of their vital essence, and it is the only infusion of this precious resource we will receive.
Jing is passed on to us at the moment of our conception, and that moment expresses the two primary functions of Jing: it is the energy of creation and procreation. Jing seeks always to create, to send some of itself outwards in new forms, like a seed; Jing is both the life essence and the physical manifestation of that essence’s will to live.
The ancient Taoists considered the control of Jing to be of utmost importance to health, as they believed that it could be either spent and lost through careless sexuality, or contained and focused through mindful practice. Although one’s store of Jing cannot be increased, many of their meditative, sexual, and martial practices aimed at concentrating whatever Jing was present until it became an energetic vital power. This concentrated Jing could then be tapped into for transmuting all of the body’s inner essences into nectars of enlightenment, much as Tantric practitioners in India focused the Kundalini into a food for the higher mind.
Jing is the carrier of inheritance, as already described regarding conception, and so supporting the Jing in both partners is crucial for creating healthy children. But Jing also plays a role in other types of creativity, active whenever the inner essence is projected outwards to enliven a creation, from a painting to a musical performance, writing a story to manifesting a business vision. Jing energy is the expression of the Will outwards, into the world so that it can take on a life of its own, reflecting its creator but also becoming its own being.
Physically, Jing is stored in the kidneys, and poor kidney function is one of the main symptoms of Jing depletion or imbalance. Lower back pain around the kidney area can also indicate Jing imbalance, along with any lack of vitality in the sexual energies or function.
On a more subtle level, we have seen Jing tonics help in other blockages of creativity, and we have noticed a pattern in which all of the creative energies seem blocked at the same time, even though their mundane body manifestations may not seem connected. We’ve worked with many people whose sexuality became depleted in conjunction with artistic inspiration dropping off, as well as couples trying to conceive and succeeding after starting other creative pursuits together.
Although our original store of Jing is set at conception, we can take in herbs that carry the Jing energy, and so allow our original Jing to remain full while our body functions off of the Jing we take in as tonics. In this way, although we do not grow our Jing, we do not deplete it, and if we support the tonics with mindful creative practice, our original Jing becomes more concentrated and powerful.
Here are some of our favourite Jing tonic Spagyrics to support and concentrate this creative essence.
Fo-Ti, also called Ho Shou Wu, is a tonic root related to buckwheat, and a very important Jing herb. It is called Ho Shou Wu because according to legend, an elderly grey-haired man named Ho worked with this herb until his hair (shou) turned black (wu) again. This story may be apocryphal, but in Chinese medicine, the health of the hair and kidneys are linked, and Fo-Ti is one of the best kidney tonics available.
We especially like our Fo-Ti Spiritualized Essence when we are traveling and working at our booth. Often, we’ve noticed that as we get tired and run down from the work and change in routine, we get soreness in our lower backs. It seems to be a combination of physical back pain from the lifting and standing, and kidney pain from the Jing depletion that can happen when we’re expending so much creative force. Just one dose of the Fo-Ti always solves the problem, leaving us energized and rejuvenated and ready for anything!
Rehmannia is another important kidney tonic, with a more Yin effect than Fo-Ti. While not as energizing as Fo-Ti, Rehmannia is very nourishing to the kidneys and blood, and rejuvenating at deep levels. It is considered an excellent antiaging herb, and supports the Jing directly in the kidneys, bringing better sexual function and reproductive health, along with increased fertility. It is considered calming and grounding to excess Yang, helping keep that fiery energy balanced and contained.
Recent research also indicates that Rehmannia scavenges and counteracts the free radicals associated with some types of hearing loss and tinnitus, protecting the hearing. Like other Jing herbs, Rehmannia is also strengthening to the lower back. All these tonic effects, along with a helpful grounding Yin quality, are very present in our Rehmannia Spiritualized Essence.
Our next several Jing tonics on sale are a grouping, each used according to specific needs and goals relating to the Jing. Since we often get questions about the subtle differences in these formulas, we’ll explain them together and in relation to each other.
First, we’ll look at the male-oriented Somalixir formulas of Mars Jing and Jade Dragon.
Both of these Somalixirs were designed as tonics to male sexual health and Jing energy. Both often act as aphrodisiacs and energy tonics, but they have slightly different applications.
Mars Jing was created as a rebuilding tonic, for men whose sexual energy and health is depleted, imbalanced, or low. This depletion may also show up as general weakness, lack of vitality, or creative blocks as discussed above, in addition to the classic Jing issues of poor sexual function.
Mars Jing replenishes the Jing energy that feeds the sexual fire, but that can take some time, and so it does not usually create an aphrodisiac effect until it has been used for some time. The formula is working to rebuild a possibly very depleted system, and the energy that system contains will not be readily spent by the body until there is a good store of it again.
For men whose sexuality is balanced, with free-flowing and abundant energy, the Somalixir Jade Dragon can be a great formula to work with the Jing energy in new ways. Jade Dragon does usually have a quick aphrodisiac effect, stimulating the fiery Yang energy and creating movement and vitality. Invigorating the flow of Jing this way allows it to become a force for overall energy work, or for Tantric and inner alchemical processes of increasing the Essence.
For women, we created Venus Jing and Pearl Tigress, with differences along the same lines as the men’s formulas.
Venus Jing feeds the fluid, rich, and juicy nature of women’s sexuality, creating ease and flow in those energies. Women are not as likely as men to lose Jing through sexual activity; rather, Jing in women is depleted primarily by menstruation and childbearing. Blood is related to Jing, and is the inner essence most closely tied to women’s Jing health.
Depletion of Jing in women can be very similar to the symptoms seen in men: low energy, low libido, infertility, and general weakness. Hormonal imbalance may lead to menstrual cycle disorders, which further deplete the Jing, creating a destructive loop.
Slowly rebuilding the Jing with the Venus formula often returns balance to the cycles, radiance to the skin, sexual playfulness and spark, and increased fertility on all levels.
For women already in that balanced state, Pearl Tigress can bring the Jing Essence to another level of vitality. The review we most often hear is that “Pearl Tigress gives me claws!” This is not to be seen as aggressiveness or violence, but as an increase in the passion and joy that energized Jing brings to sexual and sensual life.
Like the Jade Dragon Somalixir, Pearl Tigress can also be used to make Jing and sexuality an enlightening force and increased Tantric energy, in fact, both are based on traditional Taoist formulas for that spiritual path.
For more about the Three Treasures, read our posts on Qi and Shen, and see all our tonics to Qi, Jing, and Shen in our store.
