Tired / Fatigure

[Maddie]

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

 

I have taken it as tea in the past. Now I am taking the ginger capsuls in concentrated form. Usually I will take it right before a meal. It seems to be having the effect on my spleen that I wanted :-)

[King Kabalabhati]

Dry ginger can be quite heating in everyday usage, fresh is not quite so. You could aso counter the heating effects wih lime juice or other cooling agent.

 

When battling fatigue I had a habit of grating and squeezing a big chunk of fresh ginger, it made about half a cup of juice. Not the sweetest beverage really..

[Maddie]

Dry ginger can be quite heating in everyday usage, fresh is not quite so. You could aso counter the heating effects wih lime juice or other cooling agent.

 

When battling fatigue I had a habit of grating and squeezing a big chunk of fresh ginger, it made about half a cup of juice. Not the sweetest beverage really..

 

 

Yea it is very warming, I can feel it heating up my middle warmer (triple warmer) but thats a good sign cause the middle warmer turns food into chi :-).

 

I've continued to ponder how my chi level got so low in the first place, especially since I have been doing retention for a while and not loosing all that energy. On the other hand I have been doing a LOT of other practices such as the inner smile and healing sounds to a great degree and I'm sure that uses up a lot of energy if blockages are being removed. At least by tonifying my spleen and middle warmer I think I am compensating for the extreme draw on my chi from my other practices. The reason I feel that my inner smile / healing sounds practies have been using a lot of energy, is because the emotional results that I wanted in the first place are coming now. So while it has been rather exhausting, I'd say it was worth it because my emotional state is a lot better, even factoring in my bad relationship issues which are still quite stressful.

[King Kabalabhati]

Yea it is very warming, I can feel it heating up my middle warmer (triple warmer) but thats a good sign cause the middle warmer turns food into chi :-).

 

I've continued to ponder how my chi level got so low in the first place, especially since I have been doing retention for a while and not loosing all that energy. On the other hand I have been doing a LOT of other practices such as the inner smile and healing sounds to a great degree and I'm sure that uses up a lot of energy if blockages are being removed. At least by tonifying my spleen and middle warmer I think I am compensating for the extreme draw on my chi from my other practices. The reason I feel that my inner smile / healing sounds practies have been using a lot of energy, is because the emotional results that I wanted in the first place are coming now. So while it has been rather exhausting, I'd say it was worth it because my emotional state is a lot better, even factoring in my bad relationship issues which are still quite stressful.

 

Seems like youre doing good, your process sounds somewhat similar to what I've been going through for the last couple of years. I think for emotional healing you won't find much better practices than inner smile/healing sounds. Gentle does it..

[Maddie]

Seems like youre doing good, your process sounds somewhat similar to what I've been going through for the last couple of years. I think for emotional healing you won't find much better practices than inner smile/healing sounds. Gentle does it..

 

Similar to your experiences eh? then I'm glad to hear its not just me :-)

[King Kabalabhati]

Similar to your experiences eh? then I'm glad to hear its not just me :-)

 

No, it's in the air

[Maddie]

No, it's in the air

 

So have you worked extensively on clearing out emotional blockages and then become extremely fatigued after wards?

[Guest paul walter]

Posts like these (and there an increasing number since the trend has been started ) belong on the healing circle. Paul

[King Kabalabhati]

So have you worked extensively on clearing out emotional blockages and then become extremely fatigued after wards?

 

I've been both fatigued and energized by it. There will be different phases. When things started to crash and burn with my relatioship I was more energized than my nerves could take.. It was like a burning electricity, with my liver feeling as if it was boiling for a week or two. That was anger energy erupting because of dramatic happenings. If you can do it the soft way without too much drama then it's probably more healthy for the heart and nerves.

 

Still I can't over-emphasise the meaning of bodily purification along with the emotional process. As you swallow the "bitter truth" and embrace it, it's very natural to drink a "bitter juice" to go with it

[三江源]

Posts like these (and there an increasing number since the trend has been started ) belong on the healing circle. Paul

 

No, the healing circle is for requests for healing, main discussion is fine for this sort of thing.

[Non]

You know.. I've been having fatigue as well. It might just be things surfacing ever since you started your practice. Also... physical exercise is necessary if you do lots of meditation, or else your energy body will zap your physical body. SO you need grounding exercises. For the time being, if you have lots of blockages, clearing them up will mean you'll have more energy flowing through your energy body, meaning you'll need more energy, and more rest until you can adapt. BUt even still it's always good to ground.

 

Another thing, which might help is postural restructuring.

 

Diet is also somethin to keep in check. I was thinking perhaps my fatigue might be due to candida overgrowth, which is what happens when one eats a lot of sugars and fat and yes even fruit counts as sugars. And cooked carbs but I'm mostly raw foodist so my complex carbs are ok, it's the fruit sugar I have to worry about. Stay away from high glycemic foods.

Edited October 21, 2010 by Non

[Maddie]

You know.. I've been having fatigue as well. It might just be things surfacing ever since you started your practice. Also... physical exercise is necessary if you do lots of meditation, or else your energy body will zap your physical body. SO you need grounding exercises. For the time being, if you have lots of blockages, clearing them up will mean you'll have more energy flowing through your energy body, meaning you'll need more energy, and more rest until you can adapt. BUt even still it's always good to ground.

 

Another thing, which might help is postural restructuring.

 

Diet is also somethin to keep in check. I was thinking perhaps my fatigue might be due to candida overgrowth, which is what happens when one eats a lot of sugars and fat and yes even fruit counts as sugars. And cooked carbs but I'm mostly raw foodist so my complex carbs are ok, it's the fruit sugar I have to worry about. Stay away from high glycemic foods.

 

I agree Non, but sometimes you have to wonder which came first the chicken of the egg lol, because before I got really tired I was doing both physical qigong movements such as the 8 brocades, and martial arts as well. After I got super tired then I had no energy for just about anything. I think I tend to agree which what you said about things surfacing and the changes in the energy body.

[Maddie]

I had another moment of relaization today. Things with my wife and her crazy family have had me in a state of "fight or flight" for an extended period of time. Realizing that the fight or flight responce comes from adrenaline, which of course comes from the adreanline glands which in TCM are considered part of the kidneys, and that the kidneys are one of our main energy storage areas of our body; I think I have just gained even more insight as to why I feel so exhausted lately. I "fear" what she might do next, or what will become of things, all Kidney emotions, and thus I feel burned out.

[Guest paul walter]

No, the healing circle is for requests for healing, main discussion is fine for this sort of thing.

 

 

And the difference is? It's a request for healing/medical help. Paul

[Brian]

...

[christoff]

Hi dmatt,

 

I have also been living with fatigue for a while, so for what is the worth I can say some simple things. Fatigue can be a positive thing! Because if you were really weak, as I having experienced sometime, your body would not even be able to tell you it was tired. You would constantly being "wired". Now that is a bad state. Also my chinese dr stated that the fall seasoon is a difficult time for most men, because of its impacting on the lung.

 

I don't thinking you have to worry too much. Stay positive, embrace your fatigue, (while fighting it), it will making you mentally stronger.

[Maddie]

Hi dmatt,

 

I have also been living with fatigue for a while, so for what is the worth I can say some simple things. Fatigue can be a positive thing! Because if you were really weak, as I having experienced sometime, your body would not even be able to tell you it was tired. You would constantly being "wired". Now that is a bad state. Also my chinese dr stated that the fall seasoon is a difficult time for most men, because of its impacting on the lung.

 

I don't thinking you have to worry too much. Stay positive, embrace your fatigue, (while fighting it), it will making you mentally stronger.

 

 

Christoff

Thank you for that reply, it was very encouraging :-). It is interesting because prior to feeling this extreme fatigue I did feel wired a lot. In fact only recently I have not felt wired. Mainly because I began doing the cold draw and for the first time since puberty I have not been sex obsessed. I was wondering if perhaps this fatigue I have been experiencing was somehow related to a sort of "withdraw" from constant sexual stiumlation, either physical or mental.

 

Also I should mention that my stress level for the past week or so has been through the roof. I know that it is due to the problems I have been having with my wife, but what confuses me is that we have been having problems for a long time, so why now am I now feeling so utterly stressed and worn out?

Edited October 23, 2010 by dmattwads

[Guest paul walter]

Christoff

Thank you for that reply, it was very encouraging :-). It is interesting because prior to feeling this extreme fatigue I did feel wired a lot. In fact only recently I have not felt wired. Mainly because I began doing the cold draw and for the first time since puberty I have not been sex obsessed. I was wondering if perhaps this fatigue I have been experiencing was somehow related to a sort of "withdraw" from constant sexual stiumlation, either physical or mental.

 

Also I should mention that my stress level for the past week or so has been through the roof. I know that it is due to the problems I have been having with my wife, but what confuses me is that we have been having problems for a long time, so why now am I now feeling so utterly stressed and worn out?

 

Well, the same thing happened to me DM and resulted in near complete loss of sexual function. The fact these things are manifesting in your body is a sign of serious illness. You need rest, change and to heal. There will be a negative withdrawal thing from the constant release of cortisol and adrenaline that will have wasted your body/jing and you will feel its effects for some time no doubt til it stabilises and you reverse said effects through rest and recuperation/ herbs etc. I found (in hindsight) the constant second-guessing of symptom origin/explanation was useless cause the hormones/thoughts/reactions were all over the place and what was needed was serious and 'objective' medical diagnosis (also thin on the ground it turned out ) Paul

[dwai]

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.

 

have you considered resting a bit? I mean, sleep until you can't sleep any longer?

dont cultivate unless you absolutely feel good after cultivating?

 

Sometimes during cultivation, if we cannot sink the chi back to the lower dantien, the system gets over charged and discharges (instead of storing the charge in the super capacitor that is our lower dan tien)...so you should probably think about that as well.

 

On another note, I have gone through a period of extreme exhaustion, so much so that I thought I was suffering from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (which is what medical doctors categorize it as if they can't explain what it is). But I had also put on a significant amount of weight over the years. So I went on a fast/diet (no carbs, no sugars, 2-3 liters of water every day, lots of greens, super-veggies like broccoli, kale, etc) and lean protein in moderate portions. The wonder of wonders was as the lbs starting melting off, my fatigue started melting off too...

 

And my doctor said that doing the diet has reset my pancreas, which is responsible for releasing insulin. There is a vicious cycle connecting the adrenals and pancreas as I found out, that as the stress-response of the body increases, more adrenalin is dumped into the blood stream by the adrenal glands, which creates cortisol which eats up insulin. So your body produces more and more insulin and the system goes out of balance and the adrenals are in overdrive and so are your pancreas...

 

If you have anything of a typical modern, urban lifestyle, that might be happening to you.

Edited October 24, 2010 by dwai

[dwai]

Hi dmatt,

 

I have also been living with fatigue for a while, so for what is the worth I can say some simple things. Fatigue can be a positive thing! Because if you were really weak, as I having experienced sometime, your body would not even be able to tell you it was tired. You would constantly being "wired". Now that is a bad state. Also my chinese dr stated that the fall seasoon is a difficult time for most men, because of its impacting on the lung.

 

I don't thinking you have to worry too much. Stay positive, embrace your fatigue, (while fighting it), it will making you mentally stronger.

 

Good advice but I'd venture to say that instead of "Fighting" fatigue, accept the fact that your body is trying to tell you something.

[Maddie]

Due to the fact that I have been fatigued lately, by default I have not really been doing much practice so to speak of. One other factor that I thought about last night, is that not too long before this fatigue kicked in I had started taking Milk Thistle to clean out my liver, mainly because I was feeling very irritable. Now I realize I have been doing a lot of things all at once, and that any one of them could explain my fatigue, or a combination of them as well. Since Milk Thistle cleans out the liver, detoxification can be a very exhausting process. So just another hypothesis.

[Maddie]

I now seem to be slowly coming out of this bout of fatigue that I have been experiencing lately. Now in retrospect, I realize that there were probably several factors involved (most of which I listed in previous posts on this thread), but I feel that one practice in particular had a lot to do with my fatigue.

Not too long before I began feeling very tired, I had begun the Cold Draw. This helped me a lot with controling my passion, but I became extremely fatigued not long after making it a regular practice. Here is my theory as to what happened.

I have for a long time (like most my life) I have tended to be "top heavy" energetically (my upper chakras being very developed, while my lower chakras were underdeveloped).

 

http://www.kheper.net/topics/Taoism/microcosmic_orbit.html

 

This link above lists many of the points on the Microcosmic Orbit, (which I believe are mini chakra's connected to their associated larger chakras). The first few lower chakras on this list, the perenium, tail bone, sacrum, are absolutely issues that have been problematic for me. Also my cold draw usually does not make it past these points mainly because it feels that these areas seem to suck up so much of the energy that I draw up. They feel like black holes in my MCO.

It's my theory that my fatigue I had been experiencing was the result of two related issues occuring simultaneously. One was that doing the cold draw removed a large amount of energy from an area that was previously used to having lots of energy in it (i.e. the genitle area). Second is that these lower chakras that I mentioned on my MCO were so severly energy deficient that once my excess sexual energy was moved into them, that they totally consumed it in an effort to balance themselves, thus removing this energy from my system.

Since the various layers of our energy bodies are multidimensional, I guess that what ever level that this energy was being drawn to was non accessable to my physical body any longer, thus resulting in my great fatigue.

On the other hand the emotional/psychological issues associated with these points on the MCO have seen improvement during this time period as well. So I think I was experiencing the personal equivilant to a "brown out", as in when the power grid of a city is being drawn upon to an extent which exceeds its capasity, and thus the entire grid is power deficient.