GDV scan result – practice suggestions

Sounds like you burned up your kidney qi reserves.
You probably need to work to build this back up.

I think aerobic exercise is actually good, because it strengthen the cardiovascular system . . . it’s one of the reasons why I like Tai Chi 2 (Fast Form) . . . but the trick is, to not overdo the aerobic type exercises. There’s a fine line between activating and mobilizing your qi, and taking it to excess where you begin to exhaust your reserves.

It sounds like the latter is what happened. In particular, if you are under stress, stress attacks the liver, which starts the stress cycle. This follows the creation cycle of a toxic qi cascade through the organ systems ending at the kidneys. So the kidneys take the worst of it. Moreover, stress activates the adrenals, which are part of the kidney system, so as they get exhausted, they drain the kidneys. Your energy reserves come from your kidneys, as does your immune system (so you getting sick is a sign of kidney weakness).

Long story short: for multiple reasons, I think you burned up your kidney reserves, and you should focus on building this back.

The absolute best practices, bar-none, for building the kidneys are exactly what you are already doing, namely doing some standing meditation, ala Iron Shirt 1 or Yiquan (the 3 standing-in-stillness postures are an Yiquan set). Of course, like anything, you don’t want to overdo this either, as if you do anything to excess it ends up working against you.

I highly recommend for you to additionally get some kidney support products. In particular, if you would get two things, I’d recommend Goji juice (Michael sells it on his website) and He Shou Wu (you can get it on Dragon Herbs website). If you could only get one, I’d opt for the Goji juice. Drink several ounces a day for several days at first to give yourself a boost, and then back off to a more maintenance level of 1-2 ounces a day. Don’t be surprised if you feel more sleepy and want to sleep a lot at first. This is normal. When your kidneys start to rebuild, they leave the hyperdrive mode they are in, and they go into rest mode to repair.

Muay Thai, being a vigorous contact sport, means that–by its nature of having attacks coming at you–it is going to naturally break up your aura. This is not to mean that if you feel passionate about it that you can’t do it, but it just means that you have to recognize that if you pursue that, that you will likely need to give your body extra support . . . such as Goji and He Shou Wu, as well as not exceeding your limits and building up slowly. Your father is right; go slower and don’t overtrain. You might rest a bit from the Muay Thai until you get your strength back, but I don’t know that you need to wait 3 months either (unless you are excessively weak) . . . just get those supplements and do some basic standing practice. Then as you start to feel you have more energy start building up . . . don’t jump right into a 1.5hr class 3-days a week. I recommend that you continue with those two supplements even after your energy comes back as well as continuing with standing practice. Relaxing qigong to help reduce your stress levels will also be supportive.

Best wishes,
Steven

Hi nomad,

When people try to lose weight, they usually either try to diet and starve themselves (doesn’t work, as it just shuts the metabolism down) or they work like a dog through exercise. The problem with the latter is that often you eat more to compensate for the calories that you burn and it can wear your body out.

Best approach is a moderate application of both. Add some light exercise to your day, such as brisk walking for say 45 mins to an hour, then eat like normal BUT simply stop eating when you “no longer feel hungry, but not until you are full”, i.e. eat enough so that you’ve gotten nourishment but not to full satiation, say 80% full. Just doing these two things will cause you to lose weight. It may not be fast weight loss, but it will be consistent, easy, and without wearing you down. I personally have lost almost 8 pounds in the last 4 months simply by doing this. I usually allow myself one day of the week to be indulgent, so I don’t feel deprived.

As for relaxing qigong, I would recommend just doing the Ocean Breathing–slowly, rhythmically, going in deep. Another good form that I feel is quite effective for de-stressing and relaxing is the Primordial Qigong. Often I find that it is even a more effective choice that say something like Ocean Breathing if I’ve been doing standing practice, because it allows my body to move a little bit more and to shake off any rigidity that may have come in to my body as a side-effect. In total, I would say those two: Ocean Breathing and Primordial Qigong, would be the top of the list. That said, most slow-movement qigong will help de-stress you . . . it’s all good.

As an added benefit, when you de-stress, it lowers the levels of the hormone cortisol in your body. The presence of high cortisol levels triggers the storage of fat.

Qi,
Steven

The absolute best practices, bar-none, for building the kidneys are exactly what you are already doing, namely doing some standing meditation, ala Iron Shirt 1 or Yiquan (the 3 standing-in-stillness postures are an Yiquan set).

Does standing benefit all organs equally or is it particularly good for the kidneys? If particularly good for the kidneys, what about standing has this effect?

Everything is good for everything…

Nice!

…but standing is selectively better for the kidneys.

Got it!

When you stand, you press Kidney-1 (Bubbling Well) source point directly against the earth which not only activates the point but allows the qi from the Earth (which is water-dominated) to rise up into your body through this point.

In the Yi Chuan postures with the weight on the heels, one is (presumably?) not pressing (as in actively pressing down) K-1 against the earth. But, presumably, the fact that K-1 is in constant contact with the Earth is sufficient to allow Earth qi to enter the body thru this point?

Given that the spleen is the Earth organ, does Earth qi also have a particular affinity with the spleen?

Your feet making firm contact with the ground means the bones also provide a connection, and bone marrow is regulated by the kidneys.

Just to check: you’re saying that, because the bones are also connected to the ground, Earth qi is entering the body thru the bones as well as thru K-1? If so, is it entering mainly thru the heel bones? How does the fact that kidneys govern bone (marrow) enable Earth qi to nourish/reach the kidneys?

Thanks. Really helpful to understand that qi from the Earth contains all five elements and to understand the relationship between qi from the Earth, bone marrow and the kidneys.

Re yiquan, are the heels the sole route (just spotted the pun!) by which Earth qi enters the body – or are they the main route, with a smaller amount of qi also entering via K-1?