AI-CHI-KI JUTSU
Art (Method) of Harmonising with the Earth Energy
(:grounding, and connecting with the golden energy-radiance of elemental earth)
Copyright © 2002 James Deacon

This is a basic version of the primary 'grounding' technique from the Art of Tenchi Seiki Te-Ate.
It is one of the first, and one of the most important, techniques learned by the student and is a firm foundation on which to develop their art.

AiChiKi Jutsu is practiced either standing, or seated on a chair, stool or bench. It cannot be practiced in a crosslegged posture or in the seiza posture, firstly because this would impede blood flow and ki-flow in the legs, and secondly because both feet need to be placed flat on the ground.

Choose a time and place where you are unlikely to be disturbed - initially 5 -10 minutes will be quite sufficient for practice - with time you may want to increase this.
Begin by kicking off your shoes. And wherever you are doing this exercise - indoors or out, make sure the floor/ground is both comfortable and warm under foot. Do not practice this on cold floors/ground, do not practice in the cold, generally.
If you are doing this standing up, begin by standing with your feet about shoulder-with apart, arms by your sides.
If seated, sit up straight (comfortably so - no need for rigid military-style posture - this will only impede the technique), again, with your feet about shoulder-with apart, flat on the floor. Rest your hands, palms down, on your legs.

Settle yourself - get comfortable.
Now gently, and I emphasise g e n t l y, tense all your muscles - just slowly and smoothly squeeze - clench your fists, your jaw, your shoulders, back, chest, abdomen, hips, arms, legs, feet - everything.
Hold for a few seconds, and just as smoothly and gently, release.
Repeat the process four more times. Tense-hold-release. Tense-hold-release. Tense-hold-release. Tense-hold-release.

Now, become loosely aware of your body, and aware of the feel of the floor beneath your feet.
And as your attention focusses on the floor, become aware (in your minds eye) that you are, in an easy- almost carefree way - clearing a channel way down into the earth… and as you do so, a bright, shining, crystal-clear, golden energy-radiance slowly comes streaming up from deep, deep down inside the earth. And this golden, radiant energy-stream is maybe about 8 - 10 centimetres in diameter. And it flows up out of the earth and connects with your body at your perineum.

And this pure, clear, golden energy flows - radiates - up into you, gently, slowly, spreading up throughout your pelvis - from the genitals, up to seika tanden in your lower abdomen, and on up to your navel. There is no pressure, no force. This energy is pleasant and light, and as it radiates up there is a comfortable, warm sensation, and it bathes a loosely spherical area around and behind your navel.

And when your belly is pleasantly suffused with this clear, golden energy, the energy spills over and cascades down around your seika tanden again. Then spreading out across your hips, warming and relaxing as it goes, it radiates - flows - down into your thighs, on down into your knees, easing, warming, relaxing - and gradually you are becoming aware of a pleasant weightiness in your legs - and the energy radiates on down into your calves, your shins, your ankles. And on into your feet - throughout the soles, to an area just behind the ball of each foot, to touch the warm floor below.

And your legs and feet feel comfortably heavy and warm and you can feel the gentle pull of the earth beneath your feet - the gentle pull of gravity - but perhaps something more than that - a sensation like when you hold a metal plate close to a strong magnet but not quite touching it - and you can feel the magnetic pull….
And it's as if that area behind the ball of each foot suddenly dilates, and you can feel the calm, magnetic pull of the earth, steadily, slowly, drawing the bright, golden, energy-radiance out of the bottom of your feet and back deep, deep down into the earth.

And while the energy-radiance is being drawn back down into the earth from beneath your feet, you become aware that all this time, fresh energy has still been streaming up via your perineum into your body...

As you breathe in easily, naturally, unhurriedly into your abdomen, the golden energy-radiance streams on up throughout your pelvis - up to seika tanden and on up to your navel, filling your belly. As you breathe out easily, naturally, unhurriedly the energy-radiance spills over, cascades down to seika tanden and, radiating warmth, spreads out across your hips and down into your thighs, knees, calves, shins, ankles, feet - to be gently drawn back into the deep core of earth…

And you stay with this cycle for a while - the golden energy-radiance rising up, spilling over, flowing out and down throughout your legs and feet - to be reclaimed once more by the steady pull of the earth…. And again - the golden energy-radiance rising up; spilling over, flowing out and down throughout your legs and feet - to be reclaimed once more by the steady pull of the earth…. and again - rising up; spilling over, flowing out and down - reclaimed once more by the steady pull of the earth….

And when you are ready - once again g e n t l y - tense all your muscles - just slowly and smoothly squeeze - clench your fists, your jaw, your shoulders, back, chest, abdomen, hips, arms, legs, feet - everything.
Hold for a few seconds, and just as smoothly and gently, release.

This completes the basic technique.

With regular practice, the circulation of chiki - the energy of earth- will be come an automated function.
You may begin to consciously notice it at various points throughout the day as you go about your normal activities.

Over time this technique not only strengthens your 'grounding' ie the stabilising of the positive energies you hold, but also continually releases rogue, and/or no longer relevant, energies from your field, down into the transmuting influence of the earth.