Balancing the Left and Right Sides of the Body

[CarsonZi]

Namaste Friends,

 

Yesterday I went for my second Esoteric Acupuncture treatment. First I am going to explain what happened due to the first treatment, then I will explain what happened in yesterdays treatment and ask for suggestions.

 

In my first treatment I went in with no expectations, no physical difficulties, and I basically gave the acupunturist free reign to do what she felt I needed. After a brief time chatting about where I am in my journey, she had me lie on the table and she "scanned" my system for blockages or issues or whatever. She said that my anahatta chakra was not properly balanced and was not spinning correctly. She put a 4 needle pyramid above the chakra on my back and told me to breath in and out a bright white light from inside the pyramid. She left me to continue this exercise for the rest of the session. When it was done I felt really wierd. The only word I could use to describe it at the time was "tense". I felt this tension in varying degrees for four more days after the treatment. On the fourth day during meditation I felt the tension release. The was a major opening and caused some kundalini symptoms I had not had before. The two weeks following that first treatment were intense. Much changed in me, much changed in my circumstances and much changed in my future. I also learned some hard lessons in these two weeks, but they were assimilated well and I felt balanced going into my second treatment.

 

The second treatment was beautiful. I explained to the acupunturist all that had happened in the past two weeks, and the opening I had had. A few days earlier I had actually come to the realization that I could then put words to what had specifically happened due to the first treatment. I now know that the first treatment pulled a lot of tension and emotional baggage from areas they were held in my physical, and subtle bodies and brought them all to a spot in the solar plexus of my subtle body. This was the tension I felt for four days after the initial treatment. Ever since the treatment I have had a much greater ability to "feel" my subtle body and focus on areas within it. What I have noticed because of this, is that I have (since forever as far as I know) been storing negative emotions and karma in my right shoulder and my right hip. I always thought the lack of mobility and flexibility in these two joints was cause by previous sports injuries but I know now that this is not the case. I told the acupuncturist about these two areas and she clued me in to some things I had not really considered before. She told me that the right side of the body is the Yang side and the left side of the body is the Yin side. The yang side corrosponds to the masculine energies and the Yin side corrosponds to the feminine energies. She started putting needles in at this point, starting with my right ear, 1 in the right shoulder spot, 1 in the right hip spot and 1 in the lung spot. (I still have a low lung pulse she said probably due to past years of heavy pot smoking). Then she put one in the Vishuddha chakra. Then one on either side of the spine in the anahatta chakra, and one in the middle of the chakra. She then put one needle in my root chakra right at the base of the coccyx. The next needle really through me for a loop. She put one in the back of my skull in the middle of the chakra just below the bump on the back of the skull. As soon as this needle was in the needle in the coccyx started vibrating intensely hard. I could literally feel the kundalini energy racing from the tailbone to the needle in the back of my head and the pushing foreward to my third eye. I felt the feeling I have had before of there being a "tunnel" from the third eye to the back of the head with wind blowing through the tunnel. This lasted for as long as the needles were in place. Next she put a needle in a spot in my right shoulder. She prodded around for the right spot, finding a small lump deep inside the muscle. She asked if pushing on it hurt, which it didn't. She told me she was going to put a needle in the "bulb". I said "What?" Why would you stick a needle into a bone? She said, "this isn't a bone, this is a tense muscle". I couldn't believe it. The spot she had located was so tight, I thought is was either a bone or a piece of cartilidge or a calcium deposit or something. She assured me it was just a tense muscle. So she put a needle into this spot. This instantly made the right side of my body very actuely palapable. I felt what felt like all my muscle tense up just on the right side of my body. It felt like my hand was closed in a tight fist, yet I knew it wasn't. It made me start to literally vibrate and shake fairly badly. We both assumed this was an obstuction leaving mysystem. The shaking went away after about 5 minutes. She then asked me how I felt and I told her....I felt like the two sides of my body were acutely seperated. Like my spine was the division between the two halves and there was no joining point. She asked me to describe how each of the sides felt. The left side felt cool, and calm, smooth and centered. Flexible and free. The right side felt hot, tense, chaotic, angry etc etc. She explained to me about the yin and yang sides of the body and how she thought it was very interesting how I chose to be born at this time of spiritual transition, but chose to be born in a male body. She said that the majority of spiritual seekers are women and that she found it intriguing that I am in a male body having such feminine energy. She said that I am very much in touch with my feminine side, the soul side, and that I have some issues with my masculinity. I had never really thought about this idea in depth before, though I must admit that thoughts of "I act more like a girl then a boy sometimes" had crossed my mind in the past. (although I blocked them out quite quickly for fear that I may find out I am gay or something, [this is a difficult lifestyle that I would prefer not to live personally]). We talked more about my past, and she had me try to visualize a bridge between the two halves of my body. Once we were done, she put a few "seeds" in my ear spots for me to press randomly throughout the next week or so, and I got dressed feeling absolutely elated. I felt like I floated out of her office and all the way home.

 

Anyways, what I am wondering about is how to go about balancing these two sides of my body. What can I do to become more "in touch" with my masculinity. I have a big problem with male ego, and masculinity, because I feel most guys are so stupid and so "testosteroney" that I want nothing to do with typical Male stuff. What are some exercises that I can do in order to get back in touch with my male energies? Thanks in advance for any suggestions. Sorry this is so long.

 

Love,

Carson

[gendao]

Namaste Friends,

 

Yesterday I went for my second Esoteric Acupuncture treatment. First I am going to explain what happened due to the first treatment, then I will explain what happened in yesterdays treatment and ask for suggestions.

 

In my first treatment I went in with no expectations, no physical difficulties, and I basically gave the acupunturist free reign to do what she felt I needed. After a brief time chatting about where I am in my journey, she had me lie on the table and she "scanned" my system for blockages or issues or whatever. She said that my anahatta chakra was not properly balanced and was not spinning correctly. She put a 4 needle pyramid above the chakra on my back and told me to breath in and out a bright white light from inside the pyramid. She left me to continue this exercise for the rest of the session. When it was done I felt really wierd. The only word I could use to describe it at the time was "tense". I felt this tension in varying degrees for four more days after the treatment. On the fourth day during meditation I felt the tension release. The was a major opening and caused some kundalini symptoms I had not had before. The two weeks following that first treatment were intense. Much changed in me, much changed in my circumstances and much changed in my future. I also learned some hard lessons in these two weeks, but they were assimilated well and I felt balanced going into my second treatment.

 

The second treatment was beautiful. I explained to the acupunturist all that had happened in the past two weeks, and the opening I had had. A few days earlier I had actually come to the realization that I could then put words to what had specifically happened due to the first treatment. I now know that the first treatment pulled a lot of tension and emotional baggage from areas they were held in my physical, and subtle bodies and brought them all to a spot in the solar plexus of my subtle body. This was the tension I felt for four days after the initial treatment. Ever since the treatment I have had a much greater ability to "feel" my subtle body and focus on areas within it. What I have noticed because of this, is that I have (since forever as far as I know) been storing negative emotions and karma in my right shoulder and my right hip. I always thought the lack of mobility and flexibility in these two joints was cause by previous sports injuries but I know now that this is not the case. I told the acupuncturist about these two areas and she clued me in to some things I had not really considered before. She told me that the right side of the body is the Yang side and the left side of the body is the Yin side. The yang side corrosponds to the masculine energies and the Yin side corrosponds to the feminine energies. She started putting needles in at this point, starting with my right ear, 1 in the right shoulder spot, 1 in the right hip spot and 1 in the lung spot. (I still have a low lung pulse she said probably due to past years of heavy pot smoking). Then she put one in the Vishuddha chakra. Then one on either side of the spine in the anahatta chakra, and one in the middle of the chakra. She then put one needle in my root chakra right at the base of the coccyx. The next needle really through me for a loop. She put one in the back of my skull in the middle of the chakra just below the bump on the back of the skull. As soon as this needle was in the needle in the coccyx started vibrating intensely hard. I could literally feel the kundalini energy racing from the tailbone to the needle in the back of my head and the pushing foreward to my third eye. I felt the feeling I have had before of there being a "tunnel" from the third eye to the back of the head with wind blowing through the tunnel. This lasted for as long as the needles were in place. Next she put a needle in a spot in my right shoulder. She prodded around for the right spot, finding a small lump deep inside the muscle. She asked if pushing on it hurt, which it didn't. She told me she was going to put a needle in the "bulb". I said "What?" Why would you stick a needle into a bone? She said, "this isn't a bone, this is a tense muscle". I couldn't believe it. The spot she had located was so tight, I thought is was either a bone or a piece of cartilidge or a calcium deposit or something. She assured me it was just a tense muscle. So she put a needle into this spot. This instantly made the right side of my body very actuely palapable. I felt what felt like all my muscle tense up just on the right side of my body. It felt like my hand was closed in a tight fist, yet I knew it wasn't. It made me start to literally vibrate and shake fairly badly. We both assumed this was an obstuction leaving mysystem. The shaking went away after about 5 minutes. She then asked me how I felt and I told her....I felt like the two sides of my body were acutely seperated. Like my spine was the division between the two halves and there was no joining point. She asked me to describe how each of the sides felt. The left side felt cool, and calm, smooth and centered. Flexible and free. The right side felt hot, tense, chaotic, angry etc etc. She explained to me about the yin and yang sides of the body and how she thought it was very interesting how I chose to be born at this time of spiritual transition, but chose to be born in a male body. She said that the majority of spiritual seekers are women and that she found it intriguing that I am in a male body having such feminine energy. She said that I am very much in touch with my feminine side, the soul side, and that I have some issues with my masculinity. I had never really thought about this idea in depth before, though I must admit that thoughts of "I act more like a girl then a boy sometimes" had crossed my mind in the past. (although I blocked them out quite quickly for fear that I may find out I am gay or something, [this is a difficult lifestyle that I would prefer not to live personally]). We talked more about my past, and she had me try to visualize a bridge between the two halves of my body. Once we were done, she put a few "seeds" in my ear spots for me to press randomly throughout the next week or so, and I got dressed feeling absolutely elated. I felt like I floated out of her office and all the way home.

 

Anyways, what I am wondering about is how to go about balancing these two sides of my body. What can I do to become more "in touch" with my masculinity. I have a big problem with male ego, and masculinity, because I feel most guys are so stupid and so "testosteroney" that I want nothing to do with typical Male stuff. What are some exercises that I can do in order to get back in touch with my male energies? Thanks in advance for any suggestions. Sorry this is so long.

 

Love,

Carson

Wow, cool sessions! Is there a site for esoteric acupuncture? Sounds like something I'd like to try out...

 

What do you mean by seeds in your ear, tho?

 

Anyhow, it's not easy being a man in the feminist era. We've been brainwashed and guilt-tripped into essentially hating ourselves - or our masculine selves. As a result, it's easy to attempt to disassociate that side out of shame and to fit in.

v5hvl0I1DuY

It personally took me several years of researching all the anti-male propaganda (via PU & MRAs) to finally wake up and learn to stand my own ground as a man. Ironically, something that women innately want in men anyways. Then I kind of went off in that extreme for a while, but have now gradually found the Middle Way through that with a more balanced centering.

Thing is, everything has 2 sides...and if you only choose to see 1 than that is your own confirmation bias. Like, you think ego and stupidity is only with men? Uh, ever heard of Britney Spears, Paris Hilton, Lindsay Lohan, Octomom, Miley Cyrus, Amy Winehouse, etc? These are your typical "All-American" Disney role models for girls today. But, do you really think they are less egotistical or smarter than their "beer-guzzling" male Hollywood peers?

[CarsonZi]

Namaste Vortex and thanks for your input!

Wow, cool sessions! Is there a site for esoteric acupuncture? Sounds like something I'd like to try out...

I don't know about there being a site for Esoteric Acupuncture, but from what I understand, TCM follows the "meridians" in the body and acupuncture is usually done using these as guides. Esoteric acupuncture is acupuncture based on the Indian chakra system and not on the Chinese meridian system. I have very little knowledge of acupuncture though so if I am incorrect I hope someone will say so. This is my understanding of it though.

What do you mean by seeds in your ear, tho?

"Seeds" as my acupuncturist called them (don't know if there is another name or not) are basically a small square bandaid with a small "seed" shaped piece of plastic in it. It is placed in specific locations so that when pushed on it creates a similar effect to having a needle in that same spot.

Anyhow, it's not easy being a man in the feminist era. We've been brainwashed and guilt-tripped into essentially hating ourselves - or our masculine selves. As a result, it's easy to attempt to disassociate that side out of shame and to fit in.

v5hvl0I1DuY

I think as a child, being constantly ridiculed as not being tough, and having to "become" tough, put me where I am at today. I felt de-masculinated in many situations. I was taught by my parents not to fight, but to "turn the other cheek" and in some situations I literally did this. Now I don't know if that was the best idea or not. Later in life I turned into a real fighter and would actually go looking for fights just to make myself appear manly. Not to mention the fact that I tattooed most of my body in order too look tough and scary. All overcompensating for feeling feminine inside I'm sure. (ps. I can't see youtube videos on my work computer due to a "smartfilter", so I don't know what that video was of, sorry)

It personally took me several years of researching all the anti-male propaganda (via PU & MRAs) to finally wake up and learn to stand my own ground as a man.

"via PU & MRAs"? Sorry, don't know these abbreviations.

Ironically, something that women innately want in men anyways. Then I kind of went off in that extreme for a while, but have now gradually found the Middle Way through that with a more balanced centering.

Was there anything in particular that you did to find your way back to a balance of the two energies?

Sorry, can't see the image either as my filter says it contains nudity. Annoying.

Thing is, everything has 2 sides...and if you only choose to see 1 than that is your own confirmation bias. Like, you think ego and stupidity is only with men? Uh, ever heard of Britney Spears, Paris Hilton, Lindsay Lohan, Octomom, Miley Cyrus, Amy Winehouse, etc? These are your typical "All-American" Disney role models for girls today. But, do you really think they are less egotistical or smarter than their "beer-guzzling" male Hollywood peers?

Haha. No that was not what I was meaning....haha. Yes there are dumb women out there too of course. The point I was trying to make was that I have a particular aversion to Male oriented things now because I find them very "non-spiritual". Not that dolling oneself up as a hooker is any more spiritual, just that women in general seem to me more connected to the divine then males. (in general) You are right though. This is an unbalanced perspective and this needs to be corrected. Any idea how to go about doing that?

 

Love,

Carson

[Gats]

 

Anyways, what I am wondering about is how to go about balancing these two sides of my body. What can I do to become more "in touch" with my masculinity. I have a big problem with male ego, and masculinity, because I feel most guys are so stupid and so "testosteroney" that I want nothing to do with typical Male stuff. What are some exercises that I can do in order to get back in touch with my male energies? Thanks in advance for any suggestions. Sorry this is so long.

 

Love,

Carson

 

Hi Carson,

 

I resonate with much of what you're talking about here... going through much of same throughout my life.

 

Some preliminary ideas I've come across have much to do with archetypes. There are both light and dark sides to masc and fem. What I've learned to do is focus on the positive masc traits (more mature masc energy rather than immature manifestations like stubbornness and combativeness, etc) and develop those qualities. Things like courage, strength, decisiveness, confidence, skill, responsibility... When you can embody these qualities, you'll likely become very secure in your masculinity It also takes much introspection to realize the root of your insecurities on a deep level. A lot of issues can be from the suppression of fem energy... it takes a lot of strength to allow it to flow freely, especially for a male.

 

2 books that have been considerably helpful to me:

 

King, Warrior, Magician, Lover: Rediscovering the Archetypes of the Mature Masculine by Robert Moore and Douglas Gillette

 

Way of the Superior Man by David Deida

 

 

Andrew

[CarsonZi]

Hi Gats, and thank you very much for your post.

Some preliminary ideas I've come across have much to do with archetypes. There are both light and dark sides to masc and fem. What I've learned to do is focus on the positive masc traits (more mature masc energy rather than immature manifestations like stubbornness and combativeness, etc) and develop those qualities. Things like courage, strength, decisiveness, confidence, skill, responsibility... When you can embody these qualities, you'll likely become very secure in your masculinity

Nice. I like this very much and it resonates strongly with me. In talking with my acupuncturist yesterday I came to realize that I reject much of the Masculine because I don't feel the "love" from this "side" of me. I have become deeply attached (for lack of a better word) to the divine outpouring love that has recently manifested itself in my life, and I feel that this is rooted in my feminine side. I need to learn that there is a loving male aspect as well and it comes from the virtues that you mentioned above. I will try very hard to focus on the postive masculine aspects of myself from now on and stop trying to supress it all.

It also takes much introspection to realize the root of your insecurities on a deep level. A lot of issues can be from the suppression of fem energy... it takes a lot of strength to allow it to flow freely, especially for a male.

Well I have no problems going into deep introspection, in fact I probably actually HAVE a problem with responding to most situations by running to Self Inquiry. And I don't think I suppress my feminine energy, I think I supress my masculine energy and in this way I am the opposite of most guys. This is how I instinctually feel and what the acupuncturist picked up on as well.

2 books that have been considerably helpful to me:

King, Warrior, Magician, Lover: Rediscovering the Archetypes of the Mature Masculine by Robert Moore and Douglas Gillette

Way of the Superior Man by David Deida

Thank you very much for these suggestions. I will run out and pick them both up later today when I am off work. I greatly appreciate the suggestions and the input.

 

Love,

Carson

[markern]

Nice to see you over here CarsonZi!

 

I can personaly relate to several of the things you write about. Both the halves of the body and the masculnity thing.

 

Alternate nostril breathing is supposed to balance the two sides very directly. In my expereince bodyscanning that ends up in feeling the whole body as one, as one cell, also does a lot for this. As for getting in contact with a positive masculnity I would think that a martial art, especialy one that also focuses a bit on ethics, some sort good warrior ethos and possibly even spirituality, could be very beneficial.

 

I think there is a book called Iron John that is supposed to deal well with these things.

 

There are a lot of boards, articles and other material on line dealing with such issues regarding masculinity as they are very common so if you google a bit you are bound to find something usefull.

 

I will get back to you if anything else comes to mind. I think these are important topics.

[gendao]

Haha. No that was not what I was meaning....haha. Yes there are dumb women out there too of course. The point I was trying to make was that I have a particular aversion to Male oriented things now because I find them very "non-spiritual". Not that dolling oneself up as a hooker is any more spiritual, just that women in general seem to me more connected to the divine then males. (in general) You are right though. This is an unbalanced perspective and this needs to be corrected. Any idea how to go about doing that?

Hmm, cool concept about the chakra acupuncture. I'd love to try it.

 

Well, sometimes you have to explore both extremes to find the middle.

 

With you, it sounds like you were naturally more feminine at first, so overcompensated with too much machismo. Eventually, that didn't work out so now you're swinging back to your feminine, but perhaps overshooting here now too. But now, you're ready for another swing back closer to zeroing out.

 

I think the key here is to find and integrate the positive aspects to both halves. At first, you fled the "weakness" of femininity. Now, you still reject the "homo" aspect, but have come to embrace the sensitive spiritual side. Likewise, prior you explored the "abusive" chest-thumping side of masculinity - which you now reject. So, what I think you need to do is explore the positive masculine aspects and then integrate that with your positive feminine traits.

 

So, what are some good masculine traits - that help balance out female traits? Why are we here? What are we good for? Why do women need us? What happens when there's too many women but not enough men?

[Gats]

Hi Gats, and thank you very much for your post.

 

Nice. I like this very much and it resonates strongly with me. In talking with my acupuncturist yesterday I came to realize that I reject much of the Masculine because I don't feel the "love" from this "side" of me. I have become deeply attached (for lack of a better word) to the divine outpouring love that has recently manifested itself in my life, and I feel that this is rooted in my feminine side. I need to learn that there is a loving male aspect as well and it comes from the virtues that you mentioned above. I will try very hard to focus on the postive masculine aspects of myself from now on and stop trying to supress it all.

 

Well I have no problems going into deep introspection, in fact I probably actually HAVE a problem with responding to most situations by running to Self Inquiry. And I don't think I suppress my feminine energy, I think I supress my masculine energy and in this way I am the opposite of most guys. This is how I instinctually feel and what the acupuncturist picked up on as well.

 

Thank you very much for these suggestions. I will run out and pick them both up later today when I am off work. I greatly appreciate the suggestions and the input.

 

Love,

Carson

Hi Carson,

 

I'm glad it was helpful

 

It's definitely an ongoing process... personally and collectively. I believe the patriarchy is in decline and along with it distorted ideals of what it means to be a man and a woman and also changing our relationship to Creation altogether. To me, the more in harmony we are with nature, the healthier are our expressions of Being. Right now we are not living in harmony with nature (obviously) but I'm optimistic we're moving in the right direction

[rain]

Carson

 

Hi Carson. I'm much impressed with level of work, sensitivity and insight. im a woman and I have issues at the left side. issues all over to be honest (sounds like a confession at AA ) It sounds wise to keep up exactly the work u do plus emtiness meditation with mudras that ensures an energetic loving connection btw your two body halves. some daily exercise like medical nei qi gong stimulates both sides. seems you have found the acutherapist to cooperate with. so why not just continue down this path, it seems challenging enough. there are daily exercises like simple medical neiqigong that stimulates both sides. the hands connected are a powerful tool. in the neigong the effects of exercises differs slightly when we place our folded hands either in front of upperheart/collarbon area , solar plexus or lower dan tien, fex. apropos your and your therapists awareness of your chackras.

Edited March 18, 2009 by rain

[Ian]

Interesting thread, thank you.

 

Very hard to find positive male attributes/qualities.

 

We live in a raging sea of false yang. Explosiveness, aggression, dominating the environment, exploiting the female, etc etc.

 

A frightening number of women now display false yang attributes also, so pervasive is it. And then a lot of men feel they have to get even more false yang in order to have the yang advantage. Sadly a lot of so-called male empowerment degenerates into pick-up technques based on this principle.

 

It makes a change from men going all false yin ("Am I ok, dear? Is my behaviour 100% acceptable? Please tell me it is...") but it's still a bunch of arse, in my opinion.

 

True Yang? Hmmm. Being self-contained, not being distracted. Staying true to one's purpose. Being open honest, unembarrassed. Speaking one's truth, non-confrontationally, but clearly.

 

That sort of thing. Just a very basic outline. I'm very keen to hear further ideas.

 

And secondly, yes this acupuncture sounds great. Usually anything with "esoteric" in it make me shudder and run away, but this sounds good. I expect it varies a lot with the practitioner and what they can perceive. If your practitioner can recommend anyone in the UK, I'd love to hear about it.

 

And for balancing the sides of body, I don't know much, but there are many exercises using both eyes together. I'd also suggest feldenkrais-y things where one opens both hands at once.

 

Good luck,

Ian

[三江源]

hi CarsonZi.

 

we all have 'imbalance' between left and right.. for myself, my left side has a tendency to go to sleep and feels utterly dominated by my right side...

 

it is actually quite funny that we somehow expect to be 'symmetrical' .. when in fact we are more the way Picasso painted us.

 

I dont know if you are interested in Qigong. There is a very simple form taught by Michael Winn called 'gods play in the cauldron of original chi' which does exactly this job of balancing our left and right. It is an easily learnable and do-able form.

 

Tai Chi does it, too.

 

it is, of course, something like training the abs..ie. if you stop doing it... it stops working..

[markern]

Kinesis Myofascial Integration, Structural Muscle THerapy and Kranio-Sacral Therapy are all rolfing based techniques that aim at getting the whole structure of the body and particulary the fascia back in to balance and symmetry. This in turn creates the right energetic and emotional flows and dissolves a lot of tension and trauma and locked emotions. It also gives a lot of vitality, concentration, general health, more happiness etc. etc. I would recommend this to anyone regardless of particular issues but it should do quite a lot for balancing the sides of the body in particular. I have just had my first session wich was inreadibly beneficial and deeply relaxing but from what I hear and read all of these three gives great results for most people.

 

Robert Bly is the author of Iron John but as I said I don`t know if it is actualy any good but it is a classic within the field of masculnity in modern society.

 

Since yoga already is your moving practice it might be better to find something within yoga to do this job. I am certain there are some stuff within the Kundalini yoga tradition you are currently exploring but I am also certain htere must be some good Iyengar sequences that does this as well. You could probably find one online.

Edited March 18, 2009 by markern

[三江源]

Robert Bly is really good, btw.

[CarsonZi]

Namaste Markern!

Nice to see you over here CarsonZi!

Nice to see you here as well!

Alternate nostril breathing is supposed to balance the two sides very directly.

Yes, this was suggested to me at the AYP forum as well. There have been many that suggest any practice that works the "middle" channel of the body. Alternate nostril breathing being one such practice. I do not have a lot of experience with this practice as I usually do AYP style pranayam and I usually have one nostril that is more plugged than the other, but I am definitely going to give this a go. It has so far been the most suggested solution.

In my expereince bodyscanning that ends up in feeling the whole body as one, as one cell, also does a lot for this.

Can you explain this in a bit more detail if you dont' mind? I have never heard of this before. I know what body scanning is, but have never had it end up in feeling as if the entire body is one cell. Only ever had that feeling on ayahausca.

As for getting in contact with a positive masculnity I would think that a martial art, especialy one that also focuses a bit on ethics, some sort good warrior ethos and possibly even spirituality, could be very beneficial.

Yes, I like this idea. I don't have a lot of spare time these days, but I think I will look into a few of the martial arts that I feel a connection to and see if I can find a decent place to learn in my area. Thanks for this suggestion.

I think there is a book called Iron John that is supposed to deal well with these things.

Second person to suggest this book to me so far. Obviously a good one. I will pick it up. Thanks for the input!

 

Love,

Carson

[CarsonZi]

Namaste Vortex...

Hmm, cool concept about the chakra acupuncture. I'd love to try it.

Yes, I found that this style of acupuncture resonated much deeper with me then the TCM style. To each their own, but acupuncture based on the chakra system seems to have great effects on my overall well-being. Only have minor experience with TCM acupuncture though so I am speaking from a place of relatively little personal experience. Take it with a grain of salt.

Well, sometimes you have to explore both extremes to find the middle.

Very wise words.

With you, it sounds like you were naturally more feminine at first, so overcompensated with too much machismo. Eventually, that didn't work out so now you're swinging back to your feminine, but perhaps overshooting here now too. But now, you're ready for another swing back closer to zeroing out.

I don't think you could have hit the nail on the head any harder. This is exactly how I feel my life has progressed. I was born more feminine in nature I think, but my father was very much the opposite and I was the first born so he really wanted to have that male connection with me. He put me in hockey at the age of 4, (until I quit to snowboard for a living at 15) and this is where I started to have issues I think. All the other guys were more "macho" then I, and I felt very alienated due to this I think. I'd end up having to seriously overcompensate by picking fights, and being aggressive, trying to show off how manly I was. Eventually I ended up getting into meditation and yoga, and the false layers started to peal away revealing the more feminine inner self again. And I allowed myself to stay here for some time, not having any desire to go back to being a typical male. Recently though, through a few outrageous situations, I came to realize that I feel deeply disconnected from my masculinity and I need to balance the two "sides" better. This is where I am at today.

I think the key here is to find and integrate the positive aspects to both halves. At first, you fled the "weakness" of femininity. Now, you still reject the "homo" aspect, but have come to embrace the sensitive spiritual side. Likewise, prior you explored the "abusive" chest-thumping side of masculinity - which you now reject. So, what I think you need to do is explore the positive masculine aspects and then integrate that with your positive feminine traits.

Yes...it seems that this is the only area I have yet to really explore. Didn't really realize that there WAS a positive aspect to masculinity until having this acupuncture treatment on Monday. Now I feel as if a whole new area of existence has been shown to me and I am excited to learn and discover more about it.

So, what are some good masculine traits - that help balance out female traits?

Compassionately decisive? Lovingly honest? I don't know really. Still inquiring into this I guess.

Why are we here? What are we good for? Why do women need us? What happens when there's too many women but not enough men?

All great questions, but I really have little for anwers at this point. Thank you for all the food for thought. Much love.

 

Love,

Carson

[CarsonZi]

Namaste rain...

I'm much impressed with level of work, sensitivity and insight. im a woman and I have issues at the left side. issues all over to be honest (sounds like a confession at AA )

Hahaha.

It sounds wise to keep up exactly the work u do plus emtiness meditation with mudras that ensures an energetic loving connection btw your two body halves.

Yes my twice daily sadhana is quite extensive, including Deep Meditation, pranayam, mudras and bandhas, samyama and more. And I have decided as well that instead of sitting for my practices with my hands in gyan mudra, that I will use dhyana mudra or another mudra with the hands together instead. Already I have noticed a difference in the energy flow from this.

some daily exercise like medical nei qi gong stimulates both sides.

Unfortunately I know very little about nei qi gong, qi gong or any of the "gongs" really. I will have to dedicate some time to researching more about these practices.

seems you have found the acutherapist to cooperate with.

Oh yes. She is AMAZING. Here is a link to her picture. (she's the bottom photo.)http://chirozone.ca/practitioners.htm

You can feel her energy radiating even through just the picture. She is an intense woman and the type of person where words are a mere formality as the silence speaks volumes more then anything we say to each other.

so why not just continue down this path, it seems challenging enough. there are daily exercises like simple medical neiqigong that stimulates both sides. the hands connected are a powerful tool. in the neigong the effects of exercises differs slightly when we place our folded hands either in front of upperheart/collarbon area , solar plexus or lower dan tien, fex. apropos your and your therapists awareness of your chackras.

Thank you for the wonderful suggestions. There are a few movements in the Kundalini Yoga tradition that sound like they are similar to what you are talking about. Even just quickly rubbing the hands against each in other in front of the heart will likely help it sounds like. Thank you for taking the time to give me your input. Muchly appreciated.

 

Love,

Carson

[CarsonZi]

Namaste Ian!

Interesting thread, thank you.

Haha, you're welcome I guess...

Very hard to find positive male attributes/qualities.

Yes, very much so. I still am having a hard time thinking of more then two.

We live in a raging sea of false yang. Explosiveness, aggression, dominating the environment, exploiting the female, etc etc.

Hell yeah. Ever watch UFC? Or porn? haha. These things make me sick to my stomache likely the way it would for many women. (I'm such a girl )

A frightening number of women now display false yang attributes also, so pervasive is it. And then a lot of men feel they have to get even more false yang in order to have the yang advantage. Sadly a lot of so-called male empowerment degenerates into pick-up technques based on this principle.

Yes I see this the same as you. I agree in equality between the sexes but I think the whole feminism thing got ridiculously out of hand.

It makes a change from men going all false yin ("Am I ok, dear? Is my behaviour 100% acceptable? Please tell me it is...") but it's still a bunch of arse, in my opinion.

Yes I see this too. I am as bad as anyone else. This situation definitely aids in creating self-conscious men with low self-esteem and significantly lower confidence levels I think.

True Yang? Hmmm. Being self-contained, not being distracted. Staying true to one's purpose. Being open honest, unembarrassed. Speaking one's truth, non-confrontationally, but clearly.

Hmmmm.....unembarrassed....yes. I like that. A good list for sure.

And secondly, yes this acupuncture sounds great. Usually anything with "esoteric" in it make me shudder and run away, but this sounds good. I expect it varies a lot with the practitioner and what they can perceive. If your practitioner can recommend anyone in the UK, I'd love to hear about it.

Yeah I hear you on the esoteric thing. But this style of acupuncture is amazing IMO. Words are always lacking.

I gave a link to her (the acupuncturists) website in my response to Rain, and if you send her an email, I'm sure she can tell you of anyone she knows in the UK. Just tell her that you got her info from Carson and she will help you out I'm sure.

And for balancing the sides of body, I don't know much, but there are many exercises using both eyes together. I'd also suggest feldenkrais-y things where one opens both hands at once.

Well, I actively use Sambhavi mudra in my daily sadhana so perhaps this will help me balance. Thanks for the input!

 

Love,

Carson

[CarsonZi]

Namaste Cat...

we all have 'imbalance' between left and right.. for myself, my left side has a tendency to go to sleep and feels utterly dominated by my right side...

Yes I have come to realize that this is common. I just never realized that until having this particular acupuncture session. I knew I had physical issues with my right shoulder and hip, but I always thought this was a sports injury related thing and not a spiritual and emotional reaction to life stressors. But now that I understand why I have this tension in these areas I realize that this is normal. Now it's just a matter of releasing the tension and balancing the yin and yang aspects of the body I guess.

it is actually quite funny that we somehow expect to be 'symmetrical' .. when in fact we are more the way Picasso painted us.

Do you think we are born assymetrical? Or are we born imbalanced? Those who are self realized are balanced I assume right? So maybe it isn't that we "expect" to be symmetrical as much as we

"long" for it?

I dont know if you are interested in Qigong. There is a very simple form taught by Michael Winn called 'gods play in the cauldron of original chi' which does exactly this job of balancing our left and right. It is an easily learnable and do-able form.

I do not currently practice qigong, but yes, I am interested in it. I didn't really know where to begin though. I will look into Mr. Winn. Thank you.

Tai Chi does it, too.

Never taken a tai chi class, but have had some tai chi like spontaneous movements happen over the past few months. Perhaps an indication I should persue further.

it is, of course, something like training the abs..ie. if you stop doing it... it stops working..

Like everything else. Persisitance is key. Thank you for your input and your suggestions.

 

Love,

Carson

[CarsonZi]

Hello again Markern my friend...

Kinesis Myofascial Integration, Structural Muscle THerapy and Kranio-Sacral Therapy are all rolfing based techniques that aim at getting the whole structure of the body and particulary the fascia back in to balance and symmetry.

Well, I had never heard of any of these until just now. I googled "rolfing" as I had no idea what this was. After reading about Ida Rolf and her ideas I am VERY intrigued. I will look deeper into this as it sounds very interesting. Thank you for introducing me to this. Much appreciated!

This in turn creates the right energetic and emotional flows and dissolves a lot of tension and trauma and locked emotions. It also gives a lot of vitality, concentration, general health, more happiness etc. etc. I would recommend this to anyone regardless of particular issues but it should do quite a lot for balancing the sides of the body in particular. I have just had my first session wich was inreadibly beneficial and deeply relaxing but from what I hear and read all of these three gives great results for most people.

In your opinion is there a possibility of overload symptoms in combining these techinques with a regular sadhana like mine?

Robert Bly is the author of Iron John but as I said I don`t know if it is actualy any good but it is a classic within the field of masculnity in modern society.

Yes I have had a few people suggest this book to me now. Sounds like it is worth picking up for sure. Thank you.

Since yoga already is your moving practice it might be better to find something within yoga to do this job. I am certain there are some stuff within the Kundalini yoga tradition you are currently exploring but I am also certain htere must be some good Iyengar sequences that does this as well. You could probably find one online.

Yes, I don't want to mix practices as much as possible. A stable well researched practice set is important to me as I have been a "guineau pig" in the past and prefer to let someone else have this title these days . Thank you for all the wonderfully helpful suggestions.

 

Love,

Carson

[三江源]

Namaste Cat...

 

Do you think we are born assymetrical? Or are we born imbalanced? Those who are self realized are balanced I assume right? So maybe it isn't that we "expect" to be symmetrical as much as we

"long" for it?

.

 

Love,

Carson

 

I do think we are born without symmetry in the sense we are speaking of , yes. It's a personal response purely, based on meeting lots of babies. I think we come in with karma, inherited, and our own fate written in our bodies as well as our psyche's.

 

I think we may well expect to be born symmetrical, or in balance, if we hold the belief that we dont arrive loaded with baggage already.

 

I am pondering if it possible to be assymetrical, and also in balance. It sounds contradictory, but I'm not sure at all. It is to do with layers. One could be balanced on some layers, and assymetrical on others.

 

Not that this is remotely useful of me.

 

Where's the door, again?

[markern]

Hello again Markern my friend...

 

Well, I had never heard of any of these until just now. I googled "rolfing" as I had no idea what this was. After reading about Ida Rolf and her ideas I am VERY intrigued. I will look deeper into this as it sounds very interesting. Thank you for introducing me to this. Much appreciated!

 

In your opinion is there a possibility of overload symptoms in combining these techinques with a regular sadhana like mine?

 

Yes I have had a few people suggest this book to me now. Sounds like it is worth picking up for sure. Thank you.

 

Yes, I don't want to mix practices as much as possible. A stable well researched practice set is important to me as I have been a "guineau pig" in the past and prefer to let someone else have this title these days . Thank you for all the wonderfully helpful suggestions.

 

Love,

Carson

 

We are definitively born with certain asymetries. My left side is slightly bigger than my right and that is quite common. Often one foot is slightly bigger than the other or one breast bigger than another and it is naturaly not a lot that can be done about that. But a lot of stuff is from our lives as we live them.

 

I`ve only had one session so I don`t have personal experience and I haven`t read about these practices from the perspective of someone with a practice as intense as AYP. What I don know is that these treatments are frequently undertaken by yogis. I know of several yoga teachers that have done it and some are even certified to do them on others. What I think myself is that it could very well lead to huge openings, emotionaly and energeticly and that can become to much if you are already getting a lot of that from the accupuncture and from your practice. In the long term there should be no problem in doing these treatments along side your practice but perhaps not in an otherwise unstable phase. Maybe you should finsih of with the accupuncture first.

 

If you want a stable well researched practice you can not get much better than a sequence by Iyengar or one made by an advanced Iyengar teacher. Iyengar sequences are always very, very balanced and safe. More so than I have found in any other system of yoga. If you find a sequence aimed at left right balance that will go a long way to solving your problem.

[markern]

Hi CarZonsi!

 

What I mean by bodyscanning is just going through all of the body with awareness in a systematic way. Feel your fhumb, your index finger, etc, whole hand, lower arm etc. after going through all of it you can do stuff like feel the entire leg, entire arm, both arms legs at same time etc. I find the best thing for me is the prat where I feel the entire left side, than the entire right side, the entire back side, entire front side, then the feet, genitals, top of the head and then entire body. Read another place you do yoga nidra and it is through yoga nidra that I do bodyscanning so perhaps you laready get it there?

[CarsonZi]

Hi maRkeRn;)

Hi CarZonsi!

 

What I mean by bodyscanning is just going through all of the body with awareness in a systematic way. Feel your fhumb, your index finger, etc, whole hand, lower arm etc. after going through all of it you can do stuff like feel the entire leg, entire arm, both arms legs at same time etc. I find the best thing for me is the prat where I feel the entire left side, than the entire right side, the entire back side, entire front side, then the feet, genitals, top of the head and then entire body. Read another place you do yoga nidra and it is through yoga nidra that I do bodyscanning so perhaps you laready get it there?

 

Yes I currently practice Yoga Nidra when falling asleep. I never get all the way through it though. I usually end up in lucid dreaming state before I ever finish. But I don't do it from left to right or right to left, but instead from bottom to top. Toes to crown. Don't know if this helps to balance the Masculine and Feminine aspects but I always sleep great and I usually have wickedly vivid and instructional dreams.

 

Lots of Love,

Carson

[gendao]

Yes...it seems that this is the only area I have yet to really explore. Didn't really realize that there WAS a positive aspect to masculinity until having this acupuncture treatment on Monday. Now I feel as if a whole new area of existence has been shown to me and I am excited to learn and discover more about it.

Here's a great little video on demasculinized boys rediscovering our manhood. The "Gender Reckoning" quiz near the end is really good.

 

His examples are sort of petty, compared to the more archetypical definitions of masculine & feminine, like by David "Deida"...but his basic exercise is still a good one to help you balance your perceptions.

Because a lot of nice guys actually fall into the trap of wishing that they were women, in an emotionally-indulgent sort of way. They identify more with women because they relate and get along better with women.

I think if someone is really balanced, they will have a good balance of both male & female friends.

 

And thing is, a lot of women keep telling me how they actually crave the archetypical masculine in men, that has now unfortunately been guilt-tripped out of modernized men by feminism. And without it, sadly neither the man nor woman can realize their full potentials together.