Awakening The Sleeping Dragon., Chi breathing excercise. Options

This is an excercise I was taught by one of my past Kung Fu masters to awaken the chi, prana, kundalini or whatever.
Forgive me if this has already been described elsewhere in the forum, as I haven't had the chance to read them all yet.
The technique he taught me was to open my 'third eye' (Pineal Gland?), but with a small adaptation, can be used to awaken the chi.
I will give both techniques as I remember them. If I neglect any details, please let me know, as this was in 1979, and I'm not too sure if my memory serves me correctly, but I think I'm OK.

First of all, sit in the lotus position if possible. Failing that, a simple cross legged position will do fine, as long as the back is straight, so a cushion of some type may be employed to advantage, as this will keep the legs below the hips which helps.The tongue should be curled back so the underside is touching the roof of the mouth. The breath should be inhaled around the sides of the tongue, and this will probably result in the excess generation of saliva. In this case, just swallow and resume.

For the first couple of weeks, about fifteen minutes of normal breathing (Normal meaning from the chest as is common in the West.) in this position will prepare the body for what follows later, and does have benefits in itself, in that it concentrates the mind, while also increasing the oxygen content of the blood.

At this point, a visit to the toilet before proceeding with the following, is probably a good idea, as the downward pressure on the abdomen due to the following breathing technique can cause the bowels to evacuate, and place unnecessary pressure on the bowels, which is probably not good.

After the first couple of weeks, start to focus on breathing downwards, so the abdomen, and not the chest is moving in and out.
This should be done forcibly, and slowly for about five minutes to start with, increasing the duration over the following two weeks or so, to about fifteen minutes.

Incidentally, I am aware that breathing through the mouth is not generally recommended, as it can increase one susceptibility to catching colds, but this seems to be an exception to that rule for some reason.
It may be a good idea to evaporate some essential oils, for instance sandalwood, as it's antiseptic properties will clear the air of any unwanted microbes in the atmosphere.

After a short while, you should feel a warmth in the pit of the abdomen. This is normal (!!), and a sign of success with the technique.
Again, it is probably a good idea to stop at this point for a couple of days while the body adjusts to the new conditions. Stll do the breathing excercise, but stop at this point.

THIRD EYE.
Once the feeling of heat in the abdomen is more familiar, relax the forced breathing back to your normal everyday breathing, and visualise a stream of white light moving slowly up the spine, over the top of the head, to the middle of the forehead stopping at the centre.
Keep the attention focussed on this point, and if my experience is anything to go by, you'll begin to feel a sort of pulsing sensation at the point of concentration.
After a while, each pulse should get longer in duration until it just feels like a numb lump on the forehead.
This is where things started to get a bit too real and freaky for me, as I then felt a sort of parting in the middle of the lump, as if two hands were pushing into my forehead and pulling apart the lump from the middle, leaving a hole, which didn't hurt at all, but then suddenly, I had the sensation of what I can only describe as a fist being thrust into the hole with great speed and force, at which point it all became too much for me, fear took hold and I pulled myself out of it.
I'm afraid I am unable to elaborate further, as I have not been able to overcome my fear as of yet. I have taken myself to the point of the pulsations a few times, but I always stop it there.
If anyone manages to go further with this, I would be very interested to know of the results, but please be careful, and have a change of underwear handy.

CHI.
I have not actually attempted this technique myself, but I remember the method as taught to other students.
The process is just the same as before, except instead of the visualisation of the energy going up the spine, you imagine yourself sinking down inside yourself, in total darkness, until you decide you've gone far enough.

Then visualise a small black box, with the word 'chi' written on the lid.
Don't open it yet, but examine it, turning it around in your imagination, again until it becomes familiar to you.
After a few sessions of this, open the lid a small amount, and then close it again.

The reason for such a gradual opening, is that to open the box all at once can, apparently drive you a bit crazy, resulting in violent behaviour, which with the power of chi behind it can have devastating results on yourself and others around you, so please be careful, and don't rush the process.

Apparently, even if you do this gradually, you will still have a few problems in this area, but if done gradually, you will have much better control over it.

So that's it as far as I can remember.
I'm not sure about the wisdom of putting this information in the public domain, as it will be accessible to all kinds of people less scrupulous than the general vibe of the readers here, but I suppose I'll just have to accept responsibility for that.
Thank you for your interest.

Sicksicksicks.




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This post has been edited by Sicksicksicks: Mar 27 2006, 11:03 AM

1 member/s has found this topic to be useful and informative:

Kinjo

Thanks for your response.
I was in a bit of a dilemma as to whether I had done the right thing posting this, as I have since read posts concerning the problems arising from misuse of this kind of info, but your response is encouraging.
I would be very distressed if any of my posts were to the detriment of someone else's progress in a given direction.
Thanks again.
Steve.

Most of the elements of this exercise are Qigong, but there is some New Age influence also. The focus on the third eye is New Age-ish, as is the visualization at the end. It would be more powerful-- and more risky-- if you sealed the lower openings (tighten up anal and genital sphincters) while you press down. Actually I think that the intention is to do so. When you increase interabdominal pressure by pushing down while sealing the openings, it is called Qi packing which is an advanced technique. If you do it wrong it can result in things like plugs in your energy. If you don't seal the anus and genitals it seems safe enough.

Thanks for your info.
I would like to try the technique you mention if and when I get in touch with someone in my area who could supervise my progress, but if you reckon I'd probably be OK with the method as it stands, I may pluck up the courage to try it again sometime, and leave out the more risky bits you mention.
I would have thought that I would need a method of discharging the generated energy, but maybe focussing on the 'third eye' does that.
You mention 'New Age', and yes I was into all that new age stuff at the time, although in 1979 it was not as widely used a term as it is now, being generally referred to by a lot of the bands I was into at the time, i.e. Steve Hillage, Hawkwind, Gong etc....,
but now the term makes me cringe somewhat as it generally implies rose coloured spectacle type things.
My Kung Fu master was definitely not one of these types though, he was as rough as a bear's butt, and mad as a box of frogs, but he really knew his stuff.
Could you elaborate sometime on what you refer to as plugs in my energy, and it's manifested symptoms, as this could possibly explain a lot about my occasional states of mind?
Thanks again.
Steve.

I then felt a sort of parting in the middle of the lump, as if two hands were pushing into my forehead and pulling apart the lump from the middle, leaving a hole, which didn't hurt at all, but then suddenly, I had the sensation of what I can only describe as a fist being thrust into the hole with great speed and force, at which point it all became too much for me, fear took hold and I pulled myself out of it.

That sounds very much like the feeling of the kundalini cobra coming through the crown . This would not be your first flame then .
This sounds normal and safe and I suggest you continue with this energy technique just always open in protection as you do .
This is a good technique thanks for sharing it !

This post has been edited by Aunt Clair: Apr 4 2006, 10:01 PM

I forgot to say that it's best not to eat anything for four hours prior to the excercise.
That Cobra stuff sounds interesting, and judging from the feeling I got, it does seem to tie in.
As for it having happened before, I wasn't sure, but now you mention it, there was a point not long before the incident described above, where shortly after I met the guy, (we were both working in a local supermarket) he showed me a simpler form of the excercise to give one energy when tired.
This was just breathing forcibly from the abdomen with the tongue on the roof of the mouth whilst working or whatever, and that kept me going through my afternoon shift and all through the night shift too.
This is where things started to get a bit odd.
I went home afterwards, locked the door of the house for the rest of the night, and lay on the settee, as my Grandad was living with us at the time and he had my room.
I pulled the blanket over me to go to sleep.
I like to do a bit of deep breathing before going to sleep, and after doing this, I got ready for a good kip.
Lying on my back, I first felt a tingling sensation from my feet moving up my legs and through my body, then my feet floated up what felt like about six inches from the settee.
I remember thinking how strange this was, and felt a bit scared until I heard this kind of inner voice telling me to relax, and that everything was going to be alright, so I didn't panic and allowed whatever it was to happen.
I felt so happy and relaxed, and I also felt a pair of hands tucking the blanket under me.
My feet gently lowered themselves, and I turned over, and went to sleep feeling very happy, safe and relaxed.
The next day, when my Dad came home he told me off for leaving the front door and kitchen window wide open, but I knew I'd closed them before going to bed, so maybe this was left as some kind of proof that it wasn't a dream.
This was in 1979, but I can remember it clearly, and it was one of my favourite experiences ever.
I still don't know who it was tucking the blanket under me though.

lovely, i must try this.

Many thanks for sharing your knowledge (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)