Scheherazade

Something easy for Friday : “Beating the Heavenly Drum” This is a practice from Daoist longevity texts, believed to “awaken the Brain Marrow” and help with our Kidney Essence. The short version : Cover over both ears with palms and drum the occiput with fingers 24–36 times. // The longer version of how + why : Sit upright with your spine naturally lengthened and the chin slightly tucked so the back of your neck opens. Let your jaw soften and place your tongue lightly on the upper palate behind teeth. Breathe quietly through your nose until your mind settles. Then, raise both hands and gently seal the ears with your palms. Your fingers should wrap around the back of the skull so they rest over the occipital bone at the base of your head. Lift your index fingers and place over your middle finger lightly, then let them spring off the middle fingers so they snap lightly against the occiput. The motion is elastic and relaxed and not done forcefully. You may choose to not snap them off of middle finger and just tap against occiput. Because the ears are covered, the vibration echoes inside the skull and produces a deep, hollow internal sound like distant thunder or a distant drum beat. Continue steadily and evenly for several dozen taps (24-36) keeping your breath very calm and the shoulders quite relaxed. When you’re finished, lower your hands slowly and sit quietly for a few breaths so the internal resonance can settle down and integrate. The reason for practicing “Beating the Heavenly Drum” is that the brain is / was known as the “Sea of Marrow” and marrow was said to arise from the Kidney essence. The occiput and upper neck sit along the Du channel, which is called the “Sea of Yang.” - Several important points are at the base of the skull here influence the brain, spirit and marrow. The Bladder channel also passes over the head and down the entire back, with its inner line closely flanking the spine where the back ‘Shu’ points of the organs are located, including the Kidney Shu point in the lumbar region. Tapping the occipital region in practices like “Beating the Heavenly Drum” is working along that path. It awakens a circulation of our qi + blood in the cranial cavity, thereby nourishing + activating the ‘Sea of Marrow’ Once again, because marrow is rooted in the Kidney essence, stimulating this region symbolically and functionally supports the kidney/marrow/brain axis as it is understood in this tradition. From a modern day viewpoint, this light percussion creates bone conducted sound waves that resonate through the cranial cavity. Covering over our ears amplifies the internal vibration and reduces external sensory input, which can calm the nervous system and increase inward focus.

chatGPT thinks I’m 7.8/10 hot that’s about a 5 in sf but a 10 in nyc. i’ll take it! prompt below 👇

I’m voting blue in November

So proud of my 7th grader, who stood up in front of the school board and told them that getting rid of the arts and theater program at his school is a huge mistake.🥲

Bobbi Althoff was genuinely speechless after Sexy Redd started listing off the names for her lip gloss brand, saying stores like Sephora & Ulta REFUSE to carry it because of the names 💀😭 “gonorrhea, yellow discharge, p-ssyhole pink, bootyhole brown, nut, blue balls”

Rowdy, a 26-year-old gelding (about 80 in human years) owned by Melinda Miller, enjoys natural hydrotherapy each summer at Lake Pleasant, Arizona. He swims and floats in the lake to relieve his arthritis. The buoyancy of the water provides joint relief without the impact of land exercise. One year his owner added a floatie over his head. Rowdy learned to relax comfortably without his head submerging. Videos of the senior horse floating have made him a local celebrity.