SonOfTheGods Posted January 2, 2014 Lay them on your lower Tan Tien. Your breathing becomes much deeper and the abdominal wall works harder with diaphragm expansion. I started with an 2 pound ankle weight, years ago, just placed it on lower tan tien, and took a nap. Moved up to heavier bags, such as sand bags- 10 pounds (tape them inside a trash bag then a pillow case or you will have sand in your bed, guaranteed) Proceed carefully I moved up to a 15 pound medicine ball but it kept rolling off me and smashed my wife in the hip. 25 pound powdered cement bags (taped/wrapped) - for short naps. The goal is 75 pounds for full 8 hours of sleep. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SonOfTheGods Posted January 2, 2014 Sorry, I don't get the sandbag/weight thing. Have you attempted a non-weighted lower dan tien breathing practice? Yes, doing various ones for many years. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
suninmyeyes Posted January 2, 2014 Where did you get this idea from ? Never heard it before .. Sounds unusually uncomfortable . Sleeping with cement . 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SonOfTheGods Posted January 2, 2014 Where did you get this idea from ? Never heard it before .. Sounds unusually uncomfortable . Sleeping with cement . It is very uncomfortable. It is an ancient secret. You start off with a light weighted bag of grain or seeds. Lying supine, on your back- the bag of sand lays across the tan tien. The abdominal muscles and diaphragm must work harder to push upwards towards ceiling. Then the weight forces it in opposite direction, down towards sacral. The in/out fill/compress of tan tien is the goal. By napping or full/partial night sleep, deep breathing, REM sleep, works wonders 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
4bsolute Posted January 2, 2014 Lay them on your lower Tan Tien. Your breathing becomes much deeper and the abdominal wall works harder with diaphragm expansion. I started with an 2 pound ankle weight, years ago, just placed it on lower tan tien, and took a nap. Moved up to heavier bags, such as sand bags- 10 pounds (tape them inside a trash bag then a pillow case or you will have sand in your bed, guaranteed) Proceed carefully I moved up to a 15 pound medicine ball but it kept rolling off me and smashed my wife in the hip. 25 pound powdered cement bags (taped/wrapped) - for short naps. The goal is 75 pounds for full 8 hours of sleep. Wouldnt this create alot of tension? More muscle tissue = more possible tension to work out. But hey, if it works for you? Good. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SonOfTheGods Posted January 2, 2014 Wouldnt this create alot of tension? More muscle tissue = more possible tension to work out. But hey, if it works for you? Good. It has been performed for centuries. Start off with just ounces, and slowly build. It is not an abdominal exercise, it is a tan tien exercise. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
寒月 Hanyue Posted January 2, 2014 (edited) It is not an cultivation ancient secret, and it is not what I would call a 'dantian' exercise. In that it is usually not the dantian, but a breath mechanism being developed. Even if that breath mechanism is further used to play with the dantian. It was primarily a martial practice, and it can be found in several Asian martial lineages. I have seen variations in Japanese Koryu, Indonesian arts, and of course Chinese. There is also an 'explosive' version that you build towards with the above method Sonofthegods posted. Place a coin on the belly and hit the ceiling with it! The idea is simply to create a restrictive pressure on the abdominal wall and then practice breathing, it is a way to add build intra-abdominal pressure by adding pressure from the outside in the form of a weight. The KEY is that you are practicing a BREATHING method, you are not doing abdominal 'push ups' against a weight. The problem is that most end up making it all about the weight. There are LOTS of inventive variations, and not all involve a weight on the belly. This is simply a grossly obvious one. Best, Edited January 2, 2014 by snowmonki 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SonOfTheGods Posted January 2, 2014 It is not an cultivation ancient secret, and it is not what I would call a 'dantian' exercise. In that it is usually not the dantian, but a breath mechanism being developed. Even if that breath mechanism is further used to play with the dantian. It was primarily a martial practice, and it can be found in several Asian martial lineages. I have seen variations in Japanese Koryu, Indonesian arts, and of course Chinese. There is also an 'explosive' version that you build towards with the above method Sonofthegods posted. Place a coin on the belly and hit the ceiling with it! The idea is simply to create a restrictive pressure on the abdominal wall and then practice breathing, it is a way to add build intra-abdominal pressure by adding pressure from the outside in the form of a weight. The KEY is that you are practicing a BREATHING method, you are not doing abdominal 'push ups' against a weight. The problem is that most end up making it all about the weight. There are LOTS of inventive variations, and not all involve a weight on the belly. Best, What ever the origins, it does work well for tan tien cultivation Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
寒月 Hanyue Posted January 2, 2014 What ever the origins, it does work well for tan tien cultivation Anything that develops intra-abdominal pressure in a safe and progressive manner is. It is good stimulation for the health of the internal organs too. The difference with using an external 'stimulation' is feedback, as it is far easier to fool yourself with the internal 'stimulation' methods. The important thing is the line of diminishing returns between the benefit for dantian for daogong (Daoist cultivation), and the benefit for wugong (martial cultivation). We have the stories of monks/priests being too weak physically to really do their spiritual development, but we also have the stories of people becoming so caught up in and lost in the more mundane practices that they lose sight of and do not cultivation themselves spiritually. Martial artists that borrowed such methods of course had a different agenda than monks and priests. Not a right or wrong, just a case of what is appropriate for what you are doing and why. Best, 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
thelerner Posted January 2, 2014 (edited) I love doing this. I use sobakawa pillows (filled w/ beans), two of them and wish they were even heavier. My ideal position is 2 pillows to gradually raise my head (one length wise, the other normal), two sobakawa pillows on my stomach and a third pillow under my knees. A kind of zero gravity position. Great for relaxing, listening to dharma talks or meditations. The additional weight feels really good. My wife threw out a third pillow after it was leaky. Edited January 2, 2014 by thelerner 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Aetherous Posted January 2, 2014 With weight on the body for that amount of time, the fascia will become quite fluid and open in the area. Also, near the inside of the ASIS is where the ilipsoas is, and if impacting that at all would be quite a good thing. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
soaring crane Posted January 2, 2014 Körnerkissen... Will check in L8R Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SonOfTheGods Posted January 4, 2014 I go hi-tech and use a TENS unit, myself Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Marblehead Posted January 4, 2014 Sandbags. I've slept with sandbags but I think our situations were very different. 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Creation Posted January 4, 2014 Awesome. I've been using a Frolov device (and my own makeshift methods) to provide resistance to my exhalations, now I have something to provide resistance to my inhalations. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Captain Mar-Vell Posted January 5, 2014 (edited) ... Sorry, I'm still laughin' at mr marblehead. Could you tell me the concrete advantages of this practice? Perhaps you might strain something. Having said that. Hehehe. I know nothing about ancient daoist immortality practices*. No. Not me. Nuthin'. What? Using weights? Dunno what yer talkin' about. What yer lookin' at me like that for? Ha ha ha. Will edit later! ... * except that they work. Ha ha ha! Edited January 5, 2014 by Captain Mar-Vell 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Marblehead Posted January 5, 2014 ... Sorry, I'm still laughin' at mr marblehead. Yeah, many ways one can view what I said. Hehehe. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TheDustAutumn Posted January 5, 2014 I also hear that if you sleep with your head buried in sand you fill your upper dantian with qi. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Marblehead Posted January 5, 2014 (edited) I also hear that if you sleep with your head buried in sand you fill your upper dantian with qi. I would suggest that one should consider what part of their body is going to be most vulnerable in that position. Edited January 5, 2014 by Marblehead Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JustBHappy Posted January 5, 2014 I do this, but I use a cat, or rather the cat uses me. Not sure which one. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
