Sinking Chi

[Korpo]

Hi, after being asked what I mean with "Sinking Chi" I give a short explanation of the why and how:

Basic requirement for sinking Chi with proper effects is proper posture - standing preferred, sitting allowed, both with proper alignment.

Minimally:
* Not slouched, do not push chest - let it cave in slightly
* Do not stand from the knees
* Tuck the sacrum (pull your pelvis/buttocks slightly under, therefore straightening the lower back).
* Please do not sit in Lotus.
* Let the feet touch the ground with the full foot at all 9 points - toes, two points at ball of foot, heel and outer edge. Try to balance weight over arch/center of foot.

Relax. Relaxing is not equal to dropping your weight - your muscles will always have to do work whatever posture you're in. Instead try to release as much tension and try to minimize your effort for standing/sitting upright.

Scan your body with your awareness. Start at the top and go down to your feet. Note any irregular feelings - strength, discomfort, tingling, not feeling right. Note, remember and go past.

Now repeat the process, but stop at the first place that does not feel right. Gently try to weaken it and pull it down. Don't push. Try to move your awareness into it, and soften it by pulling from below or into the downwards direction. Try to create a downward pull, don't simply visualise. If you cannot get "weaken" the blockage significantly, go to the next.

Try for every blockage you encounter. Do blockages on the same level before you continue deeper down. Always make sure to finish at your feet.

Since your Chi is influenced by your concentrated awareness you have sunk Chi.

With proper training you can feel the Chi itself, direct it into and beyond the blockage, making the weakening of the blockage easier to do. You can then start like you are filled up with water, and sink the whole level at the same time, slowly, down to your feet.

After this can be done with skill one can move to the process of "Inner Dissolvement", which requires the ability to sink Chi as a safeguard.

Sinking Chi cools the body, since downward energy movement cools and relaxes the body tissues. It is very easy on the nerves and strengthens, making them strong and safe for handling upward energy movement without strain in later, maybe more spiritual practices, where upward energy plays a role. Sinking Chi can help increase bodily health and muscle/tendon power. Having trained sinking Chi can act as a safeguard when you need to contain an upward surge in later training that you feel not yet prepared for yet - if you have trained sinking Chi enough, such flows can be slowed, stopped and reversed.

If you train sinking Chi enough, you can get a flow of sinking Chi going by simply concentrating on your feet a bit. This does then require minimal mental effort with the benefit of relaxation and cooling the body.

More about this technique can be found in "Opening the Energy Gates of Your Body" by Bruce Frantzis, and additional stances for standing energy work can be found in "The Way of Energy" by Lam Kam Chuen. Both are modern masters of the Taoist arts, one Western who trained in China and India, and one Eastern who moved West. I strongly recommend both books to anyone interested in increasing bodily health and increasing Chi reserves.

[xxhealinghandxx]

So sinking chi is the equivalent of making it settle in the lower body? Or Is it that Yang chi is transforming into Yin Chi? Qigong masters say that chi does things (they list stuff... yada yada) and then they say that it keeps the body warm. When going to the feet is the chi residing there, or is it going through the feet? If the chi is pouring down the feet and to the ground, then that would cause a lowering of your vibration, resulting in the opposite of what qigong masters call an abundance of chi, leaving your cold and chi-less.

I'm just wondering, if this technique turns Yang chi into Yin chi, or is it letting go of chi through the feet? Which the latter wouldn't be very pleasant.

[Korpo]

The method of sinking Chi does not bring Chi below your feet, but to your feet. Since usually the head is too Yang, and the feet are too Yin, this is perfectly okay. It's just balancing of the opposites. It will restore natural circulation as well, since in the long run, with at least partially cleared blockages, this Chi circulate back to where it is needed.

The Outer Dissolvement process I mentioned brings Chi actually below your feet. But you do not end below your feet! ;) In fact your energetic bodies, depending on current state, can extend several feet below your body and beyond your head. In Indian Yoga traditions it is said that there reside additional chakras, but I cannot comment on that.

Beyond your physical boundary, in the buffer between your skin and the outside world, resides another layer of Chi - the so-called Guardian Chi. It is in fact your first line of defense for any kind of disease or outer influence. It is usually the least developed Chi of the body, because it is an added plus beyond making the body work well. I assume, Chi brought beyond the skin (and with sinking and dissolving you try to balance Chi by "removing" excess Chi) can be brought to good use there, but this is my assumption.

Bruce Frantzis, which is my source for this technique, is stating that bringing Chi towards the boundary of the energy body can neutralise it and make is usable for future use. Dissolving Chi and sinking it below your feet should neutralise excess Chi and allow the energy to recycle into your aura, I guess.

About warmth: The warmth is generally a sign of blockages getting flowing. When you simultaneously sink the Chi, the place gets cool soon afterward, and the warmth moves down to the hands and feet, where the Chi is "expelled", neutralised and "recycled".

Since Sinking Chi is a technique mostly applied by so-called Water Taoist school (or so I've heard), cooling is the desired effect. Most known Chi Gung is Fire practise, with more upward energy flows, or about 50:50 (it is 80 down and 20 up for Water), and visualisations, etc. Warmth could be seen more positive there. In the practise I am following, excessive Yang heat and the warmth of resolving Chi blockages should be "removed", its moving restoring the Chi channels and tissues and weakening other blockages. Practise down the road adds some storing in the lower tantien and in the joints etc. as well.

[Aunt Clair]

Sink the mind for where the mind goes the chi will follow. ...
http://www.taichi-online.com/

Chi is one of the 3 treasures . These are
Shen from the Moon Stone emotion and intuition ; water
Chi from the Sun Stone vital essence ; fire
Ching from the Earth Stone sexual and regenerative energies ; earth

There is a 4th treasure which I do not know a Chinese term for the 4th treasure is in the Green Stone of the heavens which forms above the Human Energy Body .

Sinking Chi is bringing the light to the dark earth stone . This transmutes the Lower Self and the Guardian Demon within . This stirs the toxic stale prana from the organs where it might have manifested in disease . It allows the purge of this negative energy to leave the extended energy body .
===========================
http://www.taichiacademy.com/formsandmovements.htm

The 13 Principles of Tai Chi:


1. Sinking of Shoulders and Dropping of Elbows
2. Relaxing of Chest and Rounding of Back
3. Sinking Chi down to Dan Tien
4. Lightly Pointing Up the Head
5. Relaxation of Waist and Hip
6. Differentiate Between Empty and Full: Yin and Yang
7. Coordination of Upper and Lower Parts of the Body
8. Using the Mind Instead of Force
9. Harmony Between Internal and External
10. Connecting the Mind and the Chi
11. Find Stillness Within Movement
12. Movement and Stillness Present at Once
13. Continuity and Evenness Throughout the Form

Article on Raising spirit and sinking chi
http://www.dongtaichi.com/fighters/lighting.html

This feeling of deep and relaxed breathing is called "Sinking Chi into Dantien."
http://www.uswushuacademy.com/articles/10essences.htm


Hsing-I’s Five Elements As They Relate To Health
http://www.jimdees.com/hsingisfiveeleme ... ealth.html (http://www.jimdees.com/hsingisfiveelementsandhealth.html)
Metal or pi is associated with the lung. Water or tsuan is associated with the kidney. Wood or beng is associated with the liver. Fire or pao is associated with the heart. Earth or hung is associated with the spleen.


What is Chi and Where does it Come From?
http://www.usjjf.org/articles/chi.htm
Disharmonies include deficient chi; the process of aging and illness, sinking chi; leads to organ prolapse, stagnant chi; bruising, and rebellious chi; chi flowing in the wrong direction. An example of rebellious stomach chi would be hiccups or vomiting.

Chi is one of the 3 treasures that are the essential components of life. Chi - energy, Jing or ching - essence, and Shen - spirit. When the three treasures are in harmony the individual is radiant, physically fit, and mentally sharp. Just as developing one aspect of chi affects another, so does it affect the other two of the three treasures. One should find a balance of the three treasures through meditation, exercise, and living well in general. Any disruption of the three treasures leads to an imbalance of the whole. This imbalance can be manifested as physical or psychological abnormalities.

* Yuan Chi - The original or "Before Heaven" chi, this is the chi that is immediately inherited
at the time of conception. Nothing you do can change this type of chi.
* Gu Chi - This is "After Heaven" chi and is derived from food. It is the chi of the spleen.
* Kong Chi - This also is "After Heaven" chi but it is derived from air and is the chi of the Lung.
* Zong Chi (Chi of the chest) - The gathering of both the Gu Chi and the Kong Chi.
* Zheng Chi - This is "normal" chi, it is the product of the Zong Chi being catalyzed by the Yuan Chi.
* Ying Chi - The nutritive Zheng Chi that nourishes the organs and tissue.
* Wei Chi - The defensive Zheng Chi that circulates on the surface of the body and protects
it from external factors.
* Zangfu Zhi Chi - This is the Zheng Chi that flows through the organs.
* Jing Luo Zhi Chi - This is the Zheng Chi that flows through the meridians.

Causes of disharmony can be internal or external. Internal disharmonies are called the "seven emotions". They include Joy, Anger, Sadness, Grief, Pensiveness, Fear, and Fright.

Joy - According to Eastern philosophy is a state of over excitement or agitation and leads to problems with heart fire.

Anger - Anger includes resentment, irritability, and frustration. It affects the liver resulting in stagnation of the liver chi. The liver energy rises to the head causing headaches, dizziness and in the long run high blood pressure. It will eventually cause problems with the stomach and spleen.

Sadness and Grief - Unresolved sadness and grief that becomes chronic creates a disharmony in the lungs making the lung chi weak and interferes with the function of circulating the chi. Normal expression of sadness and grief is sobbing that originates in the lungs with deep breathes and expulsion of air with each sob.

Pensiveness - is the result of to much thinking. The organ most affected is the spleen. Pensiveness causes a deficiency in spleen chi that causes fatigue, lethargy and the inability to concentrate.

Fear and Fright - Affect the kidney when it becomes chronic. Kidney chi lessens and leads to a decrease in kidney yin.

External causes of disharmony include the "six pernicious influences" or "six outside evils". These "influences" or "evils" include; wind, fire, cold, dryness, dampness, and summer heat. A brief explanation of each is provided.

Wind - This is a yang pathogenic influence. Wind disharmonies are characterized by a sudden onset such as the common cold. As the wind disharmony takes hold, the symptoms turn to heat as yin transforms to yang to show fever, sore throat, dry mouth and thick yellow phlegm. Internal liver wind is very serious and can lead to conditions such as epilepsy and stroke. Wind is related to spring according to the five elements theory. This suggests that an individual is more susceptible to external wind disharmonies in the spring.

Fire - This also is a yang pathogenic influence. Fire leads to a large group of heat type symptoms: fever, inflammation, red eyes, hot skin eruptions, and an aversion to heat. It has a drying effect on the body fluids causing dry skin, constipation, and scanty urine. Extreme cases of fire disharmony include: hyperactivity, mental agitation, delirium, and mania where the heat disturbs the shen.

Cold - This is a yin pathogenic influence. Sudden onset leaves the individual feeling chilly and headachy with an aversion to cold, general body aches and no sweating. If not dealt with, cold can affect the lungs, stomach and spleen. This leads to abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. Cold can also affect the liver channel especially in the genital area causing pain and discomfort.

Dryness - This is a yang pathogenic influence. Dryness follows the same symptoms as fire but with more emphasis on drying up the body fluids. This influence can lead to cracked dry skin, dry lips, nose, and a dry cough. Dryness is associated with the fall.

Dampness - This is a yin pathogenic influence. When dampness invades, it leads to sluggishness, tired and heavy limbs, and a general lethargy. Bodily discharges are sticky and the tongue will have a sticky coat. The spleen is especially susceptible to dampness. This will inhibit the transportation and transformation functions leading to abdominal distension and diarrhea. Dampness can also affect the joints leading to stiffness, aching, and swelling. These symptoms are predominate in the morning. Dampness is associated with late summer.

Summer Heat - A yang pathogenic influence that follows fire. It is associated with the height of summer. Summer heat depletes the chi and bodily fluids leading to exhaustion and dehydration.
============================
http://www.powerattunements.com/taichitheory.html
Tai Chi Theory


The Energy at the Top of the Head Should Be Light and Sensitive.

Hold the head erect and with ease in order for the spirit to rise. If force is used, the back of the neck will be stiff, and the circulation of blood and chi will be impeded. There should be a natural, light and sensitive feeling. If not, the spirit will be unable to rise up. In order to achieve the above, it is important that the neck is held straight, but very relaxed and alive. Keep your mouth natural with the tongue touching the upper palate. Avoid clenching your teeth or gazing out with an angry look. Keep your sacrum straight and slightly tucked under. If not, your spine will be affected, and your spirit will not be able to rise.

Sink the Chest and Raise the Back

There should be a slight drawing in of the chest which allows the chi to sink to the "Dan Tian". Avoid protruding the chest as this will cause the chi to rise which will lead to top heaviness, and the soles of the feet to float. Raising the back means that the chi adheres to the back. If you can sink your chest, your back will naturally rise. If you can raise your back, your power will come from your spine enabling you to overcome any opponent. Thus the Chi can sink to the Dan-Tien, and also raise in the back. If this principle is not understood correct, it will not be possible to obtain Geng (rootedness) in the feet, and the whole body will be unstable. Sink the chest and raise the back are similar to when a cat is in readiness to launch an attack on its prey.

Relax the Waist

The waist is the commander of the body. All the movements originates here. If the waist is relaxed and loosened, the foundation, that is, your legs will be stable, enabling you to issue power. Changes in solid and empty derive from the moving of the waist. It is said that "the waist is the well spring of your vital energy". If you lack power in your movements, look for the weakness in your waist and legs. If You can relax the waist correct, the feet will have power, and our foundation will be stable.

Distinguish Full and Empty

Distinguishing solid and empty is a fundamental principle of Tai Chi. If your body centre rests in your right leg, then your right is solid, and your left leg is empty. If your body centre rests in your left leg, then your left leg is solid, and your right leg is empty. When you can clearly make this distinction, your movements will be light, agile, and effortless. If not, your steps will be heavy and clumsy, and you are easily unbalanced due to the instability of your stance. The philosophy of Yin Yang is the underlying principle of change in stepping.

Sink the Shoulders and Drop the Elbows

The shoulders should relax and hang downwards. If the shoulders are raised, then the chi rises, and the whole body cannot summon up its power. If this is not practised, the weight of the whole body will be in the upper part of the body. Thus we will not be able to use T'ai Chi Ch'uan as a martial art, and the whole body will be without root. The elbows must relax and point downwards. If the elbows are raised, the shoulders will become tense, inhibiting your ability to discharge your opponent to any great distance. Raising the elbows or shoulders is similar to breaking the jin which occurs in the external martial art systems.

Use the Mind - and Not Strength or Brute Force

This principle recommends the practitioner to try to loosen tension in the whole body when training, in order to cultivate the awareness in the movements, and thus gradually be able to master T'ai Chi Ch'uan fully. This is where T'ai Chi Ch'uan distinguish from all other martial arts. The classics says: "Only from the highest softness comes hardness." So according to the Tai Chi Classics, you use the mind and not brute force. In practice, your whole body is relaxed; not even using an ounce of brute force. If you employ brute force, you restrict the flow of energy through your sinews, bones, and blood vessels. This will inhibit your freedom of movement, preventing you from achieveing agility, sensitivity, aliveness, circularity, and naturalness. "How can you have power without using brute force?" By making us of the meridians in the body. (Meridians are a network of pathways which transport chi throughout the body. They connect the superficial, interior, upper and lower portions of the human body, making the body an organic whole). The meridians are similar to the rivers and streams of the earth. If the rivers are open, then the water flows freely. If the meridians are open, then the chi flows. If the meridians are blocked as a result of using stiff force, then the circulation of chi and blood become sluggish. Hence, your movements will not be nimble, and even if a hair is pulled, your whole body will be in a state of disorder. Although your abdomen is full and alive, there is no force being used. For the chi to sink down to the Dan Tian slowly and naturally, the mind needs to be relaxed. By deeply relaxing while performing your Tai Chi movements, your chi will move freely to every part of your body. This will benefit the body greatly. On the other hand, if you tense your mind and forcefully try to move your chi, or use unnatural methods to circulate Chi, it is more than likely that blockages will occur which are harmful to your health. When you are able to use your mind and not brute force, then wherever your mind goes, your chi follows. After a long period of practice and chi circulating freely everyday, you develop jin (an internal power which is different from hard force). This is what the Tai Chi Classics means by "from true softness comes true hardness". The arms of one who has Tai Chi kung fu will feel extremely heavy; like steel wrapped in cotton. People who practise external martial art systems look strong when they exert hard force. However, when they are not bringing their hard force into use, they are light and floating. You can see that this merely a superficial kind of strength. Instead of using the mind, they use brute force, which makes them easy to manipulate. Hence not worthy of praise.

Coordination and Unity of the Upper and Lower Body

According to the Tai Chi Classics, "the root is in the feet; issued through the legs; controlled by the waist; and expressed through the fingers. From the feet through the legs to the waist forms one harmonious chi." If just one part is not syncronized, there will be confusion. So when the hands, waist, and feet move, your gaze needs to follow in unison. This is what is meant by harmony of the upper and lower body. If one part of the body is not in concordance with the rest, it will result in chaos. When you first learn Tai Chi, your movements are larger and more open than those of a seasoned practitioner. The larger movements ensure that your waist and legs are moving in concordance, and all parts of the body are in harmony. The Unity of Internal and External What T'ai Chi Ch'uan trains is the spirit. "The spirit is the leader and the body is at its command." I.e.: When You open and close in the movements, You must also open and close in the mind.

Continuity Without Interruption.

The external martial art systems employ brute force which is stiff and unnatural. This force stops and starts; moves in a jerky fashion. When the old force is finished before the new one has begun, this is the time when one is most vulnerable to attacks. In Tai Chi, you use the mind and not brute force. From the beginning to the end, the movements are continuous without stopping; like an endless circle. This is what the Classics means by "a great river flowing continuously never ending", or "moving the jin like reeling silk from a cocoon". The above conveys the idea of stringing the movements together into one harmonious chi. If your movements stop and start, you will be easily taken advantage of by your opponent because you have exhausted your old strength, and the new power is not yet born.

Seek Serenity in Activity

The external martial art systems consider leaping and crouching to be of value. They exhaust their energy and after practice, they are out of breath. Tai Chi uses serenity to counter activity. Even when you are moving, you remain tranquil. When practising the postures, the slower you move, the better the result. Slowness enables your breath to become deep and long with the chi sinking to the Dan Tian. This will naturally prevent the pulse rate from elevating. It is important to practise the movements slowly, so that you can understand the meaning within the movements. Practising slowly helps to regulate your breathing enabling your breath to become deep and long allowing your chi to sink to the Dan Tian. Practising in this manner also prevents the fault of top heaviness which is caused by the chi rising up.

Seek Stillness In Movement

Even when we are moving in T'ai Chi Ch'uan we remain still. It is better to train slow - slow is better. Thus the breath becomes deep and long, and You avoid the harmful effects of elevated pulse.

[Korpo]

That's a pretty good set of citations you have there, Aunt Clair. :)

I know that sinking Chi from the crown downward invokes the Heaven Chi to flow down, and that raising Chi from the feet invokes the Earth Chi to well up, but beyond that I am at a loss.

Currently I only pay marginal attention to that more theoretical aspect and try to set up a basic T'ai Chi practise to gain the basic health/balance gains. Will I can feel Chi while doing this, and can get Chi flow to power part of these first moves it is not what I train for now, and even less for spiritual gain.

This makes some sense as the three spirits flow into one another - a relaxed Body/Jing relaxes the emotions, relaxed emotions or (Xin) Chi help relax the mind, and a relaxed mind/Shen can again build a strong body. Or put more easily: You have to start somewhere, and the least developed part for me is the physical. :)

[xxhealinghandxx]

Disharmonies include deficient chi; the process of aging and illness, sinking chi; leads to organ prolapse, stagnant chi; bruising, and rebellious chi; chi flowing in the wrong direction. An example of rebellious stomach chi would be hiccups or vomiting.

sinking chi is bad then? I'm confuzed :/

That was a good article Aunt Clair, all that hermetics stuff sounds interesting to me. I have heard of stagnant chi, or prana, in the lower stomach region, and so sinking qi must be pretty good, thank you too Korpo.

[Korpo]

Hello, Leyla!

As for the feet I'd rather not necessarily expect that effect to last - warming of the feet can be a side effect of clearing blockages. The feet are used as "exits" to sink your Chi "into the ground", or rather to the bottom of your energy body. The freshly dissolved blockage and the Chi sinking from it can feel as a warm wave, though with practise and continuous sinking this should become more like a cooling wave - until the next blockage. The other thing is that "micro-blockages" in our feet can get dissolved by the Chi you sink and ground. This again - in the sum over all these small blockages - generates warmth. This sensation should return any time you increase in skill for sinking and/or dissolving Chi.

As the feet are one of the most Yin points of the body, and the head the most Yang, bringing down Chi can balance and warm as well, I guess. I cannot judge - I do not have cold feet, and go barefoot or in socks almost all the time when at home. Men usually have warmer feet, anyway. ;)

As for the feeling of sickness - first of all leave some time between meals and practise. You may unbalance your digestion. Sinking Chi is a rather body-centric exercise as well. The freed Chi not only clears blockages, but nourishes and softens tissues, increases circulation of blood and oxygen, activates regeneration and growth of all kinds of bodily tissues, and so on. Sinking Chi should have very good healing qualities. Bruce Frantzis recommends it especially as a skill for martial artists, as it enables deeper muscular relaxation, and increases muscle/tendon power, a key for quick, efficient movement, strength, etc.

As the body and the body sensitivity are reactivated some strange experiences can occur:

First of all: If something is wrong with your real body, your feeling of that wrongness can be pronounced, especially when doing energy work close to it.

Furthermore the body does communicate in the language it knows the best. If something is wrong, this can be pain. All kind of bodily sensations can arise as signals. This can become very strange and discomfortable, but is not necessarily a reason for concern.

An example: When doing work on my throat, especially at the throat chakra location at the base of the throat - at the front where the small dent is, and at the spine - I felt like I "lost my wind", like had real problems with breathing. This could have lead to some panicky behaviour, but I remained calm and wanted to be sure what was happening. On doing some analysis I found that my breathing was deep, calm and from my abdomen - you could say: at optimum. The blockages in my throat that impeded free flow of Chi through it simply felt like that - like my etheric body lost its wind, not my physical one. The signal my body generated was the same. It is simply its language.

On the other hand pain from other sources has decreased - an injection from my dentist into the nerve of a molar did not hurt at all - I noticed the slightest prick, not like every other time where this was a short but very tangible sensation of stinging pain. I relaxed and sank the Chi, and it was like my body acknowledged that I knew what was going on - so no need to tell me...?

It is hard to decide what kind of sensation is good or bad then. Are you dissolving successfully or doing damage. The recommendation is to be very careful where it matters. One of the warnings is - only do the brain at once, try to sink Chi all through the brain at once, do not focus on single points. I would recommend the same for the heart - draw the excessive heat from the pericardium, but do not focus too much on it. Excessive Chi in the heart can increase heartbeat, then blood pressure, and on individuals with a condition a stroke or something. Moving Chi gently through the heart without putting any strain on it should be safe and very healing.

Strain can occur by doing intensive energy work on a location over an extended period of time. The law of diminishing returns impairs progress anyway - if you feel you are getting less and less noticeable effect, move on. Excessive Chi has been dispersed and healing started. If you continue now you may strain a region that may need regeneration, not excessive effort.

The book I mention above details the method further, and introduces further levels of it for additional effect. Maybe you give it a try, since you liked the method.[/list]

[xxhealinghandxx]

thats a good question I want to hear it too.

I'm wondering, it seems like chi isn't a matter of Earth and Heaven chi, but is a matter of where it is located. The head can be too yang, but maybe it is that there is too much there, and sinking chi down to the lower energy body is balancing you out. The whole posture of T'ai Ch'i and other Qigong forms are meant to sink chi to the lower dantian, and it seems that the most health benefit is wrought if chi is built like a tower, that which you can't build from the top to bottom. What is the core chinese translation of Yin and Yang anyway?

That's my speculation or something.

(Edit) Of course I believe chi can come from the Earth and Above, I'm not sure if they have different characteristics, but I'm not sure if they are exactly Yin and Yang either.

[Korpo]

As I recently read in the magazine "Taijiquan and Qigong Journal", the original terms used were "light" and "dark".

Wikipedia says:


Yin (Chinese: [...] literally "shady place, north slope (hill), south bank (river); cloudy, overcast") [...]
Yin (Chinese: [...]literally "shady place, north slope (hill), south bank (river); cloudy, overcast"

Within the human body there exists Qi, which is Ren Qi. This is a subset of Earth Qi, which is a subset of Heavenly Qi. That's one explanation.

Another one is, that we while have our own Qi microcosm within ourselves, we are influenced by Heaven and Earth Qi all the time, whose influences we need to balance in order to survive.

IMHO it is like this - what we know is that drawing Chi down cools, drawing it up warms - we can feel that. If I draw enough Chi downward I can really get cold.

Normally Chi would circulate, even out. Blockages prevent that or decrease that. If you were totally unblocked, Chi would not have to be led except if you desire to produce an extraordinary effect. This is the goal of "Wu Chi" Qi Gong, and should be the "spontaneous Qi Gong" oath has talked about in another thread.

Heat is a rather subjective sensation that does not always correlate with the state of the physical body or the outside world. Sometimes I unblock parts of my feet and temporarily feel very warm there - this is the sensation of increased blood circulation, reactivation of blood vessels, and Chi overcoming resistance in non-conducive channels. This may make my feet feel very warm, while on the outside or even on the relative warmth of my feet nothing or not much has changed. This is a purely internal sensation, and can happen with sinking Chi, you've experienced yourself.

If you are generally very cold, I could propose a theory - or a hypothesis. You said you've dealt primarily with upward currents before. I assume you were on a very spiritual exploration path then, yes? Yin and Yang do pertain to the spiritual as well - an idea is Yin and its manifestation is Yang. The concept of a house is absolutely Yin, the idea in your head about your dream house slightly less, and the building you can touch is very Yang. Spirituality is on the idea side of the spectrum. Dealing with spiritual matters would move your mental balance towards the Yin side, as you try to relate to a world of ideas rather than a world of manifestations (aka "everyday reality" ;) ). Since Mind (Shen) directs the Qi, this could lead your Qi to a more Yin as well. If you have your head in the clouds it gets chilly ;) - just kidding. This is a bit farfetched, but there is a reason we call people who do a lot of physical work "down to earth" and thinkers and philosophers have a "head in the sky"... This is one hypothesis.

On a more practical level, body temperature is a function of circulation, nutrition and energy. People with a tendency towards cold body temperature need more Yang exercise - aerobic sports. Anything that raises pulse, cardio-vascular circulation, etc.

(Or you could eat more - food is a source of Fire Qi, which warms the body. Though this is not sound advice at all!)

Drawing Chi down is not the long-term solution. It is just a safe way of cleaning blockages without triggering upwards currents. Because clearing a blockage can release a lot of Qi, this is a safety precaution. It should not effect that your body stays warm or cool for long. The same way a continuous upward current would keep your body warm, but you would need to keep it up, and possibly suffer ill side-effects. Possibly not.

The long-term solution is to clean the Chi pathways so that they can balance themselves through circulation. Sinking Chi is a safe way to go along with this. Then you can practise Small and Large Circulation to fill the major vessels of the energy body - your reserves. First comes attentive Qi Gong for clearing blockages, and then led circulation to fill the vessels. Along this process the body should balance out and develop into a very healthy state, feeling good, natural - and with balanced temperature. In the long run, and more and more over time.

[Aunt Clair]

Perhaps Korpo , you could help me answer a question about the energies of the I Ching Trigram . I do not have a deep background in this area .

Heavens Stone ?
Moon Stone Shen
Sun Stone Chi
Earth Stone Ching

What do you suppose is the name and nature of the energy in the storage centre called the heavens stone ?

http://www.occultcorpus.com/forum/showthread.php?t=607
=====================================
Hermetically, the fingers of the right hand are the 4 primary elements
orange fire
indigo water
salmon red earth
and
chartreuse green air
the fingers of left hand are the secondary elements
aqua (air and water )clouds
purple ( water and earth ) magick l'eau de prima materia
amber ( fire and air ) feu de prima materia
rose ( earth and fire )
http://sc.groups.msn.com/tn/6F/A2/AlchemicalFlame/1/3f.jpg
this makes the wheel of life an array of 8 colours of the rainbow
.........green
...aqua........amber
indigo..........orange
...purple.....rose
..........red

Contrasting this Wheel of Life to the I Ching Trigram Wheel ,
Can a 1:1 correspondence be made ? I think so . I feel it suggest this ;
http://www.zeigua.com/images/BaGuaSymbol.jpg
1...........Wind Yin Sun ~*~ green female Air
2............... Fire Yin Li ~*~ orange male Fire
3............Lake Yin Tui ~*~ indigo female Water
4......... Earth Yin Kun ~*~ red male Earth
5.... Mountain Yang Ken ~*~rose male fire & Earth
6...........RiverYang Kan ~*~purple female magick earth & Water
7 Thunder/Lightning Yang Chen ~*~amber male air & Fire
8.............. Heaven Yang Chien ~*~aqua female water & Air
Does that seem to work for you ?

And further to this ,which of the basic 3 energies are related to these 8 ?
..Heaven Stone ?~what is the name of this energy ?
Moon Stone Shen ~is this Chen above or ??
.....Sun Stone Chi ~is this Li or perhaps Chen above or ??
Earth Stone Ching ~is this Ken or Kun above or ??

Thanks

[Korpo]

Hello, Aunt Clair - my knowledge about the bagua (eight trigrams) is rather little.

I know that they derive from a combination of Yin and Yang. Some are more Yin and some are more Yang. It's a bit like a binary language, and it is expanded in a full set of 64 yin/yang compositions somewhere.



Heavens Stone ?
Moon Stone Shen
Sun Stone Chi
Earth Stone Ching


I do not actually know, so this is a guess - but Shen is the human grasp of the mental and abstract. Maybe the 4th energy is the divine grace from above? The other three treasures or jiao as they are commonly called reside within the human body, that I do know. Maybe the fourth is the divine grace that can only come "from above" or the connection back to the state of nonduality?

About your bagua (or pa kua) diagram - I think there is something wrong:
There are four trigrams where Yang dominates, and four where Yin dominates.

Yin is associated with emptiness, darkness, reaction, softness or the female principle, Yang with action, light, aggression, fullness or the male principle. So I think you the associations wrong - all Yang trigrams are male (to some extent), Heaven is totally Yang, all Ying trigrams are female and Earth is totally female, so I think, or else the Yin/Yang dichotomy is completely upside down here. ;)

I can look up for you some information about the bagua, but I have not much yet. The more theoretical and philosophical stuff I've barely touched until now, sorry.

The eight trigrams, the five elements and the Yin/Yang principle are at the base of Daoist philosophy, and I myself hope to learn more about them.

[Aunt Clair]

Hello, Aunt Clair - my knowledge about the bagua (eight trigrams) is rather little.I know that they derive from a combination of Yin and Yang. Some are more Yin and some are more Yang. It's a bit like a binary language, and it is expanded in a full set of 64 yin/yang compositions somewhere.
Yes the I Ching is made of these basic 8 but makes a set of 64 hexagrams (6lines broken or whole as a set of 2 trigrams one over the other ) used in divination .
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Ching
http://www.sacred-texts.com/ich/index.htm


Heavens Stone ?
Moon Stone Shen
Sun Stone Chi
Earth Stone Ching



I do not actually know, so this is a guess - but Shen is the human grasp of the mental and abstract. Maybe the 4th energy is the divine grace from above? The other three treasures or jiao as they are commonly called reside within the human body, that I do know. Maybe the fourth is the divine grace that can only come "from above" or the connection back to the state of nonduality?

Thank you for your thoughts on this .



About your bagua (or pa kua) diagram - I think there is something wrong:
There are four trigrams where Yang dominates, and four where Yin dominates.

I think there are 4 of each there . But I have merely copied and pasted this image and it is not an area of strength for me .

[quote:2ucbqzgn]Yin is associated with emptiness, darkness, reaction, softness or the female principle, Yang with action, light, aggression, fullness or the male principle.

Yes I agree with that premise from my own understanding of what I have read .

So I think you the associations wrong - all Yang trigrams are male (to some extent), Heaven is totally Yang, all Ying trigrams are female and Earth is totally female, so I think, or else the Yin/Yang dichotomy is completely upside down here. ;) [/quote:2ucbqzgn]
Hermetically earth and fire are male and active , electric and warm to hot
Air and water are female , passive , magnetic and cool to cold .



1...........Wind Yin Sun ~*~ green female Air
2............... Fire Yin Li ~*~ orange male Fire
3............Lake Yin Tui ~*~ indigo female Water
4......... Earth Yin Kun ~*~ red male Earth
5.... Mountain Yang Ken ~*~rose male fire & Earth
6...........RiverYang Kan ~*~purple female magick earth & Water
7 Thunder/Lightning Yang Chen ~*~amber male air & Fire
8.............. Heaven Yang Chien ~*~aqua female water & Air



It is not mine so I cannot react . The Left side of that chart I copied and reacted to Hermetically speaking on the right . I am actually asking you for your understanding . I am expert in Hermetics but not in I Ching or Asian Taoist energy wisdoms .


I can look up for you some information about the bagua,
Can you please explain this term more to me ? Thanks .


but I have not much yet. The more theoretical and philosophical stuff I've barely touched until now, sorry.

I do appreciate your help all the same . I have read Mantak Chia's works
and discussed some of this with Robert Bruce this year . I am trying to get a handle on this area of metaphysics now myself . Thank you very much for your help in this regard .

[Korpo]

Hello, Aunt Clair.

I've been trying to read up on this stuff, but it is not really my kind of stuff. The endless systems of correlating X to Y with element a for (prime-number) of things to say sigma will happen that have taken place in some of this I-Jing derived systems are simply not my cup of tea. Maybe I do find some stuff on it that I can relate to in the future, but not yet.

Sorry. :)