henro

I would look for a teacher who teaches Kundalini Yoga as taught by Yogi Bhajan. You'll have to get past the Sikh-ness of it all, but the system is great. There are tons of great teachers throughout the world (except in China and Japan where I have only found a few). You can search for info and teachers here: http://kundaliniresearchinstitute.org/ http://www.3ho.org/ Feel free to ask any questions here, and you might want to do a search for past topics. . .

Western Science is constantly changing to try to explain the phenomena we regularly see in Chinese medicine, the world of qigong, and alternative healing. Here's just one story which defies western thought: http://www.shouyuliang.com/syl1/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=27&Itemid=235 And, I also returned from China this week where a family friend has surpassed her western doctors prognosis by two years simply by taking chinese herbs. She has cancer in her brain. . . . maybe I've just been lucky, but I've seen two many miracles since I started on this path to not believe in the possibilities.

Before you move somewhere looking for a teacher have you traveled and spent time there ? A lot ? I've been going to mainland China for about 5 years now. I visit Taoist mountains and temples, make friends, visit with monks and nuns, and of course practice what I already know as much as possible. I have always had the dream of finding some amazing teachers, and have even setoff on some adventures searching for them. It never happened. . But, I just returned from two week trip to China yesterday, and feel that things really fell into place on this trip. I met some amazing teachers all of whom approached me. Maybe it was being in the right place at the right time, maybe I was finally ready to meet them, maybe it was just luck. Whatever happened the foundation has been laid for some incredible growth and learning. My advice - travel as much as possible, don't have any expectations, and learn mandarin !

I'll be in Nanjing for a few days and haven't been able to find out where people might practice tai ji/qigong in the mornings.. . . I actually travel quite a bit and this is always a question that comes up. Would it be a worthwhile sticky in the forum ? Everyone could contribute the places they know about around the world. After some time we might have a great database !

Today, in Nanjing I practiced at a park on the corner of Shanxi and Hunan road across from the Soffitel hotel and it was really great. There were many groups practicing Tai chi. I saw Wu, Chen, and at least three different forms of Yang, along with a couple styles I didn't recognize. Lots of qigong as well !!

Just following up on my own post. . . In Nanjing there are decent number of people doing Yang Style tai chi and sword at the park right outside Wutaishan Gym on Guangzhou Road. In Beijing, Tien Tan park, right next to the Temple of Heaven, has many groups practicing all different kinds of styles just about every morning.

I would see a TCM doctor. If all your other organs are functioning properly, urine should be nothing more than waste. The stomach, receives and ripens, the small intestine separates the clear from the turbid and sends it down the system. The bladder simply stores and excretes it, and the kidney dominates the whole water system. If the physical act is causing some extra body sensation, find a way to channel that. The idea that you would be losing qi from that might be up to interpretation. Are your muscles simply stimulating the prostate while urinating ? Is any jing escaping because of this ? Hmm, those are the questions I guess.

And that may be the most important post you'll ever read about self-cultivation. . . .

I'd also love to hear more about studying qigong in China. Hard to find info on which schools on Wudang are reputable. . . .

Hi everyone. Happy to have found this place !!

What's "real" is a system that works for any given individual. "Kundalini Yoga" can simply be a brand name such as that taught by Yogi Bhajan. Or it could be any number of systems or even kriyas designed to safely open up the kundalini energy that is stored at the base of the spine. It's comparable to different family styles of tai ji, kung-fu, etc. Of course you'll have exponents of each deriding each other and talking about what the real and original system is or was.

I've been practicing Kundalini yoga as taught by YB for about 5 years now. It's great practice for a lot of reasons, especially for people who find hatha too strenuous, or simply don't "get" gigong. I often recommend it to people who are looking for a life practice, but have had a hard time sticking to anything. If you read enough on the web you will undoubtedly come across posts that say "Kundalini Yoga" does not exist in India, and that's true. The yoga taught by Yogi Bhajan is a mix of techniques and styles that he was taught by his teachers. Kundalini Yoga was simply the brand name he gave his practice so he could market it to Westerners. One of my qigong teachers also started out with a Kundalini Yoga practice in the 70's but he moved on after 5 or 6 years because he felt too much breath of fire was burning up his kidney essence, and the practice of sending energy up the spine and out the crown chakra was not as powerful as doing the microcosmic orbit. I"m investigating those ideas my self. Many of the senior practitioners are Sikh, and that lends itself to a more spiritual approach than other systems of yoga. I've had some very powerful experiences through this practice, and it has really strengthened my qigong and tai ji practice, as well as my meditations.