I think a lot of people would be surprised at how physical the effects of such energy are. I always think of it in electrical terms. The body is like a material or wire with a certain degree of resistance, so we can handle only a certain charge before we get 'burnt'. These exercises and metaphysical practices help us to lower the resistance, thereby enabling us to handle a stronger or more potent charge.
Resistance manifests as pain, blockages or lack of feeling. The resistance is to energy circulation through and around the body. Each area of the body is associated with a different area of the mind. Hence where energy isn't circulating in the body, it also in circulating in the mind (or in otherwords there is a cognitive dissonance or separation). The most useful tool I have found for dealing and working on blockages is matching polarities or opposites. I will sometimes spend hours going over concepts in my mind and exploring their opposites. Any time I get a strong psychic impression about the state of myself I observe and then turn it in to its opposite. Getting in to the habit of inverting and viewing the opposite of any thought you have gives you a great way to balance the contents of your mind. The results are gradual equilibrium in the mind-body.
Resistance manifests as pain, blockages or lack of feeling. The resistance is to energy circulation through and around the body. Each area of the body is associated with a different area of the mind. Hence where energy isn't circulating in the body, it also in circulating in the mind (or in otherwords there is a cognitive dissonance or separation). The most useful tool I have found for dealing and working on blockages is matching polarities or opposites. I will sometimes spend hours going over concepts in my mind and exploring their opposites. Any time I get a strong psychic impression about the state of myself I observe and then turn it in to its opposite. Getting in to the habit of inverting and viewing the opposite of any thought you have gives you a great way to balance the contents of your mind. The results are gradual equilibrium in the mind-body.