dense energy @ sacrum

[Manipura]

I have some big, thick energy stuck at my first & second chakras.  I've been aware of this for some time, and when I do spinal breathing, it's a 'dead' zone when the energy moves through that corridor.  However, I do feel the connection at various times between the root lock & sambhavi, so I'm not sure exactly what's going on.

Last night this happened:  I had some noticeable energy going on at the heart chakra (the usual place where I feel energy) so I stopped what I was doing to focus on it.  Since it was fairly strong, I experimented by trying to move it down toward the 3rd chakra.  (I'm not experienced at moving energy around, so it was all an experiment).  Not as strong there, but I could still feel it.  Then I tried to move it down the spine to the 2nd chakra, and as I did, the energy instantly became thick & dense.  It slowed way down and almost grinded to a halt.  It didn't feel oppressive...it was actually kind of cool, in an informative kind of way.    I played with it a bit by bringing it back up to the heart, where it went back to normal, then back down to the sacrum, where it got thick again.  

Has anyone had this experience?  I find it fascinating.  Now that the enrgy has made its presence clear, I'm anxious to move it, but I'm wary of messing around with it too aggressively.  I'd appreciate any suggestions on how one might set about the task of clearing out old energy (if indeed that's what it is).

[Sparkle]

Hi Meg

I've been playing around with the difference between a heart centred meditation and a gut centred meditation over the past week.
This has been prompted partially by comments made by emc in another thread and partly by the different quality of energy I get when I sit with a Zen group and then sit with our AYP group.

I'm not sure what you mean by thick energy so I will describe the difference I percieve.
When I do the AYP meditation and don't focus on any particular place, I usually feel it centering both in the heart and the brow.

In the zen meditation it centres in the dan tien (about two finger widths below the navel)
With the lower centre the spine wants to straighten and the energy changes to something stronger,more solid and deeper (that's how I percieve it).

What I have been doing then in my daily AYP meditation is to be aware of the dan tien and be aware that this is where I would like to centre it.
The energy is thicker and stronger and more centering and I go deeper and loose the mantra more quickly.

I find also the quality of samyama dramatically changes when I do this. The effects of it are felt more deeply.

I realised that, without being aware of it, this is what I had been doing up to a couple of months ago before I added a mantra enhancement. So it is very interesting for me to note the difference and combine the two.

Also, important to do the ujjayi breath, this help a lot also.

Not sure if that helps in any way[]
nor am I sure how it ties in with AYP practices per se.

[emc]

Louis, "Also, important to do the ujjayi breath, this help a lot also."

Do you consciously DO ujjayi during meditation? I thought that was only for pranayama, and focus solely on mantra during meditation... ?

Meg, I'd say what works best for me with such energy blocks/dead areas/heaviness is what you already use: spinal breathing. It sweeps like a broom and balances it all.

Otherwise, I just focus on that area and love it a bit extra! Energy goes where the mind goes.

[Sparkle]

quote:emc said:Do you consciously DO ujjayi during meditation? I thought that was only for pranayama, and focus solely on mantra during meditation... ?

You could be right about only in pranayama but I have being doing it automatically for years.
Sometimes I loose it though and I would feel less grounded when this happens.

If I DO decide to DO it[], then I just set it in train and it carries on itself from there[:p]

Ujjayi: http://www.aypsite.com/plus/41.html
On reading this it seems focused on pranayama only.

[Shanti]

quote:Originally posted by meg

Now that the enrgy has made its presence clear, I'm anxious to move it, but I'm wary of messing around with it too aggressively.  I'd appreciate any suggestions on how one might set about the task of clearing out old energy (if indeed that's what it is).

Have you tried Targeted bastrika?

Few other things to try:
Nauli, Uddiyana, Navi Kriya (Louis is Navi Kriya similar to the dan tien you were talking about above?)

[Sparkle]

quote:Louis is Navi Kriya similar to the dan tien you were talking about above?)

Hi Shweta

I've read Navi Kriya a couple of times now but havn't tried it properly yet.
It is possible that using Navi Kriya will also develop the Dan Tien, since the attention is in the same area, I could'nt be sure.

The Dan Tien is regarded as the physical and energetic centre in martial arts, such as, Aikido, Tai Chi, Kung Fu and others. It is where all movement is centred and from where all the power is developed, in the soft martial arts.
Also ballet dancers, as far as I know, dance from this centre, although they may not refer to it as the Dan Tien.

Generally there is just the awareness of this being the centre when one is moving, so all movements are performed from there. When this is combined with the breath we can perform tasks much more easily, whether it be punching someone, as in Kung Fu, or say lifting something heavy, or pushing a spade into the ground. If we centre ourselves in the Dan Tien and breath out whilst doing these things, they become easier and more powerful.
This is something I have taught the kids from an early age. They really enjoy this, especially when they see the hugh difference between the two ways of doing it.
Even just walking around with an awareness of the Dan Tien as one's centre of movement can make a hugh difference, when done with breathing and present moment awareness, it takes on a new meaning.

So I don't know if the more developed and subtle aspects of Navi Kriya would be the same, perhaps it is. Maybe you or someone else with more experience of it could say. I would be very interested to know this myself.

[Manipura]

quote:Originally posted by Shanti


Have you tried Targeted bastrika?

Thanks for this.  The link brought me to the spinal bastrika lesson, which I'd completely forgotten about as a practice.  I'm trying this first, then the targeted bastrika.