EFreethought

It is a rare style. There are a few threads about it on this site: I was having trouble focusing on my breath without controlling it, and I realized: then I should just control it. I looked for some local qigong/pranayama groups, and this was the only one in Austin. I thought Austin would have a lot of this sort of thing, but it does not. It really does not do too much with breathing. It is closer to an iron shirt/iron fist style. You start out hitting yourself in the general abdomen area with a fist, then a wood block, then a brick, then other people hit you. Then you do the same thing for other parts of your body (legs, arms, the whole torso, head). There are the five physical levels, then beyond that there are meditations. The instructor who brought it from China is here in Austin, so there are a few instructors here. I went to one, saw a guy hitting himself with a wood block, thanked the instructor for his time, and did not think I would come back. Then I saw the above thread, and one of the posts tells people to keep an open mind (although a few posts discourage it). Then I found a video where another local instructor (whom I am still with) gave a demo and a lecture. At one point, he said something like: "I know this stuff works, but honestly I cannot explain why." I liked that honestly. I think a LOT of people into qigong/yoga/etc get intro trouble when they explain why this stuff works. Maybe there are spirits, chi, gods, etc, but until you experience it, it sounds like bunk. So I went to his class, and he explained it a bit more. I liked the fact that there was a progression. I have been to a few groups where I felt like I was stuck in place for years. Plus I wanted to make a change in my life, and I realized one way to do that was to do something I had said "No" to. So far it is going well. I have done belly, legs, and now I am on torso. There is a site here: https://www.goldenshieldqigong.info/

I used to do TKD, and yoga. I have meditated on and off for years. Now I am doing a style of qigong called Golden Shield, and also looking into some breathwork.

For some reason, this picture is causing.....dirty thoughts.

Could you elaborate on your experience with the Vajrapani mantra? I would like to know more about it. Isn't that supposed to give you more energy and focus?

In my school (I am an attendee, not a teacher), it is said that the LDT is not in the exact same space for everyone. It is generally behind the navel, a few fingers within usually, sometimes above and sometimes below. And on average it is higher in women than in men. You start training/cultivating, and it develops where it develops. Interestingly, the instructors say there is less variation in the locations of the other two DTs.

I read some where that "Tibetan Buddhism" is at least as much Tibetan as it is Buddhist.

How long ago was this? And are you still doing this technique?

I can shoot rainbows out my ding-dong. Let's meet.

So if someone does FPCK, should one refrain from doing other breathwork? Or is it okay if there is a span of an hour between? I have been looking into some YouTube channels by some Wim Hof instructors (although they seem to have made some changes), some freedivers and pranayama people, and doing some breathwork and some breath holds. Thanks for the response on the long form meditation.

That sounds more like side splits than horse stance.

I think depth is more a determinant of difficulty than width.

I just tried ten minutes yesterday using another video by this same group. My shoulders were pretty sore. I think I will slowly increase time until I can get to 30 minutes.

If you get bored you could always sing that classic song: You swing your arms past your hips On every fifth: you dip and dip

Here is a paragraph from that page: "An ancient Chinese proverb says 'Do this exercise five hundred times each day & you will be healthy for a long life. Do this exercise a thousand times each day & you will live forever.'" I wonder if you start this later in life, like age 60. Would you still live forever? Or at least a long time? Is it ever too late to start qigong?

How long does that many repetitions take?

Anecdotal, but the vegans I have known who were vegans for political/ethical/environmental reasons always seemed healthier than people who were vegans for health reasons.

Thanks for the response. I hope you have gotten to the bottom of this and put it behind you.

What do you mean by "getting more huang"? A search on the site shows that it is usually referring to people named Huang.

I have no experience with this topic. Looking at the Wikipedia article it is more prevalent than I thought. Will you be doing this on a regular basis? I think we should start Nuralshamal bingo cards to keep up with you.

Maybe someone needs to do to Falun Gong what was done w/TM: Take the technique, and leave out the bad stuff.

Does this mean when someone does the Vol.4 Lnog Form Standing Meditation that they can stop doing the preceding 7 standing meditations?

There is something similar in a school of ninjitsu. The late Glenn Morris wrote about it in "Path Notes of an American Ninja Master", although now they use a wooden sword. I don't know if they closed their eyes, but the master would attack from behind, and they had to get out of the way at the right moment.

When you write about how this mantra makes you uncomfortable, it reminds me of that old joke: A man says to his doctor: "It hurts when I move my arm like this." And the doctor says: "Then don't move your arm like that." But seriously ladies and gents: Has anyone compated chundi to the Vajrasattva mantra for eliminating bad karma?

I just dismiss any questions about cannabis, or booze, or LSD, or la-la-wasca, or whatever the junk de jour is. The world is full of people that just want to get drunk or get high. If that is what I wanted, I would not be here.

Someone w/good photoshop skills should alter that to: "Loose hips sink qi". I do like the look of WWI and WWII posters, even though the circumstance was terrible. WW-style posters promoting Daoism would be interesting.