cheya

The Nei JIng Tu has fascinated me since I first laid eyes on it! It's on the cover of both Chase's and Twicken's books on the Eight Extraordinary Channels, two amazing books that I don't pretend to understand. I've searched the web for commentary, and even got Komjathy's article "Mapping the Daoist Body: the text of the Neijing Tu" in the 2009 Journal of Daoist Studies. Links to any other commentry would be much appreciated! Despite the obsession, I don't really understand much, but the concept of the double (bilateral) waterwheel has been very fruitful for initiating chi flow in ALL areas of the body, not just the feet and dantian. So I tend to agree with taomen's comment that the map can be explored through practice. Anybody else using the Neijng Tu as a map for cultivation?

His book on treatment for injuries (Tooth from the Tiger's Mouth) is a must have, and his book on TuiNa is excellent as well...but too much like WORK for this therapist! :-) Check out these search results for other TaoBums threads on Bisio: http://search.aol.com/aol/search?s_it=searchbox.webhome&v_t=na&q=site%3Athetaobums.com++Bisio (Check out the set up on that search. It's a real handy way to search a site that has a less than stellar search function.)

Meredith is putting out a DVD, available in December: JUICE Zhan Zhuang - The Radical Energetics Drill "This will be a full length tutorial production teaching the exact specifics of the Zhan Zhuang (standing meditation for energy) practice of Zheng Manqing 37 Tai Chi. To my knowledge this has never been presented in any media ever before. The book JUICE Radical Taiji Energetics is all about mindset, which is the absolute pre-requisite. For daily practice there is an optimal specific method that embodies and leverages this mindset..." More details on his blog. You know the way... :-)

Hey Soaring Crane, If you're getting email notifications of any thread updates, there is an "unsubscribe" option at the bottom of the email. If you don't want to unsubscribe to that thread, you can click cancel when you get to the unsubscribe window. Either unsubscribing or canceling will take you to your "content you follow" list, where you can unfollow any other item. Sorry I don't know how to get there directly, but this should work for you.

New research on why we sleep might get you to revise your sleep goals... This is BIG! And actually sounds a little bizarre! Sleep Is Critical for Brain Detoxification, By Dr. Joesph Mercola "Researchers at the University of Rochester Medical Center (URMC) Center for Translational Neuromedicine believe they may have discovered yet another clue as to why sleep is mandatory for good healthespecially brain health. Their report, published in the journal Science reveals that your brain has a unique method of removing toxic waste through whats been dubbed the glymphatic system. The clincher is that this system ramps up its activity during sleep, thereby allowing your brain to clear out toxins, including harmful proteins linked to brain disorders such as Alzheimers for example. Whats more, they discovered that your brain cells actually shrink by about 60 percent during sleep, which allows for more efficient waste removal. According to lead author Maiken Nedergaard, M.D., D.M.Sc., featured in the video above: This study shows that the brain has different functional states when asleep and when awake. In fact, the restorative nature of sleep appears to be the result of the active clearance of the by-products of neural activity that accumulate during wakefulness. " Read more here: http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2013/10/31/sleep-brain-detoxification.aspx?e_cid=20131031Z1_DNL_art_1&utm_source=dnl&utm_medium=email&utm_content=art1&utm_campaign=20131031Z1

"Silvio Manuel came to my side next; he was concerned with practicalities. He gave me a formula, an incantation for times when my task would be greater than my strength; it was the incantation that came to my mind the first time I remembered the Nagual woman. I am already given to the power that rules my fate. And I cling to nothing, so I will have nothing to defend. I have no thoughts, so I will see. I fear nothing, so I will remember myself. Detached and at ease, I will dart past the Eagle to be free." .....The Eagle's Gift I don't actually care if he made it up. Thirty years later, it still gives me chills.

Hey JBH You told people to go to Scott's blog for a laugh, but forgot to supply the link! What's REALLY funny about your question, "So Cheya are you Merideth?" is that, just this morning, I started to wonder the same thing about you! Your posts are such a perfect foil for the message he wants to get out! I just checked when you joined (Jan 2013), and you actually COULD be Meredith! I've been around since April 2007, and you and I BOTH know Meredith wouldn't/couldn't keep quiet about his stuff for 6 years! I'da been outed long ago. But thanks for quickly jumping off the "my vid vs. your vid" wagon train and getting back into the deeper issue of structure's relationship to internal energy. Or something like that. Like I said, I don't even play tai chi, so what do I know! I'm just a chi junkie, and Scott's stuff *does* go there.

Hey JBH Is this the blog post you're referring to? The one with all those pics of internal arts masters pushing/throwing people around with "bad form"? http://cattanga.typepad.com/tabby_cat_gamespace/2013/10/index.html

Hi JBH, Scott discusses your post on his blog.... He says it's a perfect example of "the structural fallacy in Tai Chi", which misses/ignores/obscures the energetics involved. Check it out! I think you'll find it interesting... http://cattanga.typepad.com/tabby_cat_gamespace/2013/10/index.html (Oct 27)

Scott's on a roll! Two more great posts on tai chi energetics. The Five Bows of Tai Chi: energetic vs. biomechanical analysis (Oct 15th) "Let's You and Him Fight": issuing energy in push hands. (Oct 14th) Original translation of Master Li Yaxuans Explanatory Notes on Push Hands (Click through on his link for the expanded translation.) http://cattanga.typepad.com/tabby_cat_gamespace/2013/10/index.html

If you are older and/or if you have high blood pressure, any kind of sustained abdominal compression can cause increased pressure in your head, which could seriously damage your vision (things like retinal detachment) or even cause a stroke. "Spots in your vision" sounds like a contraindication for you, if not for the practice itself, at least for the way you were doing it.

For me, strings of separate one liners and/or hee-hees really dilutes the sense and flow of a thread, and I'm fine with combining posts. Combined posts would be easier to read if posters would use quote and @ to indicate who and what they are responding to on each post, especially if they know they're multi-posting. However, I've found that just putting members who habitually multipost one-liners and hee-hees on ignore has made it less of an issue for me. So... whatever. :-)

"The Song of Qi and Spirit Energy Deployment" Scott translates a "very obscure, kind of minor-league and rarely printed Tai Chi Classic essay by [Chinese name] (1832 - 1892)" describing the origination and path of chi from feet to palms... Very much as Scott describes in the book! Except, as Scott says, A LOT shorter! Fun post! Check it out. http://cattanga.typepad.com/tabby_cat_gamespace/2013/10/index.html (Scroll down to Oct 9.)

Definitely personal preference! Therapists want to play too! (Also important if they have families...)But offering a few non-standard appt times, like Saturday and evenings, should be a plus for building a practice...

I work in a small city with a LOT of activities available. This place rocks! But I don't think all the activities compete with late afternoon therapies. 4-7 pm offers popular slots, as people can go on to their dinner, concerts, whatever... if you haven't made them so relaxed they just want to sleep!

Hey Nungali, I love the image of the intention radiating out with the sound! Any tips on how to tell a "good one" from one made out of old engine blocks? I would guess they sound different...

If you really *get* the alignment instructions in BKF's three swings, you will know how to protect your knees, not just in tai chi, but in every other activity. But if you just look at the exercises and start doing them (incorrectly), your knees will probably take a hit. It's really important to master the first swing before you move on. In the first swing, the leg with the opening kwa is not weighted when you turn, therefore less stress on the knee while the kwa muscles are learning to lengthen. In the second and third swings, the opening kwa leg is weighted, and if the kwa hasn't learned to open yet, the knee will twist instead. Not good!

I like the Tibetan tingshas for clearing my room and for clearing a client's field... or my own! A Tibetan bowl would be great too, but a good one is really expensive. Both tingshas and bowls are made with multiple metals, and they have an extremely penetrating sound and effect. Seems like they just shatter any weird stuff... If you get tingshas (or a bowl), try to listen to many sets before you pick one. They have different tones, some much more pleasant than others... Pleasant may not be what you're after, but that's my preference.

I prefer late afternoon so I don't have to see clients after I get treated. Which day doesn't matter to me, but I live out of town, so seldom ask for a weekend appt. Not your normal client. If you think you might be treating a person more than once a week, you will want non-consecutive days. Friday and Monday are currently the days most in demand in my practice. I don't work weekends, and lots of people do ask for Saturday... Retired people usually want to come early in the day. Folks with jobs usually prefer after work. Another question you might consider is, when is your qi strongest/most effective? Or, when do you prefer to give treatments? I used to be a morning therapist, kind of wimpy in the late afternoon, and now that's really my best time. Decisions, decisions! Don't obsess too much about it: once you're known, people will come when you're available.

David Twicken's new book, Eight Extraordinary Channels: Qi Jing Ba Mai, arrived more than two weeks ago, but I've been waiting to report on it until my opinions settled. It is an excellent book, but, since it's aimed at acupuncturists, the first sections of the book are not immediately useful to me. However, I actually got the book more because of the section on Nei Dan inner meditation, so that was where I looked first. The methods Twicken offers are deceptively simple, and I was initially disappointed: "Is that all?" I guess I was kind of expecting the secrets of the universe. However, I've started working with his nei dan, and I am truly impressed! And grateful! Just in a week or so, this has brought startling advances in my inner energy work. As always, reading about the method does not reveal the secrets. DOING IT is the ticket, Rumi's ring in the door! Twicken includes a 10-page section on the Nei Jing Tu. His brief discussion of 40 elements of that illustration (seen on the front of the book) has inspired me to look further into other commentaries on this well-known Taoist map. Twicken's practices will very accessible to those who have worked with Robert Bruce's methods, although I don't think it came from there at all. I don't know if my success with this is mostly a readiness factor, or if others will be similarly impressed, and I'm looking forward to reports from others who've read the book and tried the practices.

Fermentation gets rid of the phytic acid in soy, which inhibits mineral absorption, but does not get rid of the phytoestrogens. So fermented soy (miso, tamari, tempeh) are okay for menopausal females (who MAYBE could use the estrogen) but soy is not good for babies (soy formula) or guys period. However, the amount you'd get in tamari and miso is probably not an issue. Unfortunately, there are other serious problems over and above mineral absorption and phytoestrogens. Here's an enlightening link: http://www.westonaprice.org/soy-alert

You put it under a blanket or sheet, and they lay on it the whole time. The heat is adjustable, so you can turn it down or off if it's too much. Then you can reduce the room temp a bit and still keep the client comfortable.

Hey BKA, Those TDP lamps are wonderful. You might also want a table heater pad. They really help keep the client warm without cooking the therapist. You can get them in DC if the AC version buzzes your hands.

Hi BKA, Far infrared has some great advantages. I haven't tried the wall panels yet, but I've been using two portable quartz infrared heaters in my office for a couple years now. They work great! The building has central heating, but also low insulation and leaky windows, so lots of drafts when it's cold. The central heating thermostat keeps the heat cycling on as the drafts cool the air, making it always a little too hot or a little too cold. The infrared heaters stabilize the temp. They heat objects, not air, so they're great in a drafty space, and they make the room usable for massage much faster than heaters that try to heat the air. A few caveats: You have to aim the heater directly at the objects you want heated, so you need to mount it on the wall at the level you are treating. Also, it only heats one side of said object. That's why I use two, sitting on low tables at table height on either side of the treatment table. The other slight problem is that you (standing) will be always be a better heating target than someone lying on the table! I often have to turn off the heater on the side I'm working on. At home I use one just aimed at my feet. Even on low (400 watts), I stay toasty, but can turn the house heat down 3-5 degrees, helps on the oil bill! Wall mount near my computer desk would work okay I think. Don't know about the fixed wall version for the office. Convenient not to have to move it, or trip over it!, but I move mine a lot for my and clients' comfort. I'll be interested in how it works for you. If you want it mounted high, you'll probably have to angle it to point toward the table, or wherever you do your treatment. Edit: Low is only 400 watts.

Look into Feng Zhiqiang's teachings on Hunyuan: tai chi ruler, bang (stick), and ball are practices that help you train this. Searching "Chen Techniques for rotating the dantian" will get you lots of material! I've been interested in this for awhile, and below are some links from my files. Can I do it? Not yet, but I think I'm getting there! I found lots more interesting stuff trying to locate the urls for you. Thanks for posting! http://austinchentaichi.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/Chen-Techniques-for-Rotating-the-Dantian.pdf http://tukylam.freeoda.com/egroup2.html http://tukylam.freeoda.com/dantian.html http://tao-meditation.blogspot.com/2011/09/golden-elixir-and-dantian-inner-roll.html