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Hi everyone, I've been on the spiritual path and working with energy for quite a while. I'm also a Yoga teacher, and in the last 18 months have been exploring the breath, which has brought me to the Chinese philosophies. I always found the Indian information about the energy body lacking, and the information in the Tao is anything but... (Apparently the Indian schools were more tight-lipped about this knowledge). Anyway, wow. Am learning so much at the moment. Moving energy around my body through the breath makes much more sense now, though I cant process all the names of the different channels. Also I'm reading a book by someone who I just discoved is pretty unpopular in the Tao community (he who shall not be Named)... So looking for another recommmendation of a book on the energy body, breath and inner breath, if anyone has one! While waiting for my post to be apporved I will continue to rearrange my flat in accordance with the principles of Feng shui Nice to be here!

Hi everyone, I've checked the archives for info about insomnia but couldnt find what I'm looking for... Insomnia is an old, long standing issue that I'd alivietated to a large degree but a few months ago it flared up again. It's not that bad to be honest - the worst it gets is that it takes me three hours to get to sleep. So not a lot to complain about, but I really want to start getting up earlier, and that means figuring out how to get to sleep faster. Not looking for any advice right now about herbs or sleep hygience (have researched that stuff to death) - what I really want to know is if there is an energy orbit (?) that can help with getting to sleep? (I'm very new to Daoism so please bear with me when it comes to teh terminolgy ) I've been working with energy for 12 years, but with a more less informed system. A lot of the exercises I do are ones I figured out athrough trail and error. I'm discovering that some of them are already a thing in Daoism... which is nice! I figured out an "energy exercise" that works sometimes and I'm wondering if anyone knows what I'm doing?! Basically I focus on sending the energy from my head out to heaven (for want of a better word), and then I spread my energy out really really wide, so that it fills my whole room. Without fail, when I do this properly two things happen: 1) I hear noises in other parts of the room, which I attribute logically to my energy field getting larger, but sometimes I cant help but think "ghost" and it snaps me out of my reverie 2) If I manage not to get scared I pass out within a few minutes. I think the fear is an obstacle towards sleep, and to opening myself up to the Universe, so it's all connceted somehow. Questions about my sanity and suggestions for a better energy exercise to the usual address So

Hi gentlemen, The reason I specifically said I dont want any advice apart from "orbits" is cos': 1) I've tried all the conventional wisdom advice. 2) I'm continually working on the deeper roots of everything. True healing is a long process, and this request wasn't about finding a quick fix. It's important to have a tool to help in the short term. It's a part of the puzzle, no less valuable than exploring the deeper roots. I think Rara is right, and to improve on something there's a certain amount of detachment that has to happen before something can shift. Detachment is very misunderstood as a process though, and most people tend to vaciallate between the extremes of grasping and apathy. Thank you Cheya - I'll try that!

Hello friends, I'm a Yoga teacher, and lately I've been experiencing intense nausea and dizziness doing my Yang Yoga practices... The only thing I can relate it to is spiritual development. I've had something of a quantom leap forward in the last few months, and I'm still moving quickly. I no longer feel blocked, but I feel somehow that the nausea is connected to an energy blockage in this area. Are there any perspectives on this from Taoism? Thank yoU!

That is an incredibly accurate diagnosis Gerard... Thank you!

@Silent Thunder - loved your description of the exercise you do. Could actually hear it in my head as you wrote it. Oh, and Rara, yours was one of the old threads that I turned up when looking through the archives. You were going through the ringer at the time! You feeling better now?

Honestly, the exercise I described above has been working pretty consistently now... It helps me "get out of my head" (literally), but it's also kind of a curious experience that requires my attention. It's kind of trippy and dream like in itself... I used to do Yoga Nidra but it only worked a few times. What does work, ironically is imaging myself actually doing yoga poses.! Again, it distracts me from my thoughts, and also induces a feeling of relaxation. But shooting energy out of the top of my head and then merging my aura with everything is working better than that. I guess there's no equivalent orbit in Daoism

Hi everyone, I took a bit of time out and the answer came Basically I had this "spiritual leap" because I spent quite a few months solely working on grounding and rooting. It rippled up to the higher aspects of the body - spiritual awareness, open-heartedness etc. Basically the nausea etc was a big message from my body that I need to return to lower parts of the body, cos in order to grow further these need to be developed more. Change is cyclical, as a wise man said I've started doing the macro-cosmic orbit but am just focusing on teh lower part of the body - beginning and closing teh orbit at the LDT. And also just some really foundational exercises that target the glutus maximus and the lower abs. Seems to be helping. Thank you all for your suggestions!

Who would have thought a surfing metaphor would get everyone so excited?

Thelerner, that post brought a little tear to my eye. Thanks again. That's exactly what the "spiritual upgrade" has been - i opened my heart. It's intense.... but it also feels like the safest place in the entire cosmos. I thought I was protecting myself by keeping it closed, but actually the closed heart is what hurts us... Hey Brian, I'm in London. Jeff actually PMed me and helped out with some remote healing. It's really nice that's a thing you do for each other!

Hi Thelerner, I really love this advice, and I think you're completely right. I probably need to take a step back, smell the roses, and enjoy where I am right now. Cos' it's pretty good! It's bizarre, because even though life is great, even the slightest stretch of the heart area makes me feel like I'm about to burst into tears. Consolidation and slowing down is defintely good advice... I'm sure clarity will stem from it. Thank you!

Oh, medical Qigong looks amazing! Thanks for the tip. Yes, I talk to the trees (and they talk back now - part of the recent spiritual upgrade). I've done six ceremonies... And actually, I'm about to go to Peru to do three more, ha I never felt before that I needed to purge, but right now that feels like exactly what I need...

I think it's been about three months since the last ceremony... The nausea is only happening since last week.

THis is probably relevant - I mostly follow a Shamanic path, and I do Ayahasuca ceremonies. I've never "purged" at a ceremony, which is highly unusual...

Haha, true. But everything is spiritual ultimately What I mean is I've had a leap and it feels like stuff I need to release is coming up. Not saying I'm enlightened. I cant really handle acuptuncture to be honest. I'm highly sensitive and the last treatment I got took me ten days to recover from.

Yang isnt a particular branch of Yoga; it's just how we describe a practice that is more fast and furious (Yin is a branch though; as is Yin-Yang. Just to confuse people :-) ) Each time I've practiced in teh last 10 days it's been with completely new people and a new teacher. When I've gone for acupunture in the past I've been told that I have deficient heat? Is that the same as damp hear? I also have an overactive liver, a deficient spleen, and deficient chi. I always struggle with digestive issues.

Hey, thank you for your reply Qicat! I don't think a certain pose is triggering it, and it's unlikely that it's food. The first time it happened was 10 days ago. We were doing a "water" practice, relating to the groin. I hadnt eaten anything or even had a coffee. It was very strong, and I started nauseas and got a splitting headache. Neither of those things have happpend to me before... I had to sit out a few poses but mostly muscled through. It's happened a few times since then, and I've just skipped a few poses. Today was the worst, and I had to sit out a lot of the practice. I feel it in my gut. It feels very heavy and pukey, ha. Today it went away after the practice but then it came back a few hours late, and I just threw up a tiny bit. Definitely not Yoga high,,!

Hey Phil, I've struggled with this massively over the years. I'm a Yoga teacher and at the end of teaching I will always be the reddest one in the room, I sweat absolute buckets, and I blush purple if someone looks at me the wrong way. Now, I'm still figuring it out, but making some headway finally so I'll share what I've learned. Basically I went to a Five Elements Chinese Acupturist and she diagnosed what I have as a "deficient heat". This was really interesting as most people have always just written it off by saying I had too much fire / Yang energy and needed to eat some seaweed. Acutpunturists I'd been to before would often try to "funnel off" the excess heat. But I never felt like I was Yang - I suffered from depression, had very low energy, and my body temperature vasciallated wildly from cold to hot. I felt like a cold creature who couldnt handle the heat, not a hot creature with too much energy. However, the acupuncturist told me that the heat was arising because I was deficient in Earth energy. The Five Elements create a cycle, which goes Water nourishes Wood, Wood nourishes Fire, Fire nourishes Earth, Earth nourishes Metal, Metal nourishes Water. My Fire "levels" were actually normal, but because I was deficient in Earth the fire would run rampant over me... there was nothing to soak it up. This also threw the Wood element out of whack, and lead to my liver (wood) attacking my spleen (earth). I'm not saying that your diagnoses would be the same - you might not have deficient heat, but it's worth going to a Five Elements Acupuncturist and getting an assesment. I'm approaching the heat in my body in a few ways now: 1) Nourishing the Earth element with colour therapy, essential oils and, of course, food. 2) Understanding the elements as a metaphor for emotions. In my case, I put pressure on myself be big, bright and shiney - basically to be fire. But I don't have the grounding to support that kind of intensity, nor is my heart open enough (this will slowly dawning realisations). 3) Then, understanding how this emotional handling plays out energetically, and working on those energy currents. So, in my case, working on grounding up (pulling energy up) and opening my heart. Like I said, I'm still working on it, but I've noticed a big improvment quite quickly. I hope this helps!

Thank you very much everyone! I feel very welcome And Aeran: awesome recommendations, cheers! I'll check them out.