Daoist Internal Alchemy for the Rejuvenation
Introduction
A little while back, Qi Magazine — Zeitschrift für Chinesische Medizin, invited me to prepare an article for publication in their journal. The following is the original version, which was then translated into German and publishes in the January 2026 issue. As I mentioned in my previous article, Happy New Year (Times Three!), this is the best time of the year for rejuvenating your life energy. I am happy now to share a practical method for you to do just that!
RénZhīSuǒYǒuZhě, XuèYǔ QìĚr
人之所有者, 血與氣耳
A person has only blood and Qi
—Huángdì Nèijīng·Tiáojīnglùn 黃帝內經·調經論 (Huangdi Neijing, Treatise on Regulating Meridians)
1. ☵ Kan 坎 — XuèQì 血氣
Xuè 血 (blood) and Qì 氣 (vital energy) are the most important Yin 陰 and Yang 陽 substances in the human body.
Blood is Yin, it is the mother of Qi and responsible for generating and circulating Qi within the body. Qi is Yang, and it is the commander of the blood, which controls the blood circulation within the body. Qi is invisible and its movement can be slow or rapid. Qi is the vital energy of your life, it flows in the meridians and the blood vessels, and spreads throughout the entire body.
Figure 1 - Kan water trigram (calligraphy by Master Zhongxian Wu)
According to Daoist Yijing 易經 symbolism, blood is TiānShuǐ 天水, the Heavenly Water of the body, and belongs to the trigram Kan 坎 ☵ (Water). The ancient Chinese shamanic and Daoist cosmological interpretation of creation is TiānYīShēngShuǐ 天一生水 (Heaven gives birth to water). Today, we would say this means that the Universe created the Earth, after which the first thing generated on Earth was Water. The next step in creation, DìÈrShēngHuǒ 地二生火, tells us that the watery Earth produced Fire within. From this ancient cosmology, we then understand why the Yang line in the middle of the Kan trigram represents the Qi hidden within the blood.
Subsequently, it was the interaction between Water (Yin quality energy) and Fire (Yang quality energy) that created the conditions for all life on Earth to come into existence. From the microcosm/macrocosm perspective, we can view both the Universe and the Earth as a model of our body. Just as the Universe first gave birth to Water (which in turn generated all life on Earth), the Heavenly Water (blood) and its Fire (Qi) in your body is considered to be the origin of your life. In both Chinese shamanism and classical Chinese Medicine, the kidney organ system is known as the Water organ system of your body, the place from which your blood and Qi originate and thus, the root of your life source. This explains why in classical Chinese medicine theory, ShènWèiXiānTiānZhīBěn 腎為先天之本, the kidneys are the foundation of the prenatal body, or our karmic root.
Chapter five of the Huángdì Nèijīng Sùwèn 黃帝內經素問 (Treatise on the Correspondence of Yin and Yang) states: Yīnyángzhě XuèQì zhī Nánnǚ yě 陰陽者血氣之男女也, which means while Yin and Yang generally refer to female and male respectively, all bodies are made from blood and Qi. As kidneys are the root of blood and Qi, maintaining the kidney health is essential for all humans. The Qigong form I will share in this article is presented from the perspective of optimizing health, male or female. Practicing the form can be beneficial for everyone!
