I've been reading about microcosmic circulation. I read in one book that you should inhale and focus on energy down the front of the body and then exhale and focus on energy traveling up the spine. Another book has said to inhale and focus on energy traveling up to spine and down the front of the body on inhaling. I'm wondering which way is right or better, or does it matter? Is there a reason for the pattern of flow? Can one do the exercise focusing on the energy going in the opposite direction? Any information or a point in the direction of some information would be greatly appreciated.

thank
Neil

Hello nhadfield

I have done the MCO most of the time without synchronicing it with the breath at all. As I see it it is nice to do it with the breath and you can do it with breathing in on the back side or breathing in on the front side it doesn't matter. The natural flow of qi is up the back and down the front. The back is yang and the front is yin. Perhaps if you lissen to this its a bit more right to breath in on the back side beacase breathing in is yang and out is yin. But I realy not think its matter which.

Most of the time you do the MCO the right way up the back and down the front but it could be good to sometimes do it the oposite way to clear the chanels from any blocades.

Hopes this helped you

F D

Stop reading money making books which are all useless and focus on stilling your mind.

Microcosmic circulation occurs naturally or you'd be dead. During meditation that process is accelerated.

Good luck.

Free meditation guides in here:

http://www.buddhanet.net/ebooks_m.htm
http://www.buddhanet.net/meditation.htm

I guess if we didn't need to learn anything from anyone else, we'd all be Taoist Immoratals by now and authors would all be living in the streets

Neil - Like Fire Dragon I just breath naturally and don't syncronize it with the circulation. I've read different ways, but this works best for me. In the first instruction I had, I learned to use the breath to "pump" chi between points (inhale at the point, exhale moving to the next) but that seemed to me to be not very smooth and I really don't try to "move" the chi that way anymore. I've also read inhale up the back, exhale down the front but I like what I am doing now best.

Richard

........

I was taught that the intention guides down the front (ren mai) and up the back (du mai). I was taught that the intention is independent of the breathing. This is important, otherwise your breathing will not become still.
Good luck!

You are already an immortal What keeps you down here is Karma.


Regards.

From what I have seen most high level teachers don't teach the microcosmic orbit.

Max talks about it but not really as a practice. More like if you practice Kunlun those energies open up on there own.

Sean Denty even mentioned doing MCO would be a negative if you ever want to pursue Foundation Training. Or that the MCO most people practice isn't the correct practice.

Intuitively, it seems to me emhasizing a good foundation practice like Kunlun, standing meditation, sitting and forgetting etc for an extended period(until your mind is silent of thought) is the way to go more than playing around with circulations.

But this topic has been discussed to death over the years already with people with strong opinions on both sides of the fence.

Cam

The only thing I've ever learned about this comes from the Hui Ming Ching.

It's my understanding that the breath aids intention in circulating energy up the spine and down the front. I think this is also the same as the Jen and Tu meridians used for accupuncture.

Believe this to be true.

Would you please elaborate?

It has to do with practitioners thinking that they can obtain the third eye location without traversing the crown. Much ire has occurred as a result of previous presentations. Revulsion for further prohibits repeating said. Sorry.

That's fine, man. Fine I like to think in terms of the Complete Reality School, since the first text I read was the Hui Ming Ching. Whether one should cultivate the mind first (so it can direct the body) or cultivate the body first (so it can house the mind) caused alot of debate back in the old days. I'm not sure which way I fall, but one thing's for sure. I am waaaaay far behind on the whole third eye stuff. But thanks, xenolith.

Me too. Never could get there without the crown lighting up. That's what pissed off the third eye people. Between you me and the fencepost, IMO those that think they've activated their third eye by means of the MCO without experiencing activation of the crown center (CCO) are simply mistaken. I'd better hide out now.

Happy to help.

If that is your belief.

I completly agree,if you want results still your mind.You might want to add spring forest level 1(active exersices)

My experience is that the kunlun practice is the mco (link) (in addition to some other stuff).

I've never heard of Kunlun before. Does anyone know where I could find some info on this or be willing to type the method so I could try it out?

kunlunbliss.com

I agree. So far the MCO, the other extraordinary vessels and Kan & Li all in one practice, but accomplished in a way as needed by the individual, rather than following rote, impersonal formulae. Very easy, efficient and enjoyable, in my opinion.

Michael in RI

Max is here and these are his answers:

The Kunlun opens up the 14 meridians, the jing lo, the three dan tiens, ad the secret square inch. It also awakens the nine palace pathways (the hotu).

The Microcosmic Orbit is also opened and it allows the chi to flow in both directions.

When the MCO flows in reverse it is called the Red Dragon circulation (Mao Shan). We have a whole method for this type of circulation that is not taught and are our more secret practices.

The whole purpose of Kunlun is to open ALL of the energy channels and all of the dan tiens regardless of what style you previously practiced.

In different Chinese traditions some say the MCO goes through the spine, some say it goes behind the spine and some say it goes in front of the spine. Regardless of the tradition, when combined with Kunlun it will open whichever flow you practice.

Everyone is right and everyone wins.

If you have the founder of Yang Tai Chi system (original way), he has designed the set in a specific way. Then in present day take three Yang Tai Chi teachers. Even though the knowledge comes from the first master, because of slight variations in the method, each will say that theirs it the original and correct way of doing Yang Tai Chi. So while they all come from the same source, they will disagree.

The end result, even with all the minor variations, will be the same.

(emphasis mine)Mostly agreed. Well put.

Though I couldn't vouch for all of the extraordinary channels, nor even all the ordinary. Some of which I'm not familiar enough to recognize even if they reached out and goosed me. Some things I am somewhat familiar with, though, and I don't buy that kunlun does everything. (Maybe for some fortunate few it does; I can't comment on others' experience.) It strikes me as simplistic and over-stated.

Which, of course, puts me in an awkward position to even say this stuff. A teacher says something in the vicinity of "this does everything" and, personally, I disagree. In my experience there's a big difference between being willing to learn, open to experiencing new things, change one's views according to new experience, appreciative (and even loving), as contrasted with "parking one's brain at the doorstep". I just won't do the latter. And I'm not saying that anyone is encouraging me to do that, just that teacher/student social dynamics often have that difficult area.

Anyway, ime, happily observe and agree that "it does a lot".

Trunk,

I understand and respect the points you make.

Just to clarify, I chimed in with an interpretation of my own experiences so far. I generally avoid interpreting my experiences because it's very possible that my interpretation will be incorrect [EDIT: some intepretation of experiences is usually necessary for the purpose of discussion]. But my experiences are incontrovertible to me (they are what they are).

I also won't "park my brain at the doorstep". I am open to experiencing whatever the practice brings to me and I try to hold no presuppositions about what that will be. So far I'm very pleased (amazed, really) with the experiences I've had with this practice (Kunlun). I do find it helpful, though, when a teacher can interpret my experiences (after the fact) in such a way that I have a cogent and consistent map of the territory I've traversed; I don't always totally accept the teacher's interpretation and may modify it to better fit my expanding paradigm.

Michael in RI

In Kumar's system this material is taught in what he calls "Marriage of Heaven and Earth", Micro and Macro. Also all the opening and closings, lengthening in and out, and some other stuff.

Here is the choreography, everything happens inside the body.
http://www.yizongbagua.com/Video_public/Marriage_Buddy.MOV

Hey Trunk,
I encourage you to give it time and let go more. You might be surprised.

Take care bro,

Chris

Very interesting. Thanks. Those movements look very similar (and in the same order, mostly) to some of the spontaneous movements I experience when practicing kunlun. Who's the guy in the video?

On a side note, I'm currently wading through Frantzis' books. In The Great Stillness Frantzis has an interesting article on Bagua Spontaneous Movement.

Again, thanks for sharing the video Buddy.

Michael in RI

Buddy what happened to the shoulder blade wrapping?

Did you miss it?

Michael,
That would be me several years ago.

Chris,
Thank you for the well wishes.
kind regards,
Trunk