Emotional healing, energetic grounding, the heart area

[Boomerang]

Hi everybody. There are a few things I want to find information about: how energy work can lead to emotional healing, how to ground my energy, and energy work that doesn't involve the head area.

 

First question. I was inspired to join this forum after reading an interview with a Buddhist teacher who said Westerners tend to have really messed up emotional bodies compared to Tibetans, and having a fractured emotional state goes hand-in-hand with energetic imbalances. This wasn't the first time I'd heard an idea like that, and I feel like it's true for me. Can anyone on this forum recommend a system of energy work that focuses on the goal of emotional healing?

 

Second question. I've been experiencing weird movement of energy through my body for a few years now, particularly in my head. I talked to a meditation teacher and they said I have a "head rlung disorder." They recommended several things to manage the disorder, and one of them was to practice grounding exercises, particularly exercises which pull energy from the head downward. Can anyone here recommend a certain practice or system of practices that would complement the teacher's advice? I know there's tons of stuff on the internet that uses words like "grounding," but I don't know where to start, and I figure it would be better if I asked here than if I reinvented the wheel. I just looked at a grounding video today, and it involved moving energy both up and down, so that's probably not what I want.

 

The teacher also recommended that if I do any energetic practices in the future, I should focus on the heart area and not the head or third eye. Are there any energetic systems you would recommend that don't get involved with the head area?

 

As to why I don't just ask the teacher: this isn't the type of teacher I can talk to regularly. They were traveling around the world, and I basically just had that one opportunity to talk to them. Thank you for your help!

Edited March 30, 2019 by Boomerang

[rideforever]

48 minutes ago, Boomerang said:

Hi everybody.

Perhaps it would be good to know exactly what you need, what you mean by emotional healing, what disturbs you, what you mean by grounding, and are you a westerner or easterner?

It might be quite simple to do Fragrant Qigong, or one of the systems like that.   
But for what it's worth my opinion is :

"Emotional healing" actually involves a large amount of work, as many areas of the being contribute to that experience.   For instance if you are not conscious in the head, there will be no control of emotions, likewise if your solar plexus is damaged (common) then there will be no control.

Also, if you have a strong personality then it is also important to use psychology as well, as you are not "just energy" but the psyche is a system on top that won't be fixed automatically.   For instance you cannot really fix the roof of a house by repairing the basement.

So ...

# 1 practice is Zen type practice of merging with the breathing at the belly.
# 2 is strengthening the solar plexus
# 3 could be something like BK Frantzis Cloud Hands, a simply qigong of left right alternation (it is enough)
# 4 Atisha's heart meditation

Each of these is a significant work.

But it's probably too complicated, so doing Fragrant or Flying Phoenix will probably get you what you need.

[Boomerang]

Quote

Perhaps it would be good to know exactly what you need, what you mean by emotional healing, what disturbs you, what you mean by grounding, and are you a westerner or easterner?

 

I'm a Westerner (U.S.A.) and English is the only language I know.

 

I didn't have any particular emotional traumas in mind when I asked. I was just fascinated by the idea of using energy practices as a tool for creating emotional well-being and healing trauma. I think of emotional healing as something that everyone needs. I didn't know if there was a certain type of energy practice suited to that, or if all energy practices are expected to heal emotions as a side-effect.

 

Quote

It might be quite simple to do Fragrant Qigong, or one of the systems like that.   
 

 

I wasn't aware of this system, so thank you for telling me about it. I tried Googling it for a few minutes and had trouble figuring out where I can find a good resource to start off in Fragrant Qigong. Do you have any suggestions? 

 

 

Quote

Also, if you have a strong personality then it is also important to use psychology as well, as you are not "just energy" but the psyche is a system on top that won't be fixed automatically.   For instance you cannot really fix the roof of a house by repairing the basement.

 

I have a therapist that I see every week. I agree that psychology can help in ways that brute force meditation probably won't.

 

Quote

But it's probably too complicated, so doing Fragrant or Flying Phoenix will probably get you what you need.

 

I bought Terry Dunn's first two Flying Phoenix DVD's on Amazon recently. I have a solid idea on how to get started with Flying Phoenix, but where would I go to get started with Fragrant Qigong? When I google it I see so many things all over the place.

 

Thank you for your help!

[rideforever]

What you experience is quite typical, and so most systems cater for it including flying phoenix.   You know the thing is to just get started with what you've got and do regularly and you'll see results.  Over time the practices become stronger and you change.  Daily practice is good.

Fragrant, well you can just look up Fragrant Gong 1 and copy someone it's simple stuff.   And see if you like it, likewise for grounding practices and breathing practices.   Whatever looks good to you, just try it a few times, if you like it do it for a week.   Keep it simple.

This is a very good grounding qigong comes from Michael Winns Sexual Vitality course, however I am afraid it is not demonstrated very well by anyone on youtube, the energy should flow down and really flow deep into the Earth and just wait ... and the hand that rises only rises gently in order to pulse down, the movement is down and then down and then down.

 

and this is good for the emotions, I like this one

 

 

 

 

Zen sitting meditation and breathing (subtitles)
https://youtu.be/SnBLZDKxTEg

 

 

Cloud Hands from BK Frantzis (at 30secs)
 

 

 

 

 

To be honest, it sounds like you would really benefit from sticking with something and do every day, so I hope I have not added more confusion.   One rhythm I can suggest is that you do the same thing every day (like Fragrant, FP), and then on Fridays you can experiment with something new.   Then you have a regular practice with a little break on Fridays for some explorations.

 

 

 

 

Edited March 31, 2019 by rideforever

[Mudfoot]

9 hours ago, rideforever said:

 

# 3 could be something like BK Frantzis Cloud Hands, a simply qigong of left right alternation (it is enough)

This is actually a very good example of something that might go well with psychotherapy. 

 

You can regulate your breath, regulate your body, and regulate your mind. These are principles in autonomic and emotional regulation, which forms the basis for therapeutic work. 

The combination of the weight shift and the breathing enables you to work on the sympathetic and the parasympathetic branches simultaneously, and the combination of proper breathing and proper focus will activate pro-social and de-activate stress-preparatory parts of your mind/brain. 

[Zork]

5 hours ago, Boomerang said:

I bought Terry Dunn's first two Flying Phoenix DVD's on Amazon recently. I have a solid idea on how to get started with Flying Phoenix, but where would I go to get started with Fragrant Qigong?

These two systems are incompatible. You must choose one or the other. Since you have already invested in flying phoenix, stay with it.

This thread

is the personal thread of Terry Dunn in which he occasionally answers questions on flying phoenix.

[Sebastian]

Was it Tsoknyi Rinpoche ? I've been to a few of his seminars and he does discuss the Lung issue for foreigners a lot.

 

It's basically speedy Qi. Qi that rises to the head, and often goes with frozen or tight shoulders. You could view the shoulders as the stop valve in a canal system, once all the Qi is in the canal of your head, it locks the whole thing there. So the first thing is to relax the shoulders, then let the Qi sink down to the lower Dantian.

 

Why do Westerners have this issue ? We are aggressive in the way we practice. We practice with the mindset of a performer. We expect results. We attach to the outcome of our practice. We rush when we practice. We practice on a timer. Just one of these will limit the effectiveness of your practice.

 

Focus on "how" you practice first. Even if you only have 10 minutes, before you start imagine that you just woke up from a million years slumber in a cave, and you also have another million years to practice. Relax your body from head to toe. Then say, "I don't care how well how I do these practices today, what results I'll gain from them, but I know one thing..... I want to relax with my practices today". It's about peace, not about perfection. It's about love, not performance.

 

I know the above suggestions sound a bit weird, but Lung responds to these suggestions well. If you keep that speedy unruly Qi in the head while you practice, it will also reflect in your form, in fact it will amplify it. The Tibetan solution is to work with the central channel to extinguish Lung Qi at each chakra point. They call this "Tsa Lung" and this involves sometimes strenuous breath retention. This works well but feels like heavy medicine if you are used to the subtler Qigong.

 

So you can choose your medicine. I suggest working on your perspectives and softening your approach to practice, as this where Westerners have a tendency towards imbalance. Qigong can help in some situations because it helps bring mind/body integration but you really need to look at how you do it, and honestly look at your mindset. Overly thinking about practices, which one you need, or in general seeing your problems as an equation to resolve will create Lung balances, what we call as "hard thoughts" in my tradition. Just let everything become more like a day-dream, relax your approach and shoulders, and let the Qi drop by itself.

[Boomerang]

Quote

Was it Tsoknyi Rinpoche ? I've been to a few of his seminars and he does discuss the Lung issue for foreigners a lot.

 

Yes, I read Tsonkyi Rinpoche's interview on lung. When I did hatha yoga the instructor often said I was holding my shoulders wrong. Thank you for all of your advice. I'll keep it in mind.

 

I want to thank everyone for their responses in this thread.

[Fa Xin]

Its more about slowing down, getting into the body and feeling. Sebastian’s post hit all the points - he did a great job. 

[paragon]

On 3/31/2019 at 4:35 PM, rideforever said:

This is a very good grounding qigong comes from Michael Winns Sexual Vitality course, however I am afraid it is not demonstrated very well by anyone on youtube, the energy should flow down and really flow deep into the Earth and just wait ... and the hand that rises only rises gently in order to pulse down, the movement is down and then down and then down.

 

Any techniques for if you've got too much of that energy?  Other than using it, obviously... How do you move it to other centres of the body ?

[rideforever]

1 hour ago, paragon said:

Any techniques for if you've got too much of that energy?  Other than using it, obviously... How do you move it to other centres of the body ?

 

Too much grounding energy ?
You can't have too much grounding energy, as long as it is real grounding energy which falls from the dantien in a surrender into the earth.  Unfortunately this practitioner in the video (couldn't find better) does it from his head.   If so you do it wrongly.   First feel the belly kinda thing.
The kind of energy that you can move around the body is not "spiritual", it is just part of the subtle material world, and you can play games with it.     But that's not my interest.

Spiritual cultivation, is about becoming.   Becoming present in the Dantien, becoming present in the heart and so on.   You don't move that around.   It is the recognition of "I" in these areas, and eventually letting them fall in surrender downwards into the ground.

Different practice different energy different intention.

 

If you have an excess of sexual energy then find a woman and do the beast with two backs all night long.  This is very good practice and should be practiced without fail.

[Earl Grey]

8 hours ago, rideforever said:

 

Too much grounding energy ?
You can't have too much grounding energy, as long as it is real grounding energy which falls from the dantien in a surrender into the earth.  Unfortunately this practitioner in the video (couldn't find better) does it from his head.   If so you do it wrongly.   First feel the belly kinda thing.
The kind of energy that you can move around the body is not "spiritual", it is just part of the subtle material world, and you can play games with it.     But that's not my interest.

Spiritual cultivation, is about becoming.   Becoming present in the Dantien, becoming present in the heart and so on.   You don't move that around.   It is the recognition of "I" in these areas, and eventually letting them fall in surrender downwards into the ground.

Different practice different energy different intention.

 

If you have an excess of sexual energy then find a woman and do the beast with two backs all night long.  This is very good practice and should be practiced without fail.

 

There is too much grounding "energy" because it creates imbalance. 

 

This is also an incorrect statement about how the dantian works with "falling from the dantian in a surrender into the earth". 

 

The energy is spiritual as part of its composition but not necessarily for religious epiphanies. 

 

The release of sexual energy risks depletion and changes aspects of the energetics for the purpose of the OP's question.