Liulang Hsien

I have most of the books, if not all, from the bihar school of yoga. They are very very good books, and quite easy to understand. The above mentioned Kundalini Tantra is a book that gives practical steps to follow. In it there is a good bit of theory and background, and complete instructions on a safe practice. I highly recommend it, if not for a good read. As far as what the training does for you is quite remarkable. It has a uncanny resemblance to taoist nei gong practices, which is not a coincidence. Simply put, it is a joining of yin(manas shakti) and yang(prana) which releases kundalini to open the last 9/10ths of the brain(Super Simplified!) You'll even find references to this in the book about john chang(for you fans out there). The practice is very systematic and super easy to follow if you use alittle discipline. Good luck in your training!

I hope I'm not too late on this discussion. I hope this helps with the 36/24 question. On p.15 of Taoist Yoga the master instructs the disciple to breathe in 9 times(positive number) to raise the fire through the 4 phases(seasons) and 6 branches(6 phases of orbiting) = 216. The decent is calculated as follows: 6(negative number) X 4 phases(seasons) X 6 branches(descending from the original cavity) = 144. I'm not exactly sure why the 9 and 6 represent positive and negative numbers, but at least its a start. Those numbers add to be 360 and on page 35 the master explains that this is normally done with a single breath. The process on page 15 seems to be describing a method for the elderly to gather the agent. I wanted to say that sometimes the book Taoist Yoga is a little hard to understand, if you read it through a few times it should start to make sense. Also I found that the book "the way to eternity" by Hu, Xuezhi is an excellent resource and makes a great companion to Luk's book. It seems to be another translation of the same method.

Thank you all for your warm welcome, it is greatly appreciated. I will definitely put your advise into practice Taiji Bum, that is a lot of help. Ive seen your videos on youtube and they're definitely good material.

Hello Everyone, This is my first post, even though I have been perusing through the discussions for awhile. I was wondering if someone might be able to add me so that I can access the personal practice forums. Also I have a few questions. I have started a basic stillness routine and so far so good. In my area, Auburn Al, I cannot seem to find any teachers to help me on my path so I am left with only books as my guide. As has been stated this is not the prime situation. I have read a good bit of "Taoist Yoga" by my Luk, but I am not sure if this is a good practice since some say there are many theories and techniques not disclosed by the book. I have also read a few books translated by Thomas Cleary, but I am having troubles here putting these classics into practical application. There are many other practices I have researched (Vipassanna, Tummo, KAP, Tenaga Dalam, Breath Absorbtion(Maspero,Henri)), but again I am kind of lost on where to start. Currently my plan is to practice Reverse Breathing then MCO, then perhaps take a shot at the Taoist Yoga book. So I guess what I am asking is this a good plan? Thanks Again, Scott -Sorry for the huge intro...