Flying Phoenix Chi Kung

[Fu_dog]

Sifu Terry -

 

As I am typing this, I have quite a bad cold with congestion, blah feeling, etc. Everyone knows the feeling.

 

So, is FP a good qigong to practice to recover from illness?

 

If yes, are there any particular meditations you might recommend?

 

Thanks,

 

Lloyd

[DanC]

Im doing Vol 2 exclusively at them moment, in the morning Im doing meditations 1,2,3 and evening Im doing meditation 4. Im trying to work up to 1-6 in the morning with a couple of extra ones in the evening. All I can say is these meditation are having an effect and its only my first week, so far my energy is better and my depression is lifting..

 

Dan

[Spirit Ape]

Dan,

 

Can you explain what type of energy you feeling and how it has helped you that is terrific mate!

 

Sifu Terry Dunns FP is by far one of the great health chi kung systems, simple and easy, as GMDW would say the proof is in the results!!!

 

 

regards

Sifu Garry

[zen-bear]

Sifu Terry -

 

As I am typing this, I have quite a bad cold with congestion, blah feeling, etc. Everyone knows the feeling.

 

So, is FP a good qigong to practice to recover from illness?

 

If yes, are there any particular meditations you might recommend?

 

Thanks,

 

Lloyd

 

 

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

[DanC]

Sifu Garry,

After the meditations I feel sense clarity and connectedness instead of a scattered mind with brain fog, I also feel a euphoric type feeling in my stomach and just and overall relaxed calm energy..

 

Sifu Terry,

I have suffered from bouts of depression and low moods on and off throughout my whole life and have taken the therapy and medication route in the past with only very little improvement, the one thing that has helped me maintain A positive outlook and overcome these depressed moods is meditation, exercise and qigong..

Im so glad I have found FP Qigong because it feels different to other Qigong I have done in the past.. Im also overcoming chronic fatigue caused by a virus a year ago which has a lot to do with my current bout of low moods and Im hoping these meditations can rebuild my energy levels and strength to what they once were..

 

Dan

Edited June 29, 2010 by DanC

[nic chi]

Sifu Terry and sifu Garry,

 

I'd like to ask your opinions on a new experience and also share it with the group.

 

This morning, after a 5 min warm up, I did monk gazing at moon for about 15 min then monk holding peach.

 

5 min or so into monk holding peach I started feeling waves moving up my legs, for feet to hips. The wave would go forward from feet to knees and backward from knees to hips. Very light and enjoyable feeling. I experienced, I guess, around 10 of them, 2-3 seconds apart. I felt like I was swaying forward and backward although my leg muscles weren't doing it. Not sure if I was in fact moving or not, but definitely had that feeling.

 

Then something less expected happened. I started feeling weak in the abdominal area. Not tired from the physical effort of holing the pose, just weak. Ended the med with three deep breaths and started moving around. Felt fine in a couple of minutes.

 

Even though I have read all the posts on this thread many times and something similar is explained by sifu Wong Kiew Kit in his book (from taichimania.com recommended books list) just want to make sure this normal, to make sure I am not doing anything to hurt myself.

 

Thanks,

 

Nic

[Christoph]

DanC-depression is something I had 20 yrs experience with.believe it or not,in my case it was mostly related to diet.Once I got my gut healthy the depression vanished and I became like a new person.Everybody is different but I wanted to put that out there.

 

FP-I've only been at it for a week but I love it!It really suits me.

here is where I'm at

I do the 3 standing and Bending the Bows for 10 minutes each.

Then I do 7 reps each of the Monk serves wine series.

When I do Monk Gazes Moon,I feel the MC Orbit open in about 10 seconds then after a few minutes I start salivating.In MOnk Serves Wine I feel it in the lower,middle,upper but mostly in the heart.

[DanC]

Christoph,

Yeah diet is something Im also working on at the moment, Im basically following a vegetarian diet and trying to eat as much organic foods as possible. But in saying that my depression isn't constant it comes in bouts sometimes years apart..

 

Dan

[Spirit Ape]

If you are doing it standing I would say the leg channels are starting to open up from the Yong chung (Kidney 1 Point, bubbling spring) maybe there is some small blockages higher up and over time the energy will clear it out.

 

In Burning Palm System - Monk viewing the moon is used to pull open the 3rd eye and the Moon is a Magnetic energy source which is why its called such.

 

Sifu Garry

[DanC]

Loving the FP seated meditations, did 45mins this morning and also felt stronger in my calisthenics in the evening. Also more focused and centered, Ive finally found a practice that feels good..

[zen-bear]

Sifu Garry,

After the meditations I feel sense clarity and connectedness instead of a scattered mind with brain fog, I also feel a euphoric type feeling in my stomach and just and overall relaxed calm energy..

 

Sifu Terry,

I have suffered from bouts of depression and low moods on and off throughout my whole life and have taken the therapy and medication route in the past with only very little improvement, the one thing that has helped me maintain A positive outlook and overcome these depressed moods is meditation, exercise and qigong..

Im so glad I have found FP Qigong because it feels different to other Qigong I have done in the past.. Im also overcoming chronic fatigue caused by a virus a year ago which has a lot to do with my current bout of low moods and Im hoping these meditations can rebuild my energy levels and strength to what they once were..

 

Dan

 

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

[zen-bear]

DanC-depression is something I had 20 yrs experience with.believe it or not,in my case it was mostly related to diet.Once I got my gut healthy the depression vanished and I became like a new person.Everybody is different but I wanted to put that out there.

 

FP-I've only been at it for a week but I love it!It really suits me.

here is where I'm at

I do the 3 standing and Bending the Bows for 10 minutes each.

Then I do 7 reps each of the Monk serves wine series.

When I do Monk Gazes Moon,I feel the MC Orbit open in about 10 seconds then after a few minutes I start salivating.In MOnk Serves Wine I feel it in the lower,middle,upper but mostly in the heart.

 

 

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

[zen-bear]

Sifu Terry and sifu Garry,

 

I'd like to ask your opinions on a new experience and also share it with the group.

 

This morning, after a 5 min warm up, I did monk gazing at moon for about 15 min then monk holding peach.

 

5 min or so into monk holding peach I started feeling waves moving up my legs, for feet to hips. The wave would go forward from feet to knees and backward from knees to hips. Very light and enjoyable feeling. I experienced, I guess, around 10 of them, 2-3 seconds apart. I felt like I was swaying forward and backward although my leg muscles weren't doing it. Not sure if I was in fact moving or not, but definitely had that feeling.

 

Then something less expected happened. I started feeling weak in the abdominal area. Not tired from the physical effort of holing the pose, just weak. Ended the med with three deep breaths and started moving around. Felt fine in a couple of minutes.

 

Even though I have read all the posts on this thread many times and something similar is explained by sifu Wong Kiew Kit in his book (from taichimania.com recommended books list) just want to make sure this normal, to make sure I am not doing anything to hurt myself.

 

Thanks,

 

Nic

 

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.

[zen-bear]

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.

 

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?

[DanC]

Sifu Terry,

 

Thanks for all your feed back Sifu Terry, In regards to diet Im following a vegetarian diet and its making a difference in my energy levels and overall wellbeing, I will definitely look into Carlos Castaneda's "The Fire Within". One other thing is Im finding my leg falling asleep by mediation 3 & 4, I find my self ending early because my leg is numb and uncomfortable, anything I can do to minimize this or will it lessen with time..

 

Dan

[sunshine]

Hi Sifu Terry,

 

a practice that seems to produce positive results with regular practice of an hour per day seems

to be perfect for someone with just an hour a day left for practice.

 

I do have a few questions if you don't mind... derived from reading the thread and

watching some of your DVDs:

 

A) the last practice on DVD 1: likely it was said somewhere but I seem to miss it continuously:

is it done just once after the breath sequence or actually done repetitively as all others for like 10 minutes?

 

B ) on page 7 of this thread you recapitulate the practices with their breath percentage

 

just not to confuse things: there you state

 

the practice „Month serves Wine 1“ to have a breath percentage of: 80,50,40,30,10

 

on the DVD it says: 90,50,40,30,10

 

 

C) what happens with the practice/effect of the practice if one were to open the eyes before

ending it with the three breathes?

 

Aside from that: if keeping my eyelids relaxed they don't tend to fully close but leave a slit through which

light enters: is that a problem at all?

 

D) I assume that the general rule to practice one practice for like 6 monthes and then theoretically would

be able to stop practicing it (as it from then on takes effect anyway) and continue with another counts not

just for the standing meditations but the sitting meditations as well?

 

What if one misses a day of practice? Does one have to count the 6 monthes from day one again or simply

accept it and continue? (question actually: does a day missed break the results?)

 

 

E) >>If you don't have that amount of time, then just work through Volume One in real time (about 55 min.)<<

 

When you talk about time here: does it include the warm up Qigong on the DVD?

 

What is your general take on that: what is the relation in effect of the warm up med to the meditations effectivity?

 

F) Somebody asked the question if this practice leads to virtue and you responded:

 

"Do not seek in your vitality (your health-preserving, longevity exercises) what you do not find in your heart."

 

Now: in history many philosophers have tried to „logically“ arrive at universally applicable standards for moral and ethics.

In the esoteric arts some claim that the (= their) practice changes the person in a way that it gets aligned to a "resonance"

out there in the universe that changes their behavior according to this universal „principle“.

 

I am interested to learn what you think that virtue is and where your guidelines for that are taken from... and where that

which is in a person's heart actually comes from.

 

 

G) You emphasize that Flying Phoenix is a purely medical Qigong and on your webpage you state:

 

„high yogas such as the Flying Phoenix Celestial Healing Chi Meditations have been used to promote

perfect health in the process of conditioning and empowering the practitioner to maintain this samadhic state--

and experience the ever-present reality of union within form.“

 

I have trouble to understand: does Flying Phoenix lead to a Samdahic State or only prepares one to enter it with other

specific practices?

 

If you don'T mind to share: I am deeply interested in your thoughts on the „samadhic state“ and what your core spiritual practice is

that does not focus on health but on transcendence.

 

Would be great to hear your thoughts

 

sincerely

 

Harry

Edited July 3, 2010 by sunshine

[johndoe2012]

Anybody got experience in both Zhan Zhuang and Flying Phoenix chi kung? Which is most effective?

 

The effects mentioned in this thread seem impressive for such a short total practice period.

[Spirit Ape]

wtm, The FP has standing meditations ZZ in them, just to let you know!

[Fu_dog]

I *thought* there were similarities between standing FP and ZZ. So, Sifu Garry - thanks for confirming this!

 

And actually, Sifu Dunn seems to use a ZZ posture as a warm up on one of his FP videos.

 

Also, some of the hand positions from the first few basic seated FP meditations (the ones practiced in sequence before the Monk Serves Wine exercises) seem to have similarities to ZZ.

 

Very cool!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edit: typo

Edited July 5, 2010 by Fu_dog

[Spirit Ape]

All the static meditations that Sifu Terry Holds in the FP dvds, seated and standing are ZZ, no different except the Breath percentage which empowers it and makes it a completely different purpose.

 

regards

Sifu Garry

[zen-bear]

All the static meditations that Sifu Terry Holds in the FP dvds, seated and standing are ZZ, no different except the Breath percentage which empowers it and makes it a completely different purpose.

 

regards

Sifu Garry

 

 

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

Edited July 6, 2010 by zen-bear

[zen-bear]

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

 

 

 

 

 

Hi Bill,

 

Yes, you can ask and I have tried to answer:

 

First, do you happen to remember the name of the American you met in China who had studied Master Lew's Tao Tan Pai system? I know pretty much all the old-timers who have been studying with Master Lew since the 70's.

 

Based on my experience of the TTP internal system, I could not and would not say that there is a qigong method of doing them and then a neigong method of doing them. To me, it's all neigong. Maybe the person you met was trained differently... I don't know.

 

We were taught just to do the exercises. And the TTP internal exercises are most profound. They date back to the Tang Dynasty and are attributed to the patron saint of the system, Lu Tung Pin. [i just got back from two trips to San Francisco in October and November and i visited the Taoist temple in Chinatown that is dedicated to Lu Tung Pin. (Jeng Sen Buddhism and Taoism Association). It is a private church, membership only, and I had not been there in 15+ years; but the spirits felt that i was a proper initiate and so I was invited in.]

 

My answer again: The TTP exercises themselves dictate whether there is retention or natural breathing.

 

I learned to practice circling palms only one way: deep inhalation as the hips square to the front and one arm extends to the side; then slow exhalation--as slow as possible--as the arm sweeps 180 degrees to the other side. The fourth exercise of the Short 31 (the seated one) has breath retention, of course.

 

I hope that this answers our question.

 

Regards,

 

Terry

Edited July 6, 2010 by zen-bear

[zen-bear]

[DanC]

Another cool benefit I have noticed is an increase in sexual energy, almost viagra like results..

[zen-bear]

Another cool benefit I have noticed is an increase in sexual energy, almost viagra like results..

 

 

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