yoga 2 — the benefits of a crowded house

If you’ve ever taken a hatha yoga class in a studio room filled to the brim with students—wall-to-wall with not a patch of empty floor space to be found—then you have the right idea. The concept here rests upon you becoming the center of such a crowded class.

Imagine you are in a packed yoga class. Only this one is ESOTERIC! Picture each student close by doing the same pose you are in exactly the same way. You should gradually see and feel the presence of students in front, behind, to the left and right, above and below you. So, to start, you open your mind—make it spacious—and feel and see six students practicing along with you as you do each pose.

During a pose: first adjust your posture and align the body; then, with part of your focus—30-40%—open your field of awareness to include a sphere around you. Place emphasis on the cardinal directions: in front, behind, to the left, to the right, above and below. So, you are at the center of six classmates. Throughout the pose, you maintain a sense of their presence by visualizing them doing the very same pose and making the very same adjustments that you do.

But you also feel their presence. For the purposes of this practice, feeling their energetic presence (prana, qi, lung) holds reign at the top of the ladder. Since you’re in a crowded class, it’s a short skip and hop to the next student so the total distance in any direction from you is, at most, about 6-10 feet (2-3 meters). Don’t imagine greater distances for now. Learn the basics and your sādhana will really blossom. This is super important but just let it happen. You don’t have to struggle to feel energy since that is really what you are totally made up of. And so is the room … and so are the students.

Over time you will feel, see and enjoy the fine company of your imagined classmates greatly. This is the first step in attending an esoteric yoga class. Lots more to come later but remember to walk before you run. For certain, by gaining skill with this expansive way of thinking and perceiving you will have unequivocally set the wheels of spiritual liberation into motion, once and for all.

SUMMARY — expand qi in all yoga postures

Whatever the pose you do, remember to include your six esoteric classmates. Over time your mind will find a sense of balance in the wider perspective … and with even more time, this sense of feeling energy around you will become natural and you will wonder how in the world you got hoodwinked into living in a closet for so many years. This is the first stage of freedom from the bondage of this world. Enjoy it! It’s real.

In terms of spiritual gems, this practice ranks near the top. Tibetan Buddhists shout about Big Sky and space meditations. Daoists go on and on about expanding qi out from the body. The notion of practicing hatha yoga while expanding qi the entire time is a pearl of incredible luster and value. You won’t hear it from the Hindu yogis. You will be lucky if you hear it from anybody, anywhere, at all.

Bondage to this world comes your way and mercilessly gets enforced because your mind constantly shrinks its focus to include just a body. Undeniably, you have thoughts and feelings but these relentlessly demand your attention and constantly drag your awareness back to what’s familiar: your physical frame. It’s the center of your universe.

Just try an experiment for 5-10 minutes, sometime: note where your mind goes to and not so much what it thinks and feels. You will find—as everyone will—that your thought and energy bounds out to an object for a snip or two and then retreats back to the cave: your body, and especially, your head region. Most of the time, you (that is, your ego or self) somehow seem to live in the head region and peer out through inquisitive and grasping eyes. Other senses often get second billing.

What’s wrong with that? After all, this is standard issue for life—the operating system we all have to tinker with. That’s, what’s wrong! Ordinary evolutionary programs beget ordinary human experiences which unfortunately beget a dull fog of consciousness that deceives itself into believing it’s in control and steady and sharp and sensible. What a farce. Any yogi, who’s being honest and willing to share the truth with you, will unequivocally state that you are a puppet of fate (karma, higher energetic patterns) and have little free will and even less power to do more than masquerade as if you are in control of your fortune and feelings and circumstances.

Most people settle for this fog since nothing better seems to be on the table. Of course, the spiritual path IS the way out but it’s a long haul and requires diligence. Yet, if you make spiritual practice a habit, then—inch by inch—it’s a cinch. And, THE BEST way to shake the shackles of a clouded identification with out-of-control feelings, thoughts and sensations stems from beating the crazy universal programming at its own game: It convinces you that you are your body and not much else. You counter by clocking yet more time—again and again—at your esoteric yoga class with its six energetic versions of yourself joining in the fun. Opening your mind to embrace this close-knit group and expanding qi from your core out to them gains you freedom from the death sentence of ordinary awareness.

Most real spiritual practices garner similar results over time. This is just the best way to start the process. And, over time, such a localized space meditation becomes the centerpiece for more advanced techniques that eventually blow the fog away and prove—once and for all—that you are more than just your body and heart and mind. Don’t worry. You won’t lose them. They ARE part of you and provide the vehicle for your sojourn through this galaxy and the nearby star systems.

Notwithstanding, you are much, much more than this. Your being can fill the cosmos or hang out in a teacup—still, this only accrues if you take the time to do such essential yogic practices.

Otherwise, it’s all hype and a bunch of hot air—simple coffee table chatter: something good to amuse yourself and your friends with; and, maybe make a buck or two (or three). Even so, the Universe will not be amused with such a lackadaisical attitude. Further, life in this world will thrash you, most assuredly—sooner or later it will come—regardless of your attitude.

Recall Aesop’s fable about the grasshopper and the ants? The grasshopper fiddled and cavorted all summer long. He had the merriest of times. Meanwhile, the ants labored and labored. Why? Winter time at its finest. And when the snows came … you know the story. Mercifully, the ants bailed the reckless grasshopper out from the cold. Best you get started attending esoteric hatha yoga class. Remember: step by steady step—it’s a sure bet … and, a whole lot of fun to boot!

In short, expanding awareness to a local region around the body provides a needed first stage of scaffolding that will eventually link the physical body to its adjacent energy bodies. The approach discussed here has plenty of solid precedence. For instance, in qigong and internal martial arts, a common foundational practice entails standing in some held posture for extended periods of time. It all looks rather dull and boring from the outside but inside the practitioner actively seeks to send and receive qi (energy) from the space around her or his body.

The esoteric hatha yoga class described here simply adapts this perennially useful qigong technique for all types of postures—both standing and sitting—in all types of gyrations (forward bends, backbends, twists, balancing poses). So, on a physical level this is a bit more complicated than the standing postures of qigong and martial arts. But on a mental level, the rigor and challenge is about the same any way you slice it. Take your pick: traditional Chinese internal martial arts like Bajiquan (see the static posture introduced in the next section) or traditional Hindu hatha yoga. Just get on board with the practice as a regular part of your daily routine.

And note that this is the beginning of something monumental and not simply a funky space meditation. For instance, in much more advanced yogic work, such as trul khor (magical movements) in the Bon tradition or similar methods in Tibetan Buddhism, you end up linking the surface technique (in trul khor, that would be simple movements while holding the breath and visualizing energy flows such as the chakras) with awareness of space around the body. There you go. Same idea but now at a graduate level.

Guess what happens at the post-doctoral level? Yes, you’ve got it. This goes on and on seemingly ad nauseam but one has to pay the piper. There just aren’t many freely given handouts of the golden thread to enlightenment (at least not in this neck of cosmic forest). You simply can’t be enlightened unless you hitch up with a really, really big field of time, space and energy about you. For advanced yogis, this sphere or field expands to include the cosmos (and then, even further). Rock on, eh? Or maybe, rocket on? Definitely, it’s something to aim for.

Thus, in Neidan yoga, as in most true traditions, one aims for higher consciousness to help and support all. Here you have a great idea and even more importantly another key rule of the spiritual road: no enlightenment for all, no enlightenment for you. This sounds grandiose but it is not and will be explained more fully later on after advanced yogic space meditations help set the stage for the proper insight into self and others. The very brief gloss: you are both the self and all others (and a whole lot more).

CHECK IN (minimum skills required for this stage)
At this level, you should already have some ability to sense qi—at least with your hands—on the surface of your body and in the space just adjacent to it (up to 6 inches or so). Great! Now, if you just keep at the good work and continue with the weigong exercises you have practiced so far, you will hit pay dirt in the next lessons. Why? As you hone and polish your awareness of qi, eventually you reach a level where you can start to manipulate it. In the next stages, you will move a qi ball between your hands—first, in midair; and then, through your lower torso. So, keep chugging!

SEQUENCE of PRACTICE
Success with sinking and expanding qi rests upon an ability to expand awareness beyond its ordinary confines. So, as explained in the preceding section on yoga, you start by first mastering the key competency of spaciousness—expanding and opening your mind beyond the confines of your physical body. This entails a mental skill (imagination, visualization, sensitivity) which doesn’t require much qi ability, at first, to be effective. So, it’s a great leadup to more formal energy work with the space and qi surrounding a body or object.

With even a rudimentary capacity to open your focus and embrace a field of space around you, you’re ready for the real deal. Traditionally, one learns sinking qi first since here the flow of qi is in only one direction (down, of course).

PRACTICE IN A STANDING POSE FIRST
While you can sink qi at any time, in any place and posture, it’s best to develop the skill in a standing posture at first. Take your pick for a pose to use—there are dozens and dozens and dozens of reasonable choices. Neidan Yoga mostly hews to traditional nei jia quan (internal Chinese martial arts such as Bajiquan and Baguazhang) so let’s consider a well-known Baji stance and how to practice.

Bajiquan Horse Stance (Baji pose)
Legs are a little wider than the hips with feet angled outward in align with the knees. So, if you bend at the knees they will track out directly over, and in align, with the feet. Squat a little by sinking your pelvis and tucking the tailbone forward (bottom of pelvis goes forward and top of pelvis tilts back a touch).

All movements should feel comfortable. Nothing should feel forced or jammed or bound up. Weight is 50-50 on the two legs. Later, you can use 40-60 weighting (60% on the rear leg) to get even more value from the pose. If you use 40-60 weighting, be sure to change directions at least once during the session (so both legs get the 60% weighting at some point).

Both hands are held in loose fists. The front arm bends at the elbow with the palm facing up a little in front of the lower face (as if you were going to support your chin). Make sure to have a sense of space in the elbow despite its deep bend (you can straighten and bend the arm a few times during practice: as you start to bend the arm, use your muscles and intention to gap the elbow and make some extra space (a tiny amount but noticeable once you get the knack for it); keep that sense of space as you fully bend the arm at the elbow.

You hold your rear hand palm down (or palm angled in toward the body about 45°). It should be situated near the midline with the arm at a comfortable level somewhere between the lower ribs and the navel. The arms should be held neither too tight nor too loose (as if you are holding a baby and don’t want to crush or drop the little dear). Check out the adjacent image. He’s doing a great pose.

SINKING QI
Baji practitioners learn how to sink qi in this pose. They follow a set procedure called Ba Zi Jue (the eight essential parts) which focuses progressively through eight major regions (the joints) of the body. From top to bottom these are:

1. Head (occiput; that is, the back and not the front)

2. Shoulder

3. Elbow

4. Hand (wrist)

5. Sacrum (and coccyx)

6. Hip

7. Knee (rear part and not the patella [knee cap])

8. Foot (ankle)

ALSO, include the SPINE:
As Sifu Adam Hsu reminds us, “For wushu (Chinese martial arts), the rear part of the body is more important and is easily neglected by an ordinary human.” Check out his fabulous Bajiquan DVDs on the References page. They are super helpful for learning this important art and skill.

1. Base of neck (C7 - seventh cervical vertebra)

2. Base of spine (L5 - fifth lumbar vertebra)

3. Then, sequentially work along the spine (especially areas of tension)

TECHNIQUE
There are three sequential stages to master:

1. Sink intention from top DOWNWARDS

2. Unload intention from bottom UPWARDS

3. Sink any location in the body or sink the entire body

Coordinate intention with the breath. Imagine that you are filling a balloon with healing energy as you inhale and that the balloon deflates back to its normal size as you exhale. Have a sense that the region you are working with dissolves (disappears, sinks) as you exhale. Open all joints in the region while you inhale and feel as if all the tissues are like a balloon being filled: they expand, soften, get warmer, become more comfortable, gain a sense of ease, melt and simply feel like something pleasantly warm and fluid.

On the exhale, feel all tensions in the area totally release. You can also incorporate visualization and imagination with this process as they can augment the effect. Tangibly feel that this region—expanded like a balloon—now placidly and peacefully returns to its normal size. As it rebounds back, feel all stresses sinking down out and away from the locus. Both feel and visualize the stress dropping down, down deep into the earth. You can even imagine a slightly smoky color for the stress and discomfort being released from your body.

Use straight-line and spiral energy patterns to sink the qi. Spirals are a fairly advanced qigong technique but you can start imagining them now since everything in nature—from bitsy quantum particles to mammoth cosmological star grids (called great walls)—moves in spirals. How do you know which way the spiral goes? Does it matter? In fact, the jury is mostly still out on how spirals propagate in the higher supernal dimensions but trusty modern science vouchsafes how they work back down here on the physical plane: You use the right-hand rule to figure out which way the energy moves.

Here’s how: Open your right hand as if you are going to shake someone’s hand. The thumb points up and fingers are open with a slight curl to them. The rule is this: if you wrap your fingers around toward the forearm and wrist (as if you’re tracing half a circle with the fingertips) then the resulting direction of the qi (prana, lung, energy) is toward the thumb tip. So, in this case, the qi would go up toward the ceiling. Try it again: if you look down at your hand from above and then do the motion you will see the fingers trace a circle counterclockwise and the energy goes up the thumb towards your head and beyond.

So, if you are sinking qi, then looking at the spiral from above, you will see that it goes clockwise and the energy thereby goes down. There you are. With some practice, this will become second-nature to you.

It helps if you can gradually learn to dissolve these regions by incorporating qigong and manual therapy skills. So, you might find if you can get some training. But, this isn’t a requirement for success—with regular practice, you will accelerate and deepen the effects and come to find out for yourself the amazing value and spiritual benefit of sinking qi effectively.

Jyotish (Vedic astrology) indubitably perches atop the heap of the world’s many maps for the esoteric realms. Without any question, cutting-edge science—especially unified physics—provides an essential lifeline to a balanced perspective on the whole show of reality. But, at least for now, the numinous arcana of other more advanced extraterrestrial (ET) civilizations found haphazardly strewn throughout many ancient models of the universe and life, surprisingly still pack real clout and offer high-voltage thrills and insights not to be found any other way in this world. And of all the pack, Jyotish accords the best vantage to this treasure trove of wisdom.

But there’s quite the kink in a smooth transmission of these eternal verities from the sun gods to us mere mortals. All humans have the not too clever knack for seeing things the way they want and need to see them. That is, the subjective often overrides the objective. It can be anything: a speeding ticket, a night on the town, a happy family reunion. What the event means depends in large part upon the beholder. If you’re happily on the way to an interesting destination, then a speeding ticket isn’t the best but it’s not the end of the world. You just keep trucking on. Nothing is going to break your good mood. Sound familiar?

Even so, what happens when half-hidden and definitely cryptic knowledge describes irrelevant and fantastical ideas and places? An ordinary person would yawn, if she or he would even bother with that, and simply move on to something more exciting and meaningful. And so it is with the wellspring of deep ET insights embedded in the parlance of Jyotish. Generation after generation of ordinary interests (for both astrologer and client) have whittled and watered these arcane jewels down to hollow, tasteless and essentially bland dregs.

What remains of the mighty spiritual and super-physical cornucopia bequeathed upon humans? Not much, it turns out. A visit to the Jyotishi (Vedic astrologer) nowadays still reaps a bountiful harvest but the domain of discourse has sadly sagged from the stars down to the plains and peaks of this world. To sum up: the sagacity found in the original Jyotish teachings (of Vedic times and before) has been reformulated again and again to serve the temporal and practical needs of each passing generation. What remains is an occult knowledge finely-tuned for answering questions about worldly interests but wholly clueless about spiritual matters and how to progress toward—and reach—Light.

Such Vanilla Jyotish rules these days. It’s still valuable as an aid for self-understanding: to know your strengths and weaknesses and the karmic influences directing the story of your life. But to tread the road to the higher lokas of consciousness you will need to turn to yoga—for nothing else will suffice. If higher spiritual awareness holds a central place in your heart, then a deeper understanding is needed. Yoga augmented by the Jyotish Star Map provides that understanding both in theory and practice.

Earthlings being what they are, it’s only to be expected that radically new ideas meet with resistance and opposition—at least until the current generation dies off. This nestles as a perennial truth known by the elders of all times and races. Made popular through the writings of Thomas Kuhn in the early 1960’s, this idea was repackaged and introduced as the notion of a paradigm shift.

The best example is science—something supposedly based upon fact and thus immutable and slow to change, if it does at all. Yet, when new evidence avails that no longer fits the reigning model of how it all really is, a war of opinions (and often, worse) breaks out. Eventually, after some time, the challenger gets weeded out or history finds itself neatly rewritten to appreciate how smoothly and tidily the transition to the new paradigm went (as if science just grows and grows and lazily grows without the need for any tending or maintenance or self-appraisal).

In short, human conceit has it that our kind is so smart that we can just march forward and conquer all with our brilliant contraptions and theories. Unfortunately, that’s not what the ET’s (rishis, sun gods and goddesses, occupants of the higher realms in all religions across all times) were—and still are—trying to tell us. So, let’s move on and examine what the Jyotish Star Map has to say. Given the foregoing lead-in, you might intuit that surely this is worth checking out. Well, take the time to ponder and reflect on what you find. Who knows? Some doors may open or dots get deftly connected.

JSM Lesson 1 - Different Esoteric Levels
Where’s home? You might think that’s obvious but each of the three major chart styles of Vedic astrology anchors to a different reference in the cosmos. To this, the Jyotish Star Map (JSM, for short) adds a fourth reference. So, where’s home? In terms of the universe, your choices abound. Kind of makes you wonder why each style leans toward a certain neck of the cosmic woods? Yep. Here you have lesson 1 of JSM. Each vantage highlights a node in an overall progression toward higher and higher levels of awareness. So, there’s no one “right” answer for anything! The proper frame of reference (type of chart) to use depends on what’s being asked and by whom (her or his potentials and current understandings).

First things first. Start at the very beginning. For if you have a map and a destination but don’t know where you presently are, how will you ever get to the goal? Vanilla Jyotish and all the major eastern yoga traditions (Hindu, Tibetan Buddhist, Daoist) simply sparkle with brilliance in terms of higher knowledge but they tend to lapse into panache and a touch too much hubris when it comes to the details: namely, how in the heck do you make the thing work? That is, how do you bridge from ordinary (everyday) consciousness to these rarified places they banter on about with prana and lung and qi flows zipping about within the body and out to the cosmos?

It all sounds good on paper until you try to put their teachings into practice. Then you simply spin your wheels for years and years and years and get very little real gain. Of course, a few folks hit the jackpot, but for most, it’s merely a pipe dream. Why? The essential ingredient that makes all the yogic teachings work is a high level of pure concentration (shamatha, dhyana). With this, one can indeed make energy flow this way and that and gradually craft an energy body that transcends the physical world. Without this skill, at best one spins one’s wheels forever; it could be a lot worse though: if all those inner energies are unleashed without enough concentration to reign them in, all bleep breaks loose. For instance, there are plenty of cases of folks who have had psychotic breaks due to kundalini crises or qi sickness or similar energetic dysfunctions.

Nevertheless, the path to Light is real and you can safely journey the whole distance but you need to respect that the process is like electrical engineering for the soul. There are very real electrical flows and circuits to work with. Best you consult with experts and have a mentor on your side. Especially for the first part of the mystic journey—up to the accomplishment of very deep concentration—you are highly encouraged to seek out a living guru or lama or spiritual master or even advanced spiritual practitioner to help you hew to traditional methods, realizations and insights. Here you have the safest, quickest and most effective way forward.

Beyond this though, the tenor changes. Unless you expect to win a mega-jackpot in the lottery, you can’t simply continue to follow the rules and traditional pearls dished out by your spiritual guides. Now, you will have to step lightly, judge and compare; you must begin to think for yourself; and you will need to start relying upon Light Itself for intuition and direction. For, in yoga—just as in Jyotish—you’re getting traditional beliefs and practices: in this case, beliefs mostly geared toward the needs of folks in caves and monasteries a thousand or more years ago. Little has really been accomplished to modernize and refine these traditions.

Therefore, you need to work with a teacher and one tradition as the foundation for your practice but then you need to cherry pick a little from the other traditions and the modern sciences to kludge the whole lot together. It shouldn’t be this way but it is. The world—even with its many great spiritual traditions—is a very fragmented place. So, as any friendly advertiser would coyly note: let the buyer beware. Once you can own up to this, though, you are free. Then it’s simply time to go for it with all that you’ve got and for all that you’re worth. This spells fun once you get the hang of it, actually. So, here’s the very beginning:

Western Chart for the Natural Zodiac
The natural zodiac (see the chart below) has Aries as the Ascendant (lagna in Jyotish). Here, the region at the center left marked Ari represents Aries. The As designates the Ascendant, which is the place in the zodiac where the Sun was rising at the moment of birth (natal chart) or the moment when the chart was cast (prashna chart). The Primary Axis represents day-to-day life with all its interests and activities. The Secondary Axis shows the path of personal growth and spiritual evolution.

The main teaching here? There’s no real progress along the Secondary Axis (personal growth and spiritual evolution) without one first attending to the Primary Axis (basics of life including health, happiness and career). The pitfall is losing your way amidst all the distractions of the primary axis. So, master it to a fair level (enough to have time and space for regular spiritual practice) but then give more and more time to the Secondary Axis as the years go by. More theory on this later but for now, it’s important to learn how to harmonize the related energy patterns so you can actualize this plan and not just lapse into wishing thinking. Here’s the practical part of the lesson.

JSM Rule 1 — Start with the Lagna and the Primary Axis
The above chart depicts the Primary and Secondary Axes in terms of the natural zodiac (Aries as lagna). There’s a reason for this. The natural zodiac undergirds ALL charts—regardless of what sign falls into the first house. Whatever the natal chart may look like (whatever sign the lagna is), it will necessarily build upon the foundation of the natural zodiac. So, if you fix the foundation, you can often have positive effects on the house built upon it. Fixing the house, however, won’t ever do a whit for the foundation.

Why? The natural zodiac represents “God’s eye-view” of the physical plane. This sounds exotic but simply means that a chart with Mesha (Aries) in the first house (lagna) will have Dhanu (Sagittarius) in the ninth house of dharma, good fortune and the guru’s ashram (workplace in this world). The lagna (Mesha) shows what you can do but the ninth house (Dhanu) holds center court as the most important place in any chart since it channels fate from the higher realms. For fulfillment in worldly—as well as spiritual—matters, it’s not so much what you know (lagna); rather, it’s whom you know (ninth house).

Beyond fanciful cultural trappings, this mapping squares with hard fact: modern astronomy. The center of our Milky Way galaxy holds forth at about three degrees of Dhanu. And where does Ketu (marker for enlightenment and the spiritual elite) get exalted, pray tell? According to hoary Jyotish it finds true accord and exaltation at six degrees of Dhanu. Sound like someone is trying to tell you something? Well, in fact, yes. That is, the devatās (gods and goddesses) are at play (mostly) and work (a little, to keep honest) in higher realms, which usually means a more complex astronomical system. The more complex the system, the more advanced (or at least, powerful) the beings that hang out there. So, the ninth house of any chart relates to Dhanu and thereby the heart of our galaxy and, following from this, it relates to the gods and goddesses (more advanced extraterrestrial space dudes and peeps or what have you).

We humans plod along down here on planet earth and have not a few hurdles to get to the devas’ part of town. Nevertheless, the natural zodiac underpins all comings and goings on this planet. So, whatever your lagna may be, you can often adjust and regulate it simply by tuning the lagna of the natural zodiac. This gives you a working corollary to rule 1: work with Mesha (Aries) and Vrishabha (Taurus) first, if possible. These correspond to the Lung and Large Intestine meridians in Chinese Medicine.

Examples — Compare Lagna (and second house) with Mesha (lagna of natural zodiac) and Vrishabha

Check out this pattern: the chart style here is South Indian so the rashis progress in the clockwise direction; in this style, the position of Mesha (Aries) is fixed so you always find it in the block just to the right of the top left block. Consequently, the constellation just clockwise to Mesha is Vrishabha (Taurus) and so on. The label AS (used in Western and other Indian styles) designates the lagna (ascendant). In South Indian style, however, the lagna is plainly shown by a small cross-hatch of at the top-left of the relevant sign. Thus, Karka (Cancer) postures as the first house, a place of health and native intelligence and a place that figures as the single best overall marker for who the native is and what she or he is all on about. Rahu (Ra) in the lagna does not bode well but because Ketu (Ke) does not cast any gaze upon it, there is only one malefic bothering the lagna. In general, this is annoying but usually you can just work with Mesha (lagna of the natural zodiac) and Vrishabha and that will effectively serve the same purpose as attempting to fix the lagna directly. In massage, one treats at the problem. But in Chinese Medicine (CM), one treats from a distance, if at all possible. For this affords greater leverage and leads to a better overall systemic effect.

Hence, in CM, the foregoing approach constitutes treatment of the root (cause and fount of the problem) rather than the branches (symptoms) and mostly does a much better job than chasing will-o’-wisps. However, sometimes, the wisps need attention too. In such a case, you still aim to treat the root causes but also incorporate the surface features. Here, then, if needed, you would also treat the rashis related to the first and second houses of your birth chart. As a representative case, consider the following situation.

In example 2, now two malefics (Rahu and Shani) aspect the lagna in Karka. Two or more malefics hammering the house of native intelligence and health strikes a little too close to the core and so you would probably want to treat at least Karka along with Mesha and Vrishabha. The final decision depends upon a close scrutiny of the natal chart along with a look at the current dashas and transits; and, also consideration of what fills your world at the moment—Jyotish aside, what’s really happening? What are you experiencing and how are you feeling? When in doubt between what the chart suggests and how you feel and think, go with your own experiences.

To sum up: you’re part of a food chain: a chart with Mesha lagna (the natural zodiac) presents a view in align with the heavenly realms and so holds keys to the deepest patterns of your life. In contrast, your birth chart shows what gives at a worldly level. It accords with the energies of the earth and solar system. As such, it provides you unmistakable clues on how to circumambulate life in this world and the very next (astral realm).

But any chart other than the natural zodiac can only hint at how to progress much further than that—to where the real action goes down (mental and causal planes) and where the really cool (exceptionally advanced) spiritual beings hang out … at least on their summer holidays. Trek this way or that: it’s totally your choice on which chart (your natal chart or God’s natal chart—the natural zodiac) to take as your main guide and mentor. For genuine spiritual success, one needs to consider, utilize and eventually master both of them.

However, be forewarned: practically all the pearls of perennial wisdom found glistening alongside any true spiritual path only reveal themselves in terms of God’s natal chart. To knit Jyotish and genuine yogic practice together you need to peruse the natural zodiac and not your personal off spin from this Divine template.

The mapping between rashis and meridians was comprehensively detailed and illustrated with a case study on the web page titled Rashis and the Meridian Clock. You can review that for a refresher, if you would like. Otherwise, let’s get to the treatment and start fixing what needs fixing.

Let’s wrap up the Whole Body Movement (WBM) exercise started in Nei Jia 1 and then move on to a super useful—and simple—beginning technique from Baguazhang (BGZ) that builds upon what you’ve covered so far. The photo here shows a well-crafted posture that only consistent training will achieve. Likewise, by gaining familiarity with the five gates you can springboard on them and start to activate the central channel—a major landmark along the path of all yogic traditions.

You shift side-to-side, back and forth over each leg 4-6 times for each stage of Connect the Five Gates (both parts 1 and 2). Start with the four stages of part 1:

1) Open, balance, strengthen and even out the dang (rhymes with long) (this is a Chinese word that refers to the semicircular region from one inner knee up to the perineum and down to the other inner knee).

2) Stop (for at least 10 seconds) in the middle at the exact point where both left and right sides feel physically balanced and most comfortable. Then sense into the physical and energetic connections between the Kidney 1 (K1 or Bubbling Well) points and the perineum (Ren 1 or Huiyin).

3) Same as step 2 but add in Bahui (Du 20) at the top of the head. So, now you feel the interplay between Bahui, Huiyin and both Kidney 1 points. The qi and physical linkages flow in both directions.

4) Same as step 3 but find the center balance point solely in terms of qi resonance between these three locations (focus on qi synchrony and not the physical sensation of balance and comfort). Then again, note the qi and physical connections between these three spots.

Then, continue on with the four stages of part 2:

5) Same as step 2 but after finding the center, you now focus on the qi and physical linkages between the Pericardium 8 (PC8 or Laogong) points in the palms with Bahui at the top of the head.

6) Now you’re on a roll! Keep going: same as step 5 but add in Huiyin. So, after settling into the most comfortable and balanced place where left and right sides feel even, you attend to the qi and physical flow between Bahui (top of head), PC8 points (palms) and Huiyin (bottom of torso or perineum).

7) Same as step but add in the K1 acupoints. So, you spread your awareness amidst all five gates: Bahui (top of head), PC8 points (palms), Huiyin (perineum) and K1 points (soles of feet). Note that the Bahui and Huiyin acupoints are two ends of the same central channel that runs through the core of the torso from high to low. So, the Bahui is traditionally taken as the fifth gate (along with the four PC8 and K1 gates) but you should understand that this fifth (spiritual) gate also includes the central channel and the Huiyin acupoint. When you’re not sure, focus on Bahui at the top of the head. In later stages of practice, you course qi along the central channel this way and that. Stay tuned.

8) Now you can tie the qi knot: keep awareness of all five gates while you move side to side 4 - 6 times. This takes some focus but if you stick with the practice, eventually you will find that the energy field filling and surrounding your body will spark into a livelier and healthier place. At bottom, you are rewiring the etheric field (subtle energies in and just around the body)—rather like souping up a hotrod, motorbike or other cherished motor vehicle.

baguazhang spirals 1 — sword hand

Baguazhang stands tall in the martial arts world as a consummate expression of fluid power and sensitivity. This highly sophisticated style’s claim to fame for spiritual seekers, however, stems from one of its most basic—and seemingly innocuous—practices known as Circle Walking. The other great windfall for the mystic crowd is called Tian Gan Neigong. These are a set of exercises which help open the spine and central channel. For a meditator, a more flexible spine and central channel enables a smoother flow of energy (tummo, kundalini).

Baguazhang (BGZ, for short) engages super-sophisticated whole-body movements throughout its panoply of marvelous techniques and silky smooth movements. Where to begin? The set of core exercises, just mentioned, known as Tian Gan Neigong. Why? They offer you a great place to take the plunge into this magical world without having to confront any overtly martial aspects. You can just learn the interesting and useful exercises and apply them for health and spiritual development. Who would of thought, huh? Finding gems from the warriors?

Tian Gan translates as heavenly stem, which metaphorically represents the spinal column and, even further, the central vertical axis through the body from bottom of the torso to top of the head. In Daoism and Chinese Medicine, key energy circuits course along this axis which is located deep inside the body (halfway from front to back and halfway from side to side). In short, the central axis provides the intrinsic fount of constructive energy needed for health and vitality.

What’s this got to do with spirit? These exercises selectively wring out (rotate, twist, stretch) sections of the spine and central axis which, in turn, affect the internal organs (such as the heart, liver and pancreas—all of which are essential for well-being and are linked to higher awareness in Daoism and other yogic traditions). As the physical frame opens and strengthens with these practices, the electrical (qi) flow in the body improves dramatically. You know by now (if you’ve read some of the other pages or are versed in spiritual topics), mind rides on wind (qi, prana, lung). Hence, here you have seemingly workaday physical exercises which can help craft you into a superstar fighter (as one would expect) but also open the door to qigong (control of qi) and transcendental levels of consciousness. Not bad for a day’s toil.

SWORD Hand — part 1

This martial art gizmo encompasses a number of polished moving parts so first step first. From the Whole-Body Movement (WBM) exercise 1, you learned how to shift from side to side while facing forward. Now, combine rotation of the waist with shifting of the torso. They go hand in hand and happen simultaneously. What to do? First, start with your feet twice shoulder width apart. Adjust this position, if needed, until you feel most solidly rooted into the ground: as if you’re a big beautiful oak tree with deep, deep roots spreading out in all directions. But don’t stray too far from the starting stance. Any fine-tuning should be just a few inches (one centimeter) wider or narrower.

Keep your energy rooted deep down into the ground throughout qigong practice. Just like this wonderful oak tree, you stand tall up into the sky but also you reach deeply down into Mother Earth with your roots spreading out widely in all directions. You are solid and anchored. Nothing short of a hurricane is going to budge you. This qi connection with the energies of the earth is essential for true progress in weigong (outer qigong) and neigong (inner qigong). It provides you a power source to spark your spiritual work with the midline (central channel, sushumna).

Now, Sword Hand involves even more moving parts: along with shifting and rotating the torso in a clean, fluid way, you also rotate the arm in synch with the torso rotation. Consequently, this exercise offers a first real taste of whole-body movement. Before tackling the arm movement though, consider a simpler exercise (complete in itself), Ringing the Bell, to gain a hang of the shift and rotate idea.

From the starting position, rotate your torso to one side and then the other. Don’t shift yet. Just stay in place centered between the feet. Initiate the movement from your waist and lower back and let the arms simply come along for the ride. That is, you don’t activate the arm muscles but rather let your upper limbs remain loose and comfortable. The arms should just flop around and smack the body like a whip or rod being swung this way and that. Let your head turn with the torso but again don’t engage any other muscles than those related to the lower back and waist.

Okay, that’s the first step. Just swing back and forth 6 - 10 times. Normally, ringing the bell is done with the feet shoulder width apart and not this wide. But here, we are moving on to the more advanced version which includes motion of the torso sideways back and forth along with the torso rotation. The vital notion to get now: move and rotate the torso at the same time. A great visual aid to conjure up while practicing is to imagine you are sitting on a massage stool as you move your torso to the side and rotate it at the same time. This is just about the same action as if you were really sitting on the massage stool while turning and moving.

Let your pelvis sink and imagine you lightly sit on the stool as it moves to the side and swivels at the same time. Keep the motion fluid. You initiate the movement by pushing into the floor with the leg that you move away from. Don’t tilt the torso to help fall towards the side you’re headed for. This is how most people walk (they lean forward to half-fall toward the next step) and may be fine for walking but will not do here. For instance, from the neutral beginning stance, say you are turning and moving toward the left. This means you would push moderately into the floor with your right leg to start the motion of the massage stool (remember: rotate and move at the same time). Think of your pelvis lightly sitting on the stool. So, your spine is vertical throughout as you move and simultaneously turn toward the left. The motion ends as your right leg completely straightens and your left leg is bent with the knee over the foot but not past the ankle. Here are a couple pics for you to get the idea.

Hey hi-ho, you’re on a roll! After completing 6 - 10 rounds, end with your torso over the bent leg. For instance, if your last swing and move was to the right, you end up over the right leg as shown in the above left image. Then keep the legs as they are but twist your torso to the left (remember to move from the waist and let your head passively come along for the ride); you are still over the bent right leg but now your torso faces back toward the straightened left leg. See this in the picture over to the right. Next, start to move the torso toward the left leg which bends while you gradually rotate to look back at the right leg which straightens. And, yes, bingo. That’s it. Repeat 6 - 10 times back and forth. You might feel a little awkward at first but with practice your body will warm up and adjust so that the sailboat clips along smoothly. Nice job!

You’ve now covered the foundational skills needed before dipping into the vaster sea of Baguazhang and its ultra integrated whole-body movements. To recap: at this stage, with some practice, you should be able to sense qi at the five gates while the body moves side to side. Once you feel comfortable practicing Ringing the Bell with a wide stance (6 - 10 rounds of facing the front bent leg and another 6 - 10 rounds of facing the rear straightened leg) then begin to bring in your qi sensing skills. Aim to feel the five gates clearly throughout the entire set of movements.

What’s next? The actual Sword Hand neigong exercise. And, some really cool stuff. A veritable bag of celestial goodies lies just around the bend up ahead so hang on for a minute and you will be there. Like what? Well, movement and breathing coordinated with the five gates. Both whole-body movement and coordinated breathing supercharge qi. But the qi needs somewhere to go or it can cause mischief. This is the reason to learn these five gates basics first. You can check out the Yoga and Nei Jia Quan sections on the next sadhana page for details. Happy sailing!

Time to hone in and get serious. Stable focus requires pinpoint accuracy: you can focus on a single point (left-brain) or a broader target all the way up to entire fields such as the sky streaming out in all directions (right-brain). Both skills preside over success so take your pick on where to start digging in. Here, we go with the left-brain track first. Space meditations made a cameo visit earlier in the section on hatha yoga and expanding energy. We will explore these exceptionally powerful tools (for instance, the Big Sky meditation so popular with Dzogchen fans) in much more depth later. For now, the itinerary reads: weigong (acupuncture points) then neigong (landmarks inside the body such as an organ or the center of a joint) and then neidan (spinal segments and chakras). Spiffy!

To start then, what’s a qi needle? As it turns out, you are! In fact, everything is. Huh? Well, by now you know that qi means energy and you know that it flows most readily in spirals (if needed, you can refer to the earlier section on this page about spirals and the section on the previous web page about the torus as a vortex of light). That is, if you take a peek under the hood, so to speak, at the sub-atomic dynamics which underpin your very earthly existence, you will see a mad swirl and dance of energy (qi) streams which spiral into and out of existence. This is the magic behind the world of our ordinary senses (seeing, hearing, touching and so on).

What’s important to get is that these spirals occur all the way across the rainbow—from under the hood (the hidden world of quantum particles) on up to the obvious (our everyday world) and even further on up to the monumentally enormous (cosmic-sized cookies such as the galaxies, quasars and pulsars). Every object at every level does its song and dance in the form of a toroidal vortex which scoots this way and that along spiral paths. This means so do you!

What does your spiral path through life mean? Why should you care? Taking a look from a larger vantage point will help answer these questions. It can all get pretty complicated, pretty quickly once you try to visualize the precise path you putter along relative to the rest of the universe. But even a general idea of how this plays out will do just fine. For a start, consider your life in the galaxy: the earth zooms around the sun in an ellipse (like an elongated circle) but because the sun, in turn, travels around the center of the galaxy (at a much faster rate), then viewing the earth as it loops around the sun, one sees that the earth is actually tracing out a long, long spiral through space. The spiral is centered on the sun’s ambit through the galaxy.

So far, what do you have? A spiral. And the general idea continues: the galaxy is traveling in a certain direction so when you focus on the galaxy’s motion, you would see the sun spiraling about the galaxy’s faster path of motion. Get the idea? It continues all the way up the ladder: the galaxy is part of a local group of galaxies which have a set direction of motion and a faster speed than the galaxy. Thus, bigger objects move faster and the next smaller object’s motion appears as a spiral around the bigger object’s trajectory. This continues on up to the Virgo Cluster (the super-galaxy we belong to) and even further on up through the largest structures in the universe. And, for all that, you’ve but arrived at the portal to the multiverse—the borderland to a richer plane of existence. More to go, yet, if you wish.

The bottom line? In this universe, at the least, you move in wavy patterns which often appear to track elongated spirals. The finer math soon descends into murky (for most mortals) complexity since your path treks around consecutively bigger and bigger objects. This means you get tugged in many curvy paths all at once. To keep it simple, and what the esoteric traditions teach: just work with spiral energies. They may not exactly map to your trajectory relative to this universe but all sages—the ones who know from first-hand experience—assert that you should use basic spiral energy patterns to activate your spiritual faculties and higher awareness.

In modern times, we can take a lesson from engineering—the practical and applied branch of science. Most modern technological wonders—cell phones, dancing robots, even artificial intelligence as it becomes sentient—are at bottom just approximations of underlying laws and relations that humans only partially understand. So, using spirals as a basic pattern for energy medicine and spiritual growth simply applies an approximation to a much more complicated process. But you should fully understand that this approximation works!

Using spirals to develop consciousness is no more of a wonder than any other approximation used these days. Consider cell phones: they bark and blast and ring out the real deal—amazing real-time contact with friends across the globe; instant news and insanely rich graphics and virtual reality. Such wizardry in the palm of your hand was spectacular only a handful of decades ago but now has faded into the norm. It’s passé—kids take all this for granted.

Likewise, modern science tells you that you move through spacetime at enormous speeds and in curvy, wavy patterns. This should be a surprise and even a revelation. And it is. Well, kind of, it is. Does short-lived count? On the spiritual path, which requires dedication and dogged persistence, the answer is no. No way. Not even close. The insight that we are part of a grand clockwork spinning dizzyingly faster than anything we usually care or dare to imagine sparks a thread of curiosity in practically everyone. But give it a week, a month, a year. The visions of interdependence and jazzy cosmic dance fade into trivial pursuits: an odd memory, a quirky fact.

As an example, consider the impervious nonchalance of Millennials and their even younger Gen Z brethren to the explosion of technological marvels in recent times. This is, in itself, one of the wonders of the modern world. But an even more notorious, and alarming, blemish of human conceit now faces the globe. Take your pick on age range of the culprits, you won’t go wrong. Why?

Every human conveniently aims for the comfort zone: At all times, in all places and in all ways humans opt for the easy way out of every situation. Nature programmed them that way and this wouldn’t be such a devastating crime if everyone used their abilities to think, judge and act sensibly. After all, nature gave humankind these skills too. But folks mostly don’t choose acting ethically and responsibly—acting as sane and decent stewards of the planet and its inhabitants. It’s all too much work and effort to buck the tide of “I, me and mine.” This applies at a personal level but even more so once the stakes broaden to include groups.

Put a fire-breathing dragon in someone’s path and she or he will shift gears nicely and run or take appropriate action. Put an even bigger and fiercer flaming serpentine monster in front of society—the world community—and most individuals will yawn, maybe scratch their heads, and certainly dreamily muse: “Can we just ignore it?” and “What a shame; someone should do something to tidy things up and remove all the debris.” and “Good lord! How insane; glad it’s not happening here.” and “Aw man, this situation is way too big for me; those in power ought to fix the mess!” and “I know! I’ll just look in the other direction and keep on trucking.” Worthless, huh?

This means that even the best-intentioned folks partially ignore nature’s many increasingly plaintive calls to shake off the dust from our eyes and wake up to the need for cooperation at a global level. Whatever level of commitment you have for helping the human family and supporting all the creatures of this earth does count for something. It counts for a lot. But is it enough? Are you really digging deeply enough into your pockets? Life lulls us all into cozy habits—at least as long as we can get away with the mischief.

Think for a moment: if you are really whirling around at a mad rate in relation to any and every thing in the universe, then who’s doing the driving? It’s not you. How do you avoid a car crash with this planet or that cloud of space dust or those asteroid belts up ahead? Your life hinges upon cooperation with the other players zinging around all over the place—local guests, near and distant cousins, far-flung characters of varying repute. The lot of them decides what happens for you—whether you get to enjoy another delicious breezy springtime day or not.

“No man is an island” was the opening of a famous seventeenth-century metaphysical poem by John Donne. He addressed the interdependency of all humans. It went further: “No man is an island entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main … any man’s death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind. And therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.” These days we need to heed his solid advice more than ever for the perils and hazards involved in ignoring this obvious truth are even higher.

And, thanks to wildfire technological growth without much heart, foresight or morality, the scope of the needed healing has ramified too: we must become good members of the galactic community. Period. How come? What extraterrestrial civilization will appreciate the clever humans blowing themselves and nearby stellar regions apart with all manner of nifty nuclear device, scalar weapon and death ray? This doesn’t even scratch the surface of human folly. Just wait for the imminent plague of AGI (generalized artificial intelligence—super-powered computers vastly superior to any and all peoples, and, thanks to their creators, vastly lacking in morality much less any speck or mote of spiritual awareness). Coming soon to a theater near to you. Science and nature both obstinately shout in our faces: time’s up, time to cooperate or … disintegrate. Some choice, hmm?

Coming back to speed: it gets measured relative to something so your speed varies depending upon what you check: the sun, galaxy, super-galaxy and even the universe itself. For instance, you travel over one million km/hour (over 800 thousand miles/hour) relative to the cosmic microwave background radiation (that is, relative to the universe itself). And which way are you going in relation to the universe—that big, big cheese that we all kowtow to? Turns out you have a ticket for the constellation called Leo. So, here’s a hint—freely given out by nature—about the path to very high levels of consciousness in this universe: the spiritual road eventually takes one to and through Leo (both literally and metaphorically). More on this later.

To recap: the designers of our conventional universe used the torus as a basic building block. Toroidal patterns beget vortex patterns which cascade on up to our world with its swirly wavy patterns. Opinions wax and wane about the details and which pattern to focus upon most so have a browse on the web, if you’d like. Here’s a place to start: How fast is the earth moving? Whatever you choose to believe or advocate, just be sensible too. Heed what the great spiritual winners discovered and utilized on their journeys to Light: use spiral energy patterns based upon the midline (tummo, kundalini) to experience the truth and not just talk about it. Leave the details to the scientists (left-brain) and poets (right-brain). You have better things to do (whole-brain) with your time.

Qi needles come in two flavors: physical (something you can touch) and energetic (something you can still touch—but only with a subtle touch). When using an energy needle you still feel physical sensation but it’s qi, subtle electricity, that you sense.

Since yoga aims for spirit and, knowingly or not, most folks already have way more than enough density in their life: clouded thoughts, muddled feelings, the bewitching firmness of matter itself (all those shiny and not-so-shiny objects that one, in turn, craves and loathes), you will make best progress by working with qi needles made solely of qi. That is, in the energy needle approach, nothing physical serves to channel the subtle electricity once it leaves your fingers. You use your intention to imagine a needle, made solely of qi, that conducts and focuses the energies streaming from your hand.

Further, from the preceding jaunt into the universal fireworks kindled and conjured up by the movement of celestial bodies, you know that everything can usefully be taken as a type of toroidal energy; that is, everything floats and flashes about in elongated spirals. This then is the meditation: imagine the qi needle and understand, feel and deeply believe that it acts as an elongated spiral (which certainly does happen). Therefore, the qi you push or pull along the qi needle will spiral. Make sure to spiral the energy with your imagination and gradually learn to feel the motion as a real sensation.

The single most powerful—and life-altering—thing you can do is to abandon the ship of fools drowning in samsara (ordinary life with ordinary concerns and ordinary ends) and rather join the great esoteric guild of shape-shifters: those shamans and adepts who can and do morph into different physical forms at will. This may seem a fantabulous and fanciful pipe-dream … an impossible holy grail. And, for any mere mortal, it is. However, hold on, hold on. Just a second now. Hey, you are not a mere mortal. The market hucksters and the droves of mindless, heedless beings that have come and gone before you all have left a legacy of deceit and despair to entwine and strangle your spirit and beauty. But just because you bought the wrong story way back before you could defend yourself or get help, does NOT mean the verdict is down and done. You CAN change. You can change for the better. Here’s a way to ignite the fuel regardless of all opposition.

Start with God’s vantage (natural zodiac), toss in expanding and sinking qi (shape-shifting), sprinkle with your personal story (natal chart) and add the spice of context—the world around you (arudha lagna). Yum! You may not realize it yet but this has all the trappings of a truly tasty and nourishing dish—something both remarkable and life-changing at a level vastly beyond the ordinary web of demons and wretched spirits set out to warp your vision and prey on your soul. You ARE more than a lost traveler in a crazy, crazy world and even crazier universe. Beings of Light also happen upon these world systems at times. They are your cynosure, your guiding star and hope. Remember the elves in Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings? It’s something like that: good and bad and somewhere in the middle: a thread of hope.

On to the details: God’s vantage essentially translates to dynamic processes at the level of the Milky Way galaxy. Dhanu (Sagittarius) represents the heart of our galaxy which scientists now tell us is really an enormous black hole. So, at a physical level this is a singularity of sorts—a dead-end that nothing can pass through or survive. But all esoteric teachings across all times and cultures equate this point of near-infinite pressure with a portal to the heavens. Goddesses and Gods cavort on the other side of this cosmic door.

Okay. That’s the foundation. Then what? A sneaky but entirely traditional and effective way to churn the stuck energies that plague your personal existence. The natal (birth) chart in Jyotish (Vedic astrology) maps the crucial resonances of karma. Now this is a peek at the physical plane (ordinary awareness) but by harmonizing the adjacent levels of energy, one can treat (fix and balance) this physical plane of complicated, tangled patterns.

Quite like winning a battle without having to fight it, the treatment adjusts energy on both sides of the problem and then the bigger physician (Life with its natural homeostatic movement towards wholeness and vibrance) does the rest. This entirely mimics how Chinese Medicine (acupuncture) and other traditional arts such as Ayurvedic Medicine allot their focus to help a client. In short, don’t treat the overt problem unless utterly necessary. Instead, treat the underlying and adjacent patterns and let nature use this gentle prompting to get the rest of the job done. This is the stuff of miracles along with the regular day-to-day triumphs of health and love over difficult challenges.

To picture this better, drum up an image of a pleasant looking multilevel house nestled nicely in a woodsy and peaceful suburb. There’s plenty of room around the structure. Nature abounds: trees here, squirrels there, lots of shrubs, flowers and native flora all over. Now, the most important part of the building is the ground floor—how you enter and leave the home. Without a ground floor, you won’t get too far with comfy living. In terms of your karma (Vedic astrology), the ground floor represents your rashi (natal or birth) chart. The lagna (ascendant) of this chart holds the most potent and important qualities. It’s a snapshot of you. This is THE place to harmonize if you want a happy and satisfying life.

So, the goal of the integration practice being introduced here simply aligns with this. Fix the lagna and you fix your life. 100% assured … for many solid reasons. Here’s one: For well more than a thousand years, the greatest Jyotishis (Jyotish astrologers) have agreed that harmony in this location (the lagna) provides the greatest single blessing to a person in all aspects of her or his life. It is like having the archetype of health and all goodness, Jupiter (Guru in Hindi), sitting in the first house (lagna).

Now, short of having outrageously good luck: being born with a strong Jupiter in the ascendant, the way forward hones on balancing the energies (prana, qi) related to this location in the chart. And, the magic from energy medicine, gets the job done by tinkering with the floor above and the floor below the ground floor. Why not just fix the ground floor? Well, this would help but getting the whole building in on the act has much greater effect.

Okay, what’s the top floor? That’s God’s eye view (the natural zodiac). So, strengthen and support its first house (lagna, ascendant)! Note that the lagna for anybody’s natal chart—including yours—could be any one of twelve different possible constellations. It depends upon the time, date and location of birth. Not so with God’s view. He (our Milky Way galaxy) will always have Mesha (Aries) for the lagna. So, the strategy here aims to clean house for both Aries and whatever the other lagna is (occasionally, they’re the same).

And, the basement below the ground floor? Yep, you probably have the idea now: instigate a similar touchup to its version of first house. Right! That is, the ground floor encompasses your heart and health (it’s the true or authentic you), whereas the basement is how the world and society view you (this may not match how you really are on the inside). The chart that shows this aspect is called the arudha lagna (AL). So, fix the lagna of your AL too. There you have it: a marvelous strategy based upon solid traditional and modern energy medicine; and a strategy that works well! The details will be covered in the next several practice levels. To prepare, you can work on the items listed below in the summary of essential level 2 skills.

Hoo boy … or, hoo girl, take your pick. You’ve covered a lot of ground on this page. Here’s a rundown of what you should know and have some moderate experience with before trucking on to the next page on level 3 work. Of course, feel free to browse ahead as much as you like.

RUNDOWN (the skills you’ve achieved so far and the prerequisites for practice level 3 work)

1. Expand and sink qi — at least in one sitting meditation posture and one standing posture.

2. Connect the five gates — at least in a seated meditation posture; preferably also while practicing the related qigong technique (whole-body movement 1).

3. Spiral qi — at least while seated: hands a little less than shoulder width apart and palms facing each other; imagine and feel a spiral of qi coursing from one hand to, and then back from, the other hand. Also, practice sending the qi out the index and middle fingers held together and pointed toward the other palm; imagine that an energetic qi needle extends a few inches (cm or so) from the fingers; keep in mind that qi spirals one way toward the other hand and then spirals in the opposite way as it returns to the original hand.

4. Connect the lung and large intestine meridians with qi — you learned about these two meridians in level 1; now you have learned why and how to spiral qi between your hands. Take it one step further: trace these meridians along one arm as you spiral qi into their acupoints with the opposite side hand. Then reverse. Take your time with this and start to make friends with the key acupoints (as described on the level 1 page). This skill ties into a whole raft of more advanced level 3 practices coming up right around the bend.

Just a gentle reminder: the spiritual path can be talked about until the cows come home but it can only be experienced and enjoyed and shared with others through personal mastery of mind and energy. You must practice—and practice hard—to get anywhere on this road.