Nei Gong Notes, December 6, 2022

Good week. I’ve been working on my back this week, mostly doing the Clipping Passes exercise but sometimes doing the Spinal Dao Yin video or the Dragon Dao Yins. And I think it’s been helping? At first I wasn’t sure, but when I was just standing at the end of the Spinal Dao Yin video, it did feel like things were opening up, including in the place where things are stuck. And then yesterday I did the Water Wu Xing exercise, slowing down to try to feel every vertebra, and I didn’t feel a blank space at that spot in my spine. So hopefully I’m making progress; we’ll see what my doctor says on Friday.

And I’ve been doing Wu Ji most days. It hasn’t been as actively surprising as it was that one time a week ago, but it’s been good. I’m getting pretty reliably able to trigger useful-feeling sensations from my Yongquan; and, when I do that, my legs feel a little lighter, and if I relax properly and lift my head enough, stuff seems to start going up my spine at least somewhat. I’m in general trying not to pull too forcefully up on my head: I think it was useful doing that a couple of times, but I also think doing that has opened things up, and it’s not clear to me that I want to keep on pulling that way, I think I mostly want the head lifted up enough so that my spine and torso can use my head as an anchor to sink off of.

In terms of sinking, I’m getting better at relaxing my body and sinking even with energy coming up from my feet; sinking my Tian Tu helps with that, but I also think I’m doing an okay job of letting my tailbone sink. And I think I’m doing a better job of left-to-right alignment of my pelvis, even when I’m practicing without a mirror nearby to help; the forces don’t feel completely balanced in my pelvis and legs, but they feel pretty close, and I think it’s not completely implausible that the ways in which they feel imbalanced reflect an improved understanding that my spine and related areas of my body are a little off and that I can start actively working on that. We’ll see…

Also in terms of things being off, my doctor mentioned (again, he’s brought this up before) that my Kidneys are particularly weak on the left side. He gave me an exercise to work on that side, but I’ve also asked the Internal Arts Academy if they have any suggestions for working on one side specifically, we’ll see if Damo or any other senior teachers have any suggestions. The other thing that’s off is that I’m having sleep problems that I’m almost positive come from allergies; it got a lot worse recently, and I suspect that it’s related to the furnace coming on now that it’s gotten colder; I’m having our air ducts cleaned tomorrow, hopefully that will help.

I’ve also noticed that I’m just wanting to practice more. That certainly feels like a good sign; maybe a sign that my overall energy level is feeling better, maybe a sign that my body and mind are getting benefits from my current practices and want more of it, maybe a sign of something else? At any rate, it’s nice to feel that way; I didn’t mind practicing before, but it is good to actively want to do it more. And also my body is feeling a little different and better inside, and even when I’m not practicing I’m often wanting to sit and relax and let my spine and neck float up a bit.

Nothing in particular to report for Tai Chi. Last Saturday it was really wet, so we didn’t practice Jian; I led Silk Reeling that day, so I should get my form reviewed this Saturday. And I think I’m in good shape for the Guan Dao lesson this Sunday.