How to cultivate more YANG enegry?

[ejr1069]

Greetings all.

 

4 years ago I had a healing crisis that has been ongoing. Over time I have realized that Kundalini energy has been cleaning out my system (sometimes violently). I even had what I think I would clasify as an out of body experience. All this coming from someone that didn't believe in any of this stuff 4 years ago.

 

I have done yoga, a little tai chi, a lot of Zhuan Zhang Qigong and a lot of meditation. I played around with Kunlun, but any method that requires refraining from sexual activity/ejaculation is not for me. In any case, I have significantly developed my awareness over the last 4 years. However, I think I might have one of the following:

 

yang deficiency

 

poor circulation

 

adrenal fatigue

 

I am frequently tired during the day and require nore rest than most adults including daily naps. My hands and feet often get cold, especially after eating. And I am more sensitive these days that most of the women I know. All these lead me to believe that I might need to cultivate some more yang energy to come into balance.

 

Are there any exercises, poses, movements or meditations that you know of to cultivate yang energy? As I have not had much formal training from anywhere, mostly researching on-line and in books, if you offer any suggestions, please leave DETAILED instructions and or links ot them.

 

Thank you in advance for any assistance that you might be able to offer.

[markern]

I would go see a TCm doctor to get an acurate diagnosis. An energy healer could also probably help you a long quite fast.

 

You could do KAP. KAP has plenty of methods for increasing yang energy and in general is very good at making you balanced. It also has a bunch of more martial arts oriented techniques that I am sure could help. It is also VERY good at balancing and integrating kundalini. It also actively encourages sexual activity with the proper techniques in place and has both dual and solo cultivation techniques in level two.

 

Also, check out posts I have made about karezza in previous trheads. They might help you with understanding how to benefit and not loose from sexual activity. You would have to find rather posts I made in rather old threads about sex as there has been a while since I wrote at length about it. The thread about finding a legitimate tantra teacher is a good one for this purpose.

 

Also there ight be some good tips about yang energu on alchemicaltaoism.com

[ejr1069]

Thank you for your reply. I will gladly take a look at your posts regarding karezza. Question: what is KAP? Where can I learn about it?

[Dagon]

I have heard that Cilantro can help to cleanse the heavy metals from your body and even flouride from the pineal gland (where it has been found to accumulate)

 

I now only use baking soda and mouthwash to brush my teeth. I have just started using Cilantro, so I am unable to confirm if is in fact clearing my channels.

 

 

http://www.fluoridealert.org/health/pineal/

Edited March 23, 2011 by Dagon

[fizix]

yang deficiency

 

poor circulation

 

adrenal fatigue

A common problem among internal energy cultivators is a lack of cardiovascular/muscular physical exercise. How often do you exercise, in what form and for how long? You can meditate and practice movements all day but without physical exercise you will not reach optimal health. Those 3 issues can all be possibly attributed to a lack of physical exercise. If you're experiencing adrenal fatigue, it will be hard to start working out consistently but I guarantee you will not only feel loads better, but your circulation will improve along with your capacity of yang energy... and obviously the adrenal fatigue will be progressively healed as the cause of adrenal fatigue in the first place is a lack of utilization of adrenaline. Lack of proper sleep is another common problem resulting in your symptoms; how much sleep a night do you get on average? Do you take naps? Do you sleep on your side (left or right? this matters in terms of your left, central and right channels, I'll explain why), back, stomach?

People will often suggest esoteric, tedious and highly specific/advanced methods/routes for broad/general problems in which a solution is usually simple and obvious.

 

Diet is another highly important aspect that affects those prevalent parts of your health. Natural, non-processed foods will help tremendously.. vegetables, healthy meats and fats.. avoid trans/saturated fats and high sugar foods... try to consume 40% carbohydrates, 40% protein, 20% healthy fats... make sure you are consuming the proper amount of calories for your weight. Do you find yourself having a lack of appetite? Or perhaps you overeat? Over eating could be an issue in the matter, as poor diet/obesity affects the adrenal glands, induces fatigue and yang consumption due to the excessive amount of energy utilized by the body to digest the food.

 

Cold hands and feet; I recommend stimulating the acupuncture spots several times a day. Massage your feet they will get warm, as you do this visualize a fiery hot energy flowing from your dan-tian to the point of interaction. You may have an imbalance of yin and yang energy, and energetic blockages along the meridians, as this is often a precursor to cold limbs. Seeing a TCM doctor or acupuncturist could definitely help... but remember its up to you yourself to fully heal and maintain a healthy spiritual energy body.

 

Do you smoke cigarettes or marijuana? Take any prescription medication? Are you currently in a relationship, considered happy and healthy? Or problematic and conflicting? This may seem irrelevant but all of these aspects may have considerable impact on your health. Are you exposed to sunlight for at least 2 hours a day? Do not neglect the natural healing power of the sun, as it is a paramount source of yang energy, required for peak health.

[ejr1069]

Very good suggestions here.

 

1. I don't get enough time outside, especially in the winter. I am SO glad the warm spring weather is coming!

 

2. My diet is pretty good now( but was awful for my foirst 37 years). Lot's of fruits and veggies, lean meat (mostly fish), nuts, milled flax seed, only brown grains, very few processed foods, only green tea and water as beverages.

 

3. Currently in a marital separation (my choice). But this situation is very taxing.

 

4. Probably not enough exercise. I do some every day, but not intensely like I used to. Prior to the kundalini starting to awaken, I was a gym rat. 2 hours a day. Now, my strength is gone. my testosterone is down, and my energy levels are down. All the spiritual people I meet tell me that I have TONS of energy, but the spiritual energy is not converting to physical energy. I think much of my energy is being spent on cleansing the physical body.

 

5. I sleep on my back.

[thelerner]

KAP = http://www.kundaliniawakeningprocess.com/

 

A member here Santiago runs it. In short its an esoteric energy meditation class. Meets once a week 'live' on Skype, the instructors give extra support through video files and online documents. Its very good, some of the exercises are reminiscent of Healing Tao style gi gong.

 

It teaches a version of Tummo (internal heating).

 

I agree w/ fzix about doing cardio. Lifting weights should give a testosterone boost. Some people here have sworn by kettleball swings. These days I'm eating more Paleo, which means much less processed carbs and not being afraid of fatty cuts of meat. I like Mark Sisson 's site.

 

Lastly, things cycle, some times we're up some times we're down. Nothing wrong with that. Summers coming life is in the air, except here in Chicago where it may snow tonight.

[Guest sykkelpump]

I think you want get any good answer here.try this forum:

http://www.aypsite.org/forum/default.asp

[de_paradise]

I think the "white skeleton" or white bone vizualization meditation would do wonders for increasing yang qi. Several years into Kundalini, the really tough, crude stages should be behind you, so it makes me wonder about some kind of blockage, or perhaps this is due to the divorce strain or some other variable.

 

The meditation is simply, have a good picture or skeleton replica nearby, and then shut your eyes and go bone by bone visualizing your skeleton as white and shining. I believe that one starts with left big toe. This meditation is witten up in the meditationexpert website.

 

Have you considered the detox/fasting angle? Could help. Herbal detox. I am personally into raw fruits and vegetables and they have really cleaned alot of the gunk off my body, from slightly dough-boyish to slightly lean and sinewy.

 

So perhaps some technique or piece of advice that the posters mention can help solve the indicated problems, or perhaps not, perhaps taking your mind off the problems is the best solution by engaging in life, like group activity or sports or hobbies or travel. Ulitmately you will find a way through.

Edited March 24, 2011 by de_paradise

[Guest sykkelpump]

[henro]

I'm guessing you're close to 40 from some info in your posts ?? I would go see a western doctor for a real physical (blood work, EKG, etc), if all is well there visit a TCM doctor.

[z00se]

Mate i have spent the last 5 years or so researching in myself the same things you have been.

 

1. if you eat what you say you do sounds like this is nothing to worry about.

 

2. I used to be a gym junkie too but now i realise i was going over the top. 2 hours a day is definately too much and will cause yang depletion. My strength is gone too but now using my awareness i can have 50% of my previous max strength just by using my body properly and with just about zero working out. 50% sounds low but i was pretty strong before and just by using my body correctly i am still not weak comparatively with others. For general health now i just walk for about 1/2 hr a day or jog (only because i like it) and stretch for about 50mins 3 times a week.

 

3. If you've been practicing meditation and cultivating for 4 years pretty seriously/regularaly and you say you have got good awareness of your body you should have some good techniques and i wouldn't waste my time changing them, just continue as you are.

 

As to what you think you have (yang deficiency) and what you have are different i believe and this is what is stopping you from healing - because your brain is getting in the way. Reading all the theory etc you think you are yang deficient, your trying to become more yang by using your meditation and other eating/exercise techniques, and not getting anywhere. Body is yin. Spirituality is yang. If you have lots of energy and your body is weak i think you are too yang.

 

Here is why. Yang needs yin to burn so that it can burn brightly. You want to have lots of energy but you have none. Like a car you want to accellerate at full speed but your petrol tank (yin) is empty. When you get some petrol (sleep/rest/eat) you zoom at full speed but after only a few hours your tank is empty again and no energy. YANG IS DEPLETED BECAUSE YIN IS DEPLETED. Yang needs to be reduced so that yin can build up and you have reserves. When you have a full tank of fuel you can cruise along comfortably at low speed and then accellerate to full speed FOR SHORT PERIODS then cruise again so your yin can build up again, but your fuel never going below half.

 

You are older now than what you were when you were going to gym all the time (i bet you got colds often too when you were pumping gym so hard) and the yin takes longer to build now. You need to get used to resting and cruising. Living at a slow pace so the yin can build. But this probably feels totally forign to you because to you it feels normal to be pumped and full of energy. If you feel your pulse on your wrists lightly it is probably quiet strong but if you press your fingers deep into your wrist you hardly feel anything because there is no substance. So yeah... my suggestion is try to become more YIN.

 

This is difficult because you can't "DO" anything to become yin. It is in the "NOT DOING" that you become more yin. But i'm like you i want my petrol tank full up as fast as possible! And i want my energy back. The thing i've learnt is that i will never have the energy back in the same way i used to. If i did use myself in that way again then i'll just become sick, tired and worn out again. Just the same as using my body in that way caused those problems in the first place. You need to learn to use your body in a new and correct way - in a way that may infact "feel" wrong because it's different to what you've been used to, and the wrong way that caused you to feel tired and worn out "feels right" because thats just been the way you've always used your body. However after some time of becomming more yin and getting used to it i am starting to enjoy the relaxedness and i can keep my fuel tank half full and i live a normal life.

 

You can read up all you like about it and you can find more in some good chinese medicine books or if you goto a practitioner and get them to help you. But my suggestion is try to relax as much as possible, not do anything too hard, do yin style meditations and try to become more yin using the knowledge you already have. If after 2-3 weeks you feel slightly better then you know you are on the right path and can research it more or even ask me and i can point you to some things that helped me.

 

Hope this helps...

 

Also... Do you take any alcohol / drugs? perscription or just for fun? They all burn your precious yin very fast.

[Birch]

Excellent replies! I wanted to add the thing about yin being found in yang and vice-versa. In other words they aren't mutuallly exclusive or empty of each other.

So it might seem that the solution for lacking something is to be found by doing things to get more of the thing that is lacking when in practice it's actually by doing less.

It's one of the many things I enjoy about Taoism. It sounds counter-intuitive and backwards to some people:-)

[ejr1069]

Thank you all for all the wonderful responses. I have a number or responses and or observations from the above posts.

 

1. I am 41. All of this started happening when I was 37. I have felt like my world has been turned upside down. Every belief brought into quuestikn for scrutinization, then put back in differently. Every habit changed. I am a totally different person than I was 4 years ago.

 

2. My diet is 80% what I said it was. The other 20% is less healthy. I will eat pizza one time per week. Peanut Butter is still big on my list, though only natural peanute butter that contains peanuts and salt only. Salty snack foods like chips, doritos, etc only occassioanlly. Sweets like little debbie cakes occassionally. A little bit of dark chocalate daily. But mostly the whole foods, fish, whole brown grains, qionoa, millet, fruits and veggies.

 

3. I tried the meditation listed above (picturing the body, the muscles disvolving off the body, then the skeleton bone by bone shining brightly, then the skeleton turning to ashes. You know whatm the meditation had the same effect on me as doing Yoga Nidra. Deeply relaxing.

 

4. Thanks for the Yin suggestion. I will go seek out a Yin Yoga teacher in my area and take a few classes. I probably like Yoga more than qigong, but both practices are great.

 

5. I am kicking up the exercise regimen just a tad as I think I might need to circulate my energies a bit more. But nothing like I used to do. I used to be the gym rat: 365 pound bench press. 500 pound squat. Now I do zero squats and only exteremely light resitance training through a range of motion taking 10-15 seconds with high awareness on the muscle being used. The cardio I do is almost never 100% as hard as I can go.

 

6. I think I might need to get grounded a little more strongly before I can ever experience bliss. So possibly stepping up the Zhuan Zhang practice might be good too.

 

Thanks for all your input!

[Christoph]

As far as your diet there is huge room for improvement there and taking herbs would certainly be beneficial.

If you eat that junk you listed every couple of days then you always have chemicals and crap in your system.Low body temp after eating can be inflammation(gluten damage).Grains and peanuts(beans) have high lectin and anti-nutrient loads and irritate the gut blocking mineral absorption.

 

How is your digestion and elimination?

[ejr1069]

Good post z00se.

 

 

Spending time in nature, and at times barefoot, will be good to balance your energies.

 

Good luck in feeling better.

 

Thanks for the well wishes rainbow. I like your name I'm still in the hurricane right now but hoping for my rainbow soon...

[ejr1069]

My digestion is spotty. I say that because I have loose stool frequently. Every week but not every day. Of course, I eat a lot of fiber and I don't eat many things that would be considered binding. So it's tough to say. But ever since my kundalini started coming through I have had loose stool on and off. One stretch it was for 4 straight months.

 

I don't have heartburn or any other problems that might be associated with poor digestion.

[henro]

Loose stools over a long period of time is considered chronic and is a classic symptom of both Spleen and Kidney Yang Deficiency.

 

But, being tired frequently is a classic sign of Stomach qi deficiency. . . Cold limbs cold also be a symptom of cold in the stomach.

 

Emotional issues could be due to the liver, Lung and Heart qi defiency, and more. . .

 

In other words, you're kind of all over the map, and it's impossible to diagnose over the internet. Pulse, tongue, and a proper patient history need to be performed to accurately suggest a treatment. Since it's chronic - affecting you over the last four years - you've got to see a doctor.

[de_paradise]

that is just half the meditation.I am not sure this is what you need.it is very powerfull and took my right into deep samadhi.body and mind dissapeared.like dying.anyway here is the correct method:

> You visualize all your flesh, meat and organs rotting off your bones or simply being given away to all the ghosts or other beings you owe debts to. Then, starting with your LEFT TOE, you actually visualize all the bones of your body shining bright white. You start visualizing your left big toe, then all the toes of your left foot, then your right foot, then back to your left leg, then right leg and you work your way all the way up your body.

>

> After you can visualize your entire body as being just a white shiny skeleton, you let the bones turn to dust so that only dust is left, which blows away to leave emptiness.

>

> You first visualize your bones, then let go of everything, and stay in that emptiness to cultivate samadhi. From samadhi you go on to try and realize the stage of non-ego we call seeing the Tao.

 

Hey thanks! I was a bit lazy to write the entire sadhana, but the pre and after bits about the giving away flesh and then the turning to dust are important in augmenting the utility of the meditation. Also for those reading and wanting to try this meditation, try to have the clearest best image of a white skeleton you can find online (not a grey skeleton on white background) or a plastic replica in a halloween shop. This you should have in front of you, and you can peek at it, then close your eyes, and find the bones on your body. The way I do it is fairly slowly, bone by bone, and I redo the bones several times. Theres also tricks to visualizing if you are not good at it, like mentally shining a flashlight over the bones.

 

The visualization of the white bones, which is where most of time and effort is spent, is meant to release some kind of qi from the marrow and bones. This is absolutely what it does to me, and when I do this meditation my qi cycles like a freight train, my sexual potency goes up to like when I was 16 years old. I havent got samadhi aspects shortly after, but what happens is the qi rises so strong that often there is arising of a blissful energetic state. This is why I think that if the OP has some kind of energetic blockage due to uneven Kundalini cleaning energies, then he can do this to balance himself. In any case its good to do to further his progress.

Edited March 24, 2011 by de_paradise

[Guest sykkelpump]

Hey thanks! I was a bit lazy to write the entire sadhana, but the pre and after bits about the giving away flesh and then the turning to dust are important in augmenting the utility of the meditation. Also for those reading and wanting to try this meditation, try to have the clearest best image of a white skeleton you can find online (not a grey skeleton on white background) or a plastic replica in a halloween shop. This you should have in front of you, and you can peek at it, then close your eyes, and find the bones on your body. The way I do it is fairly slowly, bone by bone, and I redo the bones several times. Theres also tricks to visualizing if you are not good at it, like mentally shining a flashlight over the bones.

 

The visualization of the white bones, which is where most of time and effort is spent, is meant to release some kind of qi from the marrow and bones. This is absolutely what it does to me, and when I do this meditation my qi cycles like a freight train, my sexual potency goes up to like when I was 16 years old. I havent got samadhi aspects shortly after, but what happens is the qi rises so strong that often there is arising of a blissful energetic state. This is why I think that if the OP has some kind of energetic blockage due to uneven Kundalini cleaning energies, then he can do this to balance himself. In any case its good to do to further his progress.

 

Hello,yes it sure is a special meditation.I found it to work best if you also do another form of meditation(mantra or anapanasati).I would say it is the best meditation I have tried,but I dont think I would get the benefits of it if I was starting with white skeleton meditation and used it as a standalone meditation.

the visualisation part of it I do somewhat similar as you,but the power of this meditation is when you turn the skeleton to dust.It creates an empty feeling(vacum)and if I hold onto that feeling It feels like I am turning into an chi magnet.chi just being sucket into the bones and head.then i start getting dizzie and my body feels like dissapear and the mind dissapear.then you are gone until you fall out of this state naturally.the way i do it is when I have somewhat a mental picture of my skeleton,then I turn to dust.and I got this vacum/emptiness feeling.I lose it often so then I quickly visualize the skeleton again and visualize it turns to dust again.I do this over and over again when I lose the feeling of emptiness.at some point this empty feeling starts generating by itself and then you go really deep.Another way of doing it if my concentration is not good enough is to visualize the whole skeleton,then i turn parts of it do dust until I have gone through the whole skeleton,and then i do a quick turning to dust of the whole skeleton in the end.just some tips that works for me

Edited March 25, 2011 by sykkelpump

[Ada]

Have you been to the doctor and checked the possebility of having low metabolism or hypothyroidism?

I am also thinking about the emotional part of you. Fear, dissapointment, lack of hope, other peoples resistance and the lack of friendly and supportive environment can drain energy. Maybe you need to work some negative feelings out and learn to take better care of yourself before the energy will come back again? That this is just a part of a process. I think yoga helps to open up for more energy. I would stay away from sugar and too much fruit, and let the body rest when it needs it. If you don't feel safe,then find safety.(Sorry my bad English, I am Norwegian).

[taoey]

How to cultivate more yin energy? Too?

Seriously.

If you are going to cultivate yang you should also learn to cultivate yin.

Am i wrong?

 

Should this be a sticky?

A topic on yang?

A topic on yin?

A topic on both at the same time?

[taoey]

Interesting.

I sleep on my back, on my belly, on my left side and on my right side, usually i change sides when i sleep, and i am aware of it. :-)

Also i find myself in pleasent semi-sleeping, semi-conscious together states also, and it gives me many good ideas, insights, foreknowledge, conscious connectedness to "everything". Quite nice, quite handy, and so on.

 

 

Lack of proper sleep is another common problem resulting in your symptoms; how much sleep a night do you get on average? Do you take naps? Do you sleep on your side (left or right? this matters in terms of your left, central and right channels, I'll explain why), back, stomach?

[taoey]

Just a thought:

Can you also do all bones at once? Would be faster that way. :-) I think it could work just as well.

Probably easyer for someone who has tried these sort of things before with success though. :-)

 

Also, there will probably be a process taking place to change the structure of your bones over time?

 

Like: More chi in them and maybe less "coarse stuff"? Anyone who can confirm this maybe?

 

Hey thanks! I was a bit lazy to write the entire sadhana, but the pre and after bits about the giving away flesh and then the turning to dust are important in augmenting the utility of the meditation. Also for those reading and wanting to try this meditation, try to have the clearest best image of a white skeleton you can find online (not a grey skeleton on white background) or a plastic replica in a halloween shop. This you should have in front of you, and you can peek at it, then close your eyes, and find the bones on your body. The way I do it is fairly slowly, bone by bone, and I redo the bones several times. Theres also tricks to visualizing if you are not good at it, like mentally shining a flashlight over the bones.

 

The visualization of the white bones, which is where most of time and effort is spent, is meant to release some kind of qi from the marrow and bones. This is absolutely what it does to me, and when I do this meditation my qi cycles like a freight train, my sexual potency goes up to like when I was 16 years old. I havent got samadhi aspects shortly after, but what happens is the qi rises so strong that often there is arising of a blissful energetic state. This is why I think that if the OP has some kind of energetic blockage due to uneven Kundalini cleaning energies, then he can do this to balance himself. In any case its good to do to further his progress.

[ejr1069]

How to cultivate more yin energy? Too?

Seriously.

If you are going to cultivate yang you should also learn to cultivate yin.

Am i wrong?

 

Should this be a sticky?

A topic on yang?

A topic on yin?

A topic on both at the same time?

 

My theory is that I have an imbalance of excessive yin energy. That of course, might be incorrect. So I am simply seeking energetic balance. Perhaps a better question would have been how to achieve a yin/yang balance?