first steps in advanced weigong

Once you have practiced qigong for a while (usually 6 to 12 months) and developed the ability to feel qi (as a palpable sensation which could be like pressure, temperature, tingling or some other somatic form) it's important for you to begin working at a deeper level which encompasses both the outside and inside of the body. The most important qi practices now are:

1. Sole breathing

2. Palm breathing

3. Top of the head breathing

As well, certain respiratory patterns (akin to pranayama exercises in hatha yoga) need to be incorporated. The most vital ones to start with are:

1. Normal abdominal breathing

2. Reverse abdominal breathing

You first learn these skills individually and then gradually craft them into groupings which dramatically increase your ability to sense and control qi.

lagna —  the second hurdle to light

Once you start to align your lifestyle and actions with your authentic self (your deepest feelings and ethics), it's time to begin the process of tying in qi (prana or energy) to these truer expressions of heart and mind. In Jyotish, this corresponds to linking the harmonics you have created for the AL (arudha lagna) into the natal (birth) chart. The equivalent of the AL in the natal chart is the udaya lagna, which is usually just called the lagna. Udaya refers to the Sun rising in the east so the lagna simply indicates the direction where the Sun would rise on the eastern horizon at the moment a person is born.

The birth chart consolidates many different perspectives and serves as a single point of reference for teasing out what really needs to be done for successful inner child work (cultivation of deeper and more integrated emotions and feelings). You can check out the this link for key Jyotish ideas about what needs to be done on such an exploration into the underworld of psyche and heart. Mercifully, Vedic astrology gives the best of advice on why and how to succeed with this quest. 

shamanic journey

The natal lagna is all about your heart. The true work here takes you on a shamanic journey to reclaim parts of your soul (heart, mind and body) that you have disinherited or somehow lost touch with—for whatever reason. Tools from both modern psychotherapy (such as object relations and family systems) and traditional shamanic practices (such as soul retrieval and journeying to the underworld) provide high octane drive for real transformation and growth.

What's it's like to take such a journey? A deep meditation includes self-awareness (like mindfulness meditation but especially focused on heart, feelings and qi) and energy work to open channels of communication between your conscious mind and deeper awareness (inner child, body awareness, shamanic self).