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 pre-existing in the
physical body. This can cause the spiritual exercises
to seem like they are ineffective, and in a worst-case-
scenario, 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 body-mind 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 Fire-Water 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 acu-
points 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

pre-requisite 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 belly-button 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 anti-social, 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 bliss-
bestowing 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.