In internal alchemy the energies of earth are brought within for personal transformation. This implies that qigong is relational. The practice of qigong has us project subtle aspects of our selves to embrace and harmonize with the earth. We then collect the subtle impression of the earth to act as a transforming agent in ourselves and all dimensions of our being. The Earth-Linking Zone is the initial bodily area activated in this function.
Transformation often implies transcendence.
But what we are transcending in qigong is not the earth per se, but an experience of reality that remains disconnected to its spiritual nature. This spiritual nature is as much a part of the earth as anywhere else. The concept of dividing the head and torso of the human body into three zones has both Eastern and Western parallels. Chinese Esoteric Buddhism sees a lower zone starting from the base of the torso up to the solar plexus region. The middle zone extends from the solar plexus to the mid-brow region.