Jampa Mackenzie Stewart, D.O.M., L.Ac., is a Senior Healing Tao Instructor,
and is the founder of the Healing Tao Institute, in Austin, TX.]
Posted by JampaMac on December 14, 1999 at 07:21:19:
Hi, this is Jampa. Much good advice already given here.
Here's my "cut to the chase" advice:
1. Have this person evaluated and treated immediately IN PERSON by a local
acupuncturist/Chinese herbalist, or Medical Qigong doctor. Estimated recovery
time with good care and guidance: 3 weeks.
2. Have them discontinue any packing process or chi circulation practices.
3. After first practicing at least an abbreviated Inner Smile, have him
REPEATEDLY guide the energy down from the Crown and Third Eye to the Dantian.
If
Functional Channel (Conception Vessel) doesn't work, have them bring it down the
back via Governing Vessel to Door of Life/Ming Men, and enter the Dantian by
this back door. Have him use his hands to help.
If guiding the energy down the front, place the left palm over the navel, and
the right palm on the crown.
If guiding the chi down the back, place the left palm on the Door of Life and
the right hand at the crown
4. Raven, use your own chi to guide his stuck chi back down. Use YOUR hands as
in the previous description
5. Have him practice lots of Palm and Sole Breathing. This VERY
IMPORTANT SAFETY FEATURE of Iron Shirt Chi Kung always seems to get lost in the
pages of the book, yet should ALWAYS be practiced after doing each stage of
Packing Process Breathing. That's the way I learned it from Master Chia in the
early eighties, when the practices were more simple and straightforward, before
Master Chia started "improving" the practices. The reason Palm and
Sole Breathing is so vital is that if you have any weakness or damage to your
channels, the extreme internal pressure you create inside with Packing Process
Breathing can force energy to flow the wrong way in the channels, force energy
into inappropriate channels, or simply create a major imbalance in the channel
circulation (excess in one place, deficiency in another). Here's how it's done:
PALM AND SOLE BREATHING
a. In Embracing the Chi posture (either sitting or standing), first
relax. Let all tension go, let it just drain down out of you into the earth.
Now
imagine that your body is completely hollow, like a shell, with no internal
organs, bones, channels, tissue, fluids or structure of any kind inside; only
open space. Stay with this part until you really have the picture and feeling.
Then proceed.
b. Now imagine that you have round openings the size of half dollars in
the palms of your hands and the soles of your feet (technically you focus on the
acu-points Laogong/P-8 on the palms and Yongquan/KD-1 on the soles, but it's not
that critical; to make it easy you can just focus on these holes being in the
center of your palms and soles). Imagine that these are now your nostrils.
As
you breathe in and out normally, imagine that the breath is mainly coming in and
out through your palms and soles, like a gently breeze that moves without
obstruction or barrier throughout the whole interior of your body. Stay relaxed
and easy, nothing forced; just use mind and imagination, gently in and out.
Stay
with this for 9 breaths altogether.
That's it.
Even though I use the word "imagine", it's a fact that we are mostly
empty space inside. The atomic particles that compose our bodies have vast space
in between them. Even that which seems solid is only a "probable"
particle or wave, depending on our view, according to Heisenberg's Uncertainty
Principle. So the view we apply in Palm and Sole Breathing is actually more
accurate than our normal view of our body as solid.
Now, since "the mind leads and the chi follows," this spacious inner
view combined with easy natural breathing has the effect of equalizing, healing,
counteracting, and preventing any imbalances that may have occurred with the
Packing Process.
I think that Iron Shirt is a very powerful Chi Kung. Like anything powerful, you
need to understand and respect its rules to wield it without hurting yourself or
others. Generally I have my students first learn the Inner Smile, Six Healing
Sounds, Microcosmic and Macrocosmic Orbit, and Chi self massage before teaching
them Iron Shirt packing. Ideally you should also have some accomplishment in
Healing Love practices as well, and the more other physical practices you know
and do, such as Tai Chi, hatha yoga, or other gentler moving qigongs, the better.
These types of practices help to strengthen and repair the channels and to make
them supple and flexible, able to withstand the high pressures placed upon them
in Iron Shirt. Otherwise, you're asking for trouble.
5. IMPORTANT: Have him get out of his head and do things with his body,
ordinary physical things, like housecleaning, yard work, minor carpentry. Too
much chi gets stuck in the head when we think too much. That's one of the
hazards of learning from books; you're not getting the multi-sensory learning
stimulus that you'd normally receive from a live teacher: demonstration, verbal
cues, touch, and just the chi of their presence. Learning from books is all too
mental. That's why when trying to learn energy practices, relying on books alone
is especially dangerous. Unless you're already far along the path and have your
teacher's blessings, avoid it. The books are there as guides to people who are
already working under the guidance of a teacher, to help them remember the many
details of the practice.
6. He needs daily time with you, Raven, to guide him in this recovery, for about
3 weeks. Or at least 5 times a week.
That's about it. Good luck.
Palm and Sole Breathing is not just an emergency exercise.
Variations of breathing through P8's and K1's appear frequently in Taoist
traditions; its a standard. Whether or not you tend to get into packing-breathing trouble, its very worth while to familiarize yourself with this practice.
While it would be inappropriate for the remedial situation of the discussion
above (someone with stuck ascended energy), in a more healthy balanced situation
it can be very useful to include the acupoints bai hui (crown) and hui yin
(perineum) as a pair in conjunction with the P8's and K1's; it makes the whole
cohesive.
RELATED LINK
Kidney-1 Breathing - notes and links to assist with K-1 Breathing, and Palm & Sole Breathing. At least read the related Distal Acupressure material, which effectively activates the channels as preparatory to any of the various more meditative methods.