Flying Phoenix Chi Kung

[zen-bear]

Terry,

I could use some input on how to get better results from my FPQ practice.

 

I have had your DVD’s on FPQ for almost two years. The first time I tried to learn them I started with the first six seated meditations. I ran into problems with pain in my mid to upper back that kept me from being able to sit in meditation for more than ten or twelve minutes. I came to the conclusion that there must be some blockages in the meridians in that area since I had injured my neck in a car accident and broken my back as a child. The break in my back was in the same area where pain was being manifested in the seated meditation.

 

This was not my first experience with a Qi practice. I had studied Taichi for two years with Waysun Liao. Although this Taichi practice improved my health dramatically, I was interested in finding a Qigong form that focused on healing energy because Taichi energy, though healing, still originates in a martial form. I also struggled with seated meditation associated with my Taichi practice. I was ok with standing meditation as long as I chose an arm posture that allowed my hands to be at dantien level. I was not able to stand in Wuchi position without experiencing the same pain in my upper back.

 

Because of the pain I was experiencing while practicing FPQ and because I was not seeing any perceived benefit, I started to study Wild Goose Qigong, even going to several weekend workshops. Again, I learned some valuable information and found a way to deal with some specific acute illnesses. It seemed to me that the test to see how well this Qigong was clearing out meridians was that I should be able to stay longer in a seated meditation without pain. After a year of practicing Wild Goose Qigong, I was not able to see an improvement in that particular area, even though I was persistent in including seated meditations in my practice throughout the year.

 

When I found this forum and spent some time on your website, I decided that, based on other’s experiences, FPQ should clear out these meridians more efficiently than the other forms I had tried, because of the breathing sequences.

 

I decided to start with the standing meditations on the volume 1 DVD, as this was one of the recommended ways to begin practicing on your website. I have only been doing Monk Gazing at Moon, trying to work up to being able to stand for at least 15 minutes before learning the next one.

 

However, I have run into a problem. The pain in my back and upper arms in this posture creates enough pain that I have not been able to stand for more than 6 or 7 minutes before I have to come out. I have been trying to persist for three months and am getting very discouraged. I have had difficulty disciplining myself to practice more than two or three times a week because facing the pain is daunting.

 

Any suggestions you have would be welcome.

 

Kata

 

Hello Kata,

 

I'm sorry to hear of your serious injuries in the past and your problems finding pain relief through Qigong.

 

Only you can know whether the pain you are experiencing in the back when you practice wuchi and/or Monk Gazing At Moon is related to your neck injury and the broken back you suffered as a child. Without seeing your form and body mechanics in person, I can't tell whether your upper arm pain in wuchi is also related to your back injuries. But based on your description, it sounds like you have limited movement of your arms and tense shoulder and neck muscles.

 

With regular practice (and serious back injuries aside), the wuchi position and MGAM posture should NOT be taxing to the upper arms. And they should be practiced by anyone wanting to progress in any style of qigong. However, if Monk Gazing At Moon continues to be too painful for your to hold for more than 6-7 minutes. Just hold it for 6 minutes each practice (--that's actually enough if you practice it on a daily basis).

Then proceed with Monk Holding Peach and Monk Holding Pearl--which should be much easier to do because the arms are held close to the body in MHPeach, and hanging with gravity in MHPearl. You should be able to do these two FP meditations for 10-15 minutes. If you practice daily 6 minutes of Monk Gazing At Moon, 10 min. of Monk Holding Peach and 10 min. of Monk Holding Pearl, that's a very good start on the Flying Phoenix system.

 

To really see how your body (back) reacts or abreacts to the FP system, do the first two seated warm-up mediations on Vol. 2 DVD:

1.) The first seated warm-up is the same arm position as Monk Gazing At Moon, only you "tweak" and rotate the forearms. This should be easier to do than Monk Gazing At Moon (standing).

2.) The 2nd warm-up with breathing 50 - 30 -10 looks like the opening move of Tai Chi Chuan done repeatedly while sitting in half-lotus. Absolutely everybody--especially martial artists--feels pain and discomfort when they first do this exercise. It just brings into awareness all sorts of deep-seeded muscular tension in the back. don't be daunted here. Just work through the discomfort the best you can with regular practice.

 

If you can practice these 2 seated warm-up meditations extensively--i.e., 8-10 minutes for seated warm-up #1 and 5-6 minutes for seated warm-up #2, you will find Monk Gazing at Moon and the rest of the standing FP exercises easier and more comfortable to do.

 

Good luck and keep posting your progress.

 

Regards,

 

Sifu Terry Dunn

Edited December 21, 2010 by zen-bear

[kata]

Yes, every reputable system of Qigong and, of course, Taichi, I have studied recommends Wuchi position standing meditation. It has been implied here that if I will continue practice, if the problem is my posture/form, and/or muscular tension, over time, even those will correct themselves as the energy teaches my muscles what to do. Is this an accurate interpretation? If not, how is the best way to address neck/shoulder tension and correct form/back mechanics.

 

"If you can practice these 2 seated warm-up meditations extensively--i.e., 8-10 minutes for seated warm-up #1 and 5-6 minutes for seated warm-up #2, you will find Monk Gazing at Moon and the rest of the standing FP exercises easier and more comfortable to do."

 

It's not clear if you are recommending doing the two seated meditations as a warm up for the standing meditations and doing this all in one session or starting with the seated meditations for my daily practice until they become comfortable at the recommended time and then, once that goal is accomplished, add the standing meditations into my practice.

 

If I use the seated meditations for the warm up, do I leave out the warm up on the 1rst DVD and go straight to the breathing sequence of each standing meditation?

 

Thanks, again. I am hoping that whether it is injury based or form/posture/tension based, that FPQ will help me heal/correct the problem. It is this hope that has caused me to persist in trying to learn FPQ.

 

Kata

[Friend]

Edited November 17, 2011 by Friend

[Fu_dog]

Sifu Terry -

 

Regarding hand posture..... particularly fingers open vs. fingers closed.

 

It appears in your training DVD's that fingers are often closed during hand movements. As closely as possible, I try to mimic your example of each FP exercise.

 

That said, can you please comment on fingers open vs. fingers closed? Is it important? Is this something we practitioners should pay attention to?

 

Thanks,

 

Lloyd

[Shen555]

Just curious but is there a difference between Sifu Terry's Flying Phoenix and Grandmaster Doo Wai's Flying Phoenix? If so then what differences are they?

Sorry if those questions come off as offensive, if so then I apologize right now. I'm just curious to know is all.

 

James V. Horner

[VCraigP]

Just curious but is there a difference between Sifu Terry's Flying Phoenix and Grandmaster Doo Wai's Flying Phoenix? If so then what differences are they?

Sorry if those questions come off as offensive, if so then I apologize right now. I'm just curious to know is all.

 

James V. Horner

 

Terry Dunn learned from Doo Wai.

 

I know it is long but read the thread. Not a waste of time.

 

Craig

[zen-bear]

Hello Friend,

 

My answers are below in bold.

 

Thanks for your questions. Besides my answers below, you'll find more detailed answers to the same questions in the earlier postings of this thread.

 

Good Luck,

 

Sifu Terry Dunn

 

 

 

Dear Sifu Terry Dunn,

 

I have the DVD now and have some technical Questions.

 

It seem to be clear instruction but I ask me if it is a mistake of understanding.

Lets take Monk Hold Pearl from Vol.1 it has:

Three Breath 50 40 30 20 10 Three Breath with last exhale through the mouth.

Between each is a "Full breath".

Well when I start it looks so 3x100/100 (100/50) (50+100/100) (100/30) (70+100/100) (100/20)(80+100/100)(100/10) .

 

The non Highlight are Breathing Sequence from the exercise.

 

Later when I meditate I had the Input:

3x100/100[/b] (100/50) (50/100) (100/30) (30/100) (100/20)(20/100)(100/10)

 

So is the second Version right or not?

 

I don't really understand what you mean with the notation you are using below--such as the 50+100/100 and 80+100/100.

 

Each number in the breathing sequence 50 40 30 20 10 done with "Monk Holding Pearl" is a percentage exhalation.

After you exhale, let's say, 50% of your estimated breath capacity, you inhale 50% to fill the lungs again and then you exhale 100%.

Then you inhale 100% (as deeply and fully as possible) and then exhale the next percentage, which in the case of MHP is 40%. Then inhale 40%, and exhale 100%; inhale 100% and then exhale the next percentage (30%), etc.

 

The breathing method of the Flying Phoenix Qigong system is quite simple and the instructions on the DVD are clearly presented, expecially with the graphic. For the basic FP sedentary meditations, you can simply close your eyes and follow the soundtrack's instructions. Just practice to the DVD a little more and you'll get the hang of it.

 

So to deepen the question:

On can breath 100% but what is 100%?

a.) Is it the breath filling like a bottle and not move much the lungs.

b.) The breath is 100% when one move to the point it is natural stretch.

 

"100%" is the deepest or fullest inhalation and exhalation that you can comfortably take.

 

An Addition Question:

Which Qigong Parts from Volume 1 and 2 can be done in other positions than presented in the DVD. I have read here in this Topic that Monk hold the Pearl is one of these.

 

Only Monk Holding Pearl can be done in 3 different positions: standing, seated, and supine (lying on one's back.) All of the other FP exercises must be done in their standing or seated positions as taught.

 

I am specially interested in the 50 10 50 in Vol.2. Can it be used be used while standing with the hand position instead of sitting?

NO. Do not vary these FP exercises from the way they are taught on the DVD or you will dilute their effects or cause yourself internal energy PROBLEMS. Sifu Garry Hearfield will give you the same admonition. If you get "creative" with these powerful meditations before you've mastered them, you'll wind up making a mess--a serious mess for yourself.

 

Also is there a breathing sequence for -static Palms facing the earth while Standing- from your Qigong Reportoire? Yes/No if you not like to share.

Yes, other White Tiger internal systems of GM Doo Wai use the posture you described, and so do other martial arts such as Liu He Ba Fa: 6 harmonies/8 methods--but they are not Flying Phoenix meditations and thus are not relevant to this discussion thread.

Regards,

Q

 

P.S: I find that especially for the FPQ it hurts when one is disturbed by Sudden Sound. I only know that there is an exercise taken from the Jing Gong by Mister Zhi Zhang Li which has the purpose when on has a Shock from a sudden Noise.

 

That's interesting--if you mean that Master Zhi's book teaches a meditation that heals one after one has been disturbed from a sudden noise.

 

Yes, early on in this thread--and on all the dvd's, I provide warning to practitioners that the FP Qigong so deeply sensitizes the body that any sudden or loud noise can be quite painful and disconcerting. And that practitioners MUST practice in a secure and secluded environment where there is no possibility of someone or something running into you while you are in a FP meditation. Getting bumped or knocked around when in an FP MEdiation will damage your internal energy. So take extra precautions as instructed.

 

 

 

The Method is described here in this book - there seem to be no translation: http://www.amazon.com/Stille-Gong-nach-Meister-Zhi-Chang-Harmonisierung/dp/3596184657/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1292367325&sr=1-2

 

Edit: A little mistake I found on the second breathing sequence since it is logic that if

one breath 100 in and let X out there is still 100-x in and so one can only breath X in and not -x+100

Edited December 20, 2010 by zen-bear

[sunshine]

Dear Terry,

 

thank you for sharing your story to help me with my decision to get the operation done...

 

I wanted to share my thoughts about the Flying Phoenix practice:

 

back when I started somewhere first third of this year I did so after having tried other methods. The reasons I had to stop those where either because of time issues (worked 16 hours a day that time plus travelling to job place and back... and usually I belong to the category of people who DO NEED 8 hours of sleep in order to be able to function)... or I did stop because I had to practice a method focussing mainly on health for some time, because it was in decline...

 

The Flying Phoenix seemed to fit well: you can achieve "something" with even just 30 minutes a day sounded too good to be true... and 30 min seemed to be managable even with the life situation at hand...

 

unfortunately it still was not really possible to practice regularly... I did for some time without any tangible effects and then had to stop for a week or two... and then starting again it seemed like the tangible effects were immediately there. Not in the sense of "needing less sleep" or "energy levels kicked high as never before"... but what people describe when practicing: tingling etc.

 

Meanwhile I went through different phases.... being able to practice regularly all practices, being able to practice at the same time each, to currently having had to take a break due to the operation... and slowly starting again...

 

My experiences with the practices are:

 

1. As I practiced daily at about the same time for a period of about 2 weeks... it was like I felt the energy arriving an hour in advance to the practice session.

 

2. The static exercises I would call my "personal unwinding exercises"... my body stretches, my joints crack etc.

 

3. The standing static meditations: at the beginning it felt like each triggered the "Dan Tian are" of the next... Monk gazing at Moon did something feelingwise to my Heart area, while holding the position at the heart seemed to have an effect on the lower Dan Tian area.

 

4. The Sitting meditations: the 1st sitting meditation often has a quite tangible effect on my frontal to temporal lobes located more superficially, while the Monk serves Wine seem to have an effect much deeper, more in the Amygdala, Corpus callosum are...

 

I can not yet report any effects transcending the momentarily felt effects so I can not conclude yet to what the immediate reactions might lead in the long run.

 

 

 

Please allow two questions Sifu Terry:

 

I can't remember anyone having asked and I hope it not to be inappropriate:

 

What do you think are the karmic implications of your interaction with the little creatures that did not survive?

 

Regarding the practices: do the hands when "sliding" along the body or hold the meditation position like in "Monk holding pearl" touch the body or do they always have space in between?

 

thankx much in advance

 

Harry

[zen-bear]

Sifu Terry -

 

Regarding hand posture..... particularly fingers open vs. fingers closed.

 

It appears in your training DVD's that fingers are often closed during hand movements. As closely as possible, I try to mimic your example of each FP exercise.

 

That said, can you please comment on fingers open vs. fingers closed? Is it important? Is this something we practitioners should pay attention to?

 

Thanks,

 

Lloyd

 

 

Hi Lloyd,

 

Good question. In some of the FP meditations, the hands are held with fingers together; in others, they are held spread apart:

 

Volume 1: For MGAM, you hold your fingers spread-out or "feathered" as in the "tile-roof" hand of Chen Tai Chi Chuan. I always saw my teacher practice MGAM with the fingers slightly spread apart. (I think the camera angles may not have shown my hand positions on the Mong Gazing At Moon on the dvd.)

"Wind Above the Clouds": fingers are closed.

 

On "Part B" of "Bending the Bows", when the fingertips come to eye level, they should be spread apart. But in "Part A" (the horizontal circling in at throat level), the fingers are together.

 

I presently teach my students in los Angeles to "cup the palms and spread out the fingers."

 

Vol. 2: On the first seated warm-up meditation on Vol. 2 that involves slowing rotating the forearms, the fingers should be spread. On all the other seated FP meditations of Vol. 2,each time one has to hold "sum-how" or the equivalent of Monk Gazing At Moon" while seated, the fingers should be spread.

 

Vol. 3:

"Wind Through Treetops": Fingers are spread in the second posture (like MGAM) and are closed when you tilt back and lean forward and come back to vertical. Then the fingers are spread for the last 6 movements of the meditation.

 

"Moonbeam Splashes on Water": except for the second movement (arching back in right bow stance with right palm at the foreheard) and the fifth movement (left arm circling counter-clockwise), all the movements I believe are done with fingers held together, not spread.

 

*As for importance between open and closed space between the fingers: My general feeling is that it doesn't matter that much in the beginning whether fingers are together or spread--as long as your hands are relaxed along with rest of the body. Later on, you can see what spreading the fingers does. Holding the spread-out, feathered position does stretch the facia, of course, more than holding the fingers together--and that is ultimately very important in advanced qigong and kung-fu.

 

Best,

Sifu Terry

[zen-bear]

Hi Dr. Harry,

 

My answers comments and answers to your questions are below in bold-italics.

 

Good questions.

 

Best,

 

Terry

 

 

Dear Terry,

 

thank you for sharing your story to help me with my decision to get the operation done...

 

I wanted to share my thoughts about the Flying Phoenix practice:

 

back when I started somewhere first third of this year I did so after having tried other methods. The reasons I had to stop those where either because of time issues (worked 16 hours a day that time plus travelling to job place and back... and usually I belong to the category of people who DO NEED 8 hours of sleep in order to be able to function)... or I did stop because I had to practice a method focussing mainly on health for some time, because it was in decline...

 

The Flying Phoenix seemed to fit well: you can achieve "something" with even just 30 minutes a day sounded too good to be true... and 30 min seemed to be managable even with the life situation at hand...

I'm glad that you found that FP practice for 30 minutes fits into your schedule.

 

unfortunately it still was not really possible to practice regularly... I did for some time without any tangible effects and then had to stop for a week or two... and then starting again it seemed like the tangible effects were immediately there. Not in the sense of "needing less sleep" or "energy levels kicked high as never before"... but what people describe when practicing: tingling etc.

 

yes, once you practice with a certain regularity the tangible energy effects just set in all of a sudden. Some people feel them right away, others down the road of practice.

but when it comes, it is felt instantly.

 

Meanwhile I went through different phases.... being able to practice regularly all practices, being able to practice at the same time each, to currently having had to take a break due to the operation... and slowly starting again...

Take your time to recover from the operation. Even though the FP system is very, very gentle, and not taxing, the standing med's do require stancework, so practice no more than what you sense your system can take.

My experiences with the practices are:

 

1. As I practiced daily at about the same time for a period of about 2 weeks... it was like I felt the energy arriving an hour in advance to the practice session.

 

Yes, once you get into a regular routine, as you approach the timeslot for your practice during the day, the mere thought of practice will(can) bring on the energy effects. I wrote from the very beginning of this thread that the energizing effects of the FP Qigong were cumulative and that once they are well-practiced, the energy reserve in the body continually increases. I also wrote that at a certain point down the road after long diligent practice, one doesn't have to do the movements any more but just the breath-control sequence to bring on the energizing effects of that specific exercise. The next progression is to bring on the general energizing effects of the FP Qigong just by thinking of any meditation without even doing the breath-control sequence or movements. The FP energy is mustered because it's already there in reserve.

 

In both Chan Buddhist and Taoist classics, it is written that whether walking, standing, sitting, or sleeping, the "superior man" is always in meditation--is always in the Tao.

 

Flying Phoenix Qigong is one very effective and elegant vehicle to remain in constant high meditative consciousness and to see into one's own nature.

 

2. The static exercises I would call my "personal unwinding exercises"... my body stretches, my joints crack etc.

 

3. The standing static meditations: at the beginning it felt like each triggered the "Dan Tian are" of the next... Monk gazing at Moon did something feelingwise to my Heart area, while holding the position at the heart seemed to have an effect on the lower Dan Tian area.

 

4. The Sitting meditations: the 1st sitting meditation often has a quite tangible effect on my frontal to temporal lobes located more superficially, while the Monk serves Wine seem to have an effect much deeper, more in the Amygdala, Corpus callosum are...

THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR DESCRIBING THE ENERGY EFFECTS IN THESE DEEP PARTS OF THE BRAIN. THIS IS WHAT IS EXPERIENCED BY ALL PRACTITIONERS OF THE SEATED MONK SERVES WINE MEDITATIONS--SOONER OR LATER. BUT YOU HAVE THE ANATOMICAL KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERTISE OF A PHYSICIAN TO PRECISELY DESCRIBE AND PINPOINT WHERE IN THE BRAIN THE FP ENERGY AFFECTS. AS YOU PRACTICE MORE, YOU WILL COME TO DESCRIBE THE ENERGY STIMULATION IN THE BRAIN EVEN MORE PRECISELY. (I WON'T LEAD YOU BUT LET YOU COME UP WITH THE VERB DESCRIBING WHAT THE TANGIBLE ENERGY DOES YOURSELF)

 

I can not yet report any effects transcending the momentarily felt effects so I can not conclude yet to what the immediate reactions might lead in the long run.

 

 

 

Please allow two questions Sifu Terry:

 

I can't remember anyone having asked and I hope it not to be inappropriate:

 

What do you think are the karmic implications of your interaction with the little creatures that did not survive?

 

Recall in my account that the tiny creatures didn't survive because although my intent was to heal one of them, the wrong energy "misfired" and came out. Thus there was no intent to harm any form of life. The fact that accidental demise of the tiny creatures occurred is an acceptable price, in my mind, to develop one's healing powers.

The operative maxim in Chinese martial, healing, and spiritual arts is "Do that which causes the least pain." If one's intent is purely to help, heal, and protect your fellow man, accidentally or even consciously destroying lowest life forms that do not possess souls is acceptable "collateral damage." See Matthew 8:32 of New Testament of the Bible.

 

Regarding the practices: do the hands when "sliding" along the body or hold the meditation position like in "Monk holding pearl" touch the body or do they always have space in between?

 

When the palms are held at the tan tien in "Monk holding pearl", or at the end of "Moonbeam splashes on Water" (vol. 3) the hands touch the body.

 

thankx much in advance

you're welcome.

 

Harry

Edited December 21, 2010 by zen-bear

[johndoe2012]

[Friend]

Edited November 16, 2011 by Friend

[DanC]

Sifu Terry,

Just wanted to know if you have any experience with chronic fatigue syndrome/ME and Flying Phoenix, I have been dealing with fatigue for 24 months following a bad virus which affected my inner ear, I managed to recover from the imbalance due to the damage to my inner ear and beat most of the fatigue inthe first year but then relapsed 12 months ago and have been gradually improving ever since. Im not an extreme case still manage to work but if I do too much or get sick I tend to crash, but my relapses seem to be less and less and Im bouncing back quicker. I currently do acupuncture twice per week and consult with a naturopath on what supplements to take.I tend to find the seated exercises less demanding then the standing ones, so my thinking is start with seated flying phoenix and build my strength and energy reserves and attempt the standing exercises later on down the track. Im just doing one to two basic seated meditations per day and gradually building from there.

 

Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated..

 

 

Daniel

[Fu_dog]

Sifu Terry -

 

Thanks for you excellent response to my question regarding "fingers spread or fingers together" on hand postures on the Flying Phoenix mediations.

 

As a practitioner, my goal is to maximize the benefits and value of each Flying Phoenix mediation, and correct posture is one of the important elements.

 

Again, I am very grateful for your contributions to this thread.

 

Lloyd

[Guliver]

Sify Terry

I want to know about tao diet what foods to eat in summer,autumn,winter and spring how to balance my diet with 5-element sistem.What foods to avoid and what foods should I consume more if you could explain me alitle more with this to balance mu diet better.

[QGLover]

Hello again Sifu Terry,

 

I got another question for you, after I've read some books about healing.

 

Well, my question is about this: - With doing QiGong, or any other Qi exercises, our internal organs are exposed to heating (right?), which can damage them. I guess FP is making heat as well, how can I know if I am going to make some kind of overheating, or is there any way to cool the internal organs ?

 

This questions is bothering me. Thanks in advance.

 

All the best, QGLover

[zen-bear]

Sifu Terry,

Just wanted to know if you have any experience with chronic fatigue syndrome/ME and Flying Phoenix, I have been dealing with fatigue for 24 months following a bad virus which affected my inner ear, I managed to recover from the imbalance due to the damage to my inner ear and beat most of the fatigue inthe first year but then relapsed 12 months ago and have been gradually improving ever since. Im not an extreme case still manage to work but if I do too much or get sick I tend to crash, but my relapses seem to be less and less and Im bouncing back quicker. I currently do acupuncture twice per week and consult with a naturopath on what supplements to take.I tend to find the seated exercises less demanding then the standing ones, so my thinking is start with seated flying phoenix and build my strength and energy reserves and attempt the standing exercises later on down the track. Im just doing one to two basic seated meditations per day and gradually building from there.

 

Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated..

 

 

Daniel

 

 

Hello Daniel,

 

Sorry to hear that you are suffering the symptoms of chronic fatigue syndrome that started with a bad viral infection and that you had a relapse last year also.

 

CFS is a very general diagnosis of severe tiredness that can have an almost infinite number of causes--including a compromised immune system resulting from the severe infection that you had. It sounds like you may have never recovered from that viral infection and are still feeling the residual effects. Make sure that you are thoroughly tested by your regular physician. Working with a good herbalist to provide energy-stimulating supplements is certainly a good idea.

 

In general, Flying Phoenix Qigong can only help alleviate the symptoms of chronic fatigue syndrome; it certainly won't cause more fatigue because it perfects the regulation of all the internal organs by the autonomic nervous system.

 

*You can check past posts by FP practitioners and see what they reported about how FP Qigong affected their quality of sleep.

 

I know that one of the symptoms defining CFS is the inability to get the full restful benefits from one's sleep even though one gets enough hours of sleep per night. FP Qigong will definitely help CFS to some extent in that all of the FP seated meditations ("Monk Serving Wine" exercises) facilitate deeper, more sound sleep--except the MSW meditation with the breathing 90 80 50 20, which does the opposite in keeping one awake and alert.

 

In your case, I would suggest doing the seated meditations in the evenings to induce more restful sleep and doing the standing FP meditations during the day when you need the extra energy for activity and work. (The advanced seated meditations of Vol. 7 you can do almost anytime of day for calm vitality.) To increase your stamina and sustain your energy during the day, it would be ideal to learn and practice the last 2 standing moving meditations: "Moonbeam splashes on Water" and the Long Form Standing <editation in Vol. 4. When one practices these longer moving meditations correctly and regularly, one begins to approach that high standard ("sweet spot") where you are constantly in the Flying Phoenix's meditative, self-healing state 24/7.

 

FP Qigong will help strengthen your immunity once you are 100% well. But you can't expect the practice of any qigong system to kill a viral infection that's already taken hold. So make sure you get medically tested to confirm that the virus isn't still active.

 

I can only speak for my own good health over the past 15 years where I have experienced an average of less than 1/2 of a cold per year--i.e., I get a cold once every 3 or 4 years. (And I'm not a vegan but enjoy cappuccino's with desserts!)

 

Hope this helps.

 

Regards,

 

Sifu Terry

[DanC]

Sifu Terry,

Thanks for your reply I greatly appreciate it, my doctor also thinks my body is still recovering as well and that it will take time to fully recover, I nearly made a full recovery in terms of my strength and energy but what brought me undone was a big night out drinking 12 months ago that caused my relapse, alcohol intolerance is a key symptom in cfs. Im actually feeling pretty good at the moment since starting on some new supplements and Im keen to ease back into some form of an exercise program, I'll keep you posted on how FPCK helps me in my journey back to full health..

 

Daniel

[zen-bear]

Hello again Sifu Terry,

 

I got another question for you, after I've read some books about healing.

 

Well, my question is about this: - With doing QiGong, or any other Qi exercises, our internal organs are exposed to heating (right?), which can damage them. I guess FP is making heat as well, how can I know if I am going to make some kind of overheating, or is there any way to cool the internal organs ?

 

This questions is bothering me. Thanks in advance.

 

All the best, QGLover

 

 

Hello QGLover,

 

I don't know what books on healing you've been reading but your questions aren't rooted in common sense nor do you have a basic understanding of what Qigong does or how the art works with regards to the natural functioning of the human body.

 

If you're interested in understanding Qigong better, I would suggest that you read these two books in order to get understanding of how Qigong can be practiced safely and sanely and to one's maximum benefit:

A.) Tibetan Yoga and Secret Doctrines by W.Y. Evans-Wentz

B.) Secret of the Golden Flower - translation by Thomas Cleary is fine.

[both are required reading for all my internal arts students in Los Angeles since I started teaching in the mid-80's.]

 

As I second option, I would suggest that you find a competent kung fu master, train hard with him and master kung fu to a good degree to give yourself a good foundation to understand what qigong is and what how it works. I myself don't teach Qigong to anyone in my Los Angeles classes who doesn't have a strong background in some Chinese martial art.

Now I'll answer your first two questions:

 

(1) Wrong: doing Qigong does not "expose" the internal organs to excessive heat--even if one is exceptionally gifted and has strong psychic focus and is able to direct one's qi to specific parts of the body at will. No Qigong system out of China worth its salt will unbalance the energy of the human body and cause any organ or organs to overheat. (Another way of putting it is that people stand a better chance of suffering a heatstroke from doing too much aerobic exercise in a hot climate without enough hydration than they would "overheating" an organ from doing an authentic and complete system of qigong that is properly taught to them.)

 

Of course, if one is haphazardly doing powerful and advanced "qi exercises" as a beginner and doing them out of the context of a particular system or tradition, one can certainly unbalance one's own energy and cause some organ or organs in the body to overheat--especially using Qigong exercises that involve breath retention. But that's a pretty stupid thing to do on purpose and one really needs to be mentally bent to accomplish that. But then again, there are some people without much critical mind who would listen to some voice in the dark (like a cult leader) or who have it within themselves to start experimenting with miscellaneous "qi exercises" without deriving any particular benefit to the health of the body and keep doing until they damaged themselves. Case and point: one of my former classmates under GM Doo Wai who I invited into the group, told me about how he witnessed a bizarre cult up in Washington state (that started in the 80's) led by some self-proclaimed guru claiming to channel some totally bogus entity called "Ramtha" who was teaching her followers (including a well known Hollywood actress and star of the old "Dallas" tv series of the 80's) to do seated meditation and concentrate all their energies to heat-up a big rock placed on top of each of their heads(!!!). I cite this true account to say that one might be able to overheat one's own brain and cook it with this idiotic instruction, if one believed that such a practice was legitimate and beneficial and actually attempted it for hours and hours, day after day. But even then,I doubt that an average beginner would be able to fry an organ in such a manner (by sheer meditation concentration). Such a practice is not close to anything that I know to be Qigong--and I teach 4 systems of Qigong. Thus the last thing you have to worry about is overheating internal organs through qigong.

(2) If one practices the FP Qigong correctly (as taught on the DVDs), it is impossible to imbalance the energy of the body in any way because the Flying Phoenix Qigong System returns the body to its most natural, pristine of balance and internal harmony--by perfecting the natural regulation of the organs by the autonomic nervous system, thereby promoting allostasis.

 

On the subject of psychic heat in Qigong: When you practice Qigong correctly, or Tibetan Tantric yogas correctly, or any complete system of authentic Yoga correctly, you can significantly heat matter or elements outside of your body at will--without causing any damage to your organs or your sanity. I know of two Chinese qigong masters/healers--one here in Los Angeles and one in the Philippines-- who can ignite paper with the energy emanating from their fingertips. The Tibetan Buddhists regularly test each generation of monks in their Yoga of Psychic Heat by having them completely dry out water-soaked sheets burlap draped over their naked bodies high in the Himalayan snows. But this is done after many years of correct yogic practice to measure the extent of their psychic cultivation and mind-body harmony. But if someone tried this Tibetan test as a beginner, I guarantee that he will freeze to death within 40 minutes.

 

You're welcome.

 

All the best,

 

Sifu Terry Dunn

Edited December 27, 2010 by zen-bear

[zen-bear]

Sifu Terry,

Thanks for your reply I greatly appreciate it, my doctor also thinks my body is still recovering as well and that it will take time to fully recover, I nearly made a full recovery in terms of my strength and energy but what brought me undone was a big night out drinking 12 months ago that caused my relapse, alcohol intolerance is a key symptom in cfs. Im actually feeling pretty good at the moment since starting on some new supplements and Im keen to ease back into some form of an exercise program, I'll keep you posted on how FPCK helps me in my journey back to full health..

 

Daniel

 

 

Daniel,

 

Best of luck on your full recovery.

Thanks for sharing the cause of the relapse. One can actually drink to such an excess (I don't know if you did) as to create alcohol poisoning, which is very serious and can cause immediate coma and death. That happens with binge drinking: drinking too much too fast.

 

But since you survived that night out a year ago, you might have come close but you probably didn't cross the threshold of alcohol poisoning. But your alcohol intolerance means that alcohol affects your heartrate, breathing, alters your blood chemistry and begins to damage organs starting with the liver, of course. Because alcoholism affects brain function, it will naturally degrade one's immune system (far beyond motor skills) and make one more susceptible to other diseases.

 

Hope you fully recover and then can enjoy the full fruits of FP Qigong practice. It's a wonderful experience.

 

Best,

 

Sifu Terry

[Fu_dog]

Hi Sifu Terry -

 

I have a question regarding the "Monk Holds Pearl" standing meditation. After the percentage breaths (50 40 30 20 10), do you recommend that the practitioner continues deep breathing to the lower dan tien, or do you advise to forget about breathing altogether and simply focus the awareness on the lower dan tien? Or, does it matter?

 

I have done it both ways, and I find after the percentage breaths to simply forget about breathing and focus attention solely on the lower dan tien is extremely refreshing.

 

That said, I want to practice in a manner consistent with the tradition of the Flying Phoenix Qigong art. So, thanks in advance for your advice and council on this.

 

Lloyd

Edited December 29, 2010 by Fu_dog

[zen-bear]

Hi Sifu Terry -

 

I have a question regarding the "Monk Holds Pearl" standing meditation. After the percentage breaths (50 40 30 20 10), do you recommend that the practitioner continues deep breathing to the lower dan tien, or do you advise to forget about breathing altogether and simply focus the awareness on the lower dan tien? Or, does it matter?

 

I have done it both ways, and I find after the percentage breaths to simply forget about breathing and focus attention solely on the lower dan tien is extremely refreshing.

 

That said, I want to practice in a manner consistent with the tradition of the Flying Phoenix Qigong art. So, thanks in advance for your advice and council on this.

 

Lloyd

 

 

Dear Lloyd,

 

Congrats. You've answered your own question correctly simply by practicing Monk Holding Pearl regularly for long enough a time.

 

You can choose to (a) mentally focus on the tan tien and natal breathing or ( not to focus at all.

 

As I stated very early in this thread, once you complete the breath-control sequence at the start of each of the Flying Phoenix Meditations and do the posture/movements with proper form and relaxation, the FP Energy cultivation will take place regardless of how you focus your mind. And if you choose to completely not-focus, and find that refreshing (most people do), then you've found an optimal state of self-healing.

 

I repeat: while doing the FP Meditations, you can think about absolutely anything (--that isn't negative, morbid, evil, or destructive, of course) and still get profoundly energizing, healing, and rejuvenating results.

 

Happy New Year!

 

Regards,

 

Sifu Terry

 

P.S. Tip: if one is spiritually inclined, the FP meditative state is a fine vehicle to deliver one's prayers to the One God--be it called Jehovah, Allah, Ahura Mazda, the Holy Tao, the Buddha, the Baby Buddha, or the Great Syrian Sage.

Edited December 31, 2010 by zen-bear

[Fu_dog]

Sifu Terry -

 

That's a pretty awesome response to my question. Given the flexibility of focus while doing the Monk Holds Pearl meditation, IMO this makes it a true meditative practice. That's excellent news which only enhances an already rich and powerful Flying Phoenix system. Also, the ability to commune with the One while doing this Monk Holds Pearl meditation is awesome.

 

I know you have said before after one does the breathing sequences, it doesn't matter (with only a few restrictions) what the mind focuses on while doing the movements. Or in the case of Monk Hold Pearl, the stillness. However, your last post clarified this in excellent detail.

 

Based on this, I'll be doing a lot more of the Monk Holds Pearl meditation.

 

Thanks much!

 

Lloyd

 

PS - Also, I have taken your practice advice to do standing FP in the morning, seated FP in the evening. I am really enjoying the benefits of this routine. In 2011 am very serious about learning the entire system, or at least as much as I can learn via DVD. I expect to have all the meditations learned by late Spring, then will work the rest of the year on refining.

[zen-bear]

Sifu Terry -

 

That's a pretty awesome response to my question. Given the flexibility of focus while doing the Monk Holds Pearl meditation, IMO this makes it a true meditative practice. That's excellent news which only enhances an already rich and powerful Flying Phoenix system. Also, the ability to commune with the One while doing this Monk Holds Pearl meditation is awesome.

 

I know you have said before after one does the breathing sequences, it doesn't matter (with only a few restrictions) what the mind focuses on while doing the movements. Or in the case of Monk Hold Pearl, the stillness. However, your last post clarified this in excellent detail.

 

Based on this, I'll be doing a lot more of the Monk Holds Pearl meditation.

 

Thanks much!

 

Lloyd

 

PS - Also, I have taken your practice advice to do standing FP in the morning, seated FP in the evening. I am really enjoying the benefits of this routine. In 2011 am very serious about learning the entire system, or at least as much as I can learn via DVD. I expect to have all the meditations learned by late Spring, then will work the rest of the year on refining.

 

 

Dear Lloyd,

 

You're very welcome. I'm glad you're enjoying your practice of FPQ over the past year and will expanding it in the new year. As I've suggested on this thread and in all my classes, at the outset, you want to find the FP meditations that have the strongest healing and rejuvenating effects and concentrate on those. Then once those favorite exercises are mastered, you can gradually work through the other FP exercises that did't have quite the same effect and through diligent practice, "make" them work for you. If one has the time, an alternative approach--just as effective--is to spend an equal amount of time in every practice session on all the FP meditations ("all" can mean all the exercises on volumes 1 & 2 of DVD series or can mean all the exercises in the FPQ system.) Again, the energy effects of the FPQ system are cumulative, and as long as you practice 3-4 or more of the exercises each day, the yogic cultivation will progress. And this progress--which you may not be conscious of on a day-to-day basis-- will from time to time reveal itself to you.

 

Once you get deeper into the intermediate moving FP meditations in Vol.3 and beyond and form improves, you will not need to do as much of the basic sedentary meditations to maintain the same level of energy cultivation. Practice gets more fun in a sublime way.

 

Happy New Year!

Sifu Terry

[j.fachao]

Hi Sifu Terry,

 

Thank you for this wonderful quotation.

 

Happy New Year to you also!

 

Fachao

 

edit for spelling

Edited January 1, 2011 by j.fachao