Trunk

The soloflex product ( http://www.soloflex.com/wbv/ ) is the cheapest I’ve seen around (ebay?), and allows standing as well as lying front/back on. Think standing lower tan tien breathing while your insides are vibrating, or lying down doing tao yin while vibrating. Wider range of etc explorations possible.

Ok, so the situation is that you have no local resources. Given that there are no garuntees in life, and we’re all just getting along as best we can, here’s what I would recommend:

A combination of herbs, acupressure, and exercise (including qi gong).

Herbs
Call up either dragon herbs ( http://dragonherbs.com/ ) or the tea garden herbal…[Read more]

A few thoughts.

Amongst potential benefits, the main dangers of semen retention are stagnation and heat.

One of the Chinese medical views of asthma is that “the kidneys are failing to grasp the lung qi”, so you can’t breathe deeply easily, can’t catch your breath. The (healthy) energy of the lungs is cool and descending, and connects with…[Read more]

I agree with freeform, that you are clarifying your central channel. One might expect it to “open”, “flow”, and “fill”, as happens with other channels, but its’ process is unique amongst the channels, is more about clarification, stillness, the union of concentration and openness. One of the concise Tibetan directions re: the central channel is…[Read more]

D> Is there nothing in Toaist cosmology that would explain this thing kundalini? I did not mean circulation of jing I meant a transformation. >

Well, I’m just a poor round-eye, limited to reading Taoist texts that’ve been translated into english – but I haven’t read any description that correlates to kundalini. There’s a ton of un-translated…[Read more]

D> Is kundalini just jing transforming to shen in the fire channel? >

No, definately not. Kundalini is about the lower centers tapping into a Primordial Force. What, exactly, that is, I couldn’t say. But it is definately not just the common circulation of jing, through whichever channel.

Jimbo,

j> Can you recommend an overview somewhere? >

Some people find my website helpful, AlchemicalTaoism.com. It’s free, and written (mostly) by students, for students – so, take it for what it’s worth. 😉 Pertinent to our discussion: the Overview section, Microcosmic section, Extraordinary Vessels section (core vessel essays).

The macrocosmic orbit is really important – opening the arm and leg routes, and integrating with your standing practices. ime, the micro can be over-done to the point that one excludes earth connection, and that’s a big mistake.

The central channel is unique, in that it is a still place, where the personal and transpersonal intersect – on an…[Read more]

Sometimes they show when there is excess heat in the meridian.

My mother had a miscarraige (considerably prior to term, I believe), prior to her pregnancy with me. Not too long ago I remember my mother’s emotions (which were easily mistaken for my emotions at time, since her blood was pumping through my umbilicus, that nourishment was being used to build this body, and I was too early in formation to have a…[Read more]

dao dao dao

I made two changes to the essay, based on our conversation:

1. I included a couple of tank pictures, one at the beginning, one at the end. Our “body type” discussion prompted me to look for some pictures, and these are what I found to indicate the pertinent issues (not just of body type, but also libidinal psychology, and pelvic structure).…[Read more]

Mat,

m> maybe it’s got a lot to do with body type – i’m pretty thin – not really prone to excessive strength anyway. but i can see how stonger constitutional types would have more strength/power particularlly in that region. >

Yes, you are so right. I thought of mentioning this, but there’s only so much one can type at once. 🙂

I’m a…[Read more]

Exercise the spine, in any number of ways.
Examples:
Spine Massage
Spine Exercise

Mat,

m> Do you mean that the feelings/sensations of ‘power’ and strength that come with vitality, .. are not addressed by most systems? >

Yes, but more specifically:
– muscular strength-usage within the pelvic region, and how that relates to processing jing’s power within the pelvic region.

(In this essay..) I’m not addressing…[Read more]

Mat,

m> that cartoon picture of .. the squat .. from dragon gate daoyin. .. has great affect on the LTT >

Always nice to get cross-lineage confirmation, comparison. 😀

Those’re my favorite of the squats; I call ’em “lateral squats”, and I find that they open my hips – and even into my pelvic region – better than any other squat that I’ve…[Read more]

w> .. daughter was just wiggling with her hips, .. very healthy to move the hips like that, not to lock them. >

Some friends and I were recently discussing bellydancing, and how much it has in common with qi gong – how it develops the hara and the deep internals along the spine, keeps blood circulating and tissue supple in important areas. I…[Read more]

dao-dao-dao

Wendy,

I nominate your post for:
“Best top to bottom honest map of male~female, from the female perspective.”

Keith

> Soldiers do not get to decide when and where to fight. They follow orders. He should never have signed up if he had a problem with that. >

That’s the general premise, but I think there are limits…
I’m not a military legal expert, but I think that’s the law up to just short of participating in war crimes. And it’s Watanabe’s assertion that…[Read more]