Nasty side effects from the Microcosmic Orbit - what am I doing wrong?

[dawei]

I'm late to the thread but want to go back to your description of your MCO:

1. You mention a pearl and later said it was the size of your belly; it sounds less a pearl and more a balloon size. How do you visualize a balloon fitting up the tube?

2. You mentioned after 3-4 cycles you stop... so you do four minutes of MCO and stop?

3. You mentioned one minute per cycle... do you stop at certain points in the inhale/exhale or where ever?

 

I'll comment on these and then move on:

1. In my experience, the pearl can start off as a balloon, turning like a washing machine drum, but as it turns I compress it smaller and smaller to the size of a glowing, refined pearl.

2. I have rarely done this, in a serious way, less than 1 hour at a sitting. Of course I have played with shorter times, etc but not if I want the benefit of the MCO.

3. My experience is to ascend in one breath and descend in one breath; eventually one cycle can be done in one breath. I think it is good to start it slower but a minute for a cycle seems rather long but I have heard from others how they allow the pearl to be observant along its path and take longer.

 

I am not sure you have the proper energy level to begin the MCO; whether in months of preparing or prior to the start of the session. You may be too low on energy to achieve the MCO as you describe.

 

And when you finish the session, you don't really mention what happens to the pearl... is it 'let go' or do you circulate the energy or what?

 

Do you sense any energy stagnation or buildup? I sense you need purging whether in general or simply dirty Qi removed. There should be purging and while you mention the six healing sounds, do you purge Qi out you feet or where? I used to have to purge quite a bit and came up with some techniques which worked but it was always out the feet for me.

 

You might try basic circulation methods instead of the MCO to see if it is a balance and regulation need you have. The macro cosmic orbit follows the meridian path; ascending Yin channels through to the descending Yang channels. I have often found this a basic circulation which helped me the most when I wanted to balance myself. This is a quick explanation I know but just sharing it.

 

I would be doing these latter items before trying the MCO: Purge, circulate/balance, build up energy levels.

[qijack]

I dont know man. Im just going to take a stab in the dark and say find a chen tai chi teacher in your area and learn that. Ive recently started to train in chen tai chi and found it's good for sinking chi into the dan tien.

 

Also the reason people have discomfort when they do the mco is due to the chi being blocked in the head, once the chi passes through your head all your problems should go away. Eventually it will break through. Just try relax as much as possible and dont let your mind become scattered

[steve]

Hi guys

 

Hope you can help me with an answer to something that is really eating away at my quality of life..

 

I recently started doing the Microcosmic Orbit about three weeks ago. I started the exercise as I wanted to manage my kundalini syndrome. About two years ago I got a "minor" kundalini release, and since then I have had to stay away from concentration, relaxation exercises and meditation - because they would increase the energy and give me insomnia.

 

I started doing the MCO as I had been instructed that it would cure this symptom by grounding the energy inside ones body. I've been doing it daily, and I must admit that it feels like it's doing the opposite: More energy is being released in my body, and my insomnia has worsened. It's at the point now where I'm unable to take naps anymore, and I sleep so bad that I don't have energy to read/write, be creative or social..

 

My taoist teacher has suggested I try and run the exercise in reverse - up the front and down the spine, so as to stimulate more water production in my system, to counter the fire production. Maybe this will help.. But so far the same has happened as when I've done concentration exercises before: The energy is boosted, which results in insomnia.

 

My question is: Is this "normal"? Is it to be expected and will it fade as I become more experienced in these exercises? Have you experienced something like this yourselves, and would you know what to do?

 

Any kind of help would be greatly appreciated, as it's really starting to affect my quality of life..

With all due respect to you and your teacher, I think the problem is with how you've been taught to practice the MCO. The method I learned has little to nothing to do with visualization and imagination. The method you're working with is too intellectual and too visual. This may be why you are bringing too much energy into your head and your thoughts rather than stabilizing by allowing the energy to descend into the body. You're welcome to PM me if you're interested in any more input from me.

Good luck