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I have some thoughts on the matter since I have to walk approx 10 UK miles a day for work and it was bloody well killing me for 7 years until I stared learning taichichaun and qigong and doing a bit of that along with stretches, squats and etc...20 - 30 minutes all told before work and all of a sudden....bliss, balance, harmony. What irked a bit was the realisation that I hadn't been walking properly, poor form, not swinging arms, too rigid, too hurried, awkward gait, poor breathing, distracted, trying to over-work it and getting physical and mental stress, poor diet and bad attitude etc etc. And when as an adult you realise that you don't even know how to walk properly....its a bit of a revelation. Now, with much studying and refinement, the miles just fly-by-nicely. Personally I'd add swimming into the mix in a perfect world.

Thankyou for your very insightful and interesting posts on the topic and with reference to the bit quoted, its no small thing and quitean achievement for the ordinary person myself included. Regarding that, I'd say I'd imposed my own glass-ceiling in having acheived those things somewhat but being happy enough to simply continue cultivating and practising the 'jī běn gōng' basic skills and fundamentals and getting them right.....nourishing them and true! the very core of my being is not transformed except that it is intrinsically happier which is also a very big thing but isn't contentment a goal in itself? Thanks for your insights.

Is it? Why didn't somebody say something! Actually its all reality but only very breifly to each life since its from born to dead very quickly in terms of geological time even for centenarians. Does it come down to how you 'think' your reality? Is anything either good or bad but thinking makes it so (sorry Shakespear)? Yes, its all organic or inorganic and we're organisms acting like organisms but with an ability towards consciousness so I'd posit that we're all very much alive but some more-so than others. Can we not make a heaven in to hell or a hell into heaven? Do you mean that ones mental condition is governed by ones physical condition? In part perhaps but I've met many a happier person than I with some very morbid physical conditions but also some healthier with very disturbed mentality. I get a 'high' from daoyin type stuff but it doesn't last and must be cultivated but worse, the 'down' seems quite bad despite the fact that its simply my old 'normal'. Anyway, talk of hell infers a heaven and to my knowledge heaven is very quiet on the topic of its own existence so its probably best to just strive to be cheerful enough, healthy enough and do ones best eh?

"I love to move and i can't sit still" Purpose of QiGong would be for you to learn how to sit still?... Wu wei (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wu_wei) is the the primal skill (not as easy as it sounds.....a funny sort of 'nothing' that is definately 'something') and all that arises from it is in theory taichi but not necessarily taichi chuan......its complicated O.K? Anyhow qigong is the nourishment of the TCM 3 treasures jing, qi and shen which may loosely be translated as essence (biology), energy (nourishment, diet, bio electricity etc but most importantly breathing) and spirit (thought processes, mind and soul etc) and the arriving at a unification and balance of the three to achieve ones own best operational effectiveness. At a basic level qigong could be simply a diet conscious, stretching and massaging, aerobic calisthenics but with a good deal of Wu wei.

Personally, I think that you should just spill whateveritis or else end up being sorry that you didn't. Maybe whateveritis needs the light of disclosure for closure. What is whateveritis afraid of?

Zhuangzi — 'Flow with whatever may happen, and let your mind be free: Stay centered by accepting whatever you are doing. This is the ultimate.' Its very useful.

Thats not a tecnique I've heard of and I've read a lot and studied quite a few options. Trying it myself, it seems to act like a big unrestricted breath in and a restricted breath out plus messing about with ones neck which one should be very wary of. My dear chap, its my considered belief that you inspired sleep-apnea > sleep paralysis in yourself (https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/obstructive-sleep-apnoea/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sleep_paralysis) and thus got the very commonly related fearful nightmare experience. https://thesleepdoctor.com/2017/08/24/nightmares-and-things-that-go-bump-in-the-night/ She told you the opposite of what I've been told and read which is never, ever restrict the breath except for some very few, particular and quite advanced intances.

I utilise it to close my morning daoyin which is ordinary light stretches, squats, sitting and standing 8 brocades/other similar variation, sun salutation, taichi chuan (to get things moving) and then a good whacking and rub-down....20 minutes tops and both cylinders firing. Similar to this (If I miss doing it now, I know about it all day long...sluggish): Daoyin Self-massage Bamboo Massage Brush

I read that he disallowed everything but legalism and actively persecuted other schools of thought but for such a man to go in search of a fabulous mountain seems counter intuitive. I'd guess that the responders to the order would have to be very, very careful.

Are you sitting comfortably? If not, please do so and preferably with a fresh cup of tea and I shall begin. One of my uncles recently departed this motal coil, partially due to a visitation of Jack Frost and whilst she and another sister were visiting my bereaved aunt she went to the bathroom on the 1st floor for a pee whilst the others talked in the kitchen. Whilst sitting on the pan she heard footsteps ascending the stairs and assumed my aunt had come up to fetch something. The steps bypassed the bathroom and continued along the landing and away into one of the rooms. (I think that you've already guessed) Upon returning to the kitchen, imagine her surprise to fing my aunt and other sister where she'd left them and where they'd been all along and there was nobody else in the house! This is not my ghost story but it reminded me of one of mine when my sister related it this evening. Mine is daoyin related. I'll set the scene. Near where I live is a small wood set on the upper banks of a ridge that overlooks the Avon and Stour valleys in the UK and lower part of the ridge is pleasent open meadows...very nice. Once upon a warm summers day about two years ago I strolled the woods near the meadow boundary and whilst meandering the trees would, as usual, stop for a shibashi session here or an 8 brocades there and a bit of Dr Yang JwingMing motile 5 animals in between or an inner smile in a glade....you get the picture. Anyhow this one especially lovely day I'd just finished up a final 8 brocades and was near the edge of wood over looking the meadow, the stour valley and the distant Malvern hills. Completely relaxed and in the moment and standing in mountain pose which is how I prefer to finish just....enjoying. Imagine my surprise to see a shadow slowly appear from my left side near to the ground. But It wasn't a shadow. Initially I thought it was a badger, being that sort of size, but unlike badgers it had no actual form. It was like a badger sized pancake floating about a foot off the ground and it was black but like a crows feather and as it moved in a semicircle infront of me towards my right I could see that in fact it had many colours, greens, reds, blues and purples but as a whole it appeared black and in its motion moved like a plastic bag in the ocean. Surpisingly unphased I watched as it it performed its semicircle and then retreated, again in a semicircle back the way it came and made as to go behind me. Ah but 'the wise old owl turns its head' and thats what I did to keep it in view as it disappeared rearwards. Imagine my further surprise to see upon 'wise owling' it that it was not alone. About thirty feet away in the woods and at about eighteen feet high there was amongst the trees a sphere or disk but it was of such a dense darkness that apart from being circular it was hard to tell its 3D shape if it had one. My floaty, badgery frein moved toards this disk and.... ...at that point I decided that discretion was the better part of valour, and still unfearful, I walked (yes...walked!) to the edge of the wood and into the sunlit meadow and then fled for a while, like a fox with the Wylde hunt on its tail, before turning back to see....nothing. Please, make of it as you wish and I hope you enjoyed my story but I'll tell you what I was thinking at the moment before this thing appeared. As I said, I was happy and relaxed and whilst enjoying the view, the scents and the warmth I thought..."this would be a perfect day upon which to die...to die happy" (I didn't mean it, its just a saying...right?...right?) Sooooo, has anyone else had any odd experiences/hallucinations with taichi/yoga/daoyin/qigong?

I found this interesting, DB's probably already has a thread somewhere so apologies for repeating. In other links I read, Qin Shihuang (see also terracotta army) ended up being hoodwinked by a chap who said he'd found the secret but needed a fleet of ships and 6000 virgins in order to succeed in the mission. Long story cut short, the mendacious mariner simply buggered off with the ships, the sailors, presumably the money and was never seen again. My telling is not quite correct. Anyhow, It wasn't what was in the story that interested me most although it was enlightening, it was the absence, apparently, of daoyin or tao references regarding the elixir of life. There are so many tablets, that the reference might be there but uncommented upon. I enjoy reading cultural histories but particularly those relating to other personal interests.

Labels are indeed a point of reference and in social bonding they can be used for either accepting or 'othering' people either into or out your group. It took me a while to work it out and God bless the internet but I always, ever since childhood and as a social defence mechanism, presented (what I fondly imagined to be) a 'blank slate'. Of course, by doing this you invite people to write upon it and that writing tells you about them and its not always pretty poetry. Of course we also have a face and a frame which betrays our blank slate and tells people about who and how we are without any words being exchanged...people were often afraid of me I found out despite I would never do harm, but in retrospect I'd also have been afraid of me. Thus the wisdom of giving them something to work with became apparent but 'they' are not everyone but those who I've read can be considered as 'young souls' who at any earthly age are quite immature and require those 10,000 things we read of. The 'old souls' don't need this stuff and couldn't care less for social selection or its things which could indeed be seen as being stuck-up and aloof but really we're just operating at a different level of consciousness though perhaps not particularly wisely. When the O.P got labelled, I'll bet that there was a pre-existing clique or group that was deciding (unbeknownst to the O.P) upon his/her worthiness of association and that the leader was either threatened by something about the O.P or disgusted and so the dismissive labelling libel...I'll bet myself a glass of Ginger wine. Re: the "No good turn goes unpunished". Its funny 'cos its true. The amount of times I've done what I considered to be a good turn and almost immediately got a slap down from karma or whatever it is. In retrospect though that good turn was often just interfering or whats become known as 'white-knighting' and usually accompanied a bit of pride or subconscious expectation of karma kudos or heaven points which brings us into the highly contentious realm of unseen, unknown supernatural forces...spooky!

I count my blessings for: ~ My family who are very good sorts. ~ My health which is wobbly but robust. ~ My solitude which used to hurt and irk a bit but knowing that fellow travellers exist it was easier to enjoy. ~ My location in rural central England. ~ My job in a lovely Cotswoldy environment. ~ Clean air. ~ Sid R for being a taichi teacher who held lessons locally. ~ Mother nature. ~ My spirit friends (this is supposition on my part). ~ My real-life friendlies and everyday chat-folk. ~ My enemies. ~ Hardships, without which I'd not appreciate the 'easyships' so much. ~ Reality, which is worth keeping in touch with. ~ Dreams. ~ Food, shelter and warmth. ~ The true teachers who have commited their works to word and video. ~ The fake and mistaken teachers who have done the same and allow us to wiegh-up the difference. ~ Life. ~ The 10,000 things of which I can do without and some of which I enjoy. ~ Love and joy which surprised me upon realising that its nobody elses job but mine. ~ The fragility of it all which allows for a truly grateful, daily counting of the blessings and a heartfelt prayer of thanks to heaven.

I think so. He has a good knowledge of both oriental and occidental medicine and can make good sense of qigong in relation to both. I'm biased. I'm a big fan and have many of his materials to compliment my teachers teachings. Dr seems honest and knowledgable.

Lonely is a funny word because it depends upon a nuance, an emotional attachment that the user places upon in it. Perhaps 'attachment' is an antonym for lonely which in this respect is used for a sense of detachment/disassociation which is a feeling/state of being and is its own thing, an association projected onto the word by the user like isolated...set apart so would 'together' be an antonym? "what a lovely lonely spot" versus "what a horribly lonely spot" perhaps? I like 'present' as mentioned beforehand. My teacher told me to cultivate presence in playing the forms. German: allein - ‎alone....is perhaps the root of the word. e.g: nur in der alleine Geist ~ the spirit comprehending the universe, the universal spirit uniting everything in itself. In quietening our minds (is there a term for that?) are we not setting ourselves apart from whatever our 'rat-race' is of the moment?...and choosing lonliness in meditation and calming the yin/yang plays (rat-race?) of our own minds? Maybe both rat-race and lonely are exactly the emotions we attach to them...our choice. Re:Leaving the rat race for more cheaper, more graceful living I'm looking for inspiration therein but....lottery tickets!