zhan zhuang ear-eye connection

[amor]

Lately in my zhan zhuang sessions I have a feeling of a connection between my eye and ear which seems to go through the throat and down to the big toe, if Im feeling correctly and I think it resides on the front side of the body as opposed to the back. This connection is not as prominent in feeling on the left side.
I feel this connection most strongly when I am doing mainly the beginning taichi posture when you just stand and raise hands (palms parallel, rising to about shoulder height) before lowering them by turning the hands so palms face the ground and near the around the hips.

The connection is really strong (good?) or maybe its really tight (not good?) at the peak of the hands rising so much so that I find it difficult to turn the right hand, in particular, to face the ground. I do manage it but after a bit of a struggle so the scapula ends up connecting to the back of the rib cage, I mean I feel the click but it feels kind of forced, the left scapula goes on pretty snuggly.

So my question is do I need to stretch this tight tendon that im feeling on the right side of the body because I could stretch the hell out of it if I want to but Im not sure if I should because as I said I feel connections to the ear and eye and throat and don't want to do anything that might result in adverse conditions. Has anyone experienced what I am saying and know how best to proceed?

[jonathan.bluestein]

This is often called 'The Scenary of Qigong' (though Zhan Zhuang are not 'Qigong' per-se, but share this phenomenon). During the first 1-2 years of practice, or whenever a new level is attained within the practice, the body may release all sorts of new 'sensations'. Many people can experience many different things. Pulsing, heat or cool waves, shivers, 'electricity', sudden rush of energy, etc - these are common. What you describe sounds to me like feeling up some of your meridians, rather than tendons.

Should these sensations be manipulated? NO! Useless at best, harmful at times. Ignore it. Most of these sensations come and pass with time. Be mindful though to what you are feeling, because it indicates that something changed in your body. Often it can lead the practitioner to learn of a previously unnoticed imbalance, illness or unhealed injury. As long as it does not disturb the practice, just let it be.

[amor]

This is often called 'The Scenary of Qigong' (though Zhan Zhuang are not 'Qigong' per-se, but share this phenomenon). During the first 1-2 years of practice, or whenever a new level is attained within the practice, the body may release all sorts of new 'sensations'. Many people can experience many different things. Pulsing, heat or cool waves, shivers, 'electricity', sudden rush of energy, etc - these are common. What you describe sounds to me like feeling up some of your meridians, rather than tendons.

Should these sensations be manipulated? NO! Useless at best, harmful at times. Ignore it. Most of these sensations come and pass with time. Be mindful though to what you are feeling, because it indicates that something changed in your body. Often it can lead the practitioner to learn of a previously unnoticed imbalance, illness or unhealed injury. As long as it does not disturb the practice, just let it be.

Thanks Jon. I think you might be right about the unhealed injuries. I have had my fair share of accidents and a couple of surgeries which I didn't really need looking back on it for hernia but that was the doctors orders at the time. There probably is accumulated damage some of which is down to me and some not to me. I did suffer from asthma when young but seemed to get over it as I aged and then I did get a bad ear infection when in college about 12 years ago now. I was in a house with all international students, 2 chinese, 1 mexican and 1 from the mideast so might have caught something or might have been down to my own internal weakness.

A TCM doc. I saw said just because I got over the asthma and ear infections doesn't mean its gone completely and the pathogen can go deeper inside the body into your meridian system and weaken you slowly but surely. Similar to emotional trauma where the body stuffs it away somewhere and it ends up causing a blockage. So this tightness Im feeling could very well be in parts of my meridian system and not as you say the connective tissue.
It's all speculation at this point but what I can say is when I get a good feeling of this meridian system that runs through the ears-eyes and slowly stretch it the other side of the body which is the left side on the back starts to open up more as you expand the breath near the guts.

I could just leave it go with the flow and the tightness might resolve itself but I have a feeling it will probably take some active participation to resolve this if at all possible