Let’s start with Qi (Chee)
~ According to Traditional Chinese Medicine, and ancient Chinese practices and philosophy Qi is the lifeforce.
~ Qi is organised cell structure.
~ Qi manifests into… everything!
~ Qi is Bio-electric – Elec-chee-city.
~ Qi moves around the body in between the layers of fascia.
~ Fascia is a web inside the human body made of collagen fibres. Its everywhere, and theres many layers.
~ Qi uses pathways, meridians, highways, channels to move through the body.
~ Qi moves fluid around the body.
~ Qi wants to flow. So we have to remove blockages, and create spaces for the Qi to access. Open the spaces that are blocked or closed.
The Neijing Tu
Turning your gaze inward and imagine your body not as a collection of organs, bones and tissues, but as towering mountains, winding rivers, twinkling stars, and ancient sages meditating in caves. Welcome to the Neijing Tu, the Chart of the Inner Landscape. This extraordinary Daoist diagram treats your body as a miniature universe, a complete world contained within your skin. For Daoists, this chart serves as a visual guide for internal alchemy (Neidan), a spiritual practice that uses meditation, breathing techniques, and energy cultivation to transform your body's energies, promote longevity, and work toward spiritual immortality.
The chart maps your body's "inner landscape" using the language of nature. Your organs become mountain peaks, your spine becomes a flowing river, your energy centers become celestial bodies.
Through this visual roadmap, it illustrates how your essence (Jing) and life force (Qi) can be circulated through specific pathways in your body, particularly along what's called the microcosmic orbit, which flows up your back and down your front. When refined through dedicated practice, these energies transform to create what Daoists call the "golden elixir" or "elixir of life."
The whole diagram unfolds in three levels, lower, middle, and upper, like three floors of a sacred building, each representing a stage in your transformation. And you're not alone on this journey. Look closely and you'll spot two legendary spiritual guides: Laozi, the ancient sage who gave us the philosophy of Daoism, and Bodhidharma, the monk who brought Chan Buddhism from India to China. They're right there in the diagram, watching over your inner landscape.
The Neijing Tu explained
The Lower Region: The Caudal Funnel
At the very bottom of your spine, where the chart shows the Caudal Funnel (Weilü), there's a boy and a girl working a treadmill together. They represent Yin and Yang in collaboration. What are they doing? They're reversing the natural downward flow of your Essence (Jing), depicted as water flowing along the spine, so it doesn't just leak away and is wasted.
~ This is one of the Three Barriers (sanguan) that energy must pass through on its journey upward.
Here's where the alchemy really begins: as this water is redirected upward, it transforms into a fiery furnace that heats up the lower Cinnabar Field (your lower energy center, located in your lower abdomen). This area is marked by four Yin-Yang symbols representing the four external elements; Wood, Fire, Metal, and Water. The fifth element, Soil (Earth), sits at their center where they all meet. Just to the left of this Cinnabar Field, you'll see an "iron buffalo plowing the earth and planting the golden coin." This beautiful image represents the very first seed of the Golden Elixir beginning to form.
The Middle Region: The Heart Center
Moving up to the middle of the body, you find the middle Cinnabar Field, shown as that striking spiral right in the region of your heart. Just above it sits the Herd Boy, holding the Northern Dipper constellation, a powerful symbol of the cosmic center. There's a touching love story woven into this anatomy: the Herd Boy (who represents the star Altair) and the Weaving Girl below him (who represents Vega, the same star depicted as the woman spinning at your kidneys). According to Chinese legend, these celestial lovers can only meet once a year. Their separation and annual reunion symbolize the dynamic tension and eventual union of cosmic forces within your body.
~ At the level of the Weaving Girl, along your spine, you'll find the Spinal Handle, the second of the Three Barriers.
The Upper Region: The Head and Heaven
The top portion of the chart represents your upper Cinnabar Field, your head, where consciousness and spirit reside. Above and behind the Twelve-storied Pavilion (your trachea or throat).
~ You'll see the Jade Pillow, the third and final barrier that energy must pass through.
Behind those mountain peaks on the left side, the Control vessel (dumai) emerges. This is the energy channel that runs up the back of your body along your spine. Sitting peacefully next to it is Laozi himself, the ancient sage who founded Daoism. Below the Control vessel, the Function vessel (Renmai) begins, this channel flows down the front of your body. Standing there with his arms raised is Bodhidharma, the legendary monk who brought Chan (Zen) Buddhism from India to China.
And those two dots? They're your eyes, and they also represent the Sun and Moon, showing how even the celestial bodies have their place within you.
What it means for practice
The Neijing Tu reminds us that our bodies aren't separate from the universe, they're miniature versions of it. Every breath you take, every movement of energy through your meridians, every moment of stillness in meditation is part of the same cosmic dance happening in the stars and mountains. When you practice yoga, Qigong, or meditation with this understanding, you're not just exercising or relaxing, you're participating in the eternal rhythms of existence itself.
