松永道

start from the lower back and keep going

 

This is good advice for consciously sinking the breath. Lower back is key.

In the Taiji classics there is a saying that you want the Qi to stick to your back. This starts with anchoring breath in the lower back.

Good question.

Like burping, farting, yawning, vomiting, etc, sneezing a symptom of the body trying to restore equilibrium. A healthy body doesn't need to sneeze. And a sick body doesn't might not have the energy.

Like Uroboros said, sneezing can be understood as an action of weiqi. Weiqi is the body's border patrol. It's job is to resist invasion. Some people always have barbarians at the gates. They're strong enough to keep them out most of the time. But they're not strong enough to really teach those barbarians a lesson. This kind of person sneezes a lot because they're constantly repelling little invasions.

Yawning also activates the lungs and barrier tissues but has more to do with the Ying. In old Chinese medicine Ying and Wei are the Yin and Yang of the immune system. Think of it like this, if Wei is the border army, Ying is the logistics branch that maintains the army camps and supply lines at the border.

That's why yawning is energizing and snzeezing gives you goose bumps. Atleast that's a traditional energetic explanation.

I am some experience with both.

I understand the distinction between most Daoist methods and Vippassanna through a pair of Chinese terms: Shangde 上德 and Xiade 下德

Shang 上 means upper. Xia 下 means lower. And De 德 means virtue - as in Dao DE Jing 道德经.

Shangde, upper virtue, is the way of natural cultivation. Wuwei. It just happens. Without desire.

Xiade, lower virtue, is the way of purposed cultivation. It's forced. Fueled by desire.

Incidentally, the first chapter of the DDJ is about the same pair of ideas

故常无欲以观其妙 make desirelessness a habit, and see/connect to wonder

常有欲以观其徼 make desire a habit, and see/connect to results

Obviously desiresless upper virtue holds special esteem.

The problem is, Shangde is elusive. It takes an emptiness of mind and fullness of vitality that's rare to say the least. Vippassanna is an upper virtue method. It's the main practice for Theravada Buddhists - which is why Theravada was later named the small vehicle. It's not for everyone. It's hard. Beyond hard. Some monks achieved enlightenment. But most didn't have the fuel to break orbit.

Daoists, yogis and later Buddhists all recognize this problem. So they use auxiliary methods. And for the record these methods existed long before the Buddha. These practices don't aim at enlightenment. Not directly. Hence the name lower virtue. But they can strengthen the bodymind. And that's a good thing too.

Though upper and lower can't be practiced at the same time, a person can practice both. Lower virtue methods can build a foundation for upper virtue. Even Theravada Buddhists practice anapana concentration before starting vipassana. And if we're going to be totally honest, all practices belong to lower virtue. Even vipassana. But Vippassana's goal is to trigger the upper virtue experience.

You can't force upper virtue. Not even a little. So it follows that Vippassana breathing is totally natural. If it's shallow, it's shallow. If it stops, it stops. It takes bravery be natural. Genuinely natural. After all, the desire to control nature runs deep. It's the story of our culture. And when we feel in control, nature seems beautiful or ignorable. When we're not, it's wondrous and terrifying. If you follow nature, it will take you through your fears. And should you weather one storm worse await.

But it's worth it.

Let the breath out. Let it stop. Face your fear of death and letting go.

I won't give away what I found beyond - I'd like to, but it's rude. Expectations are another obstacle to upper virtue. They're worse than fear in my opinion. And far more insidious.

Or stick to xiade and experiment it out.

Both ways are good.

@Songtsan

It would be a mistake not to include your life story in your book. Your life story is immeasurably more interesting than your résumé. And the two combined are more interesting still. People don't just want to know what you've done, they want to know who you are and what you've been through. Then they'll want to read what you have to say.

Eloquent theories and hypothesis are a dime-a-dozen. But If you put your truth, your heart and your experience onto the pages then your theories, reflections and hypothesis will stand out. And then you just might have a chance at writing something great.

Good luck.

Also, I read through this whole thread. I don't get the sense that cat was intentionally trolling you.

Intelligence helps. But intelligent is a hindrance too. Daodejing has a passage on this: "When a fool hears of the Dao he laughs. When an intelligent person hears of the Dao, he practices it sometimes".

For idiots, the obstacle is getting started. For smarties, the obstacle is diligence. Maybe it's because smart people tend to have poorly developed willpower. When you solve problems fast, the will isn't really exercised. Like a muscle, an underused will atrophies - and with will, the ability to focus, concentrate, persevere and penetrate one thing. Especially when that thing involves consciousness beyond thought.

Will and wisdom are homonyms in Chinese. Both are classically ascribed virtues of strong kidney function. To the ancient Chinese mind they're practically interchangeable.

Hence, "when a wise man hears of the Dao, he practices it diligently."

Incidentally, people with poor kidney function tend to be stuck in their heads. That's not exactly a sign of intelligence, but it tends to be a side effect.

Chinese medicine can be interpreted both ways. The left is yang, right is yin. But the left pulse reflects the blood, the right pulse reflects the Qi. Blood is yin, Qi is yang. However, blood is yin transforming into yang, Qi is yang transforming into yin.

Want to get more confused?

The left is represented by the qian, pure yang trigram; the right, the kun pure yin trigram. As the story goes both sides had three children. Three daughters and three sons. The sons of qian, gen, kan, and zhen, are made of two yin and one yang. The daughters of kun, li, xun, and dui are made of two yang and one yin. But aren't boys yang and girls yin?

Hmmm?

 

Hi. This last comment you made was incredibly interesting. Can abstract thinking and actively thinking in order to understand greater levels of complexity in the world actually create imbalanced energy? - Because I'm definitely guilty of that. I can't stop reading about philosophy, history, sociology. And I am constantly taking notes and creating new theories about how the world works and why. It's something I find incredibly stimulating.. I hadn't figured it could be a reason for imbalanced energy?..

Chinese medicine calls this 多思伤脾, too much thinking harms the spleen. Spleen is the controller of the middle dantian. It's also called the post-heavenly root. Think of it like your income. Spend more than you're making and you'll need to take money out of the bank. The bank is your kidneys. Kidneys control the lower dantian. The lower dantian is the anchor of the body. Your center of gravity. They pull the energy back down. But not if they're depleted.

Many times when what people call kundalini rising is actually loosing this kidney anchor. It's actually very easy to tell from the symptoms. The real kundalini / microcosmic orbit happens when the lower dantian is so full that it happens spontaneously. And when it happens you'll have so much energy that you might not need to sleep, but if you choose to, you'll fall asleep fast.

Kegel excercises are good for the kidneys. The integrity of the lower abdomen and pelvic floor are directly related to kidney function. For the thinking problem, take up a hobby that requires one ounce of thinking for every ten pounds of work. Like gardening. Or something else physical and preferably outdoors. And avoid sugar as much as possible.

Philosophically they are describing different things. The Hindu elements are things, the Daoist elements are functions. The Hindu elements describe an evolution of the subtle universe into matter. The Daosit elements describe five energetic movements. It's like the Hindus are describing the Big Bang turning into nebula, stars, and planets and the Daoists are just explaining how everything works. But both being complete systems, they both do get used both ways.

If you look at the medical systems they don't really correspond well with one another, not cleanly. Ayurveda emphasizes the three doshas, vata, pitta, and kapha. Vata is air and ether, pitta is fire and water, and kapha is earth and water. In Chinese medicine vata symptoms would be described as problems with liver and kidney (wood and water), pitta as heart and liver (fire and wood) problems, and kapha as spleen and kidney problems (earth and water).

There are many correlations between the two systems, but things don't match up cleanly. You can't just say this = that. But I think it's good to study both. From a medical perspective I've definitely gleaned some insights from Ayurveda that improve my Chinese medicine practice.

First of all, see a teacher. This is a foundational posture, so get someone who knows how to do it to set you up right.

But if you can't find a teacher and insist on standing practice, then start with natural breathing. There could be any number of things going wrong with your postural chain that lead to the cramping but most likely it's the breathing. Just relax the shoulders, neck, and upper back and let the breath come down on its own.

As for the knees, never past the toes.

Again, I really recommend you see a teacher. Get good foundations and you can mostly self study from there on out, but if you get off on the wrong foot you're setting yourself up for serious problems down the line.

I know a doctor out in the Chinese country side who routinely treats bone fusions and malformations, however he keeps his formula a secret. If anyone wants to go through the lengthy process of becoming his disciple and spending years winning over his trust, maybe you could get it out of him. Two components are vinegar and iron dust, the other herbs are a mystery to me.

That said, I'm a believer practice can accomplish anything herbs can and more. Perhaps with proper, long term practice this could be reversible. Certainly bones spurs are treatable with renewed stretching and circulation in the intracellular matrix. In terms of Chinese medicine, and thus the language of Daoist cultivation, bone fusion is a manifestation of cold. It's a very, very common condition these days in our sedentary culture. Any basic practice that restores heat to its root in the lower dantian will have an added effect of warming the spine.

Seems like the KAP / Umaatantra guys offer a good program for this, though I haven't attended it myself. A good TCM doctor who is experienced with the aconite/fuzi family of formulas would be another alternative (but in the wrong hands this herb is poisonous, don't play doctor with yourself, or run wild with my cursory diagnosis on this one).

SYD

There is no awakening of anything.

I wouldn't write off the sages so easily.

We have many things that lay dormant in our bodies, waiting to be turned on. Raise a baby in a pitch black cave and his eyes will not awaken to object differentiation. Certain genes, depending on lifestyle factors, may never manifest. Are they there? Yes. But they are not 'awake'.

The Kundalini is like this, a natural part of the body that may or may not awaken.

If you have only scratched the surface then i suggest you shut your mouth & get somebody who knows what their talking about next time.

 

Thanks for nothing.

Good luck finding the surface!

Most of the training was so basic and consisted mostly of silly tree meditation. Not the hardcore techniques advertised and promoted over the website and in the booklet.

I have not attended any seminars but I　can attest to the profundity of Master Wang's basic techniques. And I have only scratched the surface.

It's amazing actually, the more you practice, the deeper you observe. The wisdom of life and traditional practices is revealed through simpler and simpler activities. Knowledge practice divides the mind into smaller and smaller categorical differences. Wisdom practice unites the mind with greater and greater understanding of connection. Knowledge is the mind in complexity, wisdom is the mind in simplicity.

A mind accustomed to knowledge acquisition moves horizontally. Wisdom develops vertically. Which movement is easier for man? Our vertical axis is on the heart-mind. It's not developed with more practices but with more practice.

I'm not sure why these seminars are advertised as they are, in fact I haven't seen the advertisements and have no interest to, however, I have a theory why they cost what they do. It's a rare person who can truly treasure what he or she finds for free. There are treasures on the internet but who treats them as such? As for modern man, he gets what he pays for. If it costs nothing, he treats it as nothing. If it's cost is great, he treats it as great. Worthlessness and Pricelessness differ in mind not reality.

..

So have you understood the "silly tree meditation"?

One of my friend's teachers told him not to practice his Xingyi in front of people until he could, "perform like the emperor".

I've honestly found that my state of mind in practice shapes the situation. Yes, perhaps we just don't care, don't pay attention to what people say when I'm in the zone. Or maybe, that anxiety, that lack of self-assuredness attracts these bullies to us. A mugger doesn't mug just anyone, consciously or unconsciously, they find an easy target, someone who is already on edge, scared, loosing the fight against their own nerves. Easy pickings.

Now how not to make yourself easy pickings? Well,

Option 1: You could try using these encounters as opportunities not notice the imbalance of your mind and sublimate that qi-stagnating frustration into fuel for the task at hand.

Option 2: You could try another Daoist method and act completely insane. Sun Bu'er burned her face off with frying oil and posed as a mad beggar woman while practicing to attain the Dao. You could try dressing in rags, pose as a meth-head, coke-fiend, or some other fallen-through-the-cracks member of our society and use your frustration to chase down and spaz out at anyone who dares comment on your practice. That way you'll build up a reputation, vent your anger, and people won't dare talk about you within an earshot.

I'm serious. They're both legitimate options.

I think and experience this a lot of times... Whenever I start on the spiritual path or resume your journey, that the Sensual atractions are very very strong... They tend to distract me and pull me back in the web... It is a very strong force and sometimes very difficult to resist. Then sometimes the mind plays tricks and justifies that "maybe this is just a reward from God"...

 

I know (atleast I think) the answer is - "To keep doing the practice/prayers/meditation etc and ignore the senses..

 

But the Questions is - Do you feel the same way and if YES then what do you do to stay on path and win over those senses?

There is a Chinese story called the Journey West - it's arguably the most popular story in Chinese history. The main characters are Tangsung the monk and his three protectors, sand monk, piggy, and the monkey king. I won't go into great detail now as I have to run, but basically the three protectors are representations of egoic cultivation.

When one starts on the path, he is like Sand Monk, the least skilled of the three, and also the most vanilla. Sincere and undistracted. Piggy, the middle stage, his Chinese name is actually Pig of Eight Renouncements, Zhu Bajie, is a sincere cultivator, but also constantly distracted by the sensory world. Monkey King is the high level ego, sincere, skilled and undistracted. But he is still ego. Superego is the Monk, Tangsung, the only one with an actual mission (the protectors just protect him on the way), but too weak to complete the journey without the ego.

Good story.

All cultivators go through cyclical stages, sand monk to piggy to monkey king and back to sand monk again at the next stage in the journey. No need to create internal friction, accept where you are at, and when your sincerity buds out from underneath whatever binge just overwhelmed you, keep practicing. Sincerity is the real root of will power, just don't rush it.

It's nothing more than a hunch, but I guess that the external medicine aiding neigong would work the same way, only, to benefit instead.

It definitely can, and that's the right way to think use it, as an aid not replacement for neigong.

I've met a few Daoist hermits, and heard stories of countless others, who would basically live off of herbal pills (also called Dan as in Dantian) for periods of time. One would brew up a batch every fall and meditate-hibernate right on through to spring. Another older nun simply lives off pills instead of food and plans to do so, as far as I can tell, indefinitely.

Of course, these folks have a profound knowledge of herbology and their own bodies, they know the energetic affects of their practices, and what kind of external support is necessary. Even still, you also find folks, serious cultivators, who mess things up. We had one monk come into the clinic, completely swollen, like he had an allergic reaction to a bee sting, only it was his entire body and after weeks it still wasn't going away. What was the problem? Too many "tonifying", upper class herbs. Self-medication gone wrong. (the doc did end up fixing him up, though it involved required plenty of downward purging, as in diarrhea, for weeks)

A more common herbal misuse is men and yang tonics, herbal viagra, and the like. These guys, through drinking, working late hours, not getting enough rest, lack of proper exercise, etc basically deplete themselves of Jing. The first symptoms are maybe restlessness, feeling hot, premature ejaculation, insomnia, thirst, dry mouth, yellow eyes, red face, other empty fire symptoms. At the same time, many concurrently express some yang deficiency symtoms - as yin and yang both derive from Jing - and these guys set to taking yang tonics for their decreased libido, impotence, soft erection, etc. However, because it's a yin/jing deficiency at the root, although they experience a temporary relief of symptoms, even a big kick above normal, they burn more Yin in the process and wind up even more screwed up. It's not hard to treat, but rebuilding yin takes a long time, and apart from serious neigong, they'll never repair some of the damage.

My teacher plans to hold retreats in the future that integrate Chinese medicine and internal cultivation, first to clear up chronic health conditions, then to bolster forward progress. Internal and external medicine combined with internal and external exercises. But that's some time off.

For a young person though, cooking is the best external alchemy, no need to mess with herbs. Cultivate, know your body, and pay attention to the affects of food. It's amazing how much you aid internal and external cultivation with the right diet. And not as in "the right diet for everyone!" That's a myth. The right diet for you, right now.

Hello Song Yongdao,

 

What about the external daoist alchemy, which involves the use of special plant and mineral mixtures?

I'm sure external daoist alchemy is as complex as it's internal counterpart, maybe even more complex, due to the fact that it adresses a wide variety of natural ingredients - and the Chinese found them everywhere, in the Sky, on Earth, or under Water.

Anybody knows any good resources on this? Thanks!

Chinese medicine is external alchemy. Traditionally herbs were divided into three categories, the upper, lower, and middle classes. Lower class herbs are poisonous and only fit for short-term therapy. Middle class herbs, though not exactly poisonous are strong acting and also unfit for long-term use. Upper class herbs have gentle action and suited for long term intake. For a complete list of these herbs, check out the Shennong Bencao Jing.

Now because these upper class herbs are gentle tonics, they don't count as "eat medicine, three parts poison," right? Well, yes and no. All herbs, all foods even, have positive and negative effects on the body. At higher cultivation stages, the body will naturally require less. Many Daoist monks avoid garlic, onions, ginger and other 'hot' foods. Some out of sheer tradition, other because it messes with their cultivation. These foods are warming and stimulating - good for most of us who are relatively deficient and stagnant (relative to full-time cultivators that is), but they are problematic for these super healthy monks. However, the monks who abstain out of tradition, not cultivation, are often less healthy than they could be from eating these foods.

There you have it, one man's medicine is another man's poison, even when it comes to upper class herbs and foods. Even if you're relatively balanced, many of these herbs will feel good on intake (I don't know about anyone else here, but I find garlic to be a major aphrodisiac, a distraction I'm better off without most of the time), but over consumption can bring you to an imbalanced state where the former stimulant becomes a crutch to get you through the day.

Am I advocating abstinence and asceticism? No! I'm advocating know thyself, cultivator.

 

1. Wood...expansive energy

2. Fire...rising energy

3. Metal...solidifying energy

4. Earth...stable energy

5. Water...sinking energy

 

The the Huangdi Neijing (Yellow Emperors Internal Classic) describes them with slightly different nuance.

生，长，化，杀（收），藏

生 Sheng: The movement of wood-spring. Sheng translates as birth. Like a seedling.

长 Zhang: The movement of fire-summer. Chang translates as expansive growth. Like a plant in vegetative growth.

化 Hua: The movement of earth-the 18 days of transformation between each season, often represented specifically by the summer-autumn transition. Hua means transformation.

杀 Sha: The movement of metal-autumn. Sha means to kill or terminate. The often used alternative, 收 Shou, means to collect or contract. Like falling leaves and dropping seeds.

藏 Cang: The movement of water-winter. Cang means to contain or conceal. Like a seed in the earth.

What's the difference between birth and expansive growth? Expansion is a yang phenomenon. Birth is expansion out of Yin, Growth is expansion within Yang. Birth-wood is therefor called Shaoyang, little yang, and Fire expansiveness is called Taiyang or Laoyang, Greatest Yang or Old Yang. Same with Metal and Water. Metal is contraction and collection from Yang into Yin, Water is contraction and condensation of Yin within Yin.

The lower Dantian & Mingmen (lifegate) functional process is Water producing Wood. Yin within Yin, Greatest Yin, gives rise to Wood Shaoyang, Yang emerging out of Yin.

I try to eat right and exercise on a regular basis, but I still get sugar cravings every day. I was wondering what to do about this. I tried going by the program in "Eat to Live" but I don't like to cook and found it very restrictive and couldn't stick with it. Recently, I bought a copy of "The Primal Blueprint" and have been following it as much as possible, but it is too soon to tell if it will help.

 

Does anyone have any dietary or exercise recommendations to give that will help? I already run and practice Tai Chi, but wonder if I should increase the amount of time I do them. Would going on a fast help?

space cadet,

As other posters mentioned, TCM views sugar craving as spleen deficiency. Sweet is the flavor of the middle, earth, spleen-pancreas-stomach. The right amount of sweet nourishes the earth, not enough or too much can damage it. Your damaged spleen craves sweet. It's the hardest organ network to balance because it is balance. It is the middle way. Not too much, not too little.

The earth element is your inner cook. Re-examine your relationship with cooking, and you may find a host of related issues will disappear.

If nothing else, cook a good breakfast. "For breakfast eat well, for lunch eat to fullness, for dinner eat little" is how the traditional saying goes. A good breakfast with adequate protein, slow carbs, and some spices between 7 and 9am for most people, can do wonders. It changes the whole day. You can even slow cook in a crock pot over night to save time in the morning.

Durkhrod,

Where do you get your info on vinegar? True white vinegar really isn't suited for human consumption, but apple cider, rice, etc? According to most sources, vinegar is sour, bitter, warming and enters the stomach and liver meridians. Certainly not indicated for externally contracted conditions (sour puckers the pores, directs qi inwards, when most of the time external illness calls for sweating), too much harms the stomach (too much acid), but I find no references anywhere on vinegar causing dampness.

Even back into the classics you find references to vinegar for circulating qi, relieving food stagnation, breaking blood stagnation and dispersing dampness. I definitely use it, or better fermented vegetables, to help everything go smoothly when I can't avoid a bowl of greasy Chinese noodles, or an order of fatty mutton dumplings.

Also, approaching things from another angle, fermented vegetables (especially lacto-ferments) are fantastic for spleen deficiency damp conditions. Dampness encompasses all manners of yeast, fungus, bacterial over growth & imbalances in the gut - ferments help put the good stuff back. Did you know candida even releases its own neurochemicals to induce sugar craving (and thereby get itself fed)!

I think response/benefit to adaptogens vary with individuals. I tried several expensive and high quality Cordyceps for a while, and noticed absolutely nothin'. But I am willing to try shilajit, or moomiyo. Why is moomiyo considered better? Any ideas on how to track down good quality of either of these? I found out Tattwa's herbs, which is a high quality company with a good reputation has a 40% off sale on shilajit for a few days, you need a promo code to get the discount (40shilajit). (I have no connection to this company, I have oredered from them before and am on the mailing list). Anybody know a good source of moomiyo?

Lowest quality, genuine cordyceps are $1000 a kilogram, that's $15-30 for one dose of an herb used for chronic and severe Lung Qi deficiency. Hence the nickname, Tibetan gold. The only time I've ever seen it used was for a chronic, severe cough and wheezing that nothing, no other herb could, could budge. The the results began after the first day and after two weeks the symptoms completely disappeared. Mind you, Cordyceps wasn't used alone, but it was the main ingredient.

As for Shilajit, fits the description of a Kidney Yang tonic in TCM terms - not a Jing tonic. Aside from Neigong, there are no Jing tonics. Increased libido, bone mending (Kidney governs the bones), general energy boost, bitter taste (bitter tonifies kidneys). Also the psychological symptoms would derive from too much yang burning out Kidney yin. Dosing it in a yin vehicle, fatty liquids, is definitely a good idea. Start getting any yin-deficiency symptoms, heat waves, hot soles and palms, thirst, night sweats, insomnia, restlessness, etc and back off.

Honestly, it's not a good idea to go wild with herb experimentation until you have a good handle on your personal body climate.. I speak from experience. Even with the right medicine, the saying goes, "Eat medicine, three parts poison". Meaning all medicines have a detrimental affect on your Zheng Qi, proper body function. Use them right, to solve a problem, and they're absolutely worth it. But if you're a generally healthy person, especially a young person, better to build your body through healthy diet, exercise, and meditation.

But isn't that boring!

This is very interesting.

 

One question: to cultivate the Dantian what methods do you suggest? I am following Chia's techniques, such as "Warming the Stove".

Don't know Chia's techniques.

But I do suggest whatever technique you may practice, complement it with a body exercise. Yoga, Taiji, other internal martial arts, even external Shaolin stuff will all involve developing lower abdominal, lumbar, and pelvic floor muscle control requisite to developing the lower dantian.

To understand the Dantian you must understand Yin and Yang. The Dan is Yang. The Tian is yin. Back to the image of a field. The field is yin, a nourishing soil. Yang work is required to till, tend, and protect the field. Yang work, on yin soil, produces yang crops. Yang mobilizes yin, yin nourishes yang, yang transforms yin, yin contains yang, yin yang yin yang. Magnetic poles attract their opposite neighbor.

For our purposes we'll view one piece of the picture, yang within yin within yang. Yang within is the Dan, yin is the gut field, outer yang is the muscles.

You need a strong back to plow the field.

so i shouldn't attempt MCO at all until i can get a clear feeling of qi in my dantian?

The genuine MCO starts of it's own accord after you have a lower dantian.

This is an important point in many traditional Taoist systems, men don't even have a dantian before cultivation. Tian means field. Dan is the best of medicines, a panacea. Dantian is the medicine growing in a cultivated field. All men have the field, few have a Dan growing there.

Women, on the other hand, are said to have a 3 year head start. Their lower field is already cultivated, fertile, ready for planting. After all, it's where babies grow.

I guess the answer is clear then: first our own body wisdom, then books. I agree. Books are useful as well, and have their place. At least they give us pointers but then we must have the courage to listen to what our body needs, which may be contrary to what a book or anybody says.

Good. Book knowledge can provide form, but body wisdom is the substance. Like water and a cup. The cup is an empty edifice without water but water needs a cup to contain it, bring it place to place.

As for the misconceptions on Ren Mai, the front channel, many TCM people get it confused. It is numbered up from the Huiyin point to the head, so some people think it flows bottom to top. Don't be confused though, the Ren Mai no more flows bottom to top than nourishment flows from seedling down the root. Roots grow down, but bring nourishment up. The Ren Mai grows up, but brings nourishment down. Like all vessels it emerges from the lower dantian, like shoots from a seed, some stems some roots, some flow away like Du Mai to the brain, some flow back, like Ren Mai to the gut.

But don't get too concerned about the flow and orbit. Things really flow because of abundance, not mind stuff. No need to trick yourself. Water the seed and it will grow. Develop the dantian and MCO will flow.

For cooking herbs, it's best to use a clay pot. Some herbal agents will even react with stainless steel - though I forget which ones off hand. I'm pretty sure baizhu, huangqi, and danggui aren't anyhow.

These are pretty safe herbs, but just as a reminder - tonic herb don't just mean herbs that can be taken whenever for anyone. Yin/Blood tonic herbs will cause dampness in a system with inadequate digestion, or even in a healthy body if taken in large enough doses or for a long enough time. Yang/Qi tonics misused will cause pathological heat that can burn up the body's Yin reserves. We see plenty of Yin deficient middle-aged men in the clinic who drink, smoke, and then - to be more of a man, hah! - take yang tonics on top of that. When Yin is deficient, it fails to hold Yang, so bodies can seem Yang deficient that are actually Yin deficient. Prescribing Yang tonics in this situation just pushes them one step closer to the grave.

A healthy body can tolerate and adjust for misapplication, just not forever. There's a saying in Chinese "Chi yao san fen du" - eating herbs is three parts poison. In general, it's best to take a note from one of China's most important herbalists Sun Simiao. He said use food to treat illness, use herbs only when foods won't suffice.

If you're young, relatively healthy, and poor - try herbs for fun, for an experiment, for curiosity - but make food your medicine.

I know, it sounds silly.

I asked the same question three years ago, here.

What is Qi?

Qi is everything. Qi is matter, energy, and consciousness. That's the broadest definition.

However, it doesn't always refer to everything.

The first division is Yin and Yang, it determines relationship quality.

The second division is Three Treasures, Jing, Qi, and Shen. These describe a spectrum, gross to subtle. Jing gross, heavy, material and physical. Shen is subtle, light and immaterial. Qi fills the gray area in between.

The third division is Five Movements. Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water. Four of these are dynamic states. Wood is emerging, sprouting, rising, Spring. Fire is floating, expanding, Summer. Metal is sinking, collecting, Fall. Water is storing, concealing, containing, Winter. Earth is the pivot of transformation. It is the environment upon which the seasons act, and it's also the transformation agent.

The division carries on and on.

It's all Qi. Perhaps with the exception of Dao, Qi is the broadest concept in ancient Chinese thought.