Helder

Hi! I am very motivated to learning QiGong from an expoerienced and competent Teacher. Unfoprtunately, where I am from there is not much around and no one really to ask advice to, so I am surfing the net! Shark infested waters as you know I am thinking that probably China (although not necessarily) is the best place to learn. My aim is to have a month (or a few) intensive course of a good system. My aim is to develop my atunement with Chi and it is mostlyt geared at teaching others and also with a twist towards healing purposes. So, I came across this center in China who offers training: http://www.chilel.com/ It seems to be closely derived from Zhineng QiGong, which is a Medical QiGong which aparently it's considered to be one of the best in China. Apparently however Dr. Pang no longer trains people directly for political reasons as it's stated on the site (http://www.chilel.com/WhatIsChilelQigong/hospital.htm). So, do you know of a good place to learn Zhineng QiGong or any other good system? I know there are a lot of people claming to be Zhineng Masters but probably just did a quick course in China with Dr. PAng when the Center was still open...Feedback from people who have actually done any course would be most welcomed! Thanks and all the best, Helder

Hi all, And for those in the Western Calendar - Happy New Year! I have a question for you Taoist adepts. I have been mostly following yogic methods and theory but have to admit that the Microcosmic Orbit (MCO) has been extremely beneficial to me, healing in ways I have not found in other methods. I follow generally the instructions given by Matak Chia and was wondering if there are other teachers/systems out there that have in the MCO the same foundation for their method of inner healing. In other words, is this general framework (the MCO, the importance of the Lower Tan Tien, etc.) established in Taoist practice as fundamental and foundational? Is this what the ancient classical taoist texts on internal alchemy say also? Could you suggest such a classic text that describes this in (more or less!) clear and not so alegorical terms? I am just interested in looking at other independent sources for comparison. What texts/modern systems do you recommend I look into that has more or less the same framework and that is not stemmign from Chia's system (e.g. Michael Winn, etc.)? I know Mantak Chia has a complete system that gets quite complicated after the initial stages of the MCO but I wonder if these are necessary or to what extent they are.Maybe other systems explain it differently and I just like to look at different sources, independent from eachother. Thank you very much in advance! Helder

Thanks snowmunki I hear ya. The point about mindfulness is full on

Hello and thank you for your replies. So it seems like Chia's approach is safe and sound. It seems to be, to me at least, as it is working very well. But just out of curiosity, are there other books or authors that also mention the MCO that are not Chia or anyone related to him? In other words some independent source of the same practice (ancient or modern)? Yes Cameron, I know a live master is ideal, however it is not easy to find one in your backyard, especially if you are from a tiny country in Europe Best wishes, Helder

Hi Desert Eagle, Thnaks a lot for all the info, much appreciated. I also read your blog on your china trip - very interesting! So, if I gather correctly, it seems the teachers you went and study Zhineng with were competent but it has the disadvantage of being in an apartment and smoggy city (plus the food of course!). Still it sounds interesting. I hope I can get some feedback from people who have done the training in chilel.com with Luke Chan to compare. It seems also, by surfing the net, that your Teacher, Master Liu, has trained a lot of Westerners! Maybe he is a good teacher...After your training (was it a month?) did you get certification to teach the method? Funny, I am also a fan of permaculture Talk later.

Again a question from me about a missing organ It is not the heart, the lungs, the kidneys nor the liver but the spleen. I practice the 6 healing sounds as taught by Mantak Chia and like them but I can't help feeling that I don't have the spleen when I do this sound (and you are supposed to put your hands there and push and visualise the spleen glowing yellow). Do you think it's still ok to do this practice and will it still be beneficial for that organ system/emotion? Well, I guess it won't hurt but would it work? What's your thoughts? Thnaks!

Thanks so much everyone. This was helpful. By the way, yes I still have the stomach and the pancreas It is interesting that the spleen sound does seem to activate strong emotions and feelings in me, together with the reactivation of an energetic pattern or matrix running on the left side of my body. This symptoms have for years been associated with painful memories, bad energy flow, etc. and it seems that the spleen sound is activating them to, hopefully, flush the blockages out. At least I hope so. It does not feel as bad as before, and I do hope this is healing. Thnaks again.

Hi, I am familiar with Taoist sexual practice and theory and it makes sense to me (i.e. semen retention to preserve sexual energy). However I have been finding that I often (although not always) find balance if I ejaculate once every one or two weeks. Especially now that I am single! It seems to bring me balance of too much yang energy accumulated. This is especially true if I don't aim necessarily at ejaculation but try to hold on (as much as I can, which is not long!) and allow feeling the orgasmic energy for a while spreading in my body, and so as I ejaculate at the end the feeling is good, of a release and rebalance. Sometimes it isn't though and I indeed feel depleted, but if I follow this guidelines (wait at least 2 weeks and stop occasionally to feel the pleasure) it seems to be balancing in a way. Well, I know this is not the highest practice for mantaining yin-yang balance but I can't seem to hold on ejaculation for more than 2 weeks without feeling "edgy". How could I overcome this barrier? How to mantain yin-yang balance with increased sexual energy without ejaculating? Especially if you are single it seems to be tough no? Thanks.

Hey guys (and gals? ), thanks for all the replies! I now see this is a complex topic without a straight answer. Hi efflang, I too liked your post very much and laughed a lot reading it with your metaphors! It does not seem so straightforward to me however. You say to meditate when full. Meditate on what? On bringing the energy to the lower dantian or just be and the energy will refine itself inside accordingly? I also don't believe it is an addiction like someone else wrote. It actually depends on the moment. I can tell if I am doing it just because I am bored or lonely or something like that versus when I am genuinely enjoying it. I believe sex is a natural process, something to be discovered and rediscovered time nad again. Like someone said it is an opportunity to ge tto know our bodies and how they work. Not to get lost in it or its slave it's a very important point though. I believe the other extreme (repress it or simply ignore it) is just as bad. Thta is why it is such a diffciult thing to master. Yes, there seems to be a threshold there after enough jing builds up. When the jing reaches a certain level it just seems like it must go somewhere. It is hard for me to believe that the interest in sex will disappear after 2 weeks if resisted. I believe there must be a way in which this energy naturally refines upward in the body, maybe through meditation indeed. But I think the best I can do do is to keep being aware, see how it builds up, how it moves, what arousal means and "play" with it in a constructive non-addictive way until one day it starts moving and refining in another way. Accordingly, when it is done right, ejaculation does not necessarily have to feel depleting or a "waste of time". There is a certain satisfaction that can last. I agree with what was written that this is probably due to the opening of the channels that was allowed during arousal before ejaculation. I don't know. We only learn by trying! I guess moderation in all things is the key! Cat wrote: "When you are feeling sexual, accept it with an attitude of gratitude as a gift of life that is deeply beautiful, and draw the sexual energy into your heart to refine you." I can understand this. I think this is the key. I think this is what makes it feel good rather than depleting. It is all in the feeling, which will move energy accordingly. Then maybe one day the need to ejaculate may simply disapear... Thank you to all.

Hi, I am not sure if any of you is familiar with the concept of neurological switching. It is a kind of a "scramble" of the energy system causing confusion, lack of coordination and other clumsinesses. It is usely attributed to reversed polarities in the brain, it is thought to be normal function of the organism but in extreme cases of tension or prolonged stress it can become ingrained and thus be quite disruptive (see here for example: http://integratedhealing.co.uk/what-we-do/issues-addressed/neurological-switching/). It is also linked usually with homolaterality, i.e. not crossing over energies from left to right side of the body. There are various simple techniques out these to counter switchign that releive the symptoms for a while (http://parentkeys.org/wp-content/uploads/Switching_chart_and_references.pdf). I know I am frequently (or permanently?) switched because I have a very low stress threshold, I present many of the symptoms and when I do the techniques I feel imediate relief. This relief however does not last very long (switching, if ingrained, can be hard to reverse) and so I wanted to know: does taoism ever dealt with switching? I realise this is probably a very recent "epidemic" but how would a taoist deal with this? Are there specific techniques that could help with this over the long term? I know there are not "quick fixes" in this but would love to know some simple techniques that if done over the long term will help re-balance the system and somehow it seems to me that particular qigong exercises could od the trick. Thanks!

Following Cat's suggestions above I went back to look in Donna's book (Energy Medicine) as I remember seeing there an illustration of figure 8s and thought that might help. I found it and was curious about the "aura weaving". I did that and it works very well. Donna explains it (and demonstrates beautifully) here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ErIp2A_-2Ts It does the things Cat mentioned: circular motions on both sides of the body and crosses the midline (3x actually). Plus it seems to expand the pulse of the aura. Well, I don't know about that as I don't see energy as Donna does but I can say I feel much better after that so I will do it often from now on! It is interesting as it is similar to Qigong in many ways. I thought I'd write this as a suggestion that can help others with similar problems. The Wayne cook posture (also in Donna's book and video (link in my post above)) also helps me.

Yes, maybe my choice of website wasn't the best - I did a quick search on the net and posted what appears to summarise the issue. I follow Donna Eden mostly also, although I pick up a few more techniques here and there. Thanks.

Hey, thanks a lot! I think this is it

Hi, thanks for your input. Well, the "neurological switching" was something that came out of Applied Kineseology, so not really "medical science" per se. I believe it is real because (i) I felt it for many years without understanding it and (ii) the simple techniques designed to aliviate it work. I think you could be as skeptical with qigong - you cannot explain how it works from a modern medical perspective, yet it does. I guess what they mean by "polarity reversal" is a kind of "switching off" of the brain. It is a kind of short circuity or shut-off due to stress/tension. An overload so to speak. Do you understand? They do muscle testing to test for this kind of things - it is weak if it's reversed and then it can become strong when corrected. See this very very interesting example: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sIORgKOHMes She does not mention switching or reversals but it is the same when she says the energy is "scrambled".

Hi, The microcosmic orbit (MO) practice is clear: yang energy up the back and yin energy down the front channel, connecting at the palate. But at the same time chinese medicine agrees that the front or functional yin channel runs upthe body. I got confused. In my experience tracing the energy up the functional chanel feels bad. It feels unstable, ungrounding. Everythign that traces it down feels good. But mybe this is because in my case both back and front channels are connected? I got confused because a person I trust, Donna Eden, states with complete confidence that that merdian is to be traced upwards. Why then it is traced down in the MO and why does that feel right to me? Even Mantak Chia agrees in his book that the functional channel runs up the body but then, of course, instructs to run the energy down through it in the MO. What is right? I should follow my own feeling of course but sometimes these thigns get a little confusing...like the differences between man and women in directions also...finally who do we trust? ourselves? Thanks, any input appreciated, especially from those with DIRECT experience of their energy flows and what clearly works best for them!

This is very interesting. One question: to cultivate the Dantian what methods do you suggest? I am following Chia's techniques, such as "Warming the Stove".

Great reply, thank you so much. I understand.

Thank you to all folks, I have learned much from all of you. I guess the answer is clear then: first our own body wisdom, then books. I agree. Books are useful as well, and have their place. At least they give us pointers but then we must have the courage to listen to what our body needs, which may be contrary to what a book or anybody says.

Hello, I am new here. I have been into advanced yoga practices only recently and have been following AYP for a few months now. As I am exploring the theme I found this forum with some interesting discussions on energy practices, grounding, meditation, etc. so decided to register. See you around. Helder

Hi, Freeform, could you please explain how to do the "heel drops"? I could not find it anywhere. I am interested in grounding as well, as I do too seem to have a tendency to have energy stuck in my head and also have some difficulties with spinal breathing (so I am concentrating solely on the I AM meditation for a while now). Yes, I follow AYP Thanks a lot.