Let’s start with Qi (Chee)
~ According to Traditional Chinese Medicine, and ancient Chinese practices and philosophy Qi is the lifeforce.
~ Qi is the intelligence behind organised cell structure.
~ Qi manifests into… everything!
~ 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
The Neijing Tu, often translated as The Chart of the Inner Landscape is a symbolic Daoist representation of the Microcosm (a miniature universe inside of you) and how Qi circulates along the spine.
Now, turn your own gaze inward and imagine your body not as a collection of organs, bones and tissues, but as towering majestic mountains, winding rivers, still lakes, twinkling stars, sturdy trees with swaying stable branches and ancient sages meditating in caves. The entire Macrocosm (the Universe and world around us) is within you, the Microcosm.
At the core of Traditional Chinese Medicine lies the science of how your essence (Jing) and life force (Qi) can be circulated through specific pathways in your body.
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.
Known as The microcosmic orbit, a meditation using focused attention and breathing moves awareness from the lower belly (dantian) down to the perineum, up the spine, over the head, and down the front midline back to the lower belly. By inhaling into and up the back towards the top of the head and exhaling down the front gathers scattered energy, clears blockages, and acts as a master circuit that feeds the body's primary energy reserves.
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 (or Channels), 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 participating in the eternal and natural rhythms of existence. Indeed, The Master Plan, The Way of the Dao.