Junbao

I love running once or twice a week. Otherwise I do a lot of cycling. I keep it seperate from my qigong. At least saving it till after so my heart rate is slow and calm while doing qigong. I love running and being outdoors. Opens my lungs and sinuses and mind. Warms up my whole body! I like running trails a LOT! I tried the barefoot running style but it was not for me. I like the chi running style as it's more of a midfoot strike. I feel that for me at least, there is a natural foot placement that happens depending on speed and terrain. When I'm walking I naturally roll heel to toe. When I run at a steady pace I naturally midfoot strike, and when I sprint I move up to the balls of my feet. Sometimes I'll send the Orbit around while I'm running. Almost imagining it like being on a hampster wheel! :-p

Ha! That is on an old Friends episode! ;-p I agree with you. Just because something makes you feel better doesn't mean the action is selfish. There is the reason and there is the reward. The reason is to be helpful to others, the reward is to the benefit of both! Glad to see that your spirits are up and things are turning around for you :-)

A plus one for me on the Yoga and Tai Chi combo! :-) I also start with an Egoscue daily routine for postural balance, and end with horse stance training and pull-ups, push-ups, hanging leg raises for abs, and squats. Yoga is awesome for the core and physical body, and Tai Chi smooths everything out into a rolling wave of a flow. I also enjoy Tai Chi for it's martial side will play like I am fighting off bandits ;-p Also cutting out any carbs that are not high in fiber and eating smaller portions plays hugely into keeping lean. Dude...have you seen Hit from Calisthenics Kingz? I guess he is doing some stuff with Hannibal. Awesome!

It's an interesting subject for sure! My wife and I dance a few nights a week at a local Inn. We have been hanging out and getting to know all the old timers. Many are in there mid 80's and they have no problem dancing and laughing and talking all night. Not to long ago there was a man celebrating his 93 birthday and he danced and moved like he was middle aged. They all are just normal folks living normal lives. I think it's the joy they are able to express that brings out their youthful nature. I work at an awards shop where we do trophies and plaques and engraving. Someone came in the other month to get an award for a gentleman to commemorate his service in the military. He was 105. None of these people are cultivators that I know of. Except Thelma. She is in her 80's and as we were talking one night I found that she does Tai Chi. We had fun talking about it and comparing forms and stances. She is a spry southern woman who I never really expected to be into Tai Chi but there you go. :-) Anyway, I agree that is seems most (not all) Qi cultivators do not live longer than average. I don't know the reason but it seems like an accurate observation. I cultivate to increase the quality of my life. I'm not so worried about the length of it. I know I can help though by eating right and getting exercise and smoothing out my mind and my Qi. But when it's time for me to shed my body and release my spirit...well won't that be an awesome adventure as well? I'm 39 this year on 12/12...next year I am turning 40 on 12/12/12. Freaky....haha... I still have a long way to go and a lot to learn. I've decided to live to 100 and then go for my next goal from there. Ultimately for me it's about how my time is spent while I am here. To me cultivating my body and mind are the tools to enjoy life and see things in an exciting and fun way. It shouldn't be seen as a duty or commitment to fullfill. Have any of you seen this guy do his qigong sets??? He is loosening up his whole body and mind and having the most fun!!! Peace!

The forest is pine, the path is about wide enough for two people to pass each other. The cup is at a cross in the path sitting in the center. Silver, flat on top and bottom and rounds on the side, like a sphere with the ends cut off. No handles. No designs. It's a cup, someone told me so, so I notice it and then move along to see what's next. The key is also at a cross sitting in the center. It's gold and looks just like an ordinary house key. I have no real feelings about the key. I don't need a key at the moment and I was not searching for a key but someone pointed it out and I looked. Now I find I am on my bike riding so I see the lake but it's more like scenery as I go by. I don't notice too much more than it being a lake and that I am happy to be riding by it and to have a chance to see it. The house is ordinary. Not to large. Just about big enough for a couple or a small family. I don't pay much attention to it. At this point I am starting to feel like I am playing ZORK. The wall is cement or stone. Either way it is smooth. It's a warm sunny day and the wall provides some shade. I'm happy I can sit and lean against it. I might take a nap if I can get comfy enough. After my rest I get back on my bike and head back the other direction. I might stop by the lake on my way back, and I am wondering if the key works in the door of the house, and if the cup has anything in it to drink because I am getting a little thirsty. Or maybe there is a water fountain at the lake. Ha ha...thanks Wall! You really made me rethink all the stuff I saw on the way here and see and understand it's usefulness! :-)

Hey cool! Since your mentioning suppliment stuff for cheap, I get Spirulina and Maca powder SUPER cheap from nutsonline.com. They are each about $10 per pound. They taste soooo good mixed together too :-) I'll have the check out this place too since nutsonline.com doesn't really carry herbs.

Yerba Mate BIG TIME :-) I might have half cup of coffee some days, but I'm loving the Mate. Bulk at local food co-op with tea pot and tea ball Actually I am just getting over a cold and going to pick up some local honey this morning for a treat!

367 :-)

Hi Taobums! I have been practicing Primordial Qigong for about a month now and it has been one of the most grounding and opening qigong sets I have ever learned. I found some old threads here where people had discussed practicing this form. I was hoping you wouldn't mind sharing your experiences with this form; if you still practice, how long practiced, results you saw from your practice. Did anyone ever get up to the recommended 4 sets a day? I have Winn's video and the book from Rubbo. They are both good to me, although neither one of them teaches it the same and it makes me wonder if they didn't each change a little something to make it their own. Like Winn closing with 9 stroked and Rubbo 10. To me it seems that once you learn the basics of the form you get a clear idea of what works for you. Every time I do it it's a bit different, kind of like doing the Tai Chi form. Another form that Zhu Hui taught was Lotus Qigong. I REALLY would like to learn this form but can not find anything on it other than students of his mentioning it on websites. To complicate things further there are a lot of sets out there called Lotus Qigong. Rubbo has a clip where they do what looks like and opening movement to the form, and Bingkun Hu has a qigong for stretching video where some movements look similar, but that is as far as I have gotten. If anyone had any resource for learning this set I would be so grateful. Looking at old photos of Zhu Hui he embodies what I am looking for. He looks light and healthy, and always has a BIG smile. (IDK why so many photos of masters they are overweight and look like they are about to whoop ass! ;-p) Peace! -Josh cool photo of Zhu Hui with Winn, Rubbo, Bingkun Hu and others :-)

Yay...just finished learning the standing long form tonight :-) I'm really excited to see how the practice of this one goes. I plan on doing this along with the 3 seated Monk Serves Wine meds. I know a few of you have learned the long form. Would anyone like to share their experiences with this one? Perhaps how often and what time of day? I'll be sure to post back with how it goes for me. I plan to do this one at least once per day, two at the most though. Thanks all!

IDK about only rice. Do you have links about the benefits of this? It would be interesting to read. Seems like a lot of carbs and starch to me? Although brown rice is a lot better than white in that regard. Now living on just berries and nuts.... that I could do! Right now I am just loving almonds and dried fruits.

So interesting practice last night...it was a full moon and so I though what a fun way to practice MGAM under the full moon. I went out into the moonlight, faced the moon, and began the breathing. After about 8 min. or so I started to look at how my fingers faced each other...what the hand position looked like and how the moonlight reflected off my hands. Then I started to notice what looked like a really light mist rising up from the space between my hands. Then I noticed it lightly swirling around my arms and head. A super light mist. Nothing I felt physically, and nothing weird or freaky...just kinda like when you look just above the water in a hot tub and see the steam over the top. I finished my meditation at about the 15 min. mark and came in for bed. Anyway, it was kinda neat. Nothing I was looking for but then there it was. Has anyone had this happen before? I couldn't tell if it was my energy or something hanging out. I figure it was my energy since I noticed it rising from my hands and then out and around, but IDK about this kind of thing. Try it if you can though! MGM under the full moon

Thank you so much for this reminder about BTB It's come at just the time I needed it. It's as if you have answered a question I had only mentally asked.

Hi All!!! I took a break from qigong for a while but came back to it recently and so I came back to read this thread and am happy that it keeps going and keeps growing I recently picked back up doing monk holding peach, and bending the bows. I just stumbled upon and have learned the Primordial/Wuji qigong and have been finding the two quite compatible. I start with monk holding peach which is a nice start since it is stillness, then I move into bending the bows which initiates movement while the feet are still rooted. From there I do the Wuji qigong which focuses on the 5 elements and moves though the four directions. Monk Holding Peach is working great for dissolving the sense of the physical self, Bending the Bows is awesome for gathering and washing and also helping me to roll in the thighs and open the lower back (something postural I am trying to work on). Great stuff!

It's not deep or anything but I see a really cool looking spot that I would love to have as like a secret get-away refuge. Like go explore around for a while and then find some place quiet to just sit and listen to the water and relax. I would hope that guy in the picture wasn't there though because he keeps looking over the edge like that, like he is going to jump in the water or something, and I am not the best swimmer so IDK if I could save him. But then again maybe he would teach me Flying Kung Fu and we would ascend to the top of the falls to explore further. Fun picture!

Yes I agree. I am not looking for answers, I am just asking questions.

Hmm...how does someone know they are free? Something you decide with your mind? Then is it the mind that decides weather you are trapped or free? If it were not for your mind you would just be you, there would be no trapped and there would be no free...just you. Like when I go for my run this morning, I am just me, a guy running. Of course my mind works to keep me from running into things, but in the end it's just me...a guy running. When you throw the idea of freedom out there you imply the idea of trapped. What can you be free from if you were never trapped? Or maybe you trapped yourself and now you have decided to free yourself? I'm sure we can all agree, that would be a wonderful thing

Running works great for me as well! Also cycling does the same too. Especially running trails. My mind is required to focus on a small and simple task but my attention cannot stray or I will trip over a rock or miss proper foot placement. At the same time, my spirit feels elated and free to be out in nature and enjoying creation!!! Blissful indeed!

Hi QGLover I'm sure Sifu Terry will provide better answers for you but in the mean time here are some short answers I can give you my opinion on... 1) Diet...your body should run better on better foods, but AFAIK Flying Phoenix does not suggest anything particular. At least from what I have gotten from discussion here. One thing I remember Sifu Terry mentioning was that eating to bad for too long with deplete some of the FP energy you have built up. (I think he said that) 2) Indoors is better when you are learning. 3) I think it's a great time to practice. If you are like me then your body should already be very calm and relaxed from a good nights sleep. Either way I think it's a good time. 4) Relax, breathe, relax

Hi Soulthriller! As you can see from my nickname here I am also a fan of that film. I got interested in Tai Chi after learning about Qigong. I have always loved watching Kung Fu movies and wanted to take classes as a kid but they were just to much money in a family with 5 kids. Later in life I got interested in learning about energetic stuff, and different theories related. I went to an open house at a massage school and we did a little qigong warm up. I had never heard of qigong before but felt the energy in my palms and it surprised me. So I went crazy buying books and learning this and that and ended up looking into Tai Chi. So it's the best of both worlds for me. Qigong and Kung Fu. And it's also a meditative practice as well so there is another bonus! I also think Tai Chi benefits other areas of life like balance, coordination, fluidity. I don't think about it too much anymore but I do practice it each morning.

I agree on the need for exercise. It is also a type of qi cultivation as we are building and circulating energy when we run, lift weights, dance, etc. I think you make a point and it is something that has crossed my mind a few times as well. You here about some systems master living to be 90, or maybe one or two live through a century, and these are always included as selling points for that system. But then I see normal everyday people who are quite old and happy and healthy that know nothing of qigong. A lady in at my work the other day plays golf with some other women in their 90s. A local woman in her 80s does regular group rides of 40+ miles with the local cycling club. Then on the other side of the coin there are qigong masters that die of cancer, or die in their 60s or 70s. There are smokers that live into their 80s and 30 year olds that die of lung disease. Life can be crazy like that and it makes you wonder why. I guess you also have to question what makes someone a qigong master and what sort of actual benefit that brings to their life. What have they mastered and what has it given them, and what is it we are all looking for that we are so ready to believe, or at least believe in the possibility, that they can give us what we are looking for? I try to look at someone I learn from as being in a place I see myself later in life. For example if they are teaching Tai Chi but are shaky or have bad posture then that is not something I am going to aspire to. Interesting stuff to ponder...

I am up at 6:30, do some Flying Phoenix seated meds, stretching, warm-ups, Tai Chi form. Brows around online for a bit, shower, make spirulina/maca/MSM drink. Head out on my bike and ride around town for a while before heading into work. Work, eat, laugh, play (all possible while at work :-) Ride bike home. Make dinner for wife and I, maybe go out for a walk through town, or listen to a band, or take photos. Sit down to relax. Brows around online, watch some NCIS, have some desert. Some Tai Chi/Qigong before bed. Lights out! :-)

I stopped FP for the last couple weeks as my energy was too intense for me and things normalized rather quickly. Now I am ready to restart but more slowly and in a more relaxed and less serious mental frame of mind. So today I started the 108 days ginger meditation. I am putting all the other FP meds on hold. 108 days, once a day. One piece of ginger in the mouth and MHP while seated in a chair for about 5 min. I will make reports when I notice something worth noting. Thanks again everyone here for the input!

Purpose needs a mind to rationalize a reason. Life just is. You can ponder it all day, and come up with a thousand reasons, one to fit every mood or justify any action, but in the end you are just playing tricks in your head. The tree still grows, the heart still beats, the universe still dances. For me I just try (and I say try because the mind is tricky sometimes) to be honest and sincere in my interactions with people and things, and beyond that just live in harmony with life itself. Big hugs!

I would say the principle of xinxing cultivation is understood however it's practice in this context is misguided IMO. Review intention. Attachments seeking De gained improperly. Let it come natural in daily life. Don't set it up or go looking for it. My humble opinion and nothing more peace!