Dragonfish808

It's in practicing kung fu that I found my body healing from things that couldn't be remedied with medication. I could also feel energy projecting from my hands after practice. I wanted to focus on cultivating and eventually utilizing it in different ways, but it was so difficult to find a good teacher. I love martial arts, but it seems like martial arts, healing, intuition, etc. are tools and the energy you fill it with is the real substance -- the substance that can help you develop into the best person you can be. That's what I hope to accomplish before I pass on -- sort of tops on my bucket list. And yes, I plan to incorporate martial arts back into my practice, but I don't want to be distracted right now.

Sad to say, but I think you're right that cultivation takes time. I count breaths as in Zen Meditation because it's a good way to quiet the mind. I breathe through the heart chakra because I can feel a lot of energy coming from there. Another reason I don't sit as in Zazen is because if you stand, you can open the kwa and push energy through your legs. I've heard that if you breathe in through your crown chakra and out through your third eye you can open your third eye and stimulate the pituitary and pineal glands to increase intuition. I haven't felt anything to that effect, and my goal right now is still to cultivate energy rather than open my third eye. LOL! I'm always looking for short cuts, but with all this experimentation it'll probably take me way more time!

Uh oh! Is there a problem with doing this? I've learned different styles, searching for things that let me feel the heat and pressure of energy coursing through my body. The problem is that I never had sufficient time to devote to practice. Now that I do, I'm experimenting, combining and observing, trying to find a way to cultivate it as quickly as possible -- since I'm not young and because I want to devote time to learn to use it to benefit myself and others. I found it difficult to learn much on cultivation because most teachers love the technical and combative aspects of martial arts and cultivation takes a back seat. I've joined this forum to hopefully find others willing to share what has worked for them and also to get ideas, resources or connections to refer to on my journey. Would appreciate any thoughts or ideas you have regarding mixing different techniques towards this end.

Yes, I like standing meditation because you can use the kwa to push energy through the ground and apply pressure to different parts of your feet to stimulate shen, jing or qi. Although I find it easier to focus when I'm sitting and as Master Longray mentioned, you conserve physical energy in that position, I worry about poor circulation in my legs holding a lotus position for too long. I keep thinking about the story a Zen master told us about a priest who was so devoted to his zazen practice that he willingly had his atrophied legs amputated so that the could continue to sit. LOL! That was not a great story to tell us as beginners as it continued to haunt me whenever I had to sit zazen for long periods of time. I am using zen (emptiness) meditation and breathwork, but breathing through certain chakras and points instead. I will try the small circle breathing again sometime to see if I get better results. As a matter of fact, I do know a good silk reeling and circle walking exercises that I have not been using in this "back to basics" energy work. Thanks for your suggestions!

Thank you. No, I can't sit for 10 hours a day, but I can sit. Great advice.

Guess this question has been asked hundreds of times on this forum, but what is the best way you know to cultivate qi? Now that I have the time, I'm going back to basics to focus on that. To begin with I've started standing in a horse stance for about an hour a day doing deep breathing. This is effective, (boring and slow) and I also remember feeling a nice current after practicing kung fu and following up the workout with tai chi. I'm older now and don't have the joints for hard core kung fu so instead I'm doing qigong that I've found particularly effective. Wondering if anyone has any thoughts or suggestions on this matter. I was just curious about what other people are doing and have found effective. Have you read any books or visited any websites that have been particularly helpful or know of any teachers and systems that you can recommend? Thanks in advance for any advice you can offer.

Thanks Riversnake! Regarding the name, It's in reference to the carp that swim in the river at China's Dragon Gate. Many carp swim upstream, but few are capable or brave enough to make it over the waterfall. When one does, it transforms into a dragon -- the symbol of heavenly power. Right now still just a fish jumping upstream.

I've been practicing martial arts for about 30 years off and on and recently decided to put everything else on hold and focus on energy -- namely, cultivation, storing and utilizing qi. When I heard about this forum, I thought it would be a great place to find out what has worked for others. It's a long, lonely road and I figured that perhaps others may have stumbled upon ways to expedite the journey or somehow get more "bang for your qigong buck!" Through this forum, I'm hoping to get some new ideas and perspectives on energy work, make new friends and perhaps meet a few masters!