Tired / Fatigure

[Maddie]

Ok I promise I tried to search Tao Bums for a thread like this first, before starting yet again another topic. I have mentioned this here and there in other threads, but this is really starting to bother me.

For the past two weeks I have been unbelieveably tired. This occurs with me every so often a few times a year, where I will suddenly get so tired that I can not really do anything. Now I realize that the reasons be becoming tired are vast and varied so this is not an easy thing to peg down so I will list what I have been doing lately. I am also curious to see if anyone else deal with seemingly random bouts of sever fatigue.

I have actually not done a lot of Qigong practice the last week or two due to being so tired, but prior to that I had a daily practice of 8 Brocades, Inner Smile/Healing sounds, and MCO/Cold Draw. I had been making some real progress with the Cold Draw not too long before I got tired, and I had also been putting a lot of emphasis on the Heart and Lung inner smile and healing sound. I also began taking some homeopathic and flower essence remedies as well. My relationship with my wife is bad, but that is nothing new. Otherwise my sleep, work, and practice schedule and routine remained mostly constant.

So here are some of my questions. Could it be the increaseed amount of inner smile/ healing sounds I had been doing? Perhaps the excess energy requirements of my body to detox and cleanse these organs was high. Is it somehow related to my new practice of doing daily Cold Draw, (I can't really see what the connection would be, but being tired started soon after). Could it be the homeopathic and flower essences? I have not been made tired from these before, but these also have the effect of helping your body heal itself. So maybe in a similar manner as the inner smile and healing sounds, perhaps they directed a great deal of my energy for healing and cleansing purposes?

Other than this I am confused because not too much else in my life is different than before. Does anyone else experience sudden bouts of fatigue and tiredness such as this? As in coming on rather quickly and seemingly random. I have been so tired that the neighbors got annoyed cause my lawn began to get rather shaggy lol ( I did finally cut it).

 

P.S. I should also add I have been taking ginger lately in order to strengthen my spleen due to the fact that the spleen is responsible for turning food into chi, and due to the fact that I have been pondering a lot about what to do about my bad marriage. Since the spleen is also responsible for thinking/worry.

I should also add that my hunch/intuition tells me that what I am experiencing my be a result of the Cold Draw in an indirect way. I suspect that due to my longer retention time due to cold draw as opposed to big draw, that my energy level may have actually increased to the point that the healing process in my body kicked in and thus it may feel like I have less energy, but I'm not 100% sure about that.

Edited October 18, 2010 by dmattwads

[King Kabalabhati]

Ok I promise I tried to search Tao Bums for a thread like this first, before starting yet again another topic. I have mentioned this here and there in other threads, but this is really starting to bother me.

For the past two weeks I have been unbelieveably tired. This occurs with me every so often a few times a year, where I will suddenly get so tired that I can not really do anything. Now I realize that the reasons be becoming tired are vast and varied so this is not an easy thing to peg down so I will list what I have been doing lately. I am also curious to see if anyone else deal with seemingly random bouts of sever fatigue.

I have actually not done a lot of Qigong practice the last week or two due to being so tired, but prior to that I had a daily practice of 8 Brocades, Inner Smile/Healing sounds, and MCO/Cold Draw. I had been making some real progress with the Cold Draw not too long before I got tired, and I had also been putting a lot of emphasis on the Heart and Lung inner smile and healing sound. I also began taking some homeopathic and flower essence remedies as well. My relationship with my wife is bad, but that is nothing new. Otherwise my sleep, work, and practice schedule and routine remained mostly constant.

So here are some of my questions. Could it be the increaseed amount of inner smile/ healing sounds I had been doing? Perhaps the excess energy requirements of my body to detox and cleanse these organs was high. Is it somehow related to my new practice of doing daily Cold Draw, (I can't really see what the connection would be, but being tired started soon after). Could it be the homeopathic and flower essences? I have not been made tired from these before, but these also have the effect of helping your body heal itself. So maybe in a similar manner as the inner smile and healing sounds, perhaps they directed a great deal of my energy for healing and cleansing purposes?

Other than this I am confused because not too much else in my life is different than before. Does anyone else experience sudden bouts of fatigue and tiredness such as this? As in coming on rather quickly and seemingly random. I have been so tired that the neighbors got annoyed cause my lawn began to get rather shaggy lol ( I did finally cut it).

 

P.S. I should also add I have been taking ginger lately in order to strengthen my spleen due to the fact that the spleen is responsible for turning food into chi, and due to the fact that I have been pondering a lot about what to do about my bad marriage. Since the spleen is also responsible for thinking/worry.

I should also add that my hunch/intuition tells me that what I am experiencing my be a result of the Cold Draw in an indirect way. I suspect that due to my longer retention time due to cold draw as opposed to big draw, that my energy level may have actually increased to the point that the healing process in my body kicked in and thus it may feel like I have less energy, but I'm not 100% sure about that.

 

Hard to say.. But I wouldn't rule out toxemia. Most of us could use fasting or fruit fasting, preferably with colonic flushing.

 

Emotional knots take enormous chunks of energy. Unresolved and undigested experiences and relationships are like the toxic mucus in your mental/spiritual "colon". I have experience of this, as I used to be much weaker, emotionally unstable and often tired. Using pungent and bitter herbs along with diet and fasting, as well as emotional clearing (a "crisis") helped free up more potential. I realise there's still more work to do though.

 

Keep the ginger, that's good. I suggest cerassie or similar bitter. After your cleansing period (1-2 months of meat and dairy free diet and a couple of 2-5 day fasts) you can begin to buid your energy with tonics:

 

My herbal intake per 24 h

 

1-2 tsp Ashwaganda

half-1 tsp Brahmi

half tsp Calamus

half tsp Triphala

1 tsp Turmeric

 

edit: haha I forgot to mention high quality espresso coffee 1-3 cups a day

 

taken with Ghee, which is butter oil.

Banyan Botanicals sells these herbs, their quality is excellent.

 

Once you gain some strength you can start sleeping less and practicing more

Edited October 19, 2010 by King Kabalabhati

[Sloppy Zhang]

I usually get really easily fatigued when I'm thinking over stuff too hard and worrying too much.

 

If you've got a boat load of practices, experimenting with moving energy around, and trying to tinker with your energy balance, on top of dealing with a bad marriage..... well damn, I'm getting fatigued just stringing that altogether in one sentence!

 

Take a few days and don't do any of that stuff. Let it all go, get back to your roots. Just be you. Don't worry about energy this, balance that, blah blah blah. Just enjoy whatever it is you happen to be doing. And if you aren't doing something enjoyable, go do something you enjoy. Or just sleep.

 

If that doesn't work after a week, you might have some sort of problem. Fatigue can be a symptom of a lot of different things, stuff not working right and things like that. You might need to see a medical professional.

 

Or it might be a practice thing, maybe a bad blend or something of that sort.

[Maddie]

Yea I pretty much have not been doing a lot of practice just sort of out of default (not enough energy to do any practice lol. I was doing a bit of research and I think I may have narrowed down my dilema. I suspected Spleen qi deficiency which is why I was taking the Ginger, and now that I found this list of symptoms I really susupect this is my issue....

 

Spleen Qi Deficiency________________________________________________________________________________________

 

 

Symptoms of Spleen Qi Deficiency

Weakness, lethargy

Pale, bright face

Shallow breathing

Low, soft voice

Little desire to speak

Poor appetite

Prolonged headache

Fatigue

Loose stools

Lethargy

Dizziness

Tired eyes

Dislike cold greasy foods

Headache after exertion

Symptoms are worse in the morning

Abdominal discomfort which feels better when pressure is applied

Indigestion

Bloating and gas

Weak limbs

 

 

Tongue

Pale or normal tongue. May have swollen sides

 

Pulse

Weak pulse

 

Related Conditions

Gastric or duodenal ulcer

Dyspepsia

Hepatitis

Anemia

 

Herbs Used For Spleen Qi Deficiency

These are just some of the herbs that are believed to help spleen qi deficiency

 

Codonopsis

 

Ginseng

 

Astragalus

 

Jujube Dates

 

Foods to Strengthen the Spleen

 

Beef

 

Root vegetables

 

Warm foods

 

Soups

 

Warming spices, such as black pepper, ginger, cumin

 

 

 

 

References

Kaptchuk TJ. The Web That Has No Weaver: Understanding Chinese Medicine. Chicago: Contemporary (McGraw-Hill) 2000

Lu, H. Chinese Natural Cures, New York: Black Dog and Leventhal Publishers, 1994.

Edited October 18, 2010 by dmattwads

[Fire Dragon]

[Fire Dragon]

Hello

 

Here is a practise you can do when you are fatigued. It is a iron shirt practise lying form.

 

 

Lie down on your back with a thin pillow under your head. Raise your knees and put your foots down a bit from your buttocks. Lay your arms at the bottom part of your rib cage. left hand at left side and right hand at right side. Imagine that you are floating on water and relax the whole body.

 

I like that practise and it is ecpecially efficient if you are fatigued and not which to do any other practises.

 

Inner smile while lying on your back is also quite nice in such a situation.

 

 

 

FD

[Maddie]

Fire Dragon, thanks for the reply, your answers made a lot of sense. Rainbow as far as my marrige dilemas, I think she is in more denial than I am, so therefore she does not deal with it in the same way as I do. As to how this relates to the spleen post that I posted earlier, naturally due to these problems I ponder what to do a lot, and of course this is bad/weakening to the spleen.

As to your second two answers I found them to be very insightful. I've sort of suspected that my practice(s) have triggered self healing which most likely uses a great deal of energy reserves.

As far as relaxation practices go, I have found the inner smile to be quite relaxing, but up to this point I have had no specific practice dedicated solely to this.

[Maddie]

I don't know if this is just a conicidence, but I have recently been doing the cold draw as I stated above to the exclusion of the big draw. So for about a month now I have for all practical purposes eliminated my sex drive (which is what I was trying to do). Now for the conicidence part, I have noticed that almost every time after I do it I feel extremely fatigued. The symptoms seem to be the same as Spleen Qi deficency, so I don't know if this just happens to coincide with Spleen qi deficiency, or if somehow doing the big draw is producing the same symptoms? Fire dragon had mentioned that perhaps the cold draw was clearing out some blockages or stagnation and maybe this was making me tired, I don't know. What I do know is the only thing I have been doing differently lately is the cold draw, and that lately I have been extremely tired. I wonder if there is any connection?

[King Kabalabhati]

The deepest relaxation so far I've experienced in Brasil.. I was listening to a self-hypnosis CD by Mark Cunningham with the waves of the Atlantic in the background. Man I went limp

[Mal]

[King Kabalabhati]

Yea I pretty much have not been doing a lot of practice just sort of out of default (not enough energy to do any practice lol. I was doing a bit of research and I think I may have narrowed down my dilema. I suspected Spleen qi deficiency which is why I was taking the Ginger, and now that I found this list of symptoms I really susupect this is my issue....

 

Spleen Qi Deficiency________________________________________________________________________________________

 

 

Symptoms of Spleen Qi Deficiency

Weakness, lethargy

Pale, bright face

Shallow breathing

Low, soft voice

Little desire to speak

Poor appetite

Prolonged headache

Fatigue

Loose stools

Lethargy

Dizziness

Tired eyes

Dislike cold greasy foods

Headache after exertion

Symptoms are worse in the morning

Abdominal discomfort which feels better when pressure is applied

Indigestion

Bloating and gas

Weak limbs

 

 

Tongue

Pale or normal tongue. May have swollen sides

 

Pulse

Weak pulse

 

Related Conditions

Gastric or duodenal ulcer

Dyspepsia

Hepatitis

Anemia

 

Herbs Used For Spleen Qi Deficiency

These are just some of the herbs that are believed to help spleen qi deficiency

 

•Codonopsis

 

•Ginseng

 

•Astragalus

 

•Jujube Dates

 

Foods to Strengthen the Spleen

 

•Beef

 

•Root vegetables

 

•Warm foods

 

•Soups

 

•Warming spices, such as black pepper, ginger, cumin

 

 

 

 

References

Kaptchuk TJ. The Web That Has No Weaver: Understanding Chinese Medicine. Chicago: Contemporary (McGraw-Hill) 2000

Lu, H. Chinese Natural Cures, New York: Black Dog and Leventhal Publishers, 1994.

 

Most of theses symptoms could also indicate toxemia, which means toxins in the tissues and in the digestive tract. Most people suffer from this condition more or less in these modern times. I suggest a holistic treatment, it could be your spleen but it more likely involves your whole body and being. Bodily purification will often trigger an emotional purging too, and vice versa. Senna or rhubarb root tea are great purgatives by the way.

 

edit: sorry to bug you with this, but I think there's good reason.. read Daniel P. Reid's "Tao of Health, Sex and Longevity" or any good Ayurvedic self care book for reference.

Edited October 19, 2010 by King Kabalabhati

[Maddie]

[King Kabalabhati]

Actually now my situation is more like number 1, though it used to be like number 2. I guess what baffles me is that since this is nothing new, then what is going on now that is making me so sluggish, which is why I was wondering about the cold draw, as that is the only new factor in the mix.

 

May I inquire what's holding you? If things are so bad what are you waiting for?

 

You will be surprised what kind of energy is released once your boulder starts a rolling.

[Maddie]

Actually in about two weeks I am headed home to Texas ;-).

 

I was doing a little research and I found something that seems plausable.

 

 

http://www.kheper.net/topics/chakras/Perineum.htm

This chakra - called in Taoism Hui Yin - is located between the genitals and the anus; the part of the body called the perineum. It constitutes the lowest of the Yin or descending energy chakras, and is the lower meeting point of the Governor (Yang) and the Function or Conception Vessel (Yin) channels. Through the legs and feet it is the main link with the universal Earth Ch'i or yin energy. It also connects with the central channel that runs along the centre of the body to the Crown Chakra. Through this nadi flows the Heaven chi energy (Universal Yang) from the crown chakra. The Perineum centre - often but incorrectly called the Muladhara or Base Chakra - thus constitutes the red or broadcasting pole in the universal energy stream that enters through the crown centre (the violet pole).

 

The Hui Yin is located between the genitals and the anus; the part of the body called the perineum. When the Perineum is strong, the organs remain firm and healthy; when it is weak the organs lose cohesiveness and Chi energy drains away. Because this Centre is the gate through which Ch'i energy from the other organs can be either retained or lost, it is called the "Gate of Life and Death."

 

This centre constitutes the lowest of the Yin or descending energy chakras, and is the lower meeting point of the Governor or Yang, and the Conception or Yin nadis or channels. It is connected to the element Earth and hence corresponds to the physical plane of existence, and is (through the feet) the main link with the Earth Chi energy.

 

The following sketch, from Mantak Chia's book on Awakening Healing Energy, illustrates the way that the Perineum centre is connected by four primary nadis or energy channels:

 

 

The first runs along the centre of the body to the Crown Chakra. Through this central nadi flows the Heaven Ch'i energy (Universal Yang) from the crown chakra. The exploration of the universe is the attraction for this universal Yang energy. The Perineum centre - often but incorrectly called the Muladhara or Base Chakra - thus constitutes the red or broadcasting pole in the universal energy stream that enters through the crown centre (the violet pole). Barbara Brennan's Coccygeal Center seems to confuse the Perineal and the Muladhara chakras.

 

The second connects to the soles of the feet and allows the absorption of Earth Chi energy (Universal Yin). This Earth Ch'i energy plays a central role in shamanism and neo-paganism; it is the energy of Gaia, Mother Earth. (e.g. the "Rainbow Serpent" of Australian Aboriginal mythology). When you walk barefoot on the ground and you get a good feeling from that, that is the Earth or Yin energy.

 

The third - the Yin or Conception channel - connects to and receives chi from the navel and genital centres.

 

And the fourth - the Yang or Governor channel - connects to the rear Coccygeal and Sacral Centres and receives from them universal nature energy, as well as transmitting Chi from the the navel and genital centres during the Microcosmic orbit.

 

 

 

Correspondences:

Element: Earth

 

Colours: Brennan - Red.

 

 

 

Associated Psychological states:

Balanced and Open: You are grounded and comfortable with earthy reality; you are not afraid of dirt or germs.

 

Overactive: You may be fixated at the anal level, and may have a crude or childish sense of humour. If this chakra takes over the normal role of the Genital Chakra, you will prefer anal to genital sex; if you are male homosexual you will hang out in public toilets to find sexual partners.

 

Malfunctioning: You may suffer from obsessive-compulvise behaviour; obsessive tidiness, a fear of germs, etc. Everything in your house has to absolutely spotless.

 

Blocked: You have difficulty relating to earthy things, and may feel emotionally insecure [Chia, p. ].

 

 

http://www.kheper.net/topics/chakras/Coccygeal.htm

The Coccygeal Centre - sometimes identified with the Muladhara or "Root Support" chakra in Tantric literature, and the Chang Qiang in Taoism - is located by the coccyx or "tailbone" and the base of the spine. This chakra is the first of the yang or ascending energy centres, and according to Mantak Chia one of its roles is to transform and refine sexual energy and Universal earth (Yin) Chi before they enter the higher centres. [Chia, p.204]

 

In the Tantric Kundalini-yoga system the four petals of the Muladhara Chakra proper correspond to the psychological states of greatest joy, natural pleasure, delight in controlling passions, and blissfulness in concentration [Goswami, p.276]. All these qualities represent the bliss of realising the Divine in the physical body. The highest and most complete forms of spirituality do not reject the body, but see it as the vehicle for the transmutation of the body and the spirit together. It can be assumed that the Coccygeal chakra, as the lower octave or resonance of the Muladhara, also embodies these qualities to some extent.

 

Mantak Chia suggests that this Centre (along with the Sacral Chakra above it) is related to reincarnation, past lives, and repeated physical embodiment [Chia, p.204]. According to Barbara Brennan it is related to the quantity of physical energy in the being, and the will to live in physical reality. [brennan, p.72]

 

The Coccygeal chakra represents the element Earth, but corresponds to the subtle physical or etheric (subtle body) reality, rather than the gross physical plane represented by the Perineal Chakra. But because of its proximity to the Perineal, and their mutual symbolic association with the element Earth, the Coccygeal Centre is confused in both traditional Tantra and modern Thesophical and New Age thought with the Perineal Centre. In actual fact, these two centres are quite different; the Perineal being the lowest of the "Yin" or descending chi or Feeling Centres, and the red pole of the central nadi, whilst the Coccygeal is the first of the "Yang" or ascending Chi or Will Chakras, and represents the Shakti or Power Pole that complements the Shiva or Consciousness/Spirit pole above the head.

 

Many modern writers compound the this confusion by associating this chakra with the adrenal glands and the kidneys, but both those organs pertain to chakras located somewhat higher up the spine.

 

 

 

 

 

Correspondences:

Spokes/Petals: Hindu Tantra - 4; Leadbeater - 4; Tansley - 4; Paulson - 4

 

Element: Hindu Tantra - Earth (Yellow Square)

 

Colours: Hindu Tantra - Yellow (petals: red, yellow, and golden); Leadbeater - Fiery Orange-Red; Hills - Red; Paulson - Brilliant Orange-Red; Brennan - scarlet-red.

 

 

 

Associated Psychological states:

Open and Balanced: You have a powerful will to live, are full of physical energy and potency, and give a strong impression of power and vitality [brennan, p.72]. You are able to express yourself easily; and tend to be the "life of the party". You are comfortable with physical contact. You are able to live in and enjoy the present moment [beasley, pp.210, 217].

 

Overactive: You have an inability to appreciate abstract or subtle things, and depend on concrete reality and immediate external stimulii.

 

Unbalanced: You like to dominate or bully others. You tend towards physical violence.

 

Blocked: Most of your physical vitality is blocked, and you do not make a strong physical impression. You lack physical power and coordination, avoid physical activity, and probably have a weak or sickly constitution [brennan, p.72].

 

 

 

 

Ok so this website that I pasted from describes each point on the MCO in some detail. Ever since I began doing the Cold Draw I seem to be experienceing the symptoms of the "Blocked" category on both the Perinium and Coxyx points. This also happens to be about as far as I have done the cold draw so far as well. So here is my theory... I began doing the cold draw to reduce my sex drive which it has been extremely effective for this because the energy is being removed from my sex organs. On the other hand all of this energy is now being directed into these areas where I seem to be experiencing the blockage symptoms of low vitality among other things. So thus I suppose that the lowered libido and the lowered vitality are due to the same thing.... being .... the vast majority of my sexual energy is being absorbed by these areas as these blockages are being dealt with. Sound plausable?

Edited October 19, 2010 by dmattwads

[Mal]

Then my best wishes to you dmattwads _/\_ I'm sure things will improve with the change in location.

[Birch]

Sounds plausible to me.

Which is why you want (need?) all those darn chakras open and balanced :-)

 

I wonder if doing simple "mind-drawing" qi-gong before pumping specific energy(ies) through things might be worth doing?

 

Good luck with the move!

[Maddie]

Mal and Kate thanks for the good wishes, I think having "space" will definately help. I plan to devote more time to my practice once I have that "space". Kate what xactely do you mean by "mind-drawing qigong"? I'm doing a lil experiment to support or disprove my latest theory that I mentioned above, and so far this morning have not done the cold draw. My libido is slightly elevated (meaning I can sort of tell I have one lol, but its nothing to major yet) yet at the same time I do not feel like the walking dead with fatigue, so that is interesting.

I have always been on the deficient side in regards to those lower chakras that have to do with mundane reality (which is why I started that threat about mundane reality a while back)and physical vitality (which is why I am tired a lot), and perhaps that is why sending energy into them and opening them up now seems like such a black hole and bottomless pit?

If this indeed turns out to be the case then perhaps I should at least at the beginning maybe only draw 50% of my jing up, and keep the rest at hand to fuel me. ;-)

[markern]

Mal and Kate thanks for the good wishes, I think having "space" will definately help. I plan to devote more time to my practice once I have that "space". Kate what xactely do you mean by "mind-drawing qigong"? I'm doing a lil experiment to support or disprove my latest theory that I mentioned above, and so far this morning have not done the cold draw. My libido is slightly elevated (meaning I can sort of tell I have one lol, but its nothing to major yet) yet at the same time I do not feel like the walking dead with fatigue, so that is interesting.

I have always been on the deficient side in regards to those lower chakras that have to do with mundane reality (which is why I started that threat about mundane reality a while back)and physical vitality (which is why I am tired a lot), and perhaps that is why sending energy into them and opening them up now seems like such a black hole and bottomless pit?

If this indeed turns out to be the case then perhaps I should at least at the beginning maybe only draw 50% of my jing up, and keep the rest at hand to fuel me. ;-)

 

Sounds like more standing meditation would be good for you.

 

I enjoy following your threads and your process. Its interesting and nice to see someone working their issues out well. Even if there are some bumps inthe road. And several of the themes in your threads I also struggle with so they are often relevant to my own situation. That includes this one as I struggle with fatigue/burnout and memory loss because of it. The connection between root/earth and fatigue seems relevant to me as I have struggled a lot with grounding issues, my spleen is messed up and I have felt earth energy helping a lot and giving vitality and strength when I do something that generates it. WHat has been really helpfull now for some time has been pilates. It restructures and properly organises my muscles in my abdomen, lower back and genital area especially. Getting this corrected and starting to learn to move through the dan tien, which pilates is good at teaching you, has the effect of grounding me a lot and harmonising a bunch of other stuff as well.

[King Kabalabhati]

Actually in about two weeks I am headed home to Texas ;-).

 

 

 

Great! Good luck with your new steps.

 

 

BTW remember, you can help your wife heal by sending her your compassion, your pink heart energy in your meditation

[Maddie]

Markern, yea the earth energy and grounding thing has long been problematic for me too. Interestingly enough the earth element is the element of both the bottom chakra, and the spleen (interesting eh?). Perhaps that is why I have been focusing on both of these now that I am tired at the same time. Has pilaties given you a very noticable benefit? I have found pilaties interesting for some time, just have not done it as of yet, but at this point of painting myself yellow and running down the street in the buff singing 'god save the queen' would increase my basical constitutional vitality I think I'd almost do it :-P haha. I tend to think a lot, and be in my head a lot, and this from a TCM point of view burns a lot of spleen energy. Perhaps that is why the thinking type personalities are not really associated with heavey physical type jobs such as construction n such? Most of my professors in college tended to be on the thin side as well. My brothers-in-law on the other hand are contractors, stocky, heafty, yet don't strike you as "thinkers". Perhaps this earth energy either gets used as thinking energy or doing energy, of course I don't want to become more of a doer if it means a block head lol. This is an interesting balance to ponder, but perhaps I should not ponder it too much haha, round and round we go :-D.

[Maddie]

Just sort of a note to myself and anyone else who may be interested. Back to the Spleen side of this issue... I just realized that I had not realized that my appetite had become very very small lately. I'm sure this is due to all the worrying and pondering and stress related to my marriage. As overthinking and worry and stress deplete the spleen, and as the spleen is responsible for a healthy appetite this makes sense. For the last couple days I have been taking healthy doses of Ginger which strengthens the spleen, and now I am eating like hungry hungry hippos, and the fatigue is slowly diminishing. :-)

[markern]

Yes, after doing it for months I have now finally gained a substantial effect from pilates. I am much more grounded (still couldn`t safely meditate though), my awareness is returning into the body and down into teh dan tien after having felt like it was outside me and above my head, sort of. And everything feels much better and smoother, my spine is loosening up again, the horrible pressure in teh chest is lossening a lot etc. A lot of realxation comes from realying on your core muscles to do the job and not use the superficial muscles elsewhere. After getting very slow results with everything I have been doing I have gotten good results with pilates, with cranio sacral therapy and rolfing (much more relaxed, balanced and physically aligned), weights (a little more vital, a bit stronger and looking a lot better and feeling confident because of it), herbs and acupuncture (they seem to slowly balance, relax and build stuff up and congnitive work to get me thnking and emotions straight, and last but not least taking controll over all teh practical things in my life and not letting everything be a mess. I am still lacking the final breakthrough with regards to energy and brainpower and grounding though but all three are now much better finally.

 

Since spleen and digestion are issues for you Wuji pose would be especially good as it does a lot for teh spleena and everything in realted to digestion and the whole stomach and intestine area and it boosts the kdineys a lot. To me standing meditation felt like teh best anti burnout pill ever and wuji felt like it balanced out the issues I mentioned fast. Unfortunately I can`t do any such stuff for some time yet as I can`t handle the energy produced before I am more straightened out by pilates. Even standing meditation ultimately set of my crown chakra too much although I also expereinced the grounding effects at the same time. I needed a low energy way of grounding and pilates provides that over the very long term.

[Birch]

"Kate what xactely do you mean by "mind-drawing qigong"?"

 

I mean the version of qi-gong where you just lead your awareness around your channels (maybe MCO is the most common one to start doing that with) without adding anything i.e. no "pearls" of any colour, no "emotions" of any shade, no smiling, no "sexual" energy etc).

 

I think it's a technique that tends to get disparaged as "wind" (I can't remember why) but I think (and from experience) it's worthwhile doing to strengthen the various "channels" before you start pumping specific "energies" through them.

 

Sort of like before doing leg curls with weights you want to actually curl your legs first then add weights.

[Maddie]

continuing to take ginger and my fatigue is lessening... strengthening the digestive system seems to be very important in increasing energy levels.

[markern]

continuing to take ginger and my fatigue is lessening... strengthening the digestive system seems to be very important in increasing energy levels.

 

DO you take it before meals? As a ginger tea?