Taomeow

Had a conversation with someone's lawyer once, about a person who was to stand trial where they would decide whether to send that person to jail or, alternatively, to a mental health facility. A drug addiction wasn't involved, it was textbook schizophrenia, and the person wound up serving time. The lawyer told me that it was a pity drugs weren't involved, because otherwise a treatment program would be available instead of jail, but if someone's just crazy without being an addict, they're shit out of luck. Doesn't mean a treatment program would be efficient for drugs, but just imagine the irony... "it's a pity they're not on drugs, that would at least give them a chance someone would try to do something to help."

And don't forget Deep Purple's Strangeways. Early in the morning in the early 1990s I had it in my ears, coming from my Sony Walkman player, en route to my job in New York. The stranger who rode off into the sunset on the New Jersey Transit bus is that version of me.

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Progressive rock rules have changed: Instead of quiet desperation, twerk.

@Nungali That's awful. I wonder if things are as bad in Australia with mental health "handling" by the system as here. Probably not... Here they "do something" pretty much only after the mentally ill person kills someone, otherwise -- even if they keep committing crimes -- they are just let loose, no help for them and no safety for their potential victims. There used to be 550,000 mental institutions in the US in the 1950s -- then they just shut down the whole thing, only about 600 remain today. One would think the need just disappeared overnight... and that's so very the other way around.

Sorry to hear about his passing. It so happened that one of his books was among the first things that got me interested in taiji and qigong. I credit it with drilling in my mind, in advance of actual practice, the idea that the holy grail of gaining benefits from it all safely is the knees. I never forgot that part and the overall impression of clear to-the-point explanations, which were very valuable for a not-even-beginner-yet getting ready to embark on that journey. RIP, master Wong.

Same here. Loading very slowly most of the time of late -- this site only, so it's not something on my end.

I was aiming for three messages (although a longer post could aim for more.) 1) Any practice falls on the foundation of who you are. If you are a person with a sense of responsibility to yourself, aka self discipline, you are likely to transfer this attitude onto how you go about practicing qigong. That's the message I derive from Person A's experience. 2) You don't have to "believe" in it -- just give it a fair trial period and your results (or lack thereof) will speak louder than any pre-conceived ideas. Positive ones are likely to keep you coming back. Like Person B. 3) Different strokes. Some like rock, some can't stand it and only want opera, which rock aficionados might find extremely annoying. Many people have to watch their diet because they want to lose weight -- but I, for instance, have to watch my diet so as to avoid losing weight. Qigong can be "metabolized" (or not) in a similar vein -- individual preferences (ideally reasonable and sensible rather than whimsical) are allowed a say in what we seek and what we avoid. Person C in my example practices taiji neigong, which makes qigong very optional, and not wanting to practice it, quite reasonable.

I see. Sounds are fine I think. But movements, the way I was taught, are very controlled. Of course there's a great temptation to get creative with this set, especially if you practice with others and a general playful mood takes over. The Monkey in particular makes such faces sometimes ...but control is harder and more beneficial than creativity, strangely enough. After all, the set does address the health of various organs, and one doesn't want creative organs, the ideal is precisely (and predictably) functioning ones.

They do relate to specific organ systems, but have nothing to do with spontaneous qigong. On the contrary, they are high-precision moves with much attention to detail.

It's not wrong, although AI is always excessively verbose (unless prompted not to be). A more to the point answer would be, Brocades suit beginners, Animals are considerably more challenging for beginners.

Maybe that's what it is. Person C has always viewed qigong as a remedy for something. Remedies are great and necessary, but not many of them are enjoyable, at least for Person C. Who has to debate with herself, "am I in the mood for this? Can I maybe do it later?" even before taking a vitamin C capsule.

Qigong needs to "hit the spot." Real life examples from my experience. Person A. An accomplished taiji practitioner for many years. Disciplined, dedicated, talented, competitive. Had a falling out with the teacher. Stopped practicing taiji altogether, which at the time struck me as cutting off her nose to spite her face. Found a different teacher, who only teaches qigong, meditation and a bit of related subjects ("feng shui light," very light.) A few years down the road, completely satisfied with her practice. I don't know what she's doing with the competitive side of her personality, but the rest of it has just flown naturally into the new practice. Person B. Has never been interested in anything Asian, and physical engagement with movement has been limited to an occasional game of tennis. An accomplished professional (medical doctor). Started having problems with her lower back later in life, which turned severe. Had surgery which made things worse. Lived in nonstop pain for several years. Was shown a few qigong exercises by a friend. Reluctantly gave it a try, mostly to humor the friend. Being also a naturally disciplined person, decided to give it a trial period of some length. Until then anything and everything she tried made things only worse, but this time at first she noticed her back doesn't feel worse from qigong, then, that it feels a bit better. Chalked it up to placebo yet kept practicing. Three years later, still practices, her back feels 90% better, she's able to go on long hikes now and is off pain medication. Still looking for an allopathic explanation. Person C. An accomplished taiji practitioner, with all-around taoist interests for many years. Has been taught many qigongs by her great teacher and at various workshops and seminars by other masters. Taught qigong to various audiences. Profoundly dislikes practicing it. Why? She has never been able to answer this question. She absolutely loves taiji and many taoist practices, she's an experienced meditator, and there was a time she would sit in full lotus for two hours with reverse breathing going on autopilot if her practice required it. Qigong? Please... no qigong. Why? Who knows. Doesn't hit the spot.