Welcome to your practice.
This track is a part of my sensing acupoints series in which I guide you to connect with the felt sense of specific acupuncture points that are frequently used in Qigong.
Today I will share about a point called bubbling spring or Yongquan in Chinese.
It is located on the sole of each foot.
It's a bilateral point so you have two of them,
One on the sole of each of your feet.
We will explore this point through some touch,
Gentle massage and focus.
My recommendation is to come into a seated position for this practice on a chair and sit in such a way that embodies presence and full awareness.
Rather than slouching back into the chair,
Feel your sitting bones on the chair.
Let the soles of your feet spread on the earth.
Taking your socks off for this practice and feel your alignment between earth and sky.
Take one of your feet,
It doesn't matter which one,
And bring it so that the ankle rests on the opposite thigh so you can access the sole of the foot.
Bubbling spring is located in the center of the ball of the foot.
If you curl your toes towards the sole of your foot as if you were going to pick something up off the floor with your toes,
You might notice that there's this natural indentation that forms in the center of the ball of the foot just below where the bony part of the arch,
Where the big bones connected to each toe are,
About a third of the way between your toes and the back of your heel,
Roughly in line with the second toe.
Go ahead and place your thumb at this point and massage gently around the area.
The invitation is to maybe even close your eyes and now that I have shared the general location of the point,
Allow your body to take you the rest of the way.
What would it feel like to trust that your body will show you where this point lies?
Using gentle circular movements to massage the bubbling spring point and the surroundings,
Noticing your breath as you do this,
The quality of your presence,
Your energy.
And then taking the palms of your hands and cupping your foot such that the centers of your palms align with the bubbling spring point.
So bubbling spring will be in between the centers of your palms.
Drop into your silence and your quiet,
Your inner listening,
And notice what you feel here at bubbling spring.
Bubbling spring is a spirit point.
It is a point where energy can leave the body and energy can enter the body.
So a kind of gateway,
Energetic gateway into the body.
Can you feel the warmth of your hands through this bubbling spring point?
And notice how your body and mind are responding to this gentle caring touch.
And slowly releasing the two hands and placing the foot back on the earth,
Letting your body adjust back into that sense of alignment between earth and sky.
Immerse yourself in the sensations,
Particularly around the foot that you had cared for at the moment.
Noticing if this foot feels any different than the other one.
And can you still sense the connection to the bubbling spring point at the interface of your body and the earth now?
And when you're ready,
Taking the other foot and bringing it to the opposite thigh.
And we're going to locate again bubbling spring point on the sole of this foot.
So curling the toes towards the sole of the foot,
Noticing that natural indentation that happens,
That appears about a third of the way from the toes to the heel of the foot.
Once more taking your thumb and gently massaging this point,
This bubbling spring point as I share a little bit more about it with you.
Bubbling spring is the only acupuncture point on the sole of the foot.
And it's the first point on the kidney meridian.
It is a point that opens to the earth to receive the nourishment like a tree might draw in water and minerals as nourishment through its roots.
We're releasing the massage now and taking your hands and cupping them,
Cupping the foot in between the palms of your hands with the centers of the palms aligned with bubbling spring.
And immersing yourself once more in the sensation of warmth through the hands,
Bringing your focus to bubbling spring.
Noticing if you can feel the connection from bubbling spring all the way to your kidneys and can you connect with a sense of nourishment being drawn in through bubbling spring all the way into the kidneys.
Kidneys are the organ that stores our essence,
Our reserves.
Feeling your kidneys through bubbling spring,
That is the point,
One of the points that we can bring nourishment into the body and offer it to the kidneys.
And releasing your hands and replacing the foot on the earth and either coming back to your aligned seated position or if you wish you can even stand.
Standing in a way or sitting in a way you can feel bubbling spring touching the earth,
Bubbling springs of both feet touching the earth.
Open to receive the nourishment offered by the earth through both roots now,
Widening your awareness to include your whole body now,
Body,
Mind,
Heart and spirit.
And noticing the effects that this inquiry into bubbling spring has had on your whole self.
When you feel ready,
If your eyes had been closed,
Reopening your eyes and taking in the space around you,
Anchoring yourself back in the physical space where you are and preparing to close this practice.
Thank you for this shared inquiry.
Namaste.
