Working with the throat

Hi!

I'm beginning to work with the throat, because I suddenly realized that there is a massive inbalance between the importance of this area and the amount of time/energy that I spent developing it, wich is to say, way too little.

So, I just wanted to ask if someone here did some kind of specifically throat-oriented work before, and in general if anyone has some advice, suggestions or warnings to give me about working with this specific area.

Suggestions on how to work with primary energy centers in general are welcome as well.

Also, if you happen to have any experience related with it, even if not working with that intentionally, that would be very useful for me, if you are in the mood to share.

Theoretical knowledge of any kind is welcome as well, even if not supported by direct experience.

Cross-posted here in the DhO
www.dharmaoverground.org/web/guest/discu...ards/message/4798278

Bye!

Mario Nistri wrote: Hi!

I'm beginning to work with the throat, because I suddenly realized that there is a massive inbalance between the importance of this area and the amount of time/energy that I spent developing it, wich is to say, way too little.

Like getting rid of tension in the throat? "Developing it" to do what, be like what?

Creating a more uniform flow of energy.

What's the overall energy work in the body you've already done? Do you have a basic comprehensive energy work practice, like qi gong or yoga type thing?

Yes.

What is it? What do you already do?

Mmm... not particularly in sharing mood today; the kind of question like "what is your practice" is something that I would expect if I were looking for specific advice on what to do, wich I'm not, I'm just interested in hearing other people's experiences, and suggestions if they happen to have some. I'm fishing for general stuff, not specific indications for myself.

I'm sorry, that was a bit rude... fact is, I don't want to talk about what I do because I use many different techniques, depending on what the situation is; those involve different combinations of different ways of putting attention, asana/mudras/bhandas, metta/sexual/breath energies flowing throught the body, different width of focus, different partsof the body being worked upon, tuning attention closer to the physical body or away from it, mantras/visualizations, and maybe imagination and determinations.

However, the guidelines are something like this: working mainly with the limbs and the spine, mostly avoiding mid-line stuff (until I'll feel that the limbs are robust enought to bare strong mid-line related release) and releasing cronic muscolar contractions and energetic blockages, in particular those in the joints and the spine. Everything that I do is aimed toward this, but the ways I get there are many.

Don't mean to be nosy, just trying to get an idea of what you would understand, what your experience level is, what framework might make sense, what vocab you are familiar with, whether I have any common experience to draw on, etc.

NOT because I have any profound suggestion, but it's also usually the case if you are working in a particular system, that system has specific instructions for how to deal with x y or z, and it's usually best to stick with their program and do it that way.

My view is that in general the energy body is self-correcting and self-maintaining, if a general healthy practice and lifestyle are maintained. If you are trying to make it be a certain way, that can be productive for specific goals, but isn't something it's usually good to mess with unless you have a comprehensive and balanced program and good guidance.

Given all that, my general practice myself and advice to others is that if there is a particular area that feels blocked, don't try to force things, but just spend some time each day gently holding your attention on the area and "smiling" in that area, loving it, doing metta towards it, or otherwise expressing a sort of kind and gentle attitude towards it. In my experience the blockage will gently sort itself out this way. Rather than going in there with a pickax and tearing things up, which can be our inclination when something bothers us.

But that's my overall take on practices of all kinds including insight, meditation, etc: generally do less manipulating and more inclusive, gentle acceptance or "friendly being-with", and let the processes harmonize and release which they naturally want to do anyway.

Hope that was somewhat helpful.

Mario Nistri wrote: ... if I were looking for specific advice on what to do, wich I'm not, I'm just interested in hearing other people's experiences, and suggestions if they happen to have some. I'm fishing for general stuff, not specific indications for myself.

Somehow totally missed this when I replied the other day. But what I offered is all I got anyway, so there ya go.

Hugs.

Best practice for the throat that I know: singing.

soundcloud.com/ain-a-shams/kris-delmhors...-everything-is-music

PS: most useless practice I know: "figuring out what it means."

I hope you don't feel like I'm "having at" you TOO hard; your question has set a train of thought running...

There's a really interesting bit in the film, "Into Great Silence," about a period where the monks stopped doing their plainsong for some reason-- and started getting sick, and exhausted by their strict schedule. It seems a really good line of inquiry that you're making.

Occasionlly but not recently in the last few years after doing a movement awareness session I used to get this: my voice was lower, and I required less enegry to generate more sound. This was also related to being more overall 'connected to myself' and to 'right speech'. lately I've been trying to recreate this phenomenon, with moderate success. One of the things I've been doing is to focus on a point just below my adam's apple when I make a sound~speak. It seems to help sometimes.

I went through a couple of periods where my sits had very, very strong energy movements upwards, and those movements were "blocked" for lack of a better word at my throat. It was very uncomfortable and initially very distressing.

Yeah, avoiding that kind of things is pretty much the whole reason I wanna do throat work. The "moving up" part is what I want to set the basis for it to happen in a way that is fluid, without discomfort.

By watching, and being patient, the process seemed to resolve itself on its own accord over several days

How much meditation every day? Do you feel that it was formal meditation that moved things along or it was also a daily life moviment?

My view is that in general the energy body is self-correcting and self-maintaining

Well, that's something that Iwould hardly call a view, since it's so obviously what it does

Occasionlly but not recently in the last few years after doing a movement awareness session I used to get this: my voice was lower, and I required less enegry to generate more sound. This was also related to being more overall 'connected to myself' and to 'right speech'. lately I've been trying to recreate this phenomenon, with moderate success. One of the things I've been doing is to focus on a point just below my adam's apple when I make a sound~speak. It seems to help sometimes.

That's interesting...

Best practice for the throat that I know: singing.

Did it... it was interesting, thiught vibrationswere mostlyin the chest, thought I can decide were to putthem; it was nice practice though...

PS: most useless practice I know: "figuring out what it means.

Anything suggested I was doing that?

I hope you don't feel like I'm "having at" you TOO hard

I don't mind a little of that... it's fine, even sane, in a sense.

"But that's my overall take on practices of all kinds including insight, meditation, etc: generally do less manipulating and more inclusive, gentle acceptance or "friendly being-with", and let the processes harmonize and release which they naturally want to do anyway"
My problem is that, if I just sit that way, then things gets unberable real soon, so I ended up using the maps of the various kind of energy centers given in the NEW system and stimulating them from lower to highter, from periphery to center... that kind of hard work on less "dangerous" parts of the body is working well for me.

Somehow totally missed this when I replied the other day. But what I offered is all I got anyway, so there ya go.

Hugs.

<hugging back>

Hey Mario!
My experience has been that a balance of two approaches works very well with energy blocks in general.
1) gentle directed energy work- just gently connecting the blocked area to the whole body and whole experiential field. Doing this with breath and attention.
2) simply opening to the sensations of the 'block' and seeing the actuality of those sensations as they arise and pass.

2 is where, with the throat and solar plexus in particular, I encountered that intense unbearable distress which you seem to describe. In the case of the throat it was strange because the actual sensations were a blend of fuzzy pleasure and numbness, so it was at first confusing that bringing attention to that area would result in such distress. But ultimately the only way - for me - was straight through with a combination of 1 and 2-- 1 serving as a resting, rejuvanating counterpart to 2 when needed.

Jake, that's such a nice clear instruction. Cutted and pasted to my file of handy reference items. Thanks.