This free, open-enrollment program is primarily about how we can use mindfulness—along with other practices like meditation, self-massage, breathing practices, and the six healing sounds—to help us relieve stress by re-centering ourselves in our spirit.
Good morning; in Module 1PDF, p. 15 is mentioned Breathing Through the Heels. Would you clarify that? Thank you.
This is done when Embracing Mt. Kun Lun in the first brocade. The text says, “Breathing through the heels means to visualize and sense the Qi flowing up the Yang leg meridians as you breathe nine times. Keep the eyes open and gaze outward as if looking into empty space.” Breathing through the Heels is another way of saying to visualize/imagine the macrocosmic orbit. Whereas the microcosmic orbit starts in the lower abdomen (dantien), goes up the back, over the head, then returns to the dantian, the macrocosmic orbit starts in the feet (Bubbling Well Qi centers), goes up the Yang leg meridians (sides of the legs), joins to go up the spine, over the head, down the front of the body, separates into the legs, and ends back at the feet.
Good morning Patrick,
I really enjoy this course and thank you for all your exertion and effort you put in. I have few questions:
a) during The two hands embrace the Kunlun and 9 breaths are the eyes open without blinking, for the purpose of shed the tears (I think Stuart mentioned it in one of the lectures not necessary in context of 8 brocades).
b) when finish embryonic breathing, let’s say during Imagine the heat aflame at Navel Wheeel, how long do we have to practice breathing into lower Dantien afterwards, that Qi doesn’t get stuck in the upper DanTien. Is it more like a feeling related or I should just let go and continue with the next brocade.
c) Regarding Six Healing Sounds, Spleen sound requires to bite the lips, I am not quite clear how to do that and intone the sound at the same time. Does this practices require to do 36 times everytime or I can do some other lower number 9 or 18, for example.
d) Last week I was attending short sesshin (4days); on the second day I experienced enormous heat in my lower abdomen, usually rarely happens (how should I approach this)?
e) Where can I find Bonus 3?
Thank you so much for your reply and generosity. Best wishes, Samo
Thanks, Samo. I can finally answer your questions now:
A) Yes, eyes are open for the 9 breaths stage.
B) This depends on what you are working on. If you are practicing embryonic breathing to raise the Qi up your spine, you may want to do it 36x or more. You may also just want to sit and meditate here, or you can just move on to the next brocade. Don’t worry about building up negative Qi because the Eight Brocades practice is gentle and, most likely, you won’t be putting too much tension into it. This is more a problem in martial arts training.
C) It says to “bite the lips” in the original text, but this is hard to do … as it should really say “bite the lower lip” because this is how “biting the lips” ends up. The idea is to press the lips against the teeth, but because the upper teeth overbites the lower, the upper teeth will be pressing into the lower lip (biting the top of it). You can make a slight separation of the lips then (with the upper lip sliding up the teeth a little bit) and then make the exhaling sound. Yes, the lips will get and feel very dry from this. Place the tongue against the lower teeth and gums. You can vary the number of times. Use a multiple of 9, like you said.
D) Heat is good. Ask Stuart about it if it keeps happening, though, and if it becomes uncomfortable—but it sounds like a good response from what you were doing. If you feel what is called “scorching heat,” which is very uncomfortable, stand up and breathe doing an exercise detailed in Stuart’s “Tai Ji Qi” book called “Expressing the Qi.”
E) We are still working on the bonuses and will update everyone once they are all available.
Thanks for the alternative healing URL, Patrick.
Here’s a reward for responding to my “nudge…”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=STTL-jOrnDQ
That’s a classic. Big Monty Python fan!