Opening and Closing Mingmen Point

[D_Glenn]

There are some key aspects in the Standing postures of the Chinese Martial Arts that should be understood so one can adjust their own practice to the stage of life they're in according to their age.

Mingmen point is also the back or rear of the Dantian. It sits between the two kidneys and controls the 'fire of life' and is considered the 'Gate or opening of life' (Mingmen lit. - Life Gate) and this gate can be opened up, or closed shut.

There are fundamental cultivation practices in the Buddhist and Daoist traditions which are based on Traditional Chinese Medicine theory of the cycles or Stages of 精 'Jing' (essence) in the body. Women are on a 7 year cycle and men are on an 8 year cycle in terms of sexual development, puberty, maturity, fertility, eventual decline of sexual function, and ultimately death occur. In women this governs when the menses appear and when menopause starts. In men the cycle is related to natural levels of Testosterone in the body where age 16 is the beginning, sexual and physical maturity at the age of 24, the first sign of decline in hormone levels at age 32, again another drop at 40, 48, 56, and 64 is considered the point where certain cultivation practices will no longer be useful or effective, then the average lifespan of a male at age 72.

Closing of the Mingmen point -There are specific Neigong and martial standing postures that are used for men between the age of 16 to 24 where one is instructed and made to stand in and hold postures with the tailbone untucked, causing the buttocks to stick out, the lumbar with a strong curve in it, and shoulders pulled back, which all serve to close off the Mingmen Point (Gate of Life) located below the L2 vertebrae. This closing of the Mingmen point is done to channel and promote the conversion of already maxed out levels of 精 'Jing' (essence) into the cultivation of 氣 'Qi' (energy) rather than the normal process, at this time in life, of having a high, often pent-up, sex drive that needs fulfillment and causes excess heat in the body - anger, acne, etc.

(This is a fundamental practice in the training of Shaolin Monks and Daoist Adepts during these years as it's the only way for a man to remain celibate during this time and undertake the austerity practices.)


Opening of the Mingmen point - Now, in men from the ages of around 24 to 56, it is important that the Neigong/ Martial Standing and moving practices begin to completely shift into the opposite posture where now one needs to stand with the buttocks rolled under (溜臀 liu tun) / tailbone (尾闾 weilu) tucked under and crown of head rolled forward by stretching up the neck and tucking the chin (aligns Hui Yin point and Baihui (Pai Hui) point), which also rounds the lumbar spine(腰部 yaobu) outwards (ta yaobei), the chest is also concaved (han xiong) which rounds the thoracic spine towards the front and the shoulders are brought forward. This will now open Mingmen Point and promote the conservation of 精 'Jing' (essence) in the body which will ensure the proper hormonal balance and hormonal changes in the body.

When this practice is not stopped in men at the age of 24 to 26, then hormonal imbalances could begin to arise, where the Testosterone will continue to be low while Estrogen is disproportionately high. The Thyroid Gland will also produce more of the hormone that triggers the body to only deposit fat below the waist rather than in the whole body and abdomen. Muscle growth will also be impaired as the 精 'Jing' required for cell replication to occur will be low:

The closest correlation to 精 'Jing' in Western medicine is what are called the 'Polyamines' in the human body and they are a key part of the process in the creation of Hormones, Cell Replication/ DNA RNA , energy production/metabolism, and involved in all the various Neurotransmitters such as epinephrine etc. along with many other components that make up the human body and can be found in the blood and throughout the tissues of the whole body. The highest amounts of Polyamines are found in the reproductive organs of both sexes and involved with with gestation (and fetation) process in women. So high amounts of polyamines are found in the prostate gland and seminal fluid and in women- the uterus, the menstrual blood, and in the placenta.

Female Jing Cycles of Seven

* A woman's Kidney energy becomes prosperous at seven years of age (1x7).
* Her menstruation appears as the ren (sea of yin) channel flows and the chong (sea of blood) channel becomes prosperous at the age of 14 (2x7).
* Her Kidney qi reaches a balanced state, and her teeth are completely developed at the age of 21 (3x7).
* Her vital energy and blood are substantial, her four limbs are strong and the body is at optimal condition at the age of 28 (4x7).
* Her peak condition declines gradually. The yang ming channel is depleted, her face withers and her hair begins to fall out at the age of 35 (5x7).
* Her three yang channels, tai yang, yang ming and shao yang, begin to decline. Her face complexion wanes and her hair turn white at the age of 42 (6x7).
* The ren and chong channels are both declining, her menstruation ends, her physique turns old and feeble, and she can no longer conceive at the age of 49 (7x7).

Male Jing Cycles of Eight

* A man's Kidney energy is prosperous, his hair develops and his teeth emerge at the age of eight (1x 8).
* His Kidney energy grows and is filled with vital energy, and he is able to let his sperm out at the age of 16 (2x8).
* His Kidney energy is developed, his extremities are strong, and all of his teeth are developed by the age of 24 (3x8).
* His body has developed to its best condition, and his extremities and muscles are very strong at the age of 32 (4x8).
* His Kidney energy begins to decline, his hair falls out and his teeth begin to whither at the age of 40 (5x8).
* His Kidney energy declines more, the yang energy of the entire body declines, his complexion becomes withered and his hair turns white at the age of 48 (6x8).
* His Liver energy declines as a result of Kidney deficiency; the tendons become rigid and fail to be nimble at the age of 56 (7x8).
* His essence and vital energy is weak, as are his bones and tendons. His teeth fall out and his body becomes decrepit at the age of 64 (8x8).

The operative word in the combination Shan Yueh is Shan 山, or mountain. The center pillar of the character 山 represents the vertical line generated by the alignment of the acupuncture points Pai Hui (at the peak of the head) and Hui Yin (center of the crotch underneath) when the Ming Men (rear tan t’ien [Dantian]) is “opened.” (ref.: Pa Pei: pull out the back, i.e. “open” Ming Men). Combinations of word meaning and symbol meaning appear throughout Pa Kua Chang literature. A “clear” translation of the phrase would be “Posture should be erect, vertical, with ch’i sunk to the tan t’ien, Pai Hui and Hui Yin aligned, and Ming Men pulled out.” -- James F. Keenan Pakua Newsletter 1-3

James F. Keenan has been a student of Chinese culture, language and literature since 1969. From 1970 through 1972, he was assigned to the military language school in Monterey, CA, where he was trained as a translator. In 1974, he attended the Master’s program in Chinese at the University of Pittsburgh. A 24 year veteran of martial arts, Mr. Keenan was the first non-Asian PaKua Chang teacher to be featured in a national martial arts magazine article (Black Belt, May, 1977). From 1985 through 1987, he manned the China Desk for the Universal House of Justice in Haifa, Israel. He now works
for the Massachusetts Dept. of Education as a specialist in bilingual education. He is currently on leave from his Ph.D. studies in cross cultural communication. -- March 1991.

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[neijia_boxer]

interesting. i have been doing a Qigong called Hun Yun standing "Primordial qigong" (no relation to Feng Zhi Qiang's Hun Yun chen Taiji) and so we place fist on ming men, and bring spine towards the fist to allow ming men to open. this is the first part to get to tan tien. this has improved my standing gong training very much. we do other things as well with this method, but Ming men is what is important to get to tan tien.

[I-mon]

Thanks for posting these things Devlin. I still completely disagree with your reduction of "Jing" to polyamines (why stop there? why not even more simple amino acids, or even simpler molecules?) but I always find your stuff interesting and appreciate the efforts you're putting in, and the fact that you're sharing them with us here.

[D_Glenn]

interesting. i have been doing a Qigong called Hun Yun standing "Primordial qigong" (no relation to Feng Zhi Qiang's Hun Yun chen Taiji) and so we place fist on ming men, and bring spine towards the fist to allow ming men to open. this is the first part to get to tan tien. this has improved my standing gong training very much. we do other things as well with this method, but Ming men is what is important to get to tan tien.

Interesting. The general theory is that to build or promote the Dantian, and subsequently stimulate the growth of Membrane-like material in the body, one puts their Intent on the front of the Dantian at Qihai point. This can also be done by doing "Nine fingers showing" posture where the thumb of the left hand presses into Laogong point of the right hand, then the palm of the left covers the back of the right hand and Laogong point is placed over your Qihai point. This promotes the conversion of Jing to Qi (polyamines to energy and growth of one's physical body). Putting intent and having both hands/ arms crossing-over/ covering Mingmen point on the back will then promote the conversion of Jing to Shen (Neurotransmitters) to improve mental capabilities.

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[D_Glenn]

Thanks for posting these things Devlin. I still completely disagree with your reduction of "Jing" to polyamines (why stop there? why not even more simple amino acids, or even simpler molecules?) but I always find your stuff interesting and appreciate the efforts you're putting in, and the fact that you're sharing them with us here.

As I've said before: I first came across the Jing to Polyamine connection while browsing through Ken Cohen's Qigong book at the bookstore. IIRC he wrote that he couldn't take credit for it as it was something he said "other people" were researching.

But the more I read and research on it the more I believe they're almost one and the same, although the minerals Copper and Zinc are a close second but they're more an overall balance of Yin and Yang in the body and are involved with the body's internal enzymatic functions, which the Polyamines play a part in.

The Sulfer containing amino acids (like Methionine) are essential for the most important polyamine that promotes growth, (But if someone already has a cancer then they might want to avoid these because it indiscriminately promotes growth --- There's a lot of on-going research and testing being done with using an anti-polyamine diet to control cancers/ tumors). The polyamine that keeps growth in check, comes from the amino acid Arginine- converted into Agmatine. When Agmatine is taken as a supplement it has a ton of beneficial physical and nootropic effects. While S-acetyl-Methionine when taken as a supplement also has beneficial physical and mental effects. Point being that Amino acids are more the precursors to the Polyamines. And even more important is the internal balance of proteins/amino acids, combined with the conservation of what's already in our body (pre-heaven Jing) along with the efficient extraction of vital nutrients from our daily diet (post-heaven Jing).

Vegetarian diets are generally low in Methionine but apparently eating a Millet gruel can help to replace the Methione and promote the Polyamine. Which if you look at the conservation of Jing stemming from the Buddhists who were on a vegetarian diet then it could make sense how the understanding of Jing came about and discovering the connection and relation to health through outside physical examination and careful attention to the diet.


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[neijia_boxer]

interesting. i have been doing a Qigong called Hun Yun standing "Primordial qigong" (no relation to Feng Zhi Qiang's Hun Yun chen Taiji) and so we place fist on ming men, and bring spine towards the fist to allow ming men to open. this is the first part to get to tan tien. this has improved my standing gong training very much. we do other things as well with this method, but Ming men is what is important to get to tan tien.

Interesting. The general theory is that to build or promote the Dantian, and subsequently stimulate the growth of Membrane-like material in the body, one puts their Intent on the front of the Dantian at Qihai point. This can also be done by doing "Nine fingers showing" posture where the thumb of the left hand presses into Laogong point of the right hand, then the palm of the left covers the back of the right hand and Laogong point is placed over your Qihai point. This promotes the conversion of Jing to Qi (polyamines to energy and growth of one's physical body). Putting intent and having both hands/ arms crossing-over/ covering Mingmen point on the back will then promote the conversion of Jing to Shen (Neurotransmitters) to improve mental capabilities.

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Yes i am aware of the hand posture as well to line up laogong with qihai. I found out just yesterday the qigong is actually called "rooting pine" and was compiled by Bow-Sim Mark.