RobB

Hi @Taomeow, do you have any recommended resources for the Bates method?

@old3bob asking the real questions!

Walk, do some weights, get out into nature, exercise, fully inhabit your body. Establish the yin to support the yang. The deeper the roots, the bigger the tree can grow.

I'm not sure that Venant Wong is doing the same thing as the Doc Morris crew. Wongs website doesn't seem to reference any of the KAP I distantly remember.

Does anyone have a link to Doc Morris's spider stretches? They might be what Toni is looking for.

Recently got introduced to the work of John Bauer https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Bauer_(illustrator)

Hi @Takingcharge, you could contact Serge Augier. His Stone Warrior training might be appropriate for your situation.

Hi Ed, good to see you, man. Hope you're keeping well. I don't know Jesus but, from what I hear, I think he'd be pretty relaxed about all this chatter. Cheers Rob

John Blofeld, writing in 1978 'Taoism - the road to immortality'

Potentially heretical @Taomeow but I gave up coffee for the 10 weeks as well :-)

Benefits: amazing sleep, drop in inflammation (increase in squat depth & 'ease' of body, reduction in psiorisis), even energy & mood, weight loss (15Kg in 10 weeks), deeper stillness in shen gong. Challenges: planning - you need to get your food ready, much harder to just 'pick something up'/'sort something out', first 2-3 weeks had some moods swings, tiredness. Got a bit bored of it by the end.

Recently did a 10 week 'daoist diet'. I ended up eating mainly animal protein and non-starchy veg.

Blimey, this could take a while...

If this activity is new to you then it is likely to be painful! Do you cycle? I cycled for years and didn't feel a thing - even with a hard saddle. Stopped cycling for a while and then, when going back to it, so painful! Cheers Rob

Thanks @dawei file size seems to have been the problem, smaller file (600k rather than 2.3M) uploaded fine.

I've had a problem today, error -200 with a 2MB file. Anyone else?

I don't pretend to know much about Taoist metaphysics but it seems that this forum is feeling the divisive aspect of the incoming Metal energy. Keep smiling 🙂

Here in the UK we're splitting up into small family units, isolating, separating, turning inwards - a lot of that happening. I am reminded of @Taomeow's description. Also read somewhere that the year element is particularly strong this time of year. Strong inward turning ...

I am just coming to the end of my first year of the Daxuan online training. It works for me. You can get a lot of the flavour of the training - and plenty of exercises to experiment with - from Serges books. There is also an Udemy course which gives an introduction to some of the Daxuan physical practices.

That's the one!

Lindsey Wei wrote a book about her experiences with Li Shifu, it was called … <returns from badly-organised bookshelf none the wiser> … can't recall but it was published by Line of Intent Books. Alex may still have copies but probably not. It's a great book, very close to the bone. As soon as I find it I'm going to read it again!

See, @Taomeow, just as well I don't pretend to know much about taoist metaphysics! Not sure where I got divide from - I need to go back to my books, I was sure there was something about division, discernment, separation in there - perhaps I made an incorrect association to Pi Chuan.

I think that's the Udemy 'list price'. Their pricing mechanism is a mystery to me! I paid around £15 for the course and the price was lower a few days later. When I look now it seems to be £25ish. I have no idea whether you are getting the same options or not!

@Bruce Qi a friend asked me yesterday how the training was going and I didn't have a very good answer then either! I'm about 9 months along. I've established a solid daily practice and try and do 90 minutes a day, usually split into 3 sessions. It's interesting. I'm in a better place in different ways. Physically I'm stronger and more flexible - psychologically and emotionally too I think. My life is easier than it was in some respects but also more challenging in others. It has become harder to fool myself about my own behaviours. No ninja skillz, dragon riding or X ray vision yet though, which is disappointing. There is some information on Serge's website but not very much. You need to email him directly if you have any questions.