MCO - can't feel the front?

[jago25_98]

With the Microcosmic Orbit I can feel shivers up my spine. This tends to come in waves, slightly related to how relax I am/inner smile etc.

 

Thing is, it stops at my head at 3rd eye. I don't feel anything on the front of my body. I was expecting it to continue flowing down the front in order to make a circuit.

 

Yes, I do complete the circuit with my tounge.

 

How do I know I got the front part of the circuit right if I can't feel it?

 

 

Any background info/problems?

1) I have still inflexibility in my legs from the hamstrings to the back of the knee.

2) Some discomfort on my left side 1 finger below my lower floating rib. I guess this might be a haemerroid where the large colon joins the intestines. I'll have to see a doc when I get back. It would be nice to know how to direct the energy flowing up my spine to that problem area to see if I can help heal it.

 

Thanks for any help.

[Encephalon]

With the Microcosmic Orbit I can feel shivers up my spine. This tends to come in waves, slightly related to how relax I am/inner smile etc.

 

Thing is, it stops at my head at 3rd eye. I don't feel anything on the front of my body. I was expecting it to continue flowing down the front in order to make a circuit.

 

Yes, I do complete the circuit with my tounge.

 

How do I know I got the front part of the circuit right if I can't feel it?

 

 

Any background info/problems?

1) I have still inflexibility in my legs from the hamstrings to the back of the knee.

2) Some discomfort on my left side 1 finger below my lower floating rib. I guess this might be a haemerroid where the large colon joins the intestines. I'll have to see a doc when I get back. It would be nice to know how to direct the energy flowing up my spine to that problem area to see if I can help heal it.

 

Thanks for any help.

 

The complete circuit is not usually experiened initially. The opening of the meridians is not a uniform process with everyone; some spots, or gates, will open more easily than others. Don't force anything, and keep your attention on your lower tantien in the beginning. When chi begins to stabilize there, it will eventually complete the circuit according to a natural pace. The capacity to direct energy to a specific area will be yours with time.

[sabretooth]

With the Microcosmic Orbit I can feel shivers up my spine. This tends to come in waves, slightly related to how relax I am/inner smile etc.

 

Thing is, it stops at my head at 3rd eye. I don't feel anything on the front of my body. I was expecting it to continue flowing down the front in order to make a circuit.

 

Yes, I do complete the circuit with my tounge.

 

How do I know I got the front part of the circuit right if I can't feel it?

 

 

Any background info/problems?

1) I have still inflexibility in my legs from the hamstrings to the back of the knee.

2) Some discomfort on my left side 1 finger below my lower floating rib. I guess this might be a haemerroid where the large colon joins the intestines. I'll have to see a doc when I get back. It would be nice to know how to direct the energy flowing up my spine to that problem area to see if I can help heal it.

 

Thanks for any help.

 

 

 

if you are completing the circuit your top lip will get sweaty.

 

 

sabretooth.

[三江源]

Hi there Jago.

 

 

the front of the orbit is yin. less easy to feel. when I first felt it, I described it as a waterfall..

 

because the back channel can be so palpable, we expect the front to be too. but it aint. not at first, anyhow. and it is always different in feel.

 

How do you know you've got it, if you cant feel it?.. just keep circulating, feeling what you feel, and the trust the 'gaps' will be sorted, by the way of such things.

[三江源]

if you are completing the circuit your top lip will get sweaty.

 

 

sabretooth.

 

aiee. no. once size not fit all.

[Encephalon]

[soaring crane]

With the Microcosmic Orbit I can feel shivers up my spine. This tends to come in waves, slightly related to how relax I am/inner smile etc.

 

Thing is, it stops at my head at 3rd eye. I don't feel anything on the front of my body. I was expecting it to continue flowing down the front in order to make a circuit.

 

 

Hey there - something a little different that you can try:

 

Instead of meditating on the classic orbit right away, try to contain it very strictly to your spinal cord. That means developing a very precise feel for where the verterbrae are on the inside. Look up lots of images of the human spinal cord, visualize and meditate on an internal "X-Ray" image of your own spine, especially the front side, meaning deep inside your body. It's much thicker, beefier than most people realize.

 

Restrict the meditation to going up the vertebrae, starting at the tip of the sacrum (I guess you could include the tailbone, not sure, but it's easier to start and end with Weilü), go upward to and around the "Atlas", and then down the front of the spine. Vertabrae for vertebrae. Don't think about gates or gathering points, don't add anything to the meditation except breath - make it harmonious and soft, deep. Try to connect the upward travel with the inhale, the downward with the exhale, but do not force this, and make sure the space between the breaths remains natural and soft. The transition from inhale to exhale and vice versa should be gradual, like the shift between the seasons, or day and night.

 

Do this regularly for a while, until you honestly find that front side of the spine. When you medititae downwards, it'll feel very solid, there won't be any question about what you're experiencing, it's like swallowing honey.

 

The best position would be relaxed, erect standing, but you can try it sitting as well. Be sure to try sitting on a straight-backed chair, or a sofa. Be sure you understand how to keep the neck vertebrae long and open, likewise the lumbar region. Let the spine breathe. Let it open up and move in harmony with your breath and your intention. Keep it soft, pliable, don't say "no" to any small spontaneous motions that may appear. Don't suppress anything, but don't go wild, either. Keep it soft, on the border between physical and energetic. Remain very conscious of the entire process.

 

Once this "clicks", you can try the classic Orbit and I think you'll like it better. Can't hurt to try, anyway

Edited January 25, 2010 by soaring crane

[Kronos]

Try this: r e l a x

Believe me, if you're not relaxed enough the energy does not move down. Move your head a little bit back and breath out relaxing your front. That's all.

[sabretooth]

aiee. no. once size not fit all.

 

My instructor taught me that if you get the energy moving through the mco your top lip will sweat.

I have experienced this as did other student's.

He also said that if you do not experience this it is because you have not got the energy moving.

Some people's meridian's are more open than other's,perseverance is the key.

 

 

sabretooth.

[三江源]

My instructor taught me that if you get the energy moving through the mco your top lip will sweat.

I have experienced this as did other student's.

He also said that if you do not experience this it is because you have not got the energy moving.

Some people's meridian's are more open than other's,perseverance is the key.

 

 

sabretooth.

 

Okey dokey. I guess if you get told your lip will sweat, it will.

[soaring crane]

Try this: r e l a x

Believe me, if you're not relaxed enough the energy does not move down. Move your head a little bit back and breath out relaxing your front. That's all.

 

I agree with this on the one hand, but also view it differently. If you know how to "actively" relax, essentially the opposite of actively tensing, then, yes, do it. However, if all you do is passively wait for Qi to travel downward, then you may end up with more of a blockage "upstairs" than you started out with. Could be risky for some people.

 

At the very least, combine it with the breath, please.

 

In my experience, it's the upward travelling Qi that finds its route all on its own. The more passively I allow it to travel, the smoother it rises, whether up the front or back side. Physically, it creates a bit of a paradox as my body straightens up and I "grow" taller when I give up control. And then, to continue the circuit, I kind of take over the control again and guide the Qi downward. There's an extremely fine line between these "phases", it's hard for me to find the right words.

 

Yin - passive, rising, inhale

Yang - active, sinking, exhale

 

Let them dance their dance.

 

I've practiced it so long like that (12 years?) that now it simply reveals itself and I can observe it occurring. It's a state of development I wish for everyone.