Daoist Inner Alchemy
Alchemy is the science of transmuting base materials into pure
gold. In the ancient cultures, there are myths of people
performing this refinement on a physical level with things like
lead or mercury. On a deeper level, though, many spiritual
traditions have taken this to refer to a process of deep inner
spiritual revolution.
In ancient China, many spiritual practitioners began to
frame the process of refining the inner spiritual body in the terms
of external, physical alchemy.
Origins of Daoist Alchemy
Daoist alchemical practices have their roots in pre-history.
The most ancient practitioners of Chinese medicine were
collectively referred to as the “Wu-Yi” or “sorcerer doctors”.
These individuals were likely very similar to the shamanic
medicine people found in indigenous cultures around the world.
These individuals would have had a deep felt sense of connection
to the spiritual world around them, and acted as mediators
between members of the tribe and that deeper spiritual reality.
Because of this, these individuals were practitioners of deep
meditation, and well accustomed to substances that could be used
as medicine or to alter consciousness.
The inheritors of this tradition of the Wu-Yi came to be
known as the Fang Shi – or “Recipe Masters”. These individuals
were prototypical Daoist priests, in the periods of China where
Daoism was neither an organized religious tradition, nor had a
corpus of spiritual literature. The title of Fang Shi is also
associated with being a diviner, astrologer, or alchemist. These
individuals may have been early practitioners and advisors on
medicine and yoga, but are also known for the practice of
attempting to concoct “immortality pills” through the process of
external alchemy.
Practices of external alchemy were known collectively as
“Wei Dan” or “external elixir”. In these schools, the goal was to
find the right combination of materials with which one could
create an “immortal pill”. Often, poisonous materials would be
concocted together to try to create the elixir of eternal life or
longevity. Sometimes members of these schools would use
hallucinogenic plants in order to facilitate the spirit’s exit from
the body. At other times, various materials would be
“empowered” through magical and astrological processes to make
them spiritually potent.
If anyone succeeded in creating a pill that confers physical
immortality, it is not adequately recorded by history. These arts,
though, formed the basis of later Daoist traditions like herbalism
(and in the West, chemistry and eventually pharmacology). They
also formed the symbolic language of the process of refining the
spirit.
Nei Dan and the History of Inner Alchemy
This process of spiritual and inner refinement came to be
referred to as “Nei Dan” 內丹 or inner alchemy. Inner alchemy
can refer to many things, depending on the tradition that you are
dealing with. Some traditions feel that the inner alchemical
process is one of simply bringing the mind toward a deeper and
deeper state of quietude, and thereby transforming oneself back to
“original nature”. Other traditions hold that the inner alchemical
tradition is based solely on the manipulation of subtle energy and
substances within the body. Still others claim that the alchemical
process is a result of deep introspection and emotional/spiritual
purification toward an “awakening to reality”. It is likely that all
of these views hold an element of truth and inform each other in
important ways.
One of the first known writings on alchemy comes from Wei
Boyang, who documented the chemical composition of gunpowder
in 142AD. Wei Boyang authored the “Kinship of the Three” a
text that deals with the I Ching – “Classic of Change”, cosmology,
and inner alchemy. Wei Boyang is mentioned by another famous
master named Ge Hong, who is the reputed author of another of
the earliest texts on inner alchemy - the ‘Master Who Embraces
Simplicity’ – composed in the early 300’s CE. Ge Hong’s text also
references anther famous text called the Yellow Court Classic,
which gives detailed visualizations of various deities of the inner
body.
Perhaps the oldest texts on internal alchemy are not
explicitly related to the alchemical process at all. The DaoDeJing
of Lao Tze is dated to the 4th century BCE, when the first
manuscript can be found. This text has such suggestive lines as
“empty the mind and fill the belly” which are reminiscent of later
Daoist inner alchemy breathing practices meant to tonify the
energy center in the lower abdomen. Chapter 40’s passage “the
movement of Dao is reversal” has been taken by some later
Daoists as referring to the withdrawal of the senses into yogic
meditation, or even the reversing of sexual energies – from their
usual path out of the body, and instead inward to vitalize subtle
meridians.
The Huangdi Neijing or the Yellow Emperor’s Inner Classic
is dated to the 200s BCE and is the fundamental classic of Chinese
Traditional Medicine. This text, too, mentions many of the
foundational principles of alchemy, including the Daoist “Five
Element” theory, and various structures of the inner body which
have been claimed by yogic practitioners to be palpable in a state
of deep meditation.
Jumping ahead we find the Wu Zhen Pian by Zhang
BoDuan in 1075 CE. This is the period when we find texts that
are talking about inner alchemy as inner alchemy, and there is no
question in their meaning. Zhang Bo Duan was later recognized
as a patriarch of the QuanZhen sect of Daoism who practiced
inner alchemy in conjunction with meditation on emptiness
adopted from Cha’an Buddhism.
Beyond this period, many texts on inner alchemical
meditation are available and comprise a large part of the Daoist
Cannon.
On should keep in mind, when attempting to trace the
history of internal, spiritual practices, that these teachings were
often kept very secretly and passed down solely as an oral lineage.
Where one person sees the later daoists as using passages from
the DaoDeJing to justify their own texts and practices, others may
– just as validly – claim that the DaoDeJing’s suggestive passages
are showing its connection to the oral lineage that was around all
along, but never written down.
Nei Dan’s Relationship to Qigong
Qigong is a relatively modern term that encompasses a wide
variety of disciplines. These may include “Dao-yin” yogic
exercises, Neigong – or inner strength practice (often associated
with martial arts training), Shengong – or training the spirit, and
Nei Dan (inner alchemy). What all of these practices have in
common is that they work with the subtle energies of the body in
some way – thus they can all be characterized under the heading
of “Qigong” – skill or cultivation of subtle energy.
Nei Dan is working with the Qi, but only as a part of the
process. The inner alchemical process is actually concerned with
all three treasures – Jing, Qi, and Shen.
The Three Treasures – Daoism’s Threefold Division of the Subtle
Body
The “Three Treasures” are considered to be substances in the
body – but they are subtle substances that have no direct
correlation with things that can be found with a microscope. The
ancient Chinese medical and meditative language is very poetic,
and often descriptive of relationships rather than concrete and
findable things. Just because they have no direct correlation with
the physical substances of the body (chemicals, hormones, etc)
does not mean that these Treasures are “intangible” in a way that
you simply have to take their existence on faith though. The
phenomena spoken about in these terms are definitely findable in
one’s own personal experiences, and in larger patterns of health.
One teacher of Chinese Medicine recommends that one
think about different kinds of maps. There are maps that show
precipitation, others that are topographical, still others that show
population. Any of these maps might look completely different,
but they are all “true” in relation to the subject they are talking
about.
The Three Treasures, and other concepts of Chinese (and
Ayurvedic) medicine are the same. They are speaking about
different patterns than Western anatomy. If we look at it in this
way, we can see how the two inform and complement each other.
We can think of the Three Treasures as three different
aspects of the health of our mind-body-spirit complex. They are
explored in detail below starting from most dense to most subtle.
Jing
精
First is the Jing. The Chinese word for jing means something
like “essence”. In the character for Jing 精, you can see the
character for “Dan” 丹 as in “nei dan” 內丹 - inner alchemy (It is
on the lower right). Dan refers to an elixir, or a refined substance
– it is a pictogram of an alchemical cauldron with a little drop of
elixir inside it. One gets the impression that the Jing is
something of an essential or refined nature.
On the left side of the character is the radical “Mi” 米 for
“rice”, and is said to show an image of a rice seed puffing into
flower. This can imply the full expression of genetic inheritance.
Pre and Post Heaven Essence
The Essence of the body is divided into two levels. On one level,
the Jing refers to one’s genetic inheritance. It is the “essence” that
underlies the core of one’s physical make-up and constitution.
Truly, in the material sense, where your body comes from is a
refining down and “essentializing” of your two parent’s forms and
genetic potentials.
On this level, the Jing is said to represent the capacities that
one is born with, and one’s constitution in general. It is said that
you cannot add anything to this Jing, and that aging is the
process of continually using up this precious substance. Excessive
activities that overtax the body and extreme emotions like shock
can use up this Jing prematurely and hasten the aging process.
This is how Chinese medicine explains that a great fright can turn
the hair white all at once – as if the hair on the head aged all at
once! The premature draining of the Jing is also Chinese
medicine’s explanation of the fact that many drug users will
become clinically depressed after a very short period of using –
because they have depleted the “essences” that would contribute
to the brain’s proper functioning.
This first aspect of the Jing is called one’s “pre-Heaven
Essence”. This means the essence you had while you were in the
womb, before coming out and “seeing the sky” (hence pre-heaven).
In another sense, the “pre-heaven” Jing sometimes also refers to
one’s “Destiny”, or the karma that one comes into this incarnation
with. This type of karma is thought of as relatively fixed, and
something that one simply has to work with to the best of his or
her ability. If you believe in the sciences of astrology, or other
forms of prognostication, it is the pre-birth Jing in this form of
Destiny that they are speaking too. It is thought that, although
one may have a few variations in life, there are some general
themes that one will not be able to escape.
In Buddhism as well as Daoism, this karma is not seen to be
fixed per se, it is just so very strong that most individuals never
seem to escape its clutches. If you think about it, children often
show up in this world with their own personalities. If you look
into the eyes of your first-born child, and then later into the eyes
of your second just as they are born, you may sense that they are
distinctive individuals. A baby is truly not “Tabula Rasa”. Each
child is also grown from what essences the mother has while
carrying the baby – even the mother’s emotions during pregnancy
are now being found to possibly affect the child’s brain
development.
In the spiritual traditions it is also thought that you come
into this world from a previous life. According to this theory, the
actions of your past lives (usually many lives removed from this
one) are what have “thrown” the world you perceive into
existence. In addition to this, they’ve also thrown the body and
tendencies of mind that you inhabit. Because these karmas make
up the very nature of your habits of thinking and emotion, they
can be extremely hard to change. This is why, if you read into the
lives of Daoist immortals, or Buddhist saints like Milarepa or
Naropa, their spiritual training is usually filled with hardship.
They are attempting, at times, to make a full 180 degree turn
from the way their pre-heaven karma is throwing them and create
something new.
Post Heaven Jing
A second type of the Jing is called the “Post-Heaven
Essence”, or sometimes called the “Acquired Essence”. This Jing
is an essence that we create as we go along in our lives.
Specifically this is considered to be a special substance that is
created from the surplus of energy left over from the energy of
food or drink we have taken in. This does not mean that we
should simply consume more – it actually refers to quality. When
we end the day having generated more energy than we have
spent, we get to create post-Heaven Essence. If you consume too
much, it just creates a kind of sludge in the subtle body. It then
requires more energy to process this sludge than you have
provided.
The way this happens is very simple, if you are able to
extract clean burning fuel from your food, drink, and breath, and
transform it into useable material in your body, you have the
opportunity to generate an over-abundance of positive energy.
When we sleep, this positive energy reserve is brought into
storage in the body – being converted into Essence. One of the
physical correlates of this the process by which Human Growth
Hormone regenerates the body while we sleep. To a practitioner
of inner alchemy, sleep is very important.
There is one other way to create post-Heaven essence,
though, and that is through deep meditation. This is where the
process of Daoist inner yoga becomes applicable. In a state of
sleep, the mind becomes very concentrated and quiet. The energy
is all led deep into the body, and a magical type of transformation
can occur which changes the energy from food, drink and
breathing, into an essential physical substance. Meditation,
though, can be an even deeper state than sleep for the well-trained
practitioner. This is why one will sometimes hear stories of
Buddhist or Daoist meditation masters who either don’t sleep, or
sleep very little. Their meditation practice is performing the main
function of sleep for them, but more efficiently.
Beginners should beware of attempting this practice too
soon. Up until very advanced spiritual stages, one is advised to
continue to get around 8 hours of sleep per night (with variations
more or less for one’s personal needs). Usually, modern people
are somewhat depleted in their Jing, so even if you are able to
meditate deeply (which is something of a feat), you will likely still
need the ordinary sleeping process to sustain you for a while.
Because the Jing is the concentrated genetic essence, it is
highly related to the sexual essence in a person. We could refer
to it as the “Generative Essence”. This means that the semen in
men, and the ovum in women is one concrete version of the Jing.
Two ways that the Jing can be easily depleted are by excessive
sex with ejaculation in a man, and excessive childbearing by a
woman (which draws too excessively on the mother’s reserves).
This is an important concept to understand in more advanced
aspects of alchemical practice.
The relation of the Jing to the sexual energy is one of the
reasons why the high spiritual traditions from around the world
almost universally recommend celibacy during times of deep
spiritual practice. Monks and Nuns of all traditions are
proscribed from sexual encounters not because such acts are
considered evil necessarily, but because they wish to retain and
transform this most fundamental energy.
In the high Daoist practices, there are also methods handed
down for lay people, or clergy of the type who may take a practice
partner and engage in sexual intercourse. In these methods
(thought to be very advanced, and not recommended without a
direct teacher!), the men learn how to enter into a state of sexual
ecstasy and orgasm, but without ejaculating. This state of bliss is
very healing and regenerative for the body and mind, and can
catapult one into deep meditative states – but, the body is not
depleted of its fundamental energies. The women in advanced
Daoist practices often end up stopping their menstrual cycle, as
all the generative essence begins to be transmuted. (not to worry,
there is no menopause associated with this energetic reversal, and
the period will resume as soon as the advanced practices are
discontinued – for practitioners who decide consciously to have a
child).
Qi
氣
Qi refers to the subtle energy of the body. Its main correlate is a
subtle electromagnetic energy that flows through certain
predictable pathways called meridians.
The Qi is considered the motive force in the body. It is the
warmth and motion behind all processes.
Qi is said to have 5 major functions. These are: Warming,
Lifting, Protecting, Movement, Transformation. In any of the
Organs of the body, its Qi is what makes it work. If you were to
speak of an organ’s function, in Chinese medicine and internal
alchemy, you should speak of its Qi.
Qi is halfway in between the Jing and the Shen. The Jing is
very dense and almost physical, whereas the Shen is very fine and
incorporeal. The Qi is right in between.
The ancient Chinese character for Qi shows “wind” 气 over
a sprouting puff of rice 米 . This is sometimes interpreted as
steam rising off a pot of rice cooking – which gives the impression
of something that is not solid, but is very powerful (you can pass
your hand right through it, but can also get burned, or it can lift
the lid of the pot). It is also sometimes seen to be the force of life
springing out of the plant like wind or movement.
Because Qi is situated between the Jing and the Shen – or
the mind and the body, it can be used to regulate both of them.
This is why the practice of Qigong can be so powerful – because
by regulating the body’s energy, you can regulate every level of a
person’s being.
Qi is the subtle energy that flows through the meridian
channels of the body and also flows around the body as the “aura”
or external energy field. Qi is the subtle energy that correlates
with the “Prana” of Indian yogic systems, rLung of Tibetan
Buddhism, and the Ruh or Ruach (holy breath) of the Middle
Eastern desert mystics. While the qi and the prana are related to
the breath, they are not the breath, but a subtle breath that flows
through the body.
Modern research shows that many of the effects ascribed to
“Qi” in classical Chinese medicine show up as low frequency
electromagnetic fields in the body. It is these frequencies that are
found in the hands of trained energy healers when tested with
sensitive magnetometers (in addition to things like infra-red
light). This energy is also found to be abundant at the classical
acupuncture points, and has been used to create regenerative
effects in tissues such as non-union bone fractures. [for more
info, please reference Dr. Robert O. Becker’s ‘The Body Electric’,
Oschman’s ‘Energy Medicine – the Scientific Basis’, and other
works].
In the yogic traditions of India and Tibet there is a view of
the being called the “pancha-kosha” or 5 sheaths. The level of the
Qi is called the “pranamayakosha” – or the subtle energy body.
This body is the crux of internal practice because it can be
affected by the physical body (Jing, Anamayakosha), and also by
the mind and spiritual body (Shen, Vijnanamayakosha). The
pranamayakosha or Qi level can also affect these other levels.
This means that if you want to affect your body, you could
learn to mobilize your subtle energy (like visualizing white blood
cells attacking a virus to increase immune response, or learning to
warm the hands and feet via bio-feedback to reduce migraine
headaches). It also means that if you want to affect your mind,
you can learn to mobilize the subtle energy (like sending energy
down toward the abdomen or feet to calm a busy or worried
mind).
The Qi can be thought of as the Mind-Body relationship.
Herbert Benson published his book ‘The Relaxation Response’ in
1975, and was one of the first voices to speak about the
interrelationship of mind and body. Now, fields like
psychoneuroimmunology have massive amounts of evidence that
show how your thinking and emoting correlate directly to your
health. The ancient yogis of China and India posited this
relationship long ago, and claimed that it is facilitated by the
body’s subtle energy.
It is for this reason that the physical practices of Hatha
Yoga asanas, and Qigong postures can be so effective on every
level of health – because they using the body to affect the qi which
reflects all the way into the mind and spirit. It is also for this
reason that meditation practitioners show many increased health
markers – the mind is affecting the Qi, which ripples all the way
out to the physical body’s health.
Shen
神
Shen refers to the spirit. “Spirit” is a challenging concept because
it means so many different things to different people. Shen, for
our purposes, has two main meanings. In one sense, Shen is the
consciousness itself. It is the idea of consciousness without
contents or attributes – the space in which thoughts occur. Shen
is what distinguishes a sentient being from a non-sentient being.
The other meaning of Shen is that of the higher spiritual
qualities in a being. It refers to the capacity to experience love,
insight, deep meaning, and wisdom.
The first meaning of Shen is traditionally something that
everyone is born with, the fact that you are aware at all. The
second meaning of Shen is something that must be developed.
One teacher from the tradition of Nyingma Dzogchen calls it the
difference between “intrinsic” and “inherent”. The second
meaning of Shen is something inherent in you, but it must be
developed. We all have the potential to enter into deep meditative
states and experience higher spiritual realities, but unless we
work toward actualizing that potential, it actually does us no
good.
The character for “Shen” is made up of two radicals. On the
left is a character that symbolizes a banner 示 hanging down from
a flagpole. The three different strokes are said to symbolize the
sun, moon, and stars, meaning “Heaven” or the spiritual realm.
The character on the right is representative of two hands
lowering down a rope. Put together, you could interpret Shen as
“the help given you from Heaven”.
Inner Alchemy and the Three Treasures
In the classics of Internal Alchemy, the primary work is around
the refinement of the Three Treasures. The saying goes “Refine
the Jing to create Qi, Refine the Qi to create Shen”. This is a
shorthand for the process of internal cultivation.
The process begins with the cultivation of the physical body
– the Jing level. This level involves getting the right food, proper
exercise, enough sleep, balanced sex life, and calm enough
emotions to keep the hormones in a state of general balance.
From the foundation of physical health, we create an
abundance of subtle electromagnetic energy. This level of
training involves working with the breath to maximize energy.
Utilizing visualizations and subtle movement to bring in more
energy to the body, and to harmonize and transmute the energy
that is present. At this point in training, students often notice that
they are becoming more sensitive to subtle changes in and around
their body. Students may also notice that they begin to sense the
emotions of other people around them in a way they have not
before.
When the energy is replete, the practitioner of internal
alchemy can engage in meditative processes to awaken and refine
the Spirit. The heightened energy that has been cultivated begins
to feed deeper realizations and open the body in a way that it can
carry a higher level of presence than ever before. At this point in
training, one often recognizes a deeper meaning behind his or her
life, and begins entering into various altered states and visionary
experiences.
The entire purpose of any of the stages of Qigong or Inner
Alchemy training has always been to reach this stage of feeling
that there is some deep meaning or purpose in life. Remember
that one of the functions of the Qi is “transformation”. This refers
not only to transformation of food and oxygen into usable energy,
but the ability to go through spiritual and emotional
transformation as well. What we are doing, by refining the
energies of the body, is facilitating the ability to go through
spiritual transformation into a higher and higher capacity for
integration and happiness.
It has been shown that practicing meditation is one of the
only ways to make any great change in the functional level of
consciousness in a short period of time. This is, in part, facilitated
by learning to be masterful in contacting the level of Qi or subtle
energy. When we tap into this level which is pure relationship
and transformation, we are able to make vast changes in our
consciousness and awareness.
The Five Zhang – Yin Organs
The organs of the body are divided into Yin and Yang in Chinese
medicine. The Yin organs are referred to as Zhang – which
implies a treasury. What the Yin organs treasure are precious
substances and spirits in the body.
The Yin Organs of Chinese Medicine include the Heart,
Lungs, Liver, Spleen, and Kidneys, and each is associated with a
certain element, negative emotion, and virtue. Much of the
language of classical alchemy is related to processes of refining
the energies of these elements.
The concept of an “Organ” in Chinese medicine is different
than an organ in standard anatomy and physiology. An Organ in
classical alchemy actually refers to a sphere of influence, or
interconnected relationships.
The Lungs, for example are also associated with the
functions of the large intestine, the skin, the immune system, the
emotion of grief, certain aspects of the circulation, fluid
metabolism, and more. These associations can be hard to
understand at first glance, but we must remember that there is an
overarching principle that rules this system – and that is
contained in the concept of an element or “phase”. The Lungs in
Chinese medicine are said to be an expression of the “Metal”
element. This is a symbolic representation of the energy of
condensation, boundary making, and conductivity. When we
understand this, we can understand that the Lungs are related by
their ability to condense vital energy and draw in the breath, the
large intestines condense the feces and reabsorb water. Both
these Organs represent boundaries to the outside world – one
takes in life, the other excretes dead waste. The skin forms
another boundary with the outside world and condenses one’s
sense of self – this is consistent with the functions of the immune
system that the Lung Organ rules over. The list of associations is
long, but enables one to understand the energetic connection
between many aspects of the body. Readers are referred to my
book ‘Experiencing Chinese Medicine’ for a deeper treatment of
these principles.
The Five Phases
All Chinese inner alchemy deals with what are known as the “Five
Phases”, or sometimes translated as the “Five Elements”.
“Elements”, though, doesn’t quite convey what is meant. It is not
talking about solid pieces of metal, water, soil, or the like, but
metaphors for energies and relationships within the living being.
The word that is translated as “phase” has a literal connotation
that means “to walk”, or to “move”, so we can think about these
five phases as types of movement or relating within the subtle
body.
The classical Five Phases are called Fire, Soil, Metal, Water,
and Wood. They are described as follows:
Wood represents the quality of rising up and of growth – like a
growing plant. It is characterized by the springtime and dawn,
and rules over the more “ethereal” aspects of one’s spiritual life.
Fire represents the quality of radiance – like the energy and heat
of fire radiating out in every direction. It is characterized by
summertime and noon, and rules over the abiding presence of
one’s spirit/consciousness.
Soil represents the quality of stability, neutrality, and nurturing –
like the energy of the earth. It is characterized by the lazy
months of late summer, as well as the time when the other four
seasons are transitioning between each other. The soil phase
rules the aspect of the spirit responsible for logical thinking and
intention.
Metal represents the quality of descending and condensation –
like the molecular structure of metals and crystals, and their
ability to condense and conduct liquids on their surface, or like
metal’s ability to conduct electricity. The Metal phase is
characterized by the Autumn season and sunset. It rules over the
more “corporeal” or instinctual aspects of the spirit.
Water represents the quality of ultimate yin and complete
contraction – like the tendency of water molecules to clump
together, and liquid’s “yin” nature of flowing down hill - flexibly
adapting to any container, or around any obstacle. Water is
represented by the Winter season and midnight. Water rules
over the Jing – or essence – of the body.
The Five Shen – Spirits
According to Chinese medicine and Daoist alchemy, the Spiritual
consciousness of the body has five aspects, which are referred to
as the five “Shen”. Each element has a spiritual aspect associated
with it according to its energetic nature.
The Wood phase is associated with the Hun, called the ethereal
spirit. This is the aspect of our consciousness that tends toward
evolution, vision, and interest in or attunement to subtle spiritual
things.
The Fire phase is associated with the Shen. This is the word for
Spirit in general. The Shen, as was described in the section on the
Three Treasures, is described both as consciousness itself, and
also as the higher aspects of consciousness associated with
compassion, insight, and the like. The Shen associated with the
Fire Phase is said to contain or integrate the functions of the
spirits of the other four Phases.
The Soil phase is associated with the Yi - the Intention. This has
to do with logical and analytical reasoning on one hand, and on
the other, the ability to first bring the mind to a neutral state, and
then grow very specific thoughts – like fertile earth giving rise to
plants.
The Metal phase is associated with the Po – the “corporeal soul”.
The Po is basically one’s instinctual consciousness. It is the
aspect that keeps one alive even when consciousness is
temporarily lost. The Po is interested in self preservation and can
tend toward addiction and gluttony if left unchecked.
The Water phase is associated with the Zhi – the Will. This
refers to will on the level of simple tenacity and willpower, and
also on a deeper spiritual level of a kind of feeling of Destiny, or
Purpose in this life. It is something that you “feel in your bones”
(the most concentrated and yin structure in the body).
Emotions and Virtues
Finally, it will be important for this discussion to understand
about the emotions that are associated with each Organ/Phase, as
these emotions and virtues are a subject of much of one’s inner
alchemical training.
Emotion – Energy in Motion
The emotions are thought to be energies in the Organs/Phases
which are sort of acting out on their own – either through a
habitual negative pattern, or for some defensive or balancing
purpose. For example, a moment of anger may be necessary in
order to get oneself out of a dangerous situation – this would be a
balancing version of this emotion. On the other hand, a feeling of
anger over a long term, or in inappropriate situations is just a
habitual damaging of the subtle body. In the first case, the Anger
arises and mobilizes energy in a certain direction (up and out), in
order to bring the body to a state of greater balance within itself,
and within the environment. In the second case, the energy is
continually activated in a pattern that may not contribute to the
health of the rest of the systems. The particular phase/element
(Wood, in this case) has “gone rogue”, and sabotaged the
functioning of the organism for its own perceived gain.
Bringing the body’s emotions back into a balanced state is a
major goal of Inner Alchemy. It is treated in an advanced formula
called “fusing the Five Phases”. The preparatory forms of this
formula are simply to create a state of emotional and energetic
balance in the body.
The emotions that we will work with for each of the
elements are as follows.
Lungs – Metal – Grief/Sadness
The energy of Sadness has a sinking quality and one can
often feel how grieving can negatively effect the breath, or
positively activate the Lungs to help facilitate release through
sobbing.
Kidneys – Water – Fear/Stress
The energy of Fear contracts the energy. This is just like
the extreme Yin or contracted state of the Water element. If the
emotion of fear contracts too much, one can actually lose control
of the urinary system as the Water element is overwhelmed.
Liver – Wood – Anger/Frustration
The energy of Anger makes the Qi rise up and causes blood
to rush to the face and arms so that one could defend oneself if
necessary. This same rising can exacerbate the tendency of the
Wood element to “grow” and rise upwards. Anger can thus cause
things like headaches and high blood pressure.
Heart – Fire – Anxiousness/Hatred/Overjoy
Anxiousness is like the fire phase in that it can scatter the qi
in all directions. This can be valuable if the mind needs to look at
many different pieces of information, but often becomes
pathological. This is similar to the emotion of “overjoy” which is
an excess of happiness itself, which throws one out of balance.
The ancient Daoist meditative system recommends a type of
sustainable, calm joy and presence, rather than extremes of any
emotion – even happiness.
Spleen – Earth – Worry
The Earth element is taxed by Worry (sometimes referred
to as over-thinking. This emotion causes the energy to get tied
up in knots. It is like an excess of the natural neutrality of the
Earth element. This emotion can afflict the digestive organs as
over thinking is like asking the body to digest and “chew-on”
things over and over. What is happening in the mind gets
reflected in the gut.
Virtue – Energy in Balance
The Virtues of the Phases are different than the emotions in that
they are always balanced and integrated actions – there is no
negative version of the virtues. The word for virtue - “De” 徳 in
Chinese (made famous in the title of the classic text the “Dao De
Jing”) – can be translated roughly as “a unified heart that sees in
all directions”. The Virtues are always from the heart, visionary in
nature, and in complete inner and environmental balance.
It is the cultivation of these Virtue energies that allow the
Five Phase energies within the body to fuse and coalesce. The
emotional energies of the Organs are always about doing “their
own thing”, while the Virtue energies are about working together.
In creating a new spiritual being – the goal of Daoist alchemy –
we tap the energies of these Virtues and allow them to fuse into a
type of medicine within us. The type of being we are creating
from the rough material of our present body is a being made
entirely of Virtue energy.
Elemental Associations
The associations of Elements and virtues are as follows:
The Wood phase is associated with Growth, the energy of
moving up and out. The corresponding Virtue is a feeling of
Benevolence or Generosity, which also carries with it the feeling
of movement upward and outward.
The Fire phase is associated with Radiance, the energy of
expanding in all directions. The corresponding Virtue is the
energy of Peace, and also that of Compassion, which also makes
the heart radiant.
The Soil phase is associated with Neutrality, the energy of
stability and centeredness. The corresponding virtue is of Trust,
which carries a sense of grounding and stability.
The Metal phase is associated with Condensation, and a
downward moving energy in the body. The corresponding virtue
is one of Value and Integrity, which mirror the integral strength
of metals and the nature of condensing to form a strong structure.
The Water phase is associated Contraction, the energy of moving
inward toward the center. The corresponding virtue is that of
Wisdom, which arises from a deeply concentrated mind.
Deep Relaxation and Purifying the Inner Organs
We are now ready to move into our first inner alchemy practices,
which will involve cleansing and restoring the energies of the
inner Organ systems. First though, we must learn the most
important preliminary practice – deep relaxation.
Relaxation may not seem like the most esoteric alchemical
practice, but truly, the whole practice of Daoist alchemy is
contained within it. There are, actually, certain schools of
Daoism, which recommend not engaging in energy practices or
visualizations, but instead simply “Quiet Sitting” in which one
relaxes deeply. Interestingly, long-term practitioners of this type
of quiet sitting often report that the same phenomena begin to
happen to them as happen to practitioners of special breathing
exercises and visualizations.
The reason for this is simple: the negative emotions that
disrupt the energetic systems are all emotions of stress, while the
positive virtues are all emotions that grow out of (and create) a
rested state of mind. If one can truly learn to relax, all the deep
knowledge of the alchemical tradition can arise for one
spontaneously.
At the same time, some traditions feel that simple
“relaxation” is not enough, as there are habitual patterns in the
mind and energy that need to be disrupted and routed into a more
positive direction. We should be clear – the practice of an inner
body yogi is not to simply come to a state where s/he doesn’t care
about anything. In fact, it is just the opposite! Through the
process of dropping off ways of being that are not conducive to
health and happiness, one comes to care deeply for all beings.
Rather than becoming so relaxed that life loses meaning, life
continually becomes more meaningful to the yogi dwelling in a
relaxed state.
Navigating the types of practice, like relaxation –vs- inner
“work”, that are appropriate for one at any time can be difficult.
This can be because we tend to decide what practices to do based
on what we like, and what we like is often more a function of habit
than of wisdom. It is for this reason that all the ancient teaching
streams recommend that one find a Teacher, who has been
through a significant amount of the training one wishes to
undertake. Such a Teacher can guide one toward when to relax,
and when to work hard – what to give up, and what to take up,
and at what time.
“Song Gong” Practice
Find a comfortable position. The recommended posture for this
practice is seated – as this gives a good balance between being
wakeful and also deeply relaxed - but this exercise can also be
practiced in a standing meditation posture, as well as while lying
down.
Begin by relaxing your face in the most efficient way possible –
SMILE! For best effect, this should be a genuine smile, the way
you smile when seeing a beloved child, relative, or lover after a
long time apart. Imagine now that you are radiating that smile
out into the universe and the universe begins to smile back to you.
Feel that the light of the stars, planets, and any enlightened
beings you may believe in are all sending love, light, and blessings
to you.
Now feel that the energy of this smile enters into you face and is
very relaxing, it softens all the facial muscles and sensory organs
and begins to melt down through the front of your body. Feel
relaxation spread through your neck and the front of your
shoulders – pouring like oil down through the front part of your
arms. Feel the chest relax, and then the abdomen, the pelvis, the
front of the legs, and the tops of the feet and toes.
Then imagine that you can smile backwards at the universe
behind you – and feel it smiling back to you. Let this energy
enter the back of your head and work its way down through the
back of your neck, arms, spinal muscles, buttocks, thighs, legs,
and heels.
Finally, imagine that the universe is smiling to you from directly
above your head. Imagine that this relaxing and blessing energy
flows into the crown of your head and begins to relax and
empower your brain. Smile down through the center of your
throat and into the Heart – feel the heart soften and relax. Then
smile into your Lungs, your Liver, your Spleen, your Kidneys,
down through the digestive organs and intestines, and through
the reproductive organs. Finally, let this relaxing, smiling energy
flow down through your thighs, legs, and feet, relaxing and
blessing the whole body.
Feel the openness and relaxation that this exercise creates in your
body and stay in this state as long as you like. Throughout the
day, you can return to this state of being for a quick recharge.
Healing Sounds, Visualized Light, and Transformation
The practice of the “six healing sounds” is a very ancient practice
in Daoism and Buddhism. Ancient texts like the ZhuangZi and
the BaoPuZi (“master who embraces simplicity”) mention
techniques involving varying the inhalation and exhalation. This
specific practice can be traced back to Dao Hong Jing in the fifth
century CE. His text advises us to frame the exhalation in six
different ways to cure various forms of disease and distress. The
TianTai Buddhist priest named Zhi Zhauan also advises them one
century later. The exercise of the six sounds is given in its current
version by the famous Daoist, and Chinese Medicine Physician,
Sun Si-Miao (aprox 581-682) in his text on hygiene
This practice is indicated for balancing the internal Organs’
energies. Many variations exist in these sounds including
variations in the sounds themselves, and differences in volume.
Students are encouraged to find a version of the sounds that
resonate with them personally and practice that system until a
degree of mastery is gained.
Each sound can be performed individually for problems in its
respective Organ. More commonly, the sounds are used all
together in order to balance the entire body.
In alchemical practices, the healing sounds are used to create
balance between the Yin Organs, and are often combined with
visualizations of light and color, and inner emotional work, to
activate the process of transmutation from baser forms of
emotional energy stored within the Organs into higher forms of
Virtue.
Light is visualized in the Daoist tradition according to the colour
associations of the Five Phases. Students should understand that
just visualizing a colour has no intrinsic power. The colours are
meant to invoke a certain movement in the subtle body and a
corresponding emotional state. Practitioners should attempt to
feel each colour inspiring the appropriate emotional response and
movement of energy. For instance, many people understand the
difference between painting a room in “warm” colours (like reds
and oranges) rather than “cool” colours (like blue). In the same
way a red colour might “warm up” a room, visualizing the red
colour in the Heart Organ can help to warm one up to feelings of
peace, love, or compassion.
Visualization of light in the internal Organs is indicated for
tonifying deficiencies. Each colour by itself to regulate
pathologies in a specific Organ system, but In the practice of inner
alchemy, we will use regulation of all the Organs in order to
create holistic balance of all the body’s systems.
Visualized light is a major part of many spiritual traditions
as bright light is symbolic of higher energetic vibration. With
each of the Organs, we will imagine that the light quality existing
in them moves from a more murky or smoky state toward a more
vibrant and clear light. This symbolizes the transformation of
baser, unrefined energy into high spiritual fuel and realization.
Practicing the Healing Sounds and Coloured Light
Transmutation Meditation
To begin, choose a comfortable seat or standing posture like in
the last meditation on relaxation.
Start with the Song-Gong smiling and relaxing practice given
above to prepare the body.
Lungs
Once you have smiled through the entire body, bring your
relaxed, smiling attention to your Lungs. Notice how as you
smile to the Lungs, they may begin to relax, start to tingle, or
give some other sensation of energetic opening.
Now feel into your Lung organ and begin to sense into any of the
Lung’s emotion of Grief/Sadness.
Begin to imagine that from all around the universe a brilliant
White mist begins to coalesce around you. As you inhale, draw
this white mist into the Lungs and imagine that it starts to stir
the Qi and liberate the energies in the Lungs.
Now exhale with the Lungs healing sound “Ssssssss” (like a air
escaping from a tiny pinhole). Imagine as you resonate the sound
that it vibrates the energies of Grief out of your Lungs. Visualize
this energy leaving the body in the form of a grayish smoke,
which travels down into the earth.
Continue to inhale the White energy into the Lungs, and now
imagine that it is carrying with it a quality of Courage,
Righteousness, and Integrity. These qualities fill up the Lungs
with white brilliance.
Continue this exercise for 5 or 6 breaths and visualize that with
each breath the Lungs become cleaner and more brilliant.
Conclude the exercise by imagining that the Lungs are glowing
with brilliant White light, filled with Courage, Righteousness,
and Integrity, and that all trace of murky or dark energy has been
removed.
Kidneys
Now move on to smile down and into the Kidneys. Notice that as
you smile to the Kidneys, they may begin to relax, start to tingle,
or give some other sensation of energetic opening.
Now feel into your Kidney organ and begin to sense into any of
the Kidney’s emotion of Fear/Stress. Ask inwardly if any fear or
stress is hiding in your body, and especially in the Kidneys or
Adrenal Glands.
Begin to imagine that from all around the universe a beautiful
Midnight Blue mist begins to coalesce around you. As you inhale,
draw this Blue mist into the Kidneys and imagine that it starts to
stir the Qi and liberate the energies in the Kidneys.
Now exhale with the Kidneys healing sound “Chuayyyy”.
Imagine as you resonate the sound that it vibrates the energies of
Fear out of your Kidneys. Visualize this energy leaving the body
in the form of a grayish blue/black smoke, which travels down
into the earth.
Continue to inhale the Blue energy into the Kidneys, and now
imagine that it is carrying with it a quality of Wisdom and Deep
Concentration. This quality fills up the Kidneys with depth and
light.
Continue this exercise for 5 or 6 breaths and visualize that with
each breath the Kidneys become cleaner and more brilliant.
Conclude the exercise by imagining that the Kidneys are glowing
with brilliant Deep Blue, filled with Wisdom, and that all trace of
murky or dark energy has been removed.
Liver
Then turn your awareness to your Liver. Notice how as you smile
to the Liver, it may begin to relax, start to tingle, or give some
other sensation of energetic opening.
Now feel into your Liver organ and begin to sense into any of the
Liver’s emotion of Anger/Frustration. Ask inwardly if there is
any anger or frustration stored in the body, and particularly in
the Liver Organ.
Begin to imagine that from all around the universe a brilliant
Blue/Green mist begins to coalesce around you. As you inhale,
draw this Green mist into the Liver and imagine that it starts to
stir the Qi and liberate the energies in the Liver.
Now exhale with the Liver’s healing sound “Sshhhhhh” (like
telling someone to quiet down). Imagine as you resonate the
sound that it vibrates the energies of Anger out of your Liver.
Visualize this energy leaving the body in the form of a grayish
Green smoke, which travels down into the earth.
Continue to inhale the Blue/Green energy into the Liver, and
now imagine that it is carrying with it a quality of Generosity and
Kindness. These qualities fill up the Liver with Blue/Green
brilliance.
Continue this exercise for 5 or 6 breaths and visualize that with
each breath the Liver becomes cleaner and more brilliant.
Conclude the exercise by imagining that the Liver is glowing
with brilliant Blue/Green light, filled with Kindness and
Generosity, and that all trace of murky or dark energy has been
removed.
Heart
Turn your relaxed awareness next to your Heart. Notice how as
you smile to the Heart, it may begin to relax, start to tingle, or
give some other sensation of energetic opening.
Feel into your Heart and begin to sense into any of the Heart’s
emotion of Excessive Joy/Anxiety.
Begin to imagine that from all around the universe a brilliant Red
mist begins to coalesce around you. (Make sure that if you feel
too hot, or you begin to get anxious, to use a more pastel or pink
shade of Red, as it is energetically cooler.) As you inhale, draw
this Red mist into the Heart and imagine that it starts to stir the
Qi and liberate the energies in the Heart.
Now exhale with the Heart’s healing sound “Haaaaaaaa” (Like a
deep sigh at the end of a long day). Imagine as you resonate the
sound that it vibrates the energies of Anxiety/Excessive Joy out
of your Heart. Visualize this energy leaving the body in the form
of a grayish red smoke, which travels down into the earth.
Continue to inhale the Red energy into the Heart, and now
imagine that it is carrying with it a quality of Peace and
Compassion. These qualities fill up the Heart with red brilliance.
Continue this exercise for 5 or 6 breaths and visualize that with
each breath the Heart becomes cleaner and more brilliant.
Conclude the exercise by imagining that the Heart is glowing
with brilliant Red light, filled with Peace and Compassion, and
that all trace of murky or dark energy has been removed.
Spleen
Finally, shine your relaxed awareness into your Spleen beneath
the left side of the ribcage. Notice how as you smile to the Spleen,
it may begin to relax, start to tingle, or give some other sensation
of energetic opening.
Now feel into your Spleen/Pancreas organ and begin to sense
into any of the Spleen’s emotion of Worry.
Begin to imagine that from all around the universe and from deep
within the earth a brilliant Golden mist begins to coalesce around
you. As you inhale, draw this Golden mist into the Spleen and
imagine that it starts to stir the Qi and liberate the energies in the
Spleen/Pancreas.
Now exhale with the Spleen’s healing sound “Whoooo” (like
blowing on food to cool it). Imagine as you resonate the sound
that it vibrates the energies of Worry out of your Spleen.
Visualize this energy leaving the body in the form of a grayish
yellow smoke, which travels down into the earth.
Continue to inhale the Golden energy into the Spleen, and now
imagine that it is carrying with it a quality of Trust and
Groundedness. These qualities fill up the Spleen with Golden
brilliance.
Continue this exercise for 5 or 6 breaths and visualize that with
each breath the Spleen becomes cleaner and more brilliant.
Conclude the exercise by imagining that the Spleen is glowing
with brilliant Golden light, filled with Trust and Groundedness,
and that all trace of murky or dark energy has been removed.
Triple Warmer
The sixth healing sound is optional to perform and is related to
the “Triple Warmer”. The Triple Warmer is an organ of Chinese
Medicine that has no correlate in Western anatomy, but is related
to the metabolic processes of all the organs, as well as the
lymphatic system.
To practice the sound for the Triple Warmer, exhale with the
sound “Heeeeeeeee” (sometimes given as Xiiiiiiiiiiiii) and imagine
vibrating from the head down to the feet, smoothing the energy of
the whole body. Repeat 3-5 times.
Concluding the Exercise
Imagine that all the negative energy that has been removed from
the Organs has flowed down into the earth’s core. [do not worry
about taxing the earth with these negative energies – they are like
compost, and the earth has the power to neutralize them and
transform them into useful energies].
See all of the inner organs glowing with beautiful light. The
Lungs glow white and radiate a quality of Integrity, the Kidneys
glow with deep blue and radiate a quality of Wisdom, the Liver
glows with a bluish green and radiates a quality of Kindness, the
Heart glows red and radiates a quality of Peaceful Compassion,
the Spleen/Pancreas glows golden and radiates a quality of Trust.
Visualize now a tiny pearl of light spiraling in the lower
abdomen in the Lower Dan Tien center (for more information, see
the following section on the lower Dan Tien). Imagine that as
this pearl of light spins and spirals, it draws all the coloured lights
of the five Yin Organs into it and fuses them together. Imagine
that the energies of all the Organs’ Virtue fuse harmoniously into
this tiny pearl in the center of power in the lower abdomen. Smile
and rest in meditation on this center for as long as you’d like.
Notes:
If you are practicing the healing sounds for all of the Organs,
completing 5 or 6 per Organ is a balanced number of repetitions,
which adds up to about a ten-minute meditation session. For
deeper-rooted stagnation, or more intensive practice, students can
practice their 5 breaths each Organ for three cycles, for a total of
15 breaths per Organ.
If a particular Organ is stagnant, it is recommended that
students perform 36 rounds of that Organ’s healing sound both in
the morning and evening (this should be done under the
supervision of a trained medical Qigong practitioner in order to
avoid excessive purging of the Organ). If a particular Organ is
deficient, it is recommended to practice 36 rounds of breathing in
that Organ’s colour of light both morning and evening.
Finally, when practicing with all the Organs together, it is
important to do the concluding meditation of gathering the now
clear and luminous energy to the Dan Tien and feeling that it
goes into “storage” there. This is a safer way to store and
integrate the energy for long-term health than to simply leave the
newly increased reserves in the Organs themselves.
Cultivating the Dan Tien
The “Dan Tien” is a widely discussed concept in traditional
Chinese Qigong, and in inner alchemy.
Literally, Dan Tien means something like – field of elixir.
The Chinese character “Dan” 丹 (same as in Nei Dan – “inner
alchemy”) pictures an alchemical cauldron with a tiny drop of
elixir or a pill inside of it. The word Dan was used by the ancient
external alchemists for concoctions that they would make out of
various herbs and minerals as elixirs of immortality.
One of the toxic chemicals that was often used was
Cinnabar, oxide of mercury. Because of this, you will sometimes
see Dan Tien translated as “Cinnabar Field”, or even “Red Field”
because the word can refer to the red colour of cinnabar. The
term Dan is still sometimes used in modern Chinese medicine to
refer to very efficient or expensive medicines that come in pill
form.
Tien is a picture of a field that has been divided into four
parts. Literally it refers to a farmland that has been readied for
cultivation.
Put together, then, “Dan Tien” means an area for cultivation
of a refined elixir. Rather than creating external pills like the
alchemists of old, the internal alchemist is creating a medicinal
elixir within.
The Three Dan Tien
In classical alchemy, there are said to be three Dan Tien. The
first is in the lower belly, the second is in the region of the heart,
and the third is in the head. In some schools, these are thought of
as points which lie on the front of the body, in other schools, they
think of points within the body, and in still other schools, the Dan
Tien is perceived to be a “field” or a more general area.
What can be seen very easily is that these are major areas of
psycho-emotional symbolism, and of integration of the mind and
the body. This can be recognized in turns of phrase in English
like “Gut Feeling”, “Listen to your heart”, or “he’s too much in his
head”. It can be seen that different disciplines and activities of life
require centering into one or more of these Dan Tien areas for
greatest effectiveness.
The Lower Dan Tien
To begin, let’s sense the lower Dan Tien area. Do this by
just being aware of your body, mind, and emotions. Then begin
to consciously breathe into the lower abdomen. Feel as if the
energy of the body is centered from this point, that this is the
nexus around which all the other bodily processes revolve. Then
just notice how this affects you.
When focusing on the Lower Dan Tien, many people will
notice that a sense of energy comes into their legs and their lower
body in general. Some may find that their mind gets relaxed and
quiet. Other’s will feel motivated to engage in physical activity.
Occasionally feelings of physical or emotional discomfort will
arise due to past traumas that we may have disassociated with,
but which are still locked into our physical body.
The Lower Dan Tien is well known to many athletes and
performers, as well as to long term meditators. Focus upon this
center is taught to beginning students of Tai Chi or Aikido, and
also to beginners in Zen Meditation. The reason for inclusion in
all three of these disciplines is that the Lower Dan Tien center
brings energy in the body strongly down. This simultaneously
creates a feeling of rootedness (responsible for some of the feats of
grounding and centering seen by some Aikido masters), and
centered focus (enabling deep meditation).
A strong lower Dan Tien is related to the Jing-Essence, and
responsible for robust physical health. Individuals who have an
imbalanced amount of energy in this center – to the expense of
the other two Dan Tien – can become obsessed with the physical
body. An excess of focus here can also create feelings of physical
aggression, and also excessive focus on sexuality. This can
sometimes be seen in long-term martial artists who do not have a
balancing practice in some other aspect of their lives – they can
end up becoming more violent or addictive as they practice,
simply because of too much focus on the lower power center.
If you find this happens in your own practice, or a client
comes in with such a problem, you could advise them to balance
out their practice with disciplines that open the other centers.
The Middle Dan Tien
To sense the middle Dan Tien, place your focus in the area
of the heart. Don’t strain too much with your concentration as
this can create feelings of anxiety. Just lightly rest the awareness
in the center of the heart region. Feel and imagine that the center
of the chest is the nexus around which the rest of the body-mind’s
processes operate. Observe how this affects your physical body,
breath, and emotions.
Many practitioners notice that meditating in the heart area
can inspire feelings of love and joy, or equally strong feelings of
emotional pain like grief. This is because the Middle Dan Tien is
related with the realm of feelings and emotions.
The emotions are on the level of energy, and the middle Dan
Tien is related to the Qi. This center is very awake in individuals
who are deeply in touch with their feelings and are empathetic.
Practitioners of Bhakti yoga or other devotional traditions often
have a very strong middle Dan Tien. The middle Dan Tien can
be activated by practices like art and music which call upon the
feeling sense of the heart. Therapeutic processes which get one in
touch with his/her emotions are also very useful in working with
this center.
Excessive focus in this area can make one feel overly
emotional or emotionally fragile. An imbalance of energy toward
the middle Dan Tien can result in the feeling that one cannot turn
off one’s empathy – that he or she is swayed by everyone else’s
emotions.
If you, yourself, or a client is having this kind of trouble,
meditation on the lower Dan Tien is indicated in order to create a
sense of groundedness, and a rooted sense of self.
The Upper Dan Tien
To feel the upper Dan Tien, place the awareness right in the
very center of the brain. You can begin by placing your finger on
the little hollow at the very top of the nose, right between your
two eyes. Now feel backwards with the mind to the space exactly
between the upper half of your ears. Notice how centering your
awareness in the head affects you.
Centering on the upper Dan Tien often brings a feeling of
deep focus and concentration. In some cases, bringing energy up
to the head like this can spark a whirlwind of thoughts that can be
very irritating. The upper Dan Tien is paradoxically responsible
for both thinking, and the ability to go beyond thinking into a
meditative state (the latter ability is reflected by the name of the
corresponding chakra from the Indian system: “Ajna” – meaning
“A” - Not, and “Jna” – knowing).
Excessive or imbalanced focus on the upper Dan Tien can
result in over thinking everything, or a tendency to “space-out”
and retreat to “spiritual” states.
People with a deep spiritual practice will have a well
functioning upper Dan Tien, as this center is responsible for the
facilitation of altered states of consciousness, as well as the deep,
single-pointed focus of meditation. Even beginners, while
focusing on this upper center, will often report seeing light
appear, hearing tones, or having ecstatic experiences of mental
silence.
At times, the spiritual awakening that can occur with focus
on the upper Dan Tien can become frightening for a student.
This is one of the reasons that one is advised to work closely with
a Teacher who can explain what is happening. If you experience
any anxiety, head pressure, or excessive “spiritual” occurances
that impede your normal, day-to-day functioning, stop focusing
on the upper Dan Tien and switch to cultivating the lower Dan
Tien (reasons for this will be given below).
Training the Three Dan Tien in Balance
If you study Qigong, Tai Chi, or Chinese medicine for any length
of time, you will likely hear many references to “the Dan Tien”.
“Sink Qi to the Dan Tien”, “move from your Dan Tien”, etc.
Almost without fail, these instructions are all aimed at the Lower
Dan Tien. The reason for this is that almost every system of
internal alchemy starts with cultivation of the Lower Dan Tien
center, and practice with the other centers is usually reserved for
more advanced levels.
The reasoning behind choosing to cultivate the lower Dan
Tien first is that it is Foundational. This Dan Tien is like the
foundation of the house. Obviously, you can work on the walls or
roof of a building, but you can’t erect them unless you have a firm
foundation built. Otherwise, the work that you’ve done on the
upper stories will be wasted.
Cultivation of the Lower Dan Tien
The following section will detail the reasoning behind putting the
lower Dan Tien first in training Daoist Inner Alchemy.
Physical Health
The lower Dan Tien is related to the Jing and the health of
the physical body. On one level, cultivating this level simply
means to get one’s physical health in order. This level of training
may involve straightening out one’s diet, getting started on a
regular exercise program, and making sure to get adequate sleep.
If the health of the physical body is out of balance, a number
of things can happen when a student attempts higher-level energy
practices. The first is simply that nothing works. When a
practitioner attempts to bring in more energy through advanced
practices, it will simply go to the areas of deficiency that are preexisting in the physical body. This can cause the spiritual
exercises to seem like they are ineffective, and in a worst-casescenario, cause the student to lose hope and give up on their
practice.
Another thing that can commonly happen if the physical
health is not tended to is that the higher grade energy of
advanced practices will actually cause disruptions in the bodymind system. In Chinese medicine, all physical disorders that can
happen to a person are based on an imbalance of the Five Phases.
If the Wood or Fire Phases are out of balance in an excess way,
bringing in more energy to the body can actually just cause an
excess of heat to accumulate. This can manifest in various
negative physical or emotional symptoms.
It is for these reasons that most masters of Qigong will not
teach the deeper alchemical practices until the student has
completed course work in basic health promoting qigong
exercises. The master will also often “test” a new student to see
that they are able to follow instructions, stick to their training,
and handle the emotional purification that often comes along with
practicing spiritual transformation. Only after going along with
the health promoting exercises – sometimes for years – will a
master unveil the deeper inner methodology.
The principle of regulating the physical body first is also
seen in the Indian and Tibetan traditions of inner yoga. In Hatha
Yoga, it is generally taught that students should be masters of
Asana – physical postures and the meditation seat – and cleansing
practices before they are allowed to move onto breathing
exercises. If students attempt to move into pranayama and
meditation too soon, they can cause serious harm to their subtle
body, which takes a long time to repair. Sadly, attempting to
jump ahead in your energetic practices oftentimes sets you
behind.
Sinking the Turbid and Ascending the Clear
Another reason behind beginning training with the lower
Dan Tien is that in Chinese medicine and in Inner Alchemy, there
is a concept that the “Turbid” should descend, while the “Clear”
should ascend.
This is a very long discussion, but for our purposes, we can
think about it like this: Within your body, there are various types
of energies. We could make one broad distinction in them and
say that some are more “Turbid” or dense, and some are more
“Clear”, fine or subtle. When the denser energies are rooted down
in the body, this can create a feeling of stability and strength.
This is a very natural way to feel. Rooting the energy down in
this way causes the subtle body to feel a bit like a pyramid – with
a broad base and a narrow tip. If, on the other hand, there is too
much dense energy rising up, it can manifest in a feeling of foggy
headedness, or excessive thinking. There is a quality of being
“top-heavy”. You are easily taken off balance by things, and the
mind is actually slower than it should be – even though it will feel
very busy.
The clear energy in the body carries a quality of lightness
and clarity. It is rare that this energy would descend, but if the
dense energy in the body is not descending, there can be a feeling
of restlessness that is created in the lower limbs. Generally what
happens is that there is so much density rising up, that there is no
room for clarity and freedom to manifest.
When we practice meditation upon the Lower Dan Tien, we
are taking the dense-natured energies and allowing them to root
and settle in the body. What one often finds is that very
naturally, a feeling of lightness and freedom then comes into the
upper body, head, and mind.
By cultivating this type of meditation, one comes to
experience a type of embodiment that many of us long for – a
sense of rootedness and presence, combined with light, open
clarity. As the clear qi ascends, insight and even visionary
experiences will often occur, as the upper centers are opened and
freed. The energy body becomes like a pyramid – the base is
stable, and so the point at the top becomes like an antenna to
Heaven’s Qi – that vast potential of openness and inspiration.
Harmonizing Fire and Water
The concept of Fire and Water is another phraseology that is
quite ubiquitous in the literature of both Chinese medicine and of
Inner Alchemy. There are advanced interpretations of Fire and
Water that don’t concern us here; we will simply explore the
relationship of Fire and Water to the practice of cultivating the
lower Dan Tien.
Simply put, the elemental quality of Fire in the body is a
quality of warmth, expansion, and illumination, and the quality of
Water is one of coolness, contraction, and quiet. In nature, fire
naturally rises up, and water naturally falls downward. In life,
however, fire must be made to descend, and water must be made
to ascend. Take a tree for example; it must draw the fire and light
of the sun from its leaves all the way down to nourish its roots. A
tree must also take the water that it draws from the ground and
pull it all the way up to nourish its branches and leaves. The
ancient Daoists felt that this same type of energetic exchange
needed to take place in the human body for optimal health and
functioning.
The alchemists of old thought of the body like an alchemical
vessel or steamer – there is fire underneath which heats the liquid
inside and allows the steam to rise up. This phenomenon is what
is often referred to by the alchemical slogan “place fire beneath
water”, and the I Ching hexagram 63 “after completion”. When
we practice meditation and settle the Qi to the lower Dan Tien,
we are effectively warming this alchemical stove. The mind leads
the Qi, and as the qi comes to the lower Dan Tien, this area of the
body will grow warm.
The warmth of Fire, or Yang, is desirable in the lower body
because it acts as the foundation of the warmth for all the other
caloric processes in the body – including digestion, metabolism,
etc. When the alchemical process of steaming has begun in this
way, it also allows the body’s Water, or Yin, to rise up as mist to
cool and moisten the internal Organs.
When the Fire and Water energies of the body are out of
balance, or have “separated”, we can see various symptoms.
Basically, the cool and heavy energies will sink down in the body
too much – leading to edema, urinary frequency, low sex drive,
reproductive disharmonies, and other issues. The hot and light
energies will then rise up too much because they are not being
rooted – this can give rise to heart palpitations, anxiety, insomnia,
and emotional distress.
This phenomenon of Fire-Water separation is actually very
common in our culture, showing up as things like Bipolar
disorder, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, and some of the symptoms
of menopause – among other issues. Learning to meditate on the
lower Dan Tien can go a long way toward offering relief from
these and other syndromes that individuals face.
Historically, Zen Master Hakuin famously dealt with a FireWater imbalance that caused him great physical distress – as he
reports in his autobiography. It was only resolved when, later in
his life, he met a Daoist master who taught him a method of
breathing to the lower Dan Tien. From the great results he got,
he decided that all his students should incorporate Dan Tien
breathing into their Zen meditation practice.
The fusion of Fire and Water energies, or “Kan” and “Li” is
also a high level Daoist alchemy process and is very similar to the
practices of Indian and Tibetan yoga of taking the downward
moving energy of the “Apana Vayu” and the upward moving
energy of the “Prana Vayu” and fusing them together at the navel
chakra.
The Moving Qi Between the Kidneys and Destiny-Gate Fire
The “moving Qi between the Kidneys” is a phrase that is
often seen in the oldest classics of Chinese medicine, and can
generally be seen as equivalent with the lower Dan Tien.
Another phrase is called the Ming Men Huo, or Destiny Gate
Fire. This Fire refers to the basic Yang energy that should
inhabit the lower part of the abdomen (as discussed in the
previous section on Fire and Water). These two concepts are
very important to understand.
First, the Kidneys in Chinese medicine are considered to be
the basis of all the rest of the body’s Yin and Yang energy. This
means that if an Organ’s Yin or Yang energy is deficient, the
problem is either coming from a deficiency in the Kidneys, or will
eventually drain the Kidneys as they have to put out more. In any
case, the Kidney Organ system is seen to be foundational to the
entire energetic system of the body. The Kidneys are said to
store the Jing and this means that they are the repository of the
energy which is the basis of one’s physical form.
It is for a similar reason that the Kidneys are said to be
responsible for “holding” the qi. The Kidneys and their associated
systems are at the center of the process of converting abundant
energy into Post-Heaven essence. This Jing then goes to
strengthen the Kidneys themselves, the bones, the brain, and the
reproductive system.
The lower Dan Tien’s association with the Kidneys is a
major reason that it is utilized as the area in the body in which Qi
is “stored”. By visualizing and feeling that the Qi goes into
storage in this place, you are facilitating the conversion of this
temporary excess of Qi into Jing-Essence.
If you just have an excess of Qi (say in one of the Organ
systems), the body doesn’t really know what to do with this. In
the short term, it can make that Organ stronger (this is how
medical qigong or acupuncture treatments work), but in the long
term, that energy will either dissipate, or migrate somewhere else
in the body. This process of migration is actually what many
systems of Qigong and internal martial arts are trying to avoid
when the practice self-massage routines and stimulating acupoints after a qi workout.
At more advanced levels – those of internal alchemy practice
– we are trying not to simply charge up the Organs for a short
time, or simply to heal one specific illness. We are actually trying
to alter the subtle body in a fundamental and permanent way. To
do this, first, we learn to create an abundance of subtle Essence,
and then we engage alchemical processes through which this
essence is transformed and refined.
This process is well represented through one of the most
famous internal alchemy processes used for martial arts and
spiritual training – called the ‘Golden Bell’ qigong. The essence
of this art is contained in two parts “sinew transformation”, and
“marrow/brain cleansing”. The second part which works with
the “marrow” means that we are completely transforming the
body on its deepest level – the level of the bones and the Jing.
Opening of the Extraordinary Vessels
The final reason that it is important for us to begin our
cultivation with the lower Dan Tien is because it is the beginning
point for four of what are known of in Chinese medicine as the
“Extraordinary Vessels”. In the classical medicine, there are 12
“regular” meridians, which correspond to the internal Organs, and
then there are 8 “extraordinary” meridians which relate more to
the formation of the body.
The 12 regular meridians do not actually begin to function
until a baby takes its first breath. Up until this time, the eight
extraordinary channels are working to develop the body inside
the womb. Because of this, the eight vessels are very concerned
with the Jing and the formative and fundamental forces of the
body’s development. We’ll learn more about this in a subsequent
chapter on the “microcosmic orbit”.
The reason that we’re concerned with the eight
extraordinary vessels here is that they are said to act like
reservoirs in the body – mirroring the aspect of the Kidneys to
“store” the Jing. It is said that if the body has a surplus of energy,
this can be taken up by the extraordinary vessels and put into
storage – like an overflow from river can flow into a reservoir and
the water will be stored for later use. Similarly, if there is
deficiency in the body, it is thought that one can call upon the
stored energy within the Extraordinary Vessel system and bring
it into regular circulation to nourish the Organs and meridians.
Four of the extraordinary vessels are worthy of our
attention here. These four are actually considered to be primary –
as they form before the other four when a baby is developing.
These are called the Governing Vessel, Conception Vessel,
Thrusting Vessel, and Belt Vessel. What is relevant to our
discussion at this time is that the origin of each of these vessels is
said to be the “moving qi between the Kidneys” – or the area we
know as the Lower Dan Tien. This means that when we think of
cultivating or storing Qi in the lower Dan Tien, we are actually
helping to convert the energy into the body’s deeper storage
system of the extraordinary vessels (which has implications which
will be discussed in later alchemical formulae).
The Lower Dan Tien and the 2nd Chakra
The question often arises – “is the lower Dan Tien the same
as the second chakra?”. I have heard many different answers from
different teachers, and most of them had good logic behind them.
I will give you my own interpretation here.
The easiest description of a “Chakra” here would be that it is
a nexus of psycho-spiritual activity. In the most common system
of seven Chakras, they recognize one at the perineum or tailbone,
one at the sacrum or lower back, one near the area of the solar
plexus, one at the heart, one at the throat, one at the third eye, or
center of the brain, and one at the crown of the head.
Various systems use these chakras for meditation in
different ways. As we will learn later, these major chakra points
are meditation points along the route of the microcsmic orbit.
For our purposes, we can say that these chakras as
meditation points are on a different energetic level than the
meditation point we will use in lower Dan Tien. In one way of
viewing them, the Lower Dan Tien is a fusion point between the
lower three chakras which contain the energies of Earth, Water,
and Fire.
In some of the Indian and Tibetan yogic traditions, the 2nd
chakra center is considered the opening of the subtle channel that
ascends the spine to the brain. This is roughly equivalent to the
Lower Dan Tien in the way we are speaking of it. The
experiences of meditators while focusing on these centers are
nearly identical, so in this way we can say that these centers are at
least similar.
The most notable experience that meditators will report
from successful cultivation of the Lower Dan Tien, or 2nd Chakra
is internal heat. This is the basis of the microcosmic orbit, and
also the foundation of the high Tibetan yoga known as Tummo.
Locating the Lower Dan Tien
The classical books on Qigong and the Extraordinary
Vessels locate the lower DanTien somewhere around 3 or 4
inches below the navel.
Some qigong lineages feel this refers to a point on the front
of the abdomen. Two points are usually recommended for
meditation – one is called Qi Hai (CV6), which is about two inches
inferior to the navel, and the other is called Guan Yuan (CV4)
which is about 4 inches inferior. Qi Hai means “ocean of Qi
(energy)”, and Guan Yuan means “Gate to the Origin”. As is
obvious from their names, both of these points relate to the deep
Original Qi that is stored in the lower abdomen and
extraordinary vessel network.
Meditating on these points can definitely boost the level of
the original Qi and the strength of the lower Dan Tien, but they
are not themselves the Dan Tien Center. The Dan Tien is deep
inside the body – it is approximately 3.5 inches inferior to the
navel, and then 3.5 inches deep – toward the center of the
abdomen.
Locating the Lower Dan Tien Meditation
To find the lower Dan Tien center, set up in a comfortable
meditation posture. Go through the preliminary practice of
Song-Gong relaxation so that you are primed and energetically
sensitive.
To locate the Dan Tien, we’ll first locate the points on the
outside of the body that relate to it. First, place your mind on
your Navel. Try to just settle the mind in the navel itself for a
moment.
The next point is to find the Perineum – this is the spot
between the genitals and the anus.
Finally, locate the area on the spine directly behind the
navel – between the 2nd and 3rd Lumbar vertebra – called the
“Ming Men” or Destiny Gate. It may help to physically touch
each of these points in order to make it easy to feel them with the
inner sense.
Once you have located these three points, try to hold the
sense of them in your mind all at the same time. Imagine a
triangle of energy that connects these three points and then try to
feel with your mind into the centermost point of this triangle.
When you have found the center, you will know because
there will come a sense of strength and the whole energy body
comes to a kind of unification.
Another phenomenon that may occur when you’ve found
the true center of the Dan Tien is that you may feel heat
beginning to generate in this area of the abdomen, or in another
part of the body. This is a good sign, but one should not be
concerned if it doesn’t show up immediately, as having enough
energy to create heat can take a number of months in many cases.
Meditating on the Lower Dan Tien
Locating the lower Dan Tien is a wonderful practice, and all by
itself is a meditation.
To practice this method, simply get into your comfortable
qigong posture – seated or standing – and begin to search with
your mind for the lower Dan Tien center, as described above.
When you get the sensation of the body unifying, mental silence,
or warmth generating, let the mind rest on that spot in the subtle
body.
Allow your breath to gravitate to this area, and let your
mind just settle. If your mind begins to track some other thought
or sensation, simply bring it back to the lower Dan Tien center.
Meditating in this way has an immediate effect of reducing
anxiety and leading the mind toward stillness. This type of
meditation helps keep the energy rooted down into the area of the
body that governs physical strength, and out of the centers
related to emotion and thought. This basic meditation, then,
leads to physical and mental stability as the foundation for more
advanced meditation.
Gathering Qi to the Lower Dan Tien
Once you have been able to locate this center, you should begin
practicing in a way that cultivates Qi to this area for storage.
The most effective way to do this is by visualizing filling the
Dan Tien with light – synchronized with the breathing.
Heaven Qi Meditation
To begin, imagine that there is a tube running from the nose down
the front of the body to the level of the lower abdomen and then
into the Dan Tien.
Imagine that as you inhale, a bright energy comes from all
around the universe and you can sip it down this front channel
like a straw. When you exhale, imagine that this energy spirals
around in a decreasing spiral until it reaches the centermost point
of the lower Dan Tien and goes into storage there.
Continue practicing in this way for 20minutes to an hour at
a time.
After a while, this meditation will get very easy, and then you
should attempt to add the cultivation of earth energy.
Earth Qi Meditation
To cultivate earth energy, you must be either in a standing
meditation, or sitting in a chair so that your legs are extended and
your feet are on the floor (rather than in a cross legged position).
Imagine that your feet have become tree roots and that they
reach down into the earth – all the way down to the core of the
planet.
Now feel that as you inhale, you can sip the Earth’s qi - in
the form of a golden light – up through your legs and to your tail
bone.
This Qi then spirals up to the Ming Men (L2/3 vertebra)
and in – moving in a decreasing spiral until it reaches the
centermost point of the Dan Tien – and goes into storage.
When the cultivation of Earth energy becomes second nature, you
are ready to combine it with the Heaven’s energy meditation that
you already practiced.
Fusion of Heaven and Earth Qi
In a sitting or standing posture, imagine inhaling light from all
the stars and planets above and around you. It flows in through
the nose and down the front channel of the body – all the way to
the navel.
Simultaneously, feel that you pull up the Earth’s Qi through
the legs, to the tailbone, and all the way to the small of the back at
Ming Men (Governing Vessel 4).
As you exhale, imagine that the Heaven’s Qi spirals down to
the pelvic floor, up through the lower back and begins to spiral in
toward the center of the Dan Tien as before. At the same time,
the Earth Qi from the Ming Men spirals forward toward the
navel, down the front of the abdomen to the pelvic floor, and up
the inside of the back – continuing to spiral in toward the center.
At some point these two energies come together, fusing and
forming an energetic elixir in the very center of the lower Dan
Tien.
Students should continue this meditation for 30 minutes to one
hour.
This meditation on fusing the energies of Heaven and Earth in
the Dan Tien is very beneficial for restoring the Qi of the body. It
can be used for individuals with fatigue disorders, individuals who
have had their systems taxed through stress, overwork, or other
causes.
This is also a most excellent training for healing arts
practitioners and qigong or yoga teachers to engage in on a daily
basis – as these practitioners need an abundant supply of energy
by which to facilitate the healing and transformation that they
work with.
This meditation is finally very good for individuals who
continually work with high-frequency subtle energies.
Practitioners of Reiki, channeling, or other styles that work with
very subtle forms of Qi can get an issue called “cosmic
indigestion” – in which they are unable to assimilate the energy
that they are taking in because it is of too much of a different
resonance than their body. In this practice of fusing heaven and
earth, a practitioner is filling the body with the right balance of
the spacious, open, Yang force of Heaven, and the neutral,
grounding, Yin force of Earth. By this means, many Qi deviations
and problems can be reduced or overcome.
“Overheating” the Lower Dan Tien
Once you have started to gather Qi to the lower Dan Tien Center,
the next goal is to bring it to such a state of fullness that it
actually starts to overflow. This is one of the phases of classical
Qigong training, which is sometimes called “100 days of building
the foundation”. This is because it usually takes about 3 or 4
months to reach this state of energetic repletion.
Classically, it is advised that one abstain from excessive
sexual interaction during this period, as this can drain off the
surplus of energy one is trying to cultivate. (unless one has been
trained in Daoist sexual yogas designed to preserve this essential
energy). Individuals are also advised to follow a clear and bland
diet that is not likely to cause energetic deviations.
You will know that you’ve reached the culmination of this
stage of training because you will feel a physical sensation of
warmth in the lower abdomen. This can sometimes be
disconcerting to newer practitioners, because they do not expect
such a strong physical sensation as a result of Qigong practice.
The sensation is not like an imagined warmth, but actually feels
like a sunburn, or like someone turned a heater on you.
The sensation will start out as warmth in the lower
abdomen and sometimes flush up into other parts of the body – or
manifest as a feeling of global warmth throughout the body. In
some individuals, this will happen very quickly, one should not
mistake quick results for having reached the goal of practice – the
goal is reached when one experiences the sensations of warmth
for many days in a row consistently.
After the stage of heat building in the Dan Tien, it will
begin to overflow into the pathway of the Microcosmic Orbit by
creating warmth down at the pelvic floor, or in the tailbone. It is
at this time that you know you are ready to move on to the next
phase of training.
The Microcosmic Orbit
The Microcosmic Orbit is an ancient practice of Daoism that is
also called the “Small Heavenly Circulation”. The meaning
behind this name is that it is thought that the movement of the
sun through the sky reflects in the flow of Qi through the
acupuncture points along the front and back of the body (the Ren
and Du mai). There are even systems of martial arts and
medicine that are based on stimulating points specifically during
their time of greatest solar influence to achieve a potent effect.
In a way, the small heavenly circulation is like the
circulation of qi through the “universe” within. It is coursing the
energy along this solar pathway of the Governing and Conception
Vessel.
To understand the importance of circulating Qi along these
particular inner channels, we must remember what was said about
the extraordinary vessels above – that they act as reservoirs of the
Qi for the body. That means that if we have a surplus of Qi, the
extraordinary vessels help put that into storage as Jing-Essence,
and if we have a deficiency, we can call on the extraordinary
vessels to put more energy into circulation.
In cultivating the Microcosmic Orbit, we are awakening and
opening two of the major extraordinary vessels in the body – the
Governing Vessel that runs up the back, and the Conception
Vessel that runs down the front.
The Governing and Conception Vessels
The Governing Vessel, or Du Mai in Chinese medicine and
inner alchemy is associated with all the Yang energy in the body.
The character for “governor” – where this channel gets its name means an upright official, and carries a connotation of
righteousness. This implies that a major function of this channel
is to bring the quality of upright energy rising in the body –
which is symbolized by good spinal posture. This channel is used
to nourish the brain, invigorate the mind, warm the body,
strengthen the back, and regulate the posture.
The Conception Vessel, or Ren Mai in Chinese medicine and
inner alchemy is associated with all the Yin energy in the body.
The character for “conception” actually can imply “to give birth” –
and literally portrays a pregnant man. This character, though,
also carries a connotation of “usefulness” or functionality.
Sometimes this channel is therefore translated as the “functional
vessel”. This channel is used often to cool and calm the body,
regulate the reproductive organs, and facilitate the downward
movement of digestion.
Each of these channels contains points that relate to every
Organ system in the body. Thus, to circulate the Qi in these
Vessels is like regulating and harmonizing the flow in all the
body’s systems.
Indications For Practicing the Microcosmic Orbit Meditation
The microcosmic orbit meditation is useful for many different
reasons. The first, as described above is simply to harmonize the
energy of the whole body. This is done by simply smiling and
breathing while guiding the intention through the channels in a
very gentle way.
The second main reason is that this exercise is a prerequisite for more advanced Qigong practices. In order to begin
raising the level and quality of energy in the body, you have to
have a pathway prepared for that energy to travel in – otherwise
it can back up and cause stagnation and disorders. When you
have opened the microcosmic circulation, the overflow of Qi in the
system is taken up and distributed to the Organs that need it
most, or placed into storage as Post-Heaven Essence. In
advanced Qigong and inner alchemy formulas, one begins
bringing in a higher degree of energy to the body than ever
before, and this energy has to go somewhere. One of my
Teachers calls it “upgrading your wiring from 110 to 220”!
The other part of this second reasoning is that this level of
practice is sometimes referred to as “fusing the Ren and Du Mai”.
There are two acu-points that act as gates connecting the
Governing and Conception Vessels. These lie at the perineum
and where the tongue touches the roof of the mouth behind the
teeth. In a normal person, these junction points are only partially
open, and so the circulation between these major meridians is
largely unconnected. After training in the meditation which
opens these points, it is like you’ve facilitated a closed circuit
within the subtle body which allows the energy to flow much
more smoothly.
Finally, this flow is valuable to practice because it helps to
resolve Qi deviations. This effect is based upon the above
explanation of how these channels balance the body as a whole –
by spreading the qi throughout the Organs and meridians. If
there is a Qi disorder, it means that the energy is either flowing
up too much, or down too much, or it is blocked in a certain
channel or part of the inner body. By practicing massaging the qi
along these channels – up and down, over and over, meditatively
and with the smooth breath, it places the inner body in a state of
order and regulates the imbalances.
Different Meanings of “Opening the Microcosmic Orbit”
In inner body practice, there are three major ways of thinking
about what it means to “Open” the microcosmic circulation.
The first relates simply to the harmonizing function
mentioned above. To practice in this way, one simply smiles
gently and imagines that energy circulates through these
channels with the breath.
The second method is a deeper alchemical training that is
used to prepare one for advanced qigong cultivation. In this
version, you must have practiced the Dan Tien cultivation given
earlier until you are feeling heat on a regular basis, and that heat
sensation has begun to overflow down to the perineum and
tailbone.
When this sensation occurs, it means that the heat you have
generated in the body is now overflowing into the microcosmic
circulation. What to do with that energy will be covered in more
detail in the next section.
What differentiates this style of practice is that it is creating
opening on a much more dense and physical level than the
previous version. Simply breathing through the circuit can be
very harmonizing and bring spiritual calm and purification, but it
doesn’t create much lasting change in the gross physical level of
health.
This is actually something that differentiates the Daoist
yoga tradition from many other spiritual traditions in the world.
In many traditions, spiritual development is a thing that happens
regardless of what happens to the physical body. In more
extreme cases, the body is to be disregarded, and the spiritual
practices can even harm the subtle energy system. In the Daoist
system, special care is taken to assure that the inner development
is very integrated – awakening the physical, subtle, and spiritual
bodies in balance.
Finally, on the deepest level, the Micrososmic Orbit can
refer to something roughly equivalent to what is called
awakening the “Kundalini” in the Indian and Tibetan traditions of
inner yoga. This is a deep method and requires the supervision of
a teacher to complete efficiently and safely. Suffice it to say here
that opening the microcosmic orbit on the level that we are
speaking of – with the Du Mai and Ren Mai, front and back
channels – mirrors the deeper work of arousing the
transformational and evolutionary energy of the Kundalini, but on
a more peripheral level.
The practice of working with the Kundalini routes the
energy of the body into the central channel (Chinese: Chong Mai,
Sanskrit: Sushumna Nadi) and opens the blockages present so that
the energy can stay there and transform the consciousness on a
deep level. The practice of the microcosmic circulation trains one
in all the prerequisites that one may need in terms of
concentration and energetic sensitivity – while massaging that
central channel from access points on the front and back.
The Gates of the 7 Chakras
One final important point about the mechanisms of the
microcosmic circulation is that the main points of focus or
meditation correspond with 7 main energy centers seen in many
traditions throughout the world.
In some schools of Qigong, it is taught that each chakra
center has a front and back “gate” – these are placed on the
meditation points we will use in opening the microcosmic
circulation.
The chakras mean different things to different traditions,
but for our purposes, we can think of them as transformation
points for subtle energy. When thought of in these terms, our
opening of the microcosmic circulation is a method that we can
use to transmute and transform energy from lower and less
refined states into higher and more refined states.
The flow of Qi up the back helps us to take denser energy
and transmute it into subtler energy – thus facilitating the
awakening of subtler states of mind. As the energy rises and
becomes purified through meditation, the mind begins to settle
into subtle and ecstatic states of awareness.
Meditating on each of these chakra “gates” has the result of
bringing energy into “crucial points” in the body that facilitate
global circulation through the spiritual and energetic system.
The Microcosmic Orbit Meditation
The version of the microcosmic orbit that we’ll be practicing is a
basic level practice. It is indicated for daily meditation aimed at
balancing the energy body and transmuting subtle energy.
Step 1 – Song Gong
Begin your practice by going through the deep relaxation given
earlier – this primes the body and smoothes out any kinks in the
energetic system.
Smile to the universe, and then down through the front, back, and
finally center – through all the inner Organs.
If you have time, you may also complete the healing sounds and
coloured light meditation to cleanse and charge the Organs.
Step 2 – Dan Tien Breathing
After relaxing the body and preparing the internal Organs,
imagine that all that positive energy is beginning to coalesce and
spiral together in the area of the lower Dan Tien.
You can focus on the Navel if it’s easier, or if you are able, focus in
the center of the lower abdomen.
Begin practicing the “Fusing Heaven and Earth” breathing given
previously and continue until you feel some sense of fullness or
energy in the lower abdomen. This may feel like pressure,
tingling, or heat.
Step 3 – Opening the Yang Gates
Now that the Dan Tien is full of energy, you can begin to use that
energy to open up the points along the Governing and
Conception Vessels.
The Hui Yin – CV 1
Before training the energy to ascend the spine, it needs to be
brought from the Dan Tien into circulation along the
Extraordinary Vessel pathways. The first point where the Qi
usually flows is at the very base of the pelvis, known as the Hui
Yin or “Yin Meeting”.
This point is named this way because it is the most Yin point on
the entire body, and all the Yin energies collect here.
Meditating on CV1 can be useful in lowering blood pressure,
treating insomnia, and reducing headaches and eyestrain. This is
also an important point to know when opening the microcosmic
orbit. Occasionally, when opening the points near the head, some
people can get energy blockages which will result in headaches or
anxiety. A quick cure for these is to meditate on the Hui Yin
point until the energy descends.
The Hui Yin is also important because it is one of two bridges
along the microcosmic orbit which connect the Governing and
Conception Vessel (the other is the “magpie bridge” which will be
covered later). While practicing, one is advised to keep the
muscles of the perineum slightly engaged.
The classic texts refer to this as “hold up Hui Yin”. It is
important, though, that one does not apply too much force here,
or one can get problems with stagnant energy in the reproductive
organs or colon. It is a very subtle contraction – kind of like you
had to go to the bathroom and were holding it, but you didn’t
have to go very badly.
By slightly activating the muscles in this area, you can easily
bring the mind there. Smile to this area in the body to bring the
Qi from the Dan Tien to the point. Hold the gentle awareness
there until you feel some sense of opening or awakening of
energy. When the point feels full and open, you’ll know you are
ready to move on the next one.
Gate 1 – the Sacral Hiatus
Begin by focusing the mind at the point Governing Vessel 2 – at
the area of the Sacral Hiatus. This is a small hole where the
tailbone joins to the rest of the sacrum. Find this point by
allowing the mind to search in the area just above the tailbone
until some point is found that feels energetically potent.
Rest the mind there until you feel that the point has “opened”.
This again may feel like tingling, pressure, or heat. Occasionally
as these points open, students will feel an aching sensation. You
should not worry if this happens to you, as it is the feeling of deep
stagnation being moved by the new energy that is circulated into
the area.
Gate 2 – The Ming Men – “Destiny Gate”
When you have felt some opening in the first gate, you may feel
the energy beginning to ascend on it’s own up to the next point in
the orbit – which is in the lower back.
Technically, this should be the point Ming Men, or Governing
Vessel 4, which is located between the L2 and L3 vertebrae, but
the crucial points are a little different on everyone, so use your
energetic sensitivity to find where it is for you. Let the energy
ascend to the area of the low back, and search with your mind for
a spot that feels energetically potent.
Rest the mind here until, again, you feel some sense of opening –
tingling, pressure, heat, etc.
Gate 3 – “Center of the Spine”
The next point is called the “Center of the spine, because it is
roughly in the middle of the spinal column. Let the energy move
up to just behind the solar plexus at around Governing Vessel 8.
Rest the mind here until you feel that the point has opened.
Gate 4 – the Heart
The fourth gate is the back gate of the Heart Chakra. Find this
by allowing your mind to ascend from the “center of the spine”
point to roughly behind the center of the chest in the area of
Governing Vessel 11, 12, and 13 (again, it’s slightly different for
everyone).
Rest the mind here until you feel energetic opening.
Note: the Heart Chakra point can stimulate a great deal of
emotion internally, so do not be alarmed if you have emotional
releases while meditating on this point. These are perfectly
natural and part of the alchemical purification process.
Gate 5 – the “Big Vertebra”
The fifth gate is located at the juncture of Thoracic Vertebra 1,
and Cervical Vertebra 7. If you feel the place where the neck joins
the shoulders at the top of your back, there is a vertebra (or two)
there which will feel prominent. This is the area you should place
your mind in. Feel for the point which needs to be opened and
smile to it.
Gate 6 – The Jade Pillow
The sixth gate is the point GV 16, known as the “jade pillow”.
This point is right at the base of the skull, where the neck joins
the head.
This is the only point that I advise going “by the book” in finding.
The reason for this is that the point right below it GV 15 is
known as the “brain door” (Nao Hu). GV15 can feel energetically
potent if you meditate on it, but it has an effect of sending the
energy directly in to the upper Dan Tien and the brain – whereas
GV 16 tends to send energy through the microcosmic orbit up to
the crown and the next gate.
To find GV 16, the Jade Pillow, feel for the little bump (the
occipical protruberance) right above the base of the skull. Just on
the underside of this bump is a small hollow which is still on your
skull bone. Place the mind here until you feel some energetic
opening.
Gate 7 – the Hundred Meetings point
The Hundred Meetings point (Bai Hui), or Governing Vessel 20,
is the most Yang point on the entire body. It is located at the
very highest point on the crown of the head. For most modern
people, though, the posture of the neck is slightly misaligned, so
where we think the center point of the crown is, is not where it
actually is.
To find this point correctly, find the tips of your two ears and
trace a line up until your fingers meet at the crown.
Alternatively, you can measure about halfway from the third-eye
on the forehead, and the jade pillow point at the base of the skull.
This should place you at a point just behind what we normally
think of as the top of the crown.
Place the mind at GV20 until some sensation of openness occurs.
This point leads the energy strongly upward, so do not be
alarmed is sensations of floating, visionary, or spiritual
experiences occur while meditating here.
Gate 8 – the Yin Tang or “Third-Eye”
This point is an “extra point” – meaning that it does not have a
numerical designation like the other gates along the Governing
vessel have.
To find the Yin Tang, find the small impression right between
the eyes where the nose joins the cranium. This point may differ
slightly for different practitioners. Some schools of yoga place the
third eye in the center of the forehead, while others place it right
between the two eyebrows. This latter point is called by the
ancient Sanskrit name “Antare Bruhvo” (antare = center; and
comes into English words like “Enter”, or the prefix “inter-“;
Bruhvo = Brow; and comes into the English “Brow”). This point,
in all of these traditions is considered the front gate of the Ajna
Chakra.
Step 4 – Opening the Yin Gates
Up to this point, all but one of the points we have been working
with have been along the Governing Vessel – the major Yang
channel of the body. As we move down the front of the body, we
transition into working with the major Yin channel, known as the
Conception Vessel.
The “Magpie Bridge”
There are two points along the route of the Microcosmic Orbit
which act a little like circuit-breakers. The upper one of these is
known as the “magpie bridge”. The meditation point is at the tip
of the tongue and acts as a link between the Governing Vessel
and Conception Vessel.
It was observed by ancient Daoists that when an infant
sleeps, it’s tongue stays pressed to the roof of the mouth. They
took this to be a sign of how a person naturally regulates his/her
energy and found that this position allows the Qi to flow in the
microcosmic circulation.
It is called the “magpie bridge”, because of an ancient
Chinese myth in which a cowherd falls in love with the daughter
of the Goddess of Heaven. When the goddess finds out, they are
forbidden to be together, but once a year, the magpies would take
pity on the lovers and form a bridge across which they could walk
to meet between earth and sky.
The symbolism of the myth relates to this position on the
microcosmic orbit. It is the tongue that acts as a connection
between the upward moving energy of the Governing Vessel, and
the energy we will move down the Conception Vessel – it is a
point of uniting between Heaven’s Yang energy, and Earth’s Yin.
It is also named in this way because birds like ravens and
magpies of the “corvus” species have dexterous tongues and can
be taught to speak (like the famous Edgar Allan Poe poem).
To find this point requires having the tongue in the right
position. Once you have felt energetic opening in the third eye
region, imagine the energy flowing down to the roof of the mouth
– just behind the front teeth. Place your tongue on the roof of the
mouth and experiment with positions ranging from immediately
behind the front teeth to a couple of centimeters behind.
Somewhere in that area will be a spot that feel like there is a
“zing” of subtle energy connection. This is the area on which to
meditate.
Keep the mind smiling right on the juncture between the tongue
and the palate. Rest here until you feel sensations of opening like
before, and you also begin to feel the Qi flooding into the tongue
and ready to move down the channel.
Interestingly, the tongue position that is recommended in Daoist
alchemy is the same position that a newborn baby or child will
hold its tongue while sleeping. This relates to the Daoist idea of
Naturalness – that if beings could learn to follow their innate
instincts, they would likely conserve more subtle energy.
This concept does not, however encourage one to try to
simply act like a child, for the Daoist system is deeply invested in
the cultivation of human potential. The Dao De Ching, though,
implies, that if we follow the Way of Nature, we can learn to be
happy. Ultimately, the Way of Nature is expressed in “De” or
“Virtue”. Following the way of nature does not mean that we just
act on impulse and call it instinct. It also does not necessarily
mean that if we just peel back enough layers, we will find some
perfect being inside. It does mean that we can cultivate an instinct
for Virtue. When we do so, we reach a true “Fusion of Heaven
and Earth”. The ideal world, represented by Heaven becomes
manifest in our own bodies and lives.
CV 22 – “Heaven’s Chimney”
The next Gate on the Yin Channel is right at the pit of the throat
(the sternal notch). This is where your collar bones join the
breastbone and there is a little divet at the bottom of the neck.
Smile to this area and find where the point is for you, rest the
mind there until you feel opening occur.
This point strongly helps to descend energy, so don’t be surprised
if you feel some kind of streaming down the front of the body
while meditating here.
Some people are already very open in the front channel and you
may feel that when you meditate on this point, the energy
automatically streams all the way down to the navel and
completes the circuit. Even if this happens, it is very beneficial to
open each point in succession, so stick with the meditation until
the end.
CV 17 “Central Altar”
This point is the front gate of the Heart Chakra. All spiritual
traditions think of the Heart as a sacred place in the body, and
most consider it to be the “Seat of the Soul”. It is for this reason
that this point is termed “central altar”.
To find CV 17, mentally make a line between the two nipples to
the very center of the breast bone. Alternately, you can measure
halfway between the last point at the sternal notch and the bone
at the bottom of the sternum called the xiphoid process. Either
way, try to find the very center of your sternum.
Place the mind here and smile until you feel some sense of
energetic opening.
As with the point on the back, meditation here can open up a lot
of stored emotion, so don’t worry if strong feelings happen to
arise during your meditation.
CV 14/15 and the “Yellow Court”
The next point in the sequence is traditionally called the “Yellow
Court”. Part of the reason for this is that it is the front gate of the
solar plexus chakra which is traditionally associated with a golden
colour.
The other reason is that gold is an Imperial colour. In the
ancient Daoist system, the Heart is considered to be the
Emperor/Empress, as it is the seat of the Spirit or Shen. The
Yellow court, then, is considered to be like a waiting room of
sorts. This is an area in the body which can store repressed
emotions – because the body is keeping them from plaguing the
“emperor” of the Heart. The Heart’s job, according to inner
alchemy, is to be a repository of peace and compassion. Any
emotion that is too strong for the spirit to handle at any time can
sometimes be repressed and get stuck in storage in the Yellow
Court area.
Because of this, people will often complain of tightness in
the solar plexus area, and can get all sorts of trouble in the
digestive system or respiratory diaphragm.
When this area is cleaned of old repressed feelings, it
becomes a center of power. The solar plexus chakra is often
associated with “personal power” and this is because when this
area is functioning properly, it allows one to embody fully with a
sort of solar fire in order to serve others. This is the reason why
the Buddhist system of inner yoga refers to the navel chakra as
“nirmana chakra” or the chakra of emanation or embodiment.
To find where this center is for you, let the awareness flow down
from the “Central Altar” point to the bottom of the sternum, feel
around in this area until you find a point that seems energetically
potent. Rest the smiling and relaxed awareness here until you
feel some sense of openness.
The Navel Center
The last point on the microcosmic orbit is easy to find, as it is the
navel itself.
To meditate on this point, place the awareness inside the bellybutton and look for a spot of potent energy.
Resting the mind here may cause you to feel the energy streaming
back into the body and into the Dan Tien. This is because the
Navel is the front gate of the lower Dan Tien. Meditating on this
point is the way to complete and seal the meditation on the
microcosmic orbit.
Step 6 – Circulate the Qi
Now that we have become familiar with all of the points in the
microcosmic circulation, we can begin to circulate the energy
more smoothly and then allow the qi to follow the breath.
To begin, feel the energy gathered in the lower Dan Tien, and
smile it to the navel and down the front of the body – past the
pubic bone and to the Hui Yin point.
Continue smiling to the energy and slowly bring the awareness
up through the points at the Sacral Hiatus, Ming Men, Center of
the Spine, Back of the Heart, big Vertebra, Jade Pillow, and
Hundred Meetings.
Continue smiling as you bring the energy slowly down through
the Yin Tang, Magpie Bridge, Heaven’s Chimney, Central Altar,
Yellow Court, and back to the Navel.
Practice flowing the energy like this slowly until you feel you can
do it easily without any loss of concentration, or the energy
getting stuck at any point.
Step 6 – Circulate with the Breath
Now begin to imagine that on the inhalation, you bring the
energy from the navel, down the front, and all the way up the
spine to the crown. On each exhalation, bring the energy from
the crown all the way down the front of the body and back to the
navel.
Continue breathing this way for 3-100 breaths depending on how
much time you have.
Step 7 – Sealing the Qi in the Dan Tien
Just like all the other meditations, it is important to bring the
energy back down in the body and place it into storage after
performing such strong energetic openings. This will allow the
subtle body to integrate the changes you’ve made much more
effectively.
To seal the qi, bring the energy and intention all the way down to
the navel once again. Focus on the very back of the navel and feel
this draw the Qi deep inside the body and into the Dan Tien
center. Imagine a tiny pearl in the Dan Tien that is spinning (it
can be spinning in any direction you like). Feel that the spiraling
of this pearl draws the cultivated energy into itself and stores it in
the lower belly. Mentally give the Qi the instruction “stay”, and
feel that it is stored in the lower belly center.
Review – Opening the Microcosmic Orbit
Here is a short form version of the above meditation:
Step One – Relax
Perform the Song Gong relaxation technique – time allowing,
perform the healing sounds and colours meditation.
Step Two – Gather Qi to Dan Tien
Meditate on the lower belly center until you feel heat, fullness, or
energetic opening.
Step Three – Opening the Yang Gates
Begin smiling and gathering Qi in sequence to the following
points:
Hui Yin, Ming Men, Center of the Spine, Back of the Heart, Big
Vertebra, Jade Pillow, 100 Meetings, Yin Tang (third-eye)
Step Four – Open the Yin Gates
Bring the Qi from the third eye down to the place where the
tongue is touching the palate until you feel the tongue fill with
subtle energy. Then place the intention sequentially on the
following points:
Heaven’s Chimney, Central Altar, Yellow Court, Navel
Step Five – Circulate the Qi
Begin to smoothly run the mind/intention/energy from the navel
down to the pelvic floor, up to the spine, and back to the navel.
Continue until this circulation feels smooth.
Step Six – Circulate with Breath
Allow your inhalation to draw the Qi all the way from the navel
center up to the crown and your exhalation to draw the energy
back down from the crown to the belly. Repeat numerous times.
Step Seven – Seal the Qi in the Lower Dan Tien
Place the mind on the Navel, visualize a bright pearl in the Dan
Tien spinning and drawing in the cultivated energy. Give the Qi
the command “Stay” and feel it go into storage deep in the subtle
body.
Troubleshooting
This section will take a look at a few of the challenges that people
encounter while practicing the microcosmic orbit and some simple
remedies. This information is extremely valuable for teachers, as
it is our job to help individuals undergoing some difficulty
brought on by energetic work – whether they have done damage
through practices we gave them, or practices they learned
somewhere else.
Qi Deviations
As was mentioned before, the energy in the body can move out of
its smooth, harmonious circulation into a circulation that is either
in the wrong place, or is rough and jagged rather than smooth.
The Tibetan tradition knows this by the name of a Lung disorder
(Lung is the Tibetan for subtle inner energy or “wind”), and it is
sometimes known as a disorder of the “prana vayu” in Ayurvedic
medicine. More extreme forms are sometimes nowadays referred
to as “Kundalini Psychosis” or a “kundalini crisis”.
It is important to understand that when cultivating inner yoga
from any tradition, you are generating more energy, heat, and
movement than before. If the channels through which this
energy, heat, and movement travel are not clear then one will
experience uncomfortable symptoms.
Some of the most common symptoms of Qi deviations are:
 Tiredness/Fatigue
 Mania
 Depression
 Anxiety
 Insomnia
 Digestive issues (including gas)
 Changes in sex drive (increase or decrease)
 Headaches
 Spiritual Crises (including seeing spirits, becoming antisocial, having visionary experiences which are confusing)
One of the things that an experienced spiritual practitioner will
notice about the above list is that these things will often happen
with any kind of spiritual awakening. They are all symptoms of
more energy and life trying to move through a person. The only
time they become a problem is if they last more than a few hours
or a few days – then they are signs that one is trying to move too
much energy, or too fast.
Rectifying Qi Deviations
Headache:
Headache while training the microcosmic orbit is very
simple to deal with. It very often occurs because of a blockage
around the “Jade Pillow” point at GV 16. It can also occur if the
points in the head are open, but the point at the tongue is not –
leading to an accumulation of energy in the head.
If this occurs, one can practice visualizing (and feeling) the
energy moving from the head back down the spine and into the
Ming Men point at the small of the back – returning Qi inside the
body to the Dan Tien. Next, one can imagine that any extra qi
that the body cannot digest continues to flow down the back of
the legs and out through the heels.
This clears up most headaches, if the headaches persist, two
other things can be tried:
1. Practice meditating on spiraling the qi at the “jade pillow”
point. Simply imagine the qi swirling around one way about
9 times, and then the other when you are at that point in
your meditation.
This serves to help “unlock” the point so that less stagnation
is present.
2. Headaches can sometimes be a result of stagnant energy in
the Liver meridian. You can try adding in more repetitions
of the Liver sound before your practice of the orbit.
Finally, if headaches still persist, there is a deeper level issue
present. It is advised that you seek out a skilled medical qigong
therapist, acupuncturist, or herbalist to assist you in harmonizing
your meridian system.
Mood Issues (mania, anxiety, depression):
These issues will often happen because the new level of
energy in the body is bumping into old stagnation from the past.
This is particularly old stagnation of negative emotions.
We all tend to carry a certain degree of negativity around in
us, accumulated from the trials that life serves us. When we
begin to expand our energetic potentials, it is important for us to
purify and let go of this energetic negativity. Often as you
practice, these things will come up and you will feel them as you
purify.
If these emotions get too intense, a few remedies may be
tried:
First, reduce the amount of heat-building practices that you are
doing. The Dan Tien meditation that we learned in particular is a
practice that builds heat. This heat in the body can agitate the
mind. The microcosmic orbit meditation can also build heat when
practiced regularly. Normally, this is not a problem, but if you
are experiencing negative emotions, it can mean that the body is
getting to hot and agitated.
Heat should also be reduced in the system through dietary
means. Any time I began an advanced practice, my Qigong
masters would advise me to give up meat, alcohol, chili peppers
and other hot foods, and tobacco. This was meant to purify the
body, but also was specifically meant to reduce foods that cause
Heat to build up – according to Chinese medicine. This parallels
the dietary teachings from the Hatha Yoga Pradipika chapter 1.
Second, you can try the balancing meditation of the six healing
sounds and colours – either for all the organs, or specifically for
the organ which is related to the emotion you are experiencing.
Sleep. If you are not sleeping enough, your body will become
deficient in Yin – the element which cools and calms you, and also
forms a basis for the rootedness of the mind. If this element is
deficient, the mind is more easily agitated, and one can also
experience a type of deep mental fatigue.
Practice the “Four Infinite Thoughts”. Master Patanjali, in the
Yoga Sutra says that there is one best remedy for obstructions
when they arise in your practice – practicing loving-kindness,
compassion, sympathetic joy, and equanimity.
The meditation is simple, just think of someone whom you
feel love toward. Now imagine them as very happy, and wish for
them to be happy. Next, compassion is to wish that they could be
freed of any suffering they experience. Joy, means that you take
joy in the ways they are already happy and hope that they’ll
increase. Equanimity, finally, means to imagine applying that
same love to everyone – even beings you don’t like so much.
The reason this works is very straightforward: when you
feel any negativity, the energy body clenches and tightens up.
This leads to continuing to feel negative emotions in the body as
the energy tries to move through tight channels. Emotions like
compassion, on the other hand, radically expand the energy field,
and so can cut right through the clench that has formed.
Take a Break! If you are experiencing challenging emotions in
your practice, it can mean that you are practicing too much. The
amount of practice that each person should do is different for
everyone, and at different times in our lives. Don’t think that
because a book tells you that you should practice everyday for one
hour, you absolutely have to do so. It might be better for you to
practice for 20 minutes per day, 5 days a week. In time, your
system might be ready for more.
If we practice too much, the energy body can get strained,
just like any other kind of exercise, so make sure to take breaks.
If your mind is getting too heavy, go out and watch a movie or
stay home and read a novel!
Insomnia:
The issue with insomnia is largely the same as headaches
listed above. The energy is rising up to much and causing too
much wakefulness in the mind. You can use the same remedies as
given in the above sections.
If the insomnia is due to dream disturbance, many
practitioners have found that the six healing sounds practice is
very effective for making the sleep sounder. These sounds work
because they clear out subtle emotional disturbances in the subtle
body. These subtle disturbances are one of the reasons that one
dreams – as a way to process the unresolved emotions. When one
has worked to purify these energies, the quality of sleep can
improve, and one can also begin to use the experience of dreaming
as a way of cultivating more spiritual awareness, or receiving
“messages” from the spiritual realm.
Two other remedies are very useful to draw the energy
down in cases of insomnia. The first is to simply rub the feet.
One can rub the whole foot, or choose specific points like Kidney
1, Kidney 6, or Kidney 3 (please see the course “Qigong
Acupressure and Daoist Yoga” for more detail). A warm soak for
the feet before bed can also help in the same way. Forward bends
from any yoga tradition are also useful for calming the mind and
guiding the energy down and in (where it needs to go to promote
sleep). Take any simple forward bend and practice softly
breathing from the lower abdomen.
Changes in Sex Drive:
Changes in sex drive occur because you are making major
changes in the body’s generative energy – this is the same energy
that empowers the sex drive.
If the sex drive is increasing, this can be a result of
gathering to much energy to the lower dan tien center – which is
very close to, and energizes the sexual organs. The remedy is
very simple – make sure to do a little more of the Microcosmic
Orbit practice – which helps to transform the sexual energy that
is being gathered.
If one finds that the sex drive is decreasing, this is a natural
result of the generative energy being transmuted and transformed
to a higher level. Sometimes, one finds that this is a very natural
thing – one’s sex drive was actually in excess before. In other
cases, this change can interfere with the closeness of existing
relationships and cause problems.
One answer to a decreased sex drive can be to make sure to
do a little more tonification practice relative to transformation.
You can also slow down on the microcosmic orbit. The decrease
may also be from an underlying deficiency, and so one should
check with a Chinese Medicine practitioner to rectify this.
Low Energy/Fatigue:
If one notices that their general level of energy decreases
after beginning of qigong training it can be a sign that you are
doing too much, or the wrong kind of practice. Energetic work is
not a “one size fits all” affair. Depending on what is present in
your energetic system, the practice presented in this text may
result in fabulous levels of energy and increases in mood, or it
may result in just the opposite.
This is similar to any holistic health practice – herbalism has
a great parallel. Medicinal herbs are very powerful, and they
move the energy in the body in very specific ways. Ginseng, for
example, is a very popular herb with a warm or hot nature
according to Chinese Medicine. If someone who is deficient or
cool takes this kind of herb, they will experience an increase of
energy, digestive power, bodily warmth, and an uplifted mood. If,
on the other hand, someone has an underlying heat condition and
takes Ginseng, these symptoms can be aggravated.
The same holds true for Qigong exercises. They are
designed to have very specific and powerful effects in the body
and mind. They should be used appropriately, and at the right
time.
Some of the reasons that the exercises might not be right for
a practitioner are as follows:
 Healing sounds
o Practitioner is already deficient, and so cleansing
practices are contraindicated.
o One is going through extreme emotional challenge,
and so cleansing the negative emotions brings them to
the surface too strongly
o One has strongly repressed emotions from the past
that are being brought up by the practice
 Dan Tien breathing
o One has a condition of underlying heat, and
tonification practice is adding to this.
o One has a condition of stagnation somewhere in the
body and so tonfication is aggravating the already
built up energy.
 Microcosmic Orbit meditation
o An excess condition is present (as above).
o One is already ungrounded, and so energy
transformation practices aggravate this tendency (this
is why it is recommended for one to firmly establish
the Dan Tien practice – so the energy can be rooted).
With all of the above issues, one is recommended to ask his or her
Qigong master, or a practitioner or energetic medicine for a clear
assessment and practice advise. In the short term, one can
attempt to balance tonification and dispersion by moderating how
much of each of the above practices one is engaging in – for
example, if you are getting tired and think it might be because the
healing sounds practice is too dispersive for you, try doing less of
that practice and more of the “Fusing Heaven and Earth in the
Dan Tien”. Similarly, if one feels weighed down by excess
energies, one could do less Dan Tien breathing or add a little
more of the healing sounds practice.
Cosmic Indigestion: Another phenomenon that can occur in the
realms of low energy, fatigue, spaciness, etc. is what Master
Mantak Chia calls “Cosmic Indigestion”. This means that you
have brought in too much of the high-grade “spiritual” energy of
Heaven, and your system is not able to handle it. This can
happen simply from beginning to do a more regular practice of
qigong exercise.
The Microcosmic Orbit practice is actually designed to help
avoid this problem later in one’s training – as it helps to rewire
the system to be able to handle larger amounts and higher
frequencies of energy.
If you feel this might be the issue for you, experiment with
the frequency of your practice. Daily practice is generally
advised, but not everyone needs to do an hour every day,
sometimes it’s best to just do 15 minutes and give the body only a
little bit of new information at a time – allowing the system to
slowly transform.
Spiritual Crisis:
For a period of time after the big explosion of Eastern
spirituality into the United States, there was some degree of talk
about the “Kundalini Crisis” – a case of excessive sensitivity
manifesting as severe psychological disturbances. When qigong
was being researched heavily in China before the political issues
with the Falun Gong, there were also many reported cases of Qi
deviations of a spiritual or psychological variety.
Some of the symptoms one might experience are things like
seeing colors, seeing shadows out of the corner of the eyes, even
seeing “spirits”. One might also have deep spiritual questions
arise, insights (that can cause one to become slightly manic), and
existential crises – like a deep depression based on the need to
know the underlying truths of reality. Sometimes a practitioner
will have the deep and direct experience that the world s/he is
relating to on a daily basis is an illusion, like a dream. [A famous
quote from the master ZhuangZi reflects this kind of insight: “I
dreamed I was a butterfly, flitting around in the sky; then I
awoke. Now I wonder: Am I a man who dreamt of being a
butterfly, or am I a butterfly dreaming that I am a man?”
All of these symptoms are simply a result of the energy
being transmuted and brought upward toward the higher centers
– but if they get too extreme they can cause problems. The
insight that one is viewing life through a lens of illusion can be
very valuable to spiritual growth, but an inability to function
because one cannot distinguish dream from reality is not helpful.
Additionally, one does wish to be able to see higher realities, but
being distracted by all the “spiritual” information that is coming
in to the point where one can’t function in an ordinary way is not
very effective, as it causes more strife than ease.
These challenges are actually part of why the classical
traditions of yoga were often performed in the forest, monasteries,
or other forms of deep retreat. When engaging in spiritual
awakening, we are pushing the boundaries of what is ordinary,
and this takes great care. It is not that spiritual growth needs to
take place in seclusion; it’s just that it can be easier to integrate to
a new level if you are surrounded by supportive individuals and
freed from ordinary tasks that require a denser vibrational level.
It is actually required that, once one has done significant inner
work in seclusion, one goes out into the world to give back in
service. The famous “Zen Ox Herding Pictures” give this as the
last step in meditative cultivation – “returning to town with blissbestowing hands”.
Aside from going away to practice in a monastery, is there
anything we can do for these issues? Yes, and basically, all the
techniques have been given in the issues listed above. Basically, if
spiritual phenomena are arising in a way that is uncomfortable or
distracting, it means that you are waking up subtle centers too
quickly and need to slow down.
We can slow down in two ways; one is to decrease the
frequency or intensity of practice. Either do a little less, or
concentrate a little more lightly and easefully. The other way is
to stop working on practices that open up the upper centers in the
subtle body, and pay more attention to working with the lower
centers and grounding energy into the earth. We can do this
with Dan Tien meditation to lead the energy down, the inner
smile, or the technique of draining qi into the earth given above as
a remedy for headache.
Cultivating a Well-Rounded Inner Alchemy Routine
As we have seen so far, the uses of these basic inner alchemy
practices are many and varied. Having been given all of these
practices, and different styles in which to engage with them, it can
be hard to know how to go about designing a practice to meet
your personal needs. This next section will discuss various ways
of going about making Daoist Inner Alchemy a part of your life or
your existing spiritual/health cultivation practice.
Exercise 1: Design Your Qi Goals!
To begin creating your optimum daily practice with Qi, you
have to know what you want. So the first exercise is simply to
make a list of your goals.
I would suggest actually writing out or mind-mapping this on
paper or your computer rather than just making a list in your
head. It can be nice to look back later and see how well your
practice is meeting the goals you have set.
You can divide your goals into 5 basic categories:
 Body
 Emotions
 Mind
 Spirit
 World
Body
This section includes any health goals that you may have. These
could be simple things like “I would like more energy around 3 in
the afternoon when I tend to have a slump”. These could be
Chinese Medical diagnoses that you have from a practitioner. If
you do not have any particular health concerns or things you’d like
to optimize, you can simply state what you would like to maintain
through your qi practice.
Emotions
This is anything that you would like to change about the way you
feel emotionally. This could refer to a present emotional state –
like you feel closed to new relationships, or get overexcited in
certain situations, etc, or it could be something you intuit is alive
in you emotionally from the past.
Mind
This refers to the quality of your cognitive processes. Would you
like your mind to be sharper, faster, more flexible, more open to
new things? How about your memory? Feel free to dream big.
Spirit
Are there goals you hold about your spiritual growth? Are there
ways that you wish to feel more connected in some spiritual
sense? Are there answers to Big Questions that you think
meditation can help you find?
World
In this section, place anything that you think your qigong
practice might help you do for the world around you. For
example, I partially practice qigong because it helps me be more
effective in my energetic healing practice. I also feel more attuned
to my environment as a result of my work with the subtle body,
and I feel that cleansing and working my own energy field has
effects that ripple out to the entire globe. How would you like
your practice to affect your world?
When you have finished this project, you will have gained a great
deal of insight into the forces that are driving you to practice
Qigong. You can use this knowledge to help you decide what
kind of practice is right for you.
Exercise 2: Assess your schedule needs
Now that you know WHY you want to establish a practice of
qigong, you will understand the importance of making time for it
in your life. The next step is to actually plan ahead and envision
what kind of time you’ll need to perform your daily cultivation.
I am of the opinion that EVERYONE in the world should
probably do about 15 minutes of some kind of cultivation practice
at least six days out of the week. What kind of cultivation is of
course going to differ for each individual – and some people will
want more.
With this basis, decide how much time you think you’ll have
to perform qigong exercise as part of your daily routine. Can you
happily practice six days per week, or do you think you should
start with three? Is 15 minutes all you can spare, or do you
deeply crave an hour’s daily practice of meditation and are willing
to carve out the time for it.
Then think practically about when you might have the time.
The two best times for training are first thing in the morning,
and sometime in the evening – usually either before dinner or
before bedtime. You should assess whether you will actually have
the time in your schedule, and also if you will have the qualities of
mind you’ll need to make these sessions successful (will you be
too groggy in the morning, or too wiped out in the evening?). It’s
not just quantity of practice that makes qigong work, but quality.
To have a productive practice, you must be relaxed, focused, and
happy. Many practitioners have tried increasing the amount of
time that they were practicing with no noticeable effect (or
negative effect – stress), only to find that their results increased
when they decreased the time spent training, but were doing so in
a relaxed and happy manner!
If you don’t currently have the time for as long a practice as
you’d like, or if you would like to do long meditations every day,
but don’t think your mind will let you, you can make a graduated
plan. This would be something like: Month 1, 15 minutes of
meditation each morning; month 2, 15 minutes of meditation in
the morning, and 10 in the evening. Continue this way until you
have reached your goal.
Exercise 3: Assess your training needs
The final exercise that should be done in preparing for
developing a qigong practice is to see how much time per day you
will actually need to accomplish your stated goals.
If one wants to be a qigong healer, the amount of time
required for daily cultivation is higher than someone who just
wants to increase his or her own health. If one wants to be doing
qigong healing AND accomplishing high spiritual goals, the
required practice time is even more. If, however, you simply want
to regulate your emotions, or work with a specific complaint, you
can get by on a short daily practice.
The reasoning behind this is very straightforward:
everything that we do in life requires ENERGY (according to the
Daoist presentation). That means that if you are spending some
energy on being a qigong healer, then you will need to spend
some time making sure that you have gathered a little extra.
Spiritual cultivation is taking the energy that we’ve gathered and
building it up until it overflows into the higher chakras – this
means that we have to have a greater amount of qi flowing in the
body than would normally be required for ordinary functions.
Because of this, qigong practice must be increased beyond the
needs of people seeking ordinary health goals.
A rough template of time for specific goals is as follows:
 Basic health promotion, mental calm, etc: 20 minutes per
day
 Addressing specific minor complaints in the meridian
system: 15 mins twice a day
 Qi development to complement a martial arts practice: 15
mins twice per day, in addition to normal martial training
routines.
 Awakening subtle body sensitivity: 15 mins per day
 Training as an energetic healer: 40 minutes per day
 Enhancing higher energetic functions like intuitive
perception, and spiritual insight: 1-2 hrs per day.
To reiterate what was stated above in the section on Qi
Deviations, this list is not to be taken as a recommendation for
every practitioner. Each body is unique and will have specific
needs. Some people will see dramatic spiritual results with just 15
minutes per day of practice, while others may actually harm
themselves with more intensive practice. In the opposite way,
some people working with physical complaints need MUCH more
than 30 minutes of qigong practice if they are dealing with serious
issues like cancer – these conditions should be supervised, though
by an experienced master of Medical Qigong.
The Place
Now that you’ve made a plan for your training schedule, you
should make sure that you have a place set aside for training. For
meditative yogas like the ones listed in this course, it is important
to have an indoor space in which to train. This is because if one is
outdoors, there can be an excessive amount of distraction from
other people, animals, or insects.
Traditional theory also states that it is important to be
shielded from extreme temperature changes and wind. The
reason for this is because the body’s energy field opens up when
doing meditation, and that same external energy is what protects
one from catching cold. The tradition of Chinese medicine
believes that external energies can enter the body when it is
especially open like this and cause illness. Many experienced
meditators will have taken to wearing a shawl at some point
during their training as they realized the desire to create a feeling
of greater energetic containment.
The other things to say about the place are that it should be
clean, and you should be undisturbed. Any distraction will cause
the mind to wander, and anytime the mind wanders, the body’s
energy will follow it. In these practices we are trying to do very
specific things with the body’s energy, if someone walks through
the room where we are meditating, and our mind follows their
footsteps, it causes a break in the energetic pathway we have
created internally that can make us feel more stressed at the end
of our meditation session rather than more whole and relaxed.
Having dirt or any kind of mess around has a similar effect on a
more subconscious level.
The Seat
The final aspect of preparing for your practice is to make sure to
find a comfortable seat. Most of the practices given here are from
traditions where one is encouraged to sit in a chair with the soles
of the feet touching the floor.
This comes from the Daoist theory of posture in which
having the legs open and feet on the ground allows one to ground
energy through the earth. The cross legged positions like the
“lotus pose” of yoga are used by Daoist yogis to “close the lower
gate” and actually stop energy from flowing down through the
legs so that they can redirect it up into the higher centers through
the body’s central channel. This is very valuable for higher-level
practice, but at the level of this course, one is advised to sit in a
chair, or experienced with some of the various Daoist “standing
meditation” postures.
For individuals who do wish to add some of the practices
like the inner relaxation, or the healing sounds to an existing
practice in a cross legged posture, it is advised that one’s knees be
touching the floor. Most yoga teachers and meditation teachers
now hold that having the hips slightly higher than the knees
gives better spinal posture. The Daoist tradition holds this as
well and adds that the knees become the grounding connection to
the earth in a cross-legged position. Individuals who are having
problems in meditation or whose minds are wandering can find
significant results simply by grounding the knees in their seated
posture.
The Prep
Once you have prepared your space, your time, and your seat, you
are ready to begin your meditation practice. Many people find
that it is valuable for them to invoke “sacred space” of some kind.
This is, to a degree, built in to the initial practices of relaxation
and the healing sounds. In these practices you are smoothing the
energetic circulation and then aligning the mind toward the
energy of giving and virtue, which empower the inner organs.
One is advised, for greatest results, to practice the whole
sequence of exercises given in this text, relaxing, practicing the
healing sounds, then moving into Dan Tien meditation and the
microcosmic orbit. When practiced in this way, the meridians are
all brought into a state of relaxed balance and the organs are
tonified to a state of high integrity. This makes the filling of the
lower Dan Tien easier, and the opening of the governing and
conception vessel more efficient. If you have less time, you can
practice any of the meditations presented in this text individually
for the reasons listed.
Some people find it useful to invoke some sort of spiritual
energy or Higher Power before beginning their practice. This is
not required if you do not have a religious or spiritual practice,
but if you do, the power of your belief makes this kind of
invocation very potent for your qi cultivation. This kind of
invocation will be covered in future courses, but if you currently
have a practice of this type, it is appropriate at this point.
The Practice
Once you have completed all of the above steps. The
practice is very straightforward. Find your seat, smile and relax,
move through the inner relaxation, healing sounds, Dan Tien
breathing, and microcosmic orbit. Altogether this particular
meditation takes about 20-30 minutes.
One can also take any portion and make it into a 20-30
minute practice as desired (or shorter if time requires it).
Student’s are encouraged to follow the practice requirements in
the homework sections for ideas on how to structure a daily
practice in addition to those given here.