Forums IMPORTANT: PLEASE READ Spring Forest Qigong Opening the Small Universe

What is the procedure for opening the Small Universe in someone who is lying down?

Master Lin says that opening the Small Universe can be done in a sitting or lying position -- "If necessary, you may stand on the right side and your friend may lie down." He also says "If you stand on the right side, use your right hand to send energy."

OK then. Should I switch right and left hands in all of the instructions, or just when sending energy? Also, should the friend be lying on her back or on her stomach?

I try to visualize that my hands are moving energy in a loop down the front toward the bottom of the torso and up the back to the head. My hands, of course, are just are just moving up and down over the body (I sort of feel like I'm trying to rub my head and pat my stomach at the same time). Anyway, I was rebuked by someone who saw me with my hands going down as well as up. She said the energy should only be moved toward the head.

Now that I'm thoroughly confused, any guidance would be appreciated.

Thanks.

Hi Ananda,
In the most passive approach, you could be sitting down next to your friend, in the room or anywhere, and just visualize moving the energy in small universe for someone. As we would all perhaps have different levels of success with this, you can add in expressing what you are seeing in your mind's eye, which is the important core factor to effectiveness, regardless of the physical expression, moving your hands in a manner relative to how you move them when you can actually do it in the ideal situation. You may just be making a gesture of rotating the energy in a small circle, more relative to you, in location, but that movement(and also feeling the energy in your hands), enhancing and supporting your visualization. There are several alternative ways to do all this, and it just involves one's creative choice or preference. Perhaps an awareness of being in that person's energy field, and, physically locating/positioning yourself that way, integrates you in their field, and it is easy to 'feel' your activity and effect. You can stand in it, and not have to merge with it, which again, is another choice. Bottom line in many people's questions,,,,,the mind moves the energy. What you see, is what you got. Again, adding in the physical sensation of qi helps support that vision, and you are not limited in how you express that.
If you look at your movement in the level II technique of doing this as written, in the format given. Your hands do move together. They generally, both move up, and both move down, in the same parts of the cycle. You move up them and up you at the same time, and down you and down them at the same time, with one side of the equation , slightly leading.
Also, a subnote here when you are doing it in the given format, say starting with your left hand putting the energy in, then moving it down, passing to your right going up the backside....I move slowly with this, especially on the opening , or start to a session. When my left hand is directing the qi down to the bottom of their torso, a sort of hold my right hand down below that point, and wait until I feel the energy in that hand too, coming from the left, then take it up the back. Sort of passing the energy sensation in my hands from left to right hand, along with feeling the connection to the specific points or centers in them. I side tracked a bit here, but felt the need to share that... This is the more physical(qi) side of expressing this action.
I don't know what your friend is talking about! This is not the first time I have heard, in this forum, about a friend giving someone their opinion about their technique!
Get your friends out of the room! if that is the case.... Who needs this distraction!
In very general terms, you work more, top to bottom, moving energy down....noT moving energy 'toward' the head. I am not referring to small universe, which is the way energy 'naturally' moves through that primary front and back channel,,,,,down the front and up the back. Remember to, that you 'always' , move the energy 'down', to the lower dan tien, to close everything.
For me, at the closing of a session, I usually do the movement faster, as energywork has been going on, things are open and moving. I feel more like I am 'crank' starting them , in the beginning!
You are doing it right. It does feel like a rub a dub dub , pat the head -rub the tummy thing.
love,
gallen

Also...
Master Lin , from what you are saying,seems to be referring to "opening the sm universe", not changing hands for everything, 'using the right hand to send energy, probably referring to patting the energy in, and moving the energy around sm universe..(I don't have my manual in front of me)
and..
I would say lying on the back is best, or side, as I think shr33m suggested in an older post regarding this,,,,not lying face down,,,although this is certainly ok for hands on bodywork. -g

Gallen,

Thanks for your reply.

Are are saying that I should visualize my friend sitting up, then stand at her right side and move my hands vertically up and down as per instructions in level II? I mentioned the pat the head, rub the tummy thing because my friend's body and energy is horizontal while mine is vertical. I've been moving my hands horizontally along her body, which just feels out of sync with my vertical posture. And patting the energy into the lower dantien while she is lying on her stomach doesn't help my coordination any either.

Or are you saying that it doesn't really matter - I can just do whatever as long as I visualize moving the energy?

Thanks again. I checked the archives for older posts, but I couldn't locate anything on this topic.

quote:

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Originally posted by gallen:

I would say lying on the back is best, or side, as I think shr33m suggested in an older post regarding this

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Gallen, amazing that you remember that post!
I believe it was one of the months of postings that was accidentally deleted and never backed up. You've a good memory.

[This message has been edited by shr33m (edited February 29, 2004).]

It doesn't really matter.
Keep it simple. If they are laying down, I would leave that , as that, and comfortably engage with that dynamic using your visualization as the bottom line actuality, and whatever motion you express with your hands, a secondary aspect that supports your visualization. I would further say, 'focused visualization".
Maybe standing beside this person, you can easily feel your hand movements, above and below the plane of the table they are laying on, as opposed to being over them, and working from a topside reference. Again, whatever is simple, and feels most comfortable. Focus your intention, see that, it's done...
love,
gallen

Aloha Ananda,

You're doing well.

It's really not about where the person's body is in relationship to ours. The movements and direction Master Lin gives in level 2, help one's focus the energy, develop confidence, and as Gallen mentioned earlier - there are countless possibilities to direct it with our mind without physical movement as needed.

When we get used to an always way of doing something (ex: working on someone sitting up), a physical change in that can have the mind and muscle memory think that something's out of sync. Something along the lines of the book Who Moved My Cheese?

Creativie visulization is a powerful thing. Sometimes in a level II class Master Lin will talk about it being a good thing to work on yourself every day, and that you can work on [i]that person /i]standing in front of you in the mirror every morning. Now, you can't walk over and stand on that person's left side and do the classic physical healing steps...

A little piece that may help with this shift in perspective is when people call in with trouble sword fingering their own kidneys. All that twisting of their hand to get it into the physical position as if they were working on someone else. Why not just shoot through from the front?

Along with that, why don't we hit the heart when swordfingering someone's lungs? It's all about the focus and intention that dictates the movement and results of the energy.

It doesn't matter if we're on the moon, upside down, sitting on an airplane, or tied up at the time so we can't even move our arms. See what needs to be done, being done.
Attention, intention, and as Anita mentioned in recent post, no attachment.

Much Love, Shawn

Good morning and good job Gallen. I had this last post waiting in the backgound since 8am between phone calls etc, only to finally click submit and see your face on the forum.

Much Love, Shawn

Shawn
You'd be surprised what can be done with
6 or 8 mirrors. I can chop in places I didn't even know I owned.

(Just need to lighten things up a bit)

justcappy

[laughing cramp]