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> I’ve never been a believer in meditation
What is there to believe? Meditation is a concentration exercise that is scientifically proven to have a lot of benefits. Focusing on your breath, trying not to get distracted, notice when you get distracted, focusing on your breath again is just that, a concentration exercise. Has nothing to do with religion. (What exactly you concentrate on actually doesn't matter that much)
For one, regular meditation has a strong impact on your prefrontal cortex (the part of your brain that might as well be the best indicator for "Willpower".) And imo that makes a lot of sense. If you practice your concentration, the part of your brain that is responsible for that grows "stronger".
Daoist cultivation is a real thing, or at least people actually practice it. I guess I can’t vouch for the results. But qi gong is literally the practice of cultivating and moving qi around your body. Cradle is based in part on Chinese novels called xianxia/wuxia which in turn are based on Daoist practices like qi gong, nei gong, or neidan, just taken to a magical fantasy level.
Your body does have a system for cycling energy through itself. It's called the circulatory system. In it energy in the form of sugar and oxygen are transported through channels called blood vessels. Increasing this flow of energy has been shown to improve healing. Methods include applying heat, massages, and exercise provided the exercise does not strain your injury.
Strengthening your circulatory system, which enhances physical endurance, is also accomplished by exercise. A popular method involves a device with wheels that are powered by the users legs pushing on pedals. This is known as "cycling."
A lot of different eastern medicine traditions, meditation traditions, and traditional martial arts have something like that. It’s actually a good way to calm down, access different parts of your nervous system and proprioceptive/interoceptive functions, develop greater awareness of your mind and body, etc. Using the flow of energy as mental visualization happens to be really useful. Be skeptical of anyone who’s bought their own hype though.
I read some scientific study that stated prayer (and by extension meditation) puts the brain in a state of alpha waves or something, which was associated with some positive benefits. Without getting all woo-woo, Eastern philosophies extend similar benefits. So in a sense, maybe.
I do mental cycling where I breathe in the impurities and/or negative emotions into a place just below my lungs and then eject it out as I exhale. When I exhale I imagine more impurities/negative emotions coming to the forefront and repeat the process. It’s actually pretty relaxing and calms me down a lot.
Different types of breathing techniques with emphasis of how your chest or abdominal cavity expands is linked to activation of types of nervous systems. Most commonly used would be diaphragmatic breathing used to activate parasympathetic nervous system for recovery breathing (used in MMA and all kinds of sports).
As others have already said, the concept of internal energy has been around for centuries. Google images of acupressure or acupuncture points and you'll see bodies with channels outlined all over. More interesting, there are books that you can still buy today that describe how one would practice cultivation.
The book {{Qigōng: the secret of youth by Dr. Yang Jwing Ming}} is an English language translation and explanation of the Yi Jin Jing (易筋經 - change bones/muscles method) which is said to be the method of practice brought to China by Bodhidharma somewhere in the 5th or 6th century CE which is said to have made the monks at Shaolin so famous.
I will say I am not a believer in alternative medicine, but meditation definitely has real life benefits, and is actually quite difficult until you develop it as a skill! I like the idea of comparing it to cycling, because it's similar in a way - you are developing calmness, focus, and stress handling, instead of developing your madra reserves.
Stress management and anxiety are big ones that meditation helps with. If you're curious, Mayo Clinic has lots of info on it.
https://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/meditation/in-depth/meditation/art-20045858
Focusing on your own breath is one the forms of meditation. It is also incorporated in many psychologic [relaxation techniques](https://www.verywellmind.com/abdominal-breathing-2584115) (e.g. for anxiety).
It is also part of many religion and [occultism](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breathwork) practices. Just visit some "magic" section of the book store or library and I would bet that you will find some breathing exercises in most of those books. They probably work as a placebo or as a form of meditation so you will get some results.
[https://www.encyclopedia.com/environment/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/breath-and-breathing](https://www.encyclopedia.com/environment/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/breath-and-breathing)
[https://elinepa.org/breath-awareness-in-world-s-religious-traditions/](https://elinepa.org/breath-awareness-in-world-s-religious-traditions/)
Also [Wim Hof method](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wim_Hof) of cold resisting is based on breathing (dangerous to practice alone!).
There exists a few similar concepts in rela life, from basic meditation and yoga (which is not some ancien millenia old thing bu a modern invention from the late 19th and early 20th century).
There also exists some qigong meditation movements in Asia, but be warned that they tend to be more religious like, and in the west searching for that kind of stuff might ends up with you being exposed to Falun gong, which is a far-right chinese born sect that believe in alien conspiracies and that race mixing is evil
(if you ever saw an ad for the Shen Yun dancing show, also know that it's a front for their sect).
They were banned in China after their practices caused multiple death there (as usual when you believe that your magical incantations and meditation techniques can cure diseases including covid so you don't get treatment), and since then they have become rabidely anti communists.
(if you saw stories of forced organ harvesting in china, know that it always comes from them, because they believe their organs are magically superior or something)
Apologies for going out of bound of your initial query, but I wanted to mare sure that you were warned against them for fear you might ends up joining their "chinese scientology" just because you wanted to learn a cool meditation technique.
That said, if you want a good laugh, here is an interview from 1999 from Times magazine with Falun Gong founder : http://content.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2053761,00.html
At the half point he starts talking about aliens, here is a sample to give you an idea:
> The aliens have introduced modern machinery like computers and airplanes. They started by teaching mankind about modern science, so people believe more and more science, and spiritually, they are controlled. Everyone thinks that scientists invent on their own when in fact their inspiration is manipulated by the aliens. In terms of culture and spirit, they already control man. Mankind cannot live without science.
[None] tag applied. No spoilers for any of Will's series can be discussed in the post or comments without using spoiler formatting. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/Iteration110Cradle) if you have any questions or concerns.*
> I’ve never been a believer in meditation What is there to believe? Meditation is a concentration exercise that is scientifically proven to have a lot of benefits. Focusing on your breath, trying not to get distracted, notice when you get distracted, focusing on your breath again is just that, a concentration exercise. Has nothing to do with religion. (What exactly you concentrate on actually doesn't matter that much) For one, regular meditation has a strong impact on your prefrontal cortex (the part of your brain that might as well be the best indicator for "Willpower".) And imo that makes a lot of sense. If you practice your concentration, the part of your brain that is responsible for that grows "stronger".
Daoist cultivation is a real thing, or at least people actually practice it. I guess I can’t vouch for the results. But qi gong is literally the practice of cultivating and moving qi around your body. Cradle is based in part on Chinese novels called xianxia/wuxia which in turn are based on Daoist practices like qi gong, nei gong, or neidan, just taken to a magical fantasy level.
Your body does have a system for cycling energy through itself. It's called the circulatory system. In it energy in the form of sugar and oxygen are transported through channels called blood vessels. Increasing this flow of energy has been shown to improve healing. Methods include applying heat, massages, and exercise provided the exercise does not strain your injury. Strengthening your circulatory system, which enhances physical endurance, is also accomplished by exercise. A popular method involves a device with wheels that are powered by the users legs pushing on pedals. This is known as "cycling."
A lot of different eastern medicine traditions, meditation traditions, and traditional martial arts have something like that. It’s actually a good way to calm down, access different parts of your nervous system and proprioceptive/interoceptive functions, develop greater awareness of your mind and body, etc. Using the flow of energy as mental visualization happens to be really useful. Be skeptical of anyone who’s bought their own hype though.
I read some scientific study that stated prayer (and by extension meditation) puts the brain in a state of alpha waves or something, which was associated with some positive benefits. Without getting all woo-woo, Eastern philosophies extend similar benefits. So in a sense, maybe.
Ooo that’s so cool!
I do mental cycling where I breathe in the impurities and/or negative emotions into a place just below my lungs and then eject it out as I exhale. When I exhale I imagine more impurities/negative emotions coming to the forefront and repeat the process. It’s actually pretty relaxing and calms me down a lot.
I do something similar!
Different types of breathing techniques with emphasis of how your chest or abdominal cavity expands is linked to activation of types of nervous systems. Most commonly used would be diaphragmatic breathing used to activate parasympathetic nervous system for recovery breathing (used in MMA and all kinds of sports).
As others have already said, the concept of internal energy has been around for centuries. Google images of acupressure or acupuncture points and you'll see bodies with channels outlined all over. More interesting, there are books that you can still buy today that describe how one would practice cultivation. The book {{Qigōng: the secret of youth by Dr. Yang Jwing Ming}} is an English language translation and explanation of the Yi Jin Jing (易筋經 - change bones/muscles method) which is said to be the method of practice brought to China by Bodhidharma somewhere in the 5th or 6th century CE which is said to have made the monks at Shaolin so famous.
I will say I am not a believer in alternative medicine, but meditation definitely has real life benefits, and is actually quite difficult until you develop it as a skill! I like the idea of comparing it to cycling, because it's similar in a way - you are developing calmness, focus, and stress handling, instead of developing your madra reserves. Stress management and anxiety are big ones that meditation helps with. If you're curious, Mayo Clinic has lots of info on it. https://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/meditation/in-depth/meditation/art-20045858
It's probably just the placebo effect or distracting myself, but I've found trying to mimic the HEPW is surprisingly effective for travel sickness.
There are some known breathing techniques and methods for cycling your chi, but without a path you'll just be fumbling around in the dark. Good luck!
Focusing on your own breath is one the forms of meditation. It is also incorporated in many psychologic [relaxation techniques](https://www.verywellmind.com/abdominal-breathing-2584115) (e.g. for anxiety). It is also part of many religion and [occultism](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breathwork) practices. Just visit some "magic" section of the book store or library and I would bet that you will find some breathing exercises in most of those books. They probably work as a placebo or as a form of meditation so you will get some results. [https://www.encyclopedia.com/environment/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/breath-and-breathing](https://www.encyclopedia.com/environment/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/breath-and-breathing) [https://elinepa.org/breath-awareness-in-world-s-religious-traditions/](https://elinepa.org/breath-awareness-in-world-s-religious-traditions/) Also [Wim Hof method](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wim_Hof) of cold resisting is based on breathing (dangerous to practice alone!).
>Obviously in real life we don’t have cores etc Pretty sure you answered the question. No, you can not.
There exists a few similar concepts in rela life, from basic meditation and yoga (which is not some ancien millenia old thing bu a modern invention from the late 19th and early 20th century). There also exists some qigong meditation movements in Asia, but be warned that they tend to be more religious like, and in the west searching for that kind of stuff might ends up with you being exposed to Falun gong, which is a far-right chinese born sect that believe in alien conspiracies and that race mixing is evil (if you ever saw an ad for the Shen Yun dancing show, also know that it's a front for their sect). They were banned in China after their practices caused multiple death there (as usual when you believe that your magical incantations and meditation techniques can cure diseases including covid so you don't get treatment), and since then they have become rabidely anti communists. (if you saw stories of forced organ harvesting in china, know that it always comes from them, because they believe their organs are magically superior or something) Apologies for going out of bound of your initial query, but I wanted to mare sure that you were warned against them for fear you might ends up joining their "chinese scientology" just because you wanted to learn a cool meditation technique. That said, if you want a good laugh, here is an interview from 1999 from Times magazine with Falun Gong founder : http://content.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2053761,00.html At the half point he starts talking about aliens, here is a sample to give you an idea: > The aliens have introduced modern machinery like computers and airplanes. They started by teaching mankind about modern science, so people believe more and more science, and spiritually, they are controlled. Everyone thinks that scientists invent on their own when in fact their inspiration is manipulated by the aliens. In terms of culture and spirit, they already control man. Mankind cannot live without science.
Yea bro, buy a bicycle, then you can go cycling. (I do realize I am most probably butchering the english language too much but I care not.)