Blocked Energy maybe??

[ChrisReed]

Hello Bernie

This my first post on this site so here goes.
My question relates to blocked energy at the site of the third eye. I am a meditator in the Theravadan Buddhist tradition and have been for some time now. My practice involves working on getting into the deeper states of meditation and using the concentrated state for insight practice. After a 14 day retreat a couple of years ago I noticed I was getting what seemed like a build up of pressure in the area of the third eye and that it varied in intensity and moved around. It hasn't affected my ability to meditate but by the same token I have not been able to make it dissolve. After reading in your book about the microcosmic orbit It got me thinking as to whether this could help in removing this blockage and enable me to keep the energy flowing?
I am a Yin Yogi as well and have been practicing for a couple of years starting with Biff's Yin Yoga kit and now have your latest book and Paul Grilley's

Any insights or exercise I could try would be most welcome either while practicing Yin Yoga or carried into formal sitting meditation.

Regards

Chris

[Bernie]

Hi Chris

Welcome to the Forum!

Your question was - would the microcosmic orbit help resolve the tension that you have been experiencing at the third eye? I would have say yes - quite possibly, but you need to try it and see. As you know, it is a very simple exercise and there are no side effects from trying it. Sarah Powers claims that the microcosmic orbit "gathers in stray energies and channel them into this energy egg" of awareness. Orbiting the energy this way may help to move it away from the third eye location.

From another point of view, the orbiting of the energy may help for another reason. Since you have had a lot of experience in meditation and that involves deep concentration, you may have already noticed that paying attention to one area of the body can create sensations there. For example, concentrating on the tip of one thumb can measurably increase temperature there: blood flow is enhanced by dilating the blood vessels where we concentrate our awareness. In your case, if you tend to feel your third eye area, you may well enhance and increase blood flow to that area, which naturally would increase pressure there. This can have a positive feedback loop effect: when you feel a little bit of sensation there, your focus there on that sensation, which creates more pressure and sensation which draws more of your concentrated awareness there; and so the cycle builds. The solution may be as simple as - drawing your awareness somewhere else, thus the microcosmic orbit may work for a couple of reasons.

Try it and see. Let us know how it goes. By the way: Dr Motoyama recommends that anyone working with energy first open their third eye (the 6th chakra) as that is the ideal starting place: it equates to developing wisdom and the sensitivity needed to go further. Sounds like you are doing exactly that!

Cheers
Bernie