In Daoist tradition, there are three treasures for everyone: Essence (精), Energy (气), and Spirit (神). Essence is the condensed form of energy, represented the physical body; Energy is the formless energy running parallel to the physical body, represented the energy body; and Spirit represents the mental/thinking/reason/cognition/aware mind, represented awareness and consciousness. Through the cultivation of Essence, Energy, and Spirit, Daoist believe that they could achieve physical health, longevity, and ultimately realize Dao.
These three treasures do not operate independently, but instead interact with each other. For example, when essence is full, energy arise when cultivation; when essence is lacking, energy is weak (essence->energy). In the reverse direction, when energy is abundance, essence could be manifested (energy->essence). Same hold true between Energy and Spirit, when energy is pure, spirit becomes bright (energy->spirit), in the reverse direction, when spirit is focused, energy focuses; when spirit is scattered, energy is scattered, when spirit is pure, energy becomes pure (spirit->energy).
There is internal energy (inside body) and external energy. Inside the body, energy interacts with spirit and essence, outside the body, internal energy could interact with and be affected by energy fields from outside the body.
在道教的传统中，每人身内都有三宝：精（精华），气（生命能），神（心以上）。精是能量的浓缩状态；气是无形和原始的身命能量；而神是人的心以上，包括心理/思想/认知/知觉。通过精气神的培养和修炼，道家认为人可以达到强身健体，延年益寿，和最终悟道。
这三宝并不是独立运作，而是相互影响的。例如，精满的时候，气就相对充盈，当精缺乏时，气就较弱（精化气）。在相反的方向上，当气充满时，精就可以较快修补，武侠小说里运气疗伤就是这个道理（气化精）。此外，气与神之间也存在互动: 当气满的时候，精神变得明亮（气化神），在相反的方向，精神集中时，气亦集中（凝神聚气）; 精神分散时，气亦分散(神气散涣）。
有体内的气和体外的气。在人体内，气和神和精互动。在身体之外，体内的气和体外的气互动（呼吸，饮食，人与人互动等）。