In qigong practice, deal with the various passages and points for the movement and accumulation of qi. They are known as jingluo and acu-points. The jingluo is a network of pathways linking together all the parts of the human body, whilst acupoints are sites for the exchange and conflu-ence of qi. Concentrating attention on those points and massaging them can regulate the function of the jingluo system. The jingluo in the hu-man body include the 12 regular channels and the Ren and Du channels. The 12 regular channels relate directly with the zang and fu organs.
(1) The Ren Channel
The Ren channel starts below the navel and runs along the abdominal cavity to the throat and then to the lower jaw, where it goes around the lips and spreads up to the eyes in branches. It frequently crosses the three yin channels of the hand and foot and has the function of regulating all the yin channels in the body. It is therefore known as the "sea of yin."
(2) The Du Channel
The Du channel starts at the lower abdomen and runs down along the perineum. Then it turns up along the midline of the back to the ,fengfu point at the nape of the neck before going through the brain to the vertex and along the midline of the forehead to the nose. It controls all the yang channels of the human body and is known as the "sea of yang. "
As two major pathways for the flow of qi, the Ren and Du channels have great significance in qigong practice, especially in the exercise called zhoutian .
3) The Lung Channel of Hand-Taiyin
This channel starts at the middle-jiao region where the spleens and stomach locate, and runs along the large intestine and the orifice of the stomach and through the diaphragm before entering the lungs. Then it goes transversely from the zhongfu, and yumen points along .the medial side of the upper arm to the Pericardium Channel of Hand-Jueyin. And then it goes through the tianfu and ariabai points to the chize point at the elbow and runs along "the anterior portion of the forearm by way of the kongzui and lieque points to the jingqu and taiyuan points above the main artery of the wrist. Finally it runs through the thenar eminence to the yuji and shaoshang points along the radial border and ends at the tip of the thumb.
The malfunction of the lung channel may produce cough, asthma, fullness in the chest, thirst, pain in the shoulder and back, dysphoria or sore throat.
(4) The Large Intestine Channel of Hand-Yangming
This channel starts at the shangyang point at the tip of the index fin-ger and runs up along the radial side of the index finger and the erjian, sanjian and hegu points to the yangai point at the wrist. Then it moves first up along the lateral side of the forearm to the lateral side of the elbow along the anterior border of the upper arm to the jianyu point on the shoulder and back before meeting with the Du channel at the dazhui point to reach the supraclavicular fossa and the lungs, diaphragm and the large intestine. Its branch moves up along the neck, the cheek and the gum of the lower teeth to the yingxiang point by the side of the nose.
The malfunction of the large intestine channel may produce diarrhea, bowel sound, dysentery, toothache, dryness in the mouth and yellow dis-coloration of the sclera, pharyngitis, laryngitis or nasal obstruction.
