Toni

take what is useful, forget what is useless (Bruce Lee)

You forgot inmortality and beatiful young women

This no mind thing is perhaps an error. We are rational beings, from reason comes all our power. Why eliminate this? We would become the weakest of animals. The job maybe is to improve our minds and reason, not this no mind mantra, which we don't even understand. When after years we still don't understand a simple word it is probably because it doesn't mean anything at all. Words like "no mind" or "emptiness/void" are useless at the end of the day. It is an error not to be aware of this.

This all sounds very renaissantist

That's it, which is yours? I mean a single exercise, not a system or a set... It can be a qigong exercise, a calisthenic exercise, whatever. I am not sure if I have a single favourite exercise, but if I have to choose one I would say wall squats. A fantastic exercise for the legs and the back.

I think your problem can have another more simple cause. Bad blood and oxygen circulation to your head, which causes your kind of problems (always prefer simple explanations over complicated ones). This means it can be improved. Try to do fragrant qigong, it is quite good for general issues, and some exercise. Try walking, wall squats or zhan zhuang.

This is a very big truth. I am glad a master also says it.

It is the perfect philosophy for hard times

You are right that in stoicism there is no work on the body nor in the unity between body and mind. It focuses almost solely on the mental aspects, as all the greek/western schools of thought. We can not find in the history of european thought a system to work both the body and the mind. This is something alien to us, we have focused on one thing or the other, contrary to daoism. We can just find some systems which focus on both things in the XX century, and they are quite residual. Think of Alexander technique or reichian bodywork.

Yes, Aurelius was very good too

Stoicism for me is very precious. I would recommend the book Enchiridion to everybody. It is a short book written by Epictetus. In it he explains the difference between the vulgar and the sage: the first seeks outside his happiness or his misfortunes, while the sage knows very well it is all within. It is a great philosophy for the endurance of all kind of hardships, always with serenitude and tranquility.

After many years of doing all kinds of physical exercises now I think walking is probably the best exercise for health. I have done all kind of stuff: calisthenics, lifting weights, stretching, some pilates and yoga, a lot of qigong, taichi, running, swimming, etc. This is all fine and interesting, but now I have concluded that walking is better than anything else. Maybe it is because it is the most natural form of moving exercise for the human body. If someone can walk a few kilometers every day, he will be working greatly for his health and wellbeing, and it is also a very good moment to meditate.

oh this man, what a snake oil seller he is

We all like qigong and tai chi here, but I wonder if there are interesting internal arts which are not from China. For example, there is this Mo Pai thing which is from Indonesia, or Yoga from India. Also it seems there are interesting practices in South America. Are there interesting stuff in other places, like Japan, Korea or the Philippines? And in the West?

there are many interesting techniques in the west too: pilates, alexander technique, reichian bodywork, feldenkrais method, rolfing, etc. I will give a try to Feldenkrais method

The funny thing about all that is that there are plenty of so called masters who will tell you to do ZZ in one particular way and that this will have great benefits and all this bullshit. Then the truth is that walking is better than doing this. But i don't think any great master/guru will ever say it, as it would mean that all his super techniques are snake oil and he couldn't sell you his magic stuff.

I have done both zz and walking and there is a very big difference. But anyway both are good and can complement each other. So it is an opinion based on direct experience. Any of you can have the experience tested easily, so you can know if i am right or not

I think it is better for general health

In fact walking is better than zz

I have had several different masters and each one of them taught me zhan zhuang in a different way. So yes a master can help, but in the end you need to be your own master. You need to know if the practice affects your body in a positive way or not

yes, sure. but you can't say it publicly?

yes, he should try both barefoot and in shoes, then choose what he prefers...

I remember Damo Mitchell recommending to train barefoot because that way it is easier to connect with the energies of the earth, through an acupuncture point located in the feet. It is bullshit of course, but maybe training barefoot strengthen your feet and it is good for your posture. Anyway train as you prefer...

I agree it creates tension. But many recommend it when walking or standing bc they say people have forward posture problems nowadays. They even say you feel more optimistic when doing it. I will try this again today when i go out to walk, just a little bit of course, in order to avoid too much tension.

In zhan zhuang do u think it is good to pull shoulders a little bit back? Some recommend it bc many people have rounded shoulders and bad posture habits