jmrout

Yes, that is indeed a lot of money! I've considered trying several of those before. Did you gain any benefits from the courses?

I would also commend and thank our Dao brother, or Daoist Youth Pastor @Taoist Texts, for denouncing all the frauds and grifters. I suspect he was a defrauded student of Alchemy in a past life, and thus has returned to constantly remind us of the profiteers. His skepticism is good medicine. Thank you!

I would like to mention this wonderful course from Meido Moore, in which he makes public an oral Rinzai Zen tradition of Dantian development, deriving from 18th century Zen master Hakuin; a tradition Hakuin seems to have learned from a Daoist cave-dwelling hermit Hakuyu, when Hakuin sought to cure his 'meditation sickness.' https://www.inner-craft.com/courses/embodied-zen/ 'The crucial breathing method of Zen, and a foundation of the Rinzai path, is called Tanden Soku: breathing to the navel energy center. In this lesson, Meido Roshi instructs in great detail the basics of Tanden Soku. This will serve as a foundation practice for more advanced Tanden Soku exercises of increasing the dynamic quality of the inhalation and exhalation that will be covered in the next lesson... The great Rinzai Zen master Hakuin instructed a number of practices for the dissolving of psycho-physical obstructions and the attainment of bodily wisdom. One of these is Naikan No Ho, the “introspection method” that powerfully deepens Tanden Soku. Though Hakuin describes this method generally in various texts, the oral instruction necessary to actually practice it is not often taught publicly. Meido Roshi here does so, opening up this dynamic energetic cultivation method for those who are ready to use it. 8. Hara Tanren: Forging the Center Another class of internal energetic cultivation practices is called Hara Tanren, methods of “forging” the lower abdominal area that is the seat of the navel energy center, of correct breathing, and of the body’s vital power. Meido Roshi will instruct three methods of practicing Hara Tanren over the series of three lessons.' I would note you try this course free. '

It seems that Nathan Brine, Rudi of Authentic Neigong, and Damo Mitchell all promise to teach anyone this process of building the Lower Dantian, and in each case it involves more than merely focusing awareness on the area. I'm curious about this topic myself, since my background is Tibetan Vajrayana and the Six Yogas of Naropa, and I'd love to make a comparative study of that process with these Daoist methods and models. In tummo yoga, the process that seems closest is 'gathering the winds in the central channel' at an area below the navel - this sounds comparable to what the Daoist Neigong people are talking about. But is it even relevant, or something else entirely? I don't know yet. But here again, whether or not it's a related or similar process, it involves much more than simply focusing awareness on the navel area. Regards

Hello! I'm curious - now that some people have been practicing for a while now, what are some results that practitioners can report so far with this practice?

Master Zhou teaches only about 40 minutes away from where I live, so I am considering learning from him & would be very much interested in hearing what any other students or former students have to say. Does anyone know what the usual cost of his Qigong classes is? It seems people often have difficulty getting any response from his organization about classes.

That seems like very sound advice, thank you. I'll forward it to her.

Thank you for the information!

Thank you for your response, virtue! Does Michael Lomax still post here on Daobums?

Hello, Dao Bums! I would like to know if anyone can recommend a specialist or practitioner of Traditional Chinese medicine able to help with Qigong deviations, ideally someone in Central Florida or not far from it. The person in question is a Chinese female in her mid-50s with no previous history of mental illness. She learned qigong on her own without a teacher, and began forcefully and obsessively directing Qi into her head in an effort to develop psychic abilities. I believe she also mixed in Maya Fiennes' Kundalini Yoga videos. After many months or perhaps a year of this, she had the first of several psychotic episodes, and began hallucinating a voice. During these episodes, her body became very hot, rigid, and her skin very flushed, and she would make rapid jerking or shaking motions. Her behavior has been stable over a year, but she still hears the voice constantly, and says she feels 'bad Qi' moving around in the left side of her head. Any suggestions would be appreciated.