soaring crane

Hey effi - I don't want to sound all pedantic or argumentative, because I'm not, but, virtually every line in that text would need a full paragraph if not a few pages of further explanation to ensure that the student is genuinely understanding what's being asked. Just one example: This is very common, you read it all the time, not only in Qigong practice. And there's nothing "wrong" with it in itself, however, I know from experience that a large percentage of people who do this based solely on what they read here, are going to do it wrong. They're not going to bring Baihui to the middle, which is the goal of the movement; they're going to lift the chin upward, "aiming" Baihui toward the back and pinching the neck vertebrae closed, a very unfortunate mistake that can lead to a host of problems, on various levels. Even telling people to lay the hands on the abdomen will get you all kinds of results. I've had to have people lift up their shirts and stick their finger literally in the navel, and massage vigorously, just to get them to remember where it is, so they can actually place their hands below it. Also, the text doesn't go to the original point of the thread of how to acheive the MCO specifically without visualization. About half of of the description involves abstract imagery. "Allow the 'inner vision' to connect to the Lower Dantian", for example. Even 'inner vision' is put in quotes because it's more of an abstract concept than a specific physical action. There are ways to do the same thing without imagery but it would take a lot of writing to describe them, and the risk that they won't be performed correctly is very high. The text you quoted is fine, but it's more like a list of reminders a teacher might distribute to his or her students, people who've trained with him or her and know the background and, most importantly, have had their mistakes gently corrected so that they can get the most out of the exercise while limiting the risks.

That's a good point, too. I'd add that, when you've done the same ritual closing a couple thousand times, it becomes more of an energetic move, a thought, a wish, an intention, than a mechanical gesture. What I'm saying is, there are cases where the actual closing ritual doesn't actually have to be "performed", but a sense of conclusion, of turning the page to a new chapter, should always be there. And in case of doubt, go through the routine every time. fwiw - a 90 minute session with me is generally built on three main phases: 1) a somewhat vigorous warm-up, 2) the Qigong, 3) the concluding self-massage. But, each of these can occur in phases as well, with a dose of spontanaeity sprinkled about dependent on the theme and the group dynamic of the moment. There'll be a closing move, a gathering and centering, a return to the middle (LDT) each time we shift gears or turn a corner. So, in 90 minutes, it's possible that we'll "close" 6-9 times, with the big ritual closing as I described it earlier saved for the end. The big lights go up, curtain drops, applause all around, and we leave the stage. But the session is always a seamless "whole".

Ah, ok, i see what you mean there, and of course thats true. They actually put artificial mouse flavor in commercial cat food, and 'meadow' flavoring in industrial cow feed... Sick sick sick :-(

In addition to the dosage, wouldn't the quality of the product play a tremendous role in something like this? I don't know about Ginko Balboa but I know that Johanniskraut (St. John's Wort) has been tested and found ineffective in the US and yet it was tested and found highly effective in Germany. The difference was in the product itself. In Germany, you can only by these kind of supplements in pharmaceutical quality, from the pharmacy (at pharmaceutical prices, unfortunately, but at least they work). What the Americans used in their study (the study cited in the article I read) was inferior and cheap, it would not even have gotten certification in Germany. The dosage was also not close to the 600mg recommended by the German study. So, apples and oranges, really. Regardless, a lot of Americans would be influenced by a flawed study, and subsequently buy into the hype that only toxic synthetic medications are effective in treating their problems (which I have no trouble believing was the real motivation behind the US study anyway). So, maybe Ginko Balboa is not necessarily Ginko Balboa.

Funny thing about all the strict quality regulations in Germany - they only apply to domestic German manufacturers, but not to all the imported products that flood the shelves at the stores. Question: How would a cat ever get milk from a cow, without human intervention? Milk is for babies, and very specific babies at that. You want a healthy cat, let her catch her meals

I just wanna say... you're a trip, dude ... I love it

Please don't take this to heart Non but, this is the kind of advice 5Elements was warning against. Your info is sort of, almost right in some ways, or not. It's just enough to get someone heading off onto a track that'll lead them astray, or not. First thing to do is, drop all reference to Chakras. These things are complicated enough without mixing and matching conflicting disciplines and philosophies. My take - the MCO is a built-in feature in virtually all Qigong routines, it's always one of the goals. We inhale, we exhale, we lift up, we settle down, Renmai and Dumai breathe in concert with us and our movements. You don't really have to get into heavy alchemical meditation to strengthen it. Just keep yourself healthy at first, learn a well-established routine that appeals to you, learn to relax while practicing, enjoy it and take your time. Why do so many people want to go straight into advanced alchemical practice? In the old days, the MCO wouldn't even be mentioned superficially until a high level of rudimentary development had been acheived.

huh, that's interesting to me 'cause I don't really think of it as separate and don't "announce" it ("Ok, that was the Qigong, and now we're gonna "close" things up for today..."). The progression is seamless, there's no break in the rhythm or the breath, at any time. But I never really gave specific thought to the benefit of doing this way. Thanks

Gesundes Neues! :-) And a fantastic 2010 to all you Bums :-)

Standing is integrated, hard-wired, into our survival instincts. It's got something much older attached to it than sitting does.

huh... Testicular breathing is a new one on me, too, lol. I mean, yes, breathing techniques mirror themselves in the testicles, sure, but I don't think I've seen it put exactly that way before... I assume your abdominal breathing is "classic", ie, expand on the inhale, is that right? In that case, I would expect "them" to tend to drop on the inhale and rise on the exhale. If you learn to reverse your breathing technique, then they ought to rise up in the inhale. More important is what the Huiyin cavity is doing. If you practice reverse abdominal breathe, then Qihai, Huiyin, Mingmen and the "boys" down there will all travel in the direction of the Xiadantian (LDT) on the inhale, as it should be And they'll expand on the exhale, naturally. They'll move away from the center. In the case of your man-eggs, that'll mean downward, unless you're into some really creative forms But also, like you said, maybe you were just tensed up and not in the proper frame of mind to do this stuff. In which case, maybe it's better to go for a long walk instead. I wouldn't go nuts over it.

Is Jesus in Germany by any chance? It's probably just the grammatical structure in his posts, but somehow I feel he's close by. Anyone know?

No, though I'd be thrilled to meet him. I had some contact with the Taoist Restoration Society about 10-11 years ago and was involved in some discussions with him, basically Q&A stuff. He's a very impressive, humble scholar. I have a few of his books and they're up there with the best of the best. If you have a chance, ask him what happened to Brock Silvers and the TRS, ok? I'd really like to know if they're still active in some way but it seems they just went *poof*, no sign of them on the interwebs anymore.

Hey enouch - have you sunk yourself into the swimming dragon? I'm re-discovering it now as I'll be teaching it at a new class starting mid-January. It's one of my all-time favorite, wonderful, all-round forms. Hope you enjoy it, too

Thanks so much to you, for resurrecting the thread which many would not have seen otherwise I wonder if Michael Saso was there(?).

wow, crazy thread, for this place fwiw, I've been married for 25 years (yes, to the same woman, lol) and we have ten-year old daughter who I just grow more and more fond of every day. Kids are amazing and they are our teachers. I "knew" that beforehand, but now that I have one here, I know it.

Cats aren't cool at all. I have a big orange one sitting on my lap (laptop balancing on my knees) and she's incredibly warm! Did I mention I'm a cat person? I think Cats are Qigong Meisters. Here's a picture of my Sifu, her name is Lin Zi:

The idea is attractive but I know that if I join a group like that, it'll interfere with the quality of my meditation. I'll be tinking about logging-in to report my experience. I do that with my running at Runner's World.com, but that's not the same thing. So, for those who enjoy it, well, enjoy But I'd suggest feeling for signs that the discussion may be creeping into your meditations. And if it does, and it feels good and beneficial, then great. If it's a distraction, also great, but a lesson at the same time.

Yes, I think the reason so many Americans are confused and unsure of which way to turn, is that their roots lie a few thousand miles away from them. Pick a direction, North, South, East or West. Most "Americans" have no real connection to the land they stand on. Many still hyphenate themselves: Italian-, Polish-, Chinese-, Irish- , -American. It's become completely normal. But really quite a weird and untested brand-new development in human history. As a result, you can join virtually any discussion forum online dominated by Americans (Guitar, Running and Digital Imaging are three themes that come to mind where I've been active in the past) and start a thread on depression and psychoactive drugs. It'll grow to one of the biggest threads at the forum. That's what "ungrounded means", to a large extent. No? Well, I'd say I'm just too boring for them. They can't understand that I don't just do gymnastics and breathing exercises. The results are right there in front of them, so to speak, yet they would rather look for guidance from external, more mysterious forces. They tend to run from one guru to the next, which I think is part of the "ungrounded" problem as well. The current hot theme is the "Intraterrestrials", the "Hollow Earth" theory which isn't a theory, it's hard tested and proven fact, according to them

you asked for it... I like your streamlining, I think it'll take concrete form soon. I want to write some stuff later.

Hi Zhoupeng, It's a really good question and I'm looking forward to the answers you get. From my perspective, Qigong exercises, even "static" practices in sitting or standing, are always an attempt to balance Yin and Yang (the and in the middle is important), Body and Spirit, so to speak, and result in a deeper grounding and expanded Geist. I've been reminded from quite a few sources with a lot more authority on this than I have that Qigong should never be done in a trance condition. You should never loose contact to your body while practicing; remain focussed on your activity all the time, even if the activity invloves standing in one place. This is a lot different from my more esoteric, new-agey friends who meditate to gain contact to the spirit world, talk to their spirit guides, contact Archangels, or get aid from Hildegard von Bingen, or whatnot. They have to intentionally do deep rooting meditation before starting. They think they're doing it as a form of protection, so that less-friendly "energies" won't find it so easy to find a place to hook into them, or take a part of them off to the other side, or whatnot. I don't really go along with what they do and, honestly, they're all just a little crazy (another way of saying "ungrounded"). And that, imo, is precisely because they concentrate entirely on the fun spiritual stuff and forget about the leg-work. Virtually everything they do invlolves imagery and imagination and they never really come out of this state. They won't listen to me, and yet, they all rave about how smooth and strong my chakras are (even though I have nothing to do with Chakras) and how well grounded I always am while still able to "give such good energy", in their language. A whole different perspective on being "grounded", which we call "rooted" in German, has to do with feeling comfortable with and within yourself, and with the place where you are at the moment, the place where your roots are growing. I feel a lot more rooted here in good old Europe, where I can trip over 3,000 year old Celtic walls in the woods and where little towns routinely celebrate 1,000 year anniversaries, than I ever did in New York where I was born and raised. Added through edit: Being grounded can mean you don't have the urge to run away from what and where you are right now, no urge to look for external confirmation of your methods and motives. Self-contentment might be a good parallel.

Hi there :-) One of the most fundamental exercises in my groups is 'Finger Breathing'. I was taught a very stripped down version involving a lot of imagery but I've expanded on it a lot over the years, to the point where folks with little to no experience find themselves moving Qi (am I allowed to say 'Qi'?) through their arms and down into the, um, abdomen in a pretty short time. The exercise automatically results in body/breath harmony and trains Dantian (oops) breathing as well. I'd put this kind of exercise, along with some super-simple 'Qi games' at the beginning of the meditation and energetic or spiritual phases. The first thing to do, though, is achieve or maintain basic physical fitness. And the way I'd do that would involve a lot of walking and maybe some light jogging or running. But it should be stressed that running was an integral part of being human for 100s of 1000s of years and so it should be done as a kind of meditation as well, one that can re-connect us to our earliest ancestors.

Gotta love that one For the sex-drive, I've found basic standing meditation to be quite powerful, and have had some very positive feedback on it in this aspect from others. It's actually a side-effect in anyone who practices regularly. A rudimentary feel for Qigong is probably important, Qi has to be flowing, Laogong has to be actively breathing, you need to feel it. But, basically, stand, erect (the spine not the wanger), Baihui in th emiddle, chin tucked slightly inward, palms toward the kua region of the groin( the soft-areas at the inner top of the hips, you can also view it as holding the ball of the lower Dantian from below), let he shoulders sink, knees loose, feet shoulder-width, toes to the front, tip of the sacrum pointed toward the front so the lumbar spine can open comfortably... Face soft, no worries. Just stand there, eyes open, enjoy it for as long as you want, as often as you want. Get it up (lol) to about 30 minutes a day, whereby those 30 minutes will be a pleasure and not a strain, and Bob's yer Uncle. Of course there is a LOT more to it than that, as usual, but that's really enough. Look up info on "Zhan Zhuang" or "Standing like a Tree".

Hey Guy, can you define a little more narrowly what it is you have in mind? You've left an entire universe of possibilities open here. Do you mean a compact Qigong routine, from opening to closing moves and meditations, or an entire program that would be incrementally learned in the course of, for example, one year? I'm not sure what you're asking here... Trying to compete with Ken Cohen?