humbleone

About a week ago after reading the excellent article written by Frank Allen. I checked him out, Frank is alive and well and still teaching in New York City. Thinking of dropping by his Taoist meditation class one saturday in Jan. http://www.baguanyc.com/ourhistory.htm However I do feel, another 'energy' dissolving technique of Emmotrance maybe somewhat faster and more direct. With Emmotrance you start with an issue. For example being bullied in school or not wanting to read a voluminous technical manual etc. Then you ask, where do I feel this in my body, so you locate this in the body and then work at dissolving it. I feel this to be a more efficient method than scaning the whole body. Where this technique really takes off for me, is in zhan zhuang, wuji pose. also experimenting with 'green' color light to help with the dissolving. however as fullotus mentioned the key to all of this is 'feeling' it rather than visualization. mental imagery can quickly lead one astray..

After reading fullotus other thread, last week I looked quite a bit into SFQ. I thought about their distant phone sessions. $90 for a 10 min session, but then decided against it. reading some of the other reviews, it appears it is not just one session, but most people go down the yellow brick road of multile, even 6-7 sessions. One other thing that struck me, was SFQ incredible business model, with multiple streams of income. They said 200 people a week walk in through their doors every week seeking healings. with surrogate teacher/masters working with master Lin I would say that he is easily the most successful Qigong master in the US! anyway, for now I ordered the level 1 DVD, on sale for about $12.95 -

david, you may want to ask what is included. Amazon appears to also sell it for the same price. I think I know what you are saying. I also ordered level 1 from SFQ website last week. it was on sale for $12.95. but I believe it is a different product. it is the 'new' level 1 with only one dvd. http://www.amazon.com/Spring-Forest-Qigong-Health-Master/dp/0974094420/ref=pd_sim_b_3 Spring Forest Qigong Level 1 for Health Personal Learning Course. Includes: 1) DVD Level One for Health 2) Level 1 for Health Manual 3)CD Level One for Health Active Exercises 4) CD Level 1 for Health Sitting Meditations 5) CD Small Universe Guided Meditations 6) CD Inner Beauty Meditation Music 7) CD Back Into the Universe Meditation Music

check ebay. ebay loves paypal, because they own it http://www.ebay.com/itm/Spring-Forest-Qigong-Level-1-Health-Master-Chunyi-Lin-Format-DVD-/160675342310?pt=US_DVD_HD_DVD_Blu_ray&hash=item2568ff27e6

Thank you chi dragon and bubbles for your replies. good infomation. As I understand, Zhan Zhuang is part of nei kung. Despite its simplicity it is considered an 'advance' method. In couple of weeks I will be meeting with a teacher, Nei kung master, CK Chu. He actually will not let new students start without first taking a nei kung workshop. and he prefers new students start with more gentler forms of Qigong. http://www.chutaichi.com/neikung.shtml

yes right on about staying relaxed. I guess I was taken aback when I first started practising Zhan Zhuang couple of weeks ago, I found it very powerful. It disrupted my dream state at night. so I had to discontinue it. I would still to find out what makes it so powerful, much more powerful for me than say sitting crossed legged zen meditation. With Zhan Zhuang I really feel my connection to earth, although I do it on a carpet on 2nd floor

I started reading up on Zhan Zhuang couple of weeks ago. What I find confusing is the bewildering choice of postures and instructions. For example, when it comes to the basic foundation, some say feet should be shoulder width apart, other say feet should be hip width apart, still others feet should be between hip and shoulder width apart. and finally there are schools which say stand with both feet together! I practiced Zhan Zhuang, the basic wuji pose and find it very powerful, actually in my case too powerful to continue on its own. So my question to the more experienced practitioners, what is the common thread between all the variations of feet and hand holding postures? At my level of understanding, i feel that there is something to be said about standing with knees bent, tailbone pointing downward, tongue tip roof of mouth, head aligned that causes increse in energy flow and that the basic framework is more important than feet or hand plaement.

I have read that people with energy blocks should not be practicing qigong or meditation. That qigong and more powerful neigong can actually cause serious damage to the internal organs. meditation and other fire based methods stir up the energy but due to blocks or stagnant energy the flow is constricted causing more harm than good! Bruce Frantzis is one who has written quite a bit about this subject and developed his water based methods. imo the OP should not be practising meditation for two hours a day, it is doing more harm than good. all the best

1)I am interested in Frantzis water based methods. I contaced one of his senior students Craig Barnes who has trained with Bruce Frantzis for 18 years. It appears Craig is also a certified Bagua instructor. However Craig is away in Asia, should be back in about a month... http://www.energyarts.com/instructors/taichi-qigong/new-york/craig-barnes http://www.energyarts.com/bagua-zhang 2) master C K Chu came highly recommended. They are in Times Square. I am planning a vist in couple of weeks. Not sure if bagua is taught. http://www.ckchutaichi.com/chu.shtml hope this helps. all the best in your practice.

Good thread, I am also new to Frantzis water based methods. Based on the generous advice given by sloppy zhang, jetsun and others, I started with the Energy gates book + relaxing into your being. but like you needed a little help in getting started. I found the following guide by Dan Kleiman very helpful, he also has three mp3 that one can downloaded. zhan zhuang has now become a very important and grounding practice for me. I incorporate breathing, dissolving and the grounding, into all in one Zhan Zhuang(wuji) pose. http://www.dankleiman.com/2011/10/31/opening-the-energy-gates-by-bruce-frantzis-is-the-most-important-qigong-book-to-have-in-your-library/ http://www.relaxationmeditation.co.uk/tai-chi/energy-gates-qigong.html

Thank you for sharing the original answers. the last two pages(Q7, Q8) an excellent discussion of the limbic system and how to go about integrating the three minds(neocortex, limbic and reptilian)leading to suigetsu. I found it a little odd, that in the actual India Times article there is no attempt made to actually introduce Kosta Danaos! Give a little bit of his background, his studio etc. I did enjoy reading the MULLAH NASRUDDIN side bar humor It was mentioned that kosta has a job, besides his martial arts studio. Would anyone know what type of job he does? Thanks.

Interesting discussion about the movie limitless. Curious if any of you have heard of Adderall? It is being used by tens of thousands of college students every month to help them pass exams. http://www.gwhatchet.com/2004/04/19/students-turn-to-study-drugs-to-improve-grades-concentration/ I am in my late 40's, and I can tell you that practicing different forms of qigong just 10-15 minutes a day has done wonders for me. My concentration and soft focus is better than it has ever been. I believe the practice of qigong can be used to enhance $$$ I believe there is more at play here with qigong than just reduction of stress. The real killers of success in life, procrastination, self sabotage etc are reduced perhaps due to removal of energy blocks which limit our life.

Couple of weeks ago, I picked up the pace of my practice by adding some of Bruce Frantzis water based methods. Namely I added zhuang zhang(basic wuji pose) for about 10 minutes and the spinal stretch x3. I do take plenty of breaks, I usually skip a day, sometimes two days in-between practice. My entire practice is about 20 minutes. frankly I don't quite understand why I have such exterme sensitivity to ANY form of practice? One issue that jumped up in high grear about a week ago is a big change in my dream state. I am very aware of my dreams at night, I am always in them. They unfold like a movie with me being in it. At times I have trouble coming out of the dream. Last night I slept for about 12 hours.(I am also fighting a cold, which my body seems to heal) When i do wake up I am quite restful, but the drama that unfolds everynight is starting to become troublesome and disruptive. I feel like I am taken through a ringer everynight your thoughts/ideas are greatly appreciated.

Thank you all for your replies, I found your suggestions very helpful. Following up on the advice given, I did a small preparation(2-3 minutes) before falling asleep. simple stretching, accupressure and getting myself together. best thing I did last night was to put a notepad and pen at my nightstand. So bedtime around 11PM, wakeup at 7AM. Two dreams last night. I wrote down the first dream around 2AM. The second one around 6:30AM. Again stressful, very uncomfortable night. However upon wakeup, I am refreshed, relaxed. Thankfully the dreams are NOT what I feared, no deamons chasing me or torture etc, more like everyday life with a twist, and quite a twist it is. The dreams appear to be very well scripted, pre-planned like a movie. certainly something my conscious mind couldn't write. This opens up a whole new world to me, thanks again. journal writing is a great idea, otherwise my dreams expire within 1-2 hours of wake-up...

sorry k, could you elaborate a bit, not sure what you are saying? two nights ago, I came out of the dream world, totally disoriented, not sure where I was. I had to roll over and physically touch my wife, then the realization that I am here in the physical world, a husband, a father, a job! then I dived right back into the dream world again

Yes, thank you for sharing snowmonki and Yamu link. very informative. I visited the website, it talks about distant healings for a very reasonable fee. something to consider ngs24, to have your issue diagnosed, get a second opinion. All the best.

Thank you for the interview link. I believe Max has written a new book, soon to be published in the next month or so. Looking forward to reading it. For those of us who learned kunlun from one of his students and the book. Max is now offering consultation via skype video. The purpose is to help refine the practice. Due to a change in my job circumstance, I recently had to read voluminous amount of technical material. I am in my late 40's now, but my comprehension and retention is better now than at any point in my life, and that is quite a statement! kunlun, combined recently with zhan zhuang(wuji) and other Frantzis water methods has done wonders for my well being. All the best.

please enter me in the challenge, my personal best is 18 minutes After learning about Frantzis couple of weeks ago, I tried Zhan Zhuang. profound relaxation with just the basic wuji pose. As a seeker of downward flow of energy, I find Zhan Zhuang very grounding. I must say Zhan Zhuang goes against the grain of common thinking(that benefit can only come from complexity). I had to fight it quite a bit during the first week. I like the following video introduction by Lam Kam Chuen. He blends in instruction with some background from his teacher. All the best http://www.youtube.com/user/StandStillBeFit

Thank you for the excerpts. When Bruce talks about doing the standing Qigong for six hours, do most practitioner hold just ONE pose, the basic pose of hands by their sides and work on dissolving the energy blocks for the entirety? or is it a mixture of basic pose + movement of the hands, for example holding a ball etc

Hello, what can be done to increase the downward flow of energy? I benefit greatly from meditation, but the side effect, even meditation that lasts 5-10 minutes leads to a rise in anger. I am told I am a fire symbol. Also my job is all about thinking, so i spend the day in my head. Unfortunatly living in a densely populated city, there are not many opportunities to reconnect with nature or to work with my hands(gardening etc. I am good at manipulating energy, I have tried 'pushing' it down, but not much help. So I am looking for water based techniques, ways to cool the fire? Any ideas would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Thank you all for your replies and suggestions. I greatly appreciate it. snowmonki, right on. I am now in my late 40's, married with children. But the repressed emotions and stagnant energy from my childhood and teenage years still with me. As Bruce Frantzis writes about energy blocks, the forceful meditation methods can actually do more damage than good. As you said there is LOT of free information available. (still awaiting the books -) In hopes of helping others, I am sharing some of what I found to dissolve energy blocks. The 'outer' dissolving methods in the Energy Gates book. Here is someone who has written a guide on how to go about using Opening the energy gates book. From the standing pose, to cloud hands, the three swings and finally the spinal stretch. http://www.dankleiman.com/2011/10/31/opening-the-energy-gates-by-bruce-frantzis-is-the-most-important-qigong-book-to-have-in-your-library/ http://www.dankleiman.com/2011/11/16/the-challenge-of-the-three-swings/ http://www.youtube.com/user/StandStillBeFit the above is Lam Kam Chuen. A good primer on Zhan Zhuang

For a number of years, I shared an office with a falun dafa cultivator. They are very much against drinking. Their objection is two fold. One, it can be addictive, an attachment, and all attachments are bad. Second, something about alcholol nullifies their spiritual progress. Islam/muslims for one, also strickly ban drinking. I am somewhat surprized by the answeres in this thread, but I am with you . I have a drink or two everyday and a cigar. I really do enjoy smoking, much to the dismay of my wife and daughters... This is from falun dafa lecture 7: The Buddha School does not allow their cultivators to drink alcohol. Have you ever seen a Buddha carrying a wine container? No. Does a practitioner have cultivation energy in his body? He has different forms of cultivation energy in him. Some supernormal capabilities appear on the surface of his body and they are all pure. As soon as he drinks alcohol, all of them will instantly leave his body because they fear that odour. It will be annoying if you have formed this habit as drinking does harm to your nature. Why do some Great Law cultivation ways encourage drinking? Because they do not cultivate their Chief Spirit () and drinking serves to make the Chief Spirit lose consciousness.

Thank you all for your replies and suggestions, they mean a lot to me. While I await the arrival of Opening the Energy gates by snail mail , I spruced Bruce Frantzis website quite a bit. I believe he correctly points out my anger/agitation issue, he writes "Many people attempt to train in the higher spiritual disciplines without first clearing the energy blocks in their physical and emotional bodies. This way of proceeding can cause the equivalent of a short circuit in their systems. Many monks from Buddhist sects in China have had to seek out Taoist masters to repair the damage to their systems caused by overly forceful meditation techniques." There was a time when a day after zen meditation, I would get physical symptoms of rapid heart beat, sweaty palms and nervousness. I think this is where the Taoists really shine, they understand the mechanics of what is happening. Bruce also writes about the ability of the mind to Direct the chi. He writes 'The science of chi gung is based on the axiom that the mind has the ability to direct chi. You can learn to feel your central nervous system, which is a primary intermediary between thoughts and chi." I hope all this works for me, the journey continues...

Thank you Scotty, I checked out both, interesting stuff. Perhaps a little advance at my level. Dr. Yang of embryonic breathing has a good DVD set, part 1&2 go quite a bit into history and theory of Qigong. Something for me to look into after Bruce Frantzis. Thanks.

Thank you jetsun and sloppy zhang for your replies. My office work aside , I spent quite a bit of time this morning looking at Taoist Water based methods. Bruce Frantzis website is actually quite good and well organized. So, I placed an order via Amazon for Relaxing into your being and Opening the energy gates. Based on your recommendation will start with Opening the energy gates. sadly my meditation issue is 20 years in the making. To remedy, I have attended weekend residential programs at various zen monastaries. sought out Indian gurus, muslim sufi's, studied NLP, Hypnosis, EMDR, many new age remedies. the journey continues....