rsalazar

Hello, I think these suggestions have been great - our relative predisposition and response to different diets has a genetic component that also needs to be heeded - that being said, I think humans can adapt quite well to a range of conditions - case in point are the New Guinea Highlanders, which subsist mostly on sweet potatoes and greens, eating pork only a few times a year at celebrations - I was brought up on meat (being a Texas boy), and had always taken as a given that I needed a lot of protein to keep my energy levels high - after reading T. Colin Campbell's The China Study, I've pushed my diet further and further towards vegetarianism and it has been quite eye-opening. Here's my experience: My energy levels are the best they've ever been, so much so that I no longer need coffee. This will give you a rough idea of what I've been eating (again, nutrient dense is the key phrase here): Breakfast 1 handful bee pollen 1 t spirulina 1 t chyawanprash 1 bowl steel-cut oats soaked in almond milk (I soak for 10 min, microwave for 3 min) 1 handful roasted peanuts or peas Lunch handful of bee pollen 1-2 bowls rice, potatoes and moong dal (or green peas, black beans,lentils, etc.) or boiled sweet potatoes + Sriracha garlic/chili sauce + 1t recaito Dinner handful of bee pollen handful roasted peas 1-2 glasses carrot/celery/parsely/chili juice or quickly sauteed bok choy, greens with a dash of soy sauce A lot of variations on the rice and beans theme to experiment with here - desserts are fruit (mango is a fav) - an added benefit of veg fiber is that this will help bind up a lot of industrial contaminants in your body and help you detox. I also keep a record of what I'm eating and how I'm feeling with a particular food - over a long period of time, you will definitely learn what your body responds best to. Cheers, Rene' One added note: My reason for mentioning the NG Highlanders is because a friend of mine lived with them for a year and marveled at their physical development and stamina sans the animal protein. He told me they didn't even use seasoning on their sweet potatoes, just plain boiled, which he couldn't stomach for very long. Also, on my diet, I can do things now, like do 100 chins a day (sets of 10-15), which I couldn't do years ago - the chins are just a part of my routine, which includes tabata intervals, rope skipping, and other body weight calesthenics - I'm 41, 5'10", 170 lbs, so I'm not that skinny. Cheers, R

Yo Orb, Niiiiiice!!!! I'd rank this up there with the anime spoof on South Park "Fun with Weapons"

Interesting - I was at a seminar in the early 1990's where Mooney was teaching - He gave several demos, but when he did a demo on me so I could feel something, I honestly didn't feel anything at all - After not feeling much, he asked me and I told him maybe there was a feeling (I was trying to be nice), and he immediately told me "Post that!" He seemed overly eager to gain converts there and when someone called what he did kong jing, he became very visibly irritated, almost out of proportion to the situation. Perhaps in my case I would need to *really* attack him to actually feel something, I don't know.

Here's some interesting commentary on the current outbreak- while I don't really subscribe to any conspiracy theories, I do concede that there are scenarios where various virus strains are being tinkered with in an effort to research biological weapons - of course, if any "experiments" somehow leak, it's not good for anyone - his comment on Bayer's knowing release of HIV-contaminated medical products is sobering to say the least: http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles.../Swine-Flu.aspx

Actually, the response of the immune system is a constant balancing act, vitamin D is involved in many more regulatory paths than previously thought - if someone's immune system is not healthy, there is an inherent tendency to overreact, take a look at this in any chronic inflammatory condition with increasing age. Check out the review, it's an interesting perspective. Viruses are constantly mutating and the chance of these fragments recombining is not so crazy if you look at any highly populated area where humans and animals are in close proximity. If enough exposures and interactions happen, you'd be surprised how probabilities increase.

The cytokine "storms" are an overreaction from the immune systems, which typically happens with younger people - In many cases, victims of the 1918 pandemic were killed by their own immune systems, the massive cytokine release creating a inflammatory nightmare - There is a strong correlation with this tendency of the immune system to overreact and low levels of vitamin D in the bloodstream - there also is some evidence to indicate that increasing vitamin D levels may reduce the possibility of the immune system overreacting while bolstering innate immunity, check out this recent review on flu and vitamin D levels, very eye-opening (the full article is available online at PubMed): Virol J. 2008 Feb 25;5:29. Comment in: Virol J. 2008;5:149. On the epidemiology of influenza. Cannell JJ, Zasloff M, Garland CF, Scragg R, Giovannucci E. Department of Psychiatry, Atascadero State Hospital, 10333 El Camino Real, Atascadero, CA 93423, USA. [email protected] The epidemiology of influenza swarms with incongruities, incongruities exhaustively detailed by the late British epidemiologist, Edgar Hope-Simpson. He was the first to propose a parsimonious theory explaining why influenza is, as Gregg said, "seemingly unmindful of traditional infectious disease behavioral patterns." Recent discoveries indicate vitamin D upregulates the endogenous antibiotics of innate immunity and suggest that the incongruities explored by Hope-Simpson may be secondary to the epidemiology of vitamin D deficiency. We identify - and attempt to explain - nine influenza conundrums: (1) Why is influenza both seasonal and ubiquitous and where is the virus between epidemics? (2) Why are the epidemics so explosive? (3) Why do they end so abruptly? (4) What explains the frequent coincidental timing of epidemics in countries of similar latitude? (5) Why is the serial interval obscure? (6) Why is the secondary attack rate so low? (7) Why did epidemics in previous ages spread so rapidly, despite the lack of modern transport? (8) Why does experimental inoculation of seronegative humans fail to cause illness in all the volunteers? (9) Why has influenza mortality of the aged not declined as their vaccination rates increased? We review recent discoveries about vitamin D's effects on innate immunity, human studies attempting sick-to-well transmission, naturalistic reports of human transmission, studies of serial interval, secondary attack rates, and relevant animal studies. We hypothesize that two factors explain the nine conundrums: vitamin D's seasonal and population effects on innate immunity, and the presence of a subpopulation of "good infectors." If true, our revision of Edgar Hope-Simpson's theory has profound implications for the prevention of influenza. PMID: 18298852 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE] take care and be well, Rene'

I'll second Santi's suggestions and add a few things - the cases in the US have either managed to recover so far or to have been fairly mild infections, which is encouraging since this looks much less virulent than the 1918 strain - to keep infection as low a probability as possible, I suggest to start even more extensive handwashing than usual at this time, this is one of THE best preventatives to practice - avoid touching your face if your hands are not washed first, this is one of the primary routes for these viruses - if you want to give your immune system a boost through this time I'd also *highly* recommend coconut oil, vitamin C and bee propolis (check to make sure you are not allergic to coconuts and propolis before taking any of this). The more extreme bowel tolerance protocols with vitamin C may even be useful in extreme cases. Lauric acid in coconut oil has been shown to interfere with replication of certain viruses, and I've used this over the years to *really* good effect with respiratory illness - I was using this at a dosage of 3T per meal when I was coming down with symptoms and these usually abated with hours after starting this - of course, this is just my small experience, but it's worth a shot - This oil is definitely worth keeping in the cupboard, since it is readily available and it's incorporation in the diet is relatively painless. Here is a great link on this with more details: http://www.coconutresearchcenter.org/article10147.htm Take care and be well, Rene'

Interesting stuff guys. This reminds me of a time I was doing simple standing years ago. I noticed a peculiar sensation after about 15 min, unrelated to any "energy flow", I noticed that after finishing I felt a lot taller and "expanded" - I also noticed I could perform certain chains of movement sequences (capoeira) in a *much* more coordinated fashion than before - these feelings were very odd for me at the time because I did not get typical "qigong sensations" when practicing, but this was unmistakable - unfortunately, I was not consistent in my practice, so I have not explored this, I may have to give it another go. Also interesting to note that Toshihiko Yayama in his book Qi Healing highly recommends simple standing as a way to improve your martial arts (echoing the original purpose of dachengquan), he adds his own personal observation that after six months of practice his movement quality was greatly changed. Cheers, Rene'

Hi Drew, Fascinating stuff - is there any particular reason you stopped your veggie diet and went back to a SAD (Standard American Diet)? FWIW, after re-reading T. Colin Campbell's The China Study, I've been eating mostly vegetarian during the week, then I indulge in some chicken and beef on some weekends, but just to get a taste. Cheers, Rene'

Hello, The less common one you note looks to be the seated set that has been popularized by Stuart Olson - the seated set is supposedly the original form of the brocades set - I believe there many, many different styles of both the standing and sitting sets that are referred to as 8 Brocades - I originally started practicing a standing set from Geoff Pikes book "The Power of Ch'i" back in 1990 - Pike's book is interesting because he attributes his speedy recovery from cancer (as well as avoiding side effects from radiotherapy) to his practice of the brocades - the set he details in the book he learned from a teacher in the Philippines. Cheers, Rene'

Hi Rodger, That's an interesting question, I've wondered about this - If I recall my histology correctly, the seminiferous tubules have some absorptive ability - I've never seen any studies on the recycling (which should go on) during extended periods with no activity - I wonder how many energetic components there are - as far as the biological raw materials are concerned, I know seminal retention has been discussed into the ground, but I thought I'd mention (mind you it was only one study, no follow-up that I know of) there was a study on earthworms done in a high profile journal (for what it's worth, either Nature or Science) where they did find a correlation between frequency of mating and longevity, I'll have to dig it up some time. Cheers, Rene'

Hello Santiago, Thank you for uploading these videos, very very interesting and inspiring! What is the origin of the healing art that your teacher is performing? Did the electrical shocks come as a steady, flowing sensation or was it in pulses? When I visited Robert Peng last year, I was getting shocks that came in pulses lasting about 2-3 sec each wave. When he treated points in my head (the third eye and temples), I could hear fairly loud pops, like you would hear from a taser, although I don't know if this was just in my head or if these were audible to Robert as well, I was in a bit of shock during this time, so I didn't think to ask. These sounds didn't occur any where else. Did you hear any sounds associated with the shocks? Best, Rene'

Hello Santiago, Thanks for the link. In your experience, how have you dealt with training under multiple teachers with diverging lineages? For example, would Sufi teachers take offense to training as well with Taoist or Tibetan teachers? Or do they see all learning as good as long as it is done with an open heart? I guess it also depends on the teachers, their temperament and their expectations of you. I may also be confusing the outer aspects of religions with the deeper aspects which are more transcendent. I hope all is rockin' with you. Peace, Rene'

Hello Mike, Wow, I just checked out Amdur's article, really eye-opening, thanks for the link and for sharing the other files. Yeah, I totally hear ya on the restraint needed to keep on track, there is so much out there, I've been lost in it so many times when I should have been practicing more . Best, Rene'

Hi Mike, Nice to see you back, great thread. I had a chance to briefly study Systema a while back and their punches and movement are impressive - I like the ball-and-chain manner of powering punches, like slaps from a bear or ape - they advocated progressive muscle relaxation exercises (similar to the classic Jacobsen protocol) - I heard some of the higher level guys like Ryabko advised doing things like this as a warm-up before getting out of bed - I also got a brief glimpse at their bodywork, great stuff that could be done standing and basically involved percussion with loose fists (I saw a similar practice at the end of a class with Allen Pittman, a body "reset") - Unfortunately, I had only a cursory exposure and I'm sure there is so much I'm unaware of, but it seems likely that if they take the rudimentary body control involved with constant training of relaxation, this by itself may result in increases with body efficiency, this being only one factor in the overall expression of power - I've also wondered about techniques such as Feldenkrais and their training of a more "intelligent" body with greater kinesthetic capacity, how this might also result in benefits for overall power expression. I hope all is rockin' with you. Cheers, Rene'

QUOTE Approximately 50% of the fatty acids in coconut fat are lauric acid. Lauric acid is a medium chain fatty acid, which has the additional beneficial function of being formed into monolaurin in the human or animal body. Monolaurin is the antiviral, antibacterial, and antiprotozoal monoglyceride used by the human or animal to destroy lipid coated viruses such as HIV, herpes, cytomegalovirus, influenza, various pathogenic bacteria including listeria monocytogenes and heliobacter pylori, and protozoa such as giardia lamblia. Some studies have also shown some antimicrobial effects of the free lauric acid. So, do we just start eating coconut products to get this lauric acid? Hi Vortex, I believe you have to ingest coconut oil in order for the lauric acid to be available, so digestion is key. No antibiotic/antiviral properties from just the oil itself. I highly recommend Bruce Fife's books, he's a great resource (even though I'm a bit leery of books that have "miracle" in a title). Another two that I'd highly recommend are bee propolis and clay. I've used both over the years while traveling to stave off any possible food poisoning. Of course, just my experience, but propolis seem to really help with colds and flu in general, so I always keep this on hand. Also, the tried and true strategy of obsessively washing your hands in general before touching any part of your face will keep most wee beasties at bay, you'd be surprised how effective this can be. Cheers, Rene'

I'll add simple ascorbate (vitamin C) to the list here - less toxic than aspirin, in megadoses it has been shown to have interesting antibiotic and antiviral effects - Dr. Fred Klenner used *really* high doses intravenously back in the 1950's to treat different viral infections, including encephalitis and polio, his case histories really deserve a revisit, check it out: Journal of Applied Nutrition Vol. 23, No's 3 & 4, Winter 1971 Observations On the Dose and Administration of Ascorbic Acid When Employed Beyond the Range of A Vitamin in Human Pathology Frederick R. Klenner, M.D., F,C,C.P. http://www.nutri.com/wn/klenner.html It would make a lot of sense to stock up on ascorbate in prep for coming epidemics since we clearly will not have enough vaccines or traditional meds to go around. Also, coconut oil - the lauric acid has been a focus of attention since this component disrupts viral coat stability (HIV in particular). and Sangre de drago - antibiotic and antiviral properties. Cheers, Rene'

Very cool discussion. I've kept bentonite in my medicine chest while traveling and this has really helped bail me out of a couple situations where I ate bad food. An interesting reference for clays in the diets of animals can be found in Cindy Engel's "Wild Health" where she documents the use of clays by different species to conteract the presence of toxic metabolites in their diets. She also references a study that showed, at least in pigs, that adding clay to their feed increased their growth in general. Another interesting reference to clays in regards to detoxing can be found under the term "enterosorption", which is a term used by Russians who were doing research at the time (1980's) on a form of activated charcoal to leach cellular trash (like lipofuscins, I believe) out of the tissues of rats. It was interesting because, if I remember correctly, they had actual histological sections of the tissues to show that it was more clear in older rats taking the charcoal, similar to younger rats. Of course our individual mileage from this supp will vary, but this thread has me pondering a revisit on a cyclical, weekly basis. Rene'

Hello All, I have a big interest in tuina, gua sha and Chinese medicine, as well as qigong. I find myself getting further and further away from the martial arts as time goes by, maybe because I'm just getting old . I started out in the Filipino martial arts, then trained BJJ for a while until taking up capoeira in 2000. I have enjoyed a lot of the discourse here, so I've decided to join the fray. All the best, Rene'