The basic strategy of internal alchemy
Internal alchemy is a phrase that it becoming more popular, but as I look around at the various options in the English language discourse I don't see that it is much better understood than any other time before.
In order to continue my effort to help with that problem I'd like to offer a few pointers about the strategy of practice and how you can make it more likely to obtain results.
This advice will be based on my own practice and teaching experience since I've personally faced many of the problems others are likely to face, and because I also have had the blessing of helping my students with their problems in practice, sometimes successfully and sometimes not, but I'll get to the reasons people do not succeed shortly.
Internal Alchemy first and foremost is not Qigong, Neigong, Yang Sheng, Chinese Medicine, Vajryana, Sitting in Forgetting, or any other school, it is a unique style of meditation, typically performed seated which after well mastered can also be practiced standing, walking and lying down.
Since you might have glossed over the above statement I'll explain it in more detail below:
1: Qigong:
Qigong is a practice category that emerged in China during the 1950s and is based on older practices including Daoist, Buddhist, Chinese Medicine, and Martial Arts practices which broadly fall under the category of Yang Sheng/Nourishing Life.
The specialization of Qigong compared to other practices is its use of the mind to focus Qi and build it in the body.
Qigong has many types of practice which can range from aerobic to sedentary, but it absolutely requires the use of intention to properly manifest the development and circulation of internal energy.
Since Qigong was bifurcated into two approaches after the 1990s there is now a disparity between the Qigong practiced by the Chinese department of Sport and Qigong which was originally promoted by the department of Health.
In short, the original Qigong which developed as a health and medical practice is the true Qigong and the current sport Qigong is mostly a form of stretching which very few energetic benefits.
This is because the original popularity of Qigong led to many offshoot religious cults which used energetic techniques to make claims about the unique abilities of their leaders. Some of these cults attempted to compete with the Chinese government and so along with various crackdowns, Qigong was also made a taboo subject for many years and eventually transferred to a safer home in the department of Sport. Since Qigong is now a sport with competitions similar to standardized Wushu and simplified Taijiquan it follows similar rules of practice. This is not to say it is bad since it is great for stretching and opening the body, but it is not energy work.
Having said that, Qigong is essentially different from Neidan since Neidan works from the principle of starting in stillness in order to spontaneously manifest movement while Qigong starts with movement (or intention) to manifest stillness. This means they work on different aspects of the energetic anatomy and physiology and although both schools work with Qi they do so in a totally different way. Qigong and Neidan are mutually beneficial, but definitely not the same practice.
2: Neigong:
Neigong has two meanings:
1: Martial Arts flexibility practices,
2: Proto-Qigong emerging from Qing Dynasty Yang Sheng arts.
In either instance, Neigong is exclusively associated with Martial Arts and although it can contain energetic practices or even in some instances such as the Marrow Washing Classic can be understood in a similar way to Neidan, the overall practice of Neigong is usually either about improving martial proficiency by cultivating flexibility, having open meridians and a stable lower Dantian, or is a type of Yang Sheng practice based on Martial Arts.
Neigong has more in common with Qigong and modern Sports Qigong than Neidan since its core premise is opening the body through stretching and subtle strengthening exercises.
If we are very pedantic we can say that some Neigong texts like Neigong Tu Shuo include some Internal Alchemy concepts we could say that perhaps a Neigong system could include Internal Alchemy, but that would mean it was imported into the syllabus of the system, not that Neigong is inherently a form of meditation.
3: Yang Sheng:
Yang Sheng is an old name for preventative health practices used in Chinese Medicine and Daoism, it can mean anything from lifestyle to diet to physical and mental practices.
In the context people usually take it (insofar as meditative practices are concerned) Yang Sheng usually means a type of energetic cultivation, often done while seated, which incorporates ancient Daoist techniques such as saliva circulation, visualization, Dao Yin etc... to develop a healthy flow of Qi in the body.
There are many Yang Sheng methods, but they became especially well developed during the Qing Dynasty when some of the language of Internal Alchemy was used to describe their practices.
This can lead to confusion since similar language can lead us to thinking they are the same practice, but in reality Yang Sheng in this context is also a type of proto-qigong since it incorporates the use of the intention to lead Qi in the body.
Neidan does not use the intention to lead Qi, this is strictly taboo and is known as Kong Zhuan He Che (the empty circulation of the river wheel) and is considered to be a major mistake.
In Neidan practice we set the precondition for energy to move and then it does so spontaneously.
4: Chinese Medicine:
This should go without saying, but for some reason many TCM people seem to think they are Daoists, engage in Daoist practice and automatically understand Neidan because they have an understanding of the meridian system of the body according to medical theory.
Although Chinese Medicine and Neidan both use the concept of the meridians, both have pre and post heaven Jing, Qi and Shen, and many other shared ideas, these two studies are completely different.
Chinese Medicine at its root is about diagnosing and treating illness while Neidan is about cultivating internal energy in order to attain spiritual liberation.
Chinese Medicine has Yang Sheng techniques, a very limited number of which might have some relationship with Neidan, but this is the exception to the rule and there are few people promoting any of the Chinese Medicine texts that deal with these subjects in the west.
5: Varjyana:
I know this sounds crazy since Vajryana is Buddhist and Neidan is Daoist, but there are a number of very popular Neidan teachers who actually mix Vajryana and Qigong, claiming it is Daoist Internal Alchemy.
I'm not well enough versed in Buddhism to be able to give you a great description of Vajryana, but in my understanding it is broadly concerned with things like visualization and can lead to certain practices like Tumo which combine breath work, inner visualization and energetic stimulation.
Neidan is the opposite of this type of technique since it never seeks to stimulate the Jing, Qi and Shen using anything other than the regulation of mental attention and breath and ultimately truly stimulates the spiritual energy in a state of action without action.
To say it again, Neidan is about realizing spontaneous action with as little mental and physical effort as possible.
Also, practices such as opening the sky gate cannot be compared to Powha since the sky gate in Neidan practice opens spontaneously. This is a very important point because the Yang Shen can only emerge from the body if it is strong enough and that strengthening of the spirit happens in the pre-heaven state, not through intentional emphasis on a specific technique.
6: Sitting in Forgetting:
Of course Sitting in Forgetting and other Daoist practices have a relationship with Neidan, but they are different.
Sitting in Forgetting is an ancient practice which does not answer many of the most important questions of Daoism such as how to grow the energy so it can become strong enough to harmonize with the heavens.
Sitting in Forgetting is very good for developing Qi and spiritual awareness, it can also be used to open the mystery gate, but the main weakness of the style is that it does not have a method to grow the energy in the body. Internal Alchemy is the only Daoist practice which can be used to cultivate the Spiritual Fetus to maturity so it can emerge from the body as the Yang Spirit.
If you want to clearly understand the distinctions between Daoist energetic practices, their historical development, and how to practice the rudiments of each system please consider taking this course:
https://immortalitystudy.gumroad.com/l/meditationforbeginners
It is still in progress and although it was originally slated to be twelve classes in length it looks like it will run to about fifteen, so a great value and wonderful way to get an overview of the Daoist energetic system of practice.
Now that we've covered these issues, let's talk a bit about the basic strategy of Internal Alchemy...
What we are trying to do at first is get the original essence to give off a spark so it generates Qi which can travel in the meridian system.
This is one of the most difficult parts of practice for two reasons:
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