Before beginning AYP, I did some Chinese qigong-type exercise related to martial arts.
One practice I attempted to teach myself without much success, but which I’ve periodically come back to over the years is “iron body.” So-called “iron body” practices are more than just toughening up the physical body to take blows without pain/less damage, though that is the martial application; rather, they seem to be a kind of purifying practice that involves drawing on sexual energy/kundalini to strengthen the full body connection (something like full-body mudra) of the nerves, muscles, fascia, etc. at a subtle level.
There are 3-4 basic elements of “iron body” systems I have seen (I am using Sanskrit/Yoga terms where I find they overlap with the practices because they may be more familiar to AYP practitioners and I don’t always know an equivalent Chinese term):
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Brahmacharya: it is generally strongly recommended by iron body teachers to avoid orgasm during a period of iron body training. A common recommendation is 100 days of abstinence for a 100-day course of iron body training, followed by e.g., a 3-month break.
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Mulabandha-like techniques for “drawing up” sexual energy: the iron body systems I have seen generally all involve some kind of “lifting” of the pelvic area, like mulabandha or, for male practitioners, intentionally lifting and holding the testicles in a high position while adopting a horse stance, sometimes paired with e.g., shambhavi. In more extreme practices, actual weights are tied around the genitals and suspended there (or, for female practitioners, suspended from a kind of “jade egg” held within the vagina), presumably with the goal of strengthening the ability to pull up against such weight. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND AGAINST THE WEIGHTED PRACTICE, especially without supervision of an experienced teacher (which I am not, so do not attempt to hang weights from your genitals based on this post, please). In my case, it caused pelvic spasms, a tendency toward varicocele (distended veins in the testicles) and other unpleasantness that took years to mostly resolve. The mulabandha-type practice without weight is probably enough.
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“Beating” the body using a cupped hand or implements such as this iron “whisk” thing. Typically after a time of “sucking up” sexual energy cultivated by brahmacharya and mulabandha type practices, the practitioner “slaps” him/herself all over the body with the hands or, more intensely, with implements such as that linked. Sometimes a bamboo/wood version and a metal version are used, with the wood thought to be a lighter stimulus that effects the outer skin and the metal, more penetrating. The theory is that the combination of brahmacharya and mulabandha-type practices activates the sexual energy/kundalini, and the “slapping” of the body “activates” it, expanding the energy throughout the body to protect and strengthen the body. It is said that if this is done without brahmacharya, bruising and other problems are more likely to result, whereas with brahmacharya, the body is “tougher” and grows tougher over time in response to this stimulus.
My personal experience with trying this again recently (primarily just slapping myself with this thing–not even necessarily doing the focused mulabandha thing, though I do that during my twice-daily AYP sitting practices) is that, especially when I have not had an orgasm recently, it tends to create a mildly pleasant tingling/energetic feeling in the slapped area, somewhat like a hot shower or massage. I have a thought that this might enable me to extend my brahmacharya time because the excess sexual energy may be channeled toward “rebuilding” from the minor damage incurred with the slapping rather than concentrating in the genital area and creating the urge for orgasm.
However, there is a catch I have noticed–something that made me give up on this years ago not related to the dangers of the weighted practice–namely, practicing this seems to give me a fever–that is, I will feel as if I am coming down with something and even spike a mild fever according to the thermometer, but then within several hours, the symptoms subside and I am okay. There is often a time lag–for example, the day before yesterday I slapped myself with the iron whisk, and then yesterday I started feeling like I was developing a cold or something, but it subsided by yesterday evening.
Now, I have read that mild fever and fever-like symptoms can be kundalini symptoms–signs of bodily purification. If this is the case, then this mild fever could be not necessarily a bad thing–perhaps even a good thing, if perhaps a symptom of overdoing/sign I should ramp up intensity more slowly.
One other complicating factor for myself: I have some kind of autoimmune condition that was recently greatly exacerbated by a vaccine injury. It is primarily skin-related with the biggest symptom being extreme sensitivity to the sun. If I get much sun exposure, I experience stinging, redness, rashes, body aches, and migraine-like symptoms. I have found some allergy medications that help with this somewhat, but am always trying to figure out ways to tone down my overreactive immune system and/or toughen up my skin/connective tissue. I have heard such problems may stem from a type of immune cell called “mast cell” that can be activated by all sorts of things, including physical stimulus like a slap. Having such problems may make me more prone to developing a strong reaction (fever) than most in response to this type of practice, but I also wonder if it doesn’t indicate that I could benefit more from “toughening up” my connective tissue.
I have noticed through automatic yogas occurring during sitting practices the gradual development of “full body mudra,” and I definitely don’t think this “iron body” practice is a substitute for the sort of subtle purification that occurs with e.g., dm, but I am wondering if this may be a good adjunct that could help me overcome some health challenges, further purify the body, and/or achieve longer periods of brahmacharya.
I also wonder if the “self-flagellation” practiced by e.g., Western monks, though ostensibly a type of mortification of the flesh, etc. might not actually serve a similar function? It could also help with the sexual urges, again by redirecting the energy to healing the extremities rather than concentrating them in the genitals. Though this might have been construed in some cases as a kind of “punishment” for “sin,” perhaps it actually worked like “iron body” as a way to “purify” the body?
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(well maybe not the cold showers…..)
