The techniques were kept alive mainly through an oral tradition, from master to disciple. But typically, you would have to wait years before a master would teach you advanced techniques like these.

Some ancient manuscripts recorded the techniques. But these manuscripts were incredibly hard to get.

Even if you got your hands on a manuscript, it wouldn’t have done you much good. Qigong classics were intentionally vague. This was known as “Hiding Secrets in the Open”.

The secret was there for all to see, but they were impossible for the uninitiated to decipher.

In this article, I’ll break with traditional and reveal the actual techniques of the Small Universe in a clear and intelligible way.

In part 1 of this series, I talked about the risks and the benefits of an advanced Qigong technique called the Small Universe. If you haven’t read it, then do so now before continuing.

Seriously. Go read the other article first. It’s important. I’ll wait.

So why do it? Why reveal the secrets now, especially after highlighting the dangers of practicing them without a master?

Everything on the Internet is True, Right?

We live in the information age. It’s an amazing time to be alive. With a few clicks, we can get information on virtually any subject.

But is it quality information?

We all know that the Internet can sometimes provide awful information. This is especially true with esoteric arts like Qigong, Tai Chi, and meditation. If you go searching for information about the Small Universe (also called the Microcosmic Orbit), for example, you’ll find a ton of terrible advice out there.  (I covered this subject in part 1 of the article.)

So my goal is to contribute quality information on this subject, not for self-instruction, but for education, edification, and also for posterity. Of course, those who have already learned the Small Universe from me will benefit greatly from this page, which will serve as a valuable review. And those who hope to someday learn the Small Universe from will be inspired by reading these secrets.

Now, on to the techniques.

The 7 Techniques

In my school, we use a series of Qigong techniques to open the Small Unviverse. Practicing them in the correct series allows us to safely and effectively induce the breakthrough of the Small Universe in a relatively short period of time. If the student has already laid a solid foundation by practicing basic Qigong techniques like the 18 Luohan Hands, Flowing Breeze Swaying Willow, Sinew Metamorphosis, and/or Bone Marrow Cleansing for 2-3 years, then the Small Universe breakthrough can be induced in a matter of days (with my help, of course).

This is quite remarkable. In the past, if a master had the breakthrough in a decade, it was considered amazing. To do it in a few days, even after 2-3 years of diligently practicing the basics, was unheard of. But then again, maybe we never heard of it because they kept it secret? Who knows?

The series of techniques are as follows:

1. Belly Breathing
2. Dan Tian Breathing
3. Path Breathing
4. Submerged Breathing
5. Long Breathing
6. Forceful Small Universe Breathing
7. Gentle Small Universe Breathing

1. Belly Breathing

Before we can do any of these techniques, we need to master Belly Breathing. Actually, Belly Breathing is not a Qigong technique. It’s just mechanical. It involves breathing from the belly as opposed to the chest. Good singers do this even if they’ve never heard of Qigong.

If you’re like most people, you’ve spent years breathing incorrectly. To correct this, you need to practice two preparative exercises. The following two exercises are safe for everyone to practice, even from this website:

Preparative Exercise #1 – Book Breathing
Lie down and place a heavy book on your lower belly, just below your belly button. Breathe naturally, but gradually allow your breathing to come from your lower belly. The book should rise as your breathe in, and fall as you breathe out. Practice this for 5 minutes a day, separate from your normal Qigong practice.

Preparative Exercise #2 – Sitting Belly Breathing
Sit upright (but relaxed) on the edge of a chair with your back straight. Place both hands, one on top of the other, gently over your dan tian. Try to recreate the feeling of the Book Breathing exercise. If you cannot feel your breath coming from your belly, then go back to the Book Breathing.

All future progress depends on your ability to do Belly Breathing easily and smoothly. If you can’t do it well, then you won’t benefit from any of the other stages. Spend time with these preparative exercises. You’ll be glad that you did.

For those who know the following exercises, Three Levels to Earth and Lifting Heels are also excellent for helping to pave the way for future progress. These two exercises from the 18 Luohan Hands help to bring the energy around the Ren and Du meridians. So if you want to prepare yourself before learning the Small Universe, you may emphasize these techniques as well.

Warning: If you skimmed down to here, then let me be absolutely clear: Don’t try the following exercises on your own. You’re going to hurt yourself. You can practice the preparative exercises listed above, but not these. If you want to understand why, then read part 1 of this series.

2. Dan Tian Breathing

Dan Tian Breathing is a fundamental Qigong technique where, not surprisingly, you breath energy with dan tian. Whereas Belly Breathing is mechanical, Dan Tian Breathing is energetic. The difference may seem minor, but it’s not. It’s the difference between tapping into a flow of Cosmic energy, or just standing around and breathing for 20 minutes.

Dan Tian Breathing Technique:

1. Stand Upright.
2. Relax.
3. Smile from the Heart.
4. Clear your mind of thoughts.
5. Gently place both palms over your dan tian, one on top of the other.
6. As you breathe out gently through the mouth, gently press the palms and help the belly to “deflate”. Gently visualize letting go of negative energy, stress, tension, etc.
7. As you breathe in gently through the nose, gently release the palms and help the belly to “inflate”. Gently visualize taking in fresh cosmic energy from all directions toward dan tian.

Closing visualization:
At the end of the session, gently visualize a golden pearl of energy, full of vitality, at dan tian. The energy from dan tian radiates out, in all directions, like the light from the sun.

The technique is simple, but the skill is extremely subtle, and thus easy to miss. Remember that everything must be super gentle — the breathing, the pressing and releasing of the hands, and the visualization. If you’re forcing any of these, then you’re doing it wrong.

A heart-to-heart transmission is useful to acquire this skill. Once you get it, you’ll have the ability to tap energy from the cosmos. As I tell my students, I honestly don’t know how it works, but I know from experience that it does work. It’s an incredible technique, and I hope that you get the opportunity to learn it one day.

3. Path Breathing

With this technique, we breathe energy down and up the Ren meridian (see part I of this article).   So we bring energy down to dan tian as we breathe in, and then back up as we breathe out.

Path Breathing Technique:

1. Stand Upright.
2. Relax.
3. Smile from the Heart.
4. Clear your mind of thoughts.
5. Gently place both palms over your dan tian, one on top of the other.
6. As you breathe out gently through the mouth, gently press the palms and help the belly to “deflate”. Visualize negative energy flowing up the Ren Meridian, and out the mouth.
7. As you breathe in gently through the nose, gently release the palms and help the belly to “inflate”. Visualize fresh cosmic energy coming in through the nose, down the Ren Meridian, and down to dan tian.

Closing visualization:
At the end of the session, use the same visualization as in Dan Tian Breathing.

This is the first time we are focusing the Qi along a path. In Dan Tian Breathing, the flow of Qi was general. Here, it’s more specific. Because we are directing Qi to a specific channel, the technique is much less forgiving of mistakes, which is yet another reason to learn it from a master.

4. Submerged Breathing

With Submerged Breathing, we sink the energy from dan tian down to hui yin, the energy point at the perineum. This must done gently. It can’t, and shouldn’t be forced.

Again, I’ll sound a warning. If you try to do this on your own, you’re likely to mess up your energy system. What’s worse is that it may take months for you to realize that anything is wrong. Don’t practice this without direct instruction from a good teacher. I don’t know how to be any clearer than that.

Submerged Breathing Technique

1. Start with Path Breathing for a few breaths.
2. Then shift to Submerged Breathing as follows.
3. As you breathe in, gently bring the energy down the Ren channel from your nose to dan tian.
4. As you breathe out, gently “sink” energy down the Ren channel from dan tian to hui yin.

Closing visualization: At the end of the session, gently visualize a beautiful, full, silvery moon at the bottom of a lake at hui yin. Let the pleasant moon energy gleam up at your body. At an advanced level,you may feel a coolness at hui yin.

When you finally get the hang of Submerged Breathing, when you first feel the energy sinking down to hui yin, it’s a wonderful feeling. But if you don’t have enough energy at dan tian, then you probably won’t feel much. In that case, you need to continue building energy at dan tian so that you have something to sink down to hui yin. You can build energy using Dan Tian Breathing, or other techniques like the Warrior Postures, One Finger Zen, Lifting Water, or the Three Circle Stance.

5. Long Breathing

In this technique, we “breathe” energy from hui yin all the way up to bai hui at the top of the head. It’s a long way, hence the name. The technique is as follows:

Long Breathing Technique

1. Start with Path Breathing for  breaths.
2. Then shift to Submerged Breathing for a few breaths.
3. Then shift to Long Breathing as follows.
4. As you breathe in, gently bring the energy down the Ren channel from your nose down to dan tian.
5. As you breathe out, gently bring the energy from dan tian, down to hui yin, and then up to bai hui.

Closing visualization: Gently visualize energy pulsing at ming men, the vital point opposite your navel.  When this has been accomplished after some training over a few (or many) sessions, gently focus at ling tai (opposite tanzhong, or solar plexus).

In the learning stage, you’ll first breathe energy from hui yin up to ming men rather than bai hui. Then, once you get the hang of that, you’ll breathe the energy from hui yin up to ling tai, the energy point in the middle of the back. Then finally, you’ll breathe it all the way up to Bai Hui. It’s a bit like the mercury (or whatever they use these days) gradually rising in a thermometer.

6. Forceful Small Universe Breathing

This technique “forces”the full connection of the Small Universe. The Small Universe, as I described in part 1 of this series, is a continuous flow of energy in an orbit down the Ren Meridian and then up the Du Meridian. But there are two gaps in the flow — one at the perineum, and one between the upper and lower jaw. With this technique, we connect the upper gap by lifting the tongue to the upper palate, and the lower gap by lifting the muscles near the anus.

The breathing mode for this technique is called “Reverse Breathing”.  It’s the opposite of Belly Breathing (sometimes called Natural Breathing because babies do it naturally), hence the name.

Forceful Small Universe Breathing Technique

1. Start with Path Breathing for a few breaths.
2. Then shift to Reverse Breathing as follows.
3. As you breathe in gently through the nose, your abdomen deflates and your chest inflates gently (the reverse of what we’ve been doing so far). The energy flows from hui yin up to bai hui. Gently grip your toes, lift your perineum, and touch the tongue to the roof of the mouth while breathing in.
4. As you breathe out gently through the mouth, your abdomen inflates and your chest deflates. The energy flows from bai hui down to dan tian. Lower the tongue while breathing out. The perineum and toes should be relaxed now.
5. As you are breathing out, you should also save 30% of your breath. So you breath in 100%, but breathe out 70% and save the other 30%. As you “save” the breath, swallow your saliva, and feel as if it is dropping all the way down to hui yin.

Closing Visualization: Gently feel a beneficial, glowing sun at bai hui. Later you may experience what they call The Opening of the Five Petals.This opening is spontaneous, but may be gently induced with gentle visualization. Meanwhile the flow of the Small Universe continuously round the ren and du meridians is realized.

Compared to the previous techniques, this one is much more complicated. It’s hard to remember all the steps, let alone do them. This can lead to some serious energy blockages if you do it incorrectly. A master’s supervision is critical. Even with a master’s supervision, it’s still challenging!

I typically have students practice Reverse Breathing for a while without worrying about the perineum, toes, or tongue. Once they can do that well, then they can add those details one by one. I also encourage them to leave out the “swallow” until they are ready.  Another secret is to practice the technique called “Gathering Qi from the Cosmos”, which helps to teach Reverse Breathing in a very gentle way.

This method is relatively forceful, but it’s also very, very powerful.  For some masters, this is the only method they had, and it worked well. We are lucky to have both the Forceful and the Gentle Small Universe, which is as follows.

7. Gentle Small Universe Breathing

With this technique, we go back to Belly Breathing (rather than Reverse Breathing).  The technique is much gentler, and also simpler, than the Forceful Small Universe. I spent years practicing this technique — mainly because I was terrible at Forceful Small Universe Breathing.  But hey, it worked!

If you’ve done the other stages well, then this one should be easy.

Gentle Small Universe Breathing Technique

1. Start with Path Breathing for a few breaths.
2. Proceed to Submerged Breathing for a few breaths.
3. Proceed to Long Breathing for a few breaths.
4. Proceed to Forceful Small Universe Breathing for a few breaths.
5. Proceed to Gentle Small Universe Breathing, as follows.
6. As you breathe in gently through the nose, the tip of your tongue touches the upper palate, your abdomen inflates, and the energy flows in to dan tian.
7. As you breathe out gently through the mouth, your tongue relaxes, your abdomen deflates, and the energy flows from dan tian down to hui yin, up to bai hui, and out your mouth.

Closing Visualization: Gently visualize a smooth, continuous flow down the Ren meridian and up Du meridian. Later just enjoy the realization of the Small Universe.

What is the “realization” of the Small Universe? It’s when it flows automatically, and you just enjoy it. You no longer need to actively visualize because the Small Universe has its own momentum.

Putting It All Together

Once you’ve been through all of the techniques, it may not be necessary to continue using each of them.  This depends on your developmental stage.  If you succeed in opening the real breakthrough of the Small Universe, then you may only need to continue practicing one of the final two techniques.

At an advanced level, you can add the Goat-Riding Stance.  The techniques are done exactly the same, except for the addition of the stance.  Adding the stance magnifies the power of the technique, but also magnifies the risks.  Both your stance and your Small Universe better be really good before you even attempt this!

Closing

So that’s it. We’ve talked about the risks and rewards of learning the Small Universe, and we’ve talked about all 7 techniques. I hope that I’ve succeeded in educating you about this amazing Qigong technique. I also hope that you’re excited to learn it — not so excited that you try to learn it from a website, of course, but excited enough to keep practicing the basics. In a future article, I’ll talk about the Big Universe, and how it relates to the Small Universe.

Drop me a comment below if you have questions.  Or if you haven’t already gotten your free ebooks and free lesson, then make sure to grab them here.  If you liked this article, then please share it using the Facebook, Twitter, and Email buttons below.

The post 7 Secrets of the Small Universe Qigong appeared first on Flowing Zen.

So you’ve learned a bunch of dynamic qigong exercises like the 18 Luohan Hands, the 12 Sinew Metamorphosis, and the 5 levels of Bone Marrow Cleansing.

You’ve learned it all, right?

Nope. You ain’t learned nothing yet, kiddo!!

In the Chinese classics, the Small Universe (小周天, or xiao zhou tian) is viewed as the ultimate qigong technique. In other words, all other forms of qigong pale in comparison.

But don’t worry.  If you’ve been faithfully practicing the qigong exercises I mentioned above, you’re still on the right track.

In fact, if you haven’t spent a few years practicing those exercises, then you’re not only off track, but you might just hurt yourself with the Small Universe.

Are You Ready?

In some qigong schools, the Small Universe is taught to beginners.

I strongly disagree with this approach.

I think it’s totally irresponsible to teach this technique to someone who is not ready. 

The risk of messing up their energy system is high, and the chance of success is low.

In other words, the most likely result is that the student will get hurt, and the least likely result is that the student will get benefit.

If you think that I’m exaggerating, if you think that qigong can’t do any harm — think again.

You’d be shocked at how many people hurt themselves by practicing the Small Universe before they are ready.

It’s more common than you might think. I’ve even seen students end up in the emergency room as a result of practicing it incorrectly!

Here an example of a recent email I received from a stranger:

“I need your help because I’ve made a mess. I am a beginner in qi gong and this morning, intrigued by the practice of the small universe, I tried it. I immediately felt a strong anxiety. I thought I was dying. The point is I feel restless, and I am very anxious, I do not feel well at all. I really need your help.”

I’ve received emails just like this for years. And it’s not just qigong.

I’ve seen the same with the yoga technique called Kundalini. In fact, many people have come to me to heal the damage done by Kundalini Yoga.

Here’s an example:

“I have been practicing kundalini yoga and I have experienced symptoms that were quite bad. I have chest pain and can’t sleep. Can you help?”

As an aside, I’m not a yoga master, but it’s obvious to me that Kundalini, which involves bringing energy from the chakra (energy center) near the anus up to the chakra in the head, is an advanced form of qigong. It’s definitely not for beginners.

Does all this scare you? Good! The Small Universe is powerful. Have some respect for it, just like you would for an 18-Wheeler.

Clearing Blockages

Most students are not ready for the Small Universe simply because they haven’t spent enough time clearing  blockages.

1. Mental Blockages

The Small Universe requires a well-trained Zen mind. If your mind is unfocused, if you are still distracted by random thoughts, if you can’t let go of the internal dialogue — then you’re not ready for the Small Universe.

2. Physical Blockages

If your structure is off, if one shoulder is higher than the other, if your pelvis is rotated, if your posture is bad — these things need to be corrected before attempting the Small Universe. And if you haven’t spent years doing qigong, then I can almost guarantee that your structure is off.

3. Emotional Blockages

If you suffer from emotional blockages, like anxiety or depression, then you’ll probably just make them worse by practicing the Small Universe.

Why? Because you’re adding pressure to clogged pipes. You need to clear these blockages before adding any pressure to the pipes.

4.  Pain

If you have any kind of chronic pain whatsoever — that’s a blockage. Ideally, you should be 100% pain free before doing the Small Universe.

As a compromise, students can still have some lingering pain, assuming that they’ve already gotten rid of a lot of it already.

The best way to clear all of the blockages mentioned above is to spend 2-3 years with the basics — the 18 Lohan Hands, Sinew Metamorphosis, and Flowing Breeze Swaying Willow.

Too impatient to wait for that?  Too bad.  The truth doesn’t change according to your ability to stomach it.

The Breakthrough

The Small Universe is more than a technique; it’s an energetic breakthrough.

It actually marks a developmental shift in your energy system.  Traditionally, it was also the mark of a real master. In fact, past masters would throw a celebration when the finally had the breakthrough.

When you achieve the Small Universe, the energy flow along the Ren and the Du meridians starts to flow freely.

The Ren meridian runs from your chin, down the center line of the torso, all the way to the perineum (between the genitals and the anus).

The Du meridian runs from the perineum, up the center line of the back, around the top of the head, down the nose, and to the upper lip.

When these two meridians connect, you form the Small Universe — down the Ren, and up the Du, in a continuous loop.

Real and False

What we are shooting for is called the “Real Breakthrough” of the Small Universe.  Along the way, we may also experience what is known as the “False Breakthrough”.

What’s the difference?

The False Breakthrough happens spontaneously to students who’ve been practicing basic techniques and clearing blockages for a few years. In the False Breakthrough, the two meridians are not continuously filled.  Small “bubbles” of energy travel around the loop, giving the sensation of the Small Universe.

In the Real Breakthrough, the energy is continuous, with only minor gaps along the entire loop.

Instead of bubbles traveling around, you have a continuous stream.

A high-level master will have a wide, powerful stream.  A younger master (like myself) will have a thinner stream. But the key factor is that both of our streams are continuous.

Over the years, I’ve met a lot of people who learned The Small Universe from other teachers (or from books). After just one look at them, you can tell that they haven’t had the Real Breakthrough.

Heck, you can tell they haven’t even had the False Breakthrough.

How can you tell?

It’s obvious when someone has had the Real Breakthrough.  The person looks vibrantly healthy, their skin is radiant, their eyes are clear, and there is a palpable sense of both energy and calm coming off of them.

Meanwhile, the people I described above looked pale, weak, and their eyes were dull.  When I asked them about their health, they admitted that they were still in pain.

And they’ll remain that way until they stop practicing the Small Universe and switch to more basic techniques.

Benefits of the Breakthrough

If there are so many risks, and if other types of qigong bring so many benefits, then why would anyone want to practice the Small Universe?

It’s a fair question.  Here are some reasons:

Eliminating 100 Diseases

It is said that when you complete the Small Universe, you’ll eliminate hundreds of diseases.

Actually, what it means is that you’ll keep “100” (the ancient Chinese way of saying many) diseases at bay.  To have the Real Breakthrough, you need to be relatively healthy already. But when you have the breakthrough, you step into a new realm of health.  In other words, illnesses just “bounce off” of the Small Universe.

Never-ending Energy

If you practice qigong in general, your energy levels should jump. But with the Small Universe, there’s something new.

In my experience, it seems like the Small Universe produces its own energy, almost like a generator. This happens continuously throughout the day, even when you’re not doing qigong.

Longevity

Obviously, I can’t verify this one from personal experience (yet!), but I can make some reasonable predictions.

I feel better at 40 than I did at 30. I’ve steadily gotten rid of aches, pains, and illness, and my body is functioning better than ever. I think it’s fair to assume that it will last a long, long time.

How long?  Modern scientists say that humans have the capacity to live at least 120 years.

Of course, there are legends of ancient Chinese masters living to be much, much older than that.  Is it true?  If they had the Small Universe, who knows?

Martial Qigong

The Small Universe serves as the foundation for several Martial Qigong methods, like Cosmos Palm and Iron Shirt.

Although you can do arts like these without the Small Universe (I did for years), it’s a totally different experience after the breakthrough. It’s incredible to feel the Small Universe flowing while you practice these other methods.  It has to be experienced to be understood.

Party Rocking

It’s true. Having the Small Universe allows you to get away with more, shall we say, transgressions.

Of course, this shouldn’t be your main motivation, but I’ll admit that it’s a nice perk being able to stay up too late on occasion, or drink a few beers with friends, or eat stuff I shouldn’t eat.

Spiritual Cultivation

The Small Universe also opens up new realms of spiritual cultivation.  All great spiritual masters had the Small Universe, even if they never knew what it was called or specifically practiced the techniques. From years of meditation, the Small Universe opened naturally in them.  And once it does, it allows for deeper states of meditation.

The Techniques

In part 2 of this series, I’ll talk about the actual techniques of the Small Universe. With a better understanding of the risks vs. rewards, I going to assume that you won’t start practicing this advanced form of qigong from a web page.  And if you do, despite all the warnings — well, I can’t think of a better example of karma in action.

The good news is that if you do mess yourself up, the problem is fixable. You’ll need a good acupuncturist, a good herbalist, or a good qigong master, but the damage is not permanent.

In closing, let me make it clear that if you have a) a good teacher, and b) a good qigong foundation, then practicing the Small Universe is safe, and you shouldn’t be afraid at all.

But if you have neither a good teacher nor a good foundation, do yourself a favor and get those 2 things before messing with the Small Universe. 

From the heart,
Sifu Anthony

The post The Real Truth About the Small Universe Qigong appeared first on Flowing Zen.

“Schweeet!” I thought to myself.

I was 19 years old, and my karate teacher was talking about a mysterious energy field located in the abdomen. I couldn’t wait to experience it for myself!

That was my first exposure to the concept of dantian (丹田), and it turned out to be a huge disappointment. I had to wait 10 years before I actually felt anything other than frustration at dantian.

Even after I gave up karate and switched to internal arts, even after I learned the real secrets of energy cultivation, even after I practiced diligently for a few years — I still didn’t feel anything.

For years, I kept thinking, “where in the world is dantian?”

(Now maybe you get the Carmen Sandiego joke?)

In the world of qigong, tai chi, kung fu, and karate, people spend years searching for dantian, but never find it. Many give up, convinced that dantian is either mystical mumbo jumbo, or a metaphor.

I’m here to tell you that dantian is real, that it’s not a metaphor, and that with the proper training, and a bit of patience, you can feel it for yourself.

The Golden Golf Ball In My Belly

Right now, as I’m typing this, I can feel a golden, golf-ball-sized sphere of energy in my lower abdomen. This is almost exactly as the Chinese classics describe.

I don’t understand the physics behind it, but there really is a ball of energy in my belly.  It’s not mystical mumbo jumbo, and it’s not a metaphor.

The Chinese word dantian (dāntián,丹田) literally means “elixir field”, but a better translation might be “energy center.” It is located in your lower belly, and it is the natural center for your body’s energy.

Dantian is important not only for energy arts like qigong, but also for martial arts, especially tai chi chuan.

Women and Dantian

One caveat before we go any further: women seem to experience dantian twice as fast as men.

I noticed this phenomenon early in my teaching. When I talked to my students about my difficulties finding dantian, the men were all nodding, but the women looked confused.

As I dug deeper, I learned that women — of all ages — seemed to feel dantian much earlier than I would have predicted.

I don’t know if this is because of the uterus, which is right there near dantian, or because women tend to be softer and more open-minded than men, but the results are obvious. Women find dantian much, much sooner than men.

So Where Is It?

So where in the world is dantian?  You can location dantian easily as follows:

How to find your dantian:

The classical measurement uses a biological inch, which is the width of your own thumb. Go 3 of your own thumb-widths below your belly button, and then 2-3 thumb-widths into your abdomen, straight toward your back. That’s the center of the energy field we call dantian.

Unfortunately, going searching for dantian with your thumbs isn’t terribly helpful. If you haven’t cultivated qi at dantian correctly for a few years, there isn’t much to feel.

For years, I knew where dantian was; the problem was I couldn’t feel anything there.

Are There Three Dantians?

To confuse things even more, there are actually three dantians:

1. Upper Dantian (上丹田, shàng dāntián), located in the forehead between and slightly above the eyebrows.
2. Middle Dantian (中丹田, zhōng dāntián), located in the centerline of the chest at the level of the heart.
3. Lower Dantian (下丹田, xià dāntián) located in the lower belly 2-3 anatomical inches below and 2-3 anatomical inches behind the navel.

The lower dantian is the safest and healthiest place to store energy.  If you try to store energy at the middle or upper dantians, there are risks.  To attempt this without the supervision of an expert would be…well…risky.

Why take the risk when there are safer and better options?

The lower dantian is also the most useful place to store energy.  It acts like an energy bank account.  The Qi stored there can be used for just about anything — vitality, longevity, mental clarity, martial arts, or even sex.

How Big is Your Dantian?

Beginners often have trouble feeling dantian because they are looking too hard for the “golden pearl,” which is how it is described in the classics.

For most people, dantian starts out bigger, not smaller.  It may be the size of a golf ball, a tennis ball, or even a soft ball.

That’s because the energy hasn’t consolidated yet. Again, I don’t understand the physics behind it, but dantian seems to shrink as you advance.  Or not shrink, but consolidate.

For example, I can feel that my dantian is about the size of a golf ball — but that’s just the core of the field.  The energy from the core of dantian radiates out in all directions, like the light from the sun.  So really, my dantian is a much larger sphere that extends past the boundaries of my body.

What a Fraud!

Incidentally, I have a student who can “see” energy. (There are more of them than you might think, but people like this typically keep quiet about their abilities.)

She told me that she was confused when she first met me.  She was looking for the boundaries of my energy field, as she was used to doing with people.  But she couldn’t find mine.

At first, she thought I was a fraud.  “This guy has the smallest energy field I’ve ever seen, but he calls himself a teacher?”

Then she suddenly realized that my energy field was larger than what she was used to seeing.  She told me that she was shocked to see that the boundaries of the field extended many feet from my body. I guess that convinced her to sign up for my class!

The large field that my dantian creates is probably one reason why my students get such good results.  When I teach a class, students are actually inside my energy field.  And when I walk around the room, my energy field helps to circulate the qi. This is one reason why it’s helpful to learn in person.

Opening the Five Gates

My energy field is beneficial not just for students, but also for one of my life’s passions — martial arts.  For example, when I punch, I can feel the energy moving through what is known as the Five Gates:

• Gate 1: Dantian
• Gate 2: Shoulder
• Gate 3: Elbow
• Gate 4: Wrist
• Gate 5: Fingers

At first, you feel the energy getting stuck at the shoulder or the elbow.  Actually, let me back up. At first, you feel nothing.  You may feel a little tingling in the hands like we do in qigong practice, but you don’t even feel the first gate, dantian.

Like I said, it takes time to feel dantian, even if you’re doing everything correctly.

Once you feel dantian, you’ll begin to feel the energy moving through the five gates.  When you focus on exercises that explode force (fā jìn, 發勁) like One Finger Zen, The 18 Arhats, or Single Whip, then you begin to feel the energy getting stuck in one of the gates.

I’ll give away one of my hard-earned secrets:  It doesn’t always seem to go in order.   Sometimes it gets stuck at the shoulder, sometimes at the elbow, and sometimes at the hand.

But then, after years of practice, you feel it move easily through all five gates.

It took me over 15 years to experience this.  (The good news is that my students experience it about twice as fast — either because I was a bad student, or because I’m an excellent teacher, or both!)  I’ll say this about the sensation of qi moving through the Five Gates:  It’s totally awesome.

Dantian and Health

Those who aren’t interested in martial arts still need to cultivate dantian. There is an important Chinese maxim that explains why:

Xian Xing Qi, Hou Yang Qi
First circulate energy, then build it.

My students know that I always emphasize circulating the energy in my teaching. We want to clear the major energy blockages before doing anything else.  Otherwise, you’re just adding pressure to clogged pipes.

But after we clear the major blockages, we can start building energy.  When we build energy, it first goes to the rivers and streams of your body —  the 12 Primary Meridians, filling them up.  After that, it goes to the energy reservoirs — the 8 Extraordinary Meridians.  And then, when all of your rivers and reservoirs are filled, the energy will naturally being to pool at dantian.

With all of this excess energy, you’ll have a lot more vitality.  Basically, you’ve raised your stress threshold.  You have reserves of energy which can be used to combat stress in all forms — negative emotions, unhealthy food, toxins, thoughts, physical trauma, or people driving slowly in the left lane.

Trust me — you want a reserve of energy, just like you want a reserve of emergency cash in the bank.  That’s what I’ve got at dantian.  If I stay up too late, or eat some stuff I shouldn’t have eaten, or if my wife tricks me into to watching an awful movie like “The Expendables 2” — then I’ve got energy reserves to help me handle the extra stress.

Dantian and Visualization

Did you know that cultivating dantian is actually a form of visualization?  At the end of every practice routine,  we become gently aware of dantian.  That’s visualization.  That’s one way dantian is cultivated over time.

Another way is through the various stages of Cosmos Breathing.   If you still can’t feel your dantian clearly, then it’s a good idea to practice Stages 1-2 of the The Small Universe.

There are many other ways to cultivate dantian — One Finger Zen, Warrior Postures (zhan zhuang), and Sinew Metamorphosis, to name a few.  All of these methods help to build up the energy reserves, which in turn will all of extra energy to pool at dantian.

What is your experience with dantian?  Go ahead and share it in the comments section below.  I’d love to hear what you think. 

From the heart,
Sifu Anthony

The post Where in the World is Dantian? appeared first on Flowing Zen.

Even beginners are taught this philosophy.

I understand where these schools are coming from, but based on my experience, I can confidently say that they are wrong.

I know, I know — blasphemy!

I’m sure to ruffle some feathers with this article. But I always prefer to speak the truth as I see it, even if it gets me into trouble.

So what have I seen?

After observing thousands of students over a couple decades, I can easily concluded the following: You can get truly amazing results without using any visualization whatsoever.

“Impossible!” some will say.

But it’s not. The fact is that my students get amazing results without visualization.

So what’s going on here? Before I answer that question, let’s deal with another question:  What is visualization?

What is Visualization?

Probably the easiest way to understand visualization is to try it.

Close your eyes (not yet, silly!) and imagine entering your kitchen, walking to the refrigerator, and opening the door with your hand. Can you feel the exact amount of pressure needed to open it? What about closing the door? What does that feel like?

Congratulations!  You just used visualization.

This exercise illustrates the first problem with visualization — the word itself.

Visualization isn’t really a visual thing.  It’s more of a visceral feeling, similar to the feeling of opening your fridge. If you simply see yourself opening your refrigerator door in your mind’s eye, then you’re not using visualization.

When practicing visualization, many students — and also many teachers — make the mistake of trying to see something.

They try to see the energy coming in from the cosmos, or they try to see the energy flowing along a meridian.

In the end, they’re not really doing visualization.  They’re just thinking with their eyes closed.

Don’t Make This Mistake

This kind of incorrect visualization creates mental tension, which is completely counterproductive.

You need to understand the difference between the Monkey Mind and the Zen Mind.

The Monkey mind is familiar to all of us — it’s the constant stream of thoughts that we can’t seem to shut off.

In order to get results from energy arts like qigong, tai chi, meditation, and even yoga, you must learn to quiet the Monkey Mind.

That’s when the Zen Mind starts to blossom.

When you visualize incorrectly, you end up thinking — which is exactly the opposite of what we’re trying to accomplish. 

In other words, you are feeding tasty fruit to your Monkey Mind rather than nurturing your Zen Mind.  And if you’re not nurturing your Zen Mind, then you’re not getting the results that you deserve.

(If you want to experience the Zen Mind for yourself, then try my free audio lesson here.)

If you’re a beginner, or even and intermediate student, then you will get much better results by leaving visualization aside, and simply nurturing your Zen Mind.  Later, once you’ve built up some skill, then you can add visualization if you like.

Or not.  You can go the rest of your life without ever using visualization and still get amazing results that will wow your friends and frustrate your enemies.

Don’t let anyone convince you that you need visualization. You don’t.

Gently, Gently, Gently!

There’s another problem with visualization — it must be done gently.  Unfortunately, this is much easier said than done.

Even talented, well-trained students make the mistake of visualizing too forcefully. And if you visualize too forcefully, you  actually create energy blockages in your body (yikes!).

The truth is that you’re going to make mistakes when first learning how to visualize. No matter how many times I say “gently, gently, gently,” you’re going to force it anyway. It’s part of the learning process.

Students desperately want to experience the technique, so they try too hard, even when they’re told not to.

Thankfully, we have a built-in safety net in my school.  It’s called Flowing Breeze Swaying Willow.

If we accidentally create a blockage through forced visualization, this wonderful technique will automatically and quickly clear it.

But if you don’t know this technique, then you won’t clear the blockage. If you do visualization daily, but you don’t know Flowing Breeze Swaying Willow, then you may be creating blockages faster than you’re eliminating them. In case it isn’t obvious, that’s a bad thing.

Is Visualization Useless?

Don’t get me wrong. I love the art of visualization, and I use it regularly. But then again, I’ve been doing this stuff for decades, I’ve already gotten great results, and I’m fit as a fiddle.

I use visualization because it enhances my practice, not because I need it.  Meanwhile, most of my students do great without it.

If you’ve been practicing for a while and getting great results, then you may be ready to add visualization.

Look at the 12 Skills of Qi Cultivation. If you’ve practice the first 4 skills well enough, then you’re probably ready.

Visualization is necessary for advanced techniques like Bone Marrow Cleansing and the Small Universe.

If you’re using visualization, just remember: keep it visceral, and keep it gentle.  If you’re not thoroughly enjoying the exercise, you’re doing something wrong.

If you have any questions about visualization in general, or specific visualizations that you’ve heard about, please feel free to post them below. 

From the heart,
Sifu Anthony

The post The Simple Truth About Qigong Visualization appeared first on Flowing Zen.