Ms. Yumi clapped her hands to get everyone's attention.
"Alright, now sit in a circle, hold each other's hands, and then send your star energy to the person on your left. Go ahead and give it a try."
Raisa, Aiko, Hana, and Mio sat in a circle, holding hands as instructed. They concentrated, sending their energy to the person on their left. Slowly, a blue vortex formed in the center of their circle, drawing in surrounding energy to merge into their bodies.
After about five minutes, the group stopped as the kids were starting to get bored. Raisa could feel a slight increase in her star energy, though it was barely noticeable—maybe around 0.001.
Ms. Yumi smiled encouragingly.
"I knew you might get bored, so let's move on to the three-person meditation. Since we need to rearrange the groups, Raisa, you can join the boys since your hair is short."
"Huh? Me?" Raisa raised an eyebrow.
"Yes. Your hair's way too short, it suits you more with the boys," Ms. Yumi teased gently.
Reluctantly, Raisa left her girl gang and joined Kenji and Daiki. They repeated the process, sitting in a triangle and sending energy to the person on the left. This time, the blue vortex was noticeably slower, indicating that the energy flow was weaker than in the four-person group.
Five minutes passed, and once again, they grew bored.
"Great job! You all did well," Ms. Yumi praised. "It looks like you're all quite talented since you managed to complete both group meditations. Next, we'll try the two-person meditation. This time, we'll pair up a boy and a girl since combining opposite energies like yin and yang makes the vortex spin faster. If you pair with the same gender, the vortex will hardly move."
Since Raisa was already with the boys, she didn't need to rearrange. She paired up with Daiki first. They sat facing each other, pressing their palms together. Unlike before, they didn't spin the energy but crashed it into each other in front of them. Because of the contrast between yin and yang energies, the resulting vortex spun more effectively, pulling in more star energy.
Five minutes later, they grew tired again, but Raisa couldn't help but notice that the energy absorption was much better than when they meditated in larger groups.
Next, it was Raisa and Kenji's turn. As they performed the same exercise, Raisa noticed that the vortex between them was significantly larger and faster than the others.
After the five-minute session, Raisa couldn't hide her amazement.
"Why was that so much better than the others?" she wondered.
Ms. Yumi stood at the front of the class, holding two scroll-like diagrams in her hands.
"Alright, now that you've tried partnered meditation, we'll move on to solo meditation," she announced with a calm yet encouraging voice.
"Solo meditation is a bit more difficult, but I've brought the easiest example for you to try. Girls will use the Moon Meditation, and boys will use the Sun Meditation."
She walked around the class, handing out diagrams. "This diagram shows the acupuncture points on your body. For girls, there are 16 points, and for boys, 17 points."
Raisa looked down at her diagram. It showed a simple figure of a person sitting cross-legged, with 16 small circles marked and numbered on various parts of the body—from the forehead, chest, abdomen, arms, and legs.
"Look closely," Ms. Yumi continued. "You'll see numbers from 1 to 16 for the girls—or 1 to 17 for the boys. Your task is to sit still and guide your star energy through these points, in order. Once you reach the last one, loop it back to the first and continue."
Raisa squinted at the chart. So I just need to make the energy flow through these points one by one? Sounds easy... but probably isn't.
"Remember," Ms. Yumi added, "it's not just about rushing from one point to another. You have to feel the energy, make it move slowly and clearly through each point."
Then we all tried. Unfortunately, it was much harder than expected. Moving energy from one point to another required full concentration. Sometimes the energy would stray in the wrong direction, or our focus would slip and the flow would break apart entirely.
Some classmates even struggled to locate the correct points, while others sent energy to the wrong places.
Raisa gave it her best. She managed to guide her energy from point 1 to 2, then to 3… but when she tried to reach point 4, her mind wavered. The energy scattered, slipping out of her control.
Out of all 12 students in the class, none of them succeeded.
Ms. Yumi smiled gently as she saw the disappointment on their faces.
"It's alright. I couldn't do it my first time either," she said warmly.
"I remember... I was only able to do solo meditation properly in the second semester."
She continued, "Even if you can't manage it by then, that's okay. Some students only succeed in their third year. And some... never manage it at all, even as adults."
Her gaze softened as she looked at the students.
"Because... solo meditation depends on talent, not just practice."
Raisa raised her hand.
"Miss, what are the benefits of solo meditation?"
Ms. Yumi nodded.
"There are many patterns or pathways in solo meditation, each using different acupuncture points in the body. Each pathway has its own difficulty and unique benefits."
"For example," she continued, "Solar Meditation is more effective when performed by men. Its benefits include strengthening the body, hardening the bones, and increasing male vitality."
"Lunar Meditation, on the other hand, is the opposite. It enhances flexibility, smooths the skin, reshapes the body slightly, and supports qualities often associated with the female body."
Raisa raised her hand again.
"Then what happens if a girl uses the Solar Meditation?"
"Nothing," Ms. Yumi replied firmly.
"That's considered a failed meditation. It won't give you any benefits. In fact, it might drain your existing energy, so be careful. Solo meditation isn't something to take lightly."
"These formulas were developed through thousands of painful trial-and-error experiments, even for the simplest methods. So never try to force energy through random points."
She looked around the room seriously.
"Listen carefully. There was once someone who damaged their energy vessel permanently. They lost the ability to meditate for the rest of their life and became what we call a failed cultivator."
"Do you all understand?"
"We understand," the students answered in unison.