Flying Phoenix Chi Kung

[Antares]

Doing it 2-3 times are maybe too much to have enough rest. Energy still works if you dont do anything - if you have initiate the process.

The FB belongs to Qigong where you not have to exercise everyday and so you dont lose it over time so very good for busy people but it needs good sleep because lack of sleep acts against the building up structure as I expirience - this feel near nothing

when on has make the exercise yours until then it is important to sleep when one need it.

 

Both teachers here say the more the better as they cumulative. And practicing every day is ideal. Normally I practice for 2-3 hours every day but planning to go for 4 hours every day.

[Friend]

Edited August 17, 2013 by Friend

[zen-bear]

Doing it 2-3 times are maybe too much to have enough rest. Energy still works if you dont do anything - if you have initiate the process.

The FB belongs to Qigong where you not have to exercise everyday and so you dont lose it over time so very good for busy people but it needs good sleep because lack of sleep acts against the building up structure as I expirience - this feel near nothing

when on has make the exercise yours until then it is important to sleep when one need it.

 

Both teachers here say the more the better as they cumulative. And practicing every day is ideal. Normally I practice for 2-3 hours every day but planning to go for 4 hours every day.

Hi Eugene,

Your training schedule of 2-3 hours a day and your striving to do 4 hours a day is commendable. That much daily practice of the FP Chi Kung in the beginning as you learn the system will insure that you establish a sound foundation in it.

 

Friend's comments that you quoted above in bold are accurate.

 

1. Flying Phoenix Chi Kung is a type of Qigong that one does not have to necessarily practice every day, and yet the healing effects and the buildup of the reserve or superabundance of the FP energy (what I assume Friend means by "structure") will not degrade or disintegrate much. But this type of cumulative cultivation can take place only after the practitioner has learned how to do all the FP Meditations correctly (and the breath-control sequences from memory), and in order to reach that basic level of competence, I have recommended regular daily practice where one starts with a minimum of 2 basic standing and 2 basic seated FP meditations and adds to it over time. Once you have learned to do all the FP meditations correctly and can do them with the breath-control sequences from memory with eyes closed (except for Monk Gazing at Moon, of course), you don't have to do the same FP meditations every day. As per the suggested training schedule, you can rotate them and do different FP meditations each day of the week...so long as you ultimately cover all the FP exercises and ultimately do all of them for an equal amount of time (approximately). And as I have posted many times earlier in this thread, once one has learned the Long Form Standing Meditation on Vol.4 of the DVD series, its practice can supplant and subsume the practice of the more basic Standing FP Meditations (taught in Vols. 1 and 3).

 

2. Getting sufficient sleep every night is indeed essential to derive maximum benefits from the FP Chi Kung as well as to maintain good health and vitality whether one practices Qigong or not. As I stated early in the thread--during the thread's first two years--practice of FP Qigong cannot replace lost sleep (whereas certain other Qigong systems such as the advanced levels of Tao Tan Pai neigung can replace hours of sleep that one has deprived from oneself of for whatever reasons or necessity).

 

3. The energy-cultivation process of FP Chi Kung is indeed cumulative, but the minimum frequency of practice where the FP Energy will not atrophy or start to deplete has to be discovered by each practitioner--after one is fully versed in the basic FP Chi Kung system. This minimum frequency of practice is different for everyone, determined by each person's unique physiology, constitution, genetic talent or predilection--call it natural aptitude for Qigong, karma, as well as one's experience in other Qigong systems, martial arts and other forms of eastern yoga.

 

I hope this clarifies what Sifu Garry and I suggested in terms of daily practice. I would say that 2 hours of daily FP Chi Kung practice is most adequate for beginners to properly develop in this art. Even one hour of daily practice is sufficient. But if one has the time and will power--and does not make FP Chi Kung training an obsession, 3 or 4 hours of FP training each day would only accelerate the speed of one's progressin obtaining the health benefits and healing ability from this Qigong.

 

Regards,

Sifu Terry

 

http://www.taichimania.com/chikung_catalog.html

Edited April 13, 2013 by zen-bear

[Antares]

Thanks. Fair enough. I will practice for some 3 hours daily. Later on I will make clip on my seated meds. It is important to know if it is done correctly.

Edited April 4, 2013 by Eugene

[ShivaShakti]

As always I do admire Sifu Terry response.

 

Got to say it when i'm in a state of happiness due to FP pratice today

[ridingtheox]

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

 

peace

[tao stillness]

Hello Sifu Terry,

I have 2 questions. Does each one of these flash meds on vol. 5 have a different breathing sequence like the other volumes? You called them ancillary meditations which suggests they might be different in some way than the ones on vol. 1-4. I am ordering vol. 5 today. What more can you reveal about the ways in which the meditations on volume 5 are different than the other Flying Phoenix meditations?

The other question is about this unexplainable enjoyment of wanting to do Flying Phoenix Chi Kung and I get that feeling even just thinking about doing the meditations. What is the magic behind this system that accounts for this infatuation with this particular style of chi kung. I have worked with probably 10 other styles of chi kung in the past but none of them resulted in this strong desire to want to do the movements like I have when I do Flying Phoenix Chi Kung. I just don't get it. There is this compelling attraction to this particular type of chi kung.

Steve

Edited April 10, 2013 by tao stillness

[zen-bear]

Hello Sifu Terry,

I have 2 questions. Does each one of these flash meds on vol. 5 have a different breathing sequence like the other volumes? You called them ancillary meditations which suggests they might be different in some way than the ones on vol. 1-4. I am ordering vol. 5 today. What more can you reveal about the ways in which the meditations on volume 5 are different than the other Flying Phoenix meditations?

The other question is about this unexplainable enjoyment of wanting to do Flying Phoenix Chi Kung and I get that feeling even just thinking about doing the meditations. What is the magic behind this system that accounts for this infatuation with this particular style of chi kung. I have worked with probably 10 other styles of chi kung in the past but none of them resulted in this strong desire to want to do the movements like I have when I do Flying Phoenix Chi Kung. I just don't get it. There is this compelling attraction to this particular type of chi kung.

Steve

 

Hi Steve,

 

Yes, each of the "Flash" meds. on Volume 5--that take only 90 seconds or so to do--has its own unique breath-control sequence. When you get to these meditations, you'll be closer to having the universal response of, "I can't believe that a human being actually created this stuff!" because they are so short, sweet and sublimely powerful. The Exercises on vol.5 are ancillary and more advanced because they all build upon the Basic FP Meds. taught in Volumes 1-4. They alone cannot be used as a foundation for the system or replace the practice of the Basic Standing Exercises in Vol. 1, for example. They alone also cannot empower/imbue one with FP healing energy to a high enough level where one can effectively heal other people and life forms to the extent that I described earlier on this thread.

 

The Vol. 5 Meditations also much, much more affective if one has established the practice of the Basic FP Meditations in Vols. 1-4 and your body-mind is well-conditioned to the FP healing energy. They are very different than the other FP meditations because they are so very short in duration and yet very, very energizing and healing, if done in sequence after the Basic Level of the FP Qigong is mastered. If by chance anyone reading this thread has practiced the Vol. 5 Meditations first before practicing those in Vols. 1-4, I would be interested in getting your impressions and learning whether you agree or not.

 

Steve, I can't explain your specific personal experience of the "magical" attraction or infatuation you have for the Flying PHoenix Chi Kung...but in general, I have observed that almost all my students in L.A. over the years and I assume the majority of FP practitioners on this thread who use the DVD series, once they get into the system, also feel "inexplicable enjoyment" while doing the practice, and that the this is due to the sublime healing qualities of this spiritually-inspired/borne Qigong system, and the easy, comfortable alchemic method that it employs--i.e., the nature of the breath-control sequences with the percentage exhalations interspaced with full breaths is a very natural and inexplicably POWERFUL method of activating the body's natural healing processes that generates the FP Healing Energy. I think I've recently described the feeling of practicing FP Qigong as "calmest bliss on a cellular level". That's just my way of saying that the perfectly harmonious state of "allostasis" effected by FP Qigong practice feels so good that we call it "bliss." The fact that it is a state of self-healing catalyzed by a sublime spiritual art may provide a spiritual explanation as to why FP Qigong imparts bliss (simply as a Blessing from whatever Divine being Feng Tao Teh channeled that taught him the Flying Phoenix Heaing Chi Kung), but that doesn't explain the biochemistry or physiology of bliss--how it's actually induced or mediated by the FP Qigong process. I do know that the FP Qigong bliss is distinctly different from the euphoric and blissful states induced by other advanced Qigong exercises.

 

Hope this helps.

 

Best,

 

Sifu Terry

 

www.taichimania.com/chikung_catalog.html

Edited April 11, 2013 by zen-bear

[Guest bew]

Sifu Terry - Thanks for the reassurances about the golden light phenomena as I haven't experienced anything like that and wondered if it meant I was not progressing. My signposts have all been simply energy movement in my body (almost of a violent quality during year one of practice in that I nearly was knocked down on more than one occasion. ) All that first year movement was in my legs. That's all gone now and the only involuntary movement I generally have is in head, shoulders or in one arm where I have a lingering sports injury.

 

 

My question relates to the environment for practice and I don't believe the specifics of it have come up as I have read the thread. I spend a lot of time on a sailboat. In the past, I have simply skipped those days of practice. But since last Fall, I have practiced virtually every day and given that habit, I'd also like to practice while on the boat if it would be safe. The environmental impacts are of course the water movement, which varies due to conditions, and on occasion the boat motor. If I restricted FCP to while in the marina and a calm day, would seated meditations be ok to do? Of course, I know we are to avoid getting knocked while doing FCP and that this is very important to avoid, so I would not practice while out on open water or in windy conditions. But the boat is never truly still, even when there is no wind, and I wondered if there would be a reason to avoid the rocking movement during FCP, however gentle? Thanks for any advice!

Edited April 11, 2013 by bew

[zen-bear]

Sifu Terry - Thanks for the reassurances about the golden light phenomena as I haven't experienced anything like that and wondered if it meant I was not progressing. My signposts have all been simply energy movement in my body (almost of a violent quality during year one of practice in that I nearly was knocked down on more than one occasion. ) All that first year movement was in my legs. That's all gone now and the only involuntary movement I generally have is in head, shoulders or in one arm where I have a lingering sports injury.

 

My question relates to the environment for practice and I don't believe the specifics of it have come up as I have read the thread. I spend a lot of time on a sailboat. In the past, I have simply skipped those days of practice. But since last Fall, I have practiced virtually every day and given that habit, I'd also like to practice while on the boat if it would be safe. The environmental impacts are of course the water movement, which varies due to conditions, and on occasion the boat motor. If I restricted FCP to while in the marina and a calm day, would seated meditations be ok to do? Of course, I know we are to avoid getting knocked while doing FCP and that this is very important to avoid, so I would not practice while out on open water or in windy conditions. But the boat is never truly still, even when there is no wind, and I wondered if there would be a reason to avoid the rocking movement during FCP, however gentle? Thanks for any advice!

Hi BEW,

You read my first posting of #1782 in reply to Tao Stillness (Steve) before I edited it down, removing my comments about non-ordinary and extra-sensory perceptions occurring during FP Qigong training because I thought it was starting to stray awa from Steve's second question. So I will re-phrase and post it after I answer your questions:

 

(1) There are no benchmarks or modes of perception or particular perceptions and experiences or discernable states of consciousness that beginning practitioners of FP Qigong have to worry about or think that they should try to aspire to--except for perhaps the inevitable feeling/sensation of "fullness"--or full, total body-permeation of the sublime FP Healing Energy. This can occur sooner rather than later, depending on one's natural aptitude for this style of qigong, experience in other systems of mediation, qigong, or internal martial arts, and how much one practices. Just do the FP Qigong training as outlined in the DVD series and enjoy the health benefits, energization, and expansion of sense perceptions, and the blissful states of consciousness and feelings of well-being--whenever they come.

 

The dampening of the vibrating and bodily shaking brought on by your practice of FP in the first year is very typical and is indicative of proper practice. As you practice further, you'll find that the shaking of the head-neck-shoulder area around your old sports injury will also gradually shake less and "smooth out" as the FP Qigong will accelerate the healing of this old injury to the greatest extent that you body can possibly naturally heal. As I explained many times, the energy effects of the FP Qigong are cumulative: the more you practice the FP Qigong system regularly, the more your body relaxes and the deeper the FP Healing Energy will permeate the body. And once your injury is healed to whatever extent the FP Qi can heal it, the FP Qigong will cultivate a super-abundance of the distinctive FP Healing Energy or what I've called the energy "reserve."

 

(2) As for practicing FP Qigong on a boat or over water, there is no problem with it so long as you don't get sea-sick, or get over-exposed to wetness and cold. As for constant rocking motion interfering with proper practice: if the degree of rocking is that of your boat moored in a sheltered marina, I would say that there's no harm in doing the FP Qigong on that sort of platform but it is certainly NOT optimal. The essential prerequisite of all Qigong and meditative arts is mental concentration and profound stillness of the body. I've often cited I Ching Hexagram 52 as the voice of the ancient masters:

 

KEEPING STILL. Keeping his back still

So that he no longer feels his body.

 

Best,

Sifu Terry

Edited April 11, 2013 by zen-bear

[zen-bear]

To Friend,

This was posting you made at this time before you edited it out in its entirety a few days later. I had written that I would respond to some of your comments when I had more time because I had trouble understanding what you were saying about how your were practicing and what experiences you were having with the FP Qigong. Fortunately, I found your posting because Shiva Shakti had quoted it in thanking you. I will comment on a couple of statements you made because I think it may be of help to you and others in correcting misconceptions about the FP Qigong and how to practice it. My comment is below in blue italic in response to your comment that I've highlighted in bold:

 

_{Yes, I learned it from the DVD and I did Vol.1-5. I mostly was on volume 2 because I started with it and expirienced the effects}

_{the breathing percentange had and what this exercise did without. I exercised and open breathing space with this exercise}

_{and notice build up structure. Using skills I developed out when I was in Chronic Fatique I could sense blockages and how the energy was go through the body like through waterhose which are pressed from outside. I stick mostly to one exercise and}

_{this took long enough until I was satiedfied.}

 

_{With each exercise added I needed less time to make the exercise mine.}

_{With each exercise one structure was added and maintain permantely. I found that the warm up are very very important since the later movements are combination of these. Still the 50-40-30-20-10 I found is the most effective with only a static posture able to be performed seated, stand and lay down but actually directly cultivate the energy while the movement with cultivation of this energy}

_{is building structure. (I even come to conclusion that this still give a decent cultivation even I start to feel less improvement with movement)}

 

I started with extrem slow speed, because this energy is slow and the hands where often not in union with energy. So I had to adjust the speed, sometimes slower, sometimes faster but gain speed to move it faster and faster without losing

the energy.

You should continue practicing the FP Meditations at "extremely slow speed" and work towards moving even more slowly--i.e. using the metaphor of "moving at the speed of a shifting sand dune." If one perseveres with practice at the slowest speed possible, the entire body including the hands will experience the fullness of the FP Healing energy. As you master the basic level FP Meditations, and become facile with the FP Healing Energy, you will understand the nature and qualities of this very unique and discernable energy.

 

>> Your statement of having "to adjust the speed, sometimes faster but gain speed to move it faster and faster without losing the energy" indicates that you are imposing a training method from a different system that is not really relevant or useful to the practice of Flying Phoenix Qigong.

 

•There are ABSOLUTELY NO CIRCUMSTANCES where one needs to do any of the basic FP Qigong Meditations fast !!! The FP Healing Energy is cultivated only through the stationary standing meditations (in Vol.1) and the super-slow moving standing and seated meditations (Vols. 2,3,4,5,7) The sequences of postures in the basic FP moving meditations in Volume 3, 4, and 5 were not designed for fast movement. If you practice any of the Basic FP Meditations fast, you are no longer cultivating the FP healing energy...and no longer doing FP Qigong! As I've posted before, over the past 20 years of practicing and teaching FP Qigong, the pure, healing energy cultivated by the Basic Level FP Meditations (Vols 1 through 7) cannot be used for martial art. And beginning students always find it very hard to shift after one hour or more of FP Qigong practice immediately into doing fast Bok Fu Pai Kung-Fu forms or forms from any style of Kung Fu.

 

• Only when one masters the Advanced Flying Phoenix Meditations, starting with the 9 standing moving meditations--with names such as "Moon Among the Heavens" and "Moon Above the Ocean"--is one empowered and induced naturally to move swiftly. For as I stated earlier in the thread, the Advanced FP Meditations crosses the threshold into martial art.

 

•Once one has cultivated the FP Healing Energy by proper practice of the Basic Level of FP Qigong and feels a super-abundance of it in one's system, there is no "losing" or "leakage" of the FP energy--no matter how fast one is moving!

At time even the range was smaller than in the DVD because there was not that allow bigger movements.

OK, if you mean that you had confined space and could practice the FP movements only in a smaller frame, or short stance.

But other than that circumstance, your comment doesn't make sense: the "range" of bodily extension in the movements and the "frame" of the postures that I demonstrate on the DVD series are rather normal and cannot be made much smaller. For that matter, I don't think that it's even possible to do the FP postures and movements smaller--other than by narrowing a wide horse stance to a narrow one. The size of the human frame of the FP Meditation postures and movements are dictated by the very simple basic postures where there is very little room to vary or improvise: a wide and full "Wu-Chi" circle of the arms at throat level (as in Part A of "Bending the Bows", and the first movement of "Wind Above Clouds" and "Wind Through Treetops"), the one straight-arm extension (of the right arm--about 5 movements before the end of "Moonbeam Splashes on Water")...and there is no possibility of varying the "range" or frame of the postures in "Monk Holding Pearl", "Monk Gazing At Moon," "Monk Holding Peach", or "Monk Begging For Rice" (starting position in horse step with forearms horizontal, palms turned upward with elbows against the ribs), or the the 3 bent-over, side-stretching postures in Wind Above Clouds.

On those part I used more time and repeat and repeat. I ended up with the Long Form which let the energy flow like water.

 

I recommend that you practice the Long Form much more on a regular basis and at the slowest constant speed that you can manage to move. To me, the FP Energy does NOT feel like flowing water...it is a much slower and more sublime. If from doing the FP Meditations you are feeling energy that's flowing like water, then you are probably using the visualization of flowing water, which is unnecessary to practice this Qigong system! Remember how I described the unique fundamental nature of this Qigong: You do the breath-control sequences and then just do the postures and attendant movements as slowly as possible. You do not need to visualize anything when you practice FP Qigong practice. The mind's eye can follow or direct the movement of the hands--but that's all the mental focus that's required after doing the breathing sequence. The "flowing water" metaphor describes the movement of jing (geng) cultivated in Tai Chi, Liu He Ba Fa (of course) and other internal martial arts. In my 22+ years of practicing FP Chi Kung, I can't really say that I've experienced the FP energy as a "flow" or current. Hmm, thinking back, I hope I didn't use that term "flow" because it could be misleading: Rather than flowing like water, the FP energy engulfs, envelopes and permeates the entire body all at once, it seems, on a cellular level. And as described earlier, when it is emitted or issues from the body with healing intent, it literally "jumps off" the body and permeates the subject person thoroughly, which awakens their consciousness profoundly--without any coordinated mental-physical effort or technique on the part of the FP practitioner.

 

I've described on this blog and in my literature that the FP Qigong works in two stages: (a) the breath-control sequence "ignites" a particular kind of healing energy and (b ) the posture and movements of each FP exercise circulates that energy. That is pretty much verbatim how GM Doo Wai described the workings of all the FP Qigong meditations to me and his other students in the 90's. When one is so well-practiced in FP qigong that one no longer feels any bodily friction while doing the moving meditations--that is one doesn't feel one's body at all--then I guess you can certainly call that "flow of energy". But even so, the flow of the FP energy just does not feel like flowing water to me. It is more like a very slow-moving blue lava--or "shifting sand dune"!). The closest phenomenon to a "flow" or a current that I've felt in FP training is perhaps the "washing of the brain" sensation that is more pronounced from doing the seated FP mediations "Monk Serves Wine" in Volumes 2 and 7--but that's a very localized sensation. The energy cultivated by the FP Qigong is soft, deep, slow and lava-like in speed, but also light and ethereal at the same time. And at some point in one's qigong development, it becomes visible as light blue light.

 

 

Later revisited and further Qigong. I recocnize "noise" and stress causes by movements. By trying different speed even it is reduce

only minimal or speed up minimal the breathing tensed up and even in the motion there was a slight jerk.

 

 

Repetition cause to yawn, sigh, gulp cough and with overcoming this the body felt as if the pipe getting bigger and flow more still and smooth.

I assume that you mean that by doing the movements in the FP meditations, you were able to identify the causes or source of "noise" and stress" in your body. That is very typical of FP Qigong practice: what you call "noise," I call "friction" and with continued practice, FP Qigong will ameliorate all body syndromes and dissolve all blockages to healthy energy circulation. On the other hand, if you mean that the "noise and stress" is caused by the FP movements, then that is an incorrect and absurd statement because FP Qigong does not add any stress whatsoever to the human process.

_{Performing one Breathing Percentage cause a "specific state of frequency" and caused from my awareness observed}

_{also specific temporary blockage (it is like a from outside pressed together tube than a tension) which with time of exercise are filled up and dissolve. (Still far from a caliber exercising 20 years and having the upper levels)}

 

_{So I did have made my expirience with FB. I found the clips of the advance FB here and found that still this mechanism hasnt worn}

_{down, since they react to the clips - even I havent practised for a long time because I practise Stillness Movement Qigong as my}

_{main system.}

 

_{You know that I hold you two Sifus having good stuff. I like especially the Golden Mantis which is really an eye opener to forward such and impressive advance form, still one has to follow one system as good as one can.Still I am looking around since it is fun to}

_{see what others have.}

 

_{Now I see Eugene wants to fasten up and shares to him my expirience which are some grain of sand at least and I have the feeling he takes a bit from this sand, again I see from my perspective that he is at some points rush through the system and was nagging}

_{and seem a bit discourage about the effect of FB until lately. Else you know yourself advice are like a punch direct in the face.}

_{Else I found it very important to work on the warm ups and smooth them out. If Dunn Sifu think I should stop sharing expirience}

_{which sound like advice then I accept it and do so.}

Thank you for your post, as it gave me the opportunity to post this emphatic reminder about the requisite super-slow speed of practice of the moving FP meditations and the size of the frame of the Flying Phoenix postures and the size or range of the movements.

 

Sifu Terry Dunn

 

_{www.taichimania.com/chikung_catalog.html}

Edited April 14, 2013 by zen-bear

[Friend]

Edited August 17, 2013 by Friend

[tao stillness]

Inserting our own twists to an ancient energy alchemical method that has passed the test of time does not make any sense to me given the history of how this method was passed down for generations. I have added my own feelings about this in a prior post about the value of preserving the purity of the teaching in order to be assured we will gain full benefits. I fail to see any room for personal experimentation. I was trained in ancient tradition from India of respecting the master - disciple relationship. On the other hand, I can see how easily this personal experimenting can happen when we are learning from a dvd instead of a qigong master in our presence to correct our faulty thinking and movements. This is such a rare gift to be able to learn a chi kung method in the pure form that has been taught for several generations. That's my take on it. I own some advanced meditation dvds made by GM Doo Wai and I can assure you that he does not provide anything close to the teaching skills that we get from Sifu Terry. GM demonstrates the meditations, Sifu Terry teaches how to actually do the meditations. For me, this is the difference between knowing how to do the movements versus guessing at how to perform them. We all owe a debt of gratitude to Sifu Terry for the amount of skill in teaching that he has provided us on the dvds and on this blog. If you want to learn how to appreciate this series of dvds, just shell out $299 or more for one dvd from someone else's Flying Phoenix dvds and then you will see for yourself the gifts that we have been blessed with by Sifu Terry who is practically giving these dvds away for free at his chosen prices. I would think that I am insulting Sifu Terry if I changed his teaching. Instead, I humbly bow down to this authentic chi kung master in gratitude for taking the guess work out of learning this art. Who else out there has done so much for us?

Steve

Edited April 13, 2013 by tao stillness

[alleswasderfallist]

Inserting our own twists to an ancient energy alchemical method that has passed the test of time does not make any sense to me given the history of how this method was passed down for generations. I have added my own feelings about this in a prior post about the value of preserving the purity of the teaching in order to be assured we will gain full benefits. I fail to see any room for personal experimentation. I was trained in ancient tradition from India of respecting the master - disciple relationship. On the other hand, I can see how easily this personal experimenting can happen when we are learning from a dvd instead of a qigong master in our presence to correct our faulty thinking and movements. This is such a rare gift to be able to learn a chi kung method in the pure form that has been taught for several generations. That's my take on it. I own some advanced meditation dvds made by GM Doo Wai and I can assure you that he does not provide anything close to the teaching skills that we get from Sifu Terry. GM demonstrates the meditations, Sifu Terry teaches how to actually do the meditations. For me, this is the difference between knowing how to do the movements versus guessing at how to perform them. We all owe a debt of gratitude to Sifu Terry for the amount of skill in teaching that he has provided us on the dvds and on this blog. If you want to learn how to appreciate this series of dvds, just shell out $299 or more for one dvd from someone else's Flying Phoenix dvds and then you will see for yourself the gifts that we have been blessed with by Sifu Terry who is practically giving these dvds away for free at his chosen prices. I would think that I am insulting Sifu Terry if I changed his teaching. Instead, I humbly bow down to this authentic chi kung master in gratitude for taking the guess work out of learning this art. Who else out there has done so much for us?

Steve

 

Steve,

I agree completely. When my friends or relatives show interest in learning FPCK and they want to know more about it, I try my best to give them a sense of what a privilege it is to be able to learn the art, and what inconceivable wisdom is hidden behind the meditations. A few years ago, when I first became interested in esoteric arts (mainly through elementary Dzogchen practices and some very watered down qigong), I felt like I had the mental faculties to mix and match arts and guide my own development. I eventually realized that the energy body and the spirit world are much too deep to begin to understand using my rational mind and logic, which I'd come to rely on and value very highly. FPCK along with unstructured meditation is showing me slowly that there is still very much to learn in life, and it's a wonderful reminder to adopt the disposition of a child, humble enough to learn.

 

I think that a lot of arts that are freely available to Westerners nowadays, like Dzogchen practices, Qigong, Yoga, etc, are very high systems that would only be available to novice monks or cultivators after they would traditionally spend much time developing humility and diligence. Because of circumstances, these arts are in a dormant phase and history, and it is necessary to spread them. So they become freely available for people to learn who may not recognize the great privilege of learning (which is all of us, when we don't approach learning in earnestness). I try to remind myself to practice and value the art like someone who deserves to be practicing. We are the ones who ultimately choose to be worthy of the art or not.

 

BTW, I see that you do Jenny Lamb's Yi Gong along with FPCK. I have her DVD and I am waiting till I have a solid FP foundation (I'm currently working on relaxing into volume 3) before I learn something else. Do you feel that your FPCK practice helps you understanding Yigong, or vise versa?

[tao stillness]

Hi A.,

LOL because you name is too long for me to type. I really enjoyed your wisdom laden comments. Sifu Terry has commented on Yi Gong earlier in this thread. He saw no conflict doing FP and Yi Gong. But there should be a span of time between the 2 methods. My mental understanding of both methods probably comes from reading some of the books on Taoism on Sifu Terry's reading list. I think that all of these ancient energy methods can only truly be understood by a mind which has reached mystical dimensions where different laws of Nature are then cognized and we have heightened perception/Consciousness and with that comes understanding rather than knowing only from thought process. I have no idea how FP really does whatever it does and the same thing goes for Yi Gong. I am blessed to work with a truly gifted medical clairvoyant of world renown who has the gift of sight and he literally can see what FP and Yi Gong do for me. He said Yi Gong was one of the most powerful things he has ever tested. And he has had glowing test results from FP and especially the energy that comes from Grand Master Doo Wai's meditations that were in his family before his ancestors were taught FP. I hope that I have done justice to your question. All I really know myself is what I feel while doing FP and what I feel while doing Yi Gong. I am captivated by and infatuated with FP, whereas I have to make myself do Yi Gong, but when Yi Gong kicks in for me, the energy makes my feet and legs quiver and then they just start moving on their own as the chi starts moving.

Steve

[alleswasderfallist]

Thanks Steve, that was a very interesting read and completely answered my question.

[ShivaShakti]

The super slow movements, gives me insights, expanded awareness and fullness.

Glad Sifu Terry always reminds us.

Edited April 14, 2013 by ShivaShakti

[Antares]

ShivaShakti, you wrote you have experience in tantra yoga. Did you practice pranayama?

 

I am doing cleansing program now and included short pranayama complex to my daily practice for physical and mental cleansing. And if I do 2 hours of yoga practice and some 1 hour 30 minutes of FPCK I feel somewhat agitated and hard to wake up next morning. I agree with Friend that much practice might be not very good at all at least in the beginning.

I have vata dosha constitution along with pitta and weather affects my vata dosha much and i think it is getting on my way of practice. Hope cleansing with right diet and practice will help to balance my energy. I am not I should practice FP more than 2 hours daily. May be it is just enough

[ShivaShakti]

My Pranayam is authentic. There is a certain time you should do it., and certain chakras to be focused upon, plus a personal mantra. and only vegetarian/vegan can only do it. A beginner must have very nutritious meals, or it will dry up the body!. if someone is eating meat it will only degrade his/her mind, make it more crude than subtle. PM me, if you want an authentic Tantra Yoga practice. Warning you though it will give you fast transformation, that you may not want to. It is a very spiritual practice. I will not give you the Pranayam lesson but will tell you what Tantra Yoga it is.

[CrunchyChocolate555]

Hi Steve,

Sorry to make you repeat if you have already, as I don't know how far back in the thread to go to find the answers.

 

Could you please tell me where I can find Sifu Dunn's recommended reading list? Also, what style of Yi Gong do you personally practice?

 

Thanks!

 

CC555

Hi A.,

LOL because you name is too long for me to type. I really enjoyed your wisdom laden comments. Sifu Terry has commented on Yi Gong earlier in this thread. He saw no conflict doing FP and Yi Gong. But there should be a span of time between the 2 methods. My mental understanding of both methods probably comes from reading some of the books on Taoism on Sifu Terry's reading list. I think that all of these ancient energy methods can only truly be understood by a mind which has reached mystical dimensions where different laws of Nature are then cognized and we have heightened perception/Consciousness and with that comes understanding rather than knowing only from thought process. I have no idea how FP really does whatever it does and the same thing goes for Yi Gong. I am blessed to work with a truly gifted medical clairvoyant of world renown who has the gift of sight and he literally can see what FP and Yi Gong do for me. He said Yi Gong was one of the most powerful things he has ever tested. And he has had glowing test results from FP and especially the energy that comes from Grand Master Doo Wai's meditations that were in his family before his ancestors were taught FP. I hope that I have done justice to your question. All I really know myself is what I feel while doing FP and what I feel while doing Yi Gong. I am captivated by and infatuated with FP, whereas I have to make myself do Yi Gong, but when Yi Gong kicks in for me, the energy makes my feet and legs quiver and then they just start moving on their own as the chi starts moving.

Steve

[Dainin]

Zen Bear's Recommended Reading List

[Antares]

Nice list. I have the book Tibetan Yoga and Secret Doctrines, by W.Y. Evans-Wentz (Oxford: Oxford Univ. Press, 1936)

There are 7 books. A friend of mine who has been in yoga for some 18 years used his description of yoga tummo and got loads of profound benefits and he recommends this book for everyone but he says that it is very much symbolical and one is not to do everything the same way as it is described in the book regarding visualizations and many other "local cultural " features but it is good for general understanding of the processes of internal alchemy. He took only this from the book.

As for other books I just wonder what are the benefits of reading it? IMO it only can confuse practitioner in a mass of theories of contemporary researchers. As for Evants Wentz book on "internal heat" he only paid money to tibetan monks who translated it from authentic source and it is one of the most authentic source on the alchemy of Yoga. All other books seem to be just about chikung which was created recently and it is only superficial glimpse on the taoist alchemy

[tao stillness]

Hi Crunchy Chocolate,

What a great user name. I see someone already provided the reading list. I read some of the books on that list for ambiance, creating a mood that uplifts me and at the same time provides knowledge and appreciation for this inner path to the Tao. I do not read the books for techniques, that is what we have spiritual teachers for. The quotes above provided by Dainin really describe One who is experiencing life from Awakening. Everything just IS without being filtered by the thoughts. Some of my friends recently went into permanent Awakening from the Oneness Blessing movement of sri Bhagavan and that is how they now perceive with direct experience of Consciousness. I consider that to be part of the Tao. To me the Tao is Absolute Pure Bliss Consciousness. In vedic terms, Sat Chit Ananda. The only game in town worth playing.

The Yi Gong is from Jenny Lamb's dvd. The easiest Neigong I know of and tested out also to be the most powerful and remarkable in what it does filling up almost immediately with golden liquid light clearing the energy channels which is what causes the spontaneous bodily movements as you just sit in a chair with your hands in a certain position. It is all automatic. I do not do the method with any regularity because I enjoy Flying Phoenix much better.

Steve

Edited April 15, 2013 by tao stillness

[CrunchyChocolate555]

Thanks

 

Hi Crunchy Chocolate,

What a great user name. I see someone already provided the reading list. I read some of the books on that list for ambiance, creating a mood that uplifts me and at the same time provides knowledge and appreciation for this inner path to the Tao. I do not read the books for techniques, that is what we have spiritual teachers for. The quotes above provided by Dainin really describe One who is experiencing life from Awakening. Everything just IS without being filtered by the thoughts. Some of my friends recently went into permanent Awakening from the Oneness Blessing movement of sri Bhagavan and that is how they now perceive with direct experience of Consciousness. I consider that to be part of the Tao. To me the Tao is Absolute Pure Bliss Consciousness. In vedic terms, Sat Chit Ananda. The only game in town worth playing.

The Yi Gong is from Jenny Lamb's dvd. The easiest Neigong I know of and tested out also to be the most powerful and remarkable in what it does filling up almost immediately with golden liquid light clearing the energy channels which is what causes the spontaneous bodily movements as you just sit in a chair with your hands in a certain position. It is all automatic. I do not do the method with any regularity because I enjoy Flying Phoenix much better.

Steve

[CrunchyChocolate555]

Dear Sifu Terry,

 

I would like to know your thoughts on practicing FPQ if one has a really bad posture that prevents them from sitting/standing up straight?

 

For the sitting meditation, I have to keep my back supported to be able to sit, but even then, I have to use an enormous amount of energy and tension to keep my back up and straight and prevent it from collapsing forward. I can never really fully relax and especially the T8-10 area in my back remains "closed" where no energy can pass throguh..

 

I know it's not ideal in the slightest, but is there a way to do the meditations in the lying down position, at least until I can get the energy flowng properly through my back?

 

If not, how should I best proceed? Because I want to keep doing it but have a hard time seeing how it would resolve itself. I can't imagine making any progress until I am able to release the tension, but it's the only thing that's keeping me from completely collapsing. I have seen a lot of specialists concerning my postural problems, but none have told me wha I can do to fix it..

 

Any advice would be much appreciated..