Dan tians

Literally "elixir field" in Chinese, the word dan tian refers to those areas in the body where energy is stored. There are three major dan tians in the body: lower, middle, and upper dan tian. You can think of a dan tian as a cup, and the energy that is stored there like tea. Analogous to the way tea fills a cup, energy fills a dan tian.

Channels and meridians

The Microcosmic Orbit is the circulation of qi along two major meridians: the Governor Vessel and the Conception Vessel. When qi flows freely and in abundance along the Governor and Conception vessels, the entire body is nourished with qi.

As shown at left, the Governor Vessel begins at the tip of the tailbone and runs internally up the spine, up the back of the head, over the top of the head, and down the face, ending behind the upper lip at the frenulum. It is also called "the sea of all yang chanels": it is like a river in that it is the primary source of qi for the smaller channels that take qi to all the other parts of the back of the body--its "tributaries."

As shown at left, the Conception Vessel begins at the perineum and runs internally up the front of the body, up the front of the neck, over the chin, ending at an acupoint in the hollow of the chin. It is also called "the sea of all yin channels", and the same analogy describes its function as the primary source of qi for the smaller channels which take qi to all the other parts of the front of the body.

These are places on the body where qi enters and exits the meridians. The acupoints shown on these diagrams are the main points associated with the main qigong forms within Professor Chen Huixian's lineage.

These are places on the body where qi enters and exits the meridians. The acupoints shown on these diagrams are the main points associated with the main qigong forms within Professor Chen Huixian's lineage.

There are more than 30 varieties of qi in the body. For example, there is a different variety of qi stored in each of the three dan tians. Within the lower dan tian is considered to be stored a type of qi called jing (the conjugal qi); within the middle dan tian, qi (also known as the qi of the chest); within the upper dan tian, shen (the qi of our consciousness). Another type, wei qi ("protective qi") flows just under the surface of the skin and functions as the immune system's first line of defense. Additionally, each of the twelve major internal organs as defined by Chinese Medicine has its own qi (liver qi, spleen qi, etc.). To further complicate matters, each variety of internal organ qi has a yin and yang aspect to it. Someone who has received treatment from a practitioner of Chinese Medicine might have been told they are "spleen yin deficient" (not enough of the spleen qi's yin quality, which could lead to digestive difficulties, for example) or "liver yang excess" (too much of the liver qi's yang quality, which could lead to a variety of physical or emotional issues, including irritability).

All this said, there are two basic types of qi in the body which are important to know about:

• Prenatal qi (xi tian qi): each of us receives from our biological parents a finite of prenatal qi at birth. Prenatal qi is your congenital vital force and is responsible for establishing your constitution. Prenatal qi is stored in the kidneys. It is like an energetic savings account, but one to which you can not make a "deposit". What we come into life with is what we've got. According to Bob Flaws (author of The Tao of Healthy Eating), each of us is estimated to have enough prenatal qi at birth to live 500 years. If we think of the maximum human life span as approximately 100 years, this means we are using our prenatal qi five times faster than necessary. We can help to preserve the prenatal qi through qigong practice. But how? The answer in part lies in the second main type of qi:
  
  
• Postnatal qi (hou tian qi): this is the qi we acquire after we are born and throughout our lives. We are constantly acquiring postnatal qi without realizing it: from the food we eat ("gu qi," translated as "grain qi"), from the liquids we drink, and from the air we breath (each time you inhale, your lungs absorb fresh qi, and each time you exhale, you expel spent qi). One of the most efficient ways to acquire postnatal qi is through qigong practice. The type of postnatal qi we are most concerned with in qigong practice is that which is stored in lower dan tian. The postnatal qi in lower dan tian is like your energetic checking account. This is the qi your body uses first as you go about your day. When there is not enough postnatal qi available, the body takes a little bit of prenatal qi and converts it for use, much like the way the bank transfers funds from the savings account if we make a mistake in our checkbook's math and don't have enough money to cover a check we've written. The more postnatal qi we have and the higher quality it is, the less the body needs to rely on the prenatal qi.

Functions of Qi

Qi is responsible for five major tasks in the body:

• Qi is the source of all movement in the body
• Qi warms the body and regulates its temperature
• Qi protects the body from external pathogens and combats them when they manage to enter the body
• Qi is the source of transformation and distribution in the body's systems
• Qi keeps the organs, tissues and substances in their appropriate places in the body

Yin and Yang, The Five Elements, The Emotions

These terms refer to principles of Chinese medicine and are discussed as part of the training associated withthe forms within Professor Chen Huixian's lineage.