zen-bear

Craig, You're welcome. I'm glad that you're giving the Flying Phoenix Qigong a try. Answers to your question: 1. As long as you're relaxed and mindful, you can take 1 minute or longer to do the breath control sequences. I sometimes do it that slowly, as I developed 1 minute+ breath cycles from years of doing Tai Chi Ruler (mostly). Make sure you do 3 full breathes before each breath-control sequence and always end the meditation with 3 full breaths. w. Yes, Sifu Garry is correct, in the FP system and in the several other Bok Fu Pai internal systems that I practice, DO NOT connect any part of the breath cycle to any particular movement. With Bending the Bows, DO NOT try to coordinate inhalation with rising or exhalation with sinking movements. IT IS NOT NECESSARY--and may just cause you to strain your breathing. Just do the movements as slowly as possible--approaching the speed of a "shifting sand dune" and breathe normally. If 1 breath per minute (30 sec. to inhale, 30 sec. to exhale) is hour normal rate without any strain, then breathe at that rate. Good Luck. And thanks for considerately starting a separate discussion thread called Flying Phoenix Qigong Practice, as there are quite a few FP practitioners using this blog at this time and Sifu Garry and I want to hear from and respond to everyone who has a question on this thread. (At some Point, the management of this site will limit the thread to the first 200 postings--or the most 200 recent postings. So far, we've been lucky as more than that number continues to be posted and added to. I'll respond to your comments on the FP Qigong Practice thread whenver I can. Best, Sifu Terry

Hello Craig, I've written in earlier posts that for BEST RESULTS, one should focus solely on the Flying Phoenix Qigong when one is learning it. Once established, and one has a clear sense and understanding of how the FP Qi cultivation works, it can be practiced alongside other systems--although you don't want to mix other internal exercises into a session of FP training. I'm always curious to know what Ehrmei arts you have experience in. There are many, many arts that hail from that sacred mountain--or are just named after it. My teacher and source of the Flying Phoenix Qigong knowledge was Grandmaster Doo Wai, the 6th generation grandmaster of the Bak Fu Pai, or White Tiger Kung-fu system. The Flying Phoenix Celestial Healing Qi Meditations is the medical qi art under the Bak Fu Pai umbrella,which covers a vast amount of powerful internal martial and healing arts. The first generation ancestor learned the BFP arts from Feng Do Duk (Feng Tao Teh in Mandarin) who is acknowledged as a legendary saint and yogin at Ehrmeishan. There are ancient plaques commemorating him in the Ehrmeishan region. GM Doo Wai's father was a very close friend of the last great grandmaster of the White Eyebrow (Bak Mei) system, Cheung Lai Cheun, and he exchanged great amount of knowledge with CLC. Much more knowledgable about the link between BFP and Bak Mei is Sifu Garry Hearfield in Australia, who was contributing to this blog before I found out about it and joined. You should contact Sifu Hearfield if you are interested in learning about the Bak Fu Pai lineage of GM Doo Wai. Thanks for your interest. I'm glad you started working with the DVD. Regards, Sifu Terry Dunn P.S. got the webpage glitch finally fixed, too. It was quite debugging chore of a badly corrupted file.

Hi Nic, Yes Wave Hands Like Clouds done in a stationery bow stance (called the "Circling Exercise") is the warm-up exercise on my Tai Chi for Health dvd's. It was emphasized by Master Abraham Liu in his training as the most important exercise outside of the classical Forms. Thanks for your compliment on the DVD. Answer: No, Wave Hands Like Clouds or any of the warm-up exercises will certainly NOT interfere or degrade one's practice of the FP Qigong. IF you do them in your Tai Chi training, your health and grounding will be that much better, and you will only develop greater capacity, conductivity and awareness to consciously channel the FP Qi. Hope this helps. Terry Dunn

Hi Rene, 'Glad to hear you are feeling the benefits of the FP practice. The particular method of energy cultivation in Flying Phoenix Qigong--the "formula" of coordinating eyes, mind, movement and breath--is very simple, yet very sophisticated--as my friend Sifu Jonathan Wang (Master Daniel Wang's son) commented. That is why you can experience strengthened immunity and higher energy levels from doing just 3 meditations per session on a regular basis--and not even on a daily basis (although daily would be ideal). With regards to sudden shocks and loud noises interrupting your FP meditations, it is always ideal to practice in solitude and complete silence. But ambient noise in one's environment (traffic, subway trains, neighbors net door, etc.) is often unavoidable depending on where you live...and background noise causes no harm and won't detract from the FP cultivation. The most important thing, however, is to practice in a protected area so that no one and no thing can run into you or bump into you while you are doing the FP meditations. Because the FP meditations so highly sensitize the nervous system and energizes the body on a cellular level, getting suddenly bumped or struck while meditating the FP exercises can seriously harm your internal energy. (The damage could be equivalent to be struck by an internal blow--even though the person or thing bumping into you may have no training in internal arts). Thus this was a strong warning that GM Doo Wai gave all of us when he taught the FP Qigong system. And it's worth reiterating on a regular basis...so that you don't lapse and forget this safeguard. Thanks for contributing your experience. Best, Terry Dunn

Hi Bill, There are a few retailers in Los Angeles that carry all my DVD's, but I don't know about Orange County. What part of Orange County will you be in? I don't have a permanent studio that I run; I just rent studio space for my classes. If you happen to come up to Los Angeles, you can visit any of my Tai Chi or qigong classes and get the DVD's directly from me. Or if you don't want to purchase them online, you can get the prices from my website and mail a check to me at: Interarts Productions 1112 Montana Ave. Suite 707 Santa Monica, CA 90403 and give me the address where you want me to mail them to. Thanks for your interest. Terry P.S. oh btw, this is harking back to that old posting back around Dec. or January: I remember the person you mentioned from the Taoist Sanctuary in San Diego who you said had told you about breath retention being key to the TTP nei-gung, Walter Capps. He attended a number of the Tai Chi retreats that the Sanctuary used to sponsor for Master Abraham Liu during the 80's and I think he worked on staff at the Taoist Sanctuary. I remember him well. Nice guy. Tall, sandy blonde hair, fair skin.

Hi Bill, thanks for explaining the nuances of your meaning of "breath retention". I understand what you're saying. I want to add that retention shouldn't feel hard or forced...and if one feels one blood pressure rise, the neck and throat righten and the pulse start to pound at the temples, one is probably not doing breath retention soft enough. With practice of the breath retentions in the Five Dragons over a long period of time (many years), one naturally develops a "softness" and smoothness to the breath retention. Do you not agree? "practice makes perfect" true dat? yes, I studied with Madame Bow Sim Mark in Boston in 1980--during my second year of graduate school. Although it was for just one year, that one year was a very intense and seminal year in my martial arts career because school was intense and my Saturday classes at her Chinese Wushu Research inst. in Chinatown was a much needed getaway,de-stresser, and normalizer. To this day, I still use many of Master Bow Sim Mark's stretching and warm-up exercises and her equivalent of Zhan Zhuang training in all kung-fu stances. Your friend's name, David Simeone, doesn't ring a bell--but it has been 30 yrs. Students that I knew well were Chi, Siu, Frank (tall), and of course, her son and now film-star Donnie Yen, who I run into occasionally out here in L.A. I knew Donnie when he was only 15 yrs old (and getting into a regular scrapes with young Chinatown punks). Best, Terry

Hi Lloyd, Thank you for sharing in detail your positive experience with the Flying Phoenix Qigong. As with DanC's and Christoph's accounts, all the positive health effects that you describe are typical benefits of Flying Phoenix practice--everything from higher sexual energy, smoother metabolism, effective stress dissipation/management, and improved skin and complexion. But I'm so glad to hear that FP practice has significantly healed and maintained your skin condition so that you don't have to go have the dermatologist do as many excisions as in the past. I can share with you that at my age (55), when I miss FP practice for too long a stretch (5-6 days), my hair starts to gray a bit in certain spots. But the moment I resume concentrated FP practice, especially the seated Monk Serves Wine meditations, the gray subsides and jet black returns.[--Scout's honor] I myself have so much other internal art to practice that I often find myself only practicing the FP med's when I'm teaching it in my classes. But my cue to get back to regular FP practice is the hair-graying...not because I'm that vain--but because I want to keep up (follow suit) with the higher-level masters that I've seen who've managed to keep jet-black hair well into their 70's (GM Doo Wai, GM Share K. Lew, and GM Kuan Sai Hung). I recall way-back in the mid-80's when Share K. Lew met Kuan Sai Hung for the first time, Sifu Lew remarked to me how impressive Master Kuan was: "Master Kuan, he 63 years old, he look perfect--not one gray hair; he speak 6 languages, he even speak my village dialect form Toishan, etc." I will continue commenting on your comments below in italics: You're welcome. Thanks again for sharing your experience so that other's might check out the Flying Phoenix. Sifu Terry

Hi Christoph, Thanks for posting your explanation of your experience with the Flying Phoenix Qigong. The various positive symptoms/effects you've described are all very standard for practitioners of the FP System--including the onset of Buddhist imagery during the Monk Serves Wine meditations. That's an excellent sign of your proper practice. The oral tradition states that Flying Phoenix Qigong and all of the arts of GM Doo Wai s Bai Fu Pai (White Tiger Kung-fu) was created by Feng Tao Teh of Ehrmeishan (Omei Mountain) in Szechuan Province in western China, a sacred mountain to the early Taoists and then later extremely sacred (to this day) to Buddhists worldwide. Ehrmeishan (like Wudangshan) is a very powerful ancient spiritual portal. Sifu Terry Dunn

Hi Christoph, Thanks for posting your explanation of your experience with the Flying Phoenix Qigong. The various positive symptoms/effects you've described are all very standard for practitioners of the FP System--including the onset of Buddhist imagery during the Monk Serves Wine meditations. That's an excellent sign of your proper practice. The oral tradition states that Flying Phoenix Qigong and all of the arts of GM Doo Wai s Bai Fu Pai (White Tiger Kung-fu) was created by Feng Tao Teh of Ehrmeishan (Omei Mountain) in Szechuan Province in western China, a sacred mountain to the early Taoists and then later extremely sacred (to this day) to Buddhists worldwide. Ehrmeishan (like Wudangshan) is a very powerful ancient spiritual portal. Sifu Terry Dunn

Hi DanC, 'Glad to hear that you're also experiencing a rise in sexual energy. Yes, increase in sexual energy is a commonly--but not universally--reported benefit of practicing the Flying Phoenix Qigong, which brings all organ functions under the regulation of the subconscious mind. Longer-term FP practice also makes one so relaxed, comfortable and energized on a cellular level that this "potency" empowers all human functions. In a very early post, I wrote that GM Doo Wai told us that Flying Phoenix Qigong and his other internal arts did not require any observance of celibacy during its practice. He said in so many words, "knock yourself out" (This is not the case with the other internal systems such as Tao Tan Pai) Enjoy these nice benefits. Sifu Terry Dunn

Hi Bill, For quite some time after this posting, I wanted to slightly modify and add to my first answer to your question. (It took me a long time to find our initial Q&A in the thread...I looked all over the thread, but finally just found it tonight). About breath retention and the Tao Tan Pai internal training: My answer is that it depends on the level of the Nei-gung exercise. I.) Again, each exercise of the Basic 31 either has breath retention or it doesn't. e.g., Exercises 5 and 6 and I think it's No. 11,12, and 13 (where you stand feet together, hold fist under elbow and then crane to the side and look down thru space between elbow and fist; and the one where one lifts the arms like Tai Chi opening and then holds two "elephant trunk" fists above the hairline while sinking the elbows-- require breath retention followed by swallowing saliva while contracting the anal sphincter muscle. I learned Circling Palms only one way, and that is to do it as slowly as possible, expanding one's exhalation counting at least "20 potatoes" on each 180-degree sweep. At the end of what we called the Short form, Power Yoga,the seated "L" meditation required breath retentions of course with each of the five repetitions. I was not taught a version of Circling Palms where the breath was retained during one's movements. II.) In higher TTP neigung practices. There is breath retention and it is specific to each component of each neigung exercise. III.) In the Five Forms or "Five Dragons", with the exception of Part Four, each of the five parts is typically done without breath retention. That is how we all learned it. Then, a number of years later, I intuitively discovered and then confirmed with my senior classmates that one can hold one's breath during each and every repetition of each of the 5 parts. In the first part, the breath is held (for up to 10 seconds or more) after the inhalation; In Part 2, the breath is held after the exhalation; In Part 3 the breath is held before and after each inhalation; in Part 4, the breath retention is done after the inhalation during the "press down"--just as it is in the "basic" version; In Part 5, the breath can be held after each inhalation. I offer these advanced tips in the practice in this high-level neigung for the benefit of anyone who has already learned the Five Forms. Regards, Terry Dunn

Thank you, Sifu Garry for your timely and accurate clarification for WTM about Zhan Zhuang, or "Universal Post" training. Over the course of traditional kung-fu and Tai Chi training, one will sooner or later encounter some sub-discipline that compels one to master what is commonly called the Wu-Chi (Primordial Unity) posture. 1. When I was studying So. Shaolin kung-fu and some very basic Yau Kang Mun in the 1970's, I first saw Wu-chi practiced by Master Kuo Lin Yin in San Francisco, who taught Guang-Ping Tai Chi,Northern Shaolin and I believe Bagua and Hsing-I. His signature posture was Wu-chi held in the sit stance (cat stance). 2. My first practice of Zhan Zhuang was a version taught by Madame Bow Sim Mark in Boston. In all her posture training and throughout at least 25% of her warm-up drills we held the wu-chi in the arms and chest in every posture known to Chinese martial arts--bow, cat, crane, snake, square, cross-over, kneeling, sitting on heels, etc. 3. in 1980, I started learning Yang style Tai Chi Chuan under Master Abraham Liu, a senior student of Cheng Man-Ching. Interestingly, in the 12 years that I was with Mr. Liu, he never emphasized ZZ at all. he prefered that all his students do outward "circling exercise" (Wave Hands Like Clouds) in bow stance--because in doing so, one is constantly cultivating the 5 cardinal principles of Tai Chi Chuan. That was his particular teaching program. Master Benjamin Lo, Mr. Liu's classmate in San Francisco, did teach ZZ, or holding wuchi position to cultivate internal energy. In fact, Master Lo taught Cheng Man Ching short form where the Wu-chi positions at the start, end and between Section 1 and 2 were held for long periods of time, just like ZZ, only it was far more subtle with hands angled 45 degrees pointing forward, lower back flat, and elbows turned outward to empty the chest. So the CMC Short Form correctly practiced is completely anchored in ZZ, although we simply called it "wu-chi." 4. Starting around 1984,I started learning Sum-I or I-Chuan from two sources--one advanced and another extremely advanced. I-Chuan is the internal engine of Hsing-Yi Chuan and I learned 9 basic positions of what I also called Wu-chi, all done with feet a shoulder's width apart. 5. Finally from 1990-1996, I learned more variations and more yogic applications of wu-chi postures in GM Doo Wai's internal arts--the Flying Phoenix Celestial Healing Qigong, Advanced Flying Phoenix, the 10,000 Buddhas Meditation System, and the 8 Sections of Energy Combined--than I can possibly count. 5. With reference to Flying Phoenix Qigong, Sifu Garry Hearfield is correct: some of the Wu-chi postures look nearly identical to ZZ (such as "Monk Gazing At Moon"), but the breath control sequences in the FP Qigong system ignite and cultivate a tangible, distinctively unique healing energy that is totally different from the martial energy cultivated through ZZ or I-Chuan. The martial energy or jing from Tai Chi Qigong, I-Chuan or ZZ is released through the sinews; the FP energy is much lighter and its effect is purely healing and it permeates human tissues very differently than jing. During 6 years of training under GM Doo Wai, I experienced a wide variety of high-energy states (some samadhic and some not), and can attest to the fact that high level masters such as GM Doo Wai, GM Share K. Lew and GM Cheng Man Ching (in the latter case from hearing first-hand accounts from Robert W. Smith and his wife, Alice, about their experiences with the Prof.Cheng), I know that such high-level masters have the highest facility with the most potent martial energy, but also could infuse healing energy into a person, or else balance and "light up" a student's internal energy system such that all their tan tien centers (or chakras) have their petals spinning at their respective frequencies--i.e. they can imbue the student with a momentary samadhic experience. Such energy "infusions" are rarely done--and almost exclusively to initiate and broaden a student's perspective by showing him/her the ultimate fruit of Chinese meditation--samadhi--or else to save the person's life. The remarkable (and very cool) thing about the Flying Phoenix Celestial Healing Qigong system is that just through its basic exercises over a relatively very short time of regular daily practice--and without the hands-on presence of a FP master--one can develop repeatable and verifiable access to the samadhic state, which coincides with the creation of a reserve and super-abundance of the tangible FP healing energy. Remember always, however, that this FP energy, just like the fruit of any complete Qigong method, is naturally induced through the alchemic method of the particular Qigong system--and not willfully forced. It comes when it comes...but in the case of FP Qigong, it will be sooner rather than later. I invite contributors like Nic, DanC, "Fu Dog", Mark Kim, and others to chime in as they progress in their practice and definitely in about 4 to 6 months' time from now to see if their experience with the FP system corroborates my observation/report above of what my students in Los Angeles have been experiencing over the years. Enjoy your practice, y'all. Terry Dunn

P.P.S. Mark Kim, who used the FP dvd's and found me through this blog, came out from NYC and took private lessons in FP Qigong for a painful crushed lumber vertebrae condition. During practice, he experienced a lot of the same swaying, gyrating, bending effects from the basic standing FP Meditations. And no ill effects, right Mark?

Hi Nic, Not to worry one bit: the swaying effects (forward from feet to knees; backward from knees to hips) that you feel from "Monk Holding Peach" is common and universally experienced by practitioners. Sifu Garry is correct in saying that these are signs of the energy channels in the leg opening up. But moreover, it is a unique function of this particular FP meditation to circulate energy through the legs and waist. The "weakness" you felt in the stomach area is unique to your process, for it has not been reported by any of my many students over the years. Stopping the meditation with 3 deep breathes is a good thing to do whenever an unexpected symptom arises. Bear in mind that during the course of any deep and prolonged meditation, corporalized (time-bound, repressed) stress and pains in the body get released all the time. The stomach weakness symptom may be a "flushing out" and real-time processing of an old psycho-somatic condition. At any rate, see if the same symptom arises when you practice Monk Holding Peach again. There's a good chance that the symptom has passed. And if the symptom isn't as bad the second time, consider just working through it until it's gone by staying in meditation. Not to discount that what you felt was a real negative symptom, but also consider the possibility that the "weakness" may not be actual "weakness" but RELAXATION. A lot of students when they experience new states of relaxation through meditation or FP qigong, they interpet it as tiredness or weakness. A quick reframing of the idea of being "weak" into being "relaxed" sometimes creates the correct semantics for what one is experiencing. Now more about "Monk Holding Peach": If you just go with this relaxation and swaying from feet to hips, you will at some point find yourself bending the upper body forward even past horizontal plane and bouncing right back up again, sometimes backward past the vertical. That is quite alright and perfectly NORMAL for this meditation! Over the past 18 years, all of my students who do "Monk Holds Peach" diligently sooner or later slip into this mode of involuntary movements of swaying from feet to the hips--exactly as you described, Nic. ...and then folding forward at the waist (sometimes quite kinetically) and then back, and forward and back, etc. In fact, I call this effect of Monk Holding Peach: "praying at the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem" (--where pious Jews are constantly nodding and bobbing as they pray and read scriptures at the Wailing Wall). This unexpected, harmless, and actually kind of fun involuntary movement is perfectly natural effect of this meditation!!! Tip for control: at anytime that you want to dampen or shut down the involuntary swaying and vibratory state, just (briefly) tense your leg muscles from feet all the way to the hips until the vibration stops. Also, if you un-straighten the legs from the Monk Holding Peach posture and bend the knees a little bit, you will find that the involuntary vibrations will start again, sometimes most actively. This is especially true of practitioners with lots of kung-fu or Tai Chi background because the neuromuscular patterns (muscle memory) in the legs will be activated (set-off or ignited) by the FP energy. The involuntary movements of the FP meditations are all quite benign, and as i said, kinda fun. So knock yourself out! None of the FP meditations can hurt you in any way. (unless one goes out of one's way and really,really screws up the breath sequence and mismatches it to some unhealthy pattern of movement.) So set your mind at ease and enjoy the FP practice. Sifu Terry P.S. As Sifu Garry will confirm, other more advanced meditations in GMDW's internal martial arts cause incredibly dynamic and actually violent involuntary movements--such that some of the arts require ingestion of special herbs to prevent internal organ damage while practicing the meditations. Some of the ones that I teach to a few of my advanced students here in Los Angeles look like a carnival ride--where the practitioners' torso twists and turns rapidly, limbs flails in powerful circles, and they leave their feet and bounce across the room.

Hi Christoph, Yes, I forgot to mention to DanC earlier that diet is a huge factor that can affect mood and cause depression. Many people when subjected to extreme stress or trauma will eat improperly to some degree. Glad to hear that you find that Flying Phoenix Qigong suits you. Yes, it is fast acting, isn't it? here's a foreshadowing and "teaser" of things to come: You'll find that after a good number of months of regular practice--after you've cultivated a tangible reserve of the distinctive FP energy, you will be able to bring on the energizing effects of the FP Meditation(s) just by doing one of the breath control sequences. Enjoy. Terry Dunn

Hi Dan, Meditation, exercise and qigong certainly will help to maintain a healthy, positive outlook. Flying Phoenix Qigong in particular, because of its tangible, sublime healing energy, will keep positive message units flowing from one's body to the brain. (That's another way of saying physical pleasure and comfort). While regular FP Qigong practice will maintain higher energy levels--as many contributors to this thread of confirmed--one wants to get a handle on the behaviors, emotional or mental processes that cause depletion of energy. Effective psychotherapy will help one develop this type of self-control. But that is often very hard to find. Yogically speaking, one of the best general handbooks written in laymen's terms on preserving one's energy is Carlos Castaneda's "The Fire Within" (I think the 6th book in his series written int he late 70's or early 80's). Castaneda defines the "impeccability of the warrior" as nothing but preserving one's energy for positive work. Best wishes for your practice and health. Sifu Terry

Hi Lloyd, Funny you should ask this question. Today, I finally recovered 100% from a nasty head-cold turned cold-cough that started June 15--totally due to work stress (of the non-teaching variety). This was the very first time I've gotten sick in over seven (7) years (--not so much as a sniffle in 7+ years). At any rate, the worst of it was two Wednesdays ago (June 16)when i was totally congested and sounded very nasal. You should have heard me trying to teach my Wed. night qigong class...but I got through it and delivered just the same. In answer to your question: Flying Phoenix like most Qigong systems should be practiced when you are in good health and feeling happy--not depressed. Depression has many causes (including diet). But one universal remedy for depression (and the super-blahs) that any psychotherapist worth his/her salt will tell you is activity. ACTIVITY. JOYFUL ACTIVITY. And not necessarily martial arts... Take a hike in the mountains, jog, play some tennis,swim, play with your dog, go out dancing, take in a concert, change your routine. Remember that I wrote in an earlier posting that FP Qigong and qigong in general should not be considered a panacea. And it's not the best answer to common ailments such as colds and flu. For one thing, as I experience during my bad cold, if you can't breathe well through your nose, the FP Qigong med's won't be as effective. I will say this, however, for those out there that are learned in this system: the advanced neigung exercises of Share K. Lew's Tao Tan Pai lend themselves a little better to keeping one strong while suffering illnesses such as cold or flu, for they are grounded/rooted in sexual energy and are kind of "all-weather" in constantly cultivating generative force. When I first reunited with GM Doo Wai in 1990 at a public event, he was suffering from a mild cold, and his observable remedy was quite mundane and simple: he spoke less, was more restful in his comportment, and he was drinking coffee frequently as an astringent. While GMDW is certainly has a body chemistry and energy process far more developed than any normal human being and his remedy may not be applicable for most of us, he was definitely NOT doing more qigong to cure a cold. Also, while FP Qigong's energy boost through regular practice can lift one out of doldrums and stave off depression, addressing the emotional root of the doldrums/depression is ultimately the best cure: "The superior man confronts his problems...therefore he does not experience them." I can say from my most recent personal experience that the Flying Phoenix meditations are NOT great help in overcoming illnesses such as common cold or flu. Colds are toxemia, and the only cure is to let the body run its natural course in de-toxing. Any natural aids that you can use to accelerate the detoxing is helpful (white willow bark (aspirin), lemon, ginger, ginseng, echinacea & goldenseal, packaged cold teas, etc.). I would focus on normal, natural, organic cold remedies--and not rely on Qigong. Once you've gotten over an illness or an injury that has flattened or unbalanced your body's energy, FP Qigong is an excellent means to recover and rebuild your energy levels. In fact that's when a qigong system like FP works wonderfully and sometimes miraculously fast--to rebuild. That is why in 2000, Cedars Sinai Medical Center in Beverly Hills, CA, adopted my protocol using FP Qigong for its acute-care, post-operative patients in the Dept. of Cardio Thoracic Surgery. It accelerates recovery from injury and relieves pain. Hope this helps. Terry Dunn

Hi Nic, Thanks very much for your kind words and I'm very glad to hear that you've gotten good results from practice of the Flying Phoenix qigong, including your weight reduction and stabilization. That shows that you've seriously gotten into the training. Yes, the FP system goes far to bring all the body's organ functions under the regulation of the subconscious mind. Once you go longer and a little deeper into FP Qigong training, you will realize the profound implication of that process statement. All the best, Terry Dunn

Sifu Garry, As you said earlier while blushing, "Aw Shucks"-- Thanks very much for your kind endorsement and positive critique. But thank you most importantly for conveying GM Doo Wai's approval of my teaching of the FP Qigong that he had expressed to you over the years. He had given me his nod of approval when I produced the very first version of Chi Kung For Health (5 volumes teaching the FP Qigong) on VHS tape in 1995, but since I completely re-did the programs in 2003 (with outdoor location sin Death Valley, Calif.), I have not had any contact with the Grandmaster. So your feedback at this time is most gratifying. Thanks so much for your support, Garry. I want to repeat how glad I am that you had background, the "chops", the "ren", and great learning capacity to receive in their entirety so much of GM Doo Wai's ADVANCED martial and healing art. At the risk of turning this discussion thread into a mutual admiration society, I will say one last thing: meeting you through this blogsite and seeing your level of BFP, Burning Palm, and Ehrmei Bak Mei Kung-Fu has reminded me how rare and valuable GM Doo Wai's teachings are and has inspired me to redouble my personal training efforts. Over the past 5-6 months, I've carefully reviewed all my training notes and videos that I took starting in 1991 of my time with GMDW and also re-cataloged the 100+ herbal formulas that he gave us--and to start using more of them. And after demonstrating on video the past two Wednesday evenings (during my qigong class) a number of the Forms ("Sections") of Bat Dim Gum (Eight Sections of Energy Combined), I am thinking about putting the very basic-basic preparatory exercises of Bat Dim Gum (The Eight Sections of Energy Combined)on commercial DVD's (this will be a 2011 project.) I'm glad to hear that all's well on your side of the Pacific...I will likewise dig up and assemble more materials from the training years under GMDWand get those over to you. All the Best, Terry

Hi Lloyd, I'm glad you are enjoying the cultivational steps of the Flying Phoenix system. It's a nicely structured, elegant, and self-regulating Qigong system that doesn't require the hands-on supervision of a master for beginners to start enjoying its health benefits. BTW, you can start the short, 90-second meditations in Volume 5 anytime. I reckon that you've been practicing FP now for about 6-7 months? If you're comfortable with the meditations of Vols. 1 thru 3, and even if you haven't fully learned the Standing Long Form of Vol.4, there's no harm in practicing Vol. 5. FP is esoteric in that up until GM Doo Wai gave me permission to publish FP instructions on DVD's and book(s), it was an art kept totally secret within his family tradition. It was taught only to GMDW's private kung-fu students to varying degrees of completeness. Thus for six generations FP Qigong along with the rest of GMDW's White Tiger system was a secretive, cabalistic art. You might say that with the Chi Kung For Health DVD series, I took Flying Phoenix qigong--and its unique energy-cultivating alchemy-- from being "esoteric" to a little more "exoteric"--a little more public and accessible by everybody, as opposed to just initiates of GMDW's White Tiger Kung Fu tradition. Thanks for your questions...they're causing me to think more about the art in perspective. Sifu Terry Dunn

Hello Everybody, I want to encourage you all--if you haven't already seen it--to take a close look at Sifu Garry Hearfield's posting on May 28 on this thread of this link to his video clips containing his demonstrations of Ehrmei Bak Mei (White Eyebrow) Kung-fu, Bak Fu Pai (White Tiger Kung-fu), and at about 1:20 the Burning Palm system--all taught to him by GM Doo Wai (except for the opening form, which is Primordial Chaos Palm from another master)--who taught me the Flying Phoenix Celestial Healing Chi Meditation system, Bak Fu Pai, and several other rare internal arts that I've mentioned in earlier postings. Sifu Hearfield's martial art demo's will give you the proper historical context of Flying Phoenix healing art practice. FP Qigong is the medical,healing qigong practice under the "umbrella" of GM Doo Wai's family system. As practitioners have discovered, Flying Phoenix energy cultivation is very "Yin" and powerful. This nature perfectly balances the very "Yang" and powerful nature of GM Doo Wai's martial systems. Sifu Terry Dunn

Dan, Due to other overwhelming business obligations including those of the legal sort, I won't be finishing the Flying Phoenix Qigong book as early as I had planned--originally contemplated by September of this year. I am slowly and steadily working on it however. Will keep the taobums informed of progress. Sifu Terry Dunn

Hello Daniel, If you work your way through all the standing meditations of CKFH-Volume One (on a daily basis) and extend each meditation an extra 3 to 5 minutes, so that you practice session runs about 70 minutes, that would be a good, solid start. If you don't have that amount of time, then just work through Volume One in real time (about 55 min.) You can start the Monk Serves Wine meditations on Volume Two at any time. But the more of the basic seated meditations that you do (50 30 10), (50 10 50) and (5 60 80 40 30), the deeper the effects and benefits you'll get from the the "Monk Serves Wine" med's. The MSW med's are basic meditations relative to the Flying Phoenix system as a whole--although compared to outside qigong systems, their ancient and classic quality--and their fast-acting energizing effects--make them seem to be advanced. Good luck and enjoy your practice. Terry Dunn