immortal_sister

there are so many great documentaries on that website! i have yet to watch this one, i will today. thanks for posting!

glad to see someone posting about this! cat gave a wonderful answer i tend to dislike a lot of chia's stuff, not because of what he is teaching as much as how he teaches it. being a woman, i tend to feel a disconnect with some of his methods. i find jade saida's explanation and work with the jade eggs much easier to relate to. and although she is one of chia's students, she has given these teachings her own flavor and you can tell what she teaches is from the heart, from experience. and i think that makes all the difference with female-specific practices. i highly recommend her book. i have been using jade eggs on and off for a few years. like cat said, i have always felt that there wasn't a "need" or even that much benefit to acquiring advanced muscle control. i think some muscle control can be beneficial, both for sexual pleasure, but also for healing, as different parts of the vagina and the cervix are related to different organs in the body, therefore massaging a certain area with the egg has healing properties. so being able to move the egg around can produce a healing effect that say, a penis, could not. furthermore, using real jade eggs has a whole other set of healing properties. jade is considered a very yang stone, and is therefore excellent for building energy internally. i find that just having the jade egg inside is wonderful and comforting. i sometimes insert it in the morning and simply wear it all day long. it brings an awareness all day long that is wonderful, the energy just expands and builds from the egg's presence. and if you have some experience working with the egg you can do some gentle exercises throughout the day too! its a lot of fun i haven't practiced the weight swinging yet but i plan to. i think with little weights this method could be very beneficial to build some strength. a strong pelvic floor has so many health benefits, and weights are a wonderful way to do this. i have been waiting for the right time to use weights myself, as i do not take this practice lightly, i want to feel ready, know what i mean? i tend to take the slow approach when it comes to new practices, especially powerful practices like that. jade saida has started an interesting community on her website, which Mal posted. there are forums, and although they are not very busy, there are discussions about jade egg practice there. worth checking out!

i am interested.. how do i find you on skype?

i think it depends what kind of energy work you are talking about.. what kind of practice do you do? i know that most of the qigong i am currently learning can be safely practiced throughout pregnancy and beyond. in fact there was a pregnant woman at my recent retreat, and i was asking her about doing qigong, and she was telling how she felt the baby respond inside of her, she felt it was really positive. what a trip! i would love to experience that one day! lucky baby

thank you for sharing this video! very impressive. i would love to experience something like that. and would also love to attend one of your workshops this year

my clothes dangle there i sway, vibrate, pulsate, dance my hair in the wind ps. beautiful fish!!

yes spring equinox in full effect here too!! spent all morning bird watching on friday, saw some amazing rare birds that only visit this area during migration. walked through the woods, off the beaten path, and communed with nature. bliss. on saturday i walked outside, enjoyed the sun. and i went to a yogadance class. it was my second week attending, and i have to say it is changing me from the inside out. i would have completely refused to attend something like that just a few years ago, thinking it would be hokey, new agey. but it is so incredibly freeing, so feminine, very powerful. i have been very serious and in my head most of my life. i have been trying to break down those walls and just let my feminine energy shine through.. its been a tougher process than you would think. this class is wonderful.. started out with some kundalini yoga exercises, got some heat moving.. then went into some asanas and eventually into full blown dance, awakening our entire body, dancing as a shared experience. a truly beautiful way to celebrate spring!!

blue dragon posted this quote: not sure if this was answered elsewhere. but i was wondering if because this practice is about dismantling, it would be innapropriate or counter-productive to combine with healing qigong practice? i have been curious about kunlun recently, and someone was kind enough to send me a copy of their book. but because there seems to be such focus on the manifestations of the practice, i have been hesitant to try it on my own, or do it while also practicing qigong regularly. anyone have some thoughts?

i was beginning to think my review never got read! i am glad you liked it mal, thanks for responding. i will be writing more about my studies with the ling gui school in my personal practice forum. and yes, i agree, it is good to stear away from male-centered practices, especially as a woman, some things just click so much more than others. peace.

in a wink or smile your entire being, clear your eyes said it all

if i had known a while in advance i may have considered going... but unfortunately this is a week away

thank you for this post. this has been a big struggle for me the last few months, trying to pinpoint everything, trying to understand, categorize, dwell... that always gets me in trouble.. i need to come back to the heart and let things flow. even though i already know this deep within me, it gets buried, and its nice to hear/read a reminder. sometimes i wonder how something so simple, just letting go, can be so difficult... but i guess its because of the immense benefit one can gain from actually fighting this fight. thank you.

yup i agree with cat. lust is a beautiful, healthy feeling. you don't want to suppress that! rather the important thing is redirecting that lust into something useful. you don't want this lust to turn into bitterness from not being able to act on it, or to turn into something that controls you, where you would cheat on your girlfriend. use that lust energy to exercise and workout, for example, or to work toward another goal. see it as positive energy that surrounds you and makes you stronger, and makes your will stronger.

freud was full of BS. and yes, a LOT of psychological therapy methods and theories are BS too... seems like a lot of men on this forum think they know everything about what women believe and what women like. i'll have to side with kate and cat on this one and say that liking men at the "top of the hierarchy" is not true of all women. it is common, sure. but i think you will most likely find that women that step outside of the norms with their beliefs and goals in life (aka, probably a lot of the women on TTB) are not this way. and its not just denial.

when description fails words fall short, the mind races seek the heart, center

it has been absolutely beautiful and sunny here in the northeastern US. still snow on the ground, but it is slowly melting. my spirits are soaring high with all this sun, it feels wonderful. i have been going for more walks, spent some time in the forest the last few days, it has just been amazing. its definitely still winter, but spring is near. birds are waking up, heard cardinals singing their spring song today. some of the migratory birds are coming back too, although the red-winged blackbirds aren't back yet, and to me they are always the truest indicator of when winter is truly over. they know should be any day now! i learned a liver cleansing qigong form at the last seminar i attended, and the teacher told us it was a great form to do in the spring, to cleanse the body from the sluggishness of winter. and the healing sound used in the form she explained as being in harmony with the sound of the earth in spring time. very potent. i plan on doing it as often as i can in the coming months.

in my experience, most good chinese medicine practitioners will be able to help in cases of psychosis or even possession. if the problem really lies with the conception channel being closed or blocked, then absolutely a chinese medicine doctor and/or qigong healer will be able to help. what area do you live in? maybe if you let us know some people might have specific recommendations for people to see.

thousand year's waiting for the singing bowl to ring now i fill this room

thank you so much for opening this thread and for everyone who has shared their experiences. this is a topic very close to my heart, it is something i have been struggling with deeply for the last several years. being told, "just do it" is extremely frustrating, i just don't know HOW most of the time. i feel that my path with meditation and qigong is helping though, one step at a time. i also recently found a new chinese medicine doctor that i feel is going to be really helpful as he is interested in treating me both from a physical perspective and an emotional one as well. when we have lived with distorted programming for most of our life, this is imprinted in our bodies, and manifests physically. or at least that is one conclusion i am coming to and see all around me. so i am hoping to work on all aspects of this at once. hopefully i can share my successes with you all in the coming year. peace.

and the stillness, there without it your vision blurs return to stillness

the quantities of herbs to take would depend on your condition / what you are aiming to do with the herbs. but for general use, a good way to use them is to make congee with the herbs. you can easily find recipes online. simply cook 2-3 cupes of rice mixed in with the herbs in a lot of water, like 5-6 times more than you would normally cook the rice in. and let it simmer for a few hours. this will turn into a rice porridge that you can eat throughout the day. i am not an expert, probably others will have other recommendations, or will be able to give you more details about making congee. i made some with astragalus and goji berries yesterday and it was delicious!

yes, an eyemask or pillow can work, but make sure it covers your third eye.

its a metaphor. it simply means that mullein is said to restore the lungs to their original, natural, healthy state. those are just the terms that my teacher used to explain this to us.

oh and by the way, the teacher i mentioned, her brother dr. liu dong lives in france, he practices chinese medicine in paris i believe. they created the ling gui healing qigong school together, from their family's lineage. dr. liu dong must also teach qigong in europe, but there is not much information available about him online. might be worth looking into.