ridingtheox

Just a quick note: After several weeks of daily Advanced seated meditation. I continue to have impressive experiences. My 'monkey' mind continues to quiet, concentration on breath improves outside disturbances seldom intrude, noise cancelling head sets not required! The practice is just always positive. My energy level is good, I can mostly keep up with my busy grandson (1-1/2 yr). It takes about 35 min to do this ASM (the 1st one). I continue to do some Zhan Zhuang. Sessions between 30 and 55 minute. Three to four times a week. The FPHH system has given a real boost to my 'spiritual' practice as well as Tai Chi .. I am regularly recommending it to friends. Peace

the thread seems to have veered into chaotic moments ... i feel there is a slipping between individualism and broader human experience of groups. My tai chi chuan has been a bed rock of health, mental and physical. There are so many teachers it is impossible to sample them all, there may be some help in trying a little Chen style if you mostly play Yang (me). But the core message is 'just do the practice.' different individuals may react physically, mentally and spiritually to 8 Pieces, Zhan Zuang, FP ... Early on one must learn to listen to ones own body, opening it, to ones own mind opening, to ones own spirit, opening. There are many paths, finding the path is difficult but even following the wrong path sincerely and diligently is more likely to lead to the correct path for each person than wandering from path to path briefly. It is possible to ask the wrong questions; for self and for community. And it is very easy to become wedded to the 'rightness' of questions and answers. Peace is possible

i had forgotten that 'gong' issue. Several times in my 30+ years of tai chi, a teacher has recommended a practice to be followed for 100 days. That does not mean that one must end at 100, though I almost always reach a point that some new area of practice arises. Already looking forward to a 'gong' of advanced short form + advanced Monk Serves Wine. Self designed I hope to do two of the short standing and a seated form, but first I have to learn the seated forms. One down and 4 to go.

Report: I completed 100 days of Long Form FP + one or (usually) more seated Monk Serves Wine in June. Mostly my energy stayed high and bp low. Then i took a short break, not stopping entirely, but just more free form. A little more concentration on my Tai Chi Chuan long form, which I am teaching. In addition i stumbled into the Stand Still Be Fit on youtube, instantly remembered that I had taught that during my time in New Orleans. Almost immediately, i was able to stand 40 min. Eight min per each of the 5 positions. I remember how hard it was for me to do 20 min in 1995, when I was still bicycling regularly and only 55 yrs. I attribute the 40 min to the last two years of FP LF (long form). I have done this now several times over the last week. This week, I started disk 7 the advanced seated Monk Serves Wine. First set only so far. Immediately I noted that my rate of movement wanted to be much slower than MSW 1-3. Series 1 takes just under 30 min. There are too many observational sensations for me to write about today. I am very comfortable with the change in my practice this new addition has brought, but do wonder how I will do more time each day? Also the FP LF continues to clock in at 20 +/- min, there is almost a block to trying to move more slowly and the benefits continue just the same so I am not trying to force it slower. OK this is a long post for me. Enjoy reading all of your posts. Thanks for sharing your experiences.

in general i read this thread with interest, hence wonder why the exclusive use of SYG instead of occasionally writing it out I can't find an explicit reference anywhere. how about a reference to SYG?

reading all the martial arts posts has made me consider my own path which is decidedly not martial. I am a vietnam veteran, I do know something about martial. I am a Quaker, pacifist, post-Vietnam. I have seen Quakers fend off violence with no trace of animosity and of course no martial arts, very much like Grandmaster Chan. I have seen them stop violence (I have seen that fail also)> I practice FPCK seriously too. Moving meditations have always worked better for me. The Quaker Silent meeting not withstanding. I enjoy this thread immensely. Peace

Purity can be very divisive among humans. It is a state often inhabited by ego. Our culture is particularly susceptible to the vagaries of purity at this time. Our shared humanity begs for tolerance and shatters along lines of imagined difference ... mental constructs. Just practice, no preconceptions, just observe. (Wish i could do that perfectly, would that be Purity?) Just ordered vol. 7 advance MSW seated ... to begin learning on the Northern Solstice maybe? Will complete 100 days of long form standing and the first 3 MSW, in one week!

I too wish there was more activity to document the benefits of TCC, QG, FP etc.

Sleep continues after years of Tai Chi and the last 2 with FP to elude me. I am often awake twice in the night. Sometimes I use the time to practice meditation or FP or ZZ. Still I wish this would dissolve.

Practice still going strong ... day 78 of 100 ; missed one day last week for travel i am including a little more zhan zhuang during the day Went to the cardiologist who recommended that i return for another stress test in a couple of months but he also agreed that I should cut the bystolic from my prescription so that i am down to one 10mg lisinopril tab per day. BP is as stable as i can remember it ever being. Today i am 72 1/2 125/80 < 60 bpm pulse

one of the primary attributes is the dispelling of emotional charge that FP has. it also works to mitigate allergic reaction. AZ has periods of very high pollen/spore counts which used to affect my sinus and airways. The breath work has made a very significant difference this last couple of years.

FP practice : for two days my wife and I baby sat for our year old grandson. Talk about energy! I did manage to keep up and to keep him occupied. I attribute FP with giving me the real time energy to take on this sort of task and leave me with good energy at the end. Meanwhile I am at day 59 in the 100 day program and feeling a good deal of renewal The practice is very rewarding spiritually, energetically and emotionally for this old geezer!! I am recommending it to a friend who may have some sciatica. I hope he will see a TCM / accupunctrist in conjunction with expanding his practice of Tai ji and some FP ...

i did read Carlos Castaneda years ago. Then I met a Quaker (I am one) who had done a good deal of work with and practical service for Yaqi indians a long discussion with him led me to understand that many Yaqi considered CC to be less interested in them and more interested in advancing a white agenda. I can not really support this idea at this time since that was 25 years ago at a Friends Conference. It is true that many anglo's mis represent native american society for their own purposes. As to the dream world, mine are mostly un-exciting mundane sort of things especially when i am stressed or anxious. So I have limited 'experience' that is interesting sigh ...

uhhh that's a good one liner, not what i said of course ...

hi guys, I am inclined to advocate for simplicity ... do one practice well do it daily, Now I admit to doing both Tai ji quan and the Flying phoenix qi gong, plus ba duan chin, but I have been doing tjq and bdc for 35 years. Add new things slowly gain comfortable masteryb before adding complexity. peace

Today I am at day 50 in practice of long form (dvd 4) and the MSW seated meditations (dvd 2). I have missed two days. The long drives to Redlands from Cascabel sometime leave me too tired to do. Also I don't always get all three of the MSW routines in each day. I also include almost every day 2 or 3 of the short form series. Early morning long form and one MSW. afternoon 1 - 2 MSW and 1-2 short form evenings irregularly long form (yin side) and one MSW.

this little observation re: including feet in video clip frame. The first lesson in photographing people, I had, the instruction was to aim for the 'belly' with the camera not at the face. if you center the photo on the belly you are in fact centering on the level of dan tien. this leads to the possibility of seeing the 'waist move' / dan tien movement as central to the regulating of tai chi, chi kung or other internal arts. peace

twenty min is about my typical time 17 or 18 occasionally .... 25+ the longest i remember

i do some pauses on MSW but mostly in the earth mudra (right palm in left) ... in my sessions i look for 'flow' movement that engenders a continuous (water-like) sensation. the speed is not always the same, but the sense of flow almost dictates the motion. sensing the flow is seminal ...

great discussion. think harmony and balance and patience with persistence. energy blockages can take a long time to clear. i have a little technique bbb, breathe, smooth taoist dan tien breath; brain use your mind to form the intention of movement (or stillness); body motion expresses intention it is smooth flowing water like. I use this with the long form standing meditation. experience the present moment

I have not fasted seriously for years. The third day is definitely the hardest. Someone told me it was the breakover point, for me it certainly was. I did serious fasts for about 2 years, 3 days every three months. 5 days twice a year and .. one only one 7 day fast. Have never seriously done that again. In fact the third year (which I did not complete) I did only a scattered 3 day. drink plenty of water ... oh and I also did take a little sustenance couple of crackers, a glass of juice, raw nuts a few, just little bits almost every day. but I was riding a bike to work part of the time. hope this is a good experience

2013 definitely off to a stumbling start ... every time i get a start on daily practice something rears up and bites. Flu dog bit me last week. I have not had a 'flu' in 15 years. That time it was brought by a California visitor to Cascabel. This time I went to Redlands to find it. Today I finally got it a good solid long form + MSW meditation period. This is looking positive, but it is the third time this year. Today I had really good dan tien breath from beginning to end of each session. The long form rooting was solid w one small exception. Tendons relaxed with small pops in my spine, neck, knee and elbows. Definitely came out feeling relaxed and energetic Went out to the barn and unloaded hay and feed easily. stacked and put away. No sense of overdoing. BP is holding pretty steady <120/<80 actually today <110/<70. Since this is the first day after the long drive home from Calif. I am feeling that the FPCK is really doing me a great deal of healing. Keep practicing as Sifu Dunn sayz it is cumulative ...

FPCH practice continues to contribute to my physical health and to my mental feeling of well being. The practice was briefly interrupted by a detached retina (post op one must lie prone face down for 2-3 weeks!) I am back on track now and continue to benefit from the breath, dan tien, movement of this system. Thanks so much for Sifu Terry Dunn's dvd's and guidence. charlie

re the long string of vegan chat ... i am 72 yr old grass fed beef rancher (recently retired). Eating low stress, gentle managed beef is good for you. NO excess just a harmonious balance. I care deeply for my animals, they are a part of the cosmos. I know and respect (to a degree) several local 'vegans.' But at my point in life and my choices to defend the land by careful grazing of cattle are in my view significant contributions to peace, balance and harmony of life. There is a tone of evangelical, fundamentalist to some vegans, not so much here, but in other encounters I have in my experience. thank you charlie

by chance i am working on MSW 1-3 (have not really finished incorporation of #3 yet,, but expect to do so by next week) and use the Long form (vol. 4), daily 2 or more times. Moving and awareness of tan tien breathing, focusing as deeply as possible, and yet recognizing the intruding 'thinking' that occurs. i hope to complete 100 days beginning Mar 1 when I will certainly have all MSW 1-3 incorporated, hence completing by Jn 13 this year. oh yes I also use the short form advanced meditation almost daily. peace to all who practice