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Has anyone read this book yet? Any insights to this text, & approach; any new & improved methods…Snowlion
Small Circulation
by Dr. Yang, Jwing-Ming
The Root of Spiritual EnlightenmentSmall Circulation, or the Microcosmic Orbit, is the practice of circulating energy, within the human body, Qi, through the two main pathways, or “vessels” of the body. This practice is considered to be the foundation of Internal Elixir Qigong, and was a fundamental step on the path of meditation training in ancient times. Over the centuries, this practice has slowly been lost from many meditation traditions, and its importance has been forgotten.
Small Circulation regulates the Qi circulating in the Twelve Primary Qi channels, making it abundant throughout the entire body, which has been known for centuries for promoting health and longevity. This is also the foundation of Muscle/Tendon Changing Qigong (Yi Jin), which deeply conditions and strengthens the body. It is advised that you begin your meditation training by practicing Embryonic Breathing, which will help you to establish your central energy system, and to conserve and store this energy to abundant levels. Building on this foundation, Small Circulation is the next required stage of meditation training. Ultimately, one then practices Grand Circulation Meditation, which circulates Qi everywhere in the body and exchanges it with partners and the surrounding environment. Its purpose is to open the third eye and reunite the human spirit with the spirit of nature.
This book contains translation and analysis of many ancient documents used to transmit Small Circulation and Internal Elixir cultivation to future generations, and offers modern scientific explanation for learning and training safely. Though meditation is popular today for relaxation and general health, the ultimate goal of this training, in both Daoism (Taoism) and Buddhism, is spiritual enlightenment.
* Small Circulation Meditation builds the body from weak to strong and trains the mind to be calm and focused.
* Dr. Yang presents a modern method for learning safely.
* Includes scientific analysis, translation and commentary of ancient documents, and a summary of the practice methods.Hi Folks,
I’ve got his Embryonic Breathing book and, while informative and filled with translated ancient texts that can be helpful, it brings up many questions as some of his basics are fundamentally different than what Michael and Mountain Daoism teach. I see its roots are from somewhere else.
There seem to be three major differences that concern me:
1- He maintains that the middle dantien is the solar plexus (because it stores energy and the chest does not, he believes). This does not feel right to me.
2- He meditates crosslegged and doesn’t use the inner smile. (I now find it difficult to trust someone who doesn’t smile while meditating at least some of the time. It’s too serious.)
3- He teaches that the central channel (chong mo) is the spine not the core of the body. After my own studies in yoga, with Michael and in many other modalities, I find this assertion highly questionable.So my take on his approach is that while it looks basically positive and helpful, it has its roots in more hindu/buddhist forms of taoism. While I am not expert in this matter, I think it is a less pure form of daoism and more forced as is so much that comes from the more fire-oriented schools. -A
I have the book as well but as with all my books I never read them. Yet his life practice is different than what you’ve read in the book. But then when I take classes I listen differently than men do. Men tend to map things out, which is really great.
I tend to feel if things that are mapped out can be applied on my body, I don’t take attention too much on details. That is why it is so good that men do work on details/structure.
Like your observation is like a surprise to me but again I don’t take any notice of these things when it is not a work point for me on that moment. My analytic brain is not well developed I am afraid so I will never interfere in discussions about where to put a comma in the sentence…sort of speaking.Dr Yang smiles a lot though 🙂 and ‘thanks’ to his heart condition I believe he became much milder 😉 maybe that is the reason he put the middle dantien in the solar plexus because of his heart problems? :))
I am more interested in how a man IS than his vocabulary or how many books he wrote, books are fixed words, man developes, changes and while the words of the book is still there, the man already became another man.
That is why Michael is attacked for his words written years ago on sexual practice, I believe he has a different take on it at this moment yet his old words are still read by many around the globe, so people will say Michael has it all wrong.So how can we be sure that what is written hundreds of years ago is still applying on the human of today? We only can try to make it happen in our organic bodies…
never get fixed on words.Yes, I agree, in principle. Don’t fixate on the words, find your own way with the instructions you get. But the problem is that when a respected teacher says, “Focus this way on that thing to get this result,” people will follow because they believe they are getting the right instruction; especially men, who look for exact ways of doing things and want to be told the right answer. It takes intuition to really know what you are doing, but you have to have a good start-off point or you could actually hurt yourself.
I remember Michael telling us in one of my early classes not to put our emotional junk in our heart centers because the heart is not designed to neutralize things the way the lower dantien is. He told us that he had taught a group of Buddhists who wouldn’t listen to him because they wanted to run everything through their hearts thinking it was the right thing to do from their previous training. He said many of them got really sick from doing this. I can understand that. It is a case of the stubborn mind overriding the feeling function. And since we are TAUGHT to override it with our big brains, we get into a lot of trouble sometimes.
I am glad to hear that Dr. Y snmiles a lot. But if you read the book and look at the pictures in order to find out how to get to where you want to go you will interpret that the way has nothing to do with smiling, for instance. And I did say that his path looks more fire-oriented rather than the more balanced water-fire mountain daoist path. Fire paths like to use the spine which is really the back/fire channel and not the neutral energy core channel.
Anyway, I’m glad you had a positive experience with him and that it fit into the rest of your work.
Blessings, A
I like a bit of fire to heat me up, to get the cooking going, just joking Alexander…. I like the water practice best.
But that is why I will not discuss this any further because I have no idea about the comma. But I like to read about the comma’s though… so feel free.Hello wuchi. Here are my answers to your questions. Others may have different answers…
“is the lower dantien disigned to neutralize emotional rubbish?”
Yes. And more.
“why?
Because it is the earth center and that’s its job. It composts things so new things can be created.
“and how is the way?”
Much like the stomach cooks everything down into useable energy, the lower dantien is a natural alchemical cauldron that you focus on and develop to put all kinds of energy into so it can be digested, refined and recirculated in a positive form.
“i also heard about the theorie that the love-energy from the heart is able to clear everything. i sounds nice, but i don’t know if it is a romantic imagination.”
The love energy that emanates from the heart can be sent into the lower dantien to help cook the energy. All energy must be grounded for it to be useful. The lower dantien is the ground, the earth.
“i also read about, that tensions saved in the dantien can make people go crazy.”
You don’t hold onto any of it. You energize the lower dantien with your attention and intention and let it get transformed. You seem to be referring to when people hold onto their emotions and repress themselves and their energies get stuck in their bodies causing disease.
“why the buddists got problemes with their method of heart cleansing, when they ever did this with success?”
I don’t understand your question.
-Alexander
Let me explain Alexanders posting : the buddhist who ‘didn’t listen to Michael and got sick’. I am afraid Alexander used his words kind of strange, like: because they didn’t listen they got sick, it sounds almost like a spell.
<<that there are some buddists at michaels course who didn't follow michaels advice not to put their emotional rubbish into their heart centers and got ill. <<
It is all about balance. If you only emphasize on one center there will be unbalance and your heart, in this case, will become overheated, but if one is rooted very well you can work with any other center as you wish. Those who emphasize on heart practice only, may or may not be rooted, some will become ill, others will manage well.
I had very unbalanced centers, like a flowering bush, open crown, no rooting. Like an antenna I got everything in but nothing got digested well because of no rooting, this caused problems.
So my work was on ground level and from there the upper centers, already activated, manifest naturally without any emphasizing. I just need to take care of my rooting, every day, every minute. Whatever I do or go I take care of my rooting because that is my weakness. The stronger my lower dantian, the more my other centers manifest without effort.
For my body it is not a wise idea to do heart practice too much, I tend to overheat. My heart energy is already too strong, I need to balance it out with my lower dantian to avoid heart problems.
My earth is my salvation 😉“do i understand it right? for example if i’m sad, i put this sadness into my lower dantien, and the dantien will neutralize it?
or does this happen also, when i still collect me into my dantien?”Things will happen spontaneously sometimes and at other times they will need to be directed. You probably should meditate on the feeling of the lower dantien more without trying to do anything. That will strengthen it and your connection. You have to do this stuff by feel a lot. Be intuitive. Have intention but be flexible.
Feel your feelings, positive and negative, and center yourself in the dantien. You can flow all kinds of energy to it by intention. Do one organ at a time. Ask the lifeforce to orchestrate the action. Smile to it all. You are taking the negative energy out of the system and replacing it with positive chi, virtues.
There are specific techniques forthis that you ought to learn if you don’t know them already. Six healing sounds, then fusion.
“i even thought that our ground is the chakra below the feet. (8th or 9th chakra)
there i put all my emotional rubbish in the past. but it still sounds good what you wrote.”Giving it to the earth is good too. But the reason to use the lower dantien is so that you take what’s yours and what comes at you and recycle it all within your own body. You don’t waste anything that way.
“with the last question i meant the following:
you wrote, that there are some buddists at michaels course who didn’t follow michaels advice not to put their emotional rubbish into their heart centers and got ill.
but i don’t understand why, because they used their heart cleaning method with success in the past before they went to michaels course. so why they got ill or why they didn’t get ill in the past?”I can’t fully answer that because I didn’t know them. But I don’t think you can assume that they did it all with success before.
Good fortune, Alexander
It sounds like you need to do some exercise/chi gung. The movements will regulate the flow of chi and so will your breath.
Recirculating energy smoothly comes with practice and you have to know how to move it around the microcosmic orbit (at least). Smiling, breathing and relaxing are the essentials. Do you practice Tai Chi?
The way I stay grounded consistently is to stay in touch with how I feel and how the energy is flowing. The slightest thoughts can turn your field on its head, so you have to be aware of what you are thinking/telling yourself and make the proper corrections in your thinking.
Having a unified sense of your body is important but your body has a special focal point – the lower dantien. You can root yourself into the earth by intention. Feel the connection. But also – really relax your mind. Let go.
The reason to smile is that all of this is based on communication and relationship. You create “rapoir” (friendly alignment) by smiling. It is not a control thing, but a partnership, like a conversation.
Do you have a teacher?
-Alexander
Hi wuchi,
“yes i have a teacher, a tai chi teacher. and i do tai chi, but it’s not my favourite exercise, because i see no end.”
It’s going to be the same with anything you choose because you can always go deeper with it. You have to find something you like and that feels right and use it patiently for awhile. The problem is how you are thinking about it. Stop thinking and be present. That’s what the Tai Chi is for.
“i’m searching for a easier movement, perhaps the 5 movements from michael to open the microcosmic? are they nice?”
I think “nice” is the key word here. It sounds like you are looking for a very specific feeling. Personally I get that from Tai Chi as well as all the other forms I know. Don’t just look for the perfect thing. Use what you have.
“i think you’re right. i need more movements. do you think the “high” feeling will disapear by movements and centering in the lower dantien? with feel the connection you mean the connection to the lower dantien?”
It seems to me you need to move the body a lot and work the energy through. Over time you will get all the energies to work together more smoothly and the discomfort will disappear and be replaced by a continuity and calmness. The connection to the lower dantien and the body as a whole will work itself out. You need to bring the energy down from your head. I think standing postures will be very good in conjunction with the movements. And then, meditation.
“a chikung teacher i don’t have. in my town i can’t find anybody but i only like to practise the orbit and so i think its ok. for the moment i don’t want to go deeper.”
That is wise now because you need to integrate the energy that’s already moving in your body. Orbit is inner work (nei gung) and it’s good, but chi gung is physical movement designed to bring the mind and body together.
“not thinking is the hardest exercise i ever try. so it’s easy to say but hard to practise. but i experienced that thinking will put the chi into the head. so its not so good to feel so many chi if the mind is like an ape, or?
in some traditions the student have to meditate for a long time to sill the mind before getting such energy practises. so whats your way to still the mind, only visiting thoughts?”The movements will calm your field down a lot and you may have to do a lot of them for a while. The key to meditation is not stilling your mind, but finding that it becomes still because you have found out how to place your attention on something other than your flowing thoughts. That’s why I said above- do movement first then meditation.
When you meditate control your attention not your thoughts. Thoughts are an after effect, a result. They come up because of where your mind has gone. Then emotions will follow and then experiences. You don’t want to try to control your thoughts themselves because then you put yourself into a state of conflict- you against your thoughts. You have to retrain your attention to go where you want it to go instead. The inner smile opens up SPACE inside of us and takes the place of obsessive thinking. Be in the stillness, smiling to yourself and breathe, all the way in and all the way out. Relax. When we try to control things we make the space inside smaller, the enrgies build up and then we get crazy, or sick. Relax, let go. Open up. This is how all things come together inside us.
Be patient and smile to yourself through the process. You will find that you will slow down inside and then your body’s energy will correct itself spontaneously.
A word about feelings: Emotions are one form of feelings that we have. They come from our thoughts about ourselves and life, our beliefs and conclusions. Notice if you are afraid of feeling something and if that fear keeps you moving fast inside. Then, if you find that that’s true, go into the fear, not away from it. Feel what you are trying to get away from. This will make you grounded and resolve the underlying issue eventually. Breathe, relax and smile to it all. These things find there own resolve when we cooperate with them.
Peace,
AlexanderTake a stop watch, set on 2 minutes (or every timing you feel is practical) and every time you hear the sound, connect with your dantian. Effective and simple.
Have fun.You can be out of balance, but in my opinion never have over-concentration on the lower dantian. Remember the tree and its roots, the deeper the roots the higher the crown. You should massage your belly every day to unlock the stagnated chi in your dantian. And are you sure you are not taking too much sexual energy into your ‘blocked’ dantian causing overheating?
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