I have a few questions about energy and energy accumulation. I thought I would post here and see what others say before jumping right to RB. The following has been my understanding of the various methods of energy development:

In yoga you feel prana and can increase prana through pranayama (breathing exercises) as well as the asanas. But to my knowledge, there isn't a conscientous thought/will to store energy within the body. You can observe/feel energy flow and sometimes direct it, but I don't know of any emphasis on willfully accumulating it.

In Tai Chi and QiGong the movements and breathing also increase your chi, but again, to my knowledge, the process is naturally occuring. I have yet to be told to image or will chi to the dan tien (or tan tien as it is also spelled). Instead the sheer practice is supposed to do this naturally. Although in advanced practices you do work with moving energy, but I haven't read about focusing on storing it anywhere.

In hermetics, you learn pore breathing and how to accumulate vital energy. While you can store this vital energy for specific purposes, it must be expelled fairly soon. The premise is that accumulating vital energy strains the energy body and is like pumping a bike tire beyond the recommend pressure. Sooner or later it is bound to explode. So you practice accumulating and holding the vital energy to increase the ability of your energy body to hold more energy for longer periods. But again, it is specifically stated not to store it.

Then there is NEW in which using tactile and some visualization you accumulate energy and store it in the sub-navel area. With enough practice, this too becomes natural and the body will automatically begin accumulating energy with little thought/effort on your part.

First question:
Are each of these energy names the same energy (Chi, Prana, Energy, Vital Energy) or are each a different type of energy?

Second:
If they are the same type of energy, why does one specify its dangerous to store it, others say not to force it but grow it naturally and a fourth advocates consciously storing it? To me these sound like conflicting practices/procedures. But if the energies are all diffferent, then that would go part way to explaining the differing thoughts on energy raising/development.

Third:
While Tai Chi/QiGong, Yoga and NEW can be seen as somewhat consistent - they all teach raising and storing energy, just in different ways. Has anyone tried combining QiGong standing meditation with NEW energy raising? I haven't done so yet, but it would seem possible that doing so may result in larger than normal energy sensations (willing more than the usual amount of energy to rise while performing an action already known to raise energy). So that would be my one note of caution while I try using the two together this weekend. If anyone else has already tried this, I would greatly appreciate hearing their experience(s)

Fourth:
Why is there such a drastic difference in the practice of hermetics with vital energy (ie: never store it). Also, I find pore breathing very easy and enjoyable to do. I was wondering if anyone has tried combining pore breathing to store energy in the sub-navel area? I'm a bit hesitant with trying this myself, because I can feel the vital energy when I pore breathe. I do feel the pressure as it enters my body and I can feel the increased internal pressure from it as I accumulate. For this reason, I can understand the need for releasing the vital energy once a practice session is complete.

But interestingly enough, I never feel this internal or external pressure when I practice NEW, QiGong or yoga. I feel energy rising and circulating, but its a very different feeling from the vital energy. So I'm thinking that maybe Chi, Prana and Energy are the same thing, but that vital energy is something different. And I would love to try to incorporate pore breathing, but would need to build up more of a comfort level with my ability to identify and select energies. I wouldn't want to begin pore breathing and raise/pull vital energy instead of 'regular' energy or Chi. Has anyone else experienced the difference between energy as used in NEW and vital energy as practiced in hermetics? If not, has anyone else noticed they can raise/pull energy from their whole bodies and not just feet and hands? If so, have you 'played' with this at all?

Sorry for the lengthy post!