Difference between the front channel and the prana tube?

[Audiohealing]

Hey guys,

 

I wanted to have something clarified, as I think I have been doing a lot of Taoist cultivation practices incorrectly because of this.

 

Is the front channel (as in the MCO) the same as the central channel (or prana tube, not the sushusma)?

 

Because all this time, this is what I have been running my anterior descending energy down into when doing the Small Universe meditation, and I think this is what is causing some of the problems I am currently experiencing.

 

Can someone describe on an anatomical level which exact structures both the front and back channels run through? From what I have read, qi runs through fibrous cartilage tissue in the central front of the body, but then how does it reach the Dan Tien, which is supposedly deep far behind the navel?

 

Would you say that the energy in the front channel is in front of or behind the heart? Or does it simply ride along the front axis and radiates into the organs behind it?

 

Likewise with the back channel, does it literally run THROUGH the spine the whole way? And then when it goes behind and on top of the head, is that through the skull, or underneath, in the brain?

 

I hope this made some sense..

 

EDIT: TL;DR: What anatomical structures does the front and back channel run through?

Edited November 9, 2012 by Audiohealing

[Audiohealing]

Bump. No one??

[Cheshire Cat]

There was a thread about this matter somewhere on the TB.

[寒月 Hanyue]

There are no 'physical' structures like you want to hear that ARE the qimai (channels). If there were all the people looking for them for decades or longer would have found them, they aren't stupid people.

 

Every now and then someone comes up with a Western "anatomical" structure they believe parallels the qimai, but this is incorrect thinking.

 

Qi runs through ALL of your tissues, bones organs etc.

 

Yes there are 'routes' that we the flow of qi can be perceived more strongly, these are the various channels of the channel system.

 

Renmai runs along the front of the torso.

Dumai runs along the back but is outside the spine NOT through it.

Zhongmai (goes by other names too) runs between baihui ontop of the head and huiyin (perineum)

 

The heart lies within the thoracic cavity, this is behind renmai. The 'dantian', well which one for a start, but generally that lies within the abdominal cavity. They aren't train stations on a train line you know

 

The channels are not limited to the route as depicted in TCM diagrams.

 

But yes it sounds like you REALLY need to get a teacher, or at the very minimum get a source that explains this to you, instead of running qi around channels that you have no clue about.

 

You could screw your system up, as you found out.

 

Best,

Edited November 10, 2012 by snowmonki

[寒月 Hanyue]

thanks for your post, sm. when my mco first 'opened up,' the sensations were so strong, unique and in an obvious orbit from the sacrum, around baihui, then down the front. after awhile, with qi flowing clearer, with less obstructions in my whole 'system,' now, when i 'run my mco,' sensations of strong flow are much less evident. i find that it is more satisfying to keep awareness on ldt than to bother anymore with the mco.

 

Both 'natural' and 'directed' practices are valid and have their place IMO,

 

However, and it is a BIG however, directed practices are VERY misrepresented both in China and the West. To the extent that many translations of Chinese texts ADD the 'direction/active' aspect that doesn't appear in the actual Chinese. This is because the translators assume that the method/practice can ONLY be done through consciously directing and actively trying to move your qi about with your yi.

 

Best,

[joeblast]

that's why I like my av. no worry about it, no ambiguities. intention at the loop-point, expression at the 3 dantiens

[GrandmasterP]

MCO up the back , over the crown into sinus then down the front, round, under, back and up again.

Central Thrusting goes LDT, Heart , Head.

Up and down the middle.

Don't sweat the labels, you sound to be doing OK

[Audiohealing]

I just found all the answers to my seemingly unanswerable questions and more in the book "Qigong Meditation - Embryonic Breathing" by Dr. Yang Jwing-Ming. This book goes into such amazing detail that I am seriously blown away. I'm going to commit to a solid study ASAP.