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Taoist Philosophies · Taoist Philosophy & Internal Practice

Masters Course in Taoist Internal Alchemy

Twelve months of Taoist internal cultivation in the Wei Family tradition, written for the people who will teach it.

Lessons
24 lessons in 4 modules
Format
Online, self-paced
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About this course

Twenty-four lessons, two a month for a year. The first three months lay out the map: the Tao, qi, yin and yang, the Five Elements, and the emotions the tradition assigns to each organ. The next three map the body the practice works on: jing and shen, the meridians and the extraordinary vessels, the chakras, and the three dantian. Months seven through nine are the methods themselves: standing, breathing, moving qigong, shengong, and the small heavenly circuit. The last three months take the work into power, sleep, the seasons, and the room where you will teach it.

Every lesson ends with the week's practice, a journal prompt, and questions a teacher has to be able to answer from their own body before standing in front of a class. Where a lesson leans on one of Sifu Michael Johnson's books, it says which chapter. The books are sources for this school's interpretations: read their organ, channel, and timing claims as part of the traditional framework, and follow each lesson's own practice and stop guidance.

Course outline

Module 1: Module 1: The map

6 lessons · 2 h 24 min

Months 1 to 3. The Tao and where everything comes from, qi, yin and yang in the cosmos and in a body, the Five Elements, and the emotions each organ carries. The first standing practice begins in Lesson 1.

  1. The Tao and the Beginning of All Things24 min
  2. Qi, The Force Behind Everything24 min
  3. Yin and Yang, The Movement of All Things24 min
  4. Reading Yin and Yang in the Body24 min
  5. The Five Elements and the Two Cycles24 min
  6. Emotional Alchemy and the Fusion of Five Elements24 min

Module 2: Module 2: The body the practice works on

6 lessons · 2 h 22 min

Months 4 to 6. Jing and shen, the twelve meridians and the meridian clock, the eight extraordinary vessels and the microcosmic orbit, the chakra map set beside the three dantian.

  1. Jing, the Essence and the Fuel24 min
  2. Shen, the Spirit That Shows in the Eyes24 min
  3. The Twelve Meridians23 min
  4. The Eight Extraordinary Vessels and the Microcosmic Orbit23 min
  5. The Chakra System Beside the Three Dantian24 min
  6. The Three Dantians and the Inner Territory24 min

Module 3: Module 3: The methods

6 lessons · 2 h 22 min

Months 7 to 9. The three regulations of qigong, standing as the complete art, breathing from natural to advanced, Ba Duan Jin and the Five Animals, shengong, and the small heavenly circuit as a supervised practice.

  1. Qigong Foundations and the Three Regulations24 min
  2. Zhan Zhuang, Standing as a Complete Practice23 min
  3. Breathing Methods, From Natural to Advanced24 min
  4. Moving Qigong, the Eight Pieces of Brocade and the Five Animals24 min
  5. Shengong, Training the Mind That Watches23 min
  6. The Small Heavenly Circuit and Shen in Daily Life24 min

Module 4: Module 4: Power, sleep, the seasons, and the room

6 lessons · 2 h 22 min

Months 10 to 12. Neigong and the kua, Iron Shirt and fa jin for an aging body, consciousness and dream practice, a daily practice that bends with the seasons, and the responsibility of teaching what cannot be written down.

  1. Neigong and the Architecture of Power23 min
  2. Iron Shirt, Fa Jin, and the Aging Body24 min
  3. Consciousness Development, the Spectrum of Awareness23 min
  4. Dream Yoga and Sleep Cultivation24 min
  5. Daily Practice and the Turning of the Seasons24 min
  6. Teaching What Cannot Be Written24 min
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