malakai

Greetings, I have been doing daily pranayama with an emphasis on kumbhaka for about 2 months now. During the kumbhaka I perform mula bandha for 30 seconds, along with some tension by the navel. Each round of pranayama lasts a bit over a minute. I've found that the contractions have become more subtle compared to when training started. The urge to breathe has lately become more of a decision based on how the overall body feels, compared to feeling forced to breathe earlier on from what used to be more violent contractions. Since adding mula bandha a couple weeks ago, I'm quite often aware of a warmth by my coccyx. Usually I don't feel it during the practice, but later when sitting on bed I can feel the warmth. It sometimes feels like sitting on a heater. I see on this forum a lot mentioned about qi gong. But it seems that the Indian method is simply to let the breath do the purification and the opening of the channels. My goal is to purify all nadis and to reach absorption in the central channel. While I've experienced the warmth by the coccyx, the energy has yet to shoot up. Is this only a matter of time? Should I incorporate other exercises that help with reaching the central channel? During the inhalation phase in every round of pranayama, I do imagine pulling/guiding the energy from the root, past the coccyx, up the spine and over the skull towards the third eye. I practice chastity. I know that patience is needed. The adaptation of the system takes time. But I would very appreciate any advice, perhaps from people experienced in mula bandha / tummo / long term breath practitioners. Thank you.

Hi Tom, Thank you for your kind reply. What I'm doing is mostly Tummo inspired. The technique is from the book "The Bliss of Inner Fire". I practice this exercise about an hour a day, as I have quite some free time at my disposal. Does anyone think it's too much? I consider the practice itself also a meditation. But I don't sit in silence without a technique afterwards. Would this be a missed opportunity? And Steve, thank you for your suggestion. I am in Europe unfortunately

Greetings I got started with the MCO meditation as instructed by Mantak Chia in his book "Awaken healing light of the Tao". Really liking the book. It seems to explain everything in a very detailed manner. I'm committed to giving the MCO a fair try over a period of at least a few months. It would be nice to increase my energy levels. Anything on top of that would be a nice bonus! I'm spending most of my meditation time being aware of my lower dan tian. I'm really starting to feel quite a presence there. It seems that as I'm becoming more conscious of the energy in the LDT, It's also easier to sense energy in other areas of the body. The third eye area is relatively easy to feel, but I'm still working to become more sensitive of my spine as I only felt some chi at the tailbone. It would be cool to feel the energy going up the spine, but I suppose that's the yang channel so it would more be hot right? Just trying to take a step every day towards becoming more sensitive, and moving the energy around more efficiently. In my google activities I've ended up on this site quite a few times lately, so thought it was time to sign up. Peace