Where to begin?

The beginning meditation practices are very simple and very helpful for getting your health back. The basic ones are called the inner smile and six healing sounds. After that you move on to something called the microcosmic orbit meditation. Many teachers (e.g., Michael Winn)also add some simple movement practices (chi kung).

If you’re looking for video/audio for these beginning practices, then Michael Winn’s Chi Kung Fundementals is a fine place to start.

If you’re looking to spend less or just get a book then I’d start with Mantak Chia’s introductory book: Awaken Healing Light (AHL). This book is a bit overstuffed, but contains the basics (There’s also an earlier, simpler book that AHL was meant to replace which is also good or better than AHL, but I’m not sure it’s still around and can’t remember it’s name.)

Another Mantak Chia book is called Transform Stress into Vitality, but AHL only cost a bit more and coverst the same ground plus a lot more other info.

Another book you might want to check out is Bone Marrow Nei Kung. This is an advanced book, but if I remember correctly, it’s got a very good overview of the beginning practices.

Finally, depending on where you live, you might want to take a few lessons with a live teacher. Teachers for the more advanced stuff are few and far between, but the basics are taught around the world.

Let us know if you have any additional questions.

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Hi Karen (real name? – maybe not?)
Anyways if you don’t mind I will put my 2 cents in. Migraines – probably food allergy. Do you have yeast infections, if not try Burrow’s Lemon Cleanse for 10 days. No longer. Is on website and most health food stores have a pamphlet you can get for free on recipe. YOu donot need to use organic maple syrup but it is healthier to do so.
Best qigong practise to do to bring energy into your middle dantien – Standing post. However best to ground to heaven and earth and then clear self first.
This may be a bit long, but hey, its FREE and if you don’t like it just don’t use it.
My thanks to Dr. Jerry Johnson’s Medical Qigong book for affirming all of this technique. And to my chen style taiji master and only him and I know who that was.
Before starting any energy work just think lightly that you are in a very large bright white light and that white light comes to you, only bright white light energy comes to you with compassion, love, understanding, wisdom, grace (and you can add anything else you want that you are comfortable with for positive and easy healing)
Place your tongue just behind your top teeth, on gums very gently. (Creates bridge for energy).
1. Stand with knees slightly bent, feet shoulder width apart.
2. Hands casually resting at your sides.
3. Your head is straight, looking straight ahead – imagine that your head is suspended from the universe by a silver thread. Now as you do that kind of bend your knees. You should feel your vertebrae in your spine straighten and lengthen. Pretend your tail bone goes straight into earth, which means you will be flattening your back a little, tucking it in almost to a pelvic tilt but not quite. Now Relax.
And this next technique is in Jerry Johnson’s medical qigong book, but I pretty much did it all anyways thru my neigong training – so I will kind of add my own to it, but it is pretty much Jerry’s and I want to give him credit for that.
4. Imagine white light coming from universe, it lands on your head like oil, like a bright white light smile, and melts down the front of your face, taking with it all emotion, all tension, all blockages,melting down the front of your face, then down front of neck, to shoulders to front of arms and out thru finger tips. All emotion, all tension, all blockages are released thru your fingertips to the earth. Now bring your attnetion to where you left off at your neck, see the white light smile melt down the front of your chest, past your abdomen, pelvis, quads, knees, shins, down to your feet and melts out thru you feet into earth taking with it all tension, all emotion, all blockages. The earth cleanses. Now take your attention to the top of your head again and see the white light like oil melt down the back of your head and envision as you did with the front, now happening in the back of your body, the back of arms, etc. Taking your attention after releasing thru fingertips back to the upper back and working way down body past buttocks, hamstrings, calves, etc. releasing into earth. Then again cleanse with white light melting into middle of body, past brain, eyes, throat, middle of arms, etc. then coming back to middle of throat, working down thru heart lungs, etc., releasing into earth.
5. Feel silver thread attached to top of the crown of our head, attached to your head and to universe.
Feel your feet in the earth, feel them spread out and feel them as roots of a tree go deep into the earth. Deep, deep into earth.

Now you have cleansed and you are grounded and I don’t care what energy work is done after that for anyone or anybody but this process should be done first. I found out the hard way. No grounding, that takes a lot to heal, many friggin years. No cleansing and no thought of white light. Heck you may receive anything. Any everything out there is not what you want believe me. Thought and intention is very strong in what our body lets in energy wise.

So now if you want to create nice strong dantien energy. Well nice way is to use a taiji ruler and hold it with palms or just don’t use the ruler (see below) -gently in front of your dantien which is about 1 -1/2″ below navel (belly button). Hold it so that your arms are just a little bent. Qi flows better thru joints that are juat a little bent. Now relax, you can close eyes or not. Think just lightly of a nice bright warm red ball in your dantien (tummy area),then just let your mind relax, realign your body …head hanging from silver thread, vertebrae lenghten, tailbone into earth, shoulders relax…. like a feather you bring mind back to your dantien. Never straining just like a side glance of a thought. For the mind if forced will do the oppositeof what you think it to do. In my training I was taught to relax mostly, do not make qi travel. I was told by my taiji master that you can not cook unless you have fire in the oven first. I was told, very strongly, yelled at I think to not think about the qi moving. I was told to not move it but rather let it go itself. So your mind will bring thoughts to you (have to go to the mall, phone friend, damn person cut me off on freeway, I forgot to pay the water bill, I am hungry, etc., etc., etc., and so I found it best to release them. Let them flow to earth and the earth always cleanses them, uses them for fertilizer, for flowers, think of it that way. I found that if you try to stop a thought you can cause more tension and that is not so good. So relax. LIke a spring waterfall see the thought, recognize it gently like a side glance and let it go, flow to the earth. Then bring your thought to dantien, to the red ball,nice and warm by your tummy area. Ever so gentle thoughts.
You can do this exercise using the taiji ruler or just empty handed. Your palms relaxed, facing each other like you are hugging a tree.
Work up to 5 minutes, then 10 minutes, then 20 minutes standing. I was up to 40 minutes and I wanted to move the energy. My master gave me heck for that. I was not allowed any music. Nothing. Just relax.

When you do this make sure you will not be interrupted. No phones, no nothing. If the phone rings it will disrupt your energy and you will be scattered. Before moving take a few seconds to mentally bring all energy back to your dantien (tummy area). You must do this. You may use your hands to aid in bringing the energy to your dantien. This will help in the scattered energy feel you may get. But it may still take a few hours to days to reclaim your center. Disruption may not be so much of an issue in the beginning with short times but when you are deep into meditation it can “hurt”. But you can recover of course. Nothing you can’t fix. Just be aware that you need a quiet time.

Some of my taiji brothers would do standing post while watching TV? I am not so sure it still works, they think it does, but I never did it.

After the standing post do closing technique exercises. They vary but any are good as long as you include patting the top of your head lightly and patting all over your body with hands. Include any others you have learned in martial arts, like rubbing your ears or lightly tapping your kidneys with open fist, etc., etc.

Then voila! Standing post is best for creating strong dantien. Along wiht that safest thing is taiji ruler circles to keep away stagnation. That I cannot explain over htis email.

Anyways, got to go.

Good Luck