Energy

Western medicine does not yet have a concept of “energy” like what you find in the ancient concepts from the East, be they Indian (Prana), Chinese (Chi), or Japanese (Ki). Therefore you have to look at the traditional understandings, e.g. yoga and traditional Chinese medicine and filter it through the Western anatomical approach to health. The book “Hands of Light” by Barbara Ann Brennan is worth reading as is “The Tao of Meditation” by Jou, Tsung Hwa.  Also, the Bihar School of Yoga has books related to the topic, e.g. “Moola Bandha – the Master Key”. Relating to the body, it is best to think of this “energy” as flows of blood, nerve, lymph – like water flowing through streams and rivers.  Streams and rivers get blocked.  They can also get polluted. Body workers will tell you about how the facia (soft tissue) of the body holds blockages and locked emotions.  We see the release of this all the time teaching yoga. While it is fascinating to study the esoteric, be careful not to get distracted from the practical.  We live on the physical/material plane of existence – not the astral/esoteric. We are born with a certain amount of “energy”.  There are various practices (Yoga and Tai Chi spring to mind) that create more and help circulate it around the body.   You have heard of acupuncture and there used to be a yoga equivalent called “Marma Points”.  Most of that knowledge has been lost. The yogic concept of the body as a temple is the approach to maintaining the energy we are born with and asana is a great way to keep it circulating.  Pranayama is the yogic way of making more energy.  The diaphragm works like dynamo with the regulation of the in and out breath. Energy is a bit like money in the sense that it is easy to spend, but much harder to earn.

– Written by James E Bryan