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The evocative images of the White Cloud Carving may seem fanciful. They appear to bear no relationship to charts of the human body that are familiar to most of us today.

Even if the imaginative drawings were to correspond to the various organs of the body, there seems to be a relationship between them in this model that is different from what we imagine when we think of ourselves as modern people. It is striking that there are multiple sources of powerful activity, and it is not completely clear who is in charge: the mountain sages, the weaver, the oxherd, or the figures tending the cauldron? And what has the greatest influence: the stars, the mountain peaks, the burning fire, the long waterway, or the interplay of yin and yang?

One way of understanding this centuries- old carving— which is a foundational text for practitioners of acupuncture and other systems of Chinese medicine— is to look carefully at how it depicts the human being as an interactive, energetic system, involving many different power spots within an overall complex of forces, profoundly influenced by the natural world and the galaxies.

This tradition of experiencing and working with the total energy of the human being is the basis of the qigong practices in this book. Instead of a separation between mind, spirit, and body, all elements of our being are understood as energetic forces.

Their patterns and rhythms exert powerful influences on each other and on our entire being. Thus, properly cultivated, their collective energy can be used for the benefit of the whole person.

It is helpful to understand this— or to accept that it offers an alternative way of understanding the human being— in order to make sense of the value of qigong in dealing with phenomena such as anxiety and fear. Qigong works with patterns of energy in and around the body. Often, like many forms of energy, such as electricity and mag-netism, human energy and its movements are invisible. What we experience is its effect.

There are five key aspects of the energetic structure of the human body used in the qigong system. The body is organized around a central column or channel. This runs from the top of the head to the bottom of the torso. Blockages anywhere along this channel seriously disrupt the flow of energy throughout your system. Sitting and stand-ing with your back naturally upright helps prevent or clear such blockages.

At the top of the central channel is the uppermost point of the head. In Chinese medicine, this point is known as bai hui (ba hui), “the hundred meetings.” It is sometimes called “the thousand- petaled lotus.” This is a particularly sensitive point, through which a person’s energy field connects with the energy that surrounds them.

Developing Your Inner Strength 87 At the other end of the channel is the lowermost point of the torso. This is known as the huiyin (hui yin) point, “the meeting of yin.” This is a powerful point of connection with the supportive energy of the earth, especially when a person is seated.

In the lower abdomen, just below the navel and a short distance into the body, is the energy reservoir known as the dantien, the “sea of qi.” It is the principal area of energy storage within the entire energetic system of the body.

The human being, however, does not exist in isolation. We are at the hub of the energetic forces that surround us at all times. You can imagine that we are standing in the circle of a limitless sphere. It represents the vast and limitless field of energy we call the universe. This circle is not closed or limited. Traditionally, a circle is used in Chinese calligraphy to show open space. It is the symbol of limitless possibilities and all possible configurations of energy, visible and invisible.

Below us is a long curve. It is the uppermost arc of another sphere, one below us— the earth, the vast storehouse of energy that supports all life- forms on our planet and is our traveling home in space.

Since each human being is an energy field, and since energy attracts energy, we act as magnets for the energy that surrounds us. Constant streams of energy come to us and pass through us. The energy from the cosmos tends to be more variable and unstable— it is associated with creativity. The energy from the earth tends to be more constant and stable— it is associated with power. Your qigong practice enables you to harmonize these two forces within your being.

It is within these spheres of energy that we experience life— all that happens to us and the many emotions that are constantly arising like swirling weather patterns.

Anxiety is like that. So is fear, thought, and the energy of worrying. Like all energetic patterns, our emotions have great power and great potential. They are part of the total energy system that we learn to work with as our qigong deepens. That’s what we’ll be working on in this part of the book.

Earth

This calligraphy is the artistic expression of one of the most profound and defining terms in the whole of Chinese culture— the Tao. Normally, “Tao” is translated as “the Way.” In the Tao Te Ching, the term “Tao” also denotes “earth,” meaning everything that surrounds us. Nothing in our environment or our experience is excluded. The earth is all embracing. It gives rise to everything in life— birth, pain, all that we encounter, death, and renewal. As we say in Chinese, it includes “this way” and “that way.”

The central image is of a head on top of a body. Underneath, the long brushstroke depicts a long, simple raft in an ever- flowing stream. To the left is a boatman, plying his craft through the earth’s waterways.

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