What is imbalance?

What does it mean to have imbalances? For instance I have quick temper which is said to be one of the negative traits of the element of fire. In chakra I have bad grounding which is said to be of the root chakra. Are these definitions of negative traits? Are negative traits and imbalances the same?

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Perhaps a balance would result in having qualities, while a negative trait is caused by some chakra or element etc. exceeding over the other ones. So yes, it may be the same as an imbalance, fixable by invoking (or meditating on) the other elements, concentrating on the chakra “places”, visualizing them and repeating their bija mantras.

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The positive trait of fire is said to be will which I also lacks. I have quick temper and lack of will or motivation.

Not really, but energetic imbalance can cause you to behave in ways that society deems “negative”.
The emotional body and the qi body are two different things. Each can affect the other, though, and typically imbalance, blocks or deficiency or excess in one can cause repercussions in the other.

For example, having a fiery temper cause an imbalance an excess of yang energy in the heart or stomach, giving you ulcers and high blood pressure, but being stressed so you give your self high blood pressure can likewise make you irritable and get angry easily.

Another example: being sad can cause deficiency of yang, or also an excess of yin in the lungs, making you more susceptible to respiratory illness.

Having a lot of fire in your energy may not be a bad thing, if it’s your personality, and doing shadow work to understand why you lose control of your emotions would be easier than looking for this as an imbalance. Basically, work on what you find, if you’re not ill and only want to calm your emotions, then this hasn’t caused problems in the energy body yet, so address the emotion not the qi, before it does that.

However, having too much, or too little, of anything in the meridians or organs would be an imbalance, and these typically cause sickness.

The root but you also have grounding point in the center of both feet. If this is blocked, you will not easilt and naturally have energy excesses going to ground and they can built up into stagnant qi.

Bottom line: if you’re not sick, never get heartburn or ulcers or have issues with your heart or stomach, you’re probably doing fine and are not imblanaced. Learning to do balancing meditations like the microcosmic orbit is always good in any case.

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Would you say the microcosmic orbit should be used for any and all imbalances or are there other (gotta say it) simpler techniques in the Qi system to boost either the yin or yang? I’ve read a little bit about the microcosmic orbit and I don’t know why but it seems complicated to me. To be honest I’ve not really tried it properly.

I’m half expecting you to say no do it properly and get the full benefits :flushed:

It’s like, the microcosmic orbit is the swiss army knife of qigong exercises. It’s a fundamental starting point.

To my mind, it doesn’t get easier or simpler than that. Alternatives might be the Tai Chi moving forms, such as 8 pieces of brocade, or wuji tai chi, but I think these are not as fast or effective, you can be anywhere and do the microcosmic orbit, waiting for the bus, standing or sitting, and 3 circuits might take a minute… you can’t do the forms just anywhere and they are a decent length in time each.

Qigong does get quite detailed and technical, it becomes more complex from there… there’s a macrocosmic orbit that is quite tricky to remember. However i’s also a good way to ease into kundalini awakening, begging the benefits over years and making that easier and more accessible than, I would say zen meditation or the "om mani padme hum’ mantra.

It’s not too bad once you get the idea: up the spine and down the middle, basically. Keep your perineum clenched and your tongue on the roof of your mouth, closing those gaps to complete the circuit, and the perineum pressure pumps qi up your spine. :slight_smile:

I discovered this has a basis scientifically: This “pump” action is physiological, it pushes cerebrospinal fluid up to your brain, where the flow of electromagnetism and pressure on your pineal gland helps activate it to “open” it and develop psychic senses. If I find the gaia.com video that talks about it again I’ll post it. :slight_smile:

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Thank you @Mulberry I will try to do it properly then lol

Seriously, what you said is good detail.

You made it seem so much easier than I thought. Thank you :slightly_smiling_face:

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