RobB

Hi - please can you remove my access to the current events forum. Thanks.

Cold is generally seen as a thing to avoid or actively balance out in chinese medicine. Cold pathologies are far more likely to arise than heat-based ones. As others have mentioned, there may be specific circumstances when it is more OK but in general best to steer clear.

One of my teachers noted that 'The Yang is rooted in the Yin' - the Heavenly tree can only flourish as far as the Earthly roots can support it (or something like that). I suppose you could also say that our earthly manifestation (yin) is required in order to facilitate our spiritual evolution (yang). Either way, the simple answer (as @Gerard will undoubtedly confirm) is more body-weight squats .

https://www.scottcarney.com/blog/the-rise-and-fall-of-the-wim-hof-empire

Getting a BaZi analysis is a fun way to start getting into the ways that the Wu Xing manifest in the world. Find out what your Day Master is, have a think about how that manifests in you. Find out the Day Masters of some of those around you. Have a think about how that manifests in them. Consider the interactions between those elements and how that manifests in your relationships with those people. Work outwards from there...

This description fits quite closely with how it's been explained to me: Link to forum post

You'll get mixed opinions about online learning. You could look at these: https://www.mushinmartialculture.com/online-learning https://www.threetreasures.co.uk/foundation-in-tai-chi

Simon is great! He had a video up on YT of a talk he gave in a park somewhere. Got into mirror neurons, animal mimicry and all sorts. Well worth a listen.

Has anyone had any experience with his teaching or his online courses?

Those things look like fairly standard components of any Daoist approach (certainly the ones I've come across). I don't think they're necessarily evidence of specific cross-fertilisation between the two individuals or their predecessors.

Warm, cooked food almost always better than cold. Stomach is a cooking pot and prefers not to work harder than necessary to heat everything up.

This is great Steve - many thanks.

I practice Cheng style Bagua. My teacher has quite a martial focus but most of our group are not too interested in training with a great deal of martial intensity.

Thanks all. I'm not sure if I'm better informed but it's been an interesting read. Just another day on the internet

Care to elaborate?

So the WLP connection doesn't count for anything with you?

Might be interesting for some interested in the Tai Chi above: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z724Op-U9uA

I get the impression that half of the problem is people getting their categorisation systems challenged and not being able to work that through. We've tended to think in simple binaries which suit majority experience but don't adequately describe the whole data set at a certain level of detail. I don't think about sex or gender much unless I'm forced to (working in Higher Ed makes it inevitable sometimes). Personally, I prefer an analogue model: sex and gender as a couple of sliders that can be at any point along a range and can change over time.

Always a pleasure to receive a book you'd forgotten that you'd ordered!

"There is nothing either good or bad but thinking makes it so" - Hamlet, William Shakespeare

I have done mouth taping and still do (it's a bit of a disincentive having my seasonal beard in place as tearing off some micropore first thing isn't the relaxing start to the day I prefer). Its worth remembering that sleeping with your mouth closed is a totally normal thing to do. The taping just keeps your jaw in that position. It does feel a bit odd and takes some time to get used to but once you've got your head around the sensation it's fine. A short vertical tape across the centre of the mouth is sufficient.

Also worth considering that there are different categories of channels (sinew, primary, extraordinary, etc) Tom Bisio has written a series of posts on YJJ which talks about fascia. Article text

Another assessment

Interesting talk focused on Ma Gui Bagua