You ground you lose?

[xxhealinghandxx]

"Extend your own energy down into the earth while keeping it also connected to
you. Feel your energy as streamers or roots extending deep into the earth, as
anchors. These roots balance your energy, so you're not dizzy, and they give
and take energy to keep your overall level steady. When stressed, you may not
anchor very well. Ground and stabilize your anchor to reduce the feelings of
stress."

This was from a Psi site, I don't practice Psi (yet) I just like to read things, instead of practice them, which makes me frown because I have a real lack of motivation; but thats another story.

I underlined what I'm worried about, in another forum (the one about electrical devices breaking) someone said that grounding would help you more fully integrate your energy. But here it says that it will take it away to keep you at a "steady level", so who is right? In my mind that just sounds like raising a bunch of energy and giving 50% of it back, making 50% of it vain effort.

The site is here, http://forums.vsociety.net/topic/4863.0 , though I've seen this elsewhere I'm pretty sure.

[wstein]

Grounding is generally done to restore your energy level to its natural level. If you have extra then it drains away; if you are low, more flows in. This is generally controlled by your own energy system, mostly in your aura. The earth is considered to be generally neutral to humans and so a relatively safe place to draw energy from. If you have extra energy, then you do lose energy. Usually that's the point, grounding often done to get rid unwanted energy absorbed from a place or put on you by another entity. Grounding to the earth is generally safe no matter what you energy state.

Grounding is a basic technique. There are more advanced options. There are more positive places to receive energy from. Also rather than draining excess 'bad' energy, converting it for you use can be better. See Healing from the Heart->Grounding.

[xxhealinghandxx]

So that means it's impossible to build up a strong energy field for health and such??? It will all just drain away and you will have the same amount of energy as normal people?

[wstein]

If you ground constantly, you will have the amount of energy as normal for YOU. Each person's natural energy state is different. With practice you can increase your natural amount of energy (see NEW or other techniques for this). In between groundings, your energy level can be higher or lower.

As a matter of personal style, I never ground. I prefer to reuse energy whenever possible. This is not recommended for beginners as they can easily get overwhelmed or totally drained.

[Tom]

Energy must be kept in motion or it will become stale and moldy. Grounding is a way of keeping your energy circulating so it stays fresh.

[xxhealinghandxx]

So basically it takes energy that is clogged and kind of flushes it down (stagnant qi in the merdians)? Basically what I'm wondering, is if it actually pulls energy from your energy storage "places" and takes that down back to the earth? Much like a slap on the wrist that you have too much of an abundance of energy, which you might have been trying to use for healing anyway.

If it does the former thats ok with me because I know that blockages can mean disease, but if it does the latter that would really suck.

wstein, doesn't the earth have transformative powers of its own? Like a recycling of bad energy to good? That's what I hear, so I don't think it would be unjust to send the earth used energy so it can make it new again.

Do you capitalize earth?

[Tom]

Grounding isn't about losing anything. The more you ground your energy, the more you can bring in to yourself. It serves to increase your ability to hold energy. It makes you more aware and more present, so it increases your abilities and adds power to all your actions.

[xxhealinghandxx]

Alright, sounds useful. Thanks for the opinions, now I'm not afraid to ground ^^

[wstein]

Energy must be kept in motion or it will become stale and moldy. Grounding is a way of keeping your energy circulating so it stays fresh.

Stale, say what?? Energy keeps itself in motion. Where are you storing it?

[Lion]

You can recieve or transmit.

The hollow space in a garden hose could hold a small amount of water. You could use it to drain a bucket, or fill a bucket. You can hold a small amount of energy, drain the ground of energy, or put more of your energy into it.

[wstein]

Its quite possible to receive and transmit at the same time. Many of the hands-on healing techniques do this. Most receive from above or below while sending from the hands, but its possible to choose other access points. Some people also do this to 'flush' their energy system.

I recently experienced sending and receiving from a single palm (to another experienced energy worker's palm) at the same. It felt like a ring around a circle. There is no reason in principle that it can't be done from another single point.

[Tom]

Energy must be kept in motion or it will become stale and moldy. Grounding is a way of keeping your energy circulating so it stays fresh.

Stale, say what?? Energy keeps itself in motion. Where are you storing it?

Storing it isn't my thing, but there are people who think they should not ground their energy because they must continue to build it up within themselves and never let any out. I know that the way to get more energy is by increasing the flow of energy rather than collecting it like baseball cards and old coins.

[CFTraveler]

Kind of like the old saying: "The Universe Abhorrs a Vaccuum".

[wstein]

Energy must be kept in motion or it will become stale and moldy. Grounding is a way of keeping your energy circulating so it stays fresh.

Stale, say what?? Energy keeps itself in motion. Where are you storing it?

Storing it isn't my thing, but there are people who think they should not ground their energy because they must continue to build it up within themselves and never let any out. I know that the way to get more energy is by increasing the flow of energy rather than collecting it like baseball cards and old coins.

Why not both?

I agree that grounding is a waste of energy.
I see no point to continually collecting energy if you never use it (unless you want to explode :)).
I also see no point of letting energy flow in, if it just flows out.

Having a high base energy level seems to be a good thing unless you overload.

The balance between flow and storage is probably based on whether you are doing flow based or field based energy work.

[Korpo]

Energy in the body is not free of context.

It is more like energy with added information. Reusing stagnated Chi would require to clean up and refine it.

What you can do with some techniques I've read about is clearing away blockages and releasing the Chi that stagnated there. Reusing it would mean you are building your energy foundation on agitated, impure and stale Chi. The quality of your Chi, its balance of Yin and Yang, and balancing it out is more important than the overall amount.

Hoarding your Chi can make you an energy "messy" - piling up all the stuff you find. More sane is to ground you, flush out released Chi to the ground and below your feet - if you keep the downward Chi flow moving your reserves will be replenished with Yin Chi through your crown. Mostly Western people are too Yang, and therefore benefit from balancing with energy from above instead with energy from below.

Yang Chi feels strong, but that is a deception. When you get the amount of Yang and Yin just right, you enter an equilibrium, the state of T'ai Chi (expressed by the Yin-Yang symbol of the same name). This equilibrium allows good, steady and stable growth while calming and soothing the mind without overexciting it.

If you refine your Chi enough you may even return it to Wu Chi - the emptiness at the beginning. Instead of having your Chi, which is consciousness bound within a certain context, you now have raw, pure consciousness, that can generate a higher level of thought.

The Buddhists and Taoists refine their energy and minds by emptying them from content, experiencing pure and raw consciousness, and building pure, deeper thoughts on top of a clean mind.

Refusing to ground is the opposite. You are risking to get too Yang, on the surface powerful, but unbalanced. Your organs tend to overheat and degenerate quicker. Your mind is more prone to agitation, aggressiveness. This is what happens to imbalanced, especially external-style martial artists, that develop a lot of energy but not balance it. They wallow in their power and become "fighting animals", as Bruce Frantzis calls them.

Pulling your root down is getting into an exchange. You trade what you cannot use for what your system requires. You do not lose Chi, you un-loose your Chi flow. You optimise your system, and thereby increase your awareness of it. You get to know how your energy bodies work, refine the energy you have, assimilate at the rate you are comfortable with.

You cannot heal a person simply by hoarding Chi and uncharge it. To remove the illness the person yourself or a healer must restore balance and flow. Sick muscles, tendons, organs etc. are places where the Chi is not happening. Discharging at them with randomly collected energy not purified with inner calm and not the right kind of Chi to bring balance makes either the sick or the healer a Chi wastebin. The "crap" has to go somewhere... Better down the root, before you clog your organs and body with it, right?

Chi, or the basic vital energies of Jing, Chi and Shen, as the Chinese differentiate them for the tantiens in which they reside, does not come in a single variety. It can be transformed, refined, purified, or you can obtain rather raw, unrefined and impure Chi.

Food for example is a major source of Yang Chi to keep you going. Lots of junk food gives you energy you cannot use for anything useful - impure and overheated. Ever felt hot after gulping down a big, fat meal? ;)

The good message is, you can ground and expunge excess Chi before it manifests negatively in no positive way. I somehow think basic NEW is a bit in risk of this. Yes, you clear up (parts!) of the Small and Grand Heavenly Orbits that are vital vessels of your major energy flows in the body. So far so good. But you draw in excessive amounts of Yang Chi from below to unblock them, then try to store it in the Lower Tantien. This may actually the positive final step that redeems the practice: In the lower Tantien you can mix Earth Yang with Prenatal Yin Chi you received at birth. Whether this is taking place or not I cannot readily verify.

But while you develop the vessels (partially), and some energy centers, you fail to develop more sensitivity for your muscles, organs, etc. You may everyday heat up your body and do more harm than good, because you are already too Yang, and piling Yang on top of it. Or you may add to existing blockages. Or you may even balance out an excessive Yin.. You may never know, because you keep shoveling manure on the field without knowing how much fertilizer is required. Plants die from too much fertilizer. So you too may deteriorate because of too much of the wrong Chi. NEW in the published form has too little context for you to verify.

So, rooting is good if you want a good and stable energy fundament. It does not drain, but balance you. :)

[xxhealinghandxx]

geeze Korpo, that was a good article :) . Only nine posts? You should write more. And you should also post that on the ask Robert forum, because now I'm curious too.


I see no point to continually collecting energy if you never use it (unless you want to explode Smile).

People practice qigong to build up strong energy fields that actually benefit health, not make you explode. But Korpo's post has me all confuzed now. I strongly recommend you post that on the ask Robert Bruce section Korpo, unless someone else can figure that out for ya.

Robert Bruce said:

If a full body circuit is done for just a few minutes prior to falling asleep, the extra energy raised will increase the vividness and power of your dreams and lucid dreaming. It can also cause more frequent spontaneous Out of Body Experiences and make these easier to remember. The extra energy provided by these techniques empowers all subtle and dream bodies alike.
Robert Bruce said:

Use increased effort to clear blockages and to overcome low background energy conditions, but not for general energy raising and long term development purposes. And if the flow of energy into the Sub-Navel storage centre does not equal the energy expenditure used to raise it, temporary energetic exhaustion can also be the result. This is though, often an unavoidable side-effect during the early stages of energy body development, while blockages are being cleared, redefined and grown.

Please keep in mind that when a blockage is cleared it can often cause high energy usage, far in excess of the amount of energy available or being stored at that time. This can result in fatigue and temporary physical exhaustion; seemingly for no apparent reason. Often more energy is used to clear and repair blockages than can be raised and stored, thereby causing a temporary energy deficit. This can also cause noticeable energy movement sensations to continue for some time after energy raising actions are ceased. Energy will consequentially sometimes continue flowing into depleted areas because of continuing energy demands therein. Blockages can also clear themselves spontaneously as a result of earlier development work; for no apparent reason. Because of this you may experience energy movement sensations outside of development session times, say in the middle of the night or during the day for no apparent reason. This is a very good sign, however, and shows your energy body is responding well to the overall development process. http://www.astraldynamics.com/search.as ... enceID=241 (http://www.astraldynamics.com/search.asp?Search=storing%20energy&Type=1&ReferenceID=241)

[Korpo]

I feel compelled to strongly discern what I have experienced personally, and what I've read in Chi Gung / Nei Gung and Taoist / Buddhist theory.

I'm no rookie energy work, but not very experienced either. I can feel and to a certain amount move my Chi. Dissolve blockages. Feel into the state of parts of my body, often down to the level of blood circulation (strongly connected to Chi movement), muscle tension (Chi stagnation and flow). Sometimes I can feel into organs (especially lung, heart/pericardium and brain) and down to the bone.

Examples of my experiences:

If I dissolve blockages in my etheric body, heat builds up. If I let Chi sink from the crown to the feet and below the feet the effect is cooling. If I dissolve blocked Chi outward and sink it, the warmth will be returned to normal, and in the long run Chi sensitivity will rise, and the ability to clean up that part of body will increase.

If I do not properly sink the Chi from blockages heat builds up. If I continue to sink Chi for too long without dissolving the body cools down.

If I draw Chi from my sexual organs (testicles and penis), it is warm, and in dependance of my arousal, agitated.

If I do standard Buddhist meditation techniques for too long, especially watching the air flow the nostrils, I get nosebleeds. If I do not sink Chi I tend to clog my Chi flow up and get headaches and heated up organs.

Now let's mix some of my experiences with theory:

Where the Chi goes, the blood follows. If you build a capability to move Chi you need to be especially aware where you lead it and how long you have it stay there. When I concentrated on my nostrils for a long time I actually created a Chi-induced high blood pressure situation. Given the often brittle and small blood vessels in the nose the nosebleeds were to be expected. I expect other techniques that move with the airflow or watch the belly don't suffer from this.

If I sink too long, I get cold. This is calling a lot of Yin Chi from above into the body. Yin is cold. If I draw too much male energy I get hot - male is Yang, Yang is hot. Yang Jing Chi from the male reproductive organs is circulated in the Tantric practice I tried. It is drawn up the spine and drawn down the front into the lower tantien.

The lower tantien is the body reserve container of physical Chi. The kidneys supply Yin Chi there extracted from your prenatal reserve. If you mix it with Yang you can get balanced Chi, a perfect and wholesome Chi for supplying the body with healthy energy.

When you draw too much Yang from the Earth through the feet or from the male sex organs and store it there, you tip the balance to Yang. This can lead to the whole body heating up, similar to fever. I experienced that already. When you excessively draw energy through your feet into the lower tantien you may tip the balance as well, feel strong, because Yang is aggressive, strong and full, but at the same time you are overburdening your inner Yin, which is filled from your internal prenatal reserve. You feel exhausted, you feel hot, and you overburden your energy system, preventing growth and creating imbalance.

If you draw Yin from above this does not happen. You can cool down your body, and in order to flush formerly blocked, impure and agitated Chi, you can sink it below your feet. Western, agitated bodies, male bodies especially, are a bit on the Yang side. If you sink your Chi in rooting, you balance it. You start to relax, muscles and tendons soften, organs heal. If you overdo the Yin draw you will feel cold and freeze. The Yang nature of food energy and other influences, or circulating a bit of Earth Chi may balance that, I haven't tried yet.

This is what I think about rooting. It is creating balance, not throwing something away. Else your body will call on its reserves for balancing, and that drains you. That may be very well the cause when you overdo NEW as mentioned by Robert and quoted above. When you free too much of one type of Chi, the body balances with its own, internal reserves from the lower tantien, the organs and bones and tissues. When you draw in or free more energy than you can handle you are actually draining yourself and preventing growth. Rooting can balance Chi, and I think sinking Chi from the crown into the ground is exactly that.

Robert's NEW seems to designed to promote growth by adding a certain, healthy amount of Earth Yang Chi, mix it with prenatal Yin the lower tantien, and allow growth through this more refined Chi. This mechanism stops working when you do it beyond the point that feels comfortable, strain your energy system and especially add too much Yang. Since Yang feels strong by its very nature you fool yourself into believing in powerful growth when in fact you do not experience this at all but drain yourself.

Yang delusions are a strong risk for all external-style martial artists, and Robert warns about this in his books with NEW as well, that overdoing does not actually help growth, but creates brittle structures that form a bad fundament, IIRC.

[xxhealinghandxx]

Korpo, do you know a technique for drawing in Yin qi? If you could post one that would be helpful; Maybe Robert could integrate one in NEW..?

I'm no rookie energy work, but not very experienced either. I can feel and to a certain amount move my Chi. Dissolve blockages. Feel into the state of parts of my body, often down to the level of blood circulation (strongly connected to Chi movement), muscle tension (Chi stagnation and flow). Sometimes I can feel into organs (especially lung, heart/pericardium and brain) and down to the bone. I was doing all of this within a couple of months of practicing NEW. This is not a testament to my ability, but a testament to Robert's ability to move past the esoteric, hard to understand Eastern philosophies regarding energy and make it easily understandable to the Western mind. I was and am also able to feel movement of all chakras. Robert stresses development of the secondary energy body system before outright attempting to develop chakras. This is to have a safe base from which to develop the primary centers (chakras).

Once I understood chi and was able to move energy easily, it made the Eastern philosophies much more interesting and understandable. He uses the example of calling the lower Dan Tien the "sub-navel energy storgage center". After knowing this, it was easy to feel the "sucking" of moving energy into the storage center as if into a void.

From my understanding, it can sometimes take years to develop your energy system to that level using QiGong and other Eastern methods. If interested, his free, online, NEW tutorial is wonderful. His newest book, out in April of 2007 is all about energy work.

Korpo said:

Refusing to ground is the opposite. You are risking to get too Yang, on the surface powerful, but unbalanced. I have to agree with this wholeheartedly. *personal experience* :oops:

[xxhealinghandxx]

I too have found that NEW is more beneficial than qigong. Not that qigong isn't good but here are the advantages I have found when I was trying to find a qigong. (which I never chose one because I couldn't find a free one that professed to be as powerful as the ones you had to pay for, except for those labeled as cults).
(how do you do bullets on this thing?)
-NEW

-allows you to develop the majority of the energy body
-allows you to strengthen energy pathways, so as to continually improving the amounts of energy you can pull in.
-integrates into HFTH so you can heal without draining your own energy
-allows you to focus on psychic skills rather, but also while, increasing the energy flow within the chakras to attain such psychic gifts
-IS FREE
-integrates into astral projection, development of psychic skills, healing, development of strongery energy fields, and enhances other practices such as qigong.
-develops a sensitivity to energy
-health + more energy by raising energy
-NEW "bonuses" (http://www.astraldynamics.com/tutorials ... etinID=242 (http://www.astraldynamics.com/tutorials/?BoardID=6&BulletinID=242))
-clears blockages
-ah I can't think of the rest if you want to post more just do it

-Qigong

-an ancient chinese tradition to absorb qi (chi) for..
-healing
-self-defense
-health
-sometimes activates psychic abilities
-opens and widens meridians

That is all I know of qigong. And my above summary of NEW is why I chose it over qigong. As far as my knowledge goes about qigong, I think if you practice it for 20 minutes and do it correctly, you get the same amount of qi (chi) from doing it. But with NEW you develop and strengthen the energy body so as to enhance your practice, by being able to handle more energy, and by being able to do that, making more out of the time you practice. That was one of the big ones for me, plus it is free, which I am in debt to RB for :) .

I was going to post this somewhere else but this is my own thread, so I forgive myself ;D

[Korpo]

From my understanding, it can sometimes take years to develop your energy system to that level using QiGong and other Eastern methods.

Well, this could be good or bad. Some people - and I count myself to them - can react badly to quick development. I corrected. I got rather sensitive to energy since I started doing energy work, and perhaps NEW played a special role about it, but I doubt it. I tried too many stuff to be really sure what effected what...

I never felt energy as subtle and as such a soft wind like I do now. Formerly I was forcing along my energy with my will, and it went there eventually. But I confused the mind leading with the energy flow - I know that now.

Now, after some months of Nei Gung I can feel energy more subtly. I can feel type and quality of the energy - Yin or Yang. I have stronger control. I can "penetrate" to deeper layers of my body and work with blockages. I can work with what my body tells me.

Nei Gung is not exactly the same as Chi Gung. Chi Gung is now used generally for all Chinese energy work, but originally it denoted breath-centered work, and working from the limbs towards the body. Stretching and working with the limbs started energy, and ceasing the work let it flow to the center. Nei Gung can be reinforced by the breath (but this isn't required) and works from the center outward. Nei Gung is not necessarily that different from NEW.

What sent me searching for Taoist practices is the wealth of background, theory and information available. Bruce is not exactly pumping out books... ;) I wanted to know more about the energy body, and Taoism provided in a way so I can understand it. It gave me the basic roadmap, a roadmap verified over and over, and now I'm exploring with it, sometimes referring to it.

It may have been just my own fault over-associating NEW with projection. I went down the Taoist path to strengthen my energy body before dealing with projection. I had rather bad blockages that made for example my leg jerk when trying to project, and had not much success cleaning beyond that. Now within the framework of standing Nei Gung I'm working at that problem, and have some success. The condition of my body reflects strongly on my etheric and Chi body there.

On the one hand it comes down to personal preference. I like having the big picture. And Taoism provides a set of interconnected measures to go the way of healing, of longevity, of martial arts, or of spiritual work, and a philosophy that can help in interpretation of what I'm doing. I can cross-read and compare, it's not "single-source". I'm simply built to act like that - strongly systematic.

On the other hand it goes beyond personal preference - I strongly resonate with Taoist ideas. It feels like the path I should try now. Taoism and Buddhism simply attract me.

It's the only tradition I'm aware off that has astral projection (explicitly) within its set of goals to achieve along the path. It's rather "at the end" of the training, but those masters who report about it state that they strengthen their bodies and minds to go exploring for days, not part of an hour or hours. It's part of what the Taoists see beyond the death: You construct your spirit body during life, attain the ability to reincarnate as a whole. You overcome reincarnation and become a mature, self-reliant spiritual being, an immortal. Makes projection even more interesting, isn't it... ? :)

I was going to post this somewhere else but this is my own thread, so I forgive myself ;D
:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

[xxhealinghandxx]

^^

Well I'm glad that works for you. I actually should read some of the Tao Te Ching, because there is actually alot of wisdom there.

So about that Yin drawing in energy thingy-ma-bob?

[Korpo]

-allows you to develop the majority of the energy body
-allows you to strengthen energy pathways, so as to continually improving the amounts of energy you can pull in.
-integrates into HFTH so you can heal without draining your own energy
-allows you to focus on psychic skills rather, but also while, increasing the energy flow within the chakras to attain such psychic gifts
-IS FREE
-integrates into astral projection, development of psychic skills, healing, development of strongery energy fields, and enhances other practices such as qigong.
-develops a sensitivity to energy
-health + more energy by raising energy
-NEW "bonuses" (http://www.astraldynamics.com/tutorials ... etinID=242 (http://www.astraldynamics.com/tutorials/?BoardID=6&BulletinID=242))
-clears blockages
-ah I can't think of the rest if you want to post more just do it

Essentially the same is true for Chi/Nei Gung. Applications are in health, spirituality, martial arts and longevity.

Plus:

* You can cross-read, have several sources of information.
* Higher likeliness of finding a qualified teacher or expert if things go wrong.
* About 2,500 years of test and refinement.

There are specialist techniques for
* Refining energy through a set of conversions for the different uses - physical, emotional, mental, ...
* Treatments for organ illness, rejuvenation of bone marrow, muscles and tendons including with breath, meditation, sound and visualisation
* Meditations and dissolving exercises for balancing emotions against another (Inner Alchemy)

There is a full framework integrating all of this, sharing benefits with laymen (like TCM and acupuncture are really "spin-offs"). A full philosophical and theoretical background. I appreciate that! :)

Basically it comes down on this: I do not say this cannot be done with NEW, or with Indian Yoga. I do not say that at all. I just prefer this approach, where I have more guidance, a roadmap, and still can do the same things. There is a good amount of published material available - I like that.

I simply looked for myself for a framework that has it all - health, longevity, enlightenment, projection, guidance, philosophy and safety.

NEW may be much more general than I initially thought, but the context I learned it in was rather limited. Since "Healing Energy through the Tao" was the only book referenced in the bibliography of MAP that hinted on background material I went down that road.

I'm aware that Robert carefully mapped his own energy body. I'm pretty keen on his NEW book, hoping it will add to the depth of knowledge available.

BTW, Robert mixes concepts of Indian Yoga (chakras) with Taoist energy work (energy vessels) - especially the presence of the Gouvernor channel/vessel in the front of the body in his circulation exercises and the Lower Tantien hint on that. Bruce Frantzis for example has explored both energy systems/circuits through Qi Gong and Kundalini Yoga and sees them as subtly separate. It would be interesting to see what effects mixing produces.

And another BTW: Taoist teachers are pretty conservative. It's higly likely they teach slow-moving, safe techniques, perfect them, and go on. NEW and Indian Yoga can rush things, but this is risky. Robert warns of rushing many times as well. If you perceive Qi Gong as a slower way, it strongly depends on the method, level and teacher. You can very quickly, but at a risk teachers often do not want take responsibility for.

A few months down the road I got very far with Chi Gung, maybe not as far in some aspects as some of you, maybe more far in others. But stuff people consider safe failed me, and Taoism provided me with answers why. Maybe I have too much blockages too dissolve, or am to sensitive, but I prefer the gentle method - no visualisations in the beginning stages, strong downward flows and grounding, and in the order physical, emotional, mental, spiritual, no early peeks! ;)

I'm not trying to talk badly about what obviously works for you, and works well. But there is more than one road towards the higher goals of being, and I prefer to see some nice scenery while I'm on my way. ;)

[Korpo]

healinghand - I still owe you an answer - where do I get Yin Qi from?

First of all, your original essence is an excellent source of Qi from your prenatal Essence. The essence resides in your kidneys - not necessarily the physical ones, but the etheric body equivalent. Essence is slowly and continually converted to Qi. This is the essential background process happening from birth to death you draw on when you live.

This conversion should not be increased, for obvious reasons. The candle that glows doubly so hot and bright does so only half as long (in physical layman's terms ;) - I didn't verify that!). But this the conversion can be used better and Essence loss prevented:

When you learn abdominal breathing, especially breathing into your lower back, kidneys and the lower Tantien, you move muscles often used less in average adults. Muscle movement requires Qi. In this case the abdominal muscles draw on Post-Birth Qi (food and air) and Pre-Birth Qi (Essence-conversion in the kidneys) in a completely natural way. Qi that would else leak away now replenishes the muscles, surplus flows into the Tantien.

You can lead kidney Qi to the Lower Tantien by meditation or other mind-moving techniques as well. Be gentle, and don't strain your kidney's Qi supply, as this can bring your Qi level there below normal, replacement is slow, and fatigue and illness may result. Be sure to draw less in Winter, because the kidneys are more prone to illness in cold weather (their extremely Yin nature can get even more Yin by the winter cold).

For males sexual moderation or Tantric techniques can become important. Less intercourse reduces Essence (Jing) loss, since the Taoists believe that the enormous life potential of the 500 million sperms is directly drawn from the Essence. While women don't need such a wasteful approach, males do, and are more endangered of Essence loss - premature aging and illness can befall men with an overactive, promiscuous sex life. This often gets hidden by the fact that especially attractive and therefore healthy men that are drawn to such a lifestyles and can attract lots of sex partners usually have quite a lot of Essence to waste in the first place.

Basic Tantric sperm retention techniques, sexual moderation, and Tantric sex where man and woman balance their sexual potentials can help in balancing the loss and safe Essence. Sperm retention works because the body reduces the sperm production when not put under strain, and increases it when it is.

Back to the Yin Qi: You can preserve the Yin Qi from your prenatal store in the kidneys by keeping them warm (especially in the winter), massaging the kidneys, and drawing surplus Qi to the Tantien in any of the ways mentioned above.

(From "The Roots of Chinese Qigong" and "Taoist Secrets of Love")

Sinking Chi generally has cooling effects, while letting Chi rise has warming effects. Chi travelling downwards benefits health, strengthes the bodies Chi-moving capabilities and can therefore allow more raising later on without ill effects. Frantzis recommends a 80/20 relation of downwards over upwards, because upwards energy movement from Earth to Heaven can overload your system easily, while downwards movement from Heaven to Earth balances, roots, grounds and can be readily used to clear blockages. This cooling, downward-moving Chi can be characterised Yin as well by its very nature. Balancing both streams so that they balance out in the lower Tantien is the long-term goal, achieving nourishing by Heaven and Earth.

(From "Healing Energy Through the Tao" and "Opening the Energy Gates of the Body")

I have problems discerning what nature Earth and Heavenly Chi are - according to Mantak Chia Heavenly is Yang, and Earth is Yin, and the same goes for Chi you draw in from the crown - Yang, and from the center of the arch of the foot - Yin. I do not know why - he still says, moving downward cool Yin and upward is hot Yang, so go figure...

These answers leave a lot to be desired, but I'm still in the course of study and experimentation.

[xxhealinghandxx]

That has had me a little wondered too. In Yang Style Tai Chi, they say you should press the balls of the feet downward because it supresses yin qi, which I think if we pressed down, would be inhibiting (stopping) the flow of yin qi from the ground. And the whole thing about Yin qi coming from the ground is strange, because people always refer to the earth as "Mother Earth". When we search for water it is always under the ground and while the sky rains, it is above where the sun comes from.

So which direction does yin qi come from, Up, or down?

[Korpo]

Well, "Mother Earth" and Yin Qi actually make sense - Yin is embodied in the female, and Yang in the male (more strongly or in relation).

This is easily observed in the average individual: Women tend more towards being cold even in average temperatures (Yin is empty, cold, etc. on down the line), you much more often with T-shirts even in more cold weather. Everything on the average of course - it changes a lot with personal disposition and stamina.

In general in Taoism the female principle is always described as empty, receiving, reactive, cold and soothing. That not simply the sexism of the time put into nice poetry and philosophy. It goes deeper. It means a man can only balance by acquiring qualities commonly described as female, a woman cannot rely on her female qualities too much without becoming weak and depressive. It just says: Balance - a whole human being is balanced, and both men and women strive towards that balance. There is a hint of emancipation in there.

When I look into "The Roots of Chinese Qigong" there is an interesting discussion of quantity and quality of Chi. Quality is described in terms of Kan and Li (Water and Fire), while the level is described in terms of Yin (empty) and Yang (full) - T'ai Chi would be "balanced" or "just right". Kan is cooling and Li is hot. Food or air produce heat. Original essence in the kindeys cools. Balancing the Chi from the Kan with the Chi from Li sources is a major goal in Chi Gung. So food or air Qi is of an agitating quality, and the Qi from the pre-natal essence is cooling. Mixing them to the right amount produces an optimal Qi for nourishing body, emotions, mind and spirit.

Organs on the other hand require the right level of Chi as well. If your kidneys are too Yin (and they have a tendency towards that), they will get sick in the long run, the same for your heart becoming too Yang. Balancing the Qi levels between organs is another major task in Qigong.

So now they got me perfectly confused, because of the mixups of terminology all the time .
* The head is of a Yang and the feet are of a Yin nature, and that is why it is good to sink Chi to the feet, else the extremes persist. That must mean Chi collects in the head.
* "Roots" describes furthermore that in the Northern Hemisphere the Chi flow is from the Lower Dantien to the Upper, because of the magnetic field of the Earth. Chi and biolelectricity seem at least to correlate.
* "Kan and Li" I saw used mostly in "Roots" and in descriptions of higher practices of Taoist Qigong - like the Lesser Enlightenment of Kan and Li, where Kan (Water of the Lower Burner) and Li (Fire of the Middle Burner) are reversed and purified (water to steam, steam is more pure than water).
* In books about T'ai Chi I've read about the need to balance Heavenly and Earth Chi in the Lower Tantien for optimal nourishment. But this only makes sense if they are of a different nature... Fire from the Earth and Water from the Sky? I'm lost here.

Basically I'm still lacking detail. The Chi you are drawing in in different exercises like bone breathing, or through the "Bubbling Springs/Wells" points in the soles/archs of your feet is surely of a certain quality as well, else it would not matter at all how much you draw in. But it does, else you wouldn't need to balance anything, or get excited, or tired. I actually guess that every upward movement of energy gets partially replaced from below and partially from circulation, but I'm not even sure of that. I need more information! :!: