CROSS COUNTRY SKIING, SNOW SHOEING AND WALKING UNDER SNOW.

Tú alma sabe cual es el camino

TU ALMA SABE CUAL ES EL CAMINO

Si tu maestro interno te dice que necesitas un tiempo para ti escúchalo.

Si tu cuerpo ya no siente lo mismo cuando sale de fiesta y cuando toma alcohol no te lo reproches escúchalo.

Si tu alma te dice que ya no vibras con algunas personas con las que solías compartir, tranquilo es parte de tu evolución, si tu espíritu te pide que te conectes más y que empieces a trabajar en tu equilibrio hazle caso.

Si tu cuerpo te pide que te alimentes mejor, camines y que duermas más horas, consiéntelo

Si tu vida te dice que ese trabajo ya no es para ti, es hora de tomar un nuevo rumbo.

Si tu corazón te dice que ya no te sientes lleno con esa pareja, sigue a tu corazón el sabe el camino.

Si tu vida te dice que cambies de hábitos, pensamientos y rutinas.

Si tu corazón te pide a gritos que viajes, inténtalo y no saques excusas.

El sabe cual es la medicina que necesitas,

Aprende a escucharte, conéctate con tu maestro interno y ábrete a todas las señales que llegan para ti.

Tu alma sabe cual es el camino...

THE KAIZEN PATH.

THE KAIZEN PATH

No hay tiempo para mas

Me encantó.

"No hay tiempo para nada más"

Así es la vida y nadie escapa vivo de este mundo. Todavía hay tiempo, así que vive por placer, mañana puede que ya no sea.

Come lo que quieras, camina bajo el sol, báñate en el mar... Di la verdad cuando sientas. Sé loco, sé tonto. Sé raro. Sé tú mismo, no hay tiempo para nada más."

Keanu Reeves

APRENDE A VIVIR DISFRUTANDO!!!!

APRENDE A VIVIR DISFRUTANDO!

1. Camina de 10 a 30 minutos todos los días; mientras caminas, sonríe.

2. Siéntate en silencio por lo menos 10 minutos cada día.

3. Escucha buena música todos los días, es auténtico alimento para el espíritu.

4. Al levantarte en la mañana, hazte un propósito definido.

5. Vive con las tres E’s: energía, entusiasmo y empatía.

6. Juega y diviértete mas que el año pasado.

7. Lee más libros que el año pasado.

8. Mira al cielo al menos una vez al día y date cuenta de la majestuosidad del mundo que te rodea.

9. Sueña más mientras estás despierto.

10. Trata de hacer reír a por lo menos tres personas cada día.

11. Elimina el desorden de tu vida y deja que nueva energía fluya.

12. No gastes tu precioso tiempo en chismes, cosas del pasado, pensamientos negativos o cosas fuera de tu control. Mejor invierte tu energía en lo positivo del presente.

13. Date cuenta que la vida es una escuela y tú estás aquí para aprender. Los problemas son lecciones que van y vienen; lo que aprendes de estos es para toda la vida.

14. Sonríe y ríe más.

15. No dejes pasar la oportunidad de abrazar a quien quieres.

16. Deja de lado los juicios innecesarios.

17. No te tomes a ti mismo tan en serio; nadie más lo hace.

18. No tienes que ganar cada discusión; acepta que no estás de acuerdo y aprende del otro.

19. Ponte en paz con tu pasado; así no arruinará tu presente.

20. No compares tu vida con la de otros; no tienes idea del camino que ellos han andado en la vida.

21. Nadie está a cargo de tu felicidad excepto tú mismo.

22. Recuerda que tú no tienes el control de todo lo que te sucede, pero sí de lo que haces con ello.

23. Aprende algo nuevo cada día.

24. Lo que la demás gente piense de ti no es de tu incumbencia.

25. Aprecia tu cuerpo y disfrútalo.

26. No importa que tan buena o mala sea la situación, ésta cambiará.

27. Tu trabajo no se ocupará de ti cuando estés enfermo; tus amigos sí lo harán. Mantente en contacto con ellos.

28. Desecha cualquier cosa que no sea útil, bonita o divertida.

29. La envidia es una pérdida de tiempo; tú ya tienes todo lo que necesitas.

30. Lo mejor está aún por venir.

31. No importa cómo te sientas, levántate, vístete y asiste.

32. Llama a tus familiares con frecuencia y mándales mensajes recordándoles cuanto les aprecias y les amas.

33. Cada noche antes de acostarse da gracias por lo recibido y logrado.

34. Recuerda que estás demasiado bendecido como para estar estresado.

35. Disfruta del viaje. Sólo tienes una oportunidad; sácale el mayor provecho.

36. La vida es bella, disfrútala a cada instante!.feliz dia lleno de bendiciones infinitas..

RUNNING UNDER THE SNOW

THE BEST MOMENTS IN MY LIFE, RUNNING UNDER THE SNOW

STONE ARCH BRIDGE MINNEAPOLIS 2020

A LITTLE TOUR ON STONE ARCH BRIDGE MINNEAPOLIS

HUI YIN, THE POWER OF THE LIFE (GATE OF DEATH AND LIFE)

Circulation of Energy

The Microcosmic Orbit is the classic Taoist alchemical method for refining, raising, and circulating internal energy via the 'orbit' formed by the Governing Channel from perineum up to head and the Conception Channel from head back down to perineum. 

Activating the Microcosmic Orbit is a key step that leads to more advanced practices. Taoists believe that microcosmic orbit meditation fills the reservoirs of the Governing and Conception channels with energy, which is then distributed to all the major organ-energy meridians, thereby energizing the internal organs. It draws abundant energy up from the sacrum into the brain, thereby enhancing cerebral circulation of blood and stimulating secretions of vital neurochemicals. It is also the first stage for cultivating the 'spiritual embryo' or 'golden elixir' of immortality, a process that begins in the lower abdomen and culminates in the mid-brain. This is probably the best of all Taoist methods for cultivating health and longevity while also 'opening the three passes' to higher spiritual awareness.

Taoists often refer things in symbolic languages. 'Opening the Three Passes' is another name for this meditation method and refers to the three critical junctions which pave the way for energy to travel up from the sacrum through the Governing Channel along the spine into the head.

The Microcosmic Orbit is the route of Qi during its constant circulation along the channels Du-Mai and Zen-Mai. Zen-Mai channel has its origin in the point situated on the soft tissue under your tongue and goes down the midline along the chest and abdomen to the perineum (Huei-Yin point). Du-Mai channel starts at the Huei-Yin point and goes up along the back towards the head, crosses the crown (Bai-Huei point) and turns down along the front part of the forehead to the point on the upper palate.

Qigong practices generate a lot of Qi or Prana, the life force energy. As more and more energy is stimulated, it becomes more Yang… and starts going up, to the head. Ascending together, both blood and energy create excessive pressure in the head; it may cause headaches, brain swelling and rather serious consequences. This is often the case with many of the advanced yoga pranayama techniques, there is too much stimulation of the energy to rise upward and this creates a lot of pressure and excess energy in the head. To prevent it, energy must be brought back down and routed off from the head down the front-middle Zen-Mai channel. 

This can happen spontaneously if the tip of the tongue touches the upper palate, as the tongue like a bridge connects both channels and the energy flows freely.

Most all qigong practice always require the tongue up onto the upper palate thus enclosing both channels and encouraging constant energy circulation along the Microcosmic Orbit. (In advanced yoga practices this is considered Stage 1 of Kechari Mudra.)

So when we practice the Microcosmic Orbit the requirement is to press the tongue onto the upper palate.

One day it will not be needed any longer. Energy, like water in pipes, when the pipes are cleaned before the general turning on, will smash all the blocks on its way and train the channels… Zen-Mai and Du-Mai channels may be trained so that they will grow wider and deeper… expanding they will imbibe and absorb the neighboring channels… and one day the channels of the body will be one unified entire channel, one entire Dantian, one biologically active point. Then the energy will be able to flow in all parts of the body steadily and uninterruptedly. There will never be any blockages and this would give a state of perfect health. This is the global objective of Microcosmic Orbit.

Qi energy on its course along the Microcosmic Orbit restores, cures and improves all points throughout the nervous system, circulatory system and the entire body. The Microcosmic Orbit also redistributes the surplus Qi directing it to the areas that have more need of this energy.

With any type of advanced qi gong or yoga technique, sexual energy can be stimulated. After regular practice it starts generating intensively and produces strong sexual desire. To avoid problems that might arise and stimulate uncontrolled and destructive carnal energies and amplify the lower nature, the abundant sexual energy must be transmuted; it must be drawn up and circulated properly and be transformed into the “higher” and “more refined” energies with the help of this Microcosmic Orbit exercise.

At first, we concentrate it in the area of the Lower Dantian in the shape of a sphere, just picturing the image of a red hot ball in the Lower Dantian, as we do during Yang-Qigong exercises. Then we move the energy along the Microcosmic Orbit.

Preparation

Sit with your spine gently elongated, but not stiff. Lengthen your spine so that you are as straight as possible, crown reaching up to the ceiling. Tuck your chin in slightly so your neck is straight. 

Place the tip of your tongue on the roof of your mouth, right behind the upper front teeth.

Lower your eyelids and relax.

Bring your attention to the natural rhythm of your breath, simply observing your inhalations and your exhalations.

Relax the diaphragm area, so that your breath is not constricted

Begin Abdominal Breathing. Concentrate your attention on the Lower Dantian. Imagine and feel inside it a red hot ball.

Microcosmic Orbit Practice:

1. Let your awareness fall to your Dan Tian. 

2. Visualize a small ball of pure golden or white light in the Dan Tian. Feel the properties of the energy, whether they be heat, vibration, warmth or just a sensation of its presence. 

3. Inhale and feel the ball of Qi roll down from the Dan Tien, past the perineum, to the tip of the spine, up along the spine, up the back of the neck, up the back of the head to the crown, down the center of the forehead to the roof of the mouth. This is the path of the Governing Vessel.

For advanced practitioners:

While inhaling draw your abdomen in and up (called uddiyana bandha in yoga) while you engage mulabandha (contracting and lifting up the perennial muscles and slightly retracting the anus) 

4. Where the tongue rests on the palate, feel the energy continue to roll through the tongue, down the front of the throat, down the center-line of the chest to the Dan Tian, down to the perineum. This is the path of the Conception Vessel. 

5. Continue circulating energy through the orbit. 

The Microcosmic Orbit is a Taoist Alchemy Technique

Inner Alchemy is a way to transform something that is dense and dark into something that is penetrated with the light of consciousness, transparent and golden, filled with virtues and integrity. When raw sexual energy circulates through the Orbit it moves through four pumps along the spine: the Sacrum, Adrenal, Dorsal and Cranial pumps, which pump the sexual waters upwards. These energy pumps also refine the energy from a dense state in the lower centres to a more refined state as it moves through the upper centres.

In the embryo as the first cells divide the front and back channels are formed. The creative energy runs through the Orbit like a subtle breathing to facilitate the deveolpment of the fetus, so it also called “Prenatal Breathing”. The Microcosmic Orbit links up the Governing Vessel in the back, which governs Yang Chi in the body, and the Conception Vessel in the front, which is a source of Yin energy. The Conception Vessel ends in the tongue and the Governing Vessel ends in the palate, so putting the tongue on the roof of the mouth acts like a circuit breaker to link the flow together.

How does the Microcosmic Orbit generate light? 

If you put an electric wire between a positive and negative pole you can generate electricity. Our negative charged pole is in the perineum, called the Hui Yin or Meeting of Yin and our positive charged pole is in the crown, called “Bai Hui” or Meeting of a Thousand Places. So when you circulate energy between these two poles you are a generator of free energy! The whirling action pulls in an abundance of energy from the Heavens, Earth and Human plane around us. Your centre of gravity below your navel is like the magnetic core of the earth. As the moon orbits around the earth, so the orbit describes the phases of the moon. Imagine a ball of energy at the base of the spine as a new moon, which rises to crown as the full moon, its most yang phase.

There are a few ways to circulate the chi in the Orbit: up the front and down the back, the Water Cycle, and up the back and down the front, the Fire Cycle. The Water Cycle has the effect of opening our psychic abilities and relaxing the nerves down the spine. 

The Fire Cycle helps us to awaken heightened awareness and grow our initiative in life. It has the benefit of containing and protecting our energy field as we go out into the world. The direction of the cycles can vary at different times of our life. For example, in the womb the flow of the fire cycle activates our growth, in childhood the flow of the water cycle helps to develop our imagination, in adulthood the flow of the fire cycle develops our manifestation power and in elders the flow of the water cycle enhances self-reflection and spiritual growth.

The Orbit weaves together and integrates the three Tan Tiens: head, chest and lower abdomen, which correspond to the zones of thinking, feeling and willing. It distributes chi to all the chakras and acupuncture meridians and nourishes the growth of our soul and spirit. It builds the energetic foundation for spiritual development.

Often people experience heat or shaking as the circulating energy breaks up resistance and blockages in the physical and subtle bodies. The heat is caused by the friction as it scrubs through the channels. When this energy is awakened it wants to heal and open the body. It has incredible wisdom, which can do amazing work when you trust and let in happen. This a safe way of cultivating “Kundalini” or primordial energy as it embraces both the ascension and expansion of consciousness and the incarnating and embodiment of the refined energy to grow and evolve all parts of ourselves. Kundalini, the power of evolution, once awakened, is a profound catalyst for renewal on all levels, physical, emotional, and spiritual.

The conscious circulation of chi in this way plays an important role in longevity. As one ages the energy tends to polarize, cold sinking and heat rising. Excess heat rising can lead to mental agitation and heart conditions and excess coldness sinking can lead to weaker digestive fire and stiff joints, for example. By integrating hot and cold tendencies the “Warm Current Meditation” makes us feel more balanced and youthful.

This circulation plays an essential role in cultivating sexual energy and is central in the practice of Tao Tantra. 

When a couple is conscious of exchanging energy during lovemaking they can weave their Microcosmic Orbits together joining at the heart, genitals or Third Eye. Their light energy generates love so they can really “make love”, “make joy”, “make courage” and grow limitless potential of creativity, wisdom, and bliss.

A POWERFUL POEM

 

A POWERFUL POEM

MINNEAPOLIS SCULPTURE GARDEN

MINNEAPOLIS SCULPTURE GARDEN AT WALKER ART CENTER

COMO ZOO CONSERVATORY (PHOTOSHOOT)

COMO ZOO CONSERVATORY Saint Paul MINNESOTA.

PHOTO SESSION

KIDNEY 10

KIDNEY YIN DEFICIENCY (shen yin xu): primary symptoms are dizziness; blurry vision; ringing in the ears; sore and weak lower back or knees; burning in palms and soles; tidal heat sensations; night sweats. Secondary symptoms include dry mouth and throat; flushed face; emaciated features; premature graying of hair; low sperm count in males; decreased menstrual flow and infertility in females; forgetfulness; insomnia; spermatorrhea; premature ejaculation; heel pain; yellow urination; dry stool. The tongue typically presents with a red body and little or no coating; the pulse tends to be fine and rapid.

Representative Herbs: rehmannia (dihuang), cornus (shanzhuyu), asparagus root (tianmendong), ho-shou-wu (heshouwu), lycium fruit (gouqizi), ligustrum (nuzhenzi), tortoise shell (guiban), turtle shell (biejia), scrophularia (xuanshen), eclipta (hanliancao), anemarrhena (zhimu).

Representative Formulas: Return the Left Decoction; Achyranthes and Rehmannia Formula (Zuogui Yin); Rehmannia Six Formula (Liuwei Dihuang Wan).

KIDNEY YANG DEFICIENCY (shen yang xu): primary symptoms are pale or dark complexion; listless spirit; obvious aversion to cold; cold extremities; low sex drive; weak or cold and painful lower back and knees; early morning diarrhea; frequent urination or clear and profuse urination. Secondary symptoms include impotence; premature ejaculation; infertility; clear vaginal discharge; inhibited urination and edema; dizziness; ringing in the ears. The tongue typically presents with a pale, tender, and often toothmarked body, and a white and slippery coating; the pulse tends to be deep, slow, and forceless.

Representative Herbs: aconite (fuzi), cinnamon bark (rougui), epimedium (yinyanghuo), morinda (bajitian), psoralea (buguzhi), deer antler (lurong), curculigo (xianmao), fenugreek (huluba), cistanche (roucongrong), cynomorium (suoyang).

Representative Formulas: Return the Right Pill (Yougui Wan).

KIDNEY QI DEFICIENCY (shen qi xu): primary symptoms are dizziness; ringing in the ears; weak or sore lower back and knees; physical and mental fatigue; shortness of breath. Secondary symptoms include pale complexion; spontaneous sweating; decreased mental and physical growth rate in children; frequent urination; nocturia; spermatorrhea; premature ejaculation; asthmatic panting upon exertion. The tongue typically presents with a pale body and a white coating; the pulse tends to be fine and weak.

Representative Herbs: walnut (hutaorou), dioscorea (shanyao), eucommia (duzhong), cuscuta (tusizi), schizandra (wuweizi), cornus (shanzhuyu), morinda (bajitian).

Representative Formula: Rehmannia Eight Formula (Shenqi Wan).

KIDNEY JING DEPLETION (shen jing bu zu): primary symptoms are dizziness; ringing in the ears; weak or sore lower back and knees; low sperm count in males; amenorrhea and infertility in females; delayed mental and physical development in children. Secondary symptoms include decreased memory; slow and clumsy body movements; dull facial expressions; emaciated body structure; hair loss; loose teeth; late closing of fontanella in babies; muscular atrophy.

Representative Herbs: placenta (ziheche), deer antler (lurong), tortoise shell gelatin (guijiaojiao), cordyceps (dongchong xiacao), cooked rehmannia (shu dihuang), lycium fruit (gouqizi), cornus (shanzhuyu), eucommia (duzhong), cistanche (roucongrong).

Representative Formula: Placenta Restorative Pills (Heche Dazao Wan).

BILATERAL DEFICIENCY OF KIDNEY YIN AND YANG (shen yin yang liang xu): primary symptoms are dizziness; ringing in the ears; weak, sore, or painful lower back and knees; cold fingers and toes and/or burning sensations in palms and soles; night sweats or spontaneous sweating. Secondary symptoms include pale complexion and/or flushed face; poor memory; insomnia; vivid dreaming; listless spirit; loose teeth; dry and split hair; unsteady walk; swollen feet; asthmatic panting upon physical exertion. The tongue typically presents with a red body and little or no coating, or with a pale body and white coating; the pulse tends to be fine and rapid, or deep, slow, and weak.

Representative Herbs: cooked rehmannia (shu dihuang), ho-shou-wu (heshouwu), lycium fruit (gouqizi), ligustrum (nuzhenzi), cornus (shanzhuyu), cuscuta (tusizi), schizandra (wuweizi).

Representative Formulas: Rehmannia Eight Formula (Shenqi Wan); Five Seed Fertilize the Ancestral Force Pill (Wuzi Yanzong Wan).

THE KIDNEY QI FAILS TO EXECUTE ITS STORING ACTION (shen qi bu gu): primary symptoms include clear, frequent, and dribbling urination; enuresis; bedwetting; spermatorrhea; premature ejaculation; tendency to miscarry; clear vaginal discharge. Secondary symptoms include pale complexion; mental and physical fatigue; weak or sore back; loss of hearing; spontaneous sweating. The tongue typically presents with a pale body and a white coating; the pulse tends to be fine and weak.

Representative Herbs: schizandra (wuweizi), euryale (qianshi), rose hips (jinyingzi), mantis egg cases (sangpiaoxiao), dioscorea (shanyao), alpinia (yizhiren), dragon bone (longgu), oyster shell (muli), cuscuta (tusizi).

Representative Formulas: Golden Lock Shore Up the Jing Pill (Jinsuo Gujing Wan); Mantis Formula (Sangpiaoxiao San); Retract the Source Pill (Suoquan Wan).

THE KIDNEY FAILS TO GRASP AND RETAIN QI (shen bu na qi): primary symptoms are shortness of breath or asthmatic panting (brief inhale, longer exhale), especially following physical exertion. Secondary symptoms include pale complexion; puffy face; blue lips; emission of small amounts of urine when coughing; spontaneous sweating; general aversion to cold; cold extremities; weak or sore lower back and knees; mental and physical fatigue. The tongue typically presents with a pale body and a white coating; the pulse tends to be fine and weak, or floating and uprooted.

Representative Herbs: walnut (hutaorou), gecko (gejie), psoralea (buguzhi), schizandra (wuweizi), cooked rehmannia (shu dihuang), ginseng (renshen), codonopsis (dangshen), aquilaria (chenxiang), amethystum (zishiying).

Representative Formulas: Ginseng and Walnut Decoction (Renshen Hutao Tang); Ginseng and Gecko Powder (Shen Jie San); All Encompassing Qi Pill (Du Qi Wan).

YIN DEFICIENCY CAUSING FIRE EFFULGENCE (yin xu huo wang): primary symptoms are flushed face and red lips; restlessness; difficulty falling asleep; dry mouth and throat; burning sensation in palms and soles; tidal heat sensations; night sweats. Secondary symptoms include obsessive sexual fantasies; excessive urge to masturbate; frequent sexual dreams; dark urination; constipation. The tongue typically presents with a red body and little or no coating; the pulse tends to be fine and rapid.

Representative Herbs: anemarrhena (zhimu), phellodendron (huangbai), coptis (huanglian), raw rehmannia ( sheng dihuang), peony (baishao), cynanchum (baiwei), eclipta (hanliancao), lycium bark (digupi).

Representative Formulas: Anemarrhena, Phellodendron, and Rehmannia Formula (Zhi Bai Dihuang Wan); Lock in the Marrow Pellet (Fengsui Dan).

KIDNEY YANG DEFICIENCY CAUSING WATER EFFUSION (shen yang xu shui fan): primary symptoms are puffiness and edema (especially prominent in lower extremities). Secondary symptoms include ashen or waxen face color; inhibited urination; obvious aversion to cold; cold extremities; palpitations; stuffy sensation in chest; shortness of breath; cough or asthmatic panting accompanied by expectoration of runny and clear phlegm; heavy and painful waist; abdominal fullness; scrotal edema. The tongue typically presents with a fat, pale, and toothmarked body, and a white and slippery coating; the pulse tends to be deep and wiry; or deep and fine.

Representative Herbs: aconite (fuzi), cinnamon twig (guizhi), hoelen (fuling), curculigo (xianmao), alisma (zexie), plantago seed (cheqianzi), polyporus (zhuling).

Representative Formula: Vitality Combination (Zhenwu Tang).

KIDNEY 9

Moisten the kidney (tonify kidney yin) (zi yin; bu shen yin): rehmannia (dihuang), tortoise shell (guiban), asparagus root (tianmendong), lycium fruit (gouqizi), morus fruit (sangshenzi), ligustrum (nuzhenzi).

Warm the kidney (strengthen yang; tonify the vital flame of life) (wen shen; zhuang yang; bu ming huo): aconite (fuzi), cinnamon bark (rougui), sulphur (liuhuang), morinda (bajitian), deer antler (lurong), cnidium fruit (shechuangzi), cistanche (roucongrong).

Complement jing and tonify the marrow (tian jing bu sui): animal bone marrow (dongwu jisui), animal brain (naosui), placenta (ziheche), deer antler (lurong), antler gelatin (lujiaojiao), tortoise plaster gelatin (guijiao), cordyceps (dongchong xiacao).

Restore the storing action of the kidney (astringe jing; stop vaginal discharge; curb frequent and profuse urination) (gu shen; se jing; zhi dai; shou se xiao bian): schizandra (wuweizi), cornus (shanzhuyu), alpinia (yizhiren), rubia (fupenzi), mantis egg case (sangpiaoxiao), rose hips (jinyingzi).

Restore the kidney's function of grasping and retaining qi (na qi gui shen): schizandra (wuweizi), psoralea (buguzhi), gecko (gejie), cornus (shanzhuyu), aquilaria (chenxiang).

Aid the transformation of bladder qi (hua pangguang qi): cinnamon twig (guizhi) and hoelen (fuling), cinnamon bark (rougui), lindera (wuyao), fennel (xiao huixiang), saussurea (muxiang), citrus seed (juhe), litchi seed (lizhihe).

Open and disinhibit the water passages of the bladder and the triple burner (tongli pangguang, sanjiao): alisma (zexie), hoelen (fuling), polyporus (zhuling), talc (huashi), akebia (mutong), tetrapanax (tongcao), tokoro (pixie), polygonum (bianxu), lygodium (haijinsha).

Clear kidney heat (moisten yin and descend deficiency fire) (qing shen re; zi yin jiang huo): anemarrhena (zhimu), phellodendron (huangbai), morus bark (digupi), eclipta (hanliancao).

Discharge kidney fire (purge fire with salty and cold materials) (xie shen huo; xian han xie huo): salt (qingyan), halite (qingyan), urine (tongbian), calcitum (hanshuishi).

Since the kidney is the representative lower burner organ, it generally needs to be addressed with high amounts of heavy and sticky substances. The 18th century fever school authority Wu Jutong once described this characteristic in graphic terms: "Lower burner therapy is like a weight-if it is not heavy enough, it does not reach the bottom."

Kidney disorders are generally of a cold and deficient nature. Kidney therapy, therefore, needs to focus primarily on the tonification of deficiency; purging of excess is a definite taboo. If kidney water is deficient, the kidney needs to be tonified by moistening yin. If kidney jing is deficient, it needs to be replenished by supplementing jing and tonifying the bone marrow. If kidney yang is deficient, the kidney needs to be tonified by using modalities that strengthen yang. In the more advanced scenario of mingmen fire exhaustion, materials that warm and tonify the vital flame of life need to be employed.

Since the kidney has both yin and yang aspects, pathological situations may arise from an imbalance in the ratio of kidney yin and kidney yang. The most typical example is the upflaring of deficiency fire due to a deficiency in kidney water, which calls for a descending action that re-anchors the floating fire in the yin waters of the kidney. This is primarily achieved by the use of yin tonics which will bring the diminished yin level back to full capacity and thus naturally extinguish the deficiency type of pathological heat. If yang deficiency has begun to implicate yin, both jing and marrow should be supplemented and the vital flame of life be warmed and tonified. If both kidney yin and yang are deficient, both the various aspects of the kidney and the vital flame of life should be tonified. 

In the common scenario of spleen and kidney deficiency, both spleen and kidney yang need to be tonified. In case of lung and kidney deficiency, both lung and kidney yin need to be moistened. In chronic asthma patients where kidney deficiency results in an inability of the kidney to grasp the descending qi from the lung, the kidney needs to be warmed with substances that specifically assist with the action of grasping and retaining qi, such as gecko (gejie) and schizandra (wuweizi). If lung metal fails to properly generate kidney water, kidney yin needs to be moistened indirectly by nourishing the yin of its mother system, the lung. If kidney water fails to nourish its son, liver wood, the liver needs to be supported by moistening kidney yin and/or kidney jing. In the case that kidney deficiency has caused an exhaustion of the earth network, the lower burner's vital flame of life needs to be rekindled with warming substances in order to provide the transformative forces of the middle burner above with the activating heat they require.

If the extended water network (including the kidney, the bladder, and the triple burner) is compromised by a damp heat condition, the dampness should be disinhibited with materials of a cooling nature that have a specific affinity to the lower burner, such as alisma (zexie), polyporus (zhuling), and talc (huashi). If the transformative powers of the bladder and the triple burner fail due to an exhaustion of the kidney's vital flame of life, then this type of pathological water accumulation needs to be transformed by primarily warming kidney qi, and secondarily by adding several herbs that directly move out the pathological water. If phlegm, dampness, or water rheum stagnate internally, phlegm damp needs to be disinhibited, and water rheum driven out.

If the kidney has been damaged due to chronic illness, exaggerated emotions, or excessive sexual activity, a change of the situation or life style that has originally caused the condition is imperative. Simultaneously, the recovery of the kidney system can be supported by prescribing a selection of tonic agents that moisten yin, strengthen yang, or nourish jing and marrow.

As the water network, the kidney has an aversion to dry influences. It would be particularly detrimental to exclusively employ bitter and drying substances in a situation where the kidney yin is deficient. Perhaps unexpectedly, the Neijing recommends pungent flavors to counteract dryness in the kidney; these pungent flavors aid the lung in distributing moisture to the kidney. In clinical reality, herbs like cuscuta (tusizi) and cnidium fruit (shechuangzi) fit this category. The kidney strives for a state of guarded firmness and tight solidity. If the storage fortress of the kidney is properly buttressed, precious essence will not leak out. Many bitter materials, although they should be used cautiously for the reasons just mentioned, have a stabilizing affect on kidney yin. Anemarrhena (zhimu), an herb that is both bitter and moistening, and phellodendron (huangbai) are the prime substances used in situations of continuous jing leakage, particularly lower burner deficiency fire fueling obsessive sexual urges, excessive masturbation, recurrent sexual dreams, spermatorrhea, or certain types of leukorrhea. 

Salty flavors have a direct affinity to the kidney network, and are generally beneficial when used in moderation. "Salty flavors generate the kidney," comments the Neijing. Increased dietary intake of salt, usually obtained from stored foods with salt as the preserving element, taken during the water season (winter) contributes to preserving the kidney against the cold. On the other hand, salt has a percolating and leakage-promoting affect that is overall unsuitable for an organ system that is in charge of storing and metabolizing physiological jing, humors, and fluids. Therefore, excessive consumption of salty foods is discouraged, as it will harm the kidney and its affiliated body layer. "If the disease is in the bone layer," the Neijing points out elsewhere, "do not eat salty foods." 

If the kidney root is damaged, many of the body's stem and branch organs have already entered a pathological state first. If kidney yin-that is the base substance from which liver yin, stomach yin, heart yin, lung yin, and the body's humors and fluids are formed-is deficient, it usually means that the condition is preceded by a yin deficiency in other organs. Similarly, the essential flame of the lower burner only flickers after the light in the upper levels has grown dim. This situation has given rise to a school of medicine that favors kidney tonification in most deficiency situations. Tonifying kidney yin and kidney yang, proponents have argued since the 13th century, means to moisten and strengthen the body's source yin/yang and thereby the yin/yang of all organ networks. However, the root status of the kidney also implies that kidney deficiency is often accompanied by inadequate spleen/stomach function. This poses a problem in light of the fact that herbal kidney therapy requires heavy amounts of sticky substances that are generally hard to digest. One attempt to remedy this situation was the addition of herbal "digestive aids" to kidney formulas such as Rehmannia Six Formula (Liuwei Dihuang Wan). Pharmacists at the renowned Beijing herb emporium Tongren Tang, for instance, used to automatically add small amounts of the aromatic cardamon (sharen) if the patient's prescription called for large amounts of the greasy kidney tonic rehmannia (dihuang). Proponents of the spleen/stomach school, on the other hand, have argued that kidney deficiency is often the result of a deficiency of its controlling network, namely spleen earth. Spleen tonification advocates have said for more than half a millennium that this should be the primary modality to regenerate the kidney system. In any case, caution needs to be exercised regarding the prescription of heavy "water" substances to patients who show signs of digestive weakness, such as poor appetite, bloating, and tendency to experience diarrhea or loose stool. A safe method for the direct tonification of lower burner source qi has been developed by the ancestors of Chinese medicine, namely Daoist practitioners of "inner alchemy." The term inner alchemy refers to Qigong exercises of the quiet, meditative kind that focus on generating warmth and fullness in the lower dantian.

KIDNEY 8

The concept of mingmen, the vital gate of life, is an integral part of the kidney system. The Nanjing (Classic of Difficulties) elaborated on basic Neijing theory by figuratively differentiating these two aspects of the kidney in structural terms, thereby initiating a medical theory that was later referred to as the mingmen school: "There are two kidney parts. Actually, not both of them are kidneys. The left one is the kidney, the right one is mingmen." The classic then goes on to elaborate that mingmen is the place "where the entirety of bodily jing and shen is at home, and where the original qi is generated." "It is the root of all zang-fu networks, the foundation of the twelve channels, the gate of breath, and the source of all three burning spaces." Later medical scholars argued that mingmen is an immaterial force that could not be physically located in the right kidney. Rather, its location is the central point on the spine between the two anatomical kidneys and opposite the umbilicus, thus forming a "posterior dantian." The Chinese name for the acupuncture point located there is mingmen (GV-4).

The fire lodged within kidney water is often referred to as the body's ministerial fire (xiang huo), as opposed to the imperial fire (jun huo) of the heart. In its role of the "minister" serving the higher centers, it warms the spleen, ripens food, grasps lung qi, and gives volume to a person's voice.

The triple burner, a fu organ that is said to pass through and connect all of the body's three burning spaces, stimulates qi transformation with a specific focus on water metabolism. It keeps the body's water ways unobstructed and smoothly operating. These functions of the triple burner are intimately tied to the kidney and bladder. The Neijing says: "The upper burner is like a mist, the middle burner is like a swamp, and the lower burner is like a ditch," referring to the essence misting activity of the lung on top, the fermenting action of the spleen/stomach at the center, and the canalization of water in the lowest part of the torso.

Injury to Kidney (Yin) and Mingmen (Yang) Fire: if the kidney's ability to store jing becomes disturbed, a person's growth patterns and reproductive ability will be affected; infertility, hair and tooth loss, slow physical development, or softness and malformation of the bones may result. 

If within the kidney jing the crucial controlling/generating balance between kidney yin and kidney yang becomes disturbed, different symptom patterns may arise. Typical manifestations of hyperactivity of yang due to kidney yin deficiency are burning sensation in the palms and soles, tidal heat sensations, night sweats, spermatorrhea, or sexual dreams. When the kidney yang is exhausted and thus unable to execute its ministerial warming function, symptoms of listless spirit may result: sore lower back and knees; cold sensations in the body and its extremities; inhibited urination or frequent and profuse urination; early morning diarrhea; asthmatic panting upon slight physical exertion; difficult breathing; impotence and premature ejaculation; or infertility due to a "cold uterus." If there is evidence of kidney deficiency without obvious cold or heat symptoms, this symptom complex is usually referred to as kidney qi (or kidney jing) deficiency. 

It is important to understand the intimate relationship of kidney yin and kidney yang, and that prolonged kidney yin deficiency will eventually influence kidney yang and vice versa. This phenomenon is usually called a deficiency of kidney yin implicating kidney yang, or a deficiency of kidney yang implicating kidney yin.

Changes in Water Metabolism: since the kidney is said to be in charge of water, all pathological changes involving water are in some way associated with the kidney. If there is a lack of kidney yang, the body's general process of qi transformation will suffer, and consequently water metabolism will be inhibited. As the Treatise on Blood Diseases (Xuezheng Lun) explains: "If there is not enough yang qi, pathological water accumulations will turn into phlegm and distress the heart or attack the lung, or cause symptoms of edema, abdominal pain accompanied by a sensation of qi rushing upwards, or diarrhea and intense cold." 

Most cases of phlegm or edema occur when the yang fire is unable to transform yin water. Figuratively speaking, the kidney is the general commanding the two water fu organs which are mainly involved in the transportation and transformation of water, namely the triple burner and the bladder. As the Neijing says: "The shaoyang [triple burner] belongs to the kidney; above, the kidney connects with the lung, and thus has two fu organs under its command [triple burner and bladder]." 

Therefore, if there is not enough kidney yang, the upper burner cannot properly distribute fluids, the middle burner cannot properly steam and ripen food and separate the clear from the turbid, and the lower burner cannot properly transform qi, thus influencing the opening and closing ability of the bladder (causing excessive or inhibited urination, as in bed wetting, frequent urination, nocturia, etc.). 

Moreover, since urine is manufactured from body fluids which are in part produced by the kidney, a deficiency of kidney water will always involve a deficiency of fluids, causing inhibited urination. Along the same lines, too much urination will eventually harm the body's fluid supply. 

Emotional Influences on Proper Kidney Function: the kidney is said to house the force of will power and determination. Will power, therefore, relies on nourishment by kidney jing. If jing is weak, then will power and its sustained expression (memory) will also be weak. 

Intense or prolonged fear, the emotion associated with the kidney, will cause injury to the kidney qi, resulting in impotence, spermatorrhea, or the gradual development of cowardly behavior. The other way around, a physical deficiency of kidney jing can cause a disposition for panicky and fearful behavior. 

Kidney Disorders Causing Pathological Changes in the Bones, the Marrow, the Hair, and the Ears: if kidney jing is sufficient, the continuous production of high quality marrow is assured, resulting in properly nourished and, thus, firm and strong bones. Otherwise the skeletal structure will be weak, or structural changes such as osteoporosis might occur. 

If the kidney is harmed by pernicious qi affecting the kidney jing and consequently the marrow and bones, there will be symptoms of weak and sore waist and legs, or even atrophy of the legs causing severely limited mobility. As the Neijing states: "If kidney qi is pathologically hot, the lumbar spine will be inhibited, the bones will become brittle and the marrow scorched, and atrophy of the bones will result." 

For the same reasons, symptoms of loosening and deteriorating teeth, or the drying, greying, and gradual falling out of hair are related to the state of the kidney's jing qi. Since the ears and the associated sense of hearing also depend on nourishment by the kidney's jing qi, ringing in the ears, loss of hearing, or deafness are typical symptoms for various aspects of kidney deficiency.

KIDNEY 7

Fluids reach the kidney after they have been absorbed by the stomach, raised upwards by the spleen, and sprinkled downwards by the lung. At this point they become differentiated into clear and turbid aspects by virtue of the transformative powers of kidney yang. The clear part of fluid essence returns to the lung, from where it moistens each one of the zang organs. From the lung, it turns into nasal discharge, or sweat, or saliva, or tears; and it differentiates into jing, blood, jin (liquids, that is the thinner fluids moistening the muscles), and ye (the denser fluids lubricating the joints and bone marrow). The turbid part feeds into the bladder, where it is being transformed into urine, and excreted.

Bone marrow is considered to be a transformation of kidney jing that has the specific task of nourishing the bones. It is differentiated into bone marrow, spinal marrow, and brain marrow. Spinal marrow feeds into the brain, where the densest concentration of "marrow" can be observed. The brain is therefore also called the sea of marrow. 

If kidney jing is plentiful, both the bone (supporting the body) and the brain (supporting the mind) will be at a level of ideal strength. On the other hand, a deficiency of kidney jing will bring about brittle bones and a listless spirit. As the Neijing puts it: "The kidney is the master of physical strength; it produces exquisite movements/actions." 

Since the teeth are considered to be the "surplus of the bones," they also rely on the nourishment of the kidney. If the jing is plentiful, the teeth are firm; if not, they come loose or fall out.

The hair's growth process is governed by the waxing and waning of kidney qi. Again the crucial Neijing quote: "At the age of seven, a female's kidney qi is in high gear, the second teeth come in and the hair grows." Ancient texts often consider the head's hair to be a direct outgrowth of the brain, which would relate it to the kidney. The growth pattern and general luster of the hair is an important indication for the condition of prenatal jing. 

Although the process of breathing is governed by the lung, the containment of incoming qi within the lower burner is governed by kidney qi. Only if kidney qi is plentiful and its grasping power sufficient can the qi passages of the lung be unobstructed and the breathing be harmonious. If the kidney is weak and the breath cannot "root" in the kidney, disease will eventually arise. Shallow breathing, particularly in patients suffering from chronic asthma, is therefore often associated with a kidney qi deficiency. In this situation, the breath gets stuck above the diaphragm and cannot descend into its rightful abode, the lower dantian. This aspect of the kidney is one reason why there is such an intent focus on abdominal breathing in Oriental cultures.

The kidney and bladder form a zang-fu pair: "The kidney is connected with the bladder," states the Neijing; "the bladder is the store house of the liquids and humors." This statement reminds us that the bladder, similar to the gallbladder and the small intestine, not only excretes unwanted waste materials, but comprises a temporary station along the body's complex highway of vital fluid transformation. Bladder function, particular its function of "opening and closing," is largely dependent on the power of kidney qi. If kidney qi is strong, normal water metabolism will take place. The storage and excretion process of water through the bladder is thus intimately related to the general functioning of the kidney. 

The ears, which faintly resemble the kidneys in shape, are thought to reflect the condition of kidney jing. Large ears and sharp hearing indicate an excellent condition of kidney jing. As people grow older, they not only become more forgetful, but their power of hearing decreases (and sometimes their ears shrivel up) as their jing depletes. As the original statement of the Neijing goes: "The kidney qi communicates with the ears; if the kidney functions properly, the ears can distinguish the five essential sounds." 

Kidney qi, due to its mother organ's close proximity to the openings in the lower burner, governs the opening and closing function of the "two private parts," including sexual functions like erection, ejaculation, and lubrication of the vaginal tract, and maintenance of fecal continence (as well as urinary continence via the control of the bladder).

KIDNEY 5

Jing is the Chinese designation for the essential fluid of our physical body. The archaic Chinese character for jing denoted the most refined essence obtained from rice (which is the main staple of the Oriental diet, so this means the refined essence from food). The basic yin (matter) from which all yang (physical action) springs is jing. In classical Chinese medical texts, jing is sometimes referred to as the body's "original water" with water representing the ultimate yin ("original fire" being the ultimate yang). 

Water has a tendency to drain downward. The kidney, the lowest of the organ networks, is where the body's water assembles and goes into storage until needed elsewhere. If the kidney function is weak, its storage capability will become inhibited and jing will leak from the body. Due to the Daoist belief that the jing is lost when a man excretes semen (of particular concern, when an elderly man, who already had deficiency of jing through aging, excretes semen), virtually all of the ancient medical texts mention spermatorrhea (a code for release during the disallowed practice of masturbation, wet dreams, and ejaculation during intercourse when the attempt is being made to prevent it) as a condition to be treated, since it indicates a breach of the kidney's function of safeguarding and storing jing. According to the Daoist ideal, except during early adulthood, men should refrain from releasing semen, or, at the very least, experience this infrequently.

Therefore, excessive sexual indulgence by males is considered to be a major health hazard in all genres of traditional Chinese writing. Since most men cannot control their urge to ejaculate, every intercourse means an irrevocable giving away of jing. Although Chinese medical texts consent that this may be affordable for young men (who have a rich supply of jing and who can easily replenish jing through post-natal sources), they generally warn that the health of elderly males will suffer serious consequences from frequent ejaculations. "What gives life will take life" is therefore a common admonition that spans two thousand years of Chinese medical literature.

While most Daoist and medical writings take up both the general topic and the detailed techniques of safeguarding jing, it is the realm of literature which best reflects the Chinese fear of continuous jing loss by way of sexual indulgence. The epic Ming Dynasty novel, Flower In the Golden Vase (Jin Ping Mei), narrates the story of the erotomaniac Ximen Qing who peddles his money and political influence to assemble a harem of six women, then resorts to tonic drugs to bolster his flagging virility, and finally comes to a horrid end after a final ejaculation of "mercury-like fluid, followed by blood and a gust of cold air." A Daoist physician who is called to the deathbed comments: "The candle flickers once the oil is used up." Both mercury and lamp oil are often used metaphors for the kidney jing. To avoid such a gruesome death, the handsome protagonist of the second moralist novel of the Ming dynasty, Prayer Mat of Flesh (Rou Putuan), decided to become a Buddhist hermit, cut off his surgically amplified penis, and utilize his jing for spiritual cultivation.

Although the word jing is synonymous with the Chinese word semen, the seminal fluid represents only one form of jing. Other dense fluid essences such as saliva (particularly the kind that gets spontaneously excreted during meditation), vaginal fluids, breast milk, or blood are all regarded to be different transformations of one and the same jing; these are refined essences. Female "leakage" problems, such as metrorrhagia or leukorrhea occurring in older women, are therefore taken seriously for the same reasons as loss of semen in men. Daoist body science even features a special category called female alchemy (nu dan), wherein adepts are instructed in the conservation of (menstrual) blood and its transformation into physical and spiritual energy. 

The jing stored in the kidney can be differentiated into prenatal jing and postnatal jing. Prenatal jing contains the information that is given to us before birth (we would today describe it as genetic information) that is intimately linked to the growth and maturation of an individual, which differs for men and women. The defining passage in the Neijing for women reads: "At the age of seven, the kidney qi [the physical action generated by the material basis of kidney jing] in females is strong, and the teeth come in. At the age of two times seven, the tiangui (stage of hormonal and reproductive maturity) arrives, the conception vessel opens, the penetrating vessel flourishes, menstruation is regular, and pregnancy becomes possible." With regard to male physiology: "At the age of eight, the kidney qi solidifies in males and teeth develop. At the age of two times eight, the kidney qi flourishes, the tiangui arrives, ejaculation occurs, and it becomes possible to have intercourse with females and beget children...; at the age of seven times eight, the liver qi is exhausted, the tendons are unable to facilitate smooth movement, the tiangui is dried up, jing is sparse, the kidney system is exhausted, and symptoms of physical aging are plentiful." 

Postnatal jing is the nutritive essence distilled from food by the spleen/stomach, and used to provide a constant flow of nourishing dew to the other organ networks. If all the networks are plentifully supplied, the surplus of the body's vital fluid transformation is stored in the kidney. The Neijing states: "The kidney is in charge of water, and it receives the essences of the other zang and fu organ networks and stores it." Before birth, prenatal jing forms the material basis for the development of postnatal jing. Once born, postnatal jing continuously boosts the body's limited supply of prenatal jing. Both forms of essence compose an indivisible entity. 

Kidney jing encompasses both kidney yin and kidney yang, often referred to as the body's original yin and original yang. Kidney qi is produced by the dynamic interaction between the two, specifically the action of functional/warming kidney yang steaming the material kidney yin. Kidney yin is the source of all material body fluids, in charge of nourishing and moistening all organ networks. Kidney yang, sometimes also called true yang, is the source of all types of yang qi. It is the driving force behind all processes of warming, generation, and transformation. The yin and yang aspects of the kidney both rely on each other and control each other. The proper balance between kidney yin and kidney yang is an important precondition for health.

KIDNEY 4

From Tang Zonghai, A Refined Interpretation of the Medical Classics (Yijing Jingyi), Qing Dynasty:

The root of the triple burner is in the kidney, more precisely right between the two anatomical kidneys. Right there is a greasy membrane that is connected with the spine. It is called mingmen, and constitutes the source of the three burners.

From Zhang Shanlei, A Revised Edition of Master Zhang's Treatise on the Organ Networks (Zhang Shi Zangfu Yaoshi Buzheng), ca. 1918:

The triple burner is really a name for the function of the body's ministerial fire. It is the process of disseminating original qi from mingmen, which is in charge of ascending and descending, and absorbing and excreting. It roams in between the heaven and earth of the body's landscape, and commands all bodily qi-the qi of the five zang and the six fu organs, the protective qi (wei) and the nutritive qi (ying), the qi in the channels and collaterals, and the qi on the top, the bottom, the left, and the right. Its unofficial name is therefore the central store house of clear qi. The upper part is in charge of absorbing, the middle part is in charge of transforming, and the lower part is in charge of excreting.

From Sun Yikui, Mysterious Pearls of Wisdom (Chi Shui Xuan Zhu), 1584:

The so called triple burner is embedded in the greasy membrane of the diaphragm, that is the hollow space between the five zang/six fu organs and the connective pathway through which food and grain must pass. The qi of the triple burner is contained and active within this space, steaming the diaphragm, reaching out to the skin, differentiating the flesh, and setting everything around it in motion. The regions that it reaches are labeled according to their location, that is why we speak of the upper burner, the middle burner, and the lower burner. Although the triple burner does not have any structural reality to it, it has a distinct location that is determined by the structural entities surrounding it.

From Shen Jin'ao, Illuminating Lantern on the Origins of Complex Diseases (Zabing Yuanliu Xizhu), 18th century:

What we call the triple burner is actually the corridor above and below the stomach. The triple burner and its associated regions thus entirely belong to the stomach, and what it oversees is primarily the functioning of the stomach. The triple burner qi is utilized to ferment and cook the food. Together with the stomach, the triple burner is located in front of the taiyin spleen network-a place that the roaming ministerial fire calls home. The term "burner," therefore, refers to the triple burner's function of cooking everything.

From Li Dongyuan, Illuminating the Science of Medicine (Yixue Faming), 13th century:

The triple burner is an entity that has a name but no structural form. It is in charge of all bodily qi, and it is a functional manifestation of the three treasures [jing, qi, shen]. All of the body's physiological movements, its unobstructed ins and outs and ups and downs, therefore, rely on the triple burner-the process of breathing in and breathing out, the ascending and descending motion of qi, and the absorption and excretion of food and water. The upper burner is located underneath the heart; it is in charge of storing without draining. The middle burner is in the center of the epigastric region; it is in charge of fermenting and cooking food and water. The lower burner is beneath the umbilicus; it is in charge of differentiating the clear from the turbid, and it drains without storing. The driving source behind all three of these functions, however, is the middle burner.

From Chen Nianzu, The Three Character Classic of Medicine (Yixue Sanzi Jing), Qing Dynasty:

The term triple burner refers to the qi that circulates in the upper, middle, and lower burners. Burner means heat. Only when the entire body cavity is permeated with hot qi can the body's water ways be open and regulated. The triple burner is the fu organ that forms a zang/fu pair with the pericardium, and thus belongs to the phase element fire. In other words, if the heating qualities of the upper burner are out of control, water will assault the upper plains of the body. If the middle burner is out of control, water will stagnate in the epigastric region. If the lower burner is out of control, water will disturb bowel movements and urination. On the other hand, if the triple burner qi is healthy and in control, the body's channels and collaterals will be open and its water ways will be disinhibited. It is for this reason that the triple burner is called the official in charge of uninhibited water flow.