The Three Treasures and the Three Centers
Three treasures. Three centers. One system, and it runs in both directions.
Jing, Qi and Shen are the three kinds of energy. The three Dantians are where each one lives. Most explanations of this stop after naming them, which leaves out the part that makes it usable.
The three centers
Lower Dantian, in the lower abdomen. The seat of Jing, your physical vitality and essence. This is the root, and it is where most practice begins.
Middle Dantian, at the heart and chest. The seat of Qi. This centre moves breath, circulates energy, pumps blood, and feels. That last one is not decorative. Feeling is what this centre does.
Upper Dantian, at the third eye. The seat of Shen, the light of consciousness, insight and spiritual awareness.
The three treasures
Jing is essence. Physical vitality, stored in the lower Dantian and throughout the body. It fuels growth, repair and longevity.
Qi is breath and feeling. The energy that animates the body and mind, and the bridge between the other two.
Shen is spirit. Insight, intuition, the flash of knowing that arrives whole and then leaves thoughts behind it.
The part most explanations leave out
These do not sit in a fixed order. They run one way when you are cultivating and the other way when you are creating.
Cultivating runs upward. Jing to Qi to Shen. You nourish the physical body with movement, breath and mindful practice, that vitality refines into flowing energy, and when Jing and Qi are strong the spirit rises on its own. You do not have to chase Shen. It arrives when the ground underneath it is solid.
Creating runs downward. Shen to Qi to Jing. An idea arrives whole, you let your heart feel it until it has real charge, and then you move your body and do the work that puts it into the world.
Same three treasures. Opposite directions. Which one you are in changes what the practice is for, and that is the whole argument of the two directions.
Where to start
Breathe deeply into your belly. Feel the breath lift into your chest. Imagine light filling your mind.
That is the whole sequence in one breath, and it is enough to begin with. More on the practice itself at what is Qigong and the three foundations of healing Qigong. How this shows up when you are teaching is at the Seven Foundations of Practice.
On what people actually notice after working with these centres, why people feel different after Qigong.
A plainer introduction to these centres, written for beginners, is at Qi, Dantian and the meridians.
If you came to this from a health condition rather than from practice, the root-cause work lives at what the immune system is actually doing.
Frequently asked questions
What are the Three Treasures in Qigong?
Jing, Qi and Shen. Jing is essence and physical vitality, Qi is breath and feeling, and Shen is spirit, insight and awareness.
What are the three Dantians?
Three energy centres. The lower Dantian in the abdomen holds Jing, the middle Dantian at the heart holds Qi, and the upper Dantian at the third eye holds Shen.
Do the Three Treasures have a fixed order?
No. They run upward when you are cultivating, from Jing to Qi to Shen, and downward when you are creating, from Shen to Qi to Jing.
How do you start working with the three centres?
Breathe deeply into the belly, feel the breath lift into the chest, and imagine light filling the mind. That is the whole sequence in a single breath.
By Christopher Grant, Great Energy.
Where to go next
If you have never practiced Qigong. Jump Start Your Energy is a free beginner class. No background needed, nothing to buy, and it is the fastest way to find out whether any of this does anything for you. Most people know within one session.
If you practice and want to go deeper. We teach live classes online every week, and there is a self-paced Introduction to Qigong if you would rather work through it in your own time.
If you want to teach this. Everything in this library is drawn from the Great Energy Qigong Teacher Certification. The frameworks are here in full because they are more useful shared than withheld. The training is where you learn to deliver them.
Keep reading. The rest of the framework library is at the Library, and our longer articles are on the blog.
Great Energy is an independent educational organization founded by Christopher Grant and Daniela Hess.