Grandmaster Tse’s Qìgōng Dāo 氣功道 365

Jiā Jí Guān 夾脊關

Once the Qì 氣 has passed the Wěi Lǘ Guān 尾閭關 it comes to the next gate, which is the Jiā Jí Guān 夾脊關. Each Guān 關 – Gate is an area that is difficult to pass through. Jiā 夾 means spueeze between and Jí 脊 means spine. So Jiā Jí Guān means squeeze between the spine gate. This is a narrow area that is hard to pass through, like a narrow road where the traffic gets jammed. The Jiā Jí Guān is an acupuncture point as well, it does not belong to any of the Jīng luò 經絡 – Channels and so it is an extra point. It is located vertically at the centre of the back on the  spine and level with the armpits. The area of the upper back is related to the lungs and the heart. If we find it hard to breathe, it can be because the Jiā Jí point has pressure, and once it is clear we can breathe better.

In the Xiǎo Zhōu Tiān 小周天 – Small Heavenly Circle, the Qì rises up the Dū Mài 督脉 – Dū Channel, passing the first gate – Wěi Lǘ Guān and the passes to the second gate – Jiā Jí Guān or Jiā Jí point. To do this the Qì must be strong enough, as it is always harder to go up than to go down.