Gold Light Nei Gung
Hi Folks, in response to some discussions I thought I would attempt to write a short description of a wonderful nei gung method. Keep in mind that these things really need to be learned from an experienced and skilled, honest, sincere instructor; but this will give an idea of this practice, anyway. I have encountered similar methods, which my teacher referred to as 'nei gung,' in a variety of arts: Min Zin, reiki-ko, yoga, and others. Working with the universal life force in various ways is seemingly, ahem- universal. What I am calling 'gold light nei gung' I have also seen and learned as (similar methods), 'root breathing,' and the 'breath of life,' amongst other names. Bruce Kumar Frantzis in his great book, Opening the Energy Gates of the Body (and other of his books) describes similar practices in detail. Apparently nei gung is one of those 'secrets' we read and hear about, so it may be that it is not as widely dispersed as basic taiji practice. My teacher taught all manner of nei gung methods, for health, inner power, martial arts, longevity, etc...this included in public classes and in our instructor/ disciple training...here I will adapt one for simplicity sake. There are also methods which are expressly for the purpose of spiritual energy healing (like Usui Reiki Ryoho methods).
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- GOLD LIGHT NEI GUNG
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- we generally practiced this in the well known 'embrace the tree' posture, but for safety and simplicity sake I will describe this method utilizing a more basic posture. Interestingly, GM, Dr. Maung Gyi taught this to me as something he called, 'root breathing in the mountain posture.' His system of energy work/ chi gung is called 'Min Zin,' similar to a combination of Chinese chi gung, Tibetan methods, and Indian Raja Yoga methods (Burmese in origin).
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- warm up a bit, loosen the joints, take a stroll, arm swings, breathe, etc...nothing too heavy
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- stand in a comforatble shoulder width stance, knees bent slightly but not much
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- bring the palms slowly together in the anjali mudra, or, 'prayer' position in center of chest...stay there and breathe softly and calmly for awhile, eyes can be half closed and soft...stand with good posture but not too stiff...honestly, just this standing posture itself needs expert guidance, but do your best...if you practice taiji then use your taiji principles and knowledge here, tailbone points down, eyes level, etc...after awhile your hands should warm up and/ or start to tingle, at this point (or just when you feel ready) fold the palms towards your chest, left over right...again stand and breathe for awhile.
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- next, slowly lower your hands to your sides, fingers pointing down and palms facing behind you ('Wuji Posture')...let the fingers be soft but opened a bit, don't clench the fingers/ hands tightly at all...esp the 'dragon/ tigers' mouth between thumb and palm- keep it gently open...lift the elbows up a bit so you aren't pinching under your arms or tightening the upper back...this is a well known nei gung standing posture/ yoga asana
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- stand and breathe a bit...next begins the inner nei gung part of the exercise...nothing should be forced!!!! bring your awareness beneath the soles of your feet, breathe in from the earth, through the hollow/ soles of the feet, through the core channels of the legs (don't worry too much about ultimate precision of the energy flow/ breath at first, just imagine they are hollow, or that the breath/ energy will go where it needs to), to the hips, then then up the spine to the crown of the head- as you breathe in, visualize the breath being a beautiful golden honey like color, or in fact, that you are breathing in golden colored honey...breath this from soles of the feet to the crown of the head as described..
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- next, relax and exhale softly (tongue is gently touching roof of mouth during this exercise, breathe softly and naturally through the nose) and as you exhale imagine/ see/ feel that this liquid gold honey like breath/ energy is flowing out the crown center point and downward along the outside of your body, back down to the ground...whereupon you will breathe it in again though the soles of the feet, up through the core channels of the legs, up the spine, to the crown again...then relax and exhale and let the beautiful liquid golden substance/energy/breath flow out and down again as described....throughout this whole process the breath should be soft, natural, full and deep- but not held or forced! natural is key...even breath out through mouth if need be at times...you must be comfortable...I have seen this exercise described (or versions of it) in a variety of books, such as Lawrence Galante's excellent, “Tai Chi: The Supreme Ultimate” (he was a student of Kuo Yin Ling)...again, we usually practiced it from the embrace the tree posture, but this one is also fine to practice it in.
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- practice to begin with for 5 minutes, don't overdo it...work up to 20 minutes each day, ideally same time, same place...outdoors is excellent, such as in beautiful natural surroundings, lakes, forest, mountains, the beach and the like including parks and the backyard...this upward flow is very internally cleansing, leading to better health and balance/ harmony/ vitality...keep in mind that methods like this are not, 'magic!' we don't need to be superstitious...it is just a subtle and ingenious type of meditation, making use of natural principles....there are many, many such practices, utilizing posture, sound, light, color, inner geometry, and more...in use since ancient times world wide.
