spiritual practices

Neidan (inner elixir) aims to stabilize prāṇa (प्राण) along the midline. Whereas neigong practice largely engages flows of qi in the body to begin the process of collecting energy in the central channel, neidan now takes free flight and courses through inner worlds powered almost exclusively via the mind itself (a more subtle version of qi or prāṇa).

You can have a read of the page on Daoist Yoga for some further details about this and related practices. The web pages in the Sādhanā section get totally practical and discuss the actual steps and skills needed as a foundation for you to achieve mastery of neidan and more advanced yogas.

Here's a typical sādhanā (set of spiritual practices) at the beginning stage of neidan cultivation: 

phowa — tying the midline into near space

The References page has some great suggestions for teachers and more advanced practices such as combining mantra with neigong along both midline and off-midline meridians; and, phowa—a Tibetan Buddhist practice that sends energy up the midline and out the crown of the head into near space to merge with a visualized deity.

This technique can be used both as an intermediate-level exercise and, later, as a more advanced-level practice. The image here stems from the Bon tradition which assimilated many Tibetan Buddhist approaches, such as this method. The three spheres, or mandalas, above the practitioner represent three distinct targets for the projected energy stream up from the adept’s midline.

Phowa opens the door to the occult dimensions, links one’s consciousness with the deities of one’s tradition and can serve to tide one across to a higher world during the death process. Not bad for a single, and rather simple, procedure that can be honed for a lifetime!