…The root of the Eight Psychic Meridians is the Gate of Mortality at the base of the genital organs. This is linked with the Tu Mo at the base of the spine, and is joined in the brain by the Jen Mo. From the center of the brain (pineal gland) it descends through the center of the head to the palate, or Heavenly Pool. This is connected to the jaw, and the system is used in meditation and breathing to allow the Qi to be collected, refined, and escape. Under the palate, the channel goes down the throat, through the pulmonary artery, past and under the diaphragm, behind the solar plexus, below the navel, and back to the root of the genitals. Thus, as in the meridians of acupuncture, the system forms a complete circuit, beginning and ending at the genitals.

-         from Dai Lu

 

The preceding passage is a good description of the Small Heavenly Cycle, made up by the Tu Mo and Jen Mo, the Governing and Conception vessels respectively, in the body. These two meridians are the “link” that directly ties the 8 Psychic Meridians to the 12 Acupuncture Meridians of the human body. The 8 Psychic Meridians make up the “pattern of flow” for the etheric or astral body, which constitutes the aura or “wa”, sometimes referred to as the “Body of Light”. As mentioned before, in the section on the Three Bodies, the etheric body “powers” the physical body, and the Tu Mo-Jen Mo set is the direct connection between the two. In accordance with the fact that the chi follows the mind, you can guide the chi through these bilateral channels (meaning that they follow a mirrored path on both sides of the body, just as the 12 meridians do, with the exception of the Tu Mo, Jen Mo, and the Tai Mo, or belt channel).Further, one can create their “thought form” once control over the 8 psychic channels is mastered, so as to shape the etheric body into any form you wish, or feel is “right” for you. This also extends to strength to a great extent. Many shamanic practices use a similar method to gain access to their animal spirit, and, in some darker practices such as “coyote magic” in Native American culture, become the “skinwalkers”, allowing the etheric body, backed by the human intelligence, to go about in animal form. Most common Native American lore about Skinwalkers involves the use of the form of the wolf, coyote, crow, puma or mountain lion, and from the South and Central American tribes, the jaguar and cayman. We will delve into this further on the section dealing with metaphysics and esoterics. For now, we will learn the flow of energy within the body, the 8 Psychic Meridians, which as they are mastered and strengthened, gain the ability to carry more and more chi, and increase their capacity to store chi. Eventually, storage of chi does not become an issue, as subconsciously, one will be rooting slightly with each step, and breathing with “intent” through conditioning. In essence, it becomes reflexive to draw the chi you need, without having to think of it, resulting in an “endless” or “boundless” supply for whatever you require it for. We begin with rooting. This will be a deeper form of rooting than you have done before, a stronger root that not only will draw more chi into the body, but is also “anchored” deeper in the body through the Positive and Negative Leg Channels, or the Yang Chiao Mo and Yin Chiao Mo respectively. These meridians begin in the feet and end in the head, as illustrated below. They both pass through the dan tien, which is also important to note later in this text.

Rooting

 

Referring to the illustration below, the two channels that one uses to establish the root form a sort of harness of energy inside the body. Bear in mind that this exercise, like many I shall speak of in this text, can be enhanced with the use of magnets. This root, once properly established, allows the practitioner to draw great amounts of chi from the earth. To establish this root, begin by sitting or standing comfortably, knees slightly bent if standing, with the behind tucked under slightly, and the shoulders rounded forward slightly, but the spine relatively straight, so you aren’t slumping. The feet should point straight ahead or at a slight inward angle, and be slightly more than shoulder width apart. The knees should be just over the toes, if one were to make a straight line down from the knee to the foot. The hands are held in a loose form, not limp, but not stiff, as if in water. They should form a semicircular form, like you are holding a large ball between the hands and the chest, the hands should be a little more than waist high, with the palms facing the body in the beginning of this rooting exercise. If you are sitting, the only thing you have to do is posture the back as described above, and the arms and shoulders, the feet should be the same distance stated, but the legs will already be bent since you are seated. Breathe in, turning the palms up and inward. Draw the chi from the earth up the inside of the leg through the Yin Chiao Channel, up into the dan tien, bringing the hands up together, slowly, to just above head level, bringing the chi all the way up as you finish the breath and hold it at the level of the Third Eye. Exhale slowly, turning the hands palm down, letting the chi flow down the Yang Chiao Mo, where it starts below the level of the ear, around the back of the skull, over the top, down the front of the face, down the neck and behind the shoulders, down the sides of the body inside the ribcage, down to the dan tien, slowly bringing the hands back down to their starting position again as the chi flows down the outsides of the legs and forms roots deep into the ground, as far as you can get them to reach in your minds eye. Breathe in as before, drawing more chi from deeper within the ground upon which you stand, letting the hands rise as before, palms turned inward and up, visualize the energy coming into your body through the Bubbling Well points, as water and nutrients are drawn in by a mighty oak for nourishment. Hold the breath as you have been taught, with the diaphragm, with the hands above the head slightly, letting this chi to soak in for a few moments. Exhale once again, letting the chi flow down through the channels as before, slowly letting the root extend deeper into the ground, the rock, the bedrock. Hold the exhalation for a moment, then inhale one last time, as you draw in energy from the very core of the earth itself, you can feel it course through you, as you inhale slowly and deeply, from the center of the planet all the way up into the Third Eye. Hold as before, hands up, for a few moments. Exhale, letting the chi pull the root completely down into the very core of the earth itself, returning the cycle of energy as you finish rooting yourself, returning the hands to the starting position at the end of the breath. You are now completely rooted to the earth, and with each breath the power of the Earth Mother pumps through you. Through practice, one can truly become as immovable as the mountain with this simple exercise. It is also a good exercise to do when feeling “flighty”, or when you are a bit too excited, it grounds out the excess energy that can cause such feelings. It is also good to do when one is feeling fearful, and you wish to face what is to come.

The 8 channels

 

Having previously established the basic or natural flow of energy through previous exercises in learning the unguided flow of chi, it is but a short step to learning the fully guided form through the eight (8) channels. This exercise, like the rooting exercise explained previously, can be enhanced with the use of magnets, as described in the section on magnetics. There are some preliminary steps to this exercise, if you are attempting the Inner Journey, which will be spoken of in greater detail in the esoterics and metaphysics section. For now, we will concentrate on the 8 channels and their method of flow. For the actual flow, please refer to the diagrams below detailing the 8 psychic meridians individually, and the integrated diagram, which shows how the channels run much deeper than the 12 meridians, which will be discussed later. The 12 meridians are at surface level, or very near the surface, while these, except for the Governing and Conception vessels, lie almost next to the skeletal structure, and in some cases pass through it. Dashed lines in the diagrams indicate where the flow of chi is deeper through the body, behind another part of the body, or how it connects to the next channel. Colors are only for clarity. 

Now we shall begin the guided circulation of chi in the 8 Psychic Channels. Begin as always, with the breath. Breathe in, filling the lungs as a glass fills with water, from bottom to top, allowing the chi to rise through the Tu Mo (Governing Vessel), up the back from the base of the spine, over the head to the upper lip. This is done in four (4) heartbeats or counts. Hold the breath for a count of two (2) heartbeats, then exhale for four heartbeats again, allowing the chi to flow down through the Jen Mo (Conception Vessel) to the point at the base of the genitals known in Chinese Medicine as the Needle at the Bottom of the Sea. Hold this exhalation for two heartbeats, then breathe in again, drawing your chi up into the Belt Channel (Tai Mo) which runs around the waist, then up the back again to the shoulders at the place where the energy splits to go to both arms and hands. Hold the breath here, with the diaphragm, for count of two again. Exhale, as before, allowing the chi to flow down the backs of the arms to the tips of the middle fingers (yes this is the reverse of the “normal flow” taught earlier, however, in keeping with the Laws of Yin and Yang, this is correct to guide the flow in this manner.) Pause again for two heartbeats here. Inhale, bringing the chi up the insides of the arms from the Dragon and Tiger cavities (left and right palms respectively) to the shoulders, just in front of the actual joint of the shoulder itself, which is known as the Wind Point, and is where the  Lung  Meridian starts at in acupuncture. Hold the breath, letting the chi flow down the front of the body from this cycle through the positive and negative arm channels (Yang Yu Mo and Yin Yu Mo respectively) through the Jen Mo to the Needle at the Bottom of the Sea again. Inhale, pulling the energy up through the center of the body to solar plexus level (just below the level of the sternum, at the diaphragm) and hold the energy there, with the breath, for two counts. This is the Thrusting Channel, the Ch’ueng Mo. Exhale, allowing the chi to flow down from the heart/solar plexus level, down the outsides of the legs to the arches of the feet at the bubbling spring points (for this we only utilize the lower portions of the leg channels, the positive Yang Chiao Mo and the negative Yin Chiao Mo, which were used in their entirety to establish the root). The channels may appear to run close to the skin in the charts, but as mentioned before, this is not the case. Rather, they run through the tissues of the body, close to the skeleton in the limbs, and through the dan tien, joining with the Tu Mo or Jen Mo where applicable. See the figure describing complete pattern of flow below. Now inhale, bring the chi back up from the Bubbling Spring points, having connected with the energy of the Earth Mother, back to the dan tien, hold again, then exhale, and relax. Let the chi that has been collected and generated by its movement through the channels, to settle and circulate in the dan tien, like the Tai Ji (yin/yang symbol). Remember, the only two channels that directly relate to the 12 meridians, and have acupuncture points along them, are the Tu Mo and Jen Mo. From this exercise, one attains a deeper, healthier state of mind, and a deeper connection to ones own etheric essence. Remember, when breathing and cycling the chi through the 8 channels, to tighten the perineum, which is directly linked to the dan tien, and will pump the chi through the places you are visualizing.

Paths of the 8 Psychic Meridians

 

Below is a detailed description of each channel individually, so the student may more accurately trace the pathways of the energy in their minds eye, to supplement the illustrated paths found below.

Tu Mo, Channel of Control or Governing Vessel

This begins at the coccyx, continues up the spine and over the skull, ending at the upper gum. Remember, that the chi is distilled from the breath in the Heavenly Pool of the palate. Chi from the dan tien is raised up the Tu Mo by means of the “sacral pump”, by squeezing the perineum muscle. This is similar to raising the “serpent energy” or Kundalini in Hatha Yoga, derived from pranayama breathing practices. This channel represents the parasympathetic nervous system.

Jen Mo, Channel of Function, Conception Vessel

Beginning at the base of the genitals, known as the “Needle at the Bottom of the Sea” or Perineum Point One (1), it goes up the front of the body, ending on the face just below the chin. It is joined with the Tu Mo by completing the circuit when the tip of the tongue is placed against the palate just behind the front teeth. This channel corresponds to the sympathetic nervous system. When this circuit is completed (The Small Heavenly Cycle), one can gain conscious mental control of several autonomic functions and responses, including but not limited to control of the heart, the glands, etc.

Tai Mo, The Belt Channel

This channel is the only horizontal channel in the body, encircling the waist and connecting the Tu Mo and Jen Mo at navel level. It is primarily a reservoir of chi for the meridians of acupuncture that deal with proper digestion and waste disposal.

Ch’ueng Mo, The Thrusting Channel

This channel, rises from the Perineum Point, up the center of the body to the level of the solar plexus just below the diaphragm, and is directly related to the Heart Pump.

Yang Yu Mo, The Positive Arm Channel

This channel starts below the level of the navel, flows up and across the chest from inside, and down the inside of the arm to the Dragon and Tiger cavities in the palms, then to the tip of both middle fingers.

Yin Yu Mo, The Negative Arm Channel

Continuing from the tips of the middle fingers, over the back of the hands to the outsides of the arms, penetrating the shoulder at the Wind Point in the armpit, and finally joining at the solar plexus.

Yang Chiao Mo, The Positive Leg Channel

This channel originates at the font edge of the heel, connecting to the Bubbling Spring point, rising up the outsides of the legs, joining with the dan tien, continuing up the sides of the torso, behind the shoulders, up the neck to the jaw, up the front of the face, over the head, ending below the ear.

Yin Chiao Mo, The Negative Leg Channel

Rising from the Bubbling Spring point via the instep, up the inner calf and leg to the groin, through the center of the body and dan tien to the Third Eye, which lies slightly above and between the eyebrows, and encompasses the center of the brain itself as discussed earlier.

These two channels (Yang Chiao Mo and Yin Chiao Mo) are not only used in the rooting exercise discussed before this section, but you may notice that they are also the main channels of the Grand Heavenly Cycle which you root through in the beginning teachings of the Basics.

Next we will go over the flow of the chi through the 12 Acupuncture Meridians. To begin, the body has 12 meridians that relate to the 12 major organs and viscera, and the main energy channels, which make up the Small Heavenly Cycle, the Tu Mo and Jen Mo, discussed in detail earlier. As stated before, these two meridians are the only two that are “common” to both sets of meridians. The 12 meridians are the same ones used in acupressure, acupuncture, the Dim Mak, and Healing Hands. Each meridian has its own “hour”, which is comprised of two hours back to back as a set, and corresponds to one of the five (5) elements of Chinese alchemy, fire, earth, water, air, and wood (sometimes stated as fire, earth, water, metal and wood or void depending on the tradition that the Wu Hsing, as it is known in Chinese, is being represented in). Each organ is either yin or yang, and the energy in the meridian flows either up toward the heavens to meet the sky (yin), or descends to meet the energy at the center of the earth (yang). The following chart  details these cycles and elements along with what hour and organ they are associated with. The only meridians that do not have elements, hours, or a specific direction of chi flow, are the Tu Mo and Jen Mo.

 

Ch. #	Hour	Name	Polarity	Flow	Element	Organ Name/Color Correspondence
1	11P-1A	Tzu	Yin	Heaven	Air	Lungs-White
2	1A-3A	Chou	Yang	Earth	Air	Large Intestine-White
3	3A-5A	Yin	Yang	Earth	Earth	Stomach-Yellow
4	5A-7A	Mao	Yin	Heaven	Earth	Spleen-Yellow
5	7A-9A	Chen	Yin	Heaven	Fire	Heart-Red
6	9A-11A	Ssu	Yang	Earth	Fire	Small Intestine-Red
7	11A-1P	Wu	Yin	Heaven	Water	Bladder-Black
8	1P-3P	Wei	Yang	Earth	Water	Kidney-Black
9	3P-5P	Shen	Yin	Heaven	Fire	Pericardium-Red/Orange
10	5P-7P	Yu	Yang	Earth	Fire	Triple Warmer-Red/Orange
11	7P-9P	Hsu	Yang	Earth	Wood	Gall Bladder-Green
12	9P-11P	Hai	Yin	Heaven	Wood	Liver-Green
_	________	_____	N/A	N/A	N/A	Tu Mo-Governing Vessel
_	________	_____	N/A	N/A	N/A	Jen Mo- Conception Vessel

The student should note that the organs are paired in yin and yang pairs. These pairs are also considered, in Chinese Medicine, as hollow and solid organs, the Yin considered hollow, and the Yang solid. This chart represents the “natural” flow of the chi through the meridians of the body. In the diagrams of the 12 meridians, the colors used are for clarity, and are otherwise insignificant, however, as shown in the table above, there are specific color correspondences with the organ pairs. This is significant as well, as this relates to other portions of these teachings, and Chinese Medicine, which will be delved into later.

The following is an excerpt from Ashida Kim’s book Iron Body Ninja, which contains many consolidated Taoist chi kung exercises, meditations, and longevity exercises. Noting that the ninja are “descendants” of the moshuh nanren, or Vagabond Sects of China, it is not unusual, in the fashion of how the ninja/shinobi clans operated, to adopt what was useful, and cast off what does not work. Such is the way of the Wu Hai Lung Temple as well.

…Practice the Method of the Twelve meridians, which controls the circulation of energy among the Five Elements that compose the Physical Self, They must be learned in precisely this sequence, as this is the true circulation of Qi. In accordance with the Law of Midday and Midnight, it begins at the hour of Tzu, with the breath. Take a deep breath, filling the lungs with fresh, pure, wholesome air. Breathe out, letting the Qi flow from the Wind Point, on the front of the shoulder, along the inside of the arm, to the inside edge of the thumbnail. Breathe in, bringing the Qi from the inside edge of the index finger, along the upper back of the arm, until the bilateral meridians cross on the philtrum under the nose, and end at the opposite sides of the nose. This is in accordance with the Mother-Son law, that each meridian is the mother of the one that follows it, and the son of the one which precedes it. The lung meridian is yin. It rises from the center of the earth at the Hour of Tzu, reaching for Heaven. The large intestine meridian is yang. It descends from heaven during the Hour of Chou. Just as energy flows from the Sun to the center of the Earth, where it reverses polarity and returns to heaven as Yin, where it reverses polarity and becomes Yang once more. All yang meridians flow from above, on the back of the body, legs, and feet. And all the yin meridians flow from the feet, up the front of the body, up the insides of the arms to the fingertips, if one stands with the hands above the head and fingers outstretched. Breathe out, letting the Qi flow from under the temple, to the jaw, up under the eye, down the cheek, front of the body and leg, to the second toe. This is the stomach meridian. It is a yang meridian and represents the earth element. Breathe in, letting the Qi rise from the foot, up the inside of the leg and torso to the top of the breast, then down the side to the ribs under the arm. This is the spleen meridian. It is yin, and represents the earth element. The hour of the stomach is Yin, of the spleen is Mao. Breathe out, letting the Qi flow along the inside of the arm to the tip of the little finger, this is the Heart Meridian, predominant at the hour of Chen. It is a yin meridian, representing the Fire element. Breathe in, letting the Qi flow from the outside edge of the little fingernail, along the back of the arm, across the shoulder blades, up the neck to the base of the ear, forward to the cheek, and back to the top of the ear. This is the Small Intestine Meridian, predominant at the hour of Ssu. It is a yang meridian, representing Fire. Breathe out, letting the Qi flow from the inside corner of the eye, over the top of the head, own the back, the back of the legs, under the ankle, to the outside edge of the little toenail. This is the Bladder Meridian. It is strongest during the hour of Wu. It is a yin meridian, symbolizing the Water element. Breathe in, bringing the Qi up from the Bubbling Well point on the sole of the foot, along the inside of the leg to the groin, up the front of the torso to the clavicle(collarbone). This is the kidney meridian, strongest at the Hour of Wei. It is a Yang meridian, symbolizing Water. Breathe out, letting the Qi flow along the inside of the arm from the nipples to the tips of the middle fingers. This is the Heart Governor (Pericardium/Circulation-Sex) meridian. It is full of energy between the hours of  3 and 5 pm, the Hour of Shen. A yin meridian, its element is Fire, Breathe in, bringing the Qi along the outside of the arm from the ring finger to the bottom of the ear, around the back of the ear, to the top, then forward to the outside edge of the eye. This is the Triple Warmer meridian. Its energy is full between 5 and 7 pm, the Hour of Yu. A yang meridian, its element is also Fire. Breathe out, letting the Qi flow from the outside corner of the eye to the bottom of the ear, to the outside edge of the eyebrow, up, around the temple, to the top of the ear, the base of the skull, up the hairline above the eyebrow, down the back of the skull and neck to the shoulder, down the side of the body and front of the leg, across the top of the foot to the third toe. This is the Gall Bladder meridian. It is full of energy at the Hour of Hsu. It is a yang meridian, representing the Wood element. Breathing in, bringing the Qi up from the big toe, along the inside of the legs to the hips, then up to the tip of the lowest floating rib on the torso. This is the Liver meridian. It is fullest of energy during the Hour of Hai. It is a yin meridian, representing the Wood element. These are the twelve meridians of acupuncture. But the points need not be pierced, nor the Qi stirred, so long as the Qi flows smoothly and evenly from one to the next in the proper sequence. This exercise cures and prevents many illnesses, and is used to restore mental concentration to the Physical Self, returning by these means, from the Dream Time*, to the realm of reality. Breathe out. Relax and let the Qi settle in the Hara. Breathe in and bring the energy up the back from the coccyx to the top of the head, to the upper lip. This is the Governing Vessel Meridian. It corresponds with the Tu Mo. Or first psychic channel and represents the autonomic nervous system.  Breathe out, and bring the Qi up the front of the body, from the Needle at the Bottom of the Sea to the lower lip. This is the Conception Vessel Meridian. It corresponds to the Jen Mo, or secondary psychic channel, and represents the voluntary nervous system. These extraordinary meridians are neither yin nor yang, Qi circulates in them constantly. This is the Small Heavenly Cycle of Qi… from whence we began the Inner Journey… from whence we now return… and awaken the physical self. Breathe out, and let all tension , negative energy, and emotions flow away from your center as you dispel them with the breath. You are now completely relaxed, refreshed, and alert… feeling better than before… ready to begin a new day… the first day of the rest of your life. Breathe in, slowly open your eyes.

The clever student will note that by merely breathing in and out and visualizing the bilateral meridians that one has learned a simple and highly effective method of remembering these twelve meridians. This memory trick, is often used by Shaolin students of Dim Mak (Death Touch), and Healing Hands. – passage by Ashida Kim

k (Death Touch), and Healing Hands. – passage by Ashida Kim