zen-bear

EFreethought, No. Tao Tan Pai students can learn the 5 Dragons Meditation at any age--so long as they've done all the prerequisite Kung Fu (5 animals forms) and Qigong (TTP "Basic" 31 Meditations, Shen Exercises, Six Stars, and 9 Flowers), which takes a good number of years. I just mentioned in passing that my classmates and I who got good results from the 5 Dragons Meditations learned this Capstone Qigong Set while in our 20's and 30's. I learned it at age 24. Just in time to keep my energy level and immunity very high during two years of graduate school in Boston, MA. I've practiced the 5 Dragons ever since with varying regularity. In the past 8 years after I moved from SoCal to New England with its colder winters full of ice and snow, I've practiced either the full orthodox version of the 5 Dragons (which takes 50-55 minutes to complete) or its 3/5 version (about 40 minutes to complete--that my classmates and I instinctively created successfully) on a daily basis. There is also a classical (not modern) 1/5 distilled version of the 5 Dragons that can practice When one has completed the entire Tao Tan Pai Nei Kung system, ending with the 5 Dragons, and practiced the latter for 4-5 years or longer , one has cultivated a profound super-abundance of internal energy fueling one's Tao Tai Pai Kung Fu to a super-normal level. That internal energy is available to use--if one has properly and equally trained one's Shen Qi--to displace the indigenous energy of any of an opponent's vital organs located in the torso or head, but without a crushing or penetrating physical blow,. All that's needed is a palm or back of the wrist (Crane's beak) touching the skin above an organ and the adept then crunching his toes to activate his fingertips--or simply coughing--in order to fa-jing. All ordained Tao Tan Pai priests, of course, are also versed in restoring the normal healthy energy balance of the subject after being disabled using this Nei Kung. After having completed the Tao Tan Pai Neig Kung, if one has learned the TTP energy healing, one is capable of rendering the TTP "Energy Balancing" treatment, which generally normalizes all minor energy imbalances in a patient and heals a wide variety of disease symptoms. (I have taught this Tao Tan Pai technique of Energy Balancing in the NCCAOM-accredited course titled "Medical Qigong I" at Emperors College in Los Angeles from 2013 to 2022). My favorite senior school brother (da-sihing) and spiritual benefactor, the ven. John Davidson who was the first-generation senior student of Taoist priest Share K. Lew in America (and who visits me on occasion, believe or not), taught me and another classmate how to safely transfer one's ENTIRE 5 Dragons' field of energy in an emergency to another person with low vital signs and who is close to dying of chronic illness or natural causes--in order to stave off death for a day, several days, or longer (given that the subject has not any suffered catastrophic organ damage or failure). So that is the very profound, high level of kung fu and energy healing art that the TTP Nei Kung enables. Sifu Terry Dunn

To all FP Practitioners: Reminder that today and every Sunday from 3pm to 4:30pm EST I will be teaching my weekly Intermediate/Advanced Qigong class that covers: A. Tao Tan Pai ("Taoist Elixir Method") 31 Meditations (a complete system of Chinese Yoga in and of itself that accelerates and prolongs the healing effects of FP Qigong) B. Tao Tan Pai 5 Animals Kung Fu forms and weapons. Each TTP Form is a Shen-driven Qigong exercise. C. Advanced Flying Phoenix Qigong 1. Essential form corrections and refinement of "Moonbeam Splashes on Water" (on Vol.3) and "Long Form Capstone Meditation" taught (on Vol.4) 2. Advanced Flying Phoenix Qigong - Level 2 (9 standing meditations). Login URL: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87650026839?pwd=YkslBzNMFYgZBfJEmpnXFjbWCBIMys.1 • FEE: $60/ class or $440 / 8-class series or $800 / 16-class series (Please send tuition via Paypal (to zenbearinc@gmail.com or scan QR Code below) or send via Zelle to terencedunn@gmail.com) Complete details about course content are on my free weekly Newsletter: https://open.substack.com/pub/terencedunn/p/terry-dunns-tai-chi-for-health-and-92a?r=5i7g9&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=false See you in class or on Zoom. Sifu Terry

Reminder to all FP practitioners: Today from 2:00 to 3:30pm EST, I am teaching a beginners' class in Tao Tan Pai ("Taoist Elixir Method") Basic 31 Meditations followed by 45 minutes of FP Qigong. This is an excellent opportunity to learn the TTP-31 and the Tao Tan Pai Short Form Power Yoga (a classical distillation of the TTP-31 into 5 essential meditations). Tao Tan Pai Nei Kung is totally different from FP Qigong in terms of yogic methodology, as it is highly shen-driven while FP Qigong is very Shen-passive. Yet all levels of the Tao Tan Pai Nei Kung traditiion serves as a superb foundational catalyst that enhances and prolongs the healing effects of the Flying Phoenix Qigong. Here is the Zoom log-on information and the tuition info: ZOOM Meeting ID: 836 4548 3188 Login URL: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83645483188?pwd=i6XM7LeghEWSFmD6Jr62njlMoIKw36.1 • FEE: $40 per class; $280 / 8-class series; or $500 / 16-class series Complete details about class content are this and all other issues of my free monthly Newsletter: https://open.substack.com/pub/terencedunn/p/terry-dunns-tai-chi-for-health-and-92a?r=5i7g9&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=false See you soon on Zoom! Sifu Terry

Thanks for the additional info, Boreas, What the acupuncturist said describes energy quality and movement tied to the liver. Liver, as per 5 Element Theory is tied to the element of Wood and emotion of anger. Acute pains in tne lungs is associated with the element Metal and the emotion of grief. Did you suffer some incident 2 yrs ago that caused you grief and great anger? You can try a little bit of FP Qigong at a time (5 to 10 minutes)...and see if it has good effect. If it exacerbates any of the pain symptoms, then or course stop. Good luck, Sifu Terry P.S. Pain in the upper and middle back and in the lungs are of two types of "body syndromes" in my school/set theory of holistic healing and counseling that is anchored by hypnotherapy (Kappasian, as in John Kappas, founder of Hypnosis Motivation Institute (HMI) in Tarzana, CA--where I trained and was certified in the mid-1980's.) If you want to do a consultation via Zoom, you can contact me at zenbearinc@gmail.com

Antares. You wrote: Hi Boreas, I don't quite understand what your acupuncturist had diagnosed you as having when you wrote: "I was checking the box for the beginning of a deviation..." Where is the "deviation"? In what part of the body? • What presenting problem or type of pain(s) do you have that caused you to seek treatment from an acupuncturist? Unless you are having symptoms that prevent you from doing the FPCK breathing formulas and/or that make assuming the basic postures such as Monk Holding Pearl, MHPeach, and Monk Gazing At Moon painful, then hold back from practice. But FP Qigong is so mild, so restorative and stress-dissipating that you can continue practicing it so long as you are feeling its calming, energizing, and rejuvenating effects. And should any of the standing FP Meditations become difficult or painful, then practice the seated Monk Serves wine seated Meds. in Volumes 2 and 7. Remember: I was vetted and cleared by the I.R.B. of Cedars-Sinai Medical center in L.A. in 1999-2000 to write the first in-hospital Qigong protocol in American medical history for the Dept. of Cardio-Thoracic Surgery to accelerate the recover of acute-care pot-operative patients (who had major heart, lung and back surgeries...having their chests replumbed.). This content of first of its kind protocol was 80% FP Qigong. Good luck. Sifu Terry https://www.taichimania.com/chikung_catalog.html terencedunn.substack.com

Antares, The Chinese term you've defined as "yuan shen = original spirit" does not have a functional role in the practice of FP Qigong. After you've experienced the salient health and spiritual benefits of FP Qigong, you can philosophize and celebrate the sublime restorative and "spiritually calibrating" (my coinage) effects of long-term FP Qigong practice any way you like. As I've told all my student in both Tao Tan Pai Nei Kung (created in the Tang Dynasty ad correctly attributable to Taoist Immortal Lu Tung Pin [and I will be proving it to academia soon]) and in FP Qigong, once you practice either one or both of these arts correctly, you can go out and write your own Tao Te Ching!! GM Doo Wai never mentioned "yuan shen" in all the years that I trained with him--in any context. Not in the context of FP Qigong or any of the other Ehmei Mtn. Bok Fu Pai internal energy arts. Yes, it does means "original spirit." The primordial spirit that one is born with that is constant and unalterable. But there are definitions like this floating around on the internet --parts of which that I happen to STRONGLY disagree with: "The concept of Yuan Shen is the primordial original spirit that you are born with, and it is the foundational core personality unaffected by the experiences of life. It is the essence of our being and the source of our vitality, which is deeply related to the concept of returning to the source." I strong disagree with the first phrase in bold. Because this hokey definition complete negates the concept of karmic evolution and growth, as any Buddhist initiate will tell you. "Essence of our being and source of our vitality"--yes that is the most commonly held meaning for yuan shen by Taoists. But I think that it is so general to be almost meaningless--unless you provide a specific context. Yuan shen as essence of one's existence. But the "source of vitality" varies from one Taoist or Buddhist tradition--or even Hindu tradition--to another. For example, in the Tao Tan Pai ("Taoist Elixir Method"--aka, the "Golden Elixir School") tradition that is correctly attributed to Taoist Immortal Lu Tung Pin (Lu Dengbin), the patron saint's most spoken and written "source of vitality" is "the Circulation of the Light"aka, the Microcosmic Orbit as he outlined in "Secret of the Golden Flower." And beyond health, enlightenment, and immortality, Lu Tung Pin's most transcendent and most powerful alchemic potential realized is what happens when " Yuan Shen as the source of our vitality? Yet it was never mentioned once by GM Doo Wai in all the years I trained with him starting in 1991. There are numerous sects of Taoism and the concept of yuan shen is used to varying degrees from one to the next. It's a nice term to have in one's holistic otr spiritual vocabulary. But, again, it has no pivotal role in the practice of the Ehrmei Mtn. Bok Fu Pai internal arts. Another example of yuan shen never being mentioned by high masters: in the 45 years that I have studied Yang Tai Chi Chuan in the Cheng Man-ching lineage, not one of my teachers--the late General Abraham Liu, the late Master Benjamin Lo, nor my current teacher the great Grandmaster William C.C. Chen ever mentioned yuan shen. I (on my own), however, did come to experience and realize through my mind-body ("Xin") (--not xing) the universal truth and meaning of the very first passage of the Tai Chi Classics: "Tai Chi comes from Wuchi and is the Mother of Heaven and Earth; In movement it separates, in stillness it fuses (congeals)." And that experience that occurred in 1984 and transformed me forever. And has kept me on the Tai Chi Chuan path. I felt like I was struck--not really "struck," but suddenly inhabited and filled 100% by a bolt of soft lightning. My entire body was electric and comfortably fluid and not hot in temperature. And at first, I did not know how to move my body in that state. Then I learned how to use my shen and will myself to move in that state--which brought into play the precise teachings of Master Ben Lo that I heard over and over and over again in his summer retreats in La Honda, CA: "The minds moves the Chi; the Chi moves the body." • If you master Tai Chi Chuan and attain this ability, "The mind moves the Chi; the Chi moves the body and the environment...", then you will also come closer to knowing the meaning of "yuan shen." Finally, that passage that you quoted that begins with, "The two fundamental terms... " was NOT written by Grandmaster Doo Wai !! He does not speak like that nor does he write like that. That passage is from an article written by a David Sorenson on a website called "tibetan.tripod.com" that was created by the Hudlin Brothersº--who I had introduced to GM Doo Wai around 1993 and brought into the learning circle in L.A. (that I created around GM Doo Wai in 1990). "The Taoist Monk Fung Doe Duk's Flying Phoenix Heavenly Healing Meditations is supposed to be the key that unlocks the energy within our body and subconsciously activates our inner mind to generate and balance the positive energy within our own body. The result is an illness free body with healthy, balanced, positive energy that enables its practitioners to use that energy to heal others. The Goddess informed the Monk that the meditations were sacred Heavenly meditations and that he was to be very selective of whom he was to teach them." This paragraph is generally accurate. And it sounds like a translation of GM Doo Wai's semi-broken English. But it does not explain in any insightful manner how-- "The Flying Phoenix Qigong 'pushes the brain back' (as GMDW slowly moving his right index finger over his head from the hairline back towards the crown) and activates the body's self-healing faculties." --Grandmaster Doo Wai, 1991 (--which I happen to have recorded on SVHS video when he was teaching me the advanced Monk Serves Wine Meditations. I may finally post this video sometime in the future.) Bottom line: be careful not to use terminology that you read about that is NOT grounded and based in your direct yogic experience of practicing FP Qigong. Because as we learned by the early 1980's after we had been practicing the Tao Tan Pai Nei Kung for about 10 years under GM Share K. Lew' personal supervision: "The only real truth is the experienced truth." (Hence, the similarly minded Bruce Lee advised: "Believe half of what you see and nothing of what you hear." The semantic map (language) that one uses must precisely match the yogic territory (experience) that one wants to talk about. Using the wrong map--such as "xing" meaning "inner mind" that is activated by Qigong... only breeds confusion and wastes time. Sifu Terry Dunn P.S. btw, that website from where you excerpted the passage from the David Sorenson article about Feng Do Duk and the spiritual gifting of FP Qigong, etc. was created in the late 90's by the Hudlin Brothers, who were old friends of mine from my college and grad school years whom I later introduced to GM Doo Wai in 1993, and invited into the learning circle of instructors that I had created around GM Doo Wai in 1990. Well, by 1997, one of the students I had invited into the training circle played GM Doo Wai in such a debasing, Hollywood-like manner that the spirit of GM Doo Wai's teachings completely changed, and the window of learning that I had created around GM Doo Wai closed. I departed without a word. And the person who caused this window of transmission of sacred knowledge to be closed prematurely--by 20 years, per my estimation-- has had a karmic debt to bear ever since. The fact that all the other links on this old and unattended website, tibetan.tripod, are dead should tell you something about the seriousness and discipline of its keepers. Still the Sorenson article about FP Qigong is not all that bad. I give a grade of "B-" (also for its bad grammar). https://www.taichimania.com/chikung_catalog.html terencedunn.substack.com

Antares, You are purely speculating about the symbolic meaning vs. literal meaning of "Moon" in the name "Monk Gazing At Moon"--without having any direct FP Qigong teachings from GM Doo Wai or from his senior students such as myself. Plus you are imposing other irrlevant semantics with your belief of what "xing strengthening meditation" is and then saying relatedly that "nature of xing is light." What Chinese character are you referring to when you say "xing"?? Which one of the four tones in Chinese is used in pronouncing the "xing" that you mean? (4 tones means 4 different meanigs.) I take that romanization "xing" to have its most widely used meaning: the shape-form of the body, as in Xing-I Boxing. MGM seems to be xing strengthening mediation but nature of xing is light. Ordinary person' Xing has more yin quality and symbolically can be associated more with moon, so it depends how much MIng (life) one has. • Besides not know what on earth you are trying to say here, I do know that it is 100% IRRELEVANT to the practice of FP Qigong. As I've told every student who's attended a live class or workshop with me since 1992, leave ALL YOUR BELIEFS about other styles and methods of Qigong and Yoga at the door when you practice FP Qigong. You do NOT need to believe in anything to benefit from FP Qigong. You just do the posture and do associated percentage breath-control formula correctly...and the Flying Phoenix of Feng Do Duk will teach you what you need to know. I am not sure we need Moon for MGM progress. Please do NOT guess. I have stated on this thread in the past that FP Qigong does NOT utilize any principles of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) or its set theory as a map --i.e., no need to meridians, hours of the meridians, law of noonday-midnight. None of that is necessary or relevant to make FP Qigong work or to understand how it works. I did explain on this thread--and I shall repeat it here: that the FP Qigong system--along with all the other Ehrmei Mtn. Bok Fu Pai internal energy arts DO RELY on the position of the sun and the moon. Being aware of where the sun and/or the moon are in the sky is extremely important in the advanced practice of FP Qigong and all Bok Fu Pai energy arts, including its deadliest arts. So for beginners, just follow what GM Doo Wai taught: Practice Monk Gazing At Moon while gazing at the moon in the night sky. ••> And as I advised at various points in this thread, practice when the Moon is low on the horizon so you don't have to crane your head upwards and bend your neck to look at it. FP Qigong is totally self-explanatory. All you have to do is practice enough. Sifu Terry Dunn https://www.taichimania.com/chikung_catalog.html terencedunn.substack.com

Hello Antares, Which FP med. are you referring to when you said, "I did 5 60..."? Nice that you saw the blueish light inside your head. Because I'm very "visual" in how I interpret and represent my experience, I see a very bright, flourescent sky blue light saturate the inside of my eyelids and then fill my head. ...so interesting to experiment how it would work if to do Pearl one after the other one. • If you want best results from FP Qigong in terms of healing and restoration, do MGMoon in the shoulder-width stance as taught on the DVD. Master Monk Holding Pearl, MHPeach, and Monk Gazing At Moon first, and especially Bending the Bows and Wind Above the Clouds on Volume 1. Then you can experiment with variations in stance for MHPearl. But there's actually no need to "experiment." Within the FP Qigong system, the Monk Holding Pearl mudra IS done in the 2-shoulders' width horse stance. It's done in the fifth posture of "Moonbeam Splashes On Water" and it is done again in the very last posture. And this ending posture can be held for minutes on end until one takes the 3 closing breathes. The Monk Holding Pearl posture done in the horse stance occurs again in the fifth posture of the FPHHCM Long Form Capstone Meditation ( Volume 4). If and when you experiment, by doing Monk Holding Pearl in a wider and deep horse stance for long periods of time--i.e, upwards of 15 minutes, you will find that it will cause lower body, back and shoulder/upper arm tension in beginners, and will snaps you into martial mode--if you have had any previous kung fu experience. The classical horse stance is used in practically ALL KUNG FU systems that ever came out of China. In the Advanced Flying Phoenix Qigong (9 Standing moving meds.), a wider 2-shoulder width stance is used in all except two of the meditations.. BUT this Advanced FP sub-system it is NOT a purely healing Qigong like the level I presented in the DVD series. The Qi that it cultivates is both healing and "athletic/martial" in nature. Sifu Terry Dunn https://www.taichimania.com/chikung_catalog.html terencedunn.substack.com

Last Friday the 14th, I recovered from my first day of moving furniture and belongings almost single-handedly from old my abode into a new one 12 mi. away--by doing Monk Gazing At the Moon in the moonlight after doing the Capstone Long From 2x, and then doing 3 of the advanced Monk Serves Wine seated meditations (on Vol.7). In total, I spent 3.5 days moving, finally completing the laborious task yesterday at about 5pm (--while getting only 5.5 - 6 hours of sleep on each of those 3 nights.) Of course, over those 3.5 days, I did what I always do in the mornings: Tao Tan Pai 5 Dragons Meditation (will be discussed in the Taoist Elixir Method Kung Fu thread); the TTP Dragon kung fu form; the Bok Fu Pai Kung Fu System's "Eagle Claw 10-Hook Attack Form"; my 4 favorite "8 Sections Combined" forms: Sections 3, 4, 5 and 8. This is the FP practice regimen that I used last night to fully recover---and feel 100% today from the moment I woke up: 1.) FP Standing Long Form (vol.4) -- two times, back to back. -- 30 min. 2.) Monk Gazing At the Moon while gazing at the moon and having my entire body illuminated by the moon's light - 14 minutes. 3.) The third advanced MSW seated meditation on Vol. 7 (70 50 20 10) -- 15 min. 4.) The fourth advanced MSW med. on Vol. 7 (70 60 40 5) - 10 min. 5.) The first Adv. MSW med. on Vol. 7 (50 20 10) --aka, "the Sleeper" - l4 min. (holding the last 5 postures (mudras) for 10 breathes each). For best results, take a hint: spend the equivalent amount of time outlined above--i.e., 83 minutes-- on your personal FP Qigong practice, however you compose it. Sifu Terry Dunn https://www.taichimania.com/chikung_catalog.html terencedunn.substack.com

Hello Chirising, I know that the import duties charged by most European countries can get quite steep. I was wondering if that could be mitigated by having the buyers name watermarked on the video? Unfortunately, I putting the buyer's name in a "watermark" on each video title would be quite impossible/prohibitively time-consuming. In the 90's and aughts, I used a very expensive first-generation Avid video editing system to cut the CKFH DVD series.. Since about 2016, I've been using Adobe Premiere to edit my Youtube videos and future DVD titles. As far as I know, there is no rapid means to put a watermark on every frame of each volume of the CKFH programs; it requires some real-time editing and then requires spending more time to render the new watermarked footage. And to do this for every customer who wants to buy a digital file would require me to hire an assistant editor. Actually, I am in the process of building a subscription-based streaming platform (that will probably use the Vimeo format) that will give access to all the CKFH DVD titles at reasonable cost. However, the video resolution of the streamed content won't be as high as that of a DVD played on a disc drive. This streaming platform won't go online until the latter half of this year to do huge pressing obligations I have to prepare to teach my 3 specialties at a top American university and its School of Public Health. The physical distance between U.S. and Europe and each European country's import duties do create added expense--and especially now and in the future with the moronic, Russian-owned US president stupidly starting trade wars with all of America's trading partners with his tariffs, including China. But given the verifiable restorative power of this authentic and intact Taoist monastic system of Qigong that will serve one for a lifetime (ask ridingtheox and others who posted in the early years of this thread) ---plus the programs' exceptionally high production values (all filmed on location in Death Valley, CA and shot by my friend the cinematographer Mike Hoover, who has 14 Emmy's [mostly for hard news] and 2 Academy Awards for documentaries), and scored by music professor Robert Scott Thompson (regarded in the U.S. starting in the 90's as "the king of ambient music", most viewers and reviewers have said that there is nothing like the CKFH DVD series on the qigong/ yoga market in terms of quality. Sifu Terry Dunn https://www.taichimania.com/chikung_catalog.html terencedunn.substack.com

ATTENTION ALL FP PRACTIONERS: NEW BASIC QIGONG CLASS COMBINING TAOIST ELIXIR METHOD 31 MEDITATIONS + FLYING PHOENIX QIGONG BEGINS TODAY, 2:00 - 3:30PM EST -- AND CONTINUES EVERY SATURDAY. My basic Qigong class called "Qigong For Health For 1st Responders" begins today, Saturday, 2-3:00pm at the Lenox Yoga Studio at 52 Housatonic Street, Lenox, MA. It is Zoomable, of course. This class teaches two authentic ancient Taoist monastic systems of Qigong that impart tangible, visible, repeatable, and verifiable health benefits on the way to self-empowerment. Although these two Qigong systems, Tao Tan Pai 31 Basic Meditations and Flying Phoenix Qigong ("Fei Feng San Gung") are as different as night and day in terms of yogic methodology,they are not only compatible with one another, but also synergistic. (Because I am the sole living preserver of Flying Phoenix Qigong, you will not find this combination class anywhere else on the planet.) This class provides the opportunity for current FP Qigong practitioners to get into a virtual class environment, get form corrections from me and, to get answers to any training questions they might have. It is also a rare opportunity to learn the Tao Tan Pai (Taoist Elixir Method) Basic 31 Meditations, which I have described throughout the years of this thread as being not only compatible with FP Qigong, but foundationally catalyzing and accelerating of the healing and restorative effects of FP Qigong. All my students since 1992 and all my acupuncture college students at Emperors College can attest to the profound alchemic effect that TTP-31 has on FP Qigong practice. .experience the profound health benefits of these two rare and extraordinarily powerful Taoist Qigong systems that are easy-to-do and are profoundly restorative holistic health practices, and join a lively worldwide community of students dedicated to using these yogic treasures to attain holistic health, cultivate Cosmic Consciousness, aka, complete ecological awareness starting from the cellular level, and to discover what all the writings of the ancients point at (but are not "It"), you can sign up for today's class or any future Saturday session: Zoom Meeting ID: 836 4548 3188 Login URL: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83645483188... • FEE: $40 per class; $280 / 8-class series; or $500 / 16-class series (Please send tuition via Paypal (to zenbearinc@gmail.com or scan QR Code below) or send via Zelle to terencedunn@gmail.com) •> Complete details about the content of this basic but one-of-a-kind Qigong class in the world is on this latest issue of my free monthly Newsletter: https://open.substack.com/.../sifu-terry-dunns-tai-chi... Complete details about the content of this class and my two other weekly Zoom classes: the Intermediate Qigong Class on Sundays from 3:00 to 4:30PM and the basic Tai Chi For Health class oh Thursdays from 7 - 8:30PM are on my free monthly Newsletter: https://open.substack.com/pub/terencedunn/p/sifu-terry-dunns-tai-chi-and-qigong-1da?r=5i7g9&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=false I look forward to working with you and moving you forward in your practice. Sifu Terry https://www.taichimania.com/chikung_catalog.html terencedunn.substack.com

Hello Boreas, You're welcome. I'm glad to hear that you've been practicing FP Qigong so regularly. Thanks for sharing the amount of aerobic exercise that you have in what sounds like a pretty healthy and well-balanced lifestyle. Good that you're practicing BTB every day while doing (Vol. 1+ last MSW from Vol.2 some days). But sorry to hear that the time zone difference doesn't allow you to participate in my Zoom classes. My further suggestions: 1.) Perhaps once a week or once in a longer while, make extra time and do a set of 18 rounds of BTB. Or if time is limited and doesn't permit inclusion of the other standing FP meditations, just dedicate one of your practice sessions to just doing BTB, one other stationary standing Meditation, plus your favorite seated meditation. Question: Because you're doing the last MSW med. on Volume 2 (90 80 50 20) every morning, have you discovered yet that it lives up to its nickname, "the Waker-upper"? 2.) As I'm not seeing a lot from first two volumes, I thought that it wouldn't be useful to go further and learn new forms but I can definitely try it! • Yes, try doing the moving meditations, Wind Through Treetops and Moonbeam Splashes On Water on Volume 3. 3.) I make this suggestion with the same yogic intuition that had me suggest that you try Vol.3: Since you've been practicing Vols. 1 and 2 regularly: If you're not feeling any energy effects from the seated MSW meds. on Volume 2, instead of doing the last meditation on Vol.2, try the 5 seated MSW Meditations on Volume 7, one at a time, in the order they are presented. And add one of them to your daily practice. They are more advanced meditations; four of the five on Vol. 7 are more complex in choreography--and thus are longer meditations---than the Vol.2 MSW meds. But these Vol.7 MSW meds. are very beautiful and more powerful than the preceding ones. 4.) I also second Pak Satrio's recommendation to concentrate on basic standing FP Meds.: Monk Gazing At Moon, Monk Holding Peach, and Monk holding Pearl. Together they form one pillar of FP Qigong. Bending the Bows forms another pillar. Good luck and keep us abreast of your progress. Regards, Sifu Terry https://www.taichimania.com/chikung_catalog.html terencedunn.substack.com

Here is Fu_Doggy's post of Nov. 21, 2010 that I mentioned in my reply to Boreas (above), in which Lloyd gives his report at the one year mark. I recall in another email that Fu_dog said that he had 7 years of experience with Qigong prior to his starting FP Qigong. Many thanks again if you see this, Fu_Doggy!

Hello Boreas, Welcome back to the FP forum. I have several suggestions to help you experience the tangible energization and common restorative effects of FP Qigong: 1.) It shouldn't matter that you're doing breathing exercises daily (that look like pranayama). But trying doing FP Qigong a good 3-4 hours before or after you've down you exercises to support your singing. • Questions for you: Over your 4 months of practicing FP Qigong, what was your daily training schedule like? How lont did you practice? Did you practice more than one session day? Did you work through FP Meditations in the 2 DVD volumes in the order they were presented? Regarding "regular" exercise: do you do any type of aerobic exercise (besides the breathing exercises for your singing)--such has walking, jogging, swimming, yoga, weight training, tennis, field sports, etc.)? I ask because other physical and athletic activity can affect your FP Qigong development in different ways. I've trained professional athletes-- such as the L.A. Lakers in 2000-2001. 2.) Have you done on any regular basis: the "Bending the Bows" meditation 18 times in a set--and at slower and slower and slower speeds? If not, then I recommend doing more Bending the Bows--in sets of 18 on a regular basis. 18 repetitions of BTB is a long and powerful concentration of mind and body, which lives up to the word "gong" in Qigong--which is the same character in Chinese as the "Kung" in Kung Fu. To get the Qigong to work, one has to put in the time and diligent effort, day in and day out--but without strain or obsession. • As I described in Year One of this thread, Bending the Bows was the breakthrough exercise for me. After just a couple of months of practice under GM Doo Wai's close supervision, not only did I feel profound energization and rejuvenation with every practice, but because I had done 11 years of Tai Chi Chuan with Gen. Abraham Liu and taken 11 consecutive summer retreats with Master Benjamin Lo, my Tai Chi Chuan completely filled out and transformed. Every form movement and every maneuver in Push-Hands was more spontaneous and effortless. • Several other FP practitioners had discerned early on this thread that Bending the Bows is a cornerstone exercise of FP Qigong. 3.) You might try to learn and practice the moving meditations in Volume 3--"Wind Through The Treetops" and "Moonbeam Splashes On Water"--especially if you don't do regular exercise. Even though there are upper body movements in the Vol.2 seated Monk Serves Wine meditations, GM Doo Wai stated emphatically that the standing FP moving meditations are more powerful than the seated ones. "Moonbeam" looks in some elements like Tai Chi, but is done 3x more slowly than typical Tai Chi form speed. And "Wind Through Treetops" is a uniquely powerful healing meditation with a balanced tilt-back posture that naturally reorganizes energy flow. 4.) If you've read this thread thoroughly, you will recall that I posted my discovery back in 2013 or 14 that the basic level of the other Taoist monastic system of Qigong I preserve, the Taoist Elixir Method (Tao Tan Pai), called the Tao Tan Pai 31 Basic Meditations (henceforth "TTP-31"), just happens to serve as a superb foundational catalyst for FP Qigong that amplifies and prolongs the restorative effects of FP Qigong. TTP-31 is a completely different style of Qigong using a totally different yogic methodology (as different as night and day), this catalyzing/accelerative effect of TTP on FP Qigong was confirmed by both GM Doo Wai and a high yogin in an Indian tradition (Oneness Meditation) who works full time as amedical clairvoyant. . Thus, if you learn the Tao Tan Pai Short Form Power Yoga (5 exercises) correctly, and practice it prior to FP Qigong, I am quite certain that you will start feeling the FP Healing Qi. Also, during the FP Qigong training in the second half of each Saturday class, I teach a 9-posture Wuchi progression exercise from Sum-I or I-Chuan (the internal system of Xing-I Boxing) , which deeply refines the Wuchi form throughout the entire body--and greatly supports doing-and-feeling-- "Monk Gazing At Moon" and other Bok Fu Pai Qigong arts. a. One can learn the TTP Short Form Power Yoga along with the entire TTP-31 Series by attending my weekly Saturday basic Qigong class (2:00 - 3:30pm EST) in Lenox, MA--which I just resumed. This class is Zoomable, of course. See the second video in my previous posting announcing the classes (roman numeral II.) to see what TTP-31 looks like. And click the same link here for fee information and the Zoom links for those public classes: https://open.substack.com/pub/terencedunn/p/sifu-terry-dunns-tai-chi-and-qigong-1da?r=5i7g9&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=false To get a head start in this class with the TTP Short Form Power Yoga, you can start practicing to the first three moving exercises seen in this "8 Excerpts of TTP-31" video" (from start to 5:30), which are Meditations #1, #2, and #4 of the TTP-31. (#3 not shown on this video). Then you can learn TTP#3 and TTP#18 in the Zoom class, which will complete the TTP Short Form Power Yoga. • •> The first exercise called Circling Palms is done in four sets of 8 repetitions; the 2nd "Crane Spreading Wings" is done 8x; the 3rd exercise on the video is done 8x. : b. You can also schedule an hour-long private lesson with me online so that I can correct your form if necessary and give you more advice. It's always easier to make recommendations when I see can exactly how you're practicing the FPCK. My fee for private lessons in FP Qigong and TTP-31 Qigong is $240/hour. My fee for private lessons in Tai Chi Chuan (all levels) is $220/hour (Contact me at zenbearinc@gmail.com for private lessons.) • How long a career have you had in the opera? I ask because if it's been a good part of your life already, your "not clicking" initially with the FP Qigong might be because you've developed such strong respiratory power geared towards/supporting your singing and are able to attain such blissful states of mind-body integration (satori) through your "highs" as an opera singer that you don't notice the sublime FP Healing Qi when it's generated and is circulating. That's just a wild outlier hunch. [ On a few rare occasions over the decades, I have met advanced yogins and yoginis and high masters in Tai Chi and Qigong who are so thoroughly mind-body integrated and with mental concentration perfected that they are always in higher states of consciousness (HSC) and affecting the physical environment without moving their bodies. But every master with whom I've shared the FP Qigong have definitely recognized that the FP Healing Qi as a distinct "flavor" of purely healing Qi different from the yogic energy of their respective arts. ] 5.) Or it might be that you need form corrections. The normal way to learn any authentic Qigong system like FPCK is, of course, to take classes in person. For this age of remote learning can go only so far. Fortunately, FP Qigong lends itself to at-home, remote learning because it is so safe and user-friendly. But FPCK is a high yogic art, and to progress beyond an intermediate level (unless one has extensive experience in a related internal art like Tai Chi Chuan) one has to get private, one-on-one instruction. And as Pak Satrio posted last Saturday, as far along and well-practiced as he is (approaching 3.5 years), the few corrections I gave him in his recent private lesson resulted in substantial breakthroughs. • Everybody responds differently and uniquely to the FP Qigong. Sometimes if it doesn't immediately "take," as FPCK thread-starter "Fu Doggy" nicely described in a post of how he gave it a break for some time. Then he had a clarifying phone conversation with me, then he resumed his practiced and perservered, and then Lloyd came out to L.A. from Orlando, FL for private lessons. And then his Flying Phoenix took off. See his post of 21 November 2010 - 09:21 AM--which I just found and posted below-- in which he describes how the break-through came for him and in which he gave his observations at the one-year mark and describes 12 very salient and profound health transformations!: Lloyd McClelland: #1645 Fu_doggy Dao Bum The Dao Bums 155 posts Gender:Male Location:Orlando, Florida Interests:Meditation, Tai Chi, Qigong Posted 21 November 2010 - 09:21 AM At any rate, I think that the my above 5 recommendations/guidances above should help you to attain tangible salient results from FP Qigong if you persevere with them. Please keep us all abreast of your progress. Good luck in your practice. Sifu Terry Dunn P.S. Btw, I love classical music, am a huge balletomane, and have a good taste for opera. I've trained a good number musicians in L.A. during my years of teaching there (1983 to 2017)--both instrumentalists and vocalists. My vocalist students include a 2x Grammy winning R&B soul singer-composer who is a melodic genius behind 3 new genres he created ("Alternative R&B, psychedelic soul, and avant-soul) and who made Time Magazine's 100 Most Influential Americans when he was 25 yrs. old, being described as a "breakout talent" with "breakout vision." Also in the 1980's a dated a virtuoso violinist in the L.A. Chamber Orchestra (a prodigy who went to Eastman School; debuted before the National Orchestra at age 14(!)--that plays all the L.A. Operas. Thus, over 3 years I developed a quite taste for opera. º And I'll use opera to make this simile to hopefully inspire you to continue exploring FP Qigong with Vol. 3 moving meditations, at least (--and anyone can quote me on this): the quality of music in opera is so much better (higher) than that in musicals that it is like the difference between Flying Phoenix Qigong or Tao Tan Pai Qigong and the vast majority of systems of "modern" Qigong or non-classical Qigong that I've come across and observed since 1982--i.e., qigong exercises and "systems" created after 1970. And I do say "the vast majority"--and not all--so as not to over-brush and insult any legitimate systems out there. But if a Qigong system doesn't have a lineage of masters that dates back generations to a veritable yogic genius and saint such as a Lu Tung Pin (creator of Tao Tan Pai) or a Feng Dao Deh (create of Flying Phoenix Qigong), you're at risk of wasting time on what Tao Stillness called "mere calisthenics" and what I call downstream hokum--as is printed as a warning on the back of all my CKFH DVDs published in 2004. https://www.taichimania.com/chikung_catalog.html terencedunn.substack.com

ATTENTION ALL FLYING PHOENIX CHI KUNG PRACTITIONERS: After a 4-month hiatus related to moving from upstate New York back to the Berkshires of western Massachusetts, I have just resumed my schedule of basic ZOOM classes of my three specialties: Flying Phoenix Qigong, Tao Tan Pai Qigong, and Yang style Tai Chi Chuan, plus an Intermediate Qigong Class in which I teach basic Tao Tan Pai Kung Fu forms and then Advanced Flying Phoenix Qigong. I. Thursdays, 7pm to 8:30pm EST: Tai Chi Chuan- Yang Short Form A beginners' course that teaches the 60-part Short Form created by my teacher, Grandmaster William C.C. Chen, a senior disciple of the late Prof. Cheng Man-ching. Each class begins with 25 minutes of classical warm-ups and conditioning exercises drawn from my vast repertoire that includes Gen. Abraham Liu's 3 classical Yang style exercises; Master Huang Sheng Shyan's 5 Loosening Exercises that I learend from his sr. disciple, Master James Lau King; Qing Dynasty Imperial Guard Exercises that I learned from Master George Xu; and a complete system of Chen style chan-su-chin exercises that I learned in the late 1980's from master John Fey. This is what the 60 Form looks like: II. Saturdays, 2pm to 3:30pm: "Qigong For Health First Responders" – A beginners' class consisting of 45 min. of Tao Tan Pai Basic 31 Meditations ("TTP-31") + 45 min. of Flying Phoenix Qigong (All the material on Volumes 1 to 5 of my Chi Kung For Health DVD series)-- In which beginner students feel the catalyzing/accelerative effect of the TTP-31 on the Flying Phoenix Qigong's healing effects from the very class. Also excellent opportunity for experienced FP practitioners to receive refinements and form corrections. This is what 8 of the TTP-31 Meditations looks like (plus a demo of the TTP Cane Form (my favorite foundational TTP exercise at that the end): III. Sundays, 3pm to 4:30pm -- Intermediate Class: Tao Tan Pai Kung Fu + Advanced Flying Phoenix Qigong. The first half of this class is devoted to refining the practice of the TTP-31, learning the basic Tao Tan Pai 5 Animal Kung Fu Forms (tiger, dragon, snake, crane, and monkey), and learning Tao Tan Pai's 11 Shen Exercises. This is a complete and discreet system of authentic Shen-gong that when practiced after one has proficiency in the TTP-31 Basic Meditations, expands every mode of ESP, and enables one to "see" in the Castanedan sense of the word. In the second half of each class, we refine the essential FP Meditations, "Moonbeam Splashes on Water" and the capstone Long Form meditation, called "Flying Phoenix Heavenly Healing Chi Meditation" (taught on Volume 4 of the CKFH DVD series), which gives its name to the system. Then I teach the Advanced Flying Phoenix Meditations (9 standing meditations) and introduce you to elements of 10,000 Buddhas Meditation, a profoundly powerful Bok Fu Pai health and martial Qigong system consisting of 54 Meditations organized into 3 sets of 18 exercises. (one of these 10K Buddhas Meds. is seen in this workshop footage at 29:50 on this FP Qigong overview): • Complete details about each course's content and fees is on this issue of my free monthly Newsletter: https://open.substack.com/pub/terencedunn/p/sifu-terry-dunns-tai-chi-and-qigong-1da?r=5i7g9&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=false •If you are in western Massachusetts or are coming some time in the future, you are welcome to attend these classes in person at the Lenox Yoga Studio, 52 Housatonic Street, Lenox, MA. I hope you will soon join us on Zoom. Sifu Terry Dunn https://www.taichimania.com/chikung_catalog.html terencedunn.substack.com