soaring crane

"open crotch bend knee" -- means, opening the crotch causes the knees to bend. Well, that's how my teachers would explain it anyway.

Hello BillyBob, and welcome to the forums! Glad to have you aboard and thanks for the heads up on the Bitcoins link :-) Please take the time to read the two posts pinned at the top of this Welcome page and take a look at the forum terms and rules. This covers all you need to know when getting started. For the first week you will be restricted to ten posts per day but after that you can post as much as you like. Also, until you’ve posted fifteen times in the forums, you’ll be a “Junior Bum” with somewhat restricted access and will be allowed only two private messages per day. Good luck in your pursuits and best wishes to you, SC and the TTB team ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Special Note: all female members are more than welcome to join the discussions at our new Women’s Cultivation forum, moderated by rainbowvein and zanshin

Awesome :-) I do that in my groups, but only for 30 seconds to 3 minutes haha

With the arms and shoulders, I find it much more effective to simply turn the elbows outward. This opens the armpits and instantly increases qi flow. The actual motion occurs in the shoulder joint. At first the palms will face to the rear, but then you turn the palms inward, careful not to close the armpits or pull the elbows inward or point them to the rear, and.... Wuji :-)

Hello sayan, and welcome to the forums! Glad to have you aboard. What exactly is it you're looking to learn? Maybe you could share a few words about your interests and experiences? That would be much appreciated by all :-) Please take the time to read the two posts pinned at the top of this Welcome page and take a look at the forum terms and rules. This covers all you need to know when getting started. For the first week you will be restricted to ten posts per day but after that you can post as much as you like. Also, until you’ve posted fifteen times in the forums, you’ll be a “Junior Bum” with somewhat restricted access and will be allowed only two private messages per day. Good luck in your pursuits and best wishes to you, SC and the TTB team ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Special Note: all female members are more than welcome to join the discussions at our new Women’s Cultivation forum, moderated by rainbowvein and zanshin

One last thing before bed... The subtle movement I described dissolves at some point into the purely energetic. It's a progression. The smaller the physical movement the bigger the energetic. Like observing a mountain from base to peak. The less base there is, the more light you see. But the mountain is there even when all you can is sky. I'm sure Taomeow can describe it more competently, and I hope she does :-)

This thread is a pretty good example of why authentic zhan zhuang is a deeper subject than is usually thought. BUT standing meditation is a great practice that anyone can do and doesn't need to be complicated at all

only have a moment but I want to to jump in and clarify something -- when I really practice standing still, ZZ, i'm not really still. I was taught that the pelvis is always in motion, softly, so subtle as to be imperceivable to an observer, and that movement moves migmen through the yin and yang cycles that Tm mentions, and the wave motion that was mentioned previously. Lam Kam Chüen does this, too, but doesn't talk about it or write about it. It isn't really the tailbone, it's weilü that is active. The idea of the tailbone is just a way of making it easier to grasp, and integrate. You can do the same thing by pulling the pelvic bone upward via the abdominal muscles (as a training method, a way of activating the motion, but not as a permanent situation). This is one of the htings that, as Chang indicated, really goes too far for text descriptions

oh, beautiful city! I have an open inivitation from a friend to come to Prague for a weekend, maybe someday soon :-)

It's really a springtime poem, but here's one of my absolute favorites ever, from one of my favorite human merely beings. And again, I wouldn't know what to bold or point out or explain. The spirit of the universe is alive and singing in every single line: i thank You God for most this amazing day:for the leaping greenly spirits of trees and a blue true dream of sky; and for everything which is natural which is infinite which is yes (i who have died am alive again today, and this is the sun’s birthday; this is the birth day of life and of love and wings: and of the gay great happening illimitably earth) how should tasting touching hearing seeing breathing any–lifted from the no of all nothing–human merely being doubt unimaginable You? (now the ears of my ears awake and now the eyes of my eyes are opened) -- e.e. cummings

Hello tara, and welcome to the forums! Glad to have you aboard. I live in Germany, Northern Bavaria, about 100km from the Czech border. On the other side of the mountains so to speak. Where are you located, if it's for me to ask? Please take the time to read the two posts pinned at the top of this Welcome page and take a look at the forum terms and rules. This covers all you need to know when getting started. For the first week you will be restricted to ten posts per day but after that you can post as much as you like. Also, until you’ve posted fifteen times in the forums, you’ll be a “Junior Bum” with somewhat restricted access and will be allowed only two private messages per day. Good luck in your pursuits and best wishes to you, SC and the TTB team ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Special Note: all female members are more than welcome to join the discussions at our new Women’s Cultivation forum, moderated by rainbowvein and zanshin

Hello Tom, and welcome to the forums! Glad to have you aboard :-) Please take the time to read the two posts pinned at the top of this Welcome page and take a look at the forum terms and rules. This covers all you need to know when getting started. For the first week you will be restricted to ten posts per day but after that you can post as much as you like. Also, until you’ve posted fifteen times in the forums, you’ll be a “Junior Bum” with somewhat restricted access and will be allowed only two private messages per day. Good luck in your pursuits and best wishes to you, SC and the TTB team ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Special Note: all female members are more than welcome to join the discussions at our new Women’s Cultivation forum, moderated by rainbowvein and zanshin

Procreated

Here's another topic I'm curious about: Dealing with latecomers. How do you react to people who show up late for a class or session? Do you tell them beforehand what you expect? Me: I tell people better late than not at all, and we're all adults with busy lives and I understand completely when the show up late, and even feel honored that they went to the effort. But I stress that they should definitley not come into a group late and start apologizing and saying hello. If they come late, they have to do their best to come in quietly, as invisible as possible, and wait till the first break to say hello. This just happened last Thursday evening. One of my favorites is a physical therapist with her own practice, and I know that she's overworked, and always rushes to get to the lessons on time, and often comes in during the warm-up period. Last week, she came a full 20 minutes late and was effusively apologetic. But, I asked her why she was so late and she said she had had patients who needed extra time and she just couldn't get out of the practice soon enough. I went over and gave her a big hug and told her thank you! Really, she was all stressed out, has a busy life, but puts in the effort to come to my class. It's a genuine honor for me :-) (I know one teacher who actually locks the door to her "temple of taiji" on the minute and nobody gets in -- or presumably out -- after that minute)

haha, yeah, well, not because anyone wants to avoid it but it's a huge topic (and the thread had only been posted a few hours). The strangest occurences happen to me personally. I read minds, passively, and converse with participants on an energetic level, I pick up their thoughts, and they sometimes sense it. But you mean something else. I luckily haven't had to really deal with any flipped-out people in my groups, but heavy emotions do come up, especially with beginners. It has to do with regaining contact to the body, and to the regions where the various emotions are "stored" (it's more complicated than that). I have to do this through anecdote. There was a woman who suddenly started having a panic attack, became afraid and jittery, wanted to run away. I asked her to please turn around and look out the window (which meant turning her back to the group) and stand still with her hands on her upper stomach. Then I just instructed her through a few deep belly breaths, guided her attention to her feet, to her roots, deep, deep, deep ... Then had her cover her eyes with her hands and just listen actively to the little bit of qigong instruction that I continued with in the background. She felt comfortable doing this, and relaxed, and forgot about the incident. As soon as I finished, I had them all sit on the floor and go through a pretty robust foot massage. She was totally normal by the end and then she told us a pretty shocking story that had happened to her a good ten years prior, and that the emotions had come up during practice. When normal qi "side effects" pop up -- shaking, yawning, hot or cold flashes, etc -- I basically say that this is normal and don't judge or analyse, and take a break if you feel it's necessary. I'm always careful to tell people that they should not be timid about taking a break when they feel they need it. In fact, I stress that concentrated observation of the instruction is a form of meditation in itself, and often the better choice compared with listening to instruction, watching the instructor and perform the movements all at the same time ... but I digress. Again.

not sure how to understand that within the context of this thread ... ??

Spotless -- I'd enjoy participating in a group like yours. Not teaching, but participating :-) Of the teachers who've replied so far, no two are alike. I think that's interesting, and a little lovely. Martial arts, health, energy arts, enlightenment ... it's all there.

Oh, I know, people say it and write it all the time, but that correction is for alignment purposes, not depth. Aligned with the toes and max depth to just where you can see the tips of the toes, is how it should be worded. Simply bending at the knees (going into a shallow squat) to that depth is going to put too much pressure on them, block the flow, and give you knee trouble over time (unless you've got all the other elements of the alignments mastered, see Chang's post above). Doing it the way I described will result in your natural depth (which may well be quite deep, but probably not that deep). It's a simple concept if you think of qigong as methods to boost qi flow. The book doesn't seem to be available for a normal price at amazon.com ... I paid 38 Euro, and it was worth every euro-cent. Peter den Dekker is a long (very long) -time direct student of Sifu Lam and Lam himself has praised the book in glowing terms.

I really don't like to contradict someone directly but feel this is a real misunderstanding (edit: just noticed that you worded it differently in the teacup thread). I see it often enough. Don't "bend the knees" at all, even if Sifu Lam says to do it in his book. And don't think that "bending slightly at the knees" has any kind of beneficial effect, whether energetic or biomechanical. The great Asian masters can do this because everything else is in place, but we westerners can cause more problems than benefits for ourselves when we do it. Keep the knees loose and relaxed. A simple way to goo about it is to lock them intentionally to the rear, holding the tension for maybe 15 seconds, then inhaling and on the exhale just release the tension. That's it. Avoid going any deep than that. Make mental note of that relaxed feeling in the knees, the light springiness, and try to maintain it, call it up, at regular intervals while standing. The more advanced way to "bend at the knees" is the classic pelvic tilt, the sinking of the sacrum likewise the pulling of the tailbone to the front. This movement should result in the weight shifting slightly to the heels and the knees should give way, but passively, lightly. I think, too, that it's a mistake to get too heavily involved in the advanced levels of posture without an experienced person to check and make corrections. But I also believe that standing meditation is extremely effective and can be done other ways. Btw, here's an even better book, especially for beginners, but even the most advanced gurus will find inspiration in it: The Dynamics of Standing Still

I know some easy techniques that you can get started with. It wouldn't really be ZZ but a good into... Can write more later

to address some of my own topics: was an issue for me for quite a while, and was stressful. I was teaching Soaring Crane qigong which for the layperson has a few complicated movements. I used to cater too much to the beginners during the bulk of a session, and then go through the entire form at the end. But these days, I concentrate more on my experienced participants and let the newbies catch up over time. Turns out, they prefer it this way. When I first started teaching, I idealistically thought that the qigong and the teacher could create a positive atmosphere anywhere. But these days, I refuse to hold classes in places like elementary schools where we have to shove desks to the walls and return them when we're finished. I need enough room for all my people to feel comfortable and be able to stretch out. They're different worlds. Indoors, things are much quieter and the qi-experience can beome very intense. The air can get stale and people can get sleepy. I always have to remember to air the rooms out. Outdoors is much better, and I always stress than qigong should be as connected to the natural world as possible. But from a teaching standpoint, there can be a lot of challenges outdoors e.g. noise (meaning I have to raise my voice), bugs, wind, changing weather, gawkers ... plus, standing on natural surfaces is less stable than a hardwood floor and some moves are more difficult for participants (but better training) I try not to touch people if possible, and especially not beginners. But I do get in there and correct individually if I feel it's a simple matter that can be cleared up quickly. I sometimes pair people off and have one practice while the other observes, then I go to the pairs help out. I used to do very little warm up, and very gently, but I've lately gotten used to doing a more physical, gymnastic warm-up routine that regularly lasts about 15-20 minutes and includes swinging, circling, bouncing movements, plus self-massage. Nothing truly strenuous, it's still qigong, but more physical than a lot of teachers I know. I stress that these exercises are very healthy on their own (and also that they are qigong) and that people shouldn't wait a week for their next qigong lesson with me before doing them (daily practice is where it's at). Then comes step-by-step instruction in the main form. With my advanced group, I go over individual movements from the form, concentrating on how to go through the motion. For example, maybe it just looks like the left leg is being raised in preparation for a step-out. But it starte with sinking the pelvis and guiding the weight too the rooted leg while sensing the other leg growing progressively lighter, etc ... This kind of thing is what I might have them do in pairs, for example. Then we practice the form. I basically practice my qigong and let my internal script run, describing in words what I'm doing and experiencing. With more advanced people, I mention the highlights, the litlte things that have a big effect. In the clinic with the patients, of course, I have to describe every step and watch the group closely to see that the my description is getting through.

haha well, more like an oblivious doofus in the sights of a she-wolf slash powerfrau princess accustomed to always getting what she wants. But, to answer your question more obliquely... I'm going to sleep on it. But I suppose that's another valid topic for this discussion: avoiding (or encouraging?) strong emotions in your participants. It's a difficult issue. There is in fact one in my Grandma group who flirts pretty openly with me. I walk a fine line between refusing her and insulting her, and playing along. Jeepers, I want to keep this thing on focus, Chang, why did you have to nail me to the wall with that one? just kidding goodnight

and in roughly the same ratio as water to land on planet Earth :-)

Hey, thank you Steve! You wrote that while I was typing away ... I'd like to know what you teach and what do you do for warm-up and closing.

So, anyway, my current schedule looks like this, three very different situations: Monday afternoon/evenings, four groups back-to-back (with a 60-minute break in the middle) at a private clinic for psychosomatic ailments, about a 25 minute drive for me. The clinic is very nice, not exactly luxury, but small and able to provide patients with personal care. Patients generally stay three to six weeks, and don't usually return after being discharged. This means I don't see the same people for very long, and there are always new patients coming to the groups. The clinic organizes the groups according to abilities, two sessions for the less-abled (suppoed to be sitting sessions but if I feel the participants can stand for an hour, we do it standing) and two for the more fit. With these groups, I focus mainly on self-masage and really easy exercises that give quick results and don't need a lot of instruction to master. I hand out written scripts of everything I do, in short form, and have made a video of the self-massage routine for them. Qigong forms vary from a simple five-element sequence to teacup movements and Swimming Dragon. My chief wish for these groups is that they feel inspired to take over the lion's share of their road to wellness, so to speak. To get them out of the passive patient role and into the active role of a person who takes control of his own health and well-being. The resonance here is astounding, and that's the reason I keep this 'gig'. It's far an away the most rewarding qigong experience for me. The nurses regularly report that the patients often ask when "Herr William" will be returning. I'm generally quite worn-out when I get home Monday evenings, and sometimes sleep restlessly. I clear/clean myself after the classes, but this is a lot of clinical, chronic illness for me to be confronted with. Tuesday mornings are great (if sometimes a little sleepy, haha). This is my Grandma group. The core group is made up of about ten elderly women, average age somewhere between 65 and 70. I've been with them for going on six years now. The course is technically run through the "Volkshochschule" (Adult Education Organization) and officially registered through them. The good thing about offering classes through this kind of oganisation is that they do the advertising and find the rooms. They pay next to nothing (36 Euro for 90 minutes) but I keep this group going because I just love my Oma's and they love me. A group of four of them drive close to 40 minutes every Tuesday morning to attend classes. I'll write more about this group later. The only other regular class that I hold is Thursday evenings at a Taiji/Qigong association. I've been there about eight years. The President of the association asked me to take over the Qigong classes because she 'liked the way I move'. That's what she said, anway. Turned out that she had designs on me, but that's long history now and the class has evolved over the years into my advanced group. I'll write more about this one later, too. I do a few other things, but those are my main classes and enough writing for now! :-)