My experience with standing meditation

[Anonymous]

Hello everyone, I just wanted to briefly share my experiences with some of Bruce’s teachings and followup with some questions I was hoping some veteran practitioners may be able to help with. I picked up :Relaxing into your Being” and Energy Gates about a year ago. I practiced the material in the book fairly frequently (at least 20min/day 4-5 days/week). I sought it this material because I suffered from chronic anxiety which I feel can be attributed to a very stressful childhood. I started practicing the breathing exercises, and standing meditation, and Energy Gates altogether and what I have noticed is that it has been able to significantly help me with my stress levels. I have a much calmer head and dont get as stressed about the little things in my life like I used to. One thing I have noticed is that after a few days of standing meditation and sinking I find myself feeling somewhat depressed/fatigued and have take a few days off to realign. I was hoping if someone could share any insight if this is a potential effect of this downward sinking? Or am I just not executing the material properly? Also, does anyone have any insight whether it is ok to move energy downards (sinking) and upwards (energy gates). Is it safe to do both of these practices at the same time; for example sinking one day and energy gates the next. And also, has anyone felt these kind of symptoms before. I would greatly appreciate any insight you guys could provide. I also just wanted to thank Bruce and his team for creatingthis forum. I think its a great way to connect with fellow practitioners. There aren’t too many of us out there so I was so relieved to discover this forum existed. Thank you again everyone for reading/responding. Happy practicing…

-taonoob

[Anonymous]

Hi Sudeep-

Thanks for taking the time to explain your experience with the practice!

Let me see if I can offer up some advice:

First, just to clarify, the gates should also be done in a downward direction. And the sinking should be a very tangible, physical sensation (which the energy will follow once you’ve made it happen physically).

As far as feeling depressed/fatigued after practice, some of that could be natural clearing, but I would explore how deep into the body you are trying to feel. Think of the body like an onion, with layer after layer. If you can work at lighter, more superficial layers, that might not weigh you down as much.

Does that make sense? Let me know what you think.

Thanks,
Dan

[Anonymous]

Thank you so much for responding to my post For some reason, I was under the impression that Energy Gates strictly moved energy upward. Is the downward phase of this set when you finish the movements and ground the energy from the top of your head to the bottom of your feet.

In regards to the standing method, I have a copy of Bruce’s Energy Gates DVD (the one with the kinda poor vid quality) and DVD he suggests certain points to focus on in standing meditation. So those are the points that I tend to focus on. Do you suggest this as appropriate points to focus on?

Also, is there any kind of routine you might suggest involving Energy Gates, standing meditation, and Longevity Breathing. I’m just a little lost with the volume of material and could use a little bit of focus. Thank you so much.

-Sudeep

[Anonymous]

Hey Sudeep,

Glad we cleared that up!

I still think the Energy Gates book is the best training manual to follow if you want to develop an entire qigong routine, encompassing all the things you mentioned. The new edition includes lots of breathing information as well:

http://www.energyarts.com/store/products/books/opening-energy-gates-your-body-book

For a longer explanation of why I think Energy Gates is so good and how to go about structuring your practice, I put this together a little while ago:

Let me know what you think.

Thanks,
Dan

[Anonymous]

Dan,

Thanks again so much for responding to my questions. I checked out your link and a few of more videos. Great stuff, I will def be tuned in for future vids.

You mention not to initially focus on the swings, dissolving, and energy gates. Are there any side effects to improper practice b/c yes i have been attempting the swings and opening up energy gates. I know Bruce teaches low-risk materials but what effects of improper practice are there? Also, do you suggest sinking, cloud hands, and spine stretch all in one session? Thank you so much again.

-Sudeep

[Anonymous]

Hi Sudeep,

Glad you found them helpful!

It’s not so much that there are side effects to improper practice — although, if you are learning the swings, watch out for mis-alignment that can lead to injury!

The issue is more that Bruce has really put together a textbook packed with information that you could work on for at least a couple years. Literally, the sinking, dissolving, cloud hands, and swings, just the info that’s in the book, not the advanced versions, makes up a solid two years of courses at our school, if not more.

There’s just a weird thing that happens when you get a book with all the information — you want to go really fast. When someone is teaching you the same information over time, you tend to work through it more slowly and thoroughly.

That’s my biggest caution working on this stuff.

And yes, a single practice session should naturally go from stillness to movement to integration — so standing, cloud hands, spine stretch is the way to go.

Cheers,
Dan

[Anonymous]

Meditation is really good for individual. It is something that you make a reflection of your self on the things that you’ve done and the things you will do. So it is better to do meditation once in a while.

[Anonymous]

Hi Dan,

Thanks for posting that – I found it very useful.

I did notice, though, that the copy of the Energy Gates book you are holding in the video is about twice as thick as the one I have! (I have a somewhat knackered 1993 printing).

For a beginner is it worth getting the new edition, or is all the important stuff in the old one? (I don’t recall anything about “sinking your chi” in the one I have). I have some of Bruce’s other books – is all the new material in the Energy Gates book covered in these?

Any advice much appreciated,
Jim.

[Anonymous]

Hi Jim,

I have my dog-eared original too!

Around the time when the new edition came out, I was in a class where Bruce was explaining that he made the choice to focus on dissolving when he came back from China because no one was teaching it. Basic standing and some sinking was what was more commonly taught. (He also said not many people in the West were talking about the kwa or opening and closing in tai chi — which are so fundamental to doing the practice correctly!)

And so, when he went back to re-release the new EG book, he added more on sinking.

There’s also a whole new chapter on breathing which is really valuable too.

Overall, I think it’s a solid upgrade.

Personally, I gave up working on the gates for about 2 or 3 years and just focused on sinking and I consider that period in my practice a major breakthrough. But that’s just me.

Let me know if that’s helpful!

Thanks,
Dan

[Anonymous]

Thanks for posting the video

[Anonymous]

Hi Dan,

Yes, I found that useful. Thanks!

I meant to ask (if you have time to reply – don’t bother if you dont!), why do you find the spinal stretch so valuable? Is it just for general flexibility, or does it have some effect on chi?

Thanks,
Jim.

[Anonymous]

Hey Jim,

I started a new topic about the Spine Stretch here. Let’s discuss it on that thread instead:

http://www.energyarts.com/forum/spine-stretch-just-general-flexibility

Good questions!

Dan

[Anonymous]

Hey Dan, why did you quit practicing Energy Gates?

[Anonymous]

Hi Sudeep,

It’s not that I quit practicing Energy Gates completely.

For a while, though, I took a break from trying to work on the gates themselves while I was standing. I had slipped into just trying to visualize them, which I didn’t know at the time.

At the time, my standing practice just didn’t feel very good.

In hindsight, I learned that I was visualizing too much, and so I was moving at the speed of my imagination, not the speed that my body wanted to go at. Once I gave up on trying to imagine the gates, and just work on feeling what was there, it got much better….and led me back to the gates over time anyway!

Hope that helps,
Dan

[Anonymous]

Thanks a lot Dan for answering my question. I was having some comp issues so logged in as a guest. Just had another question for you and was wondering what your thoughts were. What practice E Gates or Dragon Tiger do you think essentially is better? I guess I really am not sure how to distinguish the prinicipal goals of each form. I just assumed both intended to increase and develop awareness of chi. Also as a relative beginner do you encourage starting with E gates or D/T?? Thank you again. Also, if anyone has insight please share your knowledge Thanks.

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