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Heaven and Earth Qigong
Month 1 – Lesson 7
Pulling the energy over your head from the top the bottom1. Bruce says that you pull the energy to where the center of the palms make a beeline to where the tongue touches the roof of the mouth. Does this mean that my tongue should be touching the roof of my mouth or is this just a point of reference and I don’t need to touch the roof of my mouth with my tongue?
2. Where exactly does the tongue touch the roof of the mouth? Is it right behind the teeth (as it looks on the video) or is it further back at the highest point of the roof of the mouth?
Adam
Bruce often tells us to find the position of the tongue by saying “Le”. So it touches behind the teeth a bit. pretty much all the Taoist practices direct the practitioner to do this to correct the governing and conception extraordinary meridians.
Hi Adam,
your tongue should be touching the roof of your mouth all the time in all of the Energy Arts practices. It’s a fundamental part of Qigong and Tai Chi/Hsing I/ Bagua
Where exactly is not hugely important, it can be just behind your teeth or further back. I’ve never heard Bruce talk about specific effects that go with different positions.
Trevor
Hello- two cents (for two questions
1. as a general principle, this form of NeiGong has that contact (similar to how the fingertips of each hand lightly makes contact with the occiput/base of the skull.. just to ground that circuit.. not press, just a touch -slightest skin, not quite a compression/press).. so just as smooth-even breathing, and solidly grounded in feet.. this is in all these practices, so not usually mentioned explicitly… which leads to #22. not quite either.. but a third.. as Bruce says (I thought he used the example in these videos- but perhaps not) it is like when you say the french sound ‘le” if that is familiar.. (in ref to #1 above, it is like just touching, not quite a ‘licking’ of the ridge behind teeth- not touching teeth- but on the round-edge of the bowl.. vs “in the bowl-roof of mouth”
-this does take a bit to get used to- as it stretches-deep shortening in the tongue over time.. (dont’ feel as a stretch- more a lengthening happens).. then it will just be there, as I write/type this, I notice my tongue hangs-out there, without intending or making-it..
I hope that helps… -it only really clicks when it has been integrated. (as many other priciples do also)
Hi Adam,
I heard Bruce say (don’t remember exactly where): the tongue should touch the roof of the mouth right behind the teeth, like when you say the the word “le”.
Regards, Larissa
Thank you everyone. Appreciate it.
Adam
Actually this came up once and it is the roof of the mouth ie the highest part. A bit of confusion happens depending on whether it is a hard or soft saying of the word “lay” . If you slow down the saying of the word and make it happen it goes to the highest point if you say it quick the tip of the tongue only go behind the teeth. Energetically they both get the job done but one more so than the other.
Two ways I teach this, one if you have the subtle sensitivity, practicing dropping your energy or you can use the fascia releasing downward sensation as well, from the crown down to the belly. Notice the differences between the two positions whichever is stronger is usually the best bet. Two is to stand in a neutral stance and have a partner do a light test of your structure, pushing gently in each direction. get a baseline of no connection of the tongue and then test the behind the teeth point and then the roof or highest point. again usually the stronger position will be quite clear.
I have used this to show that a tiny change in structure can have a huge effect on stability of the whole structure. I hope this helps.Aaron
A.G. -hello, I found your response quite interesting… (been a while since I’ve spoken with you).. just to be sure, I wonder if this is new info from my perspective..
when you write “highest pt/to/roof of the mouth” .. I interpret that to mean, I have to “curl” my tongue back so that it arcs over (almost back-behind) the root of the tongue – I’m wondering might you mean the “roof of the mouth” as being a distinction between the ridge area behind the teeth, and then backwards of that edge (the hard palate, reaching back towards the soft.) .. or actually the soft-palate (where, when the tip of my tongue touches ‘the tip of my tongue’ is nearly pointing straight up- and it is touching a place on the roof of my mouth more in-between the TMJ (jaw-hinge-jts) vs is being more in-between the cheek-bone pts
====
In this way (tricky seeming in text) there seems to be five areas of contact.. [and it seems you mean the fifth?]
just to be overly descriptive,
1) an area behind the teeth, either contacting the tip of upper incisors, or back a bit away from contact, but still there is a sort-of pocket there.
2) along the ridge, posterior to “1” above, which descends a-bit to an edge (“hard palate” I think) -including just on that edge, even behind it a bit
3) another pocket that is posterior of “2” that begins an inverted bowl type shape,
4) there is a slight bump in this “bowl” area” -like the way a “head of lettuce” curves- (“soft palate” I think)
5) far enough,a stretch in tongue below- nearly entire tongue is vertical -directly reaching (vs prior four areas, where the tongue reaches a bit fwd of base-bottom-connection)… which seems to be the highest-pt.. and includes a bit further back -reaching toward tonsils I guess- (the ole swallow the tongue)… anyway- above long,and just seems could even cause further confusion, but if makes sense to anyone== the testing/connections Aaron describe is also a neat path of inquiry
From a martial standpoint, it also makes sense to develop the habit of placing the tongue on the roof of the mouth in order to prevent biting your tongue off when you get hit. If you fight, you are going to get hit, might as well prepare for it by developing habits that help to prevent injuries and if it connects the meridians, then why not do it always as a matter of course? Practice is not just a thing you do at a set time and place, it is a way of life, at least in my humble opinion.
I havent tried the push test with tongue placement yet but Ive done push tests with Aaron and let me say from my experience working with him they seem to be a very accurate way to test most any type of alignment – at least all the ones that I encountered. With push tests the answer is usually very clear either way as Aaron pointed out.
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