Zhan Zhuang - Leg/Low back meridians - advice

[Uncle Fester]

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Edited September 19, 2021 by darebak

[小梦想]

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Edited August 10, 2018 by 小梦想

[lessdaomorebum]

Oops! My voltage question was already answered.

 

EDIT 2: I ordered the book recommended, and another one on ions and health, through the library. I remember hearing about this decades ago, but never looked into it. Thanks 小夢想！

Edited August 7, 2016 by lessdaomorebum

[Gerard]

I am actually still a virgin at 31 and never had any real romantic relationship due to my introverted nature and focus on academics in my youth.

 

 

This is something you won't sort out through practice unless you go full bore (option B ). My advice is to have a real relationship with someone, there are social devices for this: online dating, speed dating, singles events, meetup groups, etc. If you don't sort this out now, the roadblock will become bigger and bigger overtime or worst, go deeper and deeper in your system, which later on will be very difficult to remove.

 

Option B: become a monk.

 

Good to see the Asian squat is doing good for you. Remember is a daily thing, like brushing your teeth. Don't forget our ancestors didn't use chairs, so the squat position was the normal resting position...and their minds were a lot less blocked than ours.

 

I wish you the very best.

Edited August 8, 2016 by Gerard

[小梦想]

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Edited August 10, 2018 by 小梦想

[小梦想]

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Edited August 10, 2018 by 小梦想

[小梦想]

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Edited August 10, 2018 by 小梦想

[EmeraldHead]

I do believe when masters talk about the quality of qi in an area, they are directly referring to the amount of negative ions available. And funnily enough, the areas that are considered to have bad qi, are areas with high amounts of positive ions with very low amounts of negative ions.

I was thinking about this lately. According to science in earthing (touching the soil with bare skin/barefoot)  ALL you get charged with is negative electrons. Therefore it kind of makes sense that qi (the one in nature at least) is electrons in state where they can be used / free electrons / electricity, the one we feel sometimes during practice or see in lighting. 

 

PS: Your ion generators looks like little robots   I like them.

Edited August 24, 2016 by Arramu

[小梦想]

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Edited August 10, 2018 by 小梦想

[cheya]

Hi Randomer (sorry, your actual screen name is hard to reproduce!  )

 

Back when I was into this, some years ago alas, the seller of the ionizer I got was making a big deal about the size of the negative ions produced. Had to be a very pointy pin that made the ions, had to change the pin periodically. 

 

I think you said your ionizers work by coronal discharge. Is ion size an issue? Is there anything that has to be changed or maintained or replaced?

 

Thank you!

[cheya]

Also, would you be comfortable starting a separate thread on negative ions, explaining it, not just to sell ionizers. I think this is a much neglected and incredibly important aspect of our health, our environment and our energetic practice.

 

So potentially a great thread of its own. 

It's totally buried here. 

[小梦想]

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Edited August 10, 2018 by 小梦想

[小梦想]

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Edited August 10, 2018 by 小梦想

[cheya]

My emission heads last a long time too.

......

I personally would replace an ionizer every 3 years. 

 

There's no way to replace the emission heads so you don't have to replace the whole thing?

[小梦想]

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Edited August 10, 2018 by 小梦想

[cheya]

And last question (maybe   )

Ionizers used to make a mess around them with precipitates that the negions pulled from the air.

Is that still a problem?

[小梦想]

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Edited August 10, 2018 by 小梦想

[SecretGrotto]

Just a quick update from me.

 

You may see in my previous posts that I was quite depressed about my lung injury, after breathing in hot steam in May. My condition appeared to worsen and to such a degree that I was grief-stricken and had to find the will to keep on (with life).

 

I actually started using cod liver oil, as I was told by multiple people that constant use of CLO has helped them with their lung infections. Little did I know that CLO would, in fact, worsen my condition and through constant use I ascribed the worsening condition to the original injury and not the CLO.

 

Things were to get worse before it got better, as I started to increase my CLO dosage for an entirely different reason: Vitamin A boost for teeth sensitivity I have been experiencing. I have used Sensodyne for many years because of teeth sensitivity, even though I did not previously have crownings done and only had one or two cavities filled in as a child.

 

Then I started experimenting with Vitamin K2, but I could only get it in cheese in the beginning, brie to be exact. After consuming close to 50g brie per day I could soon tell that the perforated texture of my teeth began to become more glass-like. So I did have some eroded enamel and apparently as a non-organic substance it cannot grow back, yet the lower layers of dentine does.

 

Vitamin K2 appears to provide glass-like, enamel-like finishing to teeth. Now I'm using a 1000% K2 supplement and a bone-booster supplement (which smells like semen, which is a good sign) and my teeth sensitivity appears to be gone. I do not brush with toothpaste anymore, just with saliva, but I do cleanse my mouth and tongue with baking soda (which is a god-send for my life-long case of halitosis due to a very matty tongue that deserves a TCM reading).

 

And, as fate would have it, I would increase my use of CLO at every sign of my lungs getting worse, thus snowballing the effect, until two weeks ago when the realization hit me and I dropped CLO completely. It might seem silly now in retrospect. CLO has an incredible affinity to the lungs and I realize that it suffuses the lungs, and I could feel over the last week how the iron grip of CLO evaporated from my lungs.

 

My lungs are still recuperating, but daily are there new sensations in the lungs, which makes me hopeful that recovery is in progress.

 

 

I also started training song with Adam Mizner's online training program, upon recommendation by Damo Mitchell. This has improved my ZZ and the sensations of pain I had in the very beginning are now completely gone. I have started to integrate song into my daily bodily conduct and it really is amazing how much tension the body can hold onto.

 

When I started letting go of the bulk of the tension I could feel my fatigue lessen and the efficiency of movements improve. I am very much intrigued by the thought that proper taiji relies primarily on song and ting as its core functional operations and how that can lead to a very effective fa jin martial application that confounds common sense.

 

I have maintained a high level of celibacy for four months now and my spine is warming up nicely now with LDT sensations heightened especially around midday and at full moon. I would say that my jing is stabilizing enough for me to start attempting the firing process soon. I am doing my first 10 day retreat over Christmas this year, and if everything works out I may start the process.

 

I have been training in the Yu Xian Pai school for more than a year now, but I feel that The White Moon on the Mountain Peak is adequate guidance in proper alchemy. Thus far I have been lacking proper jing stabilization so I could not really engage in alchemy, but conditions appear to be aligning for me in the near future to work on congenital SHO.

 

The Hawaii seminar of Wang Liping is just too expensive for me, but I might catch his European one next year. I am also signed up for Damo's neigong seminar next year. My sincere hope is that I can present fertile soil to whichever teacher I attend, through my daily practice of ZZ and my mindful accumulation of jing.

 

It was a difficult past three months for me because of my lung injury and my self-inflicted subsequent poising with CLO, and I experienced some religious turmoil, you could say, because my prayers didn't appear to have much effect. But in the meantime I was my own worst enemy and I suppose there was a lesson in there for me to learn. I know that was by far not the biggest curveball life was to throw at me, so I just hope I can be more resilient when the next battle strikes.

 

Thank you for all the advice and pm's you have made, it is appreciated.

[Orion]

I was in several car accidents as an adult that did subtle damage to my SI joint, damage that I didn't become aware of until recent years. Combined with sitting at desks for 6 years for academia, it did a number on my hip alignment.

 

Assuming there is no structural damage, like disc or bone degeneration, you can recover. Even with mild degeneration, it's possible to regain a lot of function.

 

One thing that happens with improper posture or unresolved physical trauma is that, over the long-term, it causes inflammation, and then the inflammation turns to scar tissue as the body attempts to reinforce the posture. The scar tissue then holds the poor form, which reinforces more inflammation as misalignment cascades to other areas of the body.

 

I'll spare you years of research and trial and error by saying you should use supplements containing collagen, hyaluronic acid, and MSM together. While taking it, the first thing you'll notice is that skin surface scars start to become soft again, and then gradually disappear. It has the same effect deeper in the body.

 

After a few weeks of taking it, you can begin a practice of deeper stretching, especially in areas of poor mobility. The stretching may cause discomfort but there should not be alarming pain. (If you know the difference between productive pain and bad pain, that's what I mean.) Each day the stretch will give gradual access of the soft tissue supplement to the scarred area, and soften it. It's like peeling an onion and you have to etch away at it over time.

 

In the mean time, you'll experience a lot more smoothness in your joints and your skin will glow with qi.

 

Another thing that can really help is the application of castor oil packs, daily, to SI area. Google it. I used this method earlier in life and it repaired a lot of scar tissue around my spine, such that I was able to eventually correct 90% of a spinal curvature.

 

In terms of kidney reinforcement... in addition to zhan zhuang and ba gua, I find leg workouts in generally really powerful. Not necessarily heavy weights, but using the body's own weight for resistance. Deep leg stretching is wonderful for making sure any blood or fluid stagnation is pushed out, keeping things clear.

 

Contrary to popular culture, I don't think stretching for the sake of stretching is necessarily a good thing. Over stretching aggravates the liver qi and can cause an insidious kind of weakness that I notice in a lot of people who do yoga.

[SecretGrotto]

Thanks Orion, great recommendations and suggestions, I didn't know about the effectiveness of hyaluronic acid so I'm definitely keen to start experimenting with the combination of supplements you suggest.

 

I actually had to stop taking separate vitamin K2 supplements because it just generated too much testosterone and consequently DHT which exacerbated hair loss. I have reduced my bone supplement intake as it appears (thank God) that my teeth have stabilized enough, still brushing with saliva only and teeth sensitivity is way down.

 

Constantly suffusing my brain with brahmacharya literature to brainwash myself into complete lifelong abstinence, the alternative would be as good as death for me. Sexual desires are never satisfied - and in trying to satisfy them life is lost.

Edited October 12, 2016 by SecretGrotto

[Orion]

Thanks Orion, great recommendations and suggestions, I didn't know about the effectiveness of hyaluronic acid so I'm definitely keen to start experimenting with the combination of supplements you suggest.

 

I actually had to stop taking separate vitamin K2 supplements because it just generated too much testosterone and consequently DHT which exacerbated hair loss. I have reduced my bone supplement intake as it appears (thank God) that my teeth have stabilized enough, still brushing with saliva only and teeth sensitivity is way down.

 

Constantly suffusing my brain with brahmacharya literature to brainwash myself into complete lifelong abstinence, the alternative would be as good as death for me. Sexual desires are never satisfied.

 

Could you elaborate a bit on hair loss and vitamin K2? I haven't heard of the connection before.

[SecretGrotto]

Could you elaborate a bit on hair loss and vitamin K2? I haven't heard of the connection before.

 

 

Vitamin K2 appears to enhance osteocalcin production, which interacts with the Leidig cells in the testes to produce more Testosterone. I felt the heightened levels of testosterone with 3000% RDA K2 supplementation as an overall body energy as well as semen leakage.

 

Testosterone is naturally converted into DHT, which binds to receptors in hair follicles thus choking them and producing thinning hair. I felt this pronouncedly in my scalp during K2 supplementation, seeing thinning and receding hair.

 

However, with more moderate K2 supplementation, it's hard to see these effects.

[Orion]

Vitamin K2 appears to enhance osteocalcin production, which interacts with the Leidig cells in the testes to produce more Testosterone. I felt the heightened levels of testosterone with 3000% RDA K2 supplementation as an overall body energy as well as semen leakage.

 

Testosterone is naturally converted into DHT, which binds to receptors in hair follicles thus choking them and producing thinning hair. I felt this pronouncedly in my scalp during K2 supplementation, seeing thinning and receding hair.

 

However, with more moderate K2 supplementation, it's hard to see these effects.

 

Super interesting. Thank you

 

I can see why taking 3000% the RDA would do something like that. I think some people are genetically predisposed to having more testosterone sensitivity in the hair follicles too.

 

My diet is high in zinc which inhibits aromatase (which breaks down DHT) and I've often wondered if dietary zinc can play a role in hair loss for this reason.

[Sudhamma]

Dear SecretGrotto,

Zhanzhuang is a great qigong practice but from all your posts about your pain and practice there is no mention about the breathing method. Perhaps you should talk to your instructor about the proper breathing method in your particular zhangzhuan practice. With cold hands and a lower back pain are good indications of a yang kidney deficiency and with too much yin. If you love your drinks, you may have to stop it to improve. As for your zhanzhuang, you should relax your leg muscles and focus on the yungchuan point at the base of your feet during the exhale, but only when you 'know' how to breathe. Meanshile, don't tense the leg muscles even when on a 'horse' stance. I hope this helps.

[rkc]

Went through the entire thread, trying to figure if Max’s I Jong stance, which is a simple Zhan Zhuang, aggravates an existing chronic sciatica. 

 

Maybe I made the mistake of adopting the Zhan Zhuang stance in the five elements positions too... with the briefest holding, my entire right side went into painful spasm. The second time I tried it after the first time effects waned, the same thing happened. 

 

Ive done Zhan Zhuang long before, and over months my sciatic pain increased. So I stopped. I think the pain comes with realignment... I would have healed if I’d persisted with some time and postural adjustments. 

 

Am am back at it now... intend to root out all structural and internal imbalance. 

 

Thank you you all for the insights in this thread.