Should I open the microcosmic now?

[markern]

I am considering starting to work on opening the microcosmic but I am uncertain if it is the best choice to do it now in terms of safety. The thing is that I have been having quite a lot of trouble with too much energy in my head and crown activity in my meditation lately and I think I need a practice that can help me pull energy down to teh dan tien. However, I think there are some pros and cons to wether working on the microcosmic now is the right move and I need some input from those with experience with the microcosmic.

 

My meditation has been ordinary vipassana and some inner smile so I haven`t been doing anything that works particulary on opening the crown or taking energy to the head. I think the reason why to much energy is going up is that I am too much in my head and to little grounded to begin with so energy naturaly tends to go up without wanting to go down.

 

To some extent my orbit already is open. I can easily feel chi all over my body, activate and move it, I feel energy in my spine easily and to some extent in the front, I have also done a bit of circulating energy in the orbit already and sometimes it and the macrocosmic runs by itself during vipassana. However al though I can get energy up the spine easily it is problematic to get it down the front, especialy from crown to throat, sometimes a good part of the energy escapes the orbit and goes to parts of the body were I don`t want it and even though I can get a part of it to settle in the Dan tien mostly it just starts moving again.

 

The reasons I see for opening the microcosmic is that when I do manage to pull some energy down the front that seems to solve all my head and crown problems. (But since it is not very open and I have trouble keeping the energy down it quickly goes up again so I think I need to work more on this). I also feel very drawn to the orbit and that way of working with energy. I recently started to draw up energy from the feet and that feelt fantastic and increadibly grounding and balancing for me. The way the orbit apears to work with and "create" energy feels so more right for me than yogic pranayama. It just feels like it will balance stuff in me that realy needs balance. I also find the way Michael Winn describes techniques for working with it very apealing.

 

The cons I see come mostly from reading about the orbit on Trunks site. He describes several problems that can occur, criticises some of the ways used to opening it and seems to argue that it does not easily give the effects promised. I realy, realy do not have time for energy imbalances right now but then again the orbit might be the best way for me to avoid them so I am not sure if that is a pro or a con.

 

If I am to open the orbit, how should I do it? Trunk apears to advocate opening the front first from the top down. That apeals to me. I can easily get energy up the back to the crown, the problem is getting it down. Mcihael Winn has a 5 movement qigong sequence that is supposed to make the orbit run by itself but he makes it run up the back first I think.

 

My general health and preperation for doing the orbit is a mixed bag. I have been doing yoga regulary for about 4 years (I even took a month long teacher training this summer) and I have been meditating fairly regularly for 6 months and have experienced quite a bit of bliss and energy in meditation however I have struggled quite a lot with it. Despite in many ways being healthy because of yoga I still have a lot of blocks and psychosomatic tensions, although energeticly open in many ways I am also extreemly blocked in others. My organs are in a realy crappy condition and I have quite large problems with digestion. I have been doing healing sounds regulary for thrre weeks now and keep doing them and mostly also inner smile every day.

 

It seems that holding of on practice does not offer a solution because even if I take breaks the same problems just occurs. For this reason what I am thinking is to work on the orbit and for uite some time exchange vipassana with yoga nidra. Yoga nidra seems to be better for me in the beging because it involves a very thorough body scan that distrubets my awareness evenly over the entire body, it gives a very deep relaxation, I don`t realy do anything other than foolowing the voice on the CD so me fucking it up does not seem to be possible, and very importantly onve I get deep into it I feel streaming sensations from my feet and perinium up but also almost as strong from the head/crown down to the peirnium and soles of the feet. Because of the equal streaming up and down (at the same time) it seems likely that this will eventualy solve my problem with energy just going up and not down.

 

Lastly I wonder if it is in the central channel I am feeling the energy going from root to crown? In meditations it feels like my energy starts to stream from the root chakra throughout the middle of the body and directly to the crown. It does not feel like it is in the spine. The whole Spine vs central channel thing confuses me. On the one hand the spine is the governing channel wich is not the same as the central channel. On the other hand AYPs spinal breathing supposedly puifies the central channel. I do know that the spine is actualy very deep in the body and so if the cnetral channel is more or less on the edge or outside of the spine it could possibly feel like the middel of the body but still it seems to me to be two different things.

 

Any input, especialy from Trunk, would be much apreaciated.

 

By the way I do have an excellent teachet to guide me. He has been a budhist monk and has many years of experience with Chia and Winns stuff. I just want as much input as I can have and I am also a bit worried that he might not be aware enough of problems with the microcosmic beacuse he had such a deep backrgound in vipassana and Tibetan stuff before he started taoist practices that I am guessing he din`t experince much trouble with them.

 

I also find that pressing a couple of accupressure points on the hands and feet that my accupuncturist told me opens the front channel (and the whole orbit?) helps a lot. I wonder why I never read about using that as a technique before. It realy makes things run quite smoothly and naturaly.

Edited January 11, 2009 by markern

[Fire Dragon]

Hello

 

I have been practising mantak chia stufs seense the year 2000. So I have some experince even though only on a beginning or intermidiate level.

 

I say you what I think.

 

I think if you work on microcosmic. Work on the front channel much. If you know all the points. Take energy from your crown to your third eye. Wach the channel by taking the energy forward and backward from the crown to the third eye about nine times. Then go from the third eye to the tongue wach in the same way. Pusch with the tongue quite hard to the pallate point you have choosen, there are three of them from what I know and use. Pusch hard with the tongue at the palate and then after a while just let it softly touch the palate and feel the energy go into the tongue. wach betwean the palate and third eye nine times. Then from palate and tongue to the throught point wach nine times. If you have difficult getting energy down from the tongue do the pushing and soft tongue again. It helps you feel the energy going down. continue throught point to the solar plexus point whach nine times and at least solar plexus to the navel nine times. spiral always 36 times clockwise and then 24 counterclockwise around the navel and then into the dan tien. This washing of the front channel helps open it up and is the only microcosmic orbit you need for a while. After some time when you feel that your problems in the head are better, less energy there. Do some fulll microcosmic orbits.

 

By the way. I think standing qigong is of greate importanse for you. You should do it at least as much as the rest of the energy work you do. Grounding seems to be of greate importance for you. Otherwise you might get problems. Also six healing sounds seems to be right for you. Be carful and not do sexual practises untill you are more grounded.

 

This is what I think.

 

with regards

 

Fire Dragon

[.broken.]

Wow - a lot of uncertainty and questions. Here's my input.

 

I also feel very drawn to the orbit and that way of working with energy.

 

Then do it What feels 'right' is generally what you need to start doing. Intuition knows how to guide your progress more than anything else, imo.

 

I recently started to draw up energy from the feet and that feelt fantastic and increadibly grounding and balancing for me.

 

Keep grounding. It really helps remove excess energy within the upper chakras.

 

If I am to open the orbit, how should I do it?

 

Simply practice. Do your research and make sure you run both yin and yang directions. The orbit usually opens of its own accord as one develops - just like how your macrocosmic orbit runs during your vispassana. But it is possible to train specifically for a desired outcome. Microcosmic orbit meditation helps open the orbit. Do not force it and if you ever have excess energy give it to the earth, with love. Remember to keep the tip of your tongue to the roof of your mouth, esp when attempting to open the front channel.

 

I have quite large problems with digestion.

 

Eat well - fresh seasonal produce, avoid red meats and processed dairy products. Massage your abdomen daily. Drink tulsi tea.

 

very importantly onve I get deep into it I feel streaming sensations from my feet and perinium up but also almost as strong from the head/crown down to the peirnium and soles of the feet.

 

Sounds like your leg channels opening up. Keep at it

 

Lastly I wonder if it is in the central channel I am feeling the energy going from root to crown?

 

Sounds like it. See if you can feel the left and right channels first, then you should be able to discern this for yourself.

 

By the way I do have an excellent teachet to guide me. He has been a budhist monk and has many years of experience with Chia and Winns stuff. I just want as much input as I can have and I am also a bit worried that he might not be aware enough of problems with the microcosmic beacuse he had such a deep backrgound in vipassana and Tibetan stuff before he started taoist practices that I am guessing he din`t experince much trouble with them.

 

Get as much information as possible from different sources. Each source should be based upon experience, and everyone's experiences differ. There is lots of information out there. Stay open minded

 

Yours humbly,

James

[Riyue]

 

To some extent my orbit already is open. I can easily feel chi all over my body, activate and move it, I feel energy in my spine easily and to some extent in the front, I have also done a bit of circulating energy in the orbit already and sometimes it and the macrocosmic runs by itself during vipassana. However al though I can get energy up the spine easily it is problematic to get it down the front, especialy from crown to throat, sometimes a good part of the energy escapes the orbit and goes to parts of the body were I don`t want it and even though I can get a part of it to settle in the Dan tien mostly it just starts moving again.

 

 

If the circuit is open you have no problems..

obviously there is a stop to renmai (front channel)

Try to use magpie bridge - at every breathing out ( switch your tongue from above to below connecting

yin jiao - cheng jiang - thus dumai and renmai

and guide your attention back to dan tian..

qi flows spontaneously -

without doing xiao zho tian and da zhou tian conciously

but if you begin to meditate special regions and points you create stops...

attention shoud circulate in whole circuit during one cycle of breathing - thats what people forget sometimes practising xiao zhou tian, da zhou tian - in focusing special points or areas...

[Anabhogya-Carya]

Opening the microcosm?? Sounds impressive.

[Spiritual_Aspirant]

The best advice I can give is to look for a teacher.

 

In the meantime, if you feel too much energy is in you higher centers, do some physical exercises and then root yourself to the earth. Imagine light coming out of your feet and goes down 20 feet into the ground. Imagine the light becoming roots taking firm hold inside the earth. Do deep abdominal breathing while visualizing this. Feel your connection to the earth. This should ground you and release excess energy down to the earth.

 

As for the microcosmic orbit practice, the most accessible literature I can think of is Mantak Chia's Awakening Healing Energy and Awakening Healing Light of the Tao.

 

But personally I recommend taking Arhatic Yoga (www.arhaticyoga.org). There is a practice taught there that opens the microcosmic orbit in a different but more powerful sequence, this is what I practice (sometimes when I'm not lazy).

 

Good luck.