An open library in progress. Explanations are editorial drafts, with sources for further study. Translations await specialist review. How to read our labels.
Background reading · This supporting article retains its own setting and sources. It is not a separate main tradition category on Fire Yoga.
A place to begin
Neidan means internal alchemy. Its texts describe transformation using an alchemical vocabulary whose meanings depend on the lineage and stage of discussion. Qigong is a broader category of cultivation practices; not every qigong exercise follows the aims or models of internal alchemy.
Reading source: The Way of the Golden Elixir ↗
A scholarly introduction with translated primary material. Internal alchemy and modern qigong must be distinguished.
Its own map of the person
Dao, interpreted within specific alchemical lineages. The person considered through nature, life and cultivation. Spirit and intention have context-specific meanings.
Body, breath and transformation
Jing, qi and shén have distinct roles. Dantian and vessel imagery; textual models differ. Refinement, reversal and return.
Reading source: The Way of the Golden Elixir ↗
A scholarly introduction with translated primary material. Internal alchemy and modern qigong must be distinguished.
What freedom means here
Return to the Dao, described in different lineage vocabularies. Transformation language is not verified biological immortality. Teacher transmission and ethical cultivation matter.
A distinction to carry with you
Qi is not a direct translation of prāṇa; Neidan is not all qigong.
These short notes are a starting framework for study. A fuller account needs particular passages, attributed translations and the tradition’s internal debates. The source above is a reading entry point, not a claim that every statement here has completed scholarly review.
Reading about practice
Lineage-guided cultivation; symbolic alchemical processes. This site offers educational descriptions. Intensive breathing, retention, bodily locks and advanced energy practices require qualified guidance.