Hmm… I’ve been told not once about overthinking things! I’m trying to quit that 😊 Thank you 🙏

Hi Narcisz. I’ve heard of “mewing” but I am not an expert. I am, however, an expert in qigong. I suspect that you are overthinking things. If you spend a year or two learning and practicing qigong, then you will be able to make a better decision about “mewing”.

The reason I was/am really interested in this question is because of the position of my teeth (think of Freddie Mercury… 🙈😂) (it’s fixed now and wasn’t that much…) and my terrible forward leaning head posture.

Practicing qigong and tai chi I learned about acupuncture points and the alignment of Bai Hui – Qi Hai(?) – Hui Yin – Yong Quan points (to be honest I’m not sure I was told this, I should check it) – and the importance of lifting the tongue…

These different topics (teeth – posture – tongue position) coincided (at least in my head) and I started to investigate and experiment. I concluded that these things were all connected.

If you are familiar with “Mewing” I think you’ll understand what I mean… There is extensive literature on it, very interesting stuff! Here’s just a brief description:
“what is mewing?
Simply put, the process aims to improve overall jaw posture which will help reshape and realign your face.
But how does it achieve this? Mewing requires a person to change their tongue placement to its rightful position – against the roof of their mouth. It’s first a conscious change that slowly becomes unconscious, almost habitual.
Through mewing, you are improving your tongue, jaw, and general posture while reshaping your facial structure.
Mewing is a natural, cosmetic corrective treatment with added health benefits such as helping with sinusitis, sleep apnea, oral health, and much more.”
https://mewing.coach/blog/mewing-how-to

That “much more” could include… and now CHECK THIS OUT, Anthony Sifu: ankle sprain/pes planus/flat feet… 😲 (I am reading one article of yours after another 😉) (btw I have also tricky ankles…)
Also things like scoliosis… For me it makes sense!
Benefits would be, among others:
“Corrections to speech impediments
Decrease in temporomandibular joint dysfunction (TMJ)
Reduced sinus infections
Improved oral health
Decreased nasal congestion
Improvements to breathing and swallowing”

It’s said that the incorrect/unhealthy positioning of the tongue (so leaving it down or pushing it forward) is a bad habit, rooting in infancy, something like not quitting the way babies suck breast milk? If you look it up you’ll find the info… So if I get it right, lifting the tongue to the roof of the mouth is originally the natural way and it shouldn’t cause any tension. We just unlearned it (as it happens with so many things!)

I myself absolutely understand and feel your points. I try to keep my tongue up but I feel the tension. On the other hand, I find the Mewing info very convincing!

I wish you would read this! I imagine your inbox is exploding from a never-ending stream of messages…

With kindest regards,
Nárcisz / 水仙

My apologies. You mentioned zhan zhuang along with small universe breathing in a previous reply about the dan tien. That post led me to your tongue tip post.

Hi Anton. Where do I even mention zhan zhuang in this article?

You mention small universe and zhan zhuang. Zhan zhuang os not the same system and has nothing to do with small universe. To say that small universe is the way towards advanced practice might be your belief but it is just one point of view and has nothing to do with advanced zhan zhuang. It might be your interpretation or the interpretation you received from your teacher, but zhan zhuang is about letting qi flow, not manipulating channel flow.

Floating is fine. The key is to keep the jaw, tongue, and mouth relaxed.

Does relaxing the tongue means … leaving it floating (not touching anywhere in mouth cavity)

Or

Does it mean … it should rest on the floor of the mouth..

Also can we keep tongue relaxed throughout the entire day …and during sleep as well ??

Thanks

I myself tried to follow their notes loosely, and for me, my tongue never moves. Instead, I feel a cool energy flowing from the roof of my mouth, down my tongue and when down into my middle dantien. (the middle dantien stays cool for a few hours after that. The cool-ness is like… swallowing menthol. They say this means i have completed the microcosmic circuit.

His method is different from what you describe here. It;s basically just a sitting meditation, and directing your exhale to fill up your lower dantien. Anything else is just whatever your body wants to do. (for me it’s my upper body moving in a circle, swaying, or bending down as far as i can). These movement is toned down drastically after reaching microcosmic.

Is this dangerous?
main discomfort is heaviness in head area after meditation, but it went away in 15 mins or so. Almost like there are a lot of energy there, but they are stuck up there.

Right now I’m trying your 5 step routine twice a day, plus a short (15 to 20 min) sitting meditation (the micro cosmic thing) once a day. Should I stop doing that?
You mentioned it’s advance technique, and i am very much a beginner. (Total of about 6hr of sitting meditation across 6 days before i reach what they describe as microcosmic)

My thought is: if it’s the only thing you do, then it makes sense that only focusing energy on the 2 meridian would starve the others (the sifu suggest 1hr meditation, 3x/day). But as a supplemental thing, for 20 mins/day, is it fine? since by his theory, i have cleared the blockade in my main du and ren meridian, i feel should maintain it somehow.

Another question, while meditation, i can sometimes feel a spiraling energy flow inside my torso, or sometimes a wave of energy going from the back of my body to front, and then to the back again, and again. Are these qi movement? there was 1 time where this energy flow is very erratic. Is that a bad thing?

When i tried your 1 finger qigong, i felt a pulsating thing on the tip of my index finger. Does that mean it’s gathering chi?

(sorry i have a lot of question. I’m currently going through your covid support class. total newbie here)