Swallowing saliva

[James Murray]

The swallowing of saliva has been taught to me in the past for use during meditation as well as during Tai Chi practice. I have not seen this discussed previously, so thought it should be brought forward.
The practice of swallowing saliva is to increase energy in the body when saliva accumulates in the mouth during any relaxed practice. The saliva should be gulped down and intent used to direct the saliva into the lower belly or dan tien. For a more advanced practice, the saliva is to be divided into thirds and each third treated the same day as the single gulp. This practice, as far as I understand it, returns sweet saliva to the body energy where it enhances the store of energy in the dan tien.
Any comments on this practice?

[Anonymous]

interesting comment, many thanks……..through the Meditation Circle, I think Bruce is aiming to provide a shared foundation for students studying meditation with a ‘back to basics’ and ‘beginners mind’ approach. What you seem to be suggesting is quite a high level of sophisticated work. I see a parallel with my earlier comments about ‘cross lineage’ practice. I suggest that when doing the Meditation Circle work you stick to the exercises and approach as recommended by Bruce. If you wish to work with saliva fractionation perhaps do that in separate practice sessions. As, when and if saliva accumulates during your Meditation Circle practice, I suggest you do what comes most simply and naturally, gently swallow it without concern for saliva fractionation gymnastics.

[James Murray]

Thanks for your comments. I agree that Bruce is leading all down a path to basic meditation. However, some of the participants have extensive background that cannot be simply tossed aside.
When I breathe for any martial arts form, I naturally put the tip of my tongue on the yin/yang point above the front teeth and breathe slowly and deeply. Being relaxed also encourages saliva to flow, a natural body function, that must be considered and dealt with. I tend to not fractionalize the liquid, but do tend to direct it to the dan tien. I just offered the other practice for those who wish to explore further. I did learn this technique from one who has studied extensively in China from the age of seven, but unfortunately is no longer providing student instruction. I offer this for others who may experience the flow of saliva and wonder what to do.
Thanks,
Robert

[Anonymous]

………..apologies, the inention was not to toss anything aside. Rather, to suggest that it might be appropriate to separate Bruce’s Meditation Circle practice from other meditation practices – in the same way that I suggested (in the cross-lineage practice topic) that students who practice different lineages should probably best avoid blending them. The rationale being that established lineage teachings tend to towards recognised development paths, whilst mixing practice could lead to confusion and/or unintended outcomes. Salivation during meditation is a natural process and swallowing saliva is natural also. As Bruce’s instruction hasn’t advocated directing swallowed saliva to the dantien, perhaps such practice might best be done in separate sessions, allowing more attentive focus on Bruce’s given instructions. What do others think/feel about augmenting Meditation Circle practice with activities from other sources? It might be fun to consider how Lao Tsu might have responded in comparison to Chuang Tsu!

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