After doing Deep meditation besides resting isnt it important to store the energy at the dan Tien as when practicing the Microcosmic orbit
thanks
snake,
In the taoist tradition, the answer is yes⦠I donāt know if your doing AYP or taoist internal alchemy, in which the way things are done is a good bit different⦠I know the spinal breathing is somewhat similar to the orbit but they still have major differences⦠In the orbit it is taught that you always center yourself and your energy back in the lower dan tien after completing your practice of the orbitā¦
hope this helps
Hi Thokar,
I am doing AYP but I thought maybe it would be good to settle the energy so it wasnt flying about to much
thanks
Actually, in the oldest known versions of the Small Heavenly Circuit (Tien1 Shao3 Chou1) and the Great Heavenly Circuit (Ta4 Shao3 Chou1), sometimes referrred to by modern authors as āMicrocosmic Orbitā and āMacrocosmic Orbitā, and other non-traditional names , the āchiā begins its circulation from and returns to the perineum, the location of the #1 Points on both the front centerline channel (Jen-Mai) and the back centerline channel (Tu-Mai), but is then collected at the Tan-Tien and distributed from there to other parts of the body for healing of self or others and normal physiological functions, and for martial arts power issuing applications.
Doc
May I ask another energy related question on centering/gathering or expanding/flying around?
Doc, you seem to be well informed on this, perhaps you know something?
When I practice zinheng qi gong, and we have reached a deeper meditative state, we do excercises to āexpand consciousnessā, out to the horison - since we have no limits - and then gather it back to the center of the brain (donāt remember the name of the center). What would that mean in yogic terms?
Whenever I suffer from energy overload in my head or rest of the body I use this technique to ease the pressure. It works fine, but what am I doing in yoga terms? The energy overload is according to the teacher only there because I have an idea of my body being limited. If I understand that my body is an illusion, and let the energies to go all over, expand in all directions - what is there to build the pressure?
On the other hand, as Snake says, if we want to gather the energies and make use of them - why donāt we do it after yoga asanas or deep meditation?
emc:
Whenever a substantial amount of energy is raised to the head and kept there with focused mental attention and intention, localized blood pressure in the neck and head is often elevated. This happens quite commonly because the electromagnetic particles in our blood chemistry are attracted to the movement of our polarized electromagnet energy (chi/ki/prana), also referred to as āintrinsic energyāā¦āvital forceāā¦ānerve currentsāā¦and so forth. This attraction between the blood and the energy causes blood to be circulated and pooled in greater volume wherever the intrinsic energy circulates and collects in greater volume. And although the aim of both Chinese and Indian methods is to raise the vital force upwards to the head, it is important to recycle it back downward as well.
With patience and regular practice, raised energy can and should be led downward again at least as far as the Tan-Tien, as in the āSmall Heavenly Circuitā, and ācenteredā there, approximately at the level of the Navel Center and the Energy Point known as the āSea of Energyā or āChi Haiā(Jen-Mai #6).
At more advanced levels of training, as in the practice of the āGreat Heavenly Circuitā, the energy can also be led downward to the soles of the feet and beyond in order to establish an energetic ārootā connected with the center of the Earth. This serves effectively to electrically āgroundā the energy, thus preventing it from randomly moving upwards toward the chest and head. As this ācenteringā and āgroundingā process is accomplished, whether via correct Chi-Kung or Yoga training, excessive volumes of blood and energy will no longer remain pooled around the neck and head to potentially cause energy overloads, elevated blood pressure, or other undesirable physical effects.
The Chinese methods, especially Taoist methods, favor standing in a fixed posture and yielding to the force of gravity with increasing degrees of relaxation without losing the form of the posture. By contrast, Buddhist and Hindu methods tend to favor seated postures, especially cross legged on a meditation cushion or a folded blanket rather than sitting normally on a chair. These various methods can potentially all produce the same results of āgroundingā the energy downwards from the neck and head.
The importance of incorporating one of these centering and grounding methods, as an integral part of any intrinsic energy practice, is crucial to avoiding potentially serious side effects from the training, and canāt be overstated! Authentic nternal energy training of all kinds definitely has the capability of either healing or harmingā¦depending on how they are practiced! Quality rather than quantity is key to success without internal injury, IMO.
Having extensive personal experience with both Chinese and Indian methods of training, I believe that this is true whether practicing Chi-Kung and Tai-Chi Chuan, Pranayama and Kundalini Yoga, or any other similar types of dynamic energy training.
Regards ~
Doc
In the AYP practice, Iam meditation follows spinal breathing which is followed by a few minutes in the corpse pose⦠An analogy is spinal breathing plows the field, meditation plants the seed, and resting for a few minutes afterwards covers up the seed with some dirt.
So the whole process uses, integrates, and assimilates the spinal breathing energy.
Thereās lots of good stuff about MCO on taobums.com too, but spinal breathing is definitely a distinct practice.
I have been practicing a Chinese method where you stand in a fixed posture, then relax all your muscles. I only do this for very short periods. I sometimes get āthunderboltā type sensations afterwards, as though enerygy is shooting out of my hands or feet. Also, if I cough or sneeze, I get an odd senstion as if I am in danger of sneezing myself out of my own body!!
Is this normal? Is it OK to just ignore these sensations?