and so on.
It is believed in Chinese medical society that the lungs and the heart are the places where the air Jing is converted into Qi. The stomach and the digestive system are the center where the food Jing is absorbed and then converted into Qi. This Qi then resides at the Middle Dan Tian, and follows the Conception and Governing Vessels to disperse throughout the entire body. The conversion of air and food to Qi is similar to the burning of wood to give heat. Therefore, the lung area is called the Upper Burner (Shang Jiao,
You can deduce from the above description that the Upper Burner is the burner which handles air Qi, while the Middle and Lower Burners handle food Qi. The Lower Burner, in addition to separating the pure from the impure and eliminating waste, also processes the Lower Dan Tian Qi. When someone has eaten too much positive food such as peanuts or sesame seeds, the excess Qi will cause heat. This is called “Shang Huo” (
When the Post-birth Qi is too positive and is directed to the organs, the organs will become positive and degenerate faster. When the Post-birth Qi is too weak, for example because of starvation, there is not enough Qi to supply the organs and the body, and you will gradually become more unbalanced until you become ill. Most people get more than enough food, so their Post-birth Qi is too positive. For this reason, Post-birth Qi is usually called Fire Qi. There is a Qigong practice which leads the Water Qi (Pre-birth Qi) at the Lower Dan Tian up to mix with the Fire Qi (Post-birth Qi) at the Middle Dan Tian in order to cool the Fire Qi.
The third Dan Tian is located on the forehead and is called the Upper Dan Tian (Shang Dan Tian,
You can see from this discussion that all three Dan Tians are located on the Conception Vessel. The Conception Vessel and the Governing Vessel together form the most important Qi reservoir in the body, and it is important for it to be full.
3-4. Three Flowers Reach the Top
(San Hua Ju Ding,
62
Daoists commonly call the three treasures (Jing, Qi, and Shen,
The normal Daoist Qigong training process is: 1. to convert the Jing (essence) into Qi (Yi Jing Hua Qi,
3-5. Five Qi’s Toward Their Origins
(Wu Qi Chao Yuan,
According to Chinese medical science, among the twelve main organs are five Yin organs which have a great effect on the health. These five organs are: heart, lungs, liver, kidneys, and spleen. If any internal organ does not have the appropriate level of Qi, it is either too Yang (positive) or too Yin (negative). When this happens, it is like running the wrong level of electric current into a machine. If the condition remains uncorrected, the organs will run less efficiently. This will affect the body’s metabolism, and eventually even damage the organs. Therefore, one of the most important practices in Qigong training is learning to keep the Qi in these five organs at the proper level. When the Qi of these organs has reached the appropriate levels it is called “Wu Qi Chao Yuan,” which means “the five Qi’s toward their origins.” Your organs can now function optimally, and your health will be maintained at a high level.
There are twelve Qi channels and eight extraordinary Qi vessels. The Qi in the twelve channels should be at the levels appropriate for the corresponding organs. The Qi in these twelve channels changes with the time of day, the seasons, and the year. This Qi is affected by the food you eat, the air you breathe, and your emotions. Therefore, in order to keep your five Qi’s at their right levels, you must know how Qi is affected by time, food, and air, and you must learn how to regulate your emotions.
63
In order to understand human Qigong, you must understand the nature of the Qi in the human body, and how it functions. This includes understanding what kinds of Qi are in the body, what functions they perform, and how they carry out these functions.
In the first three chapters we have offered a general definition of Qi, discussed how human Qi is included in and affected by Heaven Qi and Earth Qi, and shown how Qi relates to other aspects of our bodies, such as spirit and essence. In Part Three of this book we will review how Qi circulates in the human body.
In this chapter we will first focus on the general characteristics of Qi in our bodies. This will provide a foundation to help you understand the rest of the chapter. We will then concentrate on a number of subjects which will lead you to a deeper understanding of human Qi, such as Qi’s Yin and Yang, and the quality of Qi. Once you understand the traditional concept of Qi, we will discuss the modern concept of bioelectromagnetic energy. Following this, we will offer some hypotheses based upon this energy which Western
