Search the Community

Hi all, I am new to this forum, but very intrigued. I did my first post and shared a little about myself, however, I am honestly just here asking for help. I have a few books on Taoism (Tao Te Ching, Awaken Healing Light of the Tao by Chia, The Tao of Inner Peace), but I am very new on my path. I spent a few years smoking a lot of Cannabis recently before I got started on my new path with meditations and Taoism and I feel as if the energy was mostly in my head. I was living in a state of needing to always be high. I am worried a may have gotten some blockages or stuck energy because when I do deep abdominal (lower dan tien) breathing there is a bit of tightness when I fully inhale that is sort of painful. Also there is tightness in my lower back a little. What is the best system to start trying to fix this? I do deep belly breathing, but should I be doing it all day every day? Or just once a day? I am a cery dedicated person I just need to be pointed in the right direction. I am awaiting "Opening the Energy Gates of Your Body" that I ordered on Amazon. Any book or lifestyle suggestions would greatly help me. Also, when I do some deep breathing I can crack my upper spine by pulling my shoulders back. Im assuming this means stuck energy being dislodged? I am I lifegaurd at a pool for the summer and have a lot of free time during the day. Any advice guys? Thank you in advance for anyone sharing knowledge