zen-bear

Hello Charlie, Glad you're able to teach TCC Long Form to your neighbors. And thank you for sharing the doctor's feedback to your neighbor/student Jimmy. After you teach your friends to the point that the TC Long Form is well established, you can teach them the Flying Phoenix Long Form and they'll have good results just as you did. You are most welcome. Best, Sifu Terry P.S. btw, speaking of Tai Chi: I just got back from an intensive weekend retreat with GM William C.C. Chen up in Santa Cruz. Always amazing and transformative experience. In addition to 7 solid hours of Tai Chi form refinement, Form applications, and Push-hands on both days, I had the most intensive private lesson of my life, I believe--going over the applications of every posture in his 60-posture form and his TC Sword form--all in about 65 minutes. And all this after arriving in that town at 3am in the morning after driving up from LA. Then Sunday night after classes from 9:30 to 5pm, we had a special Long Form class with GM Chen. Yesterday, upon returning to L.A., in the morning I did 3 slow rounds of the FP Long Form Standing Meditation (volume 4)--each practrice a little slower than the previous round. I then realized that while I often do 2 rounds of the FP Long Form, I had not practiced 3 rounds in a row since a workshop I taught way back in the late 90's. (The sharp clarity of mind that resulted from doing 3 rounds enhanced and reinforced the state of consciousness imparted by GM Chen's weekend workshop.) Then I decided to mix it up". So I practiced the most advanced and powerful seated Nei Kung set in the Tao Tan Pai system, the 5 Dragons, which took 55 min. This was followed by slow two rounds of Master Chen's 60-part Form. Then two rounds of his straight sword form, --and then one round of the Wudang Elixir Sword: That got the day started nicely. :0)

Hello Frederic, First, I want to publicly thank Cihan, who offers very accurate answers to your questions...even explaining how the other basic standing FP Meditations (Monk Gazing At Moon, Monk Holding Pearl, and Bending the Bows) all work to enable one to do Monk Holding Peach more comfortable and with greater relaxation. My answers to your questions: 1. Should the knees be locked, or very gently loose and thus a little bend? A: You keep the knees lock throughout the meditation. (You can from time to time, bend or flex them briefly to feel the difference between locked-knees and slightly unlocked knees [hint: the vibratory state of the body changes dramatically when one unlocks the knees). 2. In what part of the foot should the weight fall? A: As a beginner, stand with weight evenly distributed over the entire foot. If one is advanced in Tai Chi and internal arts, one can stand on the inner half of each foot, focussing on "the three nails" (as taught by Yang style Tai Chi Grandmaster William C.C. Chen), since that is the "activation" stance used to focus energy to the thumb and index finger through the heart space. **btw, one knews that one is advanced when one does not feel the body at all when in the Monk Holding Peach posture.** 3. As stated earlier in this long and sometimes dense thread (so you're excused for not having found it!): Monk Holding Pearl (50 40 30 20 10) can be done in standing wuchi, seated half-lotus, seated chair, and supine positions. The seated version of 50 40 30 20 10 is a completely separate FP Meditation than the 50 10 50 Meditation because each uses a different positioning of the hands. Enjoy your practice. Sifu Terry Dunn www.taichimania.com/chikung_catalog.html

Hi Astral_B Hi Astral_B, Sorry for the slowness in replying to your questions about warm-ups. I got back from a 2 week teaching trip to east coast and then got swept into more teaching FP Qigong seminars and planning next year's seminar schedule at 4 different locations. Anyway, the answer to your question is: It all depends on how much experience in Chinese internal energy arts (not necessarily Qigong) and how advanced your Tai Chi, Kung Fu, or Qigong form is. As a free-standing medical Qigong system, Flying Phoenix is normally done with no preliminary warm-ups. I added warm-up exercises to Volume 1 and I recall Vol.5 simply because I like warm-ups as a teacher. They add variety to a workout and they will loosen up the body, focus one's concentration, and dissipate tension beforehand so that the FP Meditations have less tension to deal with. If you practice Tai Chi or other internal arts such as Liu He Ba Fa, you can use portion of those arts as warm-up to FP Qigong practice. But when you're short of time, just do the FP Qigong. The FP Meditations themselves are complete, sufficient, and self-explanatory. If one is advanced in Tai Chi Chuan, then warm-up isn't all that necessary. An example I had cited earlier in this post: "ridingtheox" in Arizona posted in year 2 or 3 of this thread that he had 20+ years of Tai Chi experience and was able to jump straight into doing the Long Form Standing Meditation on Volume 4, skipping vols. 1, 2, and 3. He said that he got such powerful energizing results immediately that all he did was the Long Form Standing Med. two times every day. And "ridingtheox" was 71 years old at the time, and was "retired" to the physical life of cattle ranching. (Much later he went back and picked up all the FP Meds. in Vols.1 to 3) and found them to be individually empowering and also synergistic. You pretty much answered your own question in your comment: when short on time, just do the Flying Phoenix exercises. There's no Qigong or Yoga quite like it. So practicing it is the best use of your limited time. Sifu Terry Dunn www.taichimania.com/chikung_catalog.html

Hi Raven's Fire, Thank you for sharing your experience of what I call the "vibratory states" resulting from your doing the FP Standing Long Form Meditation a couple of times while at Standing Rock. While doing the Long Form Standing Meditation two times is a standard prescription for feeling tangible and verifiable energization, the location where one practices sometimes can make a big difference in enhancing FP's energizing and rejuvenating effects. As I've written a good deal about it in the early years of this thread, the body shaking an vibrating during an FP exercise--regardless of whether it is standing or seated, sedentary or moving meditation--is absolutely normal and a common side effect of FP Qigong practice. As I stated in past postings, all of the Bok Fu Pai (White Tiger) meditations have shaking and vibrating as a normal side-effect. Here's the detailed summary on shaking: 1. The involuntary shaking, tossing and vibrating are caused by the internal energy ignited by the FP Qigong breathing sequences and circulated by the movements and postures of each FP Meditation the circulates this FP Healing energy through specific pathways in the body. Whenever this energy flow meets tense tissues in the body, that tense body part shakes. 2. Each FP Meditation will cause different types of shaking. e.g. "Monk Holding Peach" (90 50 40 20 10) always caused practitioners to bend forward deeply at the waist and continue to bob up and own in repetitive "bowings". Several of my L.A. students in the 90's quipped that they felt that they were at the wailing wall in Jerusalem. 2. The "Qigong" in FP Qigong means to condition the body to conduct the FP Qigong efficiently. The more one practices FP Qigong, the more refined that vibrations become so that over time one no longer shakes as vigorously...because the FP energy permeates or is infused into the body's tissues. 3. The involuntary shaking-tossing is perfectly safe and will automatically stop on its own after a certain period of time that differes from person to person. That's one of the most interesting features of the FP Qigong. The vibrations are not that severe to begin with, and even if they do get intense in terms of amplitude and frequency, all FP practitioners experience the fact that shaking will always shut down on its own before it does any arm to the body. 4. The calm and inner quiet that is felt after the shaking shuts itself down is sublime and very sweet. (You may have felt this already.) 5. Compared to the shakings and vibrating induced by FP Qigong, the martial qigong exercises in the other Bok Fu Pai traditions induce far more intense shakings--some almost violent. My classmates and I in the early 90's referred to some of the meditations in 10,000 Buddhas System as "carnival rides", where we would be careening all across the room with arms flailing and bouncing off of walls, literally. 6. With prolonged practice, one feels a tangible reserve of FP healing energy. And this energy is distinctively different from "general" chi of the body. This healing energy will spontaneously transfer to another person in proximity to you if you have positive regard for the person and he happens to be ill or injured. 7. As I've stated earlier this year, the light, "ethereal", and blue Flying Phoenix energy is purely a healing energy. I cannot be used for martial art. 8. Location can make a difference in FP practice. There are some places in the world that are optimal for practicing yogas like FP Qigong. Carlos Castaneda called them "power spots" in his books. One can find them if one can "see" them. I remember that one of my more senior students in L.A. reported to me two summers ago by phone after he did a couple of basic standing FP Meditations (vol.1) followed by one of the seated Monk Serves Wine meditations at the famous red sand beach on the north side of Maui, which I told him to visit. In so many words, he said that first his head and mind felt expansion to the limits of universe. Then he said that he no longer felt that he had a body. Complete jhana-absorption. 9. Enjoy, enjoy, enjoy these good vibrations. Be sure to give the thread your feedback as you continue to the FP Shake. Here's a song for inspiration: (It gets good visually about 1:13 !) Sifu Terry Dunn

Hi Cihan, Thanks for your interesting post and questions about tongue position. You see, that's the great value of a forum such as this: During my decades of practicing FP Qigong,I have placed the tongue in all three positions, but mostly in the middle palate position. Neither directly behind the upper teeth (touching them) or farthest back towards the throat pointing at the pineal gland (as done in Tibetan tantric yogas). GM Doo Wai never made any distinction as to 3 positions of the tongue during all the years that I learned from him. Thus I will try all three positions in my continuing practice and let you know in time, if I experience similar involuntary movements of the tongue, and also if the various positions of the tongue on the hard palate result in different yogic effects. Thanks for prompting me to explore this, Cihan. Regards, Sifu Terry

Hello SoH, Golden Mantis is a geniune system in under the Ehrmeishan White Tiger tradtion, but it is not as broad nor as expansive (vast) a system as either SYG or FP Qigong. Golden Mantis of course has genuine effects and health value. Otherwise it wouldn't exist. Best Regards, Sifu Terry Dunn

Hi Steve, I'm glad to hear that Eric Isen was able to read to the root of your recent problem. Since you first introduced him to me and to this thread and I read deeply into his detailed readings of each Flying Phoenix exercise and the FP system as a whole, verifying that he is both gifted and annointed to his type of work, I have been recommending his services to people I know far and wide--beyond those practicing FP Qigong. I can't thank you enough for bringing Eric into your discussion of FP Qigong. Eric's work is at a high level and can serve as an essential, sometimes life-saving, supplement to institutional healthcare. That your doctor never asked you about change of diet is a symptom of the fact that medical schools still don't teach nutrition to any practical extent. Sadly, that's been the fact of medical education in the U.S. throughout its history. Why? Because outside of traumatic physical injuries (from football tackles, dark alley muggings, car accidents, falls off tall bldins, gunshot, knifing, etc.) 49% of disease are caused by bad diet, and 49% are caused by stress. I'm very glad that you got that blood pressure scare sorted out. Happy Thanksgiving. Sifu Terry

Happy Thanksgiving to all FP Practitioners on this side of the ponds: I just got back from from a trip to the east coast, including a week training in Tai Chi Chuan with the wonderful GM William C.C. Chen, and will respond to a number of interesting comments and questions posted over the past 2 weeks. But first I wanted to share some interesting feedback I got from attendees of an FP Qigong workshop I gave in New York City last Sunday the 13th--on very short notice. We only posted notices for it 6 days before on the Nov. 6. At any rate, we had a nice turn out--and greetings again to Dr. Emil Mondoa who came all the way up from Delaware with his wife for a 4-hour workshop. I used the Tao Tan Pai system's Power Yoga as a warm-up, even though that practice in and of itself is very powerful and serious Nei Kung. In the first 30 minutes, I led the class in the first 4 standing exercises of the TTP-31 followed by Meditation No. 16 which is 5 breath retentions seated with legs extended forward. This constitutes what Tao Tan Pai practitioners know as the "Short Form Nei Kung" or the "Power Yoga". Then we covered all the exercises on Volumes 1 and 2 over the course of the next 2 hours. Quite unexpected was the feedback after the first hour of FP Qigong practice. After we did all the basic standing meditations of Vol.1 and the first 3 seated warmup mediations from Vol.2: the universal comment from all the women (7 out of 10), who commented that after one hour of the Flying Phoenix Qigong they felt completely "cleansed and cleared" of the depression, pall, anxiety, anger, and worry from the election 5 days earler. One woman, the host of the workshop, said that her clouded vision had cleared up and that she didn't even realize that her vision had clouded over as a result taking the results of the election so hard. The feedback showed me how hard-hit many people have been by the election, especially women and also how severe its spiritual fallout has been for many. At any rate, that Sunday workshop's feedback told me to share this piece of holistic health and wellness advice: if anyone is feeling anxious, blue, vexed, oppressed, distressed, or out of sorts because of the election, make the time--take 35-45 minutes or more--and go through all the standing meditations on Volume 1 of my DVD series, and do at least the first 4 seated meditations of Vol.2 . Practicing that minimum amount will rinse off the psychic fall-out from the election. For experienced FP practitioners, if you do two rounds of the Long Form Standing Meditation (Vol.4) back to back, that would be equivalent to a super-wash, rinse and polish of your spirit in the material. When it comes to self-exorcising psychic fall-out, Flying Phoenix Qigong is a most reliable method. For those who haven't practiced FP Qigong to that degree of concentration, just try it as an experiment. But you have to cross the threshold of about 25 to 35 minutes of continuous practice of any of the Flying Phoenix exercises in any order or combination for the FP Healing energy to manifest. Sifu Terry Dunn www.taichimania.com/chikung_catalog.html

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FLYING PHOENIX QIGONG SEMINAR IN NEW YORK CITY ON NOV. 13 AT 3PM. Hello to all Flying Phoenix Qigong practitioners and enthusiasts. This workshop was scheduled just yesterday, so it comes with rather short notice: For my friends and students in NYC and the Northeast: next Sunday, Nov. 13, from 3pm to 7pm, I will be giving an introductory workshop on Flying Phoenix Celestial Healing Qigong at the lovely North Sky Kung Fu studio operated by Sifu Julie Shwartzman, a 23-year practitioner of Eagle Claw Kung Fu--and a fellow Yalie, by the way. Here are the details: http://www.northskykungfu.com/masterdunnseminar.html The e-flyer states that I will be teaching as a substantial warm-up regimen leading up the the FP Qigong practice: the first 16 meditations of the Tao Tan Pai 31 Exercises--which in itself will be a profound Nei Kung experience. So this workshop will be two Qigong arts back to back. As confirmed by medical clairvoyant Eric Isen for three FPCK discussion subscribers that I know of: Tao Tan Pai internal arts is an outstanding foundation and catalyst that enhances the effects of Flying Phoenix Qigong. Then I will proceed to teach and refine all the FP Meditations on Volumes 1 through 3 of the DVD series: "Monk Gazing at Moon" through "Moonbeam Splashes on Water." You all know what Flying Phoenix Qigong can do. The core group of attendees already registered are martial arts instructors in the NE area. So they are beginners. I hope many of you in NYC and the Northeast can make it to this workshop despite such short notice because it will be a great opportunity to get corrections and tune-ups and corrections to further your practice. Good practicing. Sifu Terry Dunn www.taichimania.com/chikung_catalog.html

Hi Adam, Welcome to the FP Qigong thread. 15- 20 minutes a day is the bare minimum to get a toe-hold on this system. Ideally, one should spend at least 40-45 minutes practicing FP Qigong. I think one subscriber posted early on in year one that he found that an average min. of 25 minutes of continuous practice ensured that he felt the FP Healing Energy manifest. So first, I would adjust our bare minimum to "25 to 30 minutes." Second, thank you to Apeiron&Periron and Tao Stillness for their advice on how to make use of 15-20 minutes. My advice is similar: all beginners should try to steep themselves in each of the basic standing and seated FP Meditations for 10 to 15 minutes. All the Monk Serves Wine seated meds. take 15 minutes or more because they have to be done in sets of 7 repetitions. The basic advice is "Quality, not quantity." You can devote the 25 minutes to one or two meditations, or once you are underway with daily practice, you can sometimes do five minutes of 5 FP Meditations. The advice on the online Guidelines is to start with one standing and one seated, or two standing and two seated meds. and practice them daily until you feel saturated. Then add a third standing and third seated and increase your practice time. If you cannot increase your practice time by adding new Meditations, then substitute out each meditation after you've done it daily for 2 weeks. There are many ways of getting "coverage" of all the Meditations on the Chi Kung For Health DVD series. But I would agree that the basic bare minimum of practice is 25 minutes. Enjoy the practice. Sifu Terry Dunn www.taichimania.com/chikung_catalog.html

To the Tao Bums community: Last week, one of my private students of six years who also has more than 12 ongoing years of training in the Tung Family branch of the Yang style, asked me about the “Tai Cheng” DVD product that’s being marketed via an hour-long information on numerous cable TV channels across America over the past several months). I had seen glimpses of the infomercial late at night but it impressed me so little that I always turned the channel. But because my student asked, I forced myself to watch the entire infomercial two weekends ago. It turned out to be an hour in duration. Afterwards, I told my student that I thought that his form was better than Dr. Cheng’s as seen on the infomercial. After expressing my dismay to my friend Debbie Shayne (co-owner of Plum Publications in Santa Cruz, CA (plumpub.com), which, btw, has one of the most extensive online book and DVD catalogs on Chinese martial arts) over what I saw in the infomercial, Debbie harshly critiqued that the “Tai Cheng” product doesn’t even rate as a bastardization of Tai Chi Chuan. Rather, she told to me in roaring fashion that Tai Cheng is to Tai Chi Chuan what Cheez Whiz is to real cheese—i.e., that Tai Cheng has nothing to do with real Tai Chi in substance, and is about as relevant to Tai Chi as soccer is (with no disrespect to the sport of soccer, its players, or fans)!! After thinking about what she wrote these past couple of days, I feel that she hit the nail right on the head with her colorful Cheez Whiz analogy. (Debbie Shayne, btw, has 33 years of business experience in distributing all forms publications having to do with Tai Chi, Kung Fu and Chinese internal arts. She is a Tai Chi practitioner and her husband, Ted Mancuso, has been teaching Tai Chi for 45 years.) Pasted below is a copy of my correspondence with Debbie to get this discussion kicked off. On May 29, 2013, at 1:26 PM, Terry Dunn wrote: Hi Debbie, My primary inspiration for raising the price (of my Tai Chi For Health DVD’s) came after watching the hour-long "Tai Cheng" infomercial that's running late at night on cable stations like FIT. Have you seen it yet? It was hard, but I forced myself to watch it a few nights ago. Egads, although they don't show much of what's actually on the DVD's, what they do show looks pretty ghastly and cheesy to me--in terms of bastardization and then piling on a whole bunch of gimmicky products (a mat with a tic tac toe grid on it!) and ineffective therapeutic exercises that are totally unrelated to Tai Chi. (holding onto a chair back and swinging one leg forward and back. geesh) If you've seen it, I'm curious to know what you think of Tai Cheng. (Given how much they're charging for that mass-marketed series--$39.95 x 3 installments, I think that either of my TCFH titles can justify a price of $29.95 --or 25% of the price of "Tai Cheng" product.) At any rate, I'll keep the SRP's where they are for now. Best, Terry On May 29, 2013, at 4:49 PM, Ted Mancuso & Debbie Shayne <[email protected]> wrote: Hi Terry, You are a stronger man than I am if you can watch that crap. I use the 'cheez whiz' analogy (copyright: me!) If you think of cheez whiz as a type of cheese, it will never satisfy. But if you are eating some appetizer that, for some reason, requires cheez whiz, and you don't associate it at all with cheese, then you might actually like it. Think of cheez whiz as a different food item from cheese...that's the exercise. Think of Tai Cheng as something completely different than Tai Chi. It is not some bastardized form of Tai Chi, it is as different from Tai Chi as soccer. And believe me, you wouldn't want those customers or students! Anyway, thanks for the info. I know I am a bit on the conservative side when it comes to pricing (that's about the end of my conservatism) but I am pretty sensitive to that issue, being where I am at Plum, and also at my job at the bookstore. Keep in touch, debbie On Wed, May 29, 2013 at 11:35 PM, Terry Dunn wrote: Subj: Cheez Whiz-- accurate and PRECIOUS!! Hi Debbie, Thank you for your candid and un-sugar-coated opinion of the Tai Cheng program, which I also consider to be total malarkey and a pretty grotesque derivation/ bastardization of Tai Chi Chuan. If you don't mind, as a service to that community, I would like to start a new discussion thread on www.thetaobums.com titled "Tai Cheng: Cheez Whiz -- or what??" And start it off by posting verbatim our email correspondence about it. Let me know if it's OK with you to do this. While in the past I normally just bit my tongue and kept mute about what I considered to be outrageous hokum peddled in the name of Tai Chi, I think world communications has evolved to the point (with internet and social networks magnifying the reach of TV infomercials and PBS fare to an almost exponential extent) where that it's my duty to humanity and the furtherance (and protection) of culture to call out and assail what I consider to be the latest insult to Tai Chi Chuan. Best, Terry On Thu, May 30, 2013 at 9:42 AM, Ted Mancuso & Debbie Shayne <[email protected]> wrote: Hi Terry, Sure, go ahead! And if you want, you can mention I come from Plum (plumpub.com). Debbie Thus, with Debbie Shayne’s permission, I have posted our correspondence expressing our opinions of “Tai Cheng” as TaoBums’ to spark discussion of what people think about this product and the infomercial promoting it. For the record: (1) Based on my careful viewing of the infomerical, I agree with Debbie’s opinion of the “Tai Cheng” program as appearing to be the “Cheez Whiz” version of Tai Chi. (2) In my personal and expert opinion, the Tai Cheng program as advertised in the infomercial is not representative of high-quality or even average-quality Tai Chi Chuan instruction or optimally health-enhancing Tai Chi practice because I did not see demonstrated the basic nor the cardinal principles of Tai Chi form. (3) I believe that Tai Cheng does a disservice to the Tai Chi community and the English-speaking world because I believe that it misinforms and confuses the uneducated consumer and absolute beginner as to what Tai Chi Chuan is, what correct Tai Chi practice involves, and how Tai Chi's health benefits are actually derived from correct practice of the art. (4) However, I don’t agree with Debbie’s dismissal of the Tai Cheng infomercial as “crap”. In my opinion, the infomercial is a very savvy and professionally crafted advertisement that effectively hypes a wide variety of professed benefits of an exercise regimen that to me is not very good Tai Chi—and in in several instances is not even Tai Chi at all. (5) “Marketing is marketing” --But I think that to name what's purported to be a Tai Chi Chuan instructional product using a contraction of “Tai” and one’s own last name (“Cheng” in this instance) shows a certain irreverence to the art and to the same extent, a certain degree of hubris. Note that none of the greatest Tai Chi Chuan masters throughout history had ever truncated the name “Tai Chi Chuan” and then suffixed their own last name. That puts Dr. Cheng in a class by himself. Again, I emphasize the fact that I have not viewed any part of the Tai Cheng DVD series or examined the ancillary materials (floor mat with tic-tac-toe-like grid and a roller device) marketed by the infomercial and I base my opinion solely on the statements, testimonials, and demonstrations by Dr. Cheng and the other persons appearing in the one-hour infomercial. Based on the infomercial and my knowledge of what movements embody Tai Chi principles and which do not, I do not believe that the Tai Cheng program furthers the ethical development of Tai Chi as a martial art or as a holistic health discipline. To the extent that the narrative script of the infomercial states that "Tai Cheng is based on Tai Chi", I acknowledge the fact that Dr. Cheng is teaching his own exercises derived from Tai Chi while touting the numerous health benefits of Tai Chi form practice. However, I don’t believe that “Tai Cheng” program is an effective utilization of Tai Chi form practice for health maintenance. Nor do I believe that Dr. Cheng’s performance of Tai Chi and method of teaching—as reflected in the infomercial--warrants national attention. This is my personal opinion based on 33 years of continuous training in Yang style Tai Chi Chuan under five high-level masters and 22 years of training Liu He Ba Fa (Six Harmonies/Eight Methods) under two eminent masters, having 39 years of training in several styles of Kung Fu (with master-instructor’s certification in three systems), and being the creator, writer, producer, and on-camera instructor in the most successful instructional Tai Chi DVD’s of the past 23 years, Tai Chi For Health Yang Long Form, and TCFH, Yang Short Form (created and released in 1990 on VHS). www.taichimania.com/taichi_catalog.html I normally do not write or publish anything to the negative about other people's published programs that teach Chinese holistic health practices or Chinese martial arts—even when I am asked to do so. In the past, I have simply bitten my lip and kept silent over various products published by self-proclaimed masters and Hollywood celebrities that appeared to me as mediocre, useless, or worse--for my tolerant attitude has always been one of: “this is America and business is business.” But I have made an exception here in expressing my opinion of the "Tai Cheng" infomercial and the home-study course that it sells because I believe that it gives Tai Chi a bad name and because I believe the training seen in the infomercial will not give people a good start or a foothold in the art of Tai Chi Chuan nor enable progress at an “average” pace. (Based on my teaching experience of the past 33 years, my standard for “average progress’ by a beginning student is to become totally proficient in practicing a classical Tai Chi form (e.g., 108) in approximately three years’ time, and thereafter steadily experiencing Tai Chi’s health benefits through one’s unaided practice at home.) Rather, it is my opinion that the “Tai Cheng” training will probably hamper and retard beginners’ development in the art and only cause highly credentialed and dedicated Tai Chi instructors extra work and aggravation in undoing misconceptions about Tai Chi that I think this infomercial creates, and trying to undo physical habits counter-productive to Tai Chi development that I also believe will be inculcated by its training methods as demonstrated on the infomercial. If any Taobums subscriber out there has used or is using the Tai Cheng training program and finds it to be a highly beneficial and health-enhancing Tai Chi Chuan training regimen that would provide a solid foundation for life-long growth in the art--as opposed to what I suspect may be a waste of time--please share your experience and tell me that Debbie Shayne and I are wrong here with our assessments. The great Tai Chi master Cheng Man-ching wrote that out of the three elements necessary for progressing to mastery of Tai Chi—natural talent, hard work, and correct instruction—correct teaching was the most important element of all. For hard work can make up for lack of natural talent. But no matter how much natural talent or hard work students may have, if the instruction is not correct, then all that human potential and effort is wasted--and for years if one subscribes to the wrong teacher or program. My opinion from viewing the “Tai Cheng” infomercial is that this training program will not very likely provide correct teaching of Tai Chi Chuan that will enable or further students' progress towards mastery in the either the short term or the long term. I am starting this discussion topic based on my personal opinion of the ‘Tai Cheng” infomercial. I have no opinion whatsoever about the reputed skill level of Dr. Cheng in Tai Chi Chuan or his teacher, or his Tai Chi lineage, if he is a part of one. Terry Dunn www.taichimania.com/chikung_catalog.html http://thetaobums.com/topic/12639-flying-phoenix-chi-kung/page-55?hl=%2Bflying+%2Bphoenix+%2Bkung#entry257448

Hi SmallSteps, You're welcome. Regarding W.Y. Evans-Wentz's book, besides the introductions concerning your posted topic question, the unity of all religions, I strongly recommend reading and studying the first 1/3 or so of the book devoted to "Precepts of the Gurus" and "Elegant Sayings". They form a complete proverbial book of wisdom and an invaluable yogic, psychological, and spiritual roadmap for any person committed to the path of healthful integration of mind and body, the elevation of consciousness thereby, and the development of one's spiritual potential. As I've stated many times in many places, the footnotes of "Tibetan Yoga and Secret Doctrines" contain more authentic yoga and secret, esoteric yogic doctrine than any shelf full of new age books. Everything from detailed yogic and spiritual operations with purposes ranging from self-purification, to mastering the dreamstate, to perfecting lucidity during earthly existence and transfering it to the bardo state, to attaining liberation from sangsaric existence (enlightenment), to healing the individual, to healing the state through numerous sacred rites of exorcism and Mystery Plays, to becoming a bodhisattva, aka saint, Taoist Immortal, . But most useful and relevant to the neophyte meditator and yogin are the Precepts of the Gurus, which is so complete so as to "fill in all the gaps" that might exist in any spiritual path that one might be embarked upon, including monastic orders north, south, east, or west. e.g., here is a definition of "Gift wave conference" on pages 213-214 of one yogic operation that one can utilize while in Flying Phoenix Meditation. ...Arya Deva, hath said: 'All apparent phenomena are like dreams and magical illusions, As all followers of the Buddha assert; But those [of the Southern School] who oppose the practice of inducing "gift-wave" conference on oneself,4 See not by actual realization this dream-like and illusory nature of things.' 4 This refers to the practice common to Northern Buddhists, in Tibet, China, Mongolia, and Japan, and opposed by Southern Buddhists, of Ceylon, Burmah, and Siam, of employing rituals which imply a direct appeal or prayer to deities, either regarded as being imaginary, as in the visualizations contained in the various texts comprising this volume, or as real divine impersonal forces, as symbolized by the Dharma-Kaya. There are some, but very few, amongst Northern Buddhists who, in this matter, side with the Southern Buddhists. The 'gift-waves', or spiritual power telepathically transmitted from the superhuman gurus to the gurus on Earth and thence to the disciples, are evoked in virtue of a yogic process akin to auto-suggestion. In other words, the yogin aims at making known his desire for divine guidance by consciously projecting perceptible waves of psychic influence to the superhuman realms wherein exist the Great Teachers, Who are no longer incarnate. To this end he makes use of mental concentration upon rituals and visualizations of deities, either purely imaginary or relatively real. The Southern Buddhists, in Arya Deva's view, are in their opposition to these Northern Buddhist yogic practices, much like the psychologist who seeks knowledge at second hand, or from external sources, rather than from within himself. The essential teaching of our Mahayana texts is that the Divine Wisdom, the All-Knowledge, is innate, or internal; in the Christian sense, that the Kingdom of Heaven lies within. Enjoy your reading of this treasure trove of yogic and spiritual secrets. Sifu Terry Dunn

CHEEZ-WHIZ REDUX. Time for my quarterly or bi-annual doubling-down on my initial public service announcement warning against wasting money and, more importantly, TIME and MENTAL AND PHYSICAL ENERGY on the "Tai Cheng" workout course on DVD produced by Beach Bodies and hawked on late night tv infomercials with Regis Philbin and a lot of paid actors who don't know any better. As I am now in my early 60's (aka, "beyond the age of tolerance for horseshit"), with more than 44 years of experience in Yang style Tai Chi Chuan, Liu He Ba Fa, an extremely rare internal art you've never heard of called 8 Sections of Energy Combined, Tao Tan Pai Kung Fu, and 3 complete Qigong systems under the umbrella of Ehrmei Mountain White Tiger (Bok Fu Pai) Kung Fu, I will renew my last critique with slightly different words this time: Tai Cheng is the worst "Tai Chi" program that I have ever seen--I think in my lifetime. It is Tai Chi in its subtitle only. The current web advertisement is very telling: the price of the Tai Cheng program is now slashed from the original $120 to $59.85 and at the bottom it touts that a woman who is now a Tai Cheng coach lost 53 lbs. at age 77. I'm sure sure did. But my guess is that they can't give this product away. I mean, good grief!--not only is Tai Chi training not enough, but I noticed in the add that the program also features two "treatments" called "Ultimate Reset" and "Shakeology". While I agree to a certain extent with Harmonious Emptiness above who says that raising popular awareness of Tai Chi--even with such an obviously terrible product--will eventually lead people to find the authentic traditions and sources of knowledge and that such an increase of generic Tai Chi brand recognition is overall a good thing, as a teacher keenly interested in process, I just hate to see people wasting their time thinking that they're doing Tai Chi when they are not--but are actually doing nothing but a bunch of random ho-hum calisthenics with gimmicky props (e.g., footprint map and elastic strap) that don't impart one ounce or iota of health benefit derivable from Tai Chi practice. Having only seen the past infomercials and the web ads for Tai Cheng, I can only surmise that the only value of this product is the cookbook and the calendar, if only the latter was blank. Again, as a creditable Tai Chi instructor and a Kung Fu and Qigong master recognized by Chinese physical culture, I ask other instructors or Tai Chi adepts to just look at the postures printed on the DVD labels in the photo at the top of this webpage for this product from a remote distance. I would be interested in knowing whether you agree with my professional opinion that not a single one of these seven images emblazoned on their DVD discs show correct Tai Chi postures according to the principles of the art. Well, maybe the woman (in red tank top) doing Single Whip posture gets a C- and can barely pass. https://www.beachbody.com/product/161654.do?ch=gse&CSE_SHOPZILLA&szredirectid=14783118046992884554810080301008005 The old picture book and VHS video from the 1980's titled "Nude Tai Chi" was a lot more edifying. At least it has real Tai Chi postures in it. Hey, and the posture in the video's key art is better Tai Chi form and focus than any of the images on the Tai Cheng discs--see for yourself: https://www.amazon.com/Nude-Tai-Chi-Bert-Rhine/dp/6304291817 Between the two, give me Nude Tai Chi any day before the CHEEZ-WHIZ ! Help and Health to all my brothers and sisters! (Traditional Lakota blessing). Sifu Terence Dunn www.taichimania.com/chikung_catalog.html

Last night at my evening Qigong class, I taught the following combination of Tao Tan Pai and Flying Phoenix meditations according to feedback of the students. For warm-up, I taught: A. the first 13 standing meditations of the Tao Tan Pai 31 Exercises* (basic level Nei Kung)- 55 min. B. TTP basic (seated) Ex. 16* - 5 breathe retentsions over 5 min. C. TTP basic (seated) Ex. 18.* - 5 min. D. Preliminary seated Flying Phoenix meditations (50 10 50 stationary) and E. (50 30 10)--the second and third editations on Volume 2 of the CKFH DVD series. After a 10 min. break: F. Bending the Bows (12 reps, very slowly) - 20 minutes G. Wind Above the Clouds (one round) - 3 minutes (very slowly) H. Monk Serves Wine (20 40 90 10 -- last meditation, I believe, on Volume 7 DVD) - 7 rounds 15 minutes. All seated meditations done in front of a pale powder "denim" blue candle. *The Tao Tan Pai 31 Exercises including all the meditations described in A, B, C above will be coming to DVD within the next year. Sifu Terry Dunn www.taichimania.com/chikung_catalog.html

"my body begins moving on its own after falling asleep and the hands start healing or connecting channels through the palms of my hands." Do you mean self-healing or healing others? If you lucidly experience/ see your hands connect to those energy centers, start doing work with the energy. If you're dreaming it, get lucid in the dreamstate and start doing healing work on yourself first if necessary...then on others. An exercise I used that was/is very effective developing lucid dreaming is to find your hands in your dreams consistently. And then consciously look around and the travel. (That is from Carlos Castaneda's chronicle of his training with his Yaqui teachers.) Enjoy your continuing practice. Sifu Terry Dunn

Hi smallsteps, I think everyone following the thread appreciates your posted questions. I've been slow to reply all recent postings because I've been doing an unusually busy schedule of teaching beyond my normal classes in L.A. Given this supernatural origin rooted in Buddhism/Taoism, I was wondering if this qigong system was compatible with any religious or spiritual practice that would have different roots and branches. As an illustration of that, which kind of triggered my question, Sifu Terry Dunn often makes references to Christianity, Thelemic mottos via A. Crowley's works etc. as if all religious or spiritual works were operating at the same level. Reading Sifu Terry Dunn's posts, I don't think he is a kind of New Age person. I was thus only asking two questions in one: - Can anyone practice FP regardless of their religion? - Can Sifu Terry explain a little about the underlying unity of religions? Yes, the Flying Phoenix Qigong, according to the oral tradition and as attested to by virtually every practitioner's wonderment as to its alchemic effects, was a gift from a Divine Intelligence to man on earth. And what special and extraordinary NON-SECTARIAN gift Flying PHoenix Qigong is--in response to your first question. Given that one of the most unique qualities of FP Qigong is that once the practitioner has completed an FP Meditation's particular breath control sequence and is the correct posture, his/her mind can be focussed on anything at all (that is, one need not subscribe to, believe in, appropriate, or hold in mind any religious or spiritual thought, belief, or symbol for the meditation to impart its full health and yogic benefits), short-term practice of the Flying Phoenix Qigong system will naturally lead one to the realization that one's religion or lack of religion does not matter. The Qigong works regardless of one's religious belief--except for one big exception explained below. The human body basically functions the same for everyone. There is the living God Almighty. Flying Phoenix Qigong and any other complete Yoga worth its salt will evolve one's consciousness to know God directly and scientifically--so as to obviate making ontological arguments or exercising blind faith. So Flying Phoenix Qigong is certainly compatible with any positive and pious religious or spiritual practice related to the 3 semitic religions (Judaism, Christianity, Islam) and the major Asian religions including but not limited Taoism, Buddhism, Hinduism and ancient Zoroastriansm, and all their offshoots and subsects. However, FP Qigong as a pure healing Qigong is not compatible with the evil-minded and the evil-doing, who don't have the least interest in experiencing this channel of healing Light anyway because they cannot conquer it or exploit it and are fearful-terrified of its positively transformative effects. - Can Sifu Terry explain a little about the underlying unity of religions? The underlying unity of religions is what is common to all of them, at least at their inceptions: direct experience of the One God (--which anyone can attain to if one meditates correctly) and the preservation and teaching of divine wisdom. I cannot expound a thesis on comparative religion here in this forum, although that is one of my natural life-long interests. But I'll just say that throughout the history of mankind, many great sages and karmically advanced souls have become enlightened, became one with the Universal Power/Creator and were imbued with spiritual powers, which they used to help lead mankind out of darkness and barbarity. Religions were rightly built upon the positive Acts and teachings of many of these enlightened beings. But what differentiates certain sects of the eastern religions (such as Taoism, Buddhism, Tibetan Buddhism, Hinduism) from their peers and from their western counterparts is that they have retained some sort of Yogic and Meditative Science as a vehicle to directly experience and commune with the Creator, Universal Power, Godhead, Brahman-atman, Ahura Mazda, etc. and so are able to accurately interpret the esoteric meaning of their ancient exoteric scriptures. I shall now defer to the W.Y. Evans-Wentz commentary on "what unifies religions" that he made in 1935 in INtro to "Tibetan Yoga & Secret Doctrines: XII. THE EXOTERIC VERSUS THE ESOTERIC TEACHINGS Not only does our Western science, at present, thus leave us in ignorance concerning the greatest of all human problems, but our Western theology, whose chief concern is with these very problems, has, in large measure, departed from those yogic methods of attaining spiritual insight which gave scientific character to Primitive Christianity, more particularly to its Gnostic Schools, now regarded as having been 'heretical'. And that form of purely intellectual, rather than gnostic (i.e. knowing),comprehension of religious teachings, which nowadays leads to the worldly dignity of a doctor of divinity, a bishop, or a pope, has never been regarded by the Wise Men of the East as sufficient to entitle its possessor to become a teacher of religion. Simply to believe a religion to be true, and to give intellectual assent to its creed and dogmatic theology, and not to know it to be true through having tested it by the scientific methods of yoga, results in the blind leading the blind, as both the Buddha and the Great Syrian Sage have declared.1 Herein is discernible one of the fundamental differences separating religions which are based essentially upon professions of faith and written scriptures declared to be infallible and all-sufficient for mankind's salvation, and the secret doctrines which are dependent upon realization of Truth rather than upon scientifically untested belief. On the one hand, we see highly organized and in many instances nationally supported and directed churches and priesthoods pledged to promulgate doctrines, dogmatically formulated by church councils, which members are obliged to accept upon pain of excommunication. On the other hand, we see a body of teachings (preserved by secret transmission rather than by bibles) which their masters refuse to have accepted merely intellectually, no conventional or legalized ecclesiastical organization, and no form of faith other than that which each man of science must have in the possibility of discovering facts by careful experimentation. In the Occident, but rarely in the Orient, the mere intellectual acceptance of religion has led to the inhibiting or discouraging of freedom of thought. The rationalistic questioning and scientific testing of that which the orthodox church and priest declare to be true, without knowing whether it be true or not, have been, until quite recently, fraught with serious consequences. Partly out of distrust of such ecclesiastical tyranny, but more especially for the purpose of preserving arcane knowledge from misuse by the spiritually unfit, the higher or secret teachings, which lie hidden at the root of all the chief world religions, always have been, as they are to-day, transmitted through a select few. The form of this transmission varies, as our texts will explain. Sometimes it is wholly telepathic, sometimes entirely by symbols, often only oral, and never completely by means of written records. A similar system of secret transmission prevailed in all the Mysteries of Antiquity, in Egypt, Greece, and Rome, or wherever the Mysteries were established, as it did amongst the Druids of Gaul, Britain, and Ireland. At the present time it prevails in the occult fraternities of India and Tibet, and elsewhere. Remnants of an ancient occultism exist amongst the aboriginal races of both Americas, of Africa, Melanesia, and Polynesia, in the form of religious secret societies. Some of the more occultly instructed Lamas and Hindus believe that no people, not even the most degenerate or least cultured, since man has inhabited this planet, have ever been without. 1 Cf. 'The Ten Grievous Mistakes [of a Religious Devotee]', aphorisms 4 and 8, pp. 86-7. According this nice explanation of the all-importance of real Yoga to enable one to see "the unity of all religions", we can say that the Flying Phoenix Chi Kung community of practitioners qualifies as as an "occult fraternity" (I mean no offense to women and, of course, intend no exclusion of women in quoting Evans-Wentz's scholarly lingo here). Congratulations to us! Thanks for your post. Regards, Sifu Terry Dunn

You're most welcome, Astral-Butterly! That's what I'm here for. And I'm glad to hear that your immunity was already strong from past Qigong practices before you started Flying Phoenix practice and that its practice alleviated the stomach pain tied to the deep anger issues. It's not easy to work through time-bound pain and turn those issues around completely. Congratulations on your thorough primal healing! Continued practice of FP Qigong will make you keepy hard-won freedom by making you ever more and more conscious of the unhealthiness of maintaining or adding to time-bound pains by reacting to the old emotional stressors that we were taught and programmed with throughout out childhood and later. Crushing that early paradigm that caused Pain is the key to healthy life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Enhanced trance skills is the natural by-product of FP Qigong practice. The tangible healing and rejuvenating effects and comfort of the FP Healing Energy creates such unique and overwhelmingly positive message units from the body to the brain that the Flying Phoenix-specific trance state is unmistakable. You'll find that is unique and different from the trance states induced by other meditative and Qigong traditions. (I've written about my experience of FP Healing Energy in comparison to the Deeksha Blessing of the Sri Bhagavan's Oneness Meditation Movement.) Just yesterday I taught a 2-hour beginning FP Qigong class to a group of ten absolute beginners (all middle-aged, in their 40's, 50's and 60's) for the first time and after 1hr. 15 mins. of Tai Chi conditioning and wuchi posture drills, we did Bending the Bows, Monk Gazing At Moon, and Monk Holding Peach in that order for a total of 45 min. And I heard from the class organizer that everyone today is now still in trance. The trance states are a sublime high, but it's also the physiological healing and rejuvenation, the realization that it is an undeniable reality, followed by the insight and vision into how that is yogically possible that comes with regular FP Qigong practice that makes FP Qigong self-sustaining for long-term practitioners. Enjoy. Sifu Terry Dunn www.taichimania.com/chikung_catalog.html

Me, too. Just catching up with this past week's posts. Sifu Terry Dunn

Hi Astral-B, I missed this first posting of yours in answering the following one. Yes, hair and skin rejuvenation are the first signs of proper Flying Phoenix Qigong practice. Enhanced immunity goes without saying after just 2-3 weeks of practicing any of the FP Meditations in any order so long as the total practice time amounts to about 25 to 35 minutes a day. 50 to 70 min. of practice per session is, of course, is more than twice as beneficial. Wait til you get to doing two or three of the Advanced seated "Monk serves Wine" meditations on Volume 6 on a regular basis. Besides the phenomenal healing benefits, I can describe the yogic experience in the terms set forth by Daniel Goleman in his most useful roadmap, "The Buddha and Meditative States of Consciousness": as streaking through the first three levels of jhanic absorption and approaching the threshold of the formless jhanas. Enjoy the rebirth of your cells! Sifu Terry Dunn www.taichimania.com/chikung_catalog.html

Astral Butterfly, Congrats on finding the specific cure for your lower abdomen ache with Wind Above the Clouds (50 40 30)!! Yes, that will relax the guts as well as stretch the back and legs and develop greater control over the entire body by the waist. And yes, do Wind Above the Clouds along with all the other basic Standing FP Qigong meditations. Of course, the goal is to become proficient in the Long Form meditation of Vol.4 Once that is under the belt, immunity is profoundly enhanced...and you will almost never get sick due to common infectious diseases like colds, flu's. For you in particular, I want to recommend that you attempt to learn and then practice this medium length, somewhat complex moving meditation performed by GM Doo Wai on Youtube that shares the same name with our second FP Meditation: "Monk Gazing At Moon," but which he labels on Youtube as: "Healing Qigong Detox Meditation It will promote very good health--and will work through tensions and pains in the alimentary system. Its choreography is a bit more complex than the "Moonbeam Splashes on Water" moving meditation on the Volume 3 DVD, but it is not as long as the capstone Long Form Meditation taught on Vol.4). So I am hereby recommending to all FP Practitioners, if they have completed learning all the Meditations on Volumes 1 through 5 and Volume 6, to go ahead and learn this Moving Meditation. It has excellent benefits, and anchors all the health and yogic effects of the FP Qigong system. Again, this meditation is NOT formally part of the FP Qigong system, but it is most complementary to it. The postures and movements are very similar to Tai Chi transitions. Some of the movements are extremely subtle in application and require coaching to get them right. I will be producing a new DVD teaching this Meditation in the coming year (along with 4 other Chi Kung For Health titles and 4 new Tai Chi For Health titles. In the meantime, anyone who has learned this Form its entirety can contact me for online tutorials to correct form and refine one's practice for maximum effect. Congrats again Astral-B! Sifu Terry Dunn www.taichimania.com/chikung_catalog.html

About "Falling Water": Several years ago I shared on this thread my experiences of lucid dreaming and the exchange of "dream modalities" with a classmate and fellow FP Practitioner after our group did a guided meditation and exercise at two remote locations under GM Doo Wai in the early 1990's. Thus this comment about mind-control through the dream state is relevant to FP Qigong practice for it is a capability that can be attained through advanced practice. The subject of mind-control through the dream state came to mind tonight while I was watching the pilot episode of the new tv series, "Falling Water." In trying to attract a mass tv audience with the kindergarten hook, "What if your dreams are trying to tell you something?", the show's producers are making much ado and creating hype over a very commonplace theme, precognitive dreams, that just isn't esoteric--certainly not for artists at least, nor for anyone who meditates properly. But that's showbiz marketing. So far, the show appears to be well written, acted, and directed. The one of several story lines where the heavy bearded guy wants to monitor the dreams of the female photographer who he thinks has an instinct for the archetypes of the collective subconscious in order to research (psychic) interconnectedness and then exploit "dream-control" for obviously evil purposes looks stupid and ludicrous to me. For throughout human history there have always been strong psyches with the ability to invade weaker others' dreams or to mesmerize and control the behavior of a person in the waking state in broad daylight. Psychic warfare methods were developed by the two superpowers back in the 80's. If individuals with strong Will and psychic awareness (or "shen" as we say in Chinese yogic arts) choose to use control or influence their subjects' behavior by interfering with their dreams, then they are taking away free will and by definition are committing evil...and buying a ticket for themselves to Hell. As Aleister Crowley put it in Book Four: It cannot be too clearly understood that such is the nature of things: it does not depend upon the will of any persons, however powerful or exalted; nor can Their force, the force of Their great oaths, avail against the weakest oath of the most trivial of beginners. The attempt to interfere with the Magical Will of another person would be wicked, if it were not absurd. One may attempt to build up a Will when before nothing existed but a chaois of whims; but once organization has taken place it is sacred. As Blake says: "Everything that lives is holy; and hence the creation of life is the most sacred of tasks. It does not matter very much to the creator what it is that he creates; there is room in the universe for both the spider and the fly. It is from the rubbish-heap of Choronzon that one selects the material for a god! -- Book 4 by Aleister Crowley (1913) Several of my past high-level Chinese kung fu and Tai Chi masters who can teach their students telepathically across short distances (and usually within line of sight) can also communicate with them through the dream state. Two have done so with me in the past. Another teacher who has passed from this earthplane occasionally visits me in my dream state and teaches me how to handle strong evil adversaries on this plane while he works on them from the other side. The ability to do communicate telepathically with others--in either waking state or dream state-- is simply developed by mastering the Mind through Yoga--any authentic system of Yoga from any culture properly taught by a genuine master. Unfortunately, one of my early kung fu teachers in the 70's (who was mid-level), and one Tai Chi master in the 80's (who was very high level and potentially very dangerous) did use their strong psychic powers to mesmerize and control others for their own ridiculously selfish and perverse purposes. And both have a long stays in a deep circle in Hell as their karma. For no matter how powerful or exalted, no one can escape who they are and what they do. So, as one progresses in Flying Phoenix Qigong practice and experiences the brain activation, the tangible reality of the FP Healing Energy, and the unlocking of latent psychic and healing ability, it is important to take to heart the admonition that Aleister Crowley clearly laid down to protect the Dharma: "If your Work is not 100% given up to the Almighty, then it is black magic." Sifu Terry Dunn www.taichimania.com/chikung_catalog.html

I just wanted to finish an incomplete sentence I wrote at the end of the second to the last paragraph of this post in reply to Yuyumonk on May 18, 2016--and to elaborate further upon that statement. My additions are in blue below: It’s my experience and opinion that TTP Nei Kung complements and enhances FP Qigong more than FP Qigong complements TTP. This is because TTP Nei Kung works with the body’s generative force (sexual energy) and thus is fully rejuvenating to the extent that its practice can replace sleep to a certain extent. In contrast, Flying Phoenix Qigong and all the other Bok Fu Pai internal arts that I've experienced thus far, and according to GM Doo Wai’s answer to my questions about "qigong as sleep replacement"--are NOT able to replace lost sleep or take the place of sleep. (Certainly, advanced practitioners of the BFP internal arts like Sifu Hearfield will have greater endurance and better alertness and overall functionality while enduring sleep deprivation.) However, there are Bok Fu Pai and Flying Phoenix meditations that can be done with our BFP 5-powder meditation tincture that will definitely keep one awake for an extra 24, 48 or more hours. That is, meditation and this herbal tincture can enable one to totally skip one night of sleep and possible up to two nights of sleep. But this meditation phenomenon is not an exception to the rule that for the Bok Fu Pai Meditations to have maximum effect, one has to have normal, sufficiently restful sleep. Because the body still recovers allostatically by going to sleep as soon as possib.e for all hours that were skipped. The BFP Meditation tincture makes this sleep very soft, smooth, deep and calm without any jagged "edge" that one typically feels from sleep deprivation caused by drugs such as ampetamines, and also when "crashing" to sleep after prolonged sleep deprivation. Bottom line: one will NOT do well by practicing Flying Phoenix Qigong while one should normally be sleeping. Tao Tan Pai Nei Kung, on the other hand, can be practiced in an emergency to replace sleep or to stave off the effects of sleep deprivation and to continue functioning at peak levels. This makes TTP training useful if not ideal for elite military and police personnel and also extreme endurance athletes. But Tao Tan Pai is a somewhat more rigorous and demanding monastic training than FP Qigong.

Hello Astral_B, I assume that your lifestyle or career requires you to wake up at 4 am every morning. That is a rough routine even if you do get 8 hours of sleep per night. In my experience over the past 42 years with 4 complete major systems of Qigong/Nei Kung (Tao Tan Pai, Flying Phoenix, Ten thousand Buddhas, and 8 Sections of Energy Combined, plus a few tiny compact systems), I've come to learn that (my) body needs to be asleep between the hours of 4 am and 6am. Certain orbs need to be rest and regenerated in allostasis during those hours. But given that you must awaken at 4 am. I would recommend that you immediately start doing the Seated FP Meditations called "Monk Serves Wine" on Vols. 2 and 7. As Earl Grey commented: FP seated meditations in the evening insure sound, restful, comfortable sleep. ONE BIG EXCEPTION: the last MSW meditation on Vol.2 with breathing sequence 90 80 50 20 is known as Thee Waker-Upper. DO NOT do that meditation in the evening if you want to sleep. It will do the opposite, keep you up for hours if not all night and make you miserable! Other that meditation, you can do any of the seated FP Meditations to aid sleep. Also out side of Monk Serves Wine medtations. Do at least 10 minutes of quiet sitting before sleeping. Regarding breath retention. Do NOT do any breath retention when you are practicing FP Qigong. Do it in a totally different practice session. Breath retention will cause a certain degree bodily tension in all beginners and that is counter-productive to the FP Cultivation. The other system that I teach, Tao Tan Pai (Taoist Elixir Method) which is a beautiful and powerful system equal to the internal arts in the Bok Fu Pai tradition, utlizes breath retention throughout the system because it is a totally different alchemy in terms of: A. Xing (Hsing) (shape form of the body), B. Yi (I) Mental focus and concentration and "will", and C. Qi (Chi)--esoteric breathing method. As I mentioned earlier in this thread, and to continue along the line that Adhimutta verified with medical clairvoyant Eric Isen, Flying Phoenix Qigong practice to be optimally effective requires one to have a normal healthy sleep cycle. Also, FP Qigong practice does NOT replace sleep. Whereas the two most advanced levels of Tao Tan Pai Nei Kung can replace a certain amount of lost sleep. But the Tao Tan Pai path of cultivation is long and rigorous and requires a certain period of celibacy as well. My recommendation is to start doing the seated FP Meditations to get immediately improve the quality of your sleep. If you like Yogas that utilize breath retention, and have the time to learn it, you can learn Tao Tan Pai Nei Kung starting with the Basic 31. There are no publications in any medium teaching the TTP-31 at present. I teach TTP in Los Angeles in several settings and at different times of the year. I also teach it to a number of students around the world via Skype. If you're interested in exploring it through online tutorials, you can let me know via PM here. You can contact "Joolian" in Germany to get his review of the Basic TTP-31 that he has started to learn. Good luck with your practice. Sifu Terry Dunn www.taichimania.com/chikung_catalog.html

Hello Cihan, Thanks for sharing the video of your FP Long Form practice. Beautiful background. Even with fast forward speed of play, I can make out the specifics of your moving meditation. You are doing very well and have nice flow through the Long Form and are doing the basic postures in general correctly. Here are some pointers/minor corrections to consider if you want to further develop the internal movements of energy so that your practice becomes more "liquid": 1) Give yourself the feeling of ALWAYS hugging a large balloon or airbag with your arms and chest--so that the chest is empty most of the time. 2) Specifically, maintain a larger angle inside your elbows. 3) When you "open and close" the "Monk Gazing At Moon" position 3 times (at 9 -10 seconds on your video time code), try to figure out how to also "open and close" your legs in the horse stance IN SYNC with the closing the circle of your arms and chest--so that tangibly feel the compression of the Qi from the lower body going upwards into your torso, arms, and fingertips. This upward compression of the QI is a jealously guarded secret in all the Chinese internal martial arts. 4) One position is incorrect: The next movement after the 3 opening-closings of the Monk Gazing At Moon posture"--at approx. 12 seconds on your timeline-- is a little bit off: bring the palms in facing downward at the level of the solar-plexus--not at the level of the throat/collar bone again. (see 1:59 to 2:07 in my video below for reference) You can use this recent video as a reference for keeping a constantly MORE ROUND posture of the chest and arms: Watch the coordination of the whole body. It's very subtle. You want to coordinate the entire body to expand and contract with every movement. Overall: Good Job and keep up the regular practice! Best, Sifu Terry Dunn P.S. If you're interested in getting an online Skype tutorial to work on the specific form improvements listed above, just contact me through PM here.