Filling up the lower Dan Tien- How and Why
Should filling the Dan Tien be considered an important mile stone before an esoteric practitioner can move on to other practices.
Do we 'fill up' the Dan Tien just by deep full breathing and putting attention there? Does reverse breathing help the process? Is it necessary?
What are the markers of progress and are visualizations a help or hindrance?
I think it is vital and too often forgotten in the rush to learn more complicated practices. I think reverse breathing can help the process, and there are 'light' versions of it; a mental feeling of contraction of chi w/ a slight tightening of the butt, instead of the usual reversal of stomach movement during breath.
I like visualizations, but I'm trying not to use them much these days.
<edit> 9/6/14 the thread is on 26 pages and going strong. At some point I'd like to create a Best of.. this thread. Collect what I feel are the most important comments and condense them into a single cohesive post. Then put it on top to make it easier to find.
For some of these long, juicy, useful threads, it might be a cool idea for a OP writer to do this. Create a summary of the best thoughts, in one place so they're easier.
Absolutely no apologies needed. I’m happy to help - and I’m sure the other members are too.
So think of your awareness as a sort of subtle ‘mind-substance’… not a focused light or the source of the light. Rather than finding where your focus is originating (which is a thing, but not for this practice) - find where this substance is hanging out - in and around your body. I realise that this is an odd was of explaining it… but after some time, when you develop some Qi, this mind substance will thicken, and be quite palpable.
I checked my notes from when I was doing this, and I actually initially couldn’t find this mind substance - what happened is I sat as per the instructions for Yi Shou Dantien, and I only began to notice it when something started to sink. It’s probably the case that it was so habitual to have it where it was for me, that I simply couldn’t identify it until it began to sink of its own accord. It’s the change from what was habitual that helped me discern it.
Things like this in the beginning aren’t too formulaic, and there’s a bit of exploration required - but as long as you know what you’re looking to achieve, you’ll get there.
Exactly.
