The world we perceive around us is a damn exciting place, variously scary and thrilling, but always enthralling. So much so, that within our skin we both rise up and come forwards to meet it – our energies rise up within the body and fill the chest and head, and our presence moves into the front of the body.
The world we perceive around us is a damn exciting place, variously scary and thrilling, but always enthralling. So much so, that within our skin we both rise up and come forwards to meet it – our energies rise up within the body and fill the chest and head, and our presence moves into the front of the body.
This causes excess upwards pressure as the energy exerts itself on the heart and brain, and triggers an anxiety and a tendency to worry. And I believe that diminishes our capacity for effective performance in (and enjoyment of) our transactions with the world. To be a master of this material plane, the way begins by reversing this trend to come upwards and forwards within the skin, and instead train the energy to keep dropping back down (into the kidney region where it’s regenerated and then recirculated). Then, you sink the presence backwards, so it feels as if you’re leaning up against your shoulder-blades, the frontal aspect of your spine, hipbones and sacrum, as if leaning back in a comfy chair.
Dropping the energy in this way leaves your brain and heart relaxed so you can think clearly. Leading it downwards also connects you to the ground beneath your feet, so that no matter how lofty your thoughts, you always remain practical, hence effective. Sinking your presence backwards inside connects you to what’s behind you, where you’ve come from, what got you here: your past.
Being connected to this anchors you in gravitas. In short, to master the material plane you need to train your energy to sink downwards and your presence to sink backwards at all times. This is essentially a matter of focus and remembering. But to help you do so, this short daily qi-gong ritual works a treat.
Qi-gong grounding ritual
1 Stand with feet together, legs straight but not locked, sacrum gently tucked under, shoulders dropped down, breastbone slightly raised, muscles and sinews relaxed, breath moving in and out evenly, smoothly and slowly.
2 Keeping your shoulders dropped, as the breath comes in raise hands above your head and as the breath moves out slowly lower them in front of you. While you perform this external motion feel the energy within you simultaneously drop down out of your head and chest and collect below the level of your navel (in the bowl formed by your pelvic bones and pelvic floor).
3 Shift your weight forwards, onto the balls of your feet, to accentuate the discomfort of being all squashed up in the front of you. Then shift your weight back onto your heels. It should feel as if you are tipping your entire person backwards within, as if you are leaning up against the back of your body; especially inside your head where your mind is now resting up against the rear interior wall of the skull like a cat.
4 You’ll notice a tendency to rush forwards again and lose the power, simply because you’re so used to doing so. But gently guide yourself back again, and it quickly becomes so comfortable you will want to remain this way all the time.
Article by
Barefoot Doctor
Tao Master
Barefoot Doctor is a leading tao master and has written numerous books including the cult classic Handbook for the Urban Warrior. His latest book is called The Man Who Drove...
Discover more
Article by
Barefoot Doctor
Tao Master
Barefoot Doctor is a leading tao master and has written numerous books including the cult classic Handbook for the Urban Warrior. His latest book is called The Man Who Drove...
Discover more
By Barefoot Doctor
By Barefoot Doctor 
