Gentle Marrow Washing
Introduction
The Importance of the Bones
While jing is the basal energy for the whole body, it has a special home-resonance (per five element theory) with bone marrow. Dense, concentrated, forceful doses of sexual energy need considerable refinement to harmoniously integrate with the relative delicacy of most tissues, organs. The marrow is dense on par with sexual energy; they're a compatible blend as-is.
"The kidneys engender the bones and marrow.
The bones generate marrow; the brain is the sea of marrow.
The eight vessels home to the kidneys."
- from Statements of Fact in Traditional Chinese Medicine
The eight extraordinary vessels connect to the deeper work of Taoism: heaven-earth & primordial integrations. Jing, bones, marrow are integral to that work - are resonant with the eight extraordinary vessels.
Marrow-washing is a very important part of sexual energy cultivation.
Purposeful, Gentle Approach
While the external practices of marrow washing (hanging weights especially, also hitting) seem to attract everyone's attention, for the beginner they also tend to detract from the purpose of marrow washing (consciousness-jing-bone integration), reverse the healthy sequence of learning (one must learn to absorb jing into the bones, stabilize into deep-center, before taking up practices that flood your body with additional generative energy), and ultimately throw some off of this very gratifying area of practice.
The gentler internal practices are too often over-looked, way under-estimated. In fact, they form the foundation and - through them - the experience of marrow washing is surprisingly accessible.
Practices
As far as which boney structure is most important in marrow washing, I don't think anyone would deny that the spine is at the top of the list.
The joints are considered to be part of the bones, and are gateways into the marrow.
Most of the more commonly used jing-cultivation techniques focus on refining jing towards a more expansive refined quality. However, there is the other side to it. Taoism, by its central philosophy, acknowledges both expansiveness and density, openness and concentration. This is especially true of jing, which is said to be the root of yin and yang for the body; it has both dynamics in it.
As jing accumulates and becomes 'heavy', one of the things that it wants to do is become denser. If one neglects cultivation techniques that align with jing's powerfully dense, concentrated, earth dynamic, it tends to express as desire. This is one of the ways in which driving the jing into the marrow is of immense help. There is a sense of the jing becoming denser, compressing through a layer of resistance (the bone), and resolving into a smoother deep-center (the marrow). As marrow produces blood, the result is jing-rich blood, which is very nourishing, soothing and which furthers many aspects of cultivation. Marrow washing is said to turn yang (the force of jing) into yin (rich, soothing blood).
The following technique uses the pulsing characteristic of jing to drive the jing itself into the joints and bones. Density, concentrating-force, rides its own dynamic into the marrow.
This is truly "marrow washing, the easy way". For me, its been (by far) the most satisfying, most accessible, marrow-washing technique that I've tried.
Though this skips marrow-related hitting, it might be otherwise interesting, helpful; worth a link here. Practice caution, gradual approach, awareness of the right device / method / amount for you.
Still Standing - As bone alchemy is part of heaven-man-earth integration, simple still standing is part of the practice.
The brain is considered a "special kind of marrow" in Chinese medicine.
Conclusion
Once you've gone through initial training of attention-and-jing-to-marrow, the process does become more fluent. The bones are experienced as part of deep-center, and as part of feeling earth; jing goes there more naturally and easily.
If you feel that its part of your path to take up the more physically intense aspects of marrow-washing training, its important that you do so under the guidance of a qualified teacher.
Caution: If you are sick, you should be cautious about practicing any chi kung (see general disclaimer), and especially cautious of any marrow washing practices during illness. You don't want to do anything to drive an illness condition deeper into your body.
NOTE RE: HANGING WEIGHTS
It's a fact that people experiment with hanging weights on their own - that is, without the personal instruction of a qualified teacher. If you do so (and I emphasize, again, at your own risk & responsibility), I suggest that you stay with very light weights: from 5 to 7&1/2 pounds. That's plenty in order to exercise the urogenital diaphragm, muscles, tendons involved, and to promote circulation. If you want some variety of pull, experiment with gently swinging the weight - back and forth, and in circles.
Though safer than hanging heavier weights, using light weights does not exclude you from the prep and post massages, and cautions, as described in the book - as well as the proper context of the practice in general.