Trunk

All really well said.

Bingo. Prior to standing: self-massage, joint rotations, some body-weight squats. You'll find a world of difference.

Glands o' the brain, man! (link)

* gaaahhhhh! * Fabulous post. First hand experience, clear research. Thank you, Jane. Sincerely.

Ok, well - I finally opened up this book to start in - based on recommendations from several people that I really respect re: breath, that don't know each other, and all recommended this book highly. Yet, partly, I wasn't looking fwd to it. So thick. "Introductory concepts", blah! Anticipated drudgery. What a enjoyable surprise each page has been!

Did you take that shot? Impressive shot. If so, I assume you're using a digital SLR? What a dream... I'm having fun with my little point & shoot Canon digital. Good fun. But the possibilities open way up with the SLRs.

If you are totally new to the herbs, and you want to cook with them (variety of soups of your choice) I suggest that you experiment first for taste. Take 1-3 pieces of an herb and put it in cup of very hot water (either in a tea cup or simmering on the stove in a small pot). Wait until it has soaked through, at least 1/2 hr. Then try the drink from that single herb. If you're adventurous try chewing on the soaked through herb. Then you'll get an idea of what you might want in a soup. Some you might want in a soup but they are such woody roots that you won't want to actually eat them. For those, wrap them in cheese cloth (a porous fabric) and tie it off with a string, then just fish out the cheese cloth when the soup is done. For instance, huang qi. Dang shen you could cut into 1/2" lengths and add it to the soup & eat it up with. Approx measure of herb for soup: a very small handful. Experiment, have fun. - T.

So glad that we have a increasing % of knowledgable assessment. Really important topic. Of course, what people keep referring to is focus on increasing harmony, not some pre-conceived goals. If you increase harmony, maybe some of those will be realized - to some degree - but usually not in the way that you suspected and with a richer more complex mix of life. Watch out, specifically, for jing gong methods that increase heat throughout your sexual cycle, that introduce a jaggedness to your sine wave: It's fun at first, but in the longer run spells t-r-o-u-b-l-e. You want to look for methods that smooth your cycle and increase your skill at going into the yin (cool, unaroused, resting restorative) arc when you want to. (We all already know that the aroused part is fun, and how to get there.)

Even birds' wings cycle through yin~yang.

People vary. *even accomplished mystics*

Men's typical imbalance is to be turned on too much of the time, and retention often makes that worse. I think that the critical first step (often skipped) for male sexual energy cultivation is to be able to skillfully honor the yin part of your cycle. That is, to be able to cool down, circulate, be "not sexy" for a natural healthy tempo - then have regular normal active sex (yes, including ej) when it's time for that. I think that men typically skip over "normal healthy" and try for "advanced superman" and on that basis it often doesn't work out well in the long run. How're you gonna have healthy yang if you don't know healthy yin?

Thank you for the review, a pleasure to read.

Sounds like "Liver chi stagnation". Likely that a dr of chinese medicine could easily, and relatively cheaply, fix this. (Unlikely that western drs could do anything but be puzzled. ) If you wanted to work some on it yourself you could do various self acupressure (lots of various would help), especially the Liver channel. Ideally though, you'd go to a dr of Chinese medicine (acupuncturist), get a treatment/s, plus also tell that dr that you'd like recommendations of which acupoints and channels you could self-massage at home in addition to the in-office treatment the s/he would give you. - Trunk p.s. Per the Ch.medicine view of how the seasons influence the body, this could become especially exacerbated during the spring time. I really suggest that you consider the above strategy right away. It's almost as if you're reading right down the list from a Ch. medical textbook, which is a good sign for resolution via that modality.

It struck me some while ago that, as much as this community talks about sex, we are generally entirely missing just basic information about normal sex. Totally uninformed in that foundation, we then jump to exotic esoteric sex or pop-pickup theories etc. Seems to me that we ought to have a basic sexual study book in our repetoire. Quote from pg 1 of the book Sex in America: - Trunk p.s. The above is not meant to imply that I don't appreciate quotes from such fine works as by Reginald Ray.

~~~ Tao Bums Moderation Team ~~~ This topic has been moved from the main Taoist discussion section to the Off Topic section. All cool. - Trunk ~~~ Mod Squad out ~~~

Steve, Oo-ooo! So glad you've joined our little rag-tag community. I've had some small exposure to xing yi chuan, and have been curious about yi chuan for some time. Perhaps you could start a thread in the main discussion area about the primary characteristics of yi chuan??? Welcome! - Trunk

2nd that.

I worked in a lowly position at a popular L.A. herb store for a while, and we used to recommend the book The Scholar Warrior to introduce people to Taoism. Taoism is woven into many parts of life: medicine, diet, meditation, the bedroom arts, martial arts, body-changing... the book gives an introduction & over-view of many parts. However, TheTaoBums (TTBs) is even broader. Part of the premise of the board is that it's eclectic: people can bring practices related to internal cultivation from any school, or stuff they've even made up themselves. We're an open community to discuss our own paths of travel between heaven and earth. You also might check out my website, alchemicaltaoism.com (it's free). It's a sort of archive of some of the topics of this community over the years, as seen through my eyes and various essays organized along some major topic-lines that are common here. There are many more men than women here, but there are a number of quite brilliant women who are steady members - so don't get the mistaken impression that it's just you and a bunch of heathen guys. Welcome. - Trunk p.s. (To over-simplify a bit..) I'd say that there aren't really rules in Taoism. The purpose is to foster balance & harmony within your own body so that you are healthier, more integral within your self and in relation to the Divine. Given that each person is different, what fosters balance & harmony for one person might be a great deal different from what helps another. That's why I said, "no rules". And that's why the path is so broad with so many different aspects: people vary. However, there are principles and common ways to go about things - which you'll discover along the way.

I noticed (and I've talked to friends who'd noticed the same thing) that during some phases there increasingly becomes interaction between du & ren right across from eachother, not just going around the loop. So, what you're experiencing (a variation of that) is common. No worries. Actually a good thing as far as I've felt it. Other variations can happen as well, like the orbit going in fwd/reverse, feeling that there are different layers of the orbit folded over in some areas. It's all ok. Whatever arises - as long as it feels relatively balanced and like "a good thing". It's not all just like the book says. Your 'feel' of it is more important than maps. "The map is not the terrain." - Trunk

Yup. That's where I go with this, also: gj551, What specific problem/situation of yours are you attempting to address via this?

Well, that is a very broad question. According to Taoism, yin~yang encompass the whole universe. Is there a specific situation that you are trying to address so that we could talk more specifically? Otherwise, lots of variety and it's all good. Ren-1 hui yin is an acupoint on the perineum, half way between the genitals and anus. Very important point as a number of major vessels converge there. - Trunk

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