Trunk

Yoda . . . what can I say?  Good luck with the hairlessness.  And please, whatever you do, NO PICTURES.

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(Now I'm thinking, "What kind of a creature is a Yoda?", and "What do their peckers look like, shaved?" All I know, is I don't want to know!)

A lot of the stretching I've been doing lately really lends itself to stillness meditation. I find myself holding sometimes very painful poses for up to 30 minutes to release enough to let me move further into the stretch. In order to do this I am almost forced to get into a space where pain is just phenomenon. I just let it be there and I let go of trying to do anything with it. In this space I can slowly watch the layers of tension come up and dissipate, it's pretty fascinating.

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Wow! Good work!

Inspired.

Wonder who this Hsi Lai dude is.. the acronym means something like foreigner in chinese apparently

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"Hsi Lai" means "to the West". I happen to know it 'cause there's a "Hsi Lai Temple" (Buddhist) here in the L.A. area. Its a large beautiful Buddhist temple in Hacienda Heights. Actually, the largest Buddhist temple compound outside of Asia. (No relation to the person who wrote that book.)

I just started doing the ab.wheel, standing. I do it up to a wall, to stop the wheel at the angle that I can handle.

An unexpected benefit: I find that the strong tension that it puts on the lower ab works the attachments of my abs to my pubic bone, and is effectively releasing some stagnation there that I've not released through other methods.

Yup.

.. really diggin' practicing various forms of Lunges and splits to open up and release my groin. I'd like to work up into a full front and side split in a few months,

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I find that if I get in a some stretch like that, and practice lower tan tien breathing (gently, but expanding~contracting all the way around), and some k1 breathing - it produces really interesting results.

I've tried the stretch on the cover and it's great!

For somebody stiff as a board, Furey recommends working on a bridge with a yoga ball like in the background of your dragon flag photo.

Don't think I wanna buy the ball for just that one thing, but might as I get more into it and think that'd be the thing to get me over the hump. For now, I'm gonna review Furey's material that I have - and maybe visit my local yoga studio for tips.

I've never been very flexible. Stocky and bulky, I've always had to have some regular weighted exercise just to warm up and relax. So the ideas of qi gong that works the muscularture (like 1-legged work) and "loaded stretching" are interesting for me. Bridges are currently beyond my ability, but i'm curious to inch towards it.

Saw the ad for Pavel's "Loaded Stretching" and have been experimenting with a variation of the stretch shown on the DVD cover, but with arms extended above the head, careful to evenly load the full back (not stack the load in any one place).

Any of you bought the DVD? Reviews?

Then, as a counter exercise, this: (which, btw, I got from here.)

Curious about what any of you guys who are bulky/tight do for stretching that suits you.

Trunk

What are the best remedies for thinning hair?  I use He Shou Wu internally and externally.  Anybody got results with anything else?

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I think the Tea Garden has an herbal formula, that includes He Shou Wu + other herbs that direct the effect to the scalp, called "Hair Tonic" or some such.

Tea Garden website

You can call their 800 number and talk to an herbalist.

Don't know if its really effective or not.

Noni juice testimonial for hair loss

Dunno 'bout it for this either.

Two new essays, that both still need some polish and maybe a bit added - but far enough along that I'm posting them - and taking a few days rest.

1. Concise Overview of Cultivation

2. Jing-to-Light Transformation (bindu teachings)

from AlchemicalTaoism.com

Any comments, ?'s, etc. - helps me improve the essays so that they're more easily understood by everyone (even sometimes applied).

Trunk

In this pose what is the strap doing? Is it providing a stretch by pulling your feet towards you? Or just holding everything in place?

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Correct.

Its holding the feet and pelvis near eachother, with no effort on your part, such that you can just relax into it.

The pose can be done without the strap, but its not quite as effective. If there's effort to hold the feet close in.. that creates tension in the pelvis and inner thighs - the very places that you need to relax into to get the goodies of this pose.

Had a little earthquake here in L.A. a few minutes ago (~1:55pm).

The little ones are fun!

The way I presently think about it is the tan tiens.centers are like the Tree of life. You plant the seed of health and vitality in the lower tan tien and through daily cultivation(Qigong) the seed grows and reaches the upper tan tiens and spreads qi through the entire body.

 

The spirit(Shen) is peacful and happy when the body is filled with qi and this ultimately helps you realize the Tao(Enlightenment).

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Nice. Another good description.

The Tibetans describe cultivation similarly, using "the vase" metaphor; it fills from the bottom up.

We seem to have these different aspects to our personalities that come into play. Is the part of me that craves sex the same part of me that craves love? Is the part of me that wants to get in shape the same as the part that wants to east Krispy Kreme's? These different aspects(or spirits) seems to be what constititues human beings.

 

Then of course the real questiona rises..how do I get these different aspects into one?

Good description.

imo, as I've said before, the centers provide a better map of this issue than the organs.

http://www.precisiondocs.com/~altaoism/ShenTheory26252.htm

The issue for resolution then becomes activating each center as a tan tien, a "medicine field", through its relationship with the deep-center, as well as the centers sharing medicine through the central channel.

does anyone here use mudras, know of any good sources for info on them... especially how they are connected with the meridians?

 

  i know some about them but not alot... though i do tham all the time and wonder what it is my hands are so drawn to doing.

If you search Amazon.com for "mudra", there are several good resources that result.

I have at times been fascinated with hand postures (my hands liked to, wanted to, posture), but too lazy to really research much at the time.

Think I'll read a bit now.

Any recommended mixed brands?

This (mixed) stuff has been working for me

http://www.nonijuice.us/index.htm

- and, per VCraigP's comment in this thread, its the brand to get.

Trunk

Since orig post, I've been exploring more lower tan tien breathing while in various positions (some yogic, splits, some just minor position changes while standing).

I've found that the work in supta baddha konasana has assisted my forward bending side splits work.

..an edit, later in the day..

I find that if I keep my feet flat on the ground, while working on psuedo-splits, and alternate lower tan tien breathing with Kidney-1 breathing, that works really well to help stabalize my ltt with the level of stretch that I'm working on. Keeps more connected to earth, rather than just solely stretching.

One of the most interesting internet experiments I have found is the Zen Radio teachings and discussions at wzen.org

My computer is outta commission, sitting here at local coffee shop. Whole site interesting though... and I gotta log off cause i just ran out of time.

All cool links.

Check out some variations by Ana, here and here.

While I think that all & any hip openers are helpful for jing cultivation, the few that combine groin-leg opening with the reclined position - in a way that you can relax into - are especially effective.

One of my TCM friends says that there are liver channels (think "circulation" and "emotions") that run up through the inside of the groin, up into the lower belly.

Many stretches for leg opening are combined with leaning forward. So, while you are opening your legs, you are closing the angle to your lower belly. Then, with most things that open the belly (like bridges), your legs stay together.

Supta Baddha Konasana does both: opens the legs and opens the lower belly. Its a very powerful combination. Adding Lin's breathing (or experimenting with adding a variety of ltt breathing), and I think we've got a real can opener.

I'm keen to hear you guys' experience with this sort of experimentation.

Trunk

I've been experimenting with doing very mild versions of Lin's Sexual Chi Gong for Men while in Supta Baddha Konasana.

I've thought that lychi berries (aka: Lycium, gojizi) make a good complement to the noni juice. The noni seems to be.. well, does a lot of things.. but I do feel that its cleansing effect does take some work - can be somewhat wearing, and that being careful to nourish with time off from noni, or nourishing foods etc, is a good thing. Lychii berries came to mind (and were suggested by a friend who 's a dr of tcm) as a good and tastey complement.

In fact, I'd love to have a juice of blended noni and lychi juice! The lychi berries are so sweet and tastey and nourishing; I bet it'd taste good and be very balanced, super healthy.

Fun monicker.

an additional 20mg of zinc to grade school kids daily ***doubled*** their rate of learning.

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WOW! DOUBLED!

Trying the Noni experimentally, On day 3 I'm still pretty acidic.  I'm trying to hit it on several levels w/ licorice pills,  Keifir yogurt and smaller meals & Noni.

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I tried noni with no specific target in mind...

Per the testimonials, it cures everything , which makes it suspect for curing anything specifically, imo. This is worse because I don't really know what its exact mechanism is..

Also, in TCM the same western disease can have differing etiologies (pattern of causes) in different people. By that, one person's cure for acid-reflux might make another person's acid-reflux worse. For us uneducated heathens (non-expert-doctors) the best defense is be sensitive to what's going on in our own bodies, plus some good luck.

Still,.. if you're gonna target & experiment for the acid reflux, you might consider varying dosage. From the testimonials, people take a wide range of dosages. Sensitivities to supplements vary quite a bit amongst people (and for conditions, i suspect). Could also be that low dosage over a longer period of time...

How's that for no help?

Trunk