qigong exercises

[time to change]

a will it be better if i do small universe and all those qigong exercises while sitting in full lotus

[TheSongsofDistantEarth]

yes, of course!

 

but then again, maybe not.

[voidisyinyang]

a will it be better if i do small universe and all those qigong exercises while sitting in full lotus

 

Yeah the small universe exercise requires you to be very relaxed so that you can visualize the energy and sense the energy as it's circulating. Full lotus focuses the energy into the third eye and also there's a lot of pressure on the body -- unless you're channels are really open -- if the channels are really open then you'll be deep into the emptiness, which is beyond a visualized state. So for the advanced practice of small universe you want to read the book "Taoist Yoga: Alchemy and Immortality" translated by Charles Luk. You can find it online.

 

But Master Nan, Huai Chin and Bill Bodri argue that the visualization of the small universe can be misleading at the advanced level of practice -- because, again, if your chi is very strong then you go deep into the emptiness which means that reality becomes more holographic -- and your body merges with your surroundings -- through the electromagnetic energy. So the question is where does consciousness go? In other words the small universe exercise can also create an imbalance by becoming too attached to the physical body's energy -- instead of just relying on the source of the energy which is pure emptiness.

 

Still the small universe is the best practice in order to get to the advanced stage -- and then at the advanced stage the full lotus is the best to ground the energy for the deeper emptiness experience. If you try to do astral travel too early -- without storing up enough of the chi energy converted to the shen light spirit energy -- then it's easy to get too dizzy since this spirit energy traveling out of the body will create a spacetime vortex.

 

That's the complicated answer -- the simple answer is to use the full lotus practice for the emptiness meditation -- also called "Self-Concentration" in the http://springforestqigong.com Level 1 sitting meditation c.d. that includes the small universe practice. Then for the small universe you just sit on the edge of a chair -- with the back straight, but also with your body relaxed. That way you can focus your mind more easily as you guide the energy using visualization.

Edited August 13, 2010 by drewhempel

[Dainin]

a will it be better if i do small universe and all those qigong exercises while sitting in full lotus

 

 

Can you sit in full lotus comfortably? Then, yes it would. But if you can't sit in it comfortably, and are struggling or in pain, that would make it very difficult to enter a qigong state and receive the benefits of the exercises. In which case, it might be better to practice the qigong in a chair (or other easier seated pose), and work towards full lotus pose in a separate session (not during qigong). Just my opinion...

[immortal_sister]

Can you sit in full lotus comfortably? Then, yes it would. But if you can't sit in it comfortably, and are struggling or in pain, that would make it very difficult to enter a qigong state and receive the benefits of the exercises. In which case, it might be better to practice the qigong in a chair (or other easier seated pose), and work towards full lotus pose in a separate session (not during qigong). Just my opinion...

 

i agree with his opinion.

i believe that doing energy work in full lotus is considered a more advanced sitting posture than half lotus, or simple cross legged. if you are starting out, and if you don't have a direct teacher you are working with that can guide you through this, i would recommend starting with simple sitting, like dainin said, and go from there.

[gendao]

It takes months to learn to keep relaxing progressively deeper...

 

It may first be your skeletal muscles as you release excess muscular tension

Then your ligaments as you stretch apart more and assume the postures better

Then your mind as you gradually learn to clear it

Then your fascia and organs as you release these deeper sticking points in your posture

Etc..

 

The more you relax all these areas, the easier it becomes to attain full lotus. People cannot sit in it at first because of all the tension we are constantly carrying on all these levels.

 

You will notice that whenever you experience "negative" emotions (fear, anger, etc.), you naturally contract and tighten up. Your eyebrows may furrow, jaw clench & fists ball up, for example. So, this is a gradual process of slowly releasing all that stored-up tension over lifetimes.

Edited August 13, 2010 by vortex