Search the Community

Not that I am interested in 6-pack abs or anything. I do engage in strength training alongside my qi gong daily training. I am wondering if I should train my core or ab muscles? I practice longevity breathing from Bruce Frantzis' book and the basic idea in it (and also generally) is that you want to have a soft belly by which the breath is able to cause expansion of the abdomen in along all sides and this expansion and contraction motion acts as a pump massaging our organs 24/7. If I practice strength training in the abs, I suspect I will end up creating tension and stiffness/hardness against the massaging motion of my belly. If my belly can't expand anymore during my breathing, likely my breathing is ineffective. What are your thoughts?

Hey guys, first serious post here. (So hey to all!) I’ve been practicing deep diaphragmatic breathing for a good while now, following the Golden Flower Method (which I’m sure has it’s pros and cons). I’ve been practicing meditation for a long time now, so breathing and general energy work isn’t completely new to me. What I’m not seeing is any changes, such as the energy movement described that moves down, round the bottom of your abdomen and back up the front. I can feel a general “gurgle” of energy sometimes, but definitely not this flowing movement that is suggested happens on its own. Has anyone hd success with this and can offer any tips, suggestions and the like? I understand there are a lot of parallels with general Daoist energy work, I’ve read the comprehensive guide to Nei Gong and there seems to be many. Any thoughts and suggestions are very welcome Andy

hey! in the upcoming days, i have defense for my research in front of committee of Jury and i was wondering how to handle not saying something wrong, or look weak, not confident, knowing that i m generally a shy person... The thing is, in my old presentation in class and such... while I'm in focus and presenting, suddenly my mind becomes empty and i forget what i was about to say, or thoughts of nonsense strike in disturbing my focus. some of these thoughts are like " probably they think I'm not that good in my presentation or they are thinking that i m not doing well in my presentation... I do have fear that the presentation is what affects the grade, knowing that my supervisor ensured me that i have a great research and would get a good grade. but no matter what, stress and worry is striking me. Any suggestions? meditation, qigong,...? I m trying to rehearse as much as possible my presentation. I asked confident presenter and they told me not to rehearse a lot or will get me lost during the presentation. what is your secret confident speakers???

I want to do some experimentation with breath rates. In the mornings strap on a heart rate monitor, record my beginning heart rate, do 15 minutes of breathing with a specific rhythm and record it again. I'd like to do 16-16 even in/out breath, and 8 - 24 - 16 retention style breathing. Each day do one and record. Every third session do control, listening to music or just resting to see how it affects my heart rate. Try to get a few cycles of data and see what results I have. Maybe I shouldn't have any expectations, but I'm guessing the retentive style breathing will result in a lower heart rate. Anyone else have thoughts on Body hacks/experimentations? Or want to join in on this one?

99.99% of the time the best translation of प्राणायाम is "don't waste your breath..." There are (of course) other possibilities...

I am intending to start a practice with what is often said to be the highest sinthesys of esential qigong, that is the Crane, turtle, deer breathing- meditation. As references I have the instructions by Ken Cohen in THE WAY OF THE QIGONG and the CHINESE SELF-HEALING by Dr. Stephen T. Chang. The practice it self differs in the standing position according K. Cohen and the sitting position in Dr. Chang. I will greatly appreciate your input regarding video descriptions and visual resources on what K. Cohen calls Balancing the Three Treasures. Also the sequence of events is slightly different in both authors. In looking for this practice I am concious of the phyical, mental and spiritual consequences inmplied in this combined trilogy of qi workouts. All the best to all, Fer

Dear All, I am pleased to let you know that Singing Dragon is going to publish Serge Augier's first book in English! Shen Gong and Nei Dan in Da Xuan A Manual for Working with Mind, Emotion, and Internal Energy Serge Augier. With translations by Isis Augier. Weaving a masterful presentation of both astonishing depth and refreshing simplicity, Serge Augier covers the Daoist practices for developing mind, emotions and internal energy and provides specific exercises for cultivating and transforming the Jing (body energy), Qi (life force) and Shen (mind or spirit) on the path to enlightenment. He explains theory and practice in clear, easy-to-understand terms and explores the deeper reaches of Daoist internal alchemy in a way that gives access to practitioners of all levels to the necessary knowledge. You can have a look at the table of content and pre-order the book here: http://www.singingdragon.com/catalogue/9781848192607 As one of Serge's student I strongly recommend this book. Serge's teachings are very clear and offers a lot. It is by far the most precise information you can find in the West on Shen Gong and Nei Dan!

Hey, So, I know there're a lot, if not majority of practices that involve just watching the breath (in the whole body, just at the belly, at the upper lip, etc), but, doing some reading, I'm just wondering if there're any practices that would be called meditations that involved being mindful of the breath whilst intentionally doing deep breathing. Some of what I've read is unclear. If you could post examples, preferably with references, of controlled mindful breathing, that would be much appreciated. Just as one can be mindful when you do anything that YOU'RE DOING (walking, eating etc), I don't see why you can't be mindful when controlling your breathing, and, if one is doing deep, embryonic or longevity breathing and being mindful of the practice, then, that has the added benefit of slowing metabolism, relaxation response, calming body mind, etc. Thoughts are appreciated.

We have some meditators here that are very good technical long meditators - it would be good to mention techniques for staying awake during what I refer to as "hitting unconsciousness". I use breathing techniques but I no longer know from what tradition they came (if any). Ya Mu mentioned a comparison between Zen and Qi people meditating, wherein awareness was quite different and the creative part of the brain was stimulated in the Qi people. I am not sure what the main differences are between a Zen meditation and a Qi aspect but I use a mix of teachings that I have learned over the years and also invented on my own, and staying in an aware state and not sleeping or going unconscious has never been a problem for me during meditation but it may be that Raja Yoga meditation is good at this which was my original early path or? I do not want to imply that I don't hit walls of unconscious energy - I definitely have but I move through them - they usually only last a few minutes but sometimes they are quite tenacious - in any case, I do not stop the meditation. In some 40 years of meditation I can count on one hand the number of times I have fallen asleep or konked out from hitting a wall and I don't think I need all of the fingers. I would say that in those 40 years I have very rarely stopped a meditation short because my body clearly needed sleep and meditation was pointless, probably also something I could count on one hand. I bring this up because one should start meditating with a reasonably good bank of sleep already in ones space so that falling asleep should not be a technical problem ( you don't start if you are exhausted). My point is that I agree with the general notion that it is highly beneficial to sit for long periods - certainly at least 1 hour. But quite a few appear to have problems with the Unconscious Energy Walls and do not sit for more than 40 minutes and usually less than that. If you can offer clear concise techniques that you have experience with for moving past the various walls to long meditation, please offer them up.

A great deal of our growth in the arena of expanding our awareness and on the path of enlightenment has more to do with the simple basics and far less to do with the so called "advanced" practices. Advanced practice is reached primarily from basic practice. Basic practice becomes advanced all on its own. As you progress on the path, the simple teachings are in fact by a very long shot the most important and the easiest to skip over - pushing them aside in a race to "master" the basics. It can also be hard to think straight in your teens and early 20s with what for some of us is a raging hormone storm and this may create the feeling of the urgency to "master" the basics aside from the intense desire to do so. Included in the basics are meditation, some breathing techniques, and some posture basics. Often wholly brushed aside is diet - or as is freqently the case - it is an egotistical way of life diet of only organic items and a very full identification with this diet (certainly nothing wrong with the diet - it is a very good diet - but the identification is often so enuciated it should be obviously an area to work on). Also brushed aside in general is the Ego - we see this all across these boards - statements of surety that is so obviously way beyond actual experience, the over use of quotes as though this redeems a lack of thinking or real experience. Almost no desire to consider what Right Thinking actually might mean - little discussion of it if any - an assumed understanding - ["my" understanding] Right view Right intention Ethical conduct Right action Right effort Right mindfulness Right concentration Take right effort: About 99% of the effort is done towards Gain The gaining of advanced practice skills, and the effort to maintain a good practice in order to continue "up" along the path. We indulge in poor food, alcohol, smoking and a limitless supply of energy reducing behaviours and think nothing of it. Even if we eat well, do not smoke and our drinking is none or well within a composed fashion, we attach ourselves to every cause under the sun and compress huge amounts of judgement into them and cast our will about the universe with abandon - often ready to pounce upon any protrusion from our indefatigable indignation. We practice this daily! It is our story and our biggest practice! It is primarily how we die - and how most of us are completely dead by the age of 45 - deadend to our story - our treasured illusion. We come out of it briefly in our old age when it hits us that we have been way off and need to purcase some insurance. Or we do not come out of it - and our after death is quite a delay for us. Another thing we skip over - though this practice is now coming to light - is the mindfulness to those energies we have come to know: If you have come to feel a particular chakra or energy center - try to stay aware of it at all times. This is a primary way to Awaken Say you feel the warmth of your 4th chakra in meditation and everytime you put your awareness on it you can feel it - then put your attention on it and be with it during the day. Slowly but surely it will be present more and more - and with it will come an increase in other awarenesses as well. Soon you will be more in this space than not - perhaps all the time. Practice not venting your energies on your story - stay with your being - notice when you leave your awareness space - you will find it leaves you often during the "you" that you believe you know best (the one you identify with). Many of the most "advanced" practices become your story - your new story - you are identified with your prowess of stretching, your ability to do some esoteric practice - and your ability to use the word esoteric as though you know what it means to be inside the innermost 3rd circle. If you ignore the basics - the balancing basics, then learning the "higher" forms present much more danger than they afford apportunity and growth. Another form of over engineering comes from fear - but this is a long enough beginning for now. Please join this discussion!

May you all be open and filled with the blessed emotional energy of peace in your minds, love in your hearts, Joy in your abdomen, and vital aliveness in your root. May you all feel and breath and know within, the wonder of Divine presence and blessing - like the sun - shines for everyone, everyday. May Peace, and Love and Joy and vibrent Aliveness be with you all.