Qigong methods to loosen tight eye and face muscles?

[Klinsly]

Hello I am curious if anyone knows any good methods to loosen tight facial muscles specifically the eyebrows, and under the eyes.  I sometimes have an issue where my right eye will become somewhat asymmetrical and I got the insight last night that it was due to my right eyebrow being too tense sometimes. which I never noticed but I can now obviously feel, like it's trying to compensate. I also got the insight that if I could get it all to relax and loosen up it might also fix my  strange vision problem. So I'm going to attempt it. I've heard of the bates method, but I was wondering if there were TCM or Qigong specific methods or massages for it.

 

Side note I developed a strange vision problem a few years ago where my eyes are still 20/20  and stumped the western specialists but they are slow to focus is all they could come up with,  which makes artificial lighting and screens looks semi blurred and hard to read text. This all started  5 years ago when I started smoking Cannabis again and would look at tv screens for long periods playing video games. Also when I do smoke a good amount it sometimes makes the problem extremely noticeable. It also amplifies my ability to feel chi greatly since I started practicing as well, weird trade off.

 

Thanks for the help or ideas.

[freeform]

Despite the multitude of “Qigong for xxxx condition” programs, Qigong doesn’t really work like that.

 

So although there are no (real) qigong techniques for specific ailments, it can certainly help with many conditions.

 

What it sounds like to me is that you have some liver issues (partly) as a result of smoking weed. This affects both vision and tissues around the eye.

 

You could try acupuncture which may be a more direct way of helping.

 

Although if you carry on with the heavy weed smoking, there wouldn’t be much point as the issues will return.

[senseless virtue]

@Klinsly While your condition sounds pretty much unique, following a healthy lifestyle and having a solid Qigong style complement it can do wonders if you are both patient and dedicated.

 

Basically, any established Qigong style can help you feel better and perhaps improve your health conditions. With that being said, Sight Improving Qigong (Taiji Bagua Qigong) has a very good reputation for healing sight related issues.

 

http://www.qigongchinesehealth.com/sight_improving_qigong

 

13 minutes ago, freeform said:

Qigong for xxxx

 

Indeed, one could say that the real internal arts put extra oomph to feeling bliss and getting more out of the good old xxx! 

[beingnature]

No particular qigong advice but just eat some liver blood nourishing foods on a daily bases. And go outside and look at far distances. I just saw a video about  how always staring at screens affects the muscles of your eyes and can result in short sight. Reduce or stop cannabis if possible.

[Klinsly]

1 hour ago, beingnature said:

No particular qigong advice but just eat some liver blood nourishing foods on a daily bases. And go outside and look at far distances. I just saw a video about  how always staring at screens affects the muscles of your eyes and can result in short sight. Reduce or stop cannabis if possible.

Thanks this is one I'm going to try and do more already. It can easily double as a contemplative meditation by just looking at something in the distance and contemplating its nature etc.

I spent much of my younger years as a video game fanatic, but I hardly use screens anymore fortunately.

Edited August 31, 2020 by Klinsly

[Cleansox]

There are some classic eye exercises in the Chinese arts. 

 

Focus close, focus distance. Shift between the two, will train the eye muscles to control the lens better. 

Described in one of Wong Kiew Kit's earlier books. 

 

Circle the eyes. Described in Taoist Yoga. 

 

And I am sure that smoking weed is an advantage when doing internal work. 

[Klinsly]

2 hours ago, freeform said:

Despite the multitude of “Qigong for xxxx condition” programs, Qigong doesn’t really work like that.

 

So although there are no (real) qigong techniques for specific ailments, it can certainly help with many conditions.

 

What it sounds like to me is that you have some liver issues (partly) as a result of smoking weed. This affects both vision and tissues around the eye.

 

You could try acupuncture which may be a more direct way of helping.

 

Although if you carry on with the heavy weed smoking, there wouldn’t be much point as the issues will return.

 Lol thanks the way I worded it might have sounded like that. It was more specifically  for getting chi flowing to loosen stuff up In my face.  The liver could be very spot on. I am very moderate with my weed use 3.5 grams which is a standard amount for personal use last me months, heavy users that's like a week. But it does really effect your eyes at the time and in that sensitive state I guess it's much easier to mess them up.

Thanks

[Klinsly]

7 minutes ago, Cleansox said:

There are some classic eye exercises in the Chinese arts. 

 

Focus close, focus distance. Shift between the two, will train the eye muscles to control the lens better. 

Described in one of Wong Kiew Kit's earlier books. 

 

Circle the eyes. Described in Taoist Yoga. 

 

And I am sure that smoking weed is an advantage when doing internal work. 

Awesome thanks so much, basically what I was looking for. And yes it really can  here's a little example one of my first few new energetic experiences happened about a year ago after I did about 25 minutes of practice 10 standing movements 15 meditative  sitting. Then i was walking In the forest  smoked in a tree lol and then my hands felt like they were covered in energetic spider webs for like 5 minutes, my friend who was teaching me at the time told me that was the fascia channels opening.

[liminal_luke]

How about yawning?  When I worked with a zapchen coach (zapchen is kind of a mashup of Tibetan Buddhism and somatic psychotherapy), I was instructed to yawn for 10 minutes at a go.  Just take your time and let yourself yawn.  It can have a very relaxing effect, especially on the facial muscles.  

 

 

[Iskote]

A great sage once said: 

If you use mind altering substances, be prepared to live with negative consequences. 

Those who insist they have no negative consequences from using mind altering substances, 

are often those with the most resulting issues.  - Lao Huli - pre Xia Dynasty   

 

A good balanced form of qigong practice should slowly bring one's qi more into balance. 

It is not necessary to focus on any given condition. 

Any imbalances in the body will naturally be brought more into balance through regular qigong practice. 

As with anything in life, there are no guarantees, but if you don't give something a fair try, there can not be any results. 

Different people will suggest different qigong practices as being 'the best for health', so do some research and go with 

what seems to have good reviews from various people and which resonates with you. 

 

 

[Giggly]

I'm not certain about your specific case. If it was me, I would go off the mind altering substances and then work on relaxing the spine.

 

This is because the bai yun (top of the spine) holds the skull and its muscles together. By using your intention to point the bai yun toward the sky while sitting with your spine straight you might release those tensions and imbalances. 

[johndoe2012]

On 1.9.2020 at 2:14 AM, Iskote said:

A great sage once said: 

If you use mind altering substances, be prepared to live with negative consequences. 

Those who insist they have no negative consequences from using mind altering substances, 

are often those with the most resulting issues.  - Lao Huli - pre Xia Dynasty   

 

 

This is simply wrong.

 

Drinking cannabis tea (less than 0.5 g) results in more complete relaxation than any qigong I have tried so best to judge by yourself. And it feels so much more natural where qigong feels artificial and forced.

 

It is a question of chemistry in the brain (search for cannabinoid receptors). Qigong manipulates energy that is then supposed to change the chemistry. My experience is that it doesn't work that way and cannabis tea works so much better that I was completely amazed by its results.

 

 

Edited September 16, 2020 by johndoe2012

[Earl Grey]

15 minutes ago, johndoe2012 said:

This is simply wrong.

 

Drinking cannabis tea (less than 0.5 g) results in more complete relaxation than any qigong I have tried so best to judge by yourself. And it feels so much more natural where qigong feels artificial and forced.

 

It is a question of chemistry in the brain (search for cannabinoid receptors). Qigong manipulates energy that is then supposed to change the chemistry. My experience is that it doesn't work that way and cannabis tea works so much better that I was completely amazed by its results.

 

 

I suspect you’ve not tried Relaxation qigong then. 😂 an actual style.

[Cleansox]

23 minutes ago, johndoe2012 said:

This is simply wrong.

 

Drinking cannabis tea (less than 0.5 g) results in more complete relaxation than any qigong I have tried so best to judge by yourself. And it feels so much more natural where qigong feels artificial and forced.

Yes, many people prefers using chemicals instead of trying to get to the root of the issue. 

It is easier, and doesn't require change. 

 

And many chemicals activate reward circuits in the brain, so it will feel really good taking them. 

[freeform]

1 hour ago, johndoe2012 said:

more complete relaxation than any qigong I have tried

 

I've been doing it for years and for me qigong is like the least relaxing thing I've ever tried!

 

If it's super relaxing - then you're doing something wrong

 

I've heard that opioids are way more relaxing than cannabis - I mean if relaxation is the ultimate goal.

[freeform]

I've seen a few people mention cannabis being used to aid cultivation.

 

While I think moderate cannabis use (eaten, not smoked) is fine for most people. For cultivators, it's a recipe for disaster. Especially if used as an aid in cultivation.

 

Essentially, getting high is like accelerating the jing to qi to shen conversion.

 

But it's very much different to cultivation.

 

Cultivation builds jing until it 'overflows' and supports the generation of qi... which then 'overflows' - and that overflow supports the development of shen... (Which then supports cultivation of the spirit - or the intellect/awareness - depending on your practices)

 

With weed, you effectively squeeze what little you have up to the shen level - which is then used up in changing your consciousness for some time.

 

As you get high, your body becomes starved of 'fuel' so, in its confusion, it creates 'the munchies' to try and get some replenishment. But of course, food is not that quick and efficient - and it can never keep up.

 

Over time chronic users often report losing motivation (as a result of effectively destroying the Zhi of the kidneys) they also report losing direction in life (a combination of the impact on the eroding of your connection to Ming (your lifepath) and the suppression of the Hun and it's decisive, active quality.) And of course, by strongly impacting the kidneys and liver, the rest of the system is thrown out of balance - so people will often have other weird symptoms.

 

Add in the late nights, excessive media, and junk food consumption that tend to affect chronic users - and you've got a great recipe for a wasted life.

 

Of course, it's fine to destabilise your system once in a while - no long term damage done.

 

But if you come to rely on weed to get you through life, the result is quite a sad deterioration of the light of your spirit.

 

For genuine cultivators, it's best to stay away from weed altogether. And certainly don't confuse the increased awareness of qi while high as something beneficial for cultivation. Just as taking a bunch of steroids is not gonna end well for your sporting career.

[Taomeow]

5 hours ago, freeform said:

I've seen a few people mention cannabis being used to aid cultivation.

 

While I think moderate cannabis use (eaten, not smoked) is fine for most people. For cultivators, it's a recipe for disaster. Especially if used as an aid in cultivation.

 

That must be why 1/3 of all hymns in the Vedas are ecstatic praises of ganja.   

 

While I never used it either recreationally or in conjunction with cultivation, I did use it medicinally during a period of recovery from an eye problem.  It shines in this capacity, nothing else comes close.  The OP asked specifically about relaxing the eyes.  To scare him away, with warning originating in the "war on drugs" unleashed by the pharma (with whose many blessings it competes too successfully in too many cases), the prison complex (for profit) and the general control impulses toward Big Brother deciding for everyone what they can and cannot do with their bodies is, to my mind, unwarranted. 

 

Going back to the OP question: palming is a form of qigong.  It was introduced to the West as part of the Bates method for eyesight improvement, but it originates with a qigong practice of that type (albeit a bit more sophisticated in the original).  It is also very very efficient if practiced diligently.    

[z00se]

Smoking weed, drinking alcohol, working to excess, medicines, bodywork, strength training, qigong, etc, everything all has an effect. Balancing the effect out with something else becomes important. Doing anything to excess can cause problems. But some people are born with an excess in their genetic makeup and so some of these things can help.

 

I think all in all none of it really matters so long as you are enjoying it. When you stop enjoying it change. If your not enjoying something and can't stop doing it, well then you have a problem.

[Earl Grey]

The feel good argument is one I am not a fan of--one can "feel good" taking recreational drugs whether it is a high or a low, but those aren't ever going to be the measure of something being good for someone's health. 

 

"Eating bitter" is one of my favorite approaches, but even then, just because something makes you feel terrible doesn't mean it is working well too.

[freeform]

22 hours ago, Taomeow said:

That must be why 1/3 of all hymns in the Vedas are ecstatic praises of ganja.   

Oh in my travels I’ve come across many a chillum wielding ‘sadhu’ also ecstatically singing the praises of ganja  
 

And lets just say I still stand by my statement.

 

[freeform]

6 hours ago, z00se said:

I think all in all none of it really matters so long as you are enjoying it. When you stop enjoying it change. If your not enjoying something and can't stop doing it, well then you have a problem.

 

 

And just as @Earl Grey says, I also think that’s a very problematic way to look at things.
 

There are many beneficial things that we do which don’t feel good - and lots of terrible things that do make us feel good.

 

I’ve come to learn that how I feel is not particularly important.