Howdy!
Just wanted to share some experiences that I've had while practicing FP and also talk a bit about what I've been working on. I reached out to Sifu Terry via email and he suggested that I post about my experiences and practice here.
I've been practicing the material in Vol.1 and Vol. 2 since I received it around Jul 12.
On the weekdays, I've been doing 30 minutes of the standing meditations during the day and another 60 minutes of sitting meditations at night.
On the weekends, I've been doing 60+ minutes of standing meditations and then 60+ minutes of sitting meditations at night.
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Something happened on my first day of practice that was so surprising, that I've been walking on air ever since.
Jul 12
I was standing in Monk Gazes at Moon for maybe 20 minutes, on that first day, when Flying Phoenix fixed my shoulder. My arm, the fingers of both hands, and part of my back kept moving and adjusting... all on their own. Pressure built up inside my deltoid and eventually, this 'dam' washed away like it was never there. An electric green/blue light (like a neon sign) shown around the fingers and then it just faded away.
WOW.
For context, my right shoulder was giving me a lot of grief. Something deep in the muscle or fascia was tight, stuck/fixed, whatever you want to call it. Perpetual sense of weakness and limited range of motion that was becoming worse and worse over ~6 months.
I had tried all sorts of stretching, twisting, and massage trying to work that issue out - nothing worked - but FP did.
The energy seems to make my body want to move. At times, the energy feels like it is actually guiding my posture. Not a lot, right, but tweaks.
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Aug 2
22nd day of practice.
9 rounds of BTB in the morning. Horse stance felt good and stable. Coordinating my limbs during the rise/fall and push/pull seems to be getting easier.
Monk Holds Peach was CRAZY today. ~17 minutes before I counted out.
Counted in, FP energy came gently. No dramatic releases or drastic change in mindset - briefly happy, then calm.
My hips and torso did their thing - gentle twists back and forth like a washing machine. Some gentle jerks forward, like a nod or short bow, and the Peach bouncing and vibrating along.
New thing for me: pulled into a gentle backwards bend at the waist, like my body wanted to perform some weird cross between a bridge and the leaning portion of Wind Through Treetops. This happened thrice - gentle backwards bend, snap back to upright form, gentle backwards bend, pulled into forward jerk, and back to gentle backwards bend.
New and crazy thing for me: From the backwards bend, I was pulled down into a deep forward bend (seriously deep, somewhere between an ardha uttanasana and uttanasana. I continued holding onto the peach, while my body and the FP energy did its thing. There was no pain or discomfort - I don't think I've ever bent like that so effortlessly. Ever. My amazement brought me out of the moment, so I began to count myself out and finally stood upright.
After the meditation, I noticed that my spine felt "long and open". My intuition suggests that MHPeach may be working to open/strengthen my spine.
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The system is awesome. I've also experienced stress relief, a general sense of peace and calm, and much better sleep since I began practicing 22 days ago.
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Questions
At times during MHPeach and BTB, sometimes I shake or sway, and my balance will shift in ways that make me think that I should be losing my balance - but I haven't yet fallen over. Has anyone ever shaken/swayed/been pulled off their feet while practicing these meditations?
During the MSW meditations, when the hands are brought down to around the level of the throat and the hands and forearms are rotated from facing-away to facing-toward, before hands are brought together in 'pearl' mudra, when should I begin the slow rotation? At the level of the throat? At the level of the shoulder? This is a part of my practice that I'm trying to iron out - sometimes, I think that I begin the rotation too early, and the rotation is stiff or sticky.
Does anybody have any tips for a newbie?
Happy practicing everybody,
Robert
