DRAGONS, TRANSFORMATION, AND THE SPINE

Yes, I've written about Dragons before. But, I've learned more. 

The dragon is a metaphor for the spine. The sleeping dragon resides at the very base of the spine. When awakened it spirals up from the tailbone up to the crown of the head. Yogis call this the Kundalini. 

Nineteenth century Taoist alchemists created an intricate diagram called the Neijing Tu. This is a depiction of the human body as a microcosm of nature – an "inner landscape" with mountains, rivers, paths, forests, and stars. It is read from the bottom up. I'm pointing out a similarity of the dragon and the Neijing tu. Wait for it. 

At the very bottom of the Neijing Tu we see water being churned by two people on wheels. We are talking about our pelvis, the water center. The water is driven uphill to the tail bone and then the Dan Tian. The water is then heated by fire. Steam is created which travels up the spine. Steam is now a metaphor for Qi. 

A weaver sits on a cliff representing the diaphragm. The trees represent the liver. 

Back to the spine. Next to the weaver is another fire, encouraging the upward flow of Qi. 

Above the weaver is a young man using coins to create the Big Dipper. He is standing at the heart. The heart-mind. He and the weaving woman are lovers. But they can only see each other once a year. I'll get to that at another time. It's complicated. It involves magpies. 

At the top of the Neijing Tu we see the Kunlun Mountains reaching up to paradise. We see two eyes, Yang and Yin. There are also two figures: Lao Tzu is seated above the Buddhist monk Bodhidharma. Lao Tzu was the Chinese philosopher and author of the Tao Te Ching. Bodhidharma brought Buddhism from India to China. The poem near the head reads:

The white-headed old man's eyebrows hang down to earth;

The blue-eyed foreign monk's arms support heaven.
If you aspire to this mysticism;

You will acquire its secret.

Along the spine if you look closely you will see three gates. Qi moves through the gates but does not rest. These gates, or Sanguan, are called Ming Men, Jia Ji, and Yuzhen. You've most likely heard of the Ming Men, the Gate of Life.

Now, about your Back Shu Points. Qi is transported to the organs via the shu points. You may feel tenderness at some of these points. These Back Shu Points are located approximately at the same horizontal plane as the related organ. By pressing or tapping these points we energize the organs by giving them a little hit of Qi. 

Okay, back to dragons. The dragon is associated with the water element. During our practice we are going to move like water. We are going to stretch and twist the Kidney and Bladder Meridians, both associated with the water element. We are going to display claws. We are going to transform Qi by expanding and contracting. We are going to tap Shu points. We will wake the sleeping dragon. "Alexa, wake up the sleeping dragon." We are going to swim. 

No bathing suits required. 

Wait... 

Be well, be happy, and follow your bliss

Brian