The Biochemistry of Internal Alchemy: Decapitating the Red Dragon

141 The Biochemistry of Internal Alchemy Decapitating the Red Dragon YVES RÉQUÉNA The practice of internal alchemy proceeds in three main stages: refining core essence (jing 精) to vital energy (qi 氣), sublimating this to pure cos‑ mic spirit (shen 神), and uniting with Dao or emptiness. In women, the first stage begins with daily breast massages (moving the hands in vari‑ ous ways and directions), a change in diet to lighter foods, and a series of meditations in which the red menstrual blood is visualized rising up‑ ward and transforming into clear‑colored qi. After several months of practice menstruation will cease, an effect called “decapitating the red dragon” (duan chilong 斬赤龍). According to Daoist lore, this serves to stabilize the qi, which will then come to nurture the “pearl of dew.” The pearl is naturally present in women from birth, but if left untended it will dissipate with every menstrual cycle. The beginning of alchemical practice is, therefore, the reversal of this natural tendency and a key sign of initial attainment is the ceasing of menstruation. What, then, happens in modern, scientific, biomedical terms when the meditating woman decapitates the red dragon? Obviously she sus‑ pends menstruation, interrupts her cycle of ovulation, and encourages a state of voluntary amenorrhea (ceasing of menstruation). But how does this work? What is the brain and reproductive chemistry involved in this process? What are the non‑pathological circumstances leading to amenorrhea? What is the endocrinal process that might induce a stop in ovulation? 142 / Journal of Daoist Studies 5 (2012) The Chinese Perspective Both men and women begin their transformative journey using longevity techniques to make the body strong and stable, then engage in concen‑ tration to make the mind tranquil and stable. From here, they focus on essence, the rather gross and materially tangible form of qi that develops in the human body as it interacts with the world and appears most obvi‑ ously as sexual energy—semen in men and menstrual blood in women. Essence is not there at all times but is produced from internal qi. In its original form it resides in the Ocean of Qi (qihai 氣海) in the lower elixir field (dantian 丹田) in men, while in women it is found in the Cavern of Qi (qixue 氣穴) in the chest area. From here, if left to its natural devices, this qi transmutes into essence on a regular basis, in men when‑ ever sexual stimulation occurs, in women with the menstrual cycle—thus leading to a discharge of the valuable internal qi and to loss of vitality. The goal of the first stage of, then, is to restore essence back to its original form as qi and to prevent its future disintegration. To do this, one must avoid the downward movement and loss of essence, which in men is discharged during ejaculation. For men this means that they should get aroused almost to the point of ejaculation, then mentally concentrate on making the semen flow upward and along spine into the head. This is called “reverting the semen to nourish the brain.” Once a man has reached proficiency in the practice and will no longer ejaculate, texts say that he has “subdued the white tiger” (fu baihu 伏白虎). Men then proceed to circulate the reverted essence (parallel to the reverted cinnabar in alchemy) along the meridians that follow the spine and run along the front of the body, i.e., the Governing (dumai 督脈) and Conception Vessels (renmai 任脈), in a cycle known as the “small heavenly circle” (xiao zhoutian 小周天). Eventually the qi will form a di‑ vine “pearl of dew” in the lower elixir field. This is a first coagulation of stronger and purer qi that lays the foundation for the next level. Women, too, practice the small heavenly circle, (microcosmic orbit is a pure Mantak Chia style) but they begin by guiding qi up the front of the torso and down the back. Their main energy center being the Cavity of Qi in the chest, their essence is mainly lost with the blood of the men‑ ses as the ovum is removed, and only to a lesser degree during orgasm. While in both men and women, a strong and healthy genital physiology...