Archive for the ‘Qigong’ Category
The Mountain extends to Heaven,
Where the Wind flows like Water…
The Thunder sparks the Fire,
That fills the Valley and renews the Earth.
Master Dong Zeng Chen teaching at his 50th annual workshop in Honolulu, February 2018
You may see my teacher, Master Dong, do this simple set of moves while at workshops, over and over again when he is alone. I have often wondered what is his meditation, what he is up to? Obviously he is meditating, the form is expressed so beautifully when you can softly walk through these simple meditative routines. I have been copying him and a had a break-through today in training.
The Book of Changes, “I Ching” follows the changes of Heaven and Earth through symbolism. Yin/Yang is expressed in folding, rolling patterns that, like the DNA molecule, make a double helix woven tapestry expressing the changes of life. The eight changes represent different energies.
Heaven and Earth, Water and Fire, Mountain and Valley, Wind and Thunder, are the changes of Tao.
If you have never read the I Ching, it is a classic Taoist source book I recommend reading. Watching Sifu, this is what I see him doing, expressing the eight “bagua” of the I Ching like a monk counting rosary beads, it is a spiritual meditation. Every Taiji posture expresses one or more of these energies;
- Mountain, Keeping Still… Shoulder strike
- Heaven, the Creative… Warding off
- Wind, the Gentle… White Crane Spreads Wings
- Water, the Abysmal… Lifting Hands
- Thunder, the Arousing… Pull Down
- Fire, the Clinging… Push (down)
- Lake, Valley the Joyous… Rollback
- Earth, the Receptive… Gathering qi and repeat
You can do this simple routine over and over on both sides continuously.
At the top of the page, is just a little poem written to help me focus on Taiji moves, Shoulder strike (Mountain) is “Kao” energy merging into “Peng” (ward-off) energy= Heaven, White crane spreads wings, move like Wind. Wind is “Lie” (splitting) energy, Lifting hands flows like Water and pull down, is “Tasi” energy, Thunder, Fire fits here as “An” energy directed downwards as the pull down ends, into “Valley” or Lake (emptiness) and “Lu” (rollback) which returns to Earth energy…
Never stop practicing, though many things can get in your Way. Being part of the Way, to be a Wayfarer, is that we never stop practicing; we cannot stop, life is a river of change.
Cory Williams ©2018
Kaunoa, Thursday at 12:30 Pm
Return to oneness, the most incredible journey you can take
Thank you all for making Nei Gong Class a success! The Tuesday class is no longer ongoing! We will keep Thursdays and Mondays open, so come join the journey!
Kaunoa has been great by allowing this advanced qigong and meditation practice to be born for our students. This new class comes about so that more people can find the path to inner harmony and folks can now practice more often.
Sitting and forgetting meditation, and an adaptation of Dao yin, is an addictive practice! Finding true patience, and connecting with internal energy can lead you close to the Absolute, unity with the One. Why only do that once a week!
Nei Gong classes are two times a week, Lahaina on Mondays at 11:30 and at Kaunoa on Thursdays at 12:30. The response from students is heartwarming, compared with personal practice at home, the group classes are more meaningful and more effective.
Come and enjoy this Qigong/meditation class and explore the final frontier!
Practice, Practice, Practice…..
Cory Williams ©2018
Announcing NEW Nei Gong Class at Kaunoa Senior Center
Thursdays at 12:30 PM
Nei Gong
Taoist internal qigong. All levels of students can enjoy these simple therapeutic Dao Yin sitting exercises, and learn the secrets of the sages, embryonic breathing, microcosmic orbit, internal alchemy, Taoist Zouwang “sitting and forgetting” meditation. Find an inner peace and openness, freedom from emotions and evaluations, access internal energies, transform your body and your mind.
The Taoist creation story reads like this, first came the One, from the One came the two, and the three, thus were created the “ten thousand things.” To unite with Tao, is the path of return, return to the primordial… From the ten thousand things, find the three, and then the two, then return to the one. Only the One can return to the source of all things.
A long time ago in a land far away, great sages lived long and happy lives. Seeking immortality, many Chinese people have lived to be well over one hundred years of age. One man, Li Ching Yuen, is documented to have lived to the ripe old age of 256 years. There are undoubtedly many such individuals that lived that long before the government started keeping any records. Blessed with herbs, spices, silk, art, and abundant natural resources, the Chinese people had most of their needs met by nature. While Europeans were busy building ships and exploring the world in search of such things, the Chinese devoted their time to the quest for longer lives to enjoy their blessings.
Li Ching Yuen, at 256 years, he is the oldest (documented) human known
The quest for longevity and even immortality was sort of a national past-time in China. Leading the way in this adventure were the Taoists, although they were not called that in the beginning. Taoism is not so much a product of Chinese thought as Chinese thought is a product of Taoist philosophy. The ancient Taoists were experts in all the sciences, medicine, astronomy, mathematics, and philosophy. They knew that all the really important answers could be found in nature. Living to at least one hundred years of age was considered normal, using herbs, certain diets, Daoyin exercises, meditations, and philosophy, they developed longevity techniques that have not been improved upon by any modern science.
Modern science sometimes seems to be used against us, by deceit and unethical people, for example the United States government still recommends an unhealthy diet that was forced upon us by politicians. There is no money in giving people free information that can extend their lives. Instead, pharmaceutical companies can sell you a pill, and the government tries to force doctors to deceive patients as they often are unwitting accomplices plied by outdated “scientific evidence”.
Modern humans, it seems, need to look elsewhere for their health; heal thyself. The best place to start would be to go back in time to before the days of chemicals and agriculture, a time when we lived long healthy lives. Living close to nature is the Taoist ideal. If you could live in such a way, you would wake at dawn, sleep at night, eat a natural diet of real food, and spend time meditating, and doing moderate exercise.
Taoist health and medical practices and inventions, such as Qigong, Herbal medicine, Tui Na massage, and Acupuncture, are the four branches of traditional Chinese medicine. Longevity is so much more than “health and medicine” however, yet unfortunately that is the mind-set in western societies. I dare say, you cannot live to be over 100 years old with just health and medicine. It takes something more, another level of health, mental, emotional and spiritual.
Most of the suffering I see is caused by emotional excess and this leads to mental instability, and when the mind and emotions are in turmoil, your spirit suffers. When these things happen, and it may or may not make you “sick,” but you will live a shorter, less happy life. Being angry, always evaluating every situation to the point of emotionality, holding resentment for supposed past wrongs, and over-thinking, all leads to hidden stress that can shorten your life on Earth.
If there was a philosophy, where you would stop judging others and yourself, allowing you to enjoy the beauty around you, and if you could avoid the thinking/feeling/reacting feed-back loop that leads to slow self destruction, if you could learn to forget, you could share your gifts with all the world.
If there was a way of viewing yourself as a divine creation of Heaven and Earth, and to visualize nature’s grand design, you could see how your hormones, emotions and mind can combine to jerk you into altered states or take your spirit to heaven while your’re still in your body!
If you could eat a healthy natural diet full of healthy fats and low carb vegetables, avoiding grains, and getting the right amount of protein and 8 hours of restful sleep, your mind would be clear of the glucose induced brain fog, and your liver would be free of toxins, and your moods stable.
If you could do simple enjoyable exercises that tone your internal organs as well as the “superficial body,” you would be making neural transmitters and life sustaining hormones. If you could find and open all the areas that hold stuck energy, and open the blockages on your spine, you could open the path to the spirit as well as lower your blood pressure without raising your heart rate.
What if you could let go of your own mind, perhaps you could comprehend all things…
Welcome to Inner Alchemy, the ancient tradition of Nei Gong. Start by laying a foundation of Dao yin exercises, focused breathing and building your body’s internal medicines such as hormones. Then you could see how you are connected on the inside, energetically, from the bottom where your earth nature dwells and hormonal chemistry supports your basic essence. Learn to connect the energy centers from bottom to the top. At the heart center, where we have our heart-mind, emotions and such, there are mechanisms that can control our hormones and neural transmitters. Learn to feel the energy that connects the lower regions with the brain, your spirit center.
There can be no direct explanation of where we end up. That is the great mystery of all mysteries. Developing coping strategies for life will help us lead a longer happier life; these same skills give us the patience that allow us to appreciate all of life and prepares us for the unknown.
Nei Gong is a way of life to guide you back to the source of creation, and yet it is very simple. It is a progressive transformation that is totally natural, and if followed with vigor and passion you may attain Tao itself.
The great Taoist sage Lao Tzu said, “My way is simple, but no one can follow it”.
Imagine returning to a place free of thought, free of bodily pain and emotions. Floating in the womb of the great mother, an embryo, adrift in time upon and endless sea, One with all of creation; a place of infinite possibilities and peace.
Copyright Cory Williams 2017
Get a grip on reality, read “Nature is Reason”
Previous Lesson
In the beginning:
The peacock spread his tail and pushed away the fairy crane, hands moving like clouds he strikes the tiger and parts the wild horses mane. Then the fair maiden saw the golden rooster bend his bow and shoot the tiger and carry the tiger back to the mountain.
Just a little Chinese poem to remember Dong Zeng Chen’s “Taiji Gong”
Peacock spreads his tail (Ward off)
Push
Fairy crane (White crane spreads it wings)
Move hands like clouds
Strike the tiger
Parting the wild horses mane
Fair maiden works at the shuttles
Bend bow and shoot tiger
Carry tiger, return to mountain
This poem helps to remember the Taiji forms repeated in the Taiji Gong Qigong. These nine movments capture the spirit of Taiji; this can be enjoyed sitting or standing. Warm-up,,,,start with zhan zhaung training, wuji. Then repeat each move left and right three, five or seven times each.
Sifu’s father also had a “Taiji gong” we’ve been doing for many years. See “Tiger Mountain”
Copyright Cory Williams 2016
Taoists use a skill called “Tu na” to tune their breath before doing qigong and meditation. Natural Breathing (Shun Hu Xi) is the best place to start.
Effective meditation and qigong both require good breathing skills; this lesson will give you a method that you can use every time you start your practice. This exercise takes about 5 or 6 minutes to learn, and after a few times you can tune up in about 2 minutes.
I should begin by saying to just breathe naturally, beware of complicated methods; they are not necessary and can even be harmful. In addition, know that generally Taoist breathing is subtle and you should not even hear yourself breathe. In this method make each inhalation and exhalation of equal duration and breathe in and out from your nose.
Like a fine musical instrument, no mater how well it is played, if you want to make beautiful music you need to tune it up first, until it is harmonious within itself it will not give quality results.
Begin by standing in Wuji Stance, now bring your arms just slightly around in front of you and allow them to hang with the hands in front of your thighs. The first step in tuning the breath is to pay attention to each one of the points along the journey of the breath. Just like a guitar with six strings, a musician tunes one string and then the next in sequence tuning the instrument to a playable condition; I have identified six locations along the path of the breath to assist you in tuning your breath.
Once each location is dialed in we can follow the breath through each one sequentially as we breathe; just like strumming the six strings of a guitar chord. Then we will feel the body resonate; the whole body vibrates just like the body of a guitar. This vibration will float the arms and pull the legs straight as we feel the energy rising with each inhalation.
First we start with the nose, and then continue down to the back of the throat just behind the tongue and then moving further down we come to the trachea. The next step down from there are the actual lungs and then the diaphragm and finally the dantian.
All I want you to do initially is to stand still and breathe in and out your nose. Pay attention to the air going in and out of the nose and you may notice the nostrils flaring and the hairs inside the nose moving back and forth and even whatever scents are in the air coming in. Just take a few breaths to get comfortable noticing that part of your breath path, just breathe in and out…
Next, bring your awareness to the back of the mouth where the tongue starts its descent into the throat. Feel the air cascading over the back of the tongue and epiglottis, it may feel just a little raspy as the air goes over this area. Another sensation you might feel is saliva welling up in the heavenly pool beneath the tongue. Just like before, take a few breaths with your awareness on this location until you can feel the breath there.
The next location on the journey from the nose to the dantian is the trachea. With each breath you will feel the windpipe expanding and you may even notice slight pressures on the thyroid gland as the trachea expands. Feel the air moving through the larynx and the windpipe expanding slightly as the air reaches the lungs. Again, take a few breaths at this location until you are comfortably aware of these sensations.
Now you should feel the air entering the lungs and the top of the lungs expanding slightly. As the air enters your lungs feel the sternum rise and the rib cage expand slightly, keep your awareness here for a few breaths and pay attention to these sensations.
As the lungs fill with air, bring your awareness down slightly lower to the diaphragm muscle at the solar plexus. If you pay attention here you can feel the diaphragm muscle descending upon each breath just as the air starts to enter the lungs. Keep your awareness at this location until you are sure you can feel the diaphragm muscle moving down and up with each breath.
Beneath the diaphragm, bring your awareness to the dantian, now you are in the abdominal cavity. Notice the pressure the descending diaphragm puts on the internal organs. This gentle massaging motion causes your abdomen to move out slightly. Just keep awareness at this location until you can feel the diaphragm pushing on the internal organs and notice that your belly rises and falls with each breath.
Your awareness of each part of the breath is in now enhanced and you are almost all tuned. Like the individual strings of a guitar; one by one each area is in tune with the one next to it. Now bring your awareness back to the nose, this time, follow each breath as it goes through the nose, past the tongue at the back of the throat and moves down the throat and trachea into the lungs. Notice how the diaphragm moves down and up and the dantian moves out and in with each breath. Continue to follow the breath with your awareness as you do all of your various practices that follow.
Now that you have tuned each area and you have followed the path of the breath from top to bottom and from bottom to top you should notice a resonant frequency in your body. Remember your hands lying just in front of your thighs, with the upper arms slightly against the side of your chest? With each breath and subsequent expansion of your abdomen your arms will rise approximately 1 inch away from the dantian. Follow this rising feeling of each inhalation as you inhale and the chest expands, feel the chest rising and the hands floating upwards slightly. Simply let this rising feeling pull the legs slightly straight; remember you were standing in wuji stance with bent knees but now the expanding nature of the breath lifts the whole body up and the legs straighten slightly. When you exhale bend the legs slightly, just allow the hands and arms to float down from their elevated position as the air leaves your lungs and the rib cage returns back to its contracted position.
Each time you breathe you will feel the air come in the nose, past the throat, through the windpipe into the lungs the diaphragm moving downwards and the belly moving out and the hands and legs slowly rising as you fill with air. Each time you exhale as the abdomen contracts and the arms descend, bend your knees slowly back to the beginning position.
Congratulations, you have tuned your breath and you are now doing basic qigong. All you need to do now is continue to pay attention to the tuning of the breath and let the body move in a rhythmic fashion.
I suggest you tune your breath while standing before doing seated qigong and meditation as well. It is much easier to feel the expanding contracting nature of the breath and body while standing. Once the system is tuned and playing along harmoniously with the body moving rhythmically you may commence doing any qigong form that you wish. Simply breathe slower or move the arms and legs faster to keep the timing consistent and with a little practice to be able to do all the qigong you want while keeping the breath tuned continuously.
Whether moving or still, all qigong and meditation practices are more effective by tuning the breath before you proceed; remember, just keep breathing steadily.
Copyright Cory Williams 2011
Next, try here: Qigong Lesson #1
The picture above shows the 100 Chinese characters for longevity. They are all the same character for longevity, but each one is written differently. A person in Beijing has spent over 40 years to collect the writing of the Chinese character for longevity. So far he has found over 15,000 ways to write the character for longevity. It is amazing that a Chinese character can be written in so many different ways artistically.
I was watching TV yesterday and there was a fascinating show on Discovery’s “Curiosity” about “could we live forever?” Now we all know that this has always been the holy grail of everything about life. Interestingly, this show was right after a documentary about Apple’s creator, Steve Jobs. In just the last few years of his life he came up with the I-phone, I-tunes and the I-pad, these inventions have touched hundreds of millions of people! Mr.Jobs was undeniably one of the greatest geniuses of human history and yet for all his knowledge and vision he died at fifty-six years of age. Maybe there is a lesson here: what if he had been focused on longevity instead of computers and entertainment? Perhaps a poignant observation that!
But I digress…. In the show about longevity, hosted by Mythbusters star Adam Savage, he undergoes a series of transformations as he ages and technology emerges at the same time: a very real possibility in this day and age. One of the first things that happens is he gets connected to a machine that filters all of his blood and removes all the “old cells”. The premise being that as cells replicate they mutate and acquire changes and toxins. This yet to be invented machine takes out all the mutated and contaminated cells.
Years later his brain starts to shrink as is known to happen as we age. Part of the problem is that his memory becomes full. In the show he gets an external memory device installed. But why do all that if he could just “delete” the old unneeded and harmful old junk that was clogging his brain? I could go on about all the things in this show but I’m just making a point here.
Everything about longevity science in this show has already been addressed by Taoists. All this “new technology” has roots in Taoist practice. The disappointing and truly sad thing about this show was its focus on “mechanical technology” and no mention of “human technology”. It was all about “what if” and “someday” instead telling people the truth about what is known and available NOW.
Today, after a neighbor showed some curiosity in my qigong practice, I was showing her how I can flow blood to my hands using my mind, and explaining how qigong leads to a longer happier life, she just sort of nodded and walked away. “Funny”, I thought that some people can be shown the elixir and walk away. As I was walking to my home I thought…What would someone give for one more second when they are at the end of their lives…? I understand some people are suffering and death seems welcome to them, but what if they were not in pain?
Pardon my incredulity for pondering these things, yet we can filter our blood and we can regenerate youthful cells in our body, and we can delete old files in our brain and learn new skills. It is possible to age gracefully and maybe even painlessly. What then, what would you give for one more hour on this earth? Or one more day, month, year or decade? We all know it could be over in an instant or life could go on for many years. The technology (qigong and meditation) exists today to improve the quality of our lives and isn’t that alone like living longer? That same technology helps to extend the length of our lives; Taoists know that human life should be at least one hundred years long.
When will the world at large see the light and learn qigong and meditation? Rebuild your life from the raw materials of Heaven and Earth. It is never too late to start, and the sooner you do the sooner you will be adding time to your life. What might Steve Jobs have produced if he had lived for another forty-four years? Maybe it’s a good thing some people don’t go on living too long, like killers, but surely we all would want enlightened people to live longer… oh that’s right, enlightened people do live longer!
Start now and never stop, practice everyday. Don’t be limited by a false belief that you cannot feel and look younger or live better and longer. Have a positive attitude and follow the Way. Study the Way, there is a wealth of life-sustaining knowledge there. Walk the Way always and forever. Recreate yourself!
Here is a written description of how to perform the Dong Family warmups and qigong set. Italicized comments are from Cory Williams.
I call this “The Basic Set” and it is the first thing I show all of my students.
Shifu Dong told me once; that his grandfather did the “Hard Qigong” set, and his father created the Taiji Gong, “Tiger Mountain” (both sets are still part of our training ) and he created this set I think of as the, “Dong Family Basic Qigong Set.” These are the three basic standing qigong sets , but we all started with this one!
Hat tip to Chip Ellis for transcribing all of this.
Dong Family Practice Aids
Warm Up and Qigong
From Dong Zeng Chen’s Practice
March, 2004
By Chip Ellis
Below is a description of the warm up and qigong routines that are part of the Dong family practice as portrayed in the March 19-21, 2004 seminar in Monterey, California.
WARM-UP
First salute, step up and position yourself in Wuji stance.
Most movements take place while you are standing in an upright position with your feet about shoulder width apart. Body is relaxed, and movement is fluid.
1. Arm Swing – (Master Dong told me this is called “Awakening the Qi”) – Raise both hands overhead, shoulder width apart. Using your body motion, swing your hands down while bending your legs so that your body assumes a squatting position. Using your body, swing your arms up over your head again and repeat.
2. Left / Right Arm Swing – (We always called this movement the “Chinese Drum”) – While in a standing position with feet about shoulder width apart, use your body / waist to swing your arms from left to right at about waist level. Use a relaxed motion. Your arms should move with a whip like action.
3. Left / Right Arm Swing with Shoulder Touch – Continuing the arm swing above, increase the force of the body movement and direct your hand to the opposite shoulder. In other words, swing and tap your shoulder area.
4. Head Rotation – Stand upright and swing your head through a circle – down in front, toward the right shoulder, up and backward, and toward the left shoulder. Repeat several times, then reverse the direction so that you start by going toward the left shoulder.
5. Shoulder Rotation – Stand upright and rotate both shoulders up, forward, down, and back. Repeat a few times then reverse. Note that when you move your shoulders back you should be “pinching” your shoulder blades (slightly) together.
6. Waist Rotation – Standing upright, place your hands on each side of the small of your back. Move your hips to the right, back, left, and forward. Repeat a few times. (15 to 20 reps) While you move your hips, keep your head stationary above your feet. Reverse by moving your hips to the left, back, right and forward.
7. Knee Rotation – Assume a squatting position. Place your hands on your knees, then rotate your knees so that they move in toward the center, back, outward, and forward. Repeat a few times. Then reverse the direction so that your knees start by moving outward instead of inward.
This completes the physical warm up movements. Next is the warm up qigong. Move smoothly from the knee rotation to the first qigong movement by moving your hands slowly up from your knees and into the first movement.
QIGONG MOVEMENTS
With all these movements you are moving your energy throughout your body. The movement goes in concert with your physical movements – hands up / chi up, hands down / chi down, etc. The energy movement is too complicated to describe here – work with someone who knows the exercises. (Read “Tuning the Breath”, Qigong Attitude” and the qigong lessons on this site.) The description below is just a memory aid. The names or the moves are from Dong Zeng Chen by way of Janet Bond.
1. Up / Down – Qi Shi Tiao Xi – (Master Dong told me this is called “Floating Hands”) – This exercise involves moving the hands and arms up and down in an ever larger range of movement.
a. Starting from the knee rotation exercise, move your hands up your thighs while you straighten your legs, so that your legs are straight and your hands are at chest level.
b. Bend your legs and move your hands down toward the ground and slightly behind your legs. Keep your hands at about shoulder width.
c. Move up again, this time with hands at about eye level. Down
again. Then up above your head. Then down. Then up so that you stretch your arms up and your heals lift off the ground. The feeling is like someone is pulling you up by the wrists.
2. Open / Close – Ying Yang Jiao Ti – (Master Dong told me this is called “Exchanging Yin and Yang Energy”) – Separate your feet to slightly wider than your shoulders and point your toes inward slightly.
a. Bend forward with straight legs and bent arms. The motion is like
what you would use to grab up a big armful of hay off the floor.
b. After your hands grab the “hay” and come together, bend your legs and move your hands up the center line of your body. Palms are facing upward, one over the other.
c. Raise your hands over your head, palms moving so they face
downward at that point. Stretch upward.
d. Then separate your hands and bend your fingers so that they point toward the center of the top of your head. As you bring your hands down feel like you are compressing the energy between your finger tips and your head. Move your fingers so they almost touch your head.
e. Then open your arms and lean backward, head facing upward.
The movement is like a flower opening.
f. Then straighten your back and move back to an upright position
while extending your hands out toward each side at shoulder level,
fingers point up, energy in your palms. That completes one cycle.
To repeat, bend your arms, bend your waist, and pick up some
“hay” again.
3. Small Circle of Energy – Xiao Zhou Tian – (“Small Circle”) – This is simple circular movement oriented toward the front.
a. Start in a standing position with feet about shoulder width apart.
Hands are one over the other at chest level, almost touching, with
palms facing in toward your body.
b. By bending at the waist, move your hands down your front
center-line, then down the inside of your legs.
c. When you get to your feet move your hands out to the sides in a
circular motion.
d. Continue the circular movement as you straighten your body and bring your hands up and around like you are gathering in energy all around you.
e. Hands go up over your head and then back to the starting position.
4. Big Circle of Energy – Da Shou Tian – (“Large Circle”) – Start the same as the small circle of energy above.
a. When your hands get to foot level squat as low as you can and
move your hands parallel to the floor, a few inches above the floor,
and toward the front.
b. Then move your hands in a circular fashion toward the outside and behind your heels.
c. Then up the backs of your legs, while your body is bent over, with the backs of your hands almost touching your body.
d. Move your hands up the back of your legs, over your hips, then
toward the front by your belly.
e. Then continue to move the backs of your hands up and around
your shoulders and behind your neck until they meet behind your
head.
f. Moving upward your palms change position so that they touch, like you are praying, above and behind your head.
g. Then continue in the “praying” position and bring your hands
forward over your head and down your face to the starting position.
5. Mix of Internal and External Energy – Hun Yuan He Yi – (Master Dong told me this one is called “Gathering Outside Qi”) – This one is like doing giant circles with both hands from right to left and from top to bottom.
a. Start in an upright position with feet at about shoulder width.
b. Bend forward with hands about shoulder width apart so they are
close to the ground.
c. Using your waist movement, move both hands to the right in a
circle, then up, then left and down to complete the circle. Repeats
a few times. Then reverse direction and go from bottom, to left, to
top, to right. Once you loosen up you can use your waist movement to swing your arms around.
6. Opening and Gathering of Chi – Yi Qi Kai He – (Master Dong called this one “Open and Close”) Start in a standing position with feet about shoulder width apart.
a. Open your arms wide, with bended arms.
b. Then bend down from the waist and bring your arms together as
you gather in your chi.
c. Then bring your hands up the center-line of your body to your chest.
Repeat the cycle a few times.
7. Looking Left and Gazing Right – Zuo Gu You Pan – (“Look Left, Look Right” as “Look Left and Gaze Right” is a different move from the second section of the long form) – This move is like
“brush left knee” and “ brush right knee”. (Alternatively it can be preformed , as if it is “brush knee and rollback”)
a. From the upright standing position, turn your right foot outward to an angle of about 67 degrees. (That’s about half way between 45 degrees and 90 degrees.)
b. Step forward with your left foot, with a slight toe in, similar to the standard foot position in the Yang style slow set or Dong style long form. The movement is similar to brush knee:
c. Move your right arm rearward in a circle while your left arm remains toward the front.
d. In a circular movement bring your right hand near your right ear.
e. Then twist your waist toward the left as your right hand moves out forward. The feeling is like someone is pulling your hand toward the front. It’s not a push, although it looks like one. Feel the
connection between your palm and the little triangle space at the
base of your spine. Stretch. Your eyes first follow your right hand.
f. Once your are fully extended, then rotate your waist further to the left, drawing your left hand back in a big circle. Watch your left
hand.
g. Then in a circular motion bring your left hand to your left ear. Your right hand is toward the front and turns palm up.
h. Then move your left hand forward and your right hand toward the rear, in opposite motion.
i. With right palm up continue to move your right arm rearward in a circle and repeat the movement. To change to the other side move like you would while you are doing the Taijiquan set to transition from brush left knee to brush right knee. Then repeat the qigong movement on the other side – mirror image.
Finally this brilliant, life changing set of movements has been put into words and posted on the internet. In Taiji on Maui’s classes we call this the “Basic Set” and it is the core group of movements to be learned by all students and the main practice for beginners. For years I wanted to write this down and now, come to find out, it has been done wonderfully for us. For more information on everything about “Dong Taiji” go to Chip Ellis’ excellent web site
For more information on various qigong forms that are a part of Taiji on Maui’s curriculum click here: Qigong Sets
Sifu Fong Ha comes from our lineage.... Starting his Taiji training from Master Dong's grandfather in 1953
Join Taiji on Maui and learn from Sifu Fong Ha at our exclusive Workshop this month.
On Sunday September 25th for four hours Master Ha will give detailed instruction in his methods of Qigong and Taiji principles. Starting at 10:00 AM until 12:00 and from 1:00 until 3:00 PM we will be training at a private residence in Maui Meadows. This class is for students of all levels. We are very fortunate to get a semi private workshop limited to about twenty students for the very affordable price of $25.00.
Fong Ha will be on Maui for a whole week starting on Thursday morning the 22nd at Kamaole beach # III at 6:00AM to 9:00 and 5:15 to 6:30PM.
He has always let folks come and hang out with him and get in some free practice at the beach. I believe we should give back to him by attending the workshop and getting the full class and paying him for his instruction; all proceeds will go directly to him.
Please join us at the workshop and also at Kamaole beach # 3 for the whole week (except Saturday and Sunday) for practice of what you learn at the workshop.
Fong is a very generous and fun man that is a living legend; do not miss this opportunity to train with a genuine Taiji icon. Master Ha started his training in 1953 with Master Dong’s Grand father the great Tung Ying Chieh, he is world renown, and we are blessed to have him for this special workshop.
To Sign up E-mail me @
MauiTaoist@Gmail.com
Or Call 250-4663 or 344-2532
Connecting the planets
Completing the Small Circle
In the previous lesson, I outlined the basic idea of the Small Circle or Microcosmic Orbit meditation. Learning to connect your internal solar system will give you much insight into your internal energy. The last lesson leads you through a series of points in your energy system. The point was to bring qi down from the minds eye to the perineum at the bottom of the torso. This involves bringing your awareness to each point along the way for a sufficient length of time that you can feel it at each point before moving to the next one, Basically you were learning the “Yin path“, the downward, relaxing, nurturing and frankly the easy path of energy flow.
If you have become adept at this skill, you are ready to learn the other half of the process, bringing energy up the “Yang path”. I hope that you noticed how the energy “wants” to flow down the yin path almost as if gravity were pulling it there and in a way, it is. Just to be real about it, there is a mechanical reason for this. By sequentially relaxing downward, your body is allowing blood and lymph as well as the flesh to sag and drain downward towards the earth. Keeping your back straight while this is happening aids the flow by assuring that all the necessary passageways remain open to that flow; slouching or having any misalignment or muscle tension will interfere with this process.
The yin path starts at the tip of the tongue and descends through the tongue, past the thyroid, thymus, heart, solar plexus, dantian, sperm (ovarian) palace, and ends at the perineum. Purists might know that the “Ren” channel ends, and the “Tu” channel starts at the ovarian palace, but the Tu channel “emerges” at the perineum and that is why I start there. These eight places are one-half of the microcosmic orbit, the other seven points are the topic of this article, the “Yang Path“.
In my method, the “Yang Path” starts just under the skin at the perineum but it is at the coccyx or tailbone where it moves up to the “Ming Men”, gate of life located just below where the thoracic spine joins with the lumbar spine. It then goes up along the tendons covering the spine, past the kidneys and adrenal glands. From there the path goes between the shoulders at the “Shen Dao”, the path to the spirit, opposite the heart center on the spine i.e.. the third thoracic vertebra near to the thoracic/cervical junction. The next place of wonderment is called “Da Zhui”, the great hammer. Da Zhui is about the C-7, the thoracic/cervical junction, on the spine opposite the throat. From this point, the qi moves upward, goes past the “Jade Pillow” at the top of the spine joining the skull and moves over the skull, up to the Crown Point, and then terminates at the palate just under the minds eye.
When you have completed the yin path and are completely relaxed and all the energy has drained into your hips and pelvis it will coalesce near the premium. You are now ready to bring qi up the spine and recycle the energy via the “Yang path”.
This is a new skill and it can be confusing depending on how you interpret what you are doing in the moment. Just to clarify that statement, some teachers will tell you to “pull the qi to the tail bone using your anus and collect it there“. I would say this too, but invariably pulling and pushing qi up the back channel is not the most effective way to do it, in my opinion. It does work, and you can get started doing it this way and yet if there was an easier way, you might want to try it.
Just tuning the breath and “listening” you may be able to sense the energy moving thought the small circle, that would be very nice indeed. Just sitting quietly and observing the energy flow is fantastic. I would say that is a high achievement. “Moving” qi through the circulation is controlling it. Both are valid and have different applications, for example I like to move qi through the body with my mind so that I can learn how to feel it moving when I’m not moving it!
Before any practice I recommend Tuning the Breath
I recommend that you start to access the back channel (yang path) by first starting at the Crown Point. Just lift up on the Crown Point and feel the head lifting off the shoulders and the spine lengthening and this will pull the tailbone into a vertical alignment, which also opens the pathway at the rear of the anus towards the back. Ah, see now the whole channel is open and now you can pull the energy to the anus and it will be sucked up the spine all the way to the top! In the beginning, you may still need to coax it up by using your breath and muscle contractions, but as you get better at it, you can reduce the effort and concentration that you apply and spend more time enjoying the results. Each time the qi is at the bottom (Hui yin), open the crown, and allow the qi free access to the top.
From the bottom of the torso, pull up the PC Muscle (this muscle runs from the pubic bone to the tailbone) and you will feel a rush of energy there; this is a simple way of developing perineum power. This is when you want to gently pull up around the anus and feel the energy go around the anal sphincter muscle to the rear of the anus. The energy is now at the tip of the tailbone. Learn to feel your internal musculature here and you can very gently contract the muscles there and actually create a wave of qi that will move up the sacrum to the lumbar spine and it will collect at the top of the lumbar region at a place known as the “Gate of Life”.
Bring qi up the Du Meridian
It may take a few tries to do this but keep at it and soon you will feel qi gathering at the Ming Men. You may need to rock your hips slightly to open the lower gate, this will help avoid stuck energy there. Some say it is like “sipping through a straw” each time you take a breath the energy descends some being pulled back up on the next breath. By using a combination of first pulling the spine up from the top, and then going through a series of muscular contractions and breaths you can apply mental energy to move the qi up, up, and up…
Over time, you will feel the energy moving up through the kidneys, and the Shen Dao, Da Zhui, through the jade pillow and up to the crown. When you get used to bringing the energy to the Ming Men you will find it has enough inertia to just rather shoot up through the other points. The yang path may flow fast as the qi rushes up to the top or, hopefully in a more controlled way. This can be a beautiful and rewarding release of energy that can thrill you when you feel it. Remain calm, and enjoy this energy release as you might enjoy a sexual energy release as it its related to that same feeling. This is also do to the Chong Mai or thrusting vessel (that is another story) that runs deeper directly through the center of your spine. Once you get used to these types of experiences you may never be the same again, you are gaining control over your energy.
I would not try to analyze this or focus on each individual point on the back channel at this point in your training. These skills can take awhile to acquire, and unless you have been doing this for some length of time, it may be meaningless for you to get too esoteric about it. It is not how much you know, or think you know about “meridians” and all that, what really matters is that you practice often and you keep it simple.
Many of these spine points can be blocked by accumulated postural stress and may require qigong movements to open them, particularly prone to being blocked are the Shen Dao and Da Zhui. Come to class, or find a good teacher in your area for help with these two places. You do not want a blockage in “the path to the spirit”!
Even though you can now complete the circle, you are still just at the beginning of a new journey. Do not be in a rush, just work on these new skills for a while and get good at “circulating the microcosmic orbit”. You will find that as you get to know this skill you will be able to use this all the time, like when you are doing sitting or standing meditation or while doing moving soft qigong, or Taiji or even use this skill during sex. This is a start of a new level of qigong training, truly “going internal”. While all forms of qigong training effect you internally, learning the small circle is the beginning of what we call “nei gong”. You are now moving into a higher level of meditation, where meditation and qigong come together and move your mind and body into the realm of pure energy, yet another step on the path of “Spiritual Alchemy”.
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This is Bruce Lee’s Jeet Kune Do Symbol “Using no way as way” & “Having no limitation as limitation”. The arrows represent the endless interaction between yang and yin
The focus of the last qigong lesson was to introduce the properties of Yin and Yang in the human energy system as it pertains to Qigong practice. One of the first things qigong students learn is the difference between the way yin and yang manifest during practice. This basic understanding is the starting point to getting to know your energy. Eventually this awareness of yin and yang will be discerned in all of your energy systems.
There are many different “energy systems” in the human being and all of them have yin and yang elements. For example in basic qigong practice the most obvious energy system in the physical body are things like muscles and bones; pneumatic (breath) and hydraulic (blood and lymph) but there are others such as mental, emotional, spiritual, electrical (nervous), and chemical, like hormones and neurotransmitters.
The reality of life is there are no absolutes; energies are always in ebb and flow. In the last lesson I used a diagram showing the separation of yin and yang, this is only to get a basic understanding of the rise and fall of the energy; this symbol could be called Yin AND Yang. The Taiji symbol is sometimes called the Yin/Yang diagram. Do see the difference between the two? Yin and Yang or Yin/Yang, the difference is the first one defines yin and yang as distinctly different and separate things; the second one shows the harmony between the two.
In the title to my web site, I say “Balance and Harmony for a better life.” Balance and harmony is a common phrase; some people reverse the two words however saying “harmony and balance.” To my mind though, you need balance before you can have harmony. This is an important point for you to realize in your training as qigong and Taiji works on us to first balance our energy so that we can harmonize with reality. Again this is true whether we are talking about emotions or our bodies…. For example, if we have balanced emotions then we can harmonize with others.
Harmony is what we get when we have all our energy systems working together in a synergistic way. Synergy is a good word, it is when the sum is greater than the parts; you know, sort of like one plus one equals three. Now while some of our energies may be “Yang” there will be others that will be “Yin.” For example, my mind may be yin while my body is yang, while at the same time my legs may be yang while my arms may be yin and my emotions could be yin while my spirit is yang!
Yet it all works together in harmony. When the thinking mind is softened and yin, the spirit fills with energy and could be considered yang. When I am moving my body upward there is energy coming up from my legs which could be considered yang at that moment yet I keep my hands soft (with my mind) making them effectively yin. Yang leads and yin nurtures. For example my intention (yang) tells my body to relax (yin) the relaxed body attracts energy to flow into it, yang. Lets say for example, the energy (in the form of blood pressure) is down in the legs, (yang) then, when we relax the hands (yin) the energy will flow into them, and back and forth filling and emptying.
While doing qigong notice how you can control the flow of energy when doing the movements by sequentially relaxing and expanding. As you are alternately flexing and relaxing different groups of muscles, you can lead the qi through your body. Remember, the energy wants to flow into emptiness just as electricity seeks a ground or water (and air) flows from high pressure towards low pressure. In the great source book of Taoism, the Tao Te Ching, Lao Tzu tells us, “The sage leads by following, by putting himself beneath others they all flow towards him.” Can you see how the philosophy of Taoism teaches us how to be better people?
Learning to be both yin and yang at the same time (yin/yang) is like bringing together the two halves of who you are. We all have yin and yang elements in play in every part of who we are. Proper qigong and Taiji is all about learning to first balance our energies and then to harmonize all these different energies so that we can find the reality that we need not be so polarized in life as to lose sight of the “big picture”
Like two horses…. The mare and the stallion, named yin and yang…
The stallion leads the way with the nurturing mare just behind him, giving him encouragement and moral support. She wants him to lead, and he enjoys doing the hard work of blazing the trail and such. The clever mare knows how to get him to lead where she wants to go by using her soft nurturing way, and he is glad to go where she wants him to. The two move in harmony due to the balance of their complementary energies.
Go to Qigong on Maui web site
“The sage sees the universe without going out the door”
Small Heavenly Circle (Microcosmic Orbit) Meditation Part #1
Attaining Tao is to merge with the wonders of heaven. In the very first verse of the Tao Te Ching, Lao Tzu says, “The Tao that can be named is not the real Tao”. What he is saying is the greatest of all things is beyond words, and once we attempt to name it we have defined the indefinable, which obviously is not going to work. So then, how do we merge with the undifferentiated source of all things? Simple, start by just letting go of your desire to be or do anything and focus your energy into heaven.
If you have read the six prior lessons on Taoist meditation basics and practices and if you have actually tried some of these techniques then it is time to expand your horizons. Be sure to read Tuning the Breath as well.
I hope by now you have had some success with staying “in the moment” and have learned to use some of these tools to dissolve your mind into your body. Learning to control your thoughts is the basic methodology to allow your energy to find a higher calling. In this article, I will give you a little piece of treasure, another tool for your meditation that will help you reach a higher state of consciousness.
Much has been written about the “Small Heavenly Circle” also known as the “Microcosmic Orbit” meditation; a simple Google search will give you over 5,000 results. I will not attempt to re-invent the wheel here, (pun intended) but instead I will give you my method. This method of meditation takes the practitioner on an inward journey along the superhighway of energy that predominates within the human body. My method is a straightforward and simple way to start exploring the universe within.
On the inward journey, the first things we learned were to dissolve our thoughts and get in touch with our energy, something you are getting skilled at if you have been doing the lessons so far. Now I am going to explain how to circulate that energy within your body.
We start with a basic energy circuit that runs up and down the torso in a circular path just under the surface of the skin; this path is called the “Small Circle.” The vessels and meridians in your body that carry the qi are usually along high conductivity tissue such as tendons and sometimes muscles. The centerline of both the front and back of our torso is mostly tendons, and this is a good conductor for the qi to flow within. Learning to follow this path is a major step to moving even deeper into your body, and will give you more insight into the universe within you. My method starts with identifying the two major pathways of energy (that connect into a circle) by defining 15 points along the way. Like planets in a galaxy, we will travel to each one, picking up provisions along the way. As we get to know each “planet” we will gain an understanding of our inner workings, this is the “Sage seeing the universe with out going out the door”
The two main paths have many names and energy can be moved in a variety of ways. In this beginning technique, we are going to follow the natural flow of energy down the front and up the back. For now, just think of them as Yin and Yang. The “Yang path” starts at the perineum and then the base of the spine, continues up and over the crown of the head, and ends at the pallet. The “Yin path” starts at the tip of the tongue and flows down the front of your body and ends at the perineum at the bottom of your torso. Technically the “Ren” channel ends at the ovarian palace but since the connecting “Tu” channel emerges at the perineum I start there. Again, there are many resources available online for your perusal. Here I want to give you my method of navigating this “orbit.”
First, let me name, locate, and describe each “planet” along the orbit. Since we have to start somewhere, I start from that place where you “see things” when you close your eyes, a place between the eyebrows that is sometimes called “the minds eye.”
There are many more than these 16 points (that are really bigger than “points” that is why I think of them as “planets“) but I like to keep things simple. Picking these 16 allows us to be clear about each one and later we will apply a breathing technique to help propel your “spaceship” to each “planet”. As your awareness grows you will feel and communicate with many more places than I have put on this list. For example, between numbers 8, 9 &10 there are 2 others, the anus for instance, which is actually 6 in itself, front, back, each side, the center and the outer muscle!
My list of 16 celestial destinations within:
Classic texts would have you start at the Dan Tian and “contemplate your navel” for “as long as it takes to feel the qi there“. I will not refute this method but there are alternatives. While this skill is admirable, I think we get the point; moving on from there, I believe spending a few minutes at each point is a better way to learn this orbit. Of course take as long as you want to explore each world, again the “classics” say to spend as long as a couple of months on each point until you can send your awareness and feel your qi there.
Once you have “opened the channel”, you will notice the qi moves rather quickly around the orbit. I usually do not need to linger long at each place at this point in my training and because I am not writing a book here, think of this as a quick tour through the planets,
The Mind’s Eye (behind your forehead)
The Heavenly Pool (where the tongue touches the pallet)
The Throat, (thyroid gland)
Thymus gland
The Heart
The Solar Plexus
The Dan Tian (just one inch below the navel)
The Sperm (Ovarian) Palace (a hands width below the navel)
The Hui Yin (the perineum)
The Tip of the Tail Bone
The Gate of Life (on the spine opposite the Dan Tien)
The Kidneys and Adrenals (on the spine opposite the Solar Plexus)
The Shen Dao, Between the Shoulders (opposite the Heart)
The Da Zhui, at the C-7
The Jade Pillow (at the base of the skull)
The Bai Hui or Crown Point (at the top of the head)
My planetary journey starts where I already am…
Sit and tune the breath,
Bring your awareness to,
1. The Minds Eye (behind your forehead); Starting where your mind is already is a good place to start. When you close your eyes, you will “see” or rather “observe” energy actively moving about. Then just let the awareness sink down trough the Yin Path….
2. The Heavenly Pool (where the tongue touches the pallet); When I put my awareness here I feel saliva welling up from the bottom of my mouth and pooling around the base of my tongue encouraging me to swallow.
3. The Throat; This spot sends the flow downward along the yin channel. Here lies the thyroid gland a tiny little gland that controls the rates of regeneration for your entire body.
4. The Thymus gland is a very sensitive gland that is an emotional regulator, sensing the heart and breathing rates, etc.
5. The Heart; When my mind travels here I feel my heart moving a little bit, not so much an increase in speed, but sort of a warm gentle thumping.
6. The Solar Plexus; This is a major nerve gathering center in your chest, at this location I feel a lump that seems to radiate out in all directions.
7. The (Lower) Dan Tian (one inch below the navel); This is the home planet for your Qi. When qi gets stuck in your head (Upper Dan tian) it can cause rampant thinking, when the qi is at your Thymus or Solar Plexus, (in the middle Dan tian), you might feel emotional, but when the qi is here it will feel at home. After my first few years of practice, I began to feel a rotational sensation here.
8. The Sperm (Ovarian) Palace (a hands width below the navel); This space is connected to all of your glandular systems and placing my mind here, brings me a sense of being connected internally.
9. The Hui Yin (the perineum); When here, I feel a pulsing feeling as though there is a warm current flowing through my perineum moving towards the back of my body. This is the bottom of the torso and it is full of muscles that support the pelvic floor. The Hui Yin is sort of the launching pad for the next part of the orbit, the Yang path.
To keep things simple just do this for now…
First Tune your Breath and then just work on putting your awareness on each spot until you notice it; just like when you were using your hands; remember, “listening” for the tingling sensation there? If not re-read the other lessons. The point is, if you can send the energy to your hands it is a logical step to move to these orbit spots here. Just do this a little bit and see if you can feel the flow of energy coming down from your head to your perineum.
In the next lesson, I will lead you through the rest of the orbit.
Soon you will see that Taoist meditation and internal qigong are similar. You are now starting to learn the fine art of “Nei Gong” or “internal qigong”
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Yiquan friends doing some Yi Jin Jing Qigong
Come and play with our Yiquan club every Thursday morning. Since Sifu Fong Ha comes here every September, a group of six or seven dedicated practitioners has began meeting every Thursday to continue working on his (and others) teachings. Since then it has become a great free-form “Internal Arts Day”
This is not a “class” because it is at Kamaole III Beach Park and the county will not allow a formal class: so I call it a club, there is no charge we just play.
Yiquan means “Mind (intention) Boxing” and it is a simple way to train martial arts and meditation skills. One of the main practices is just standing. There is a huge variety of postures used in standing work, also known as “Zhan Zhuang” lit. “standing like a post”. In Yiquan, there are eight main postures, you just stand and hold a posture, it is very simple.
Every Thursday morning starting at 6:30 AM with zhan zhuang, Qigong and Taiji walking, sometimes we take a break about 7:50 or so, look for us at a table at that time, then at 8:15 AM, we continue with Taijiquan until we are done.
The pre-dawn standing part is simple; just stand (or sit) in Wuji and if you want to, hold some postures or do whatever you want to! Try doing some “spontaneous qigong” also known as “Zi Fa Gong” or do the Yiquan postures.
The qigong that we originally did here consists of two sets and some “Taiji walking”. The first set is called “Yi Jin Jing” this is the famous “muscle and tendon changing classic” invented by Bodhidharma in about 520 AD. The second set is another classic qigong set known as “The Eight Brocades” or “Ba Duan Jin“. Most likely though, whatever we we do here now is pretty random, so many things we could do, it is never the same qigong at this practice session. “Taiji walking” in the sand is a favorite!
The Taijiquan part usually consists of doing the Dong (Yang) Long Form, we often do all three sections of the form or whatever we decide!
Come and play but know this is not a class…. I don’t do any real “teaching” I want to have fun with my friends, build some push hands connections, and keep the spirit of all of our teachers training active at Kamaole III
Overview:
6:30 AM to 7:50 AM
Wuji, Zhan Zhuang, Yiquan
Zi Fa Gong
Yi Jin Jing, Ba Duan Jin, or “Whatever Qigong”
Taiji walking
7:50 to 8:15 AM Break…
8:15 AM
Taijiquan
Tui Shou
See All Classes Here:
https://taijionmaui.wordpress.com/category/schedules/
Repulse Monkey Step
Golden Rooster
Kick with Sole
Holding Hands
Press
White Crane Spreads its Wing
Punch
Push
Single Whip
Lazy Tie the Coat from the Fast Form
Push Hand Through Mountain
Temptation is in the small things…..
Love is patient endurance……
David
natural woman
Imagine you are a Taoist… you wake up in the morning and do your Qigong while your blood sugar and adrenalin levels are high.
Then you have some fruit, later for lunch, a nice salad with some veggies. When you are done for the day, when you can relax, you enjoy a piece of fish, some meditation and then off to a restful sleep…
I have a food/nutrition philosophy; mostly, I only eat food. By that, I mean “food that a natural person would eat”. For example, in nature, there are no such things as bread or cheese, or packaged foods, and most food we now eat cooked was consumed raw. I am not against cooked food, but mostly keep to raw foods. In the cooked food area, I think we need to cook our meat these days, and I occasionally eat cooked beans and rarely even potatoes.
For the most part, I eat as if I was a natural person living in the natural world; fruit, vegetables, and some meat make up the lion’s share of my diet. Did you know that in countries where we consider people “under nourished” there is a longer life expectancy than here in America? Most people just eat too much of the wrong foods at the wrong times…
Another principle I mostly adhere to is that of proper food combining or for me actually, not combining… Because of the facts of the body’s digestive system, we can optimize our diets to work in harmony with our natural attributes. For example, our digestive juices are specific for certain foods and bad combinations can cancel out the chemistry so we get poor or no digestion. Also drinking after eating dilutes the digestive acid causing incomplete digestion. Starch like bread, rice, or potatoes, require a different chemistry then protein; this can lead to such things as un-digested meat rotting for days inside our intestines.
Meals as common as “Fish and rice” or Steak and potatoes” “Spaghetti and meat sauce” and even the “Sandwich” are all recipes for poor digestion and I avoid them. The main idea is, never mix anything with fruit, and do not mix proteins and starches.
A typical day’s food consumption for me would be something like this…
Mornings, from 6 AM until noon I only eat fruit ….
Afternoons I limit my food intake to vegetables and possibly a small amount of either meat or a starch.
Evenings from 6 PM until nine I would eat my meat meal.
Do not eat or drink anything after the meat or after 9 PM.
Fruit can move through you in an hour, veggies take about 4 hours but meat takes 8 hours to digest. Wait that amount of time between meals to avoid stimulating conflicting digestive chemistry. This way everything gets a chance to digest well.
Do whatever you want to when you eat out or are visiting friends do not be a “Food Nazi”; I’m just suggesting some common sense guidelines for your information. Don’t be self-righteous about it; just remember: “Temptation is in the small things and love is patient endurance”. In time, you will see the truth and adapt to a more healthy way of living.
I have cured my acid stomach problems, quit eating empty calories, eliminated almost all sugar, dairy, gluten, starch, fat, supplements, medicines, drugs and alcohol from my diet, and lost over fifty pounds… effortlessly.
We may never achieve the bodies depicted above, and yet we can all dream…. and do our best to be the best we can be. Somewhere inside of us is the image of the perfect self; hold to that image and take right action.
Proper assimilation of food and daily morning qigong is a perfect two-prong approach to balanced health.
"Tiger" from Dragon & Tiger Yiquan
“I don’t have time for Taiji!”
So many times, I have heard this, usually from “non believers”, but occasionally I myself am guilty of such thoughts.
Well now…… If you have been training with me, you have been exposed to a variety of Qigong and Taiji sets. It is important to keep in mind that eventually, as you assimilate the principles into your life, everything will be Taiji. Yet in the beginning, we all need some ‘forms’ to direct us in the Way.
This page is just a list of some of the forms that I have shown to my classes and some for advanced students. With so many options, it is easy to just pick one or more depending on your goals or time frame. All of my beginner students have been doing the first four or five on this list, and I consider these a “core group” of practices. Over time, I will show everyone all of these sets.
Now, I wouldn’t want anyone to get bored, so add the others in occasionally as you want to. There is always time to get in a quick “Soaring Crane” or some Zhan Zhuang practice anywhere any time.
Some of the Qigong and Taiji sets for beginner and advanced students
1.) “Wuji” a standing qigong for overall health, perform for one minute to as long as you wish!
2.) Dong Family “Warm up Qigong” strengthens the posture and opens the joints. Takes about 7 to 8 minutes to perform.
3.) Wudang Daoist Abdominal Breathing Qigong, five simple exercises that form the foundational skills for all qigong, taiji and meditation practice.
4.) Dong Family “Basic Qigong Set” builds and distributes qi through the whole body. Takes about 7 to 8 minutes to perform.
5.) Taiji Walking
6.) “Dong (Yang) Style Taijiquan” The first section of the long form of Taiji (Tai Chi). A total body and mind Qigong and martial art form. Takes about 6 minutes to perform.
7.) The Dong Family “Hard Qigong” A zhan zhuang practice that builds structural integrity in your physique. These ten postures can be done in as little as 5 to 10 minutes or as long as you wish.
8.) “Dong (Yang) Style Taijiquan” The second section of the long form of Taiji. Takes about 12 minutes to perform.
9.) “Soaring Crane 1” is a medical qigong set to strengthen your overall health. Takes about 5 minutes to perform. See video here: Soaring Crane with Master Dong
10.) “Tiger Mountain” AKA “Taiji Gong” an assemblage of some postures from Yang style Taiji set. Takes 5 to 10 minutes to perform. See video here: Tiger Mountain
11.) “Zhan Zhuang” or “Standing like a post qigong” Strengthens your stances and internal energy; I suggest just picking any of the postures from the Taiji form and stand still as long as you can comfortably. Take at least 2 to 10 minutes or as long as you wits to perform. See photos of Yang’s Taiji postures here: Yang Cheng Fu
12.) Yiquan Zhan Zhuang. Eight basic standing postures and a few other simple postures designed to open the hips and strengthen the legs and back and build structural integration into your physique Takes from 5 to 40 minutes to perform.
13.) “Dong Sitting Qigong, Long Form” From Master Dong Zeng Chen. A total mind and body Qigong for meditation, thrusting vessel, small circle qi and upper body strengthening. Takes about 30 to 40+ minutes.
14.) “Dong Sitting Qigong” From Master Dong Hu Ling. A simple sitting routine for the upper body qi, the mind and the eyes.
15.) Five Elements Qigong, Wu Xing Qigong is a nine form set that is a medical qigong toning the internal organs and meridians. See video here: Ziranmen Five Elements Qigong.
16.) Muscle and Tendon Changing Classics, Yi Jin Jing is one of the oldest known set of gigong, originally authored by the famous Da Mo.
17.) The Eight Brocades, Ba Duan Jin is another old classic set.
18.) Zi Fa Gong, spontaneous Qigong comes when you have figured out some of these basic sets then you let your qi body lead you to move or not to move.
19.) Wudang Daoist (Hun Yuan) Primordial Qigong, a new set I have been showing and will be writing out soon…
20.) Wudang Five Animal Forms, another new set I will be showing in 2012
Over time I will expose everyone to parts or all of these forms, just keep coming to class and reading online and most importantly: PRACTICE
Do some Qigong everyday! Keep it simple but……Do it!
The Universe
“The sage sees the whole universe without going out the door”
If you only learned to meditate, it would be the most valuable experience of your life. To gain understanding, a wordless gift of knowing that you’ve always had, but haven’t used is a profound thing indeed. I am paraphrasing Roy Masters work “Be still and Know” and yet there is so much more going on when we do qigong.
By combining physical exercise and meditation, we gain more than can be had by just “exercising” or “meditating”. The synergy is further enhanced by the other attributes of qigong, like the way we exercise, opening up the joints, and skeletal system and the sequential opening and closing of the muscles and energy pathways within our bodies. There is really no other “exercise” like qigong; in my opinion there is no better exercise, and yet it is so much more.
Dissolving your mind and body using qigong also has a calming and strengthening effect on our emotions as well. To liberate your mind from the emotional prison that has kept the real you locked up without your knowledge is not an insignificant gain!
The understanding gained from proper practice gives insight to all things. The meaning of the quote from the “Tao Te Ching” written above is this: Within everyone, there are elements of all things; a celestial world, we are a microcosm of the universe. Every atom is like a minute solar system, all our cells are virtual galaxies, and our consciousness is like God, indeed, if you can truly know yourself, then you can understand the whole universe.
I often wonder what if we all could expand our understanding in this way. Yet it was once the normal way for humans. Our convoluted lives have dulled our sense of reality; learning to get in touch with our true objective self is to understand a separate reality, a primordial knowledge that is the “Way” we were intended to be….. Freedom from contrivance, like an un-carved block of wood, becoming what Nature (God?) intended for us.
If you have a goal in life, make it to be a fully integrated human being by being balanced in each realm of human functioning. Don’t be a “spiritual person” or an “intellectual”, and do not be a slave to your emotions and don’t ignore or indulge them. Stop always seeking physical gratification or obsessing about your body. To be a “Real Human” you need to be in control of all of these things.
Balancing all these separate things naturally into one universe is, for me…..The Way, Taiji the “Supreme Ultimate” and qigong is the path to the Way….. The Way to divinity, to freedom, to perfect health, physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually.
Yin AND Yang separated
In the first three lessons, I discussed how we align our physical bodies with the forces of Heaven and Earth. This lesson is about learning the difference between the two main aspects of our Qi using the concept of Yin and Yang.
Realize that there are two major forces acting upon us at all times, the first and most obvious is the force of gravity, we all understand what that is. There is however another, balancing force in play as well, that of centrifugal force. As the earth spins at about 6000 miles per hour trying to throw us off it, we are at the same time held fast by gravity. (Physicists would disagree, but I’m just illustrating a point) In another way of viewing it (the Taoist way), we are suspended between the two forces of Heaven and Earth.
Think of “Earth” as the pull of gravity, pulling directly towards the center of the planet. Know it is Yin and, elemental, sinking and compressing downward, everything heavier than air flows towards it. The only way we know which way is up is because we know which way is down!
Think of “Heaven” as that centrifugal force that is lifting us directly away from the center of the Earth; in Qigong parlance, “the golden thread from Heaven” this force is Yang, and ethereal. Lifting and expanding upwards, everything lighter than air, including electrical energy floats weightlessly.
Beginners on the way of Qigong first learn to feel and understand these two different aspects of energy, adepts move beyond the understanding of discerning yin and yang to get to a point where they harmonize yin/yang.
To better learn how to feel Yin and Yang, consider two main types of qi, Yeng qi and Wei qi. Yeng qi is all that stuff that sinks down through our bodies as we relax and let it sink, things like blood, lymph, muscles, organs, a thick viscous downward flow of all our soft tissue.
Think of Wei qi as all that stuff that floats like our electrical signals our nervous system releasing neutral density neurotransmitters into our system like endorphins… our emptied muscles and bones and our breath.
After you understand this concept, you are ready to apply the knowledge to Qigong exercise.
When you relax your body, the blood and lymph and all the soft tissues sink lower into your body; this is the Yeng qi sinking. As this material sinks down, the blood filters through the lymph nodes, and the fascia tissues relax and a curious event occurs. The Wei qi is displaced and it rises up giving you a buoyant feeling. The more you can sink and relax downward, the more you can expand and feel buoyant going upwards.
You are learning to flow all the Earth (Yin) elements (Yeng qi) downward causing the complimentary effect of all the heavenly (Yang) elements (Wei qi) to rise and expand. These dynamics act like an energy pump, sinking down stimulating a return to an upright posture, you are learning to discern Yin and Yang: a major milestone on the qigong path.
More Here: Qigong Lesson #5
One of over 8000 thousand life-size Terracotta Warriors standing strong for over two thousand years
Zhan Zhuang “Standing like a post” Standing Meditation
Standing builds structural integrity in your physique, calms the mind and emotions and it provides a foundation for internal qigong work known as “nei gong”.
As you are learning to connect with your internal energy, many new and intriguing adventures will open up to your awareness. In fact, awareness is the primary connection that you make as the path unfolds before you.
You can reach your health goals whatever they may be, whether they are physical health, as in posture, flexibility, balance or general strengthening or mental goals such as, improved memory, freedom from excessive thoughts or disordered thinking, or perhaps emotional goals like curing frustration, mania, anger, fear, grief, worry, depression or whatever else.
The one common denominator in almost all ailments is unbalanced energy within you. Even the most devastating illnesses often have their roots in basic problems with your personal energy and many are therefore preventable. Balancing our energies is the goal of all traditional Chinese medicine and Qigong is a basic part of TCM.
In the first two Qigong “lessons” here on this blog, I outlined the first skill you should master, Wuji. As the name implies Wuji is a starting point and it is where we begin all qigong exercises and the Taiji forms, yet there is a whole genre of “Wuji training” that can be explored.
Standing is sometimes called zhan zhuang, which means “standing like a post”, or referred to as standing meditation; it is in fact an excellent qigong exercise all by itself. There are no real ”forms“ per se, instead individual postures are sustained for a length of time as necessary.
The main goal here is to balance out our internal energy by standing still, however stilling your body often encourages thinking to arise; sometimes the thinking can become overwhelming. Redirect your thoughts into becoming aware of the 12 points outlined in the last lesson and only allow your thoughts to go through the “postural check list”.
Another technique to stop unnecessary thinking, is to simply count your breaths; paying attention to the air moving in and out as you do. When you find yourself caught up in a daydream, just start over with the alignment and then find your way back to your breathing; in this way you will learn to dissolve your mind and body together.
After we still our bodies, and refocus our thinking, errant energy tends to go into the emotions. This can be very annoying as thoughts and emotions are linked, often emotional thoughts like: “I feel dumb standing here”, “What are others thinking about me seeing me standing here?”, or “Am I wasting my time standing here?” Any excuse we can dream up to release us from learning about our true selves seems like a good enough reason to stop our training. Just go back through the same routine and you will find these emotions subside.
While standing in a posture, there are many other techniques that you may apply, such as various breathing practices and a whole host of higher-level skills known as “nei gong“. These skills will be explained in future articles about that topic but the first step into that whole universe of qigong arts starts with zhan zhuang.
To perform zhan zhuang all you need to do is stand, correctly of course, in any one of numerous postures. To avoid an emotional reason to give up, commit before hand to doing zhan zhuang for a certain length of time, say 10 or 15 minutes. You may stand in Wuji, or pick some postures from the Taiji form. In the beginning I recommend you attempt at least three minutes in each posture, that way you will not get bored so that during the 15 minutes you could manage five postures. Serious zhan zhuang practitioners may stand for up to an hour in one or two postures!
In coming lessons, I will show you some postures that can be used in addition to the ones you are learning as part of a Taiji class. Who knew that by just standing you could accomplish so much without knowing any forms?
Stand strong and you will develop good balance, strength, and energy.
Copyright Cory Williams 2010
More here: Qigong Lesson #4
First, gain an understanding of your energy system.
Align the body correctly to facilitate energy flow.
Relax the muscles to encourage energy flow.
Learn to dissolve your mind and body together.
Develop an emotional connection to the energy within.
Become intimate with your energy.
Practice until you know what is right in your heart.
Let go of your silly ego needs.
Gain freedom from your thoughts,
Become as open as Heaven,
Be as firm as the Earth,
Shine brightly like a star,
Be as flexible as water,
Gain inspiration from all things,
Know the truth that will set you free.
There are many paths to freedom yet only those who learn the truth will be truly free. The real you is often hidden behind layers of physical and egocentric defenses. Physical obstructions, thinking, and emotions, all inhibit your true self from shining through.
Spiritual qigong? Medical qigong? Martial qigong? Meditation? Internal, external, standing, sitting, moving, stillness, Taiji, whatever…. It makes very little difference; they are essentially the same thing. Don’t get confused by esoteric teachings. Do not be distracted from the truth by thinking too much about it.
Do not make your journey complicated; just follow the simple methods outlined in your training. Adding too much just takes you farther away from the truth. Practice “Wu Wei“; practice with diligence, yet keep it simple and you will gain profound awareness.
The truth is simple:
Love your energy as though it was the most valuable substance in the universe….in time you will discover the creator of all things.
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Tung Hu Ling Photo from Chip Ellis web site
Taiji Gong… “Tiger Mountain”
This simple qigong can help form the foundation to high level Taiji skill.
Dong Hu Ling was my teacher’s father and the first Dong family member to carry on the family tradition started by his father, the famous Dong Ying Jie. Dong Hu Ling had two sons, Zeng Chen, and Kai Ying. Dong Hu Ling was a world-renowned Taiji master.
Master Dong’s first name, Hu translates to “Tiger” and his middle name, Ling translates to “Mountain”. This qigong exercise was conceived by Master Hu Ling and based on some common Taiji postures; designed to be done standing or sitting.
Dong Zeng Chen does this form a little differently but I chose to publish the “original version” at this time. A student of Master Tung Kai Ying first taught this Qigong set to me. Sometimes referred to as “Taiji Gong”, most of us know it by Master Dong Hu Ling’s name, Tiger-Mountain.
Tiger Mountain is comprised of ten Taiji postures each repeated as you rotate your upper body from side to side while standing or sitting in one place and expanding and contracting as one would if actually performing the Taiji form. Alternate the hands and subtly sift your awareness to whichever hand is on the leading side.
Master created a fun little poem to remind practitioners of the postures and their sequence.
In the beginning
From the clouds
She wove
Heaven and Earth
Then the tiger
Brought the horse
To its knees
Between two peaks
Across
And push, (and hold) to the end.
The corresponding Taiji postures are:
Beginning
Cloud Hands
Fair Lady Works the Shuttles
White Crane Spreads its Wings
Strike Tiger
Parting the Wild Horses Mane
Brush Knee and Push
Twin Fists Strike the Ears
Cross Hands
Push
Hold the last push and then end as if doing the Taiji form.
This easy to remember, simple to practice, and enjoyable Qigong takes about only 5 to 15 minutes to do and can be done at any speed you wish. Initially, move slowly and smoothly (concentrating on perfecting you movements) while keeping your feet straight, but as you improve you can turn your feet slightly to get a bow stance and add some more speed and energy.
Advanced students can adapt this exercise into a high level skill by turning more, Dong Zeng Chen’s version is done like this. You can also add intensity by sitting lower in a horse stance, Tung Kai Ying’s version is done in this manner, but with out the waist turns of his brother’s. I like to play around with learning to flow through the main Taiji stances as I turn from side to side. Turning from a bow stance and turn-into a side horse stance and then into a horse stance and then repeat as they turn out to the other side.
Repeating: bow—side horse—horse—other side horse—other side bow
When transitioning through the different stances slightly turn the feet and sink down each time you move through the “horse stance” This method will totally rebuild your hip joint and help students “Open the Kwa”. Be sure to use proper Taoist breathing techniques, don’t force anything.
After you have mastered the timing and the flow and of course the softness, you can try it faster. Eventually adept students can learn to use to add in “Fa Jin” to their movements. If you can master turning through 5 different stances fluidly and then deliver quality Fa Jin strikes you you will have a tool to help you take your Taiji to the next level.
This simple, soft, easy, and basic qigong practice can also show you the way to high level form practice. Helping to build power and energy for your health and for powerful martial arts performance.
Read also: “Taiji Gong”
Copyright Cory Williams 2010
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dWPTt1ZfR5Y
Taiji on Maui 