Spirit Medicine: nèigong (內功)

Neigong is the pratice by which a container is created at the lower dantian (下 丹田) to store a reserve of energy. This container is coalesced out of yin qi (陰氣), and the reserve of energy is yang qi (陽氣).

Common Errors and Misunderstandings

You are not born with a dantian (丹田)

One of the common misconceptions of the lower dantian is thinking it is something that we are born with. There is a natural confluence of energy that is often also called the “lower dantian”, however, the container is something that has to be made, it isn’t something something is born with.

In other words, one has to make the bucket first before filling the bucket.

In many introductory qigong courses and some martial arts, practitioners are encouraged to put the attention on the lower belly and fill it immediately. Without yin qi coalesced there – without a bucket – the yang qi will leak or disperse.

There is yin and yang qi, not just a single type of qi

In many qigong courses, martial arts, and cultivation fantasies, qi is treated as if there is only a single type.

Although cultivation fantasies may talk about “aspected qi”, such as something from classical wuxing (五形), or modern fantasies with aspects such as light, shadow, etc. they are all understood that will or intent can manipulate the qi as if it is a substance. Those are all forms of yang qi (陽 氣), as they all involve the active use of attention, mind, and awareness.

However, yin qi (陰氣) acts as a medium in which yang qi(陽 氣) flows, and as such, it structures yang qi. This is what allows yin qi to hold yang qi. As such, it means that yin qi (陰氣) holds yang qi (陽氣), and intent (yi, 意) does not. You don’t use your will to hold qi in place.

Yin qi (陰氣), not intent (yi, 意) holds yang qi (陽氣)

You can manipulate yang qi (陽氣) with will or intent to form into a condensed shape. Once the intent to do so is no longer maintained, then then yang qi starts losing that information encoded within it. It starts to disperse.

However, yin qi (陰氣) can form a container and stay in that shape without sustaining will or intent. When yang qi (陽氣) is lead there, it stays there, until it is called for.

This is a common misunderstanding in cultivation fantasies. Many cultivation fantasies depict scenes where the practitioner crunches or compresses qi (or mana, or whatever name they use for subtle energy), even talking about using will to force it in there. Trying to do it this way is a fast way of getting nowhere.

So how do we access yin qi? Many will try to then use intent to access yin qi, which will not work. Any use of intent is more likely to acces yang qi. This leads to the next common error: trying to access yin qi through will and intent.

Yin qi (陰氣) is not accessed through intent (yi, 意) or will

It is very tempting to try to “visualize” yin qi（陰氣）in order to access, sense, and manipulate it. How hard could it be? If we understand it as another aspect of qi, and understand the concept of “yin”, then we can visualize or impart upon the qi with that concept and get yin qi. This should not be difficult.

When we do something like that – assuming, we are not simplying visualizing within our inner imaginal space, and we have a siddhi that allows us to sense and manipulate qi – what we end up is yang qi（陽氣）masquerading as yin qi（陰氣）but it doesn’t really act like yin qi.

To directly sense yin qi（陰氣）, one must have a siddhi for it. It is usually more easily accessed during deep trance states, close to being asleep. That is not something easily accessible for many people, or something that is easily developed. And if it requires a deep trance to directly access it, then it is not practical to practice with.

However, there is a reliable way to indirectly work with yin qi even if you do not have the siddhi to sense or manipulate it: your center of gravity.

Changing the Center of Gravity is a key method of neigong

Gravity is related to a very pure grade of yin qi. Here on Earth, we are continually affected by gravity – whether we want to be or not. The gravatic field of Earth itself, contains information encoded within the yin field that shapes and influences our form, as vessels for our consciousness (Heaven).

Important: this is why the beginning stages of neigong standing practices works with aligning the center of gravity, and why the jiben qigong heavily emphasizes the up and down motion in the movement.

Sensing and aligning the center of gravity not only helps to develop the yin qi container within the body, it is also the foundation in which to develop the siddhi for yin qi.

It is a very common error to be sloppy and unmindful of the center of gravity. (Conversely, becoming overly rigid and controlling will also be an error – you end up slipping into using intent and will to access yin qi.)

Neigong and Martial Arts are not quite the same

In addition to the creation of a reserve of energy, neigong exercises the torso so that this reserve can be efficient.

For example, there are movements in jiben qigong that resemble movement principles in internal martial arts such as taijiquan（太極 拳）. It is then tempting to then practice jiben qigong in a way to bring out qi to the fingers and issue power fajin（發 勁）. This would be an error.

The practice of jiben qigong uses the movement of the hands to generate pressure and shape what goes on inside the torso, in the abdominal (belly) and thoracic (chest) cavity. The purpose is to exercise to develop the ability to generate power from within the torso by making movements of qi more efficient.

In contrast, an exercise such as Si Long Dao Yin（四龍導引）primarily leads energy outward, which develops the efficiency of leading qi out the limbs. Without also developing what is going on within the torso, the limbs can become too efficient, letting qi out without pressurizing the torso. Si Long Dao Yin contains four roads, each starts and ends with a simple neigong exercise that is also found in jiben qigong.

As such, neigong and martial arts do not have the same training goals, although they complement each other. Generally speaking: when training neigong, focus on developing what is inside the torso.

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