Flying Phoenix Chi Kung

[Earl Grey]

1 minute ago, shadrach said:

Hi,

 

A question for Siffu Terry, but also anyone that might have an answer:

 

My mind races by default. Some days I cannot be present in my body - I keep doing the meditation but it's like my energy is stuck in my head and not "flowing" as when I'm fully in my body, no matter how hard I try to focus on the body sensation.

 

Any technique, mantra, visualization to combat this?

 

Thank you

Flying Phoenix does not require mental focus. As Sifu Terry said before, you could literally do your taxes in your head while doing the forms after the breath control sequence. Do not focus on body sensation, just focus on doing the forms and meditations correctly.

[shadrach]

21 minutes ago, Earl Grey said:

Flying Phoenix does not require mental focus. As Sifu Terry said before, you could literally do your taxes in your head while doing the forms after the breath control sequence. Do not focus on body sensation, just focus on doing the forms and meditations correctly.

That's not what I asked. I do the forms (how else would one be aware of doing a form if he weren't directly aware of his body?). The trouble is that there's mind gremlins which take away my focus from it.

[Earl Grey]

4 minutes ago, shadrach said:

That's not what I asked. I do the forms (how else would one be aware of doing a form if he weren't directly aware of his body?). The trouble is that there's mind gremlins which take away my focus from it.

As I said: sensations aren’t important or where your mind is. This system is not focused on feeling sensations, but there are common sensations. This system doesn’t follow typical qigong norms.

 

If you’re really worried, send an e-mail to Sifu Terry or take a one-on-one with him.

 

As your question is something more general rather than related to Flying Phoenix, you may be better off consulting Eric Isen for a session on your health.

[Vajra Fist]

@Equidivium thanks for sharing your experience, you inspired me to start practicing FP again.

[asavakkhaya]

I am currently considering to get into Flying Phoenix. My main issue is some emotional trauma, mostly feelings of woundedness, stored up as a lot of deep seated tension in the body. Sometimes it is causing various health complications like poor digestion and loss of vitality. For the last 6 months I have only been practicing loving-kindness and acceptance of what is arising in my heart. Now feel I have come to place where I really have the the mental side of things sorted out very well, so I am now looking for something to assist my body in healing and releasing the last bit.

With that in mind I am curious what the practitioners here on the forum have experienced in FPs ability to release such trauma in safe manner.

[Takingcharge]

 

7 hours ago, asavakkhaya said:

currently considering to get into Flying Phoenix. My main issue is some emotional trauma, mostly feelings of woundedness, stored up as a lot of deep seated tension in the body. Sometimes it is causing various health complications like poor digestion and loss of vitality. For the last 6 months I have only been practicing loving-kindness and acceptance of what is arising in my heart. Now feel I have come to place where I really have the the mental side of things sorted out very well, so I am now looking for something to assist my body in healing and releasing the last bit.

 

dont know much about qigong, but from what ive been told it isnt your best bet for getting at trauma specificly.   (but again i dont know much about qigong, perhaps  theres a style thats Very good for exactky that)

 

but in terms of trauma,light or severe ,anything somatic , tensions and a slurr of health issues with at the root unprocessed emotions and negative imprints affecting the system.

 

regression to cause therapeutic hypnotherapy Has a good track record.

 

in this current age of commercialised training where everybody that takes a weekend cource opens up a hypnotherapy practice and is a coach of somekind, great practitioners that really honed their craft and are battle tested are few and far between.

 

most of the greats of the last generation are gone unfortunately. People like

jerry kein, gil boyne, steven parkhill those were real artists.

 

i know wendy webber from tribe of healers is the real deal.

she got fully cured of her own cancer in 1 crazy long trailblazing session Done during  a live training on regression therapy with steven parkhill the author of answer cancer.

 

she specialises in regression to cause therapeutic hypnotherapy and has worked primarily with chronic and terminal illnesses where the outcomes arent optional and the stakes are high and from what i know has had  a pretty good track record with it.

 

I dont think she holds a practice anymore she fully focusses on training now, but she did it for 15 years.   She can definatly referr you and point you to a proper person

i know she spoke highly of 

randy shaw over at hypnotherapy utah (type it in google n hel pop up)

as well as randy hold over in texas. Both of them do sessions over skype, and normally offer a free 15 min consultation to see if it can help you ask ask your questions and get a feel for the person.

 

based on what you said i recommend you look into it and dont limit yoursekf to a generic self practice hoping to get it all out.

[tao stillness]

As a retired clinical psychologist and a registered hypnotherapist having done past life therapy I think the above recommendations are good. Another option is to take the inexpensive $25, 7 hour, Journey to Happiness courses that are offered once a month by the Golden Age movement headed by the avatar Amma-Bhagavan. Instead of focusing on the emotional issues with just your mind and feelings, the energy of the Divine is added in order to aid the silent processing of your emotions. Deeksha in other words. So it become you and the Divine releasing your stuck stuff. 

 

 

[Vajra Fist]

Purely from the physical side of trauma release, it is true we keep a lot unconsciously bound up in tensions within our bodies. 

 

In hatha yoga, I've seen many, many inexplicable emotional releases occur - particularly in hip stretches, strangely. It seems that's a major repository for stored emotion. I've seen people burst into tears during something as innocuous as cobblers' pose.

 

If the emotional release occurs in yoga through stretching, its a slightly different approach in qigong, when it occurs through deep relaxation. When you feel palpable sensations of qi, your body can sometimes relax into it. The same way you get a full body relaxation from laying on a memory foam mattress or in a flotation tank - your body feels fully supported and you can let go.

 

Not to discount the mental/emotional approach above. But sometimes stuff is stored in your body at a very deep unconscious level, and the only way to release it is through movement practices.

 

 

[Earl Grey]

While these are great general discussions, staying on topic with the Flying Phoenix thread in relation to these points can help both with yogic development and trauma release. 

 

Notice that spontaneous shaking can occur during practice--even Sifu Terry shakes occasionally when doing some meditations, even the basic ones, not just the advanced forms. The longer you practice and slower you move, the greater the jhanic absorption.

 

What advantage exists for Flying Phoenix compared to other qigong out there is that not only is it very accessible, it is a pure and unadulterated authentic Taoist art as opposed to the many claims of what is out there.

 

In addition to this, as mentioned earlier by @asavakkhaya, dealing with trauma might be good to start with Flying Phoenix and then contacting Sifu Terry privately for sessions as he is also skilled in therapy, as well as trained in hypnotherapy.

 

Now, if any of you take the streaming sessions, you can experience the two yogic practices of Tao Tan Pai's basic 31 form and the short form power yoga derived from it, and how it facilitates more depth of Flying Phoenix practice as the two systems complement one another.

[Luccas]

Is there a way to learn the basic standing exercises and sitting meditations other than the dvds? (such as purchasing streamable or downloadable versions of the 1st and 2nd dvds?)

Spoiler

we've given away our tv and dvd player several years ago haha - and honestly I have no idea how's the situation with international shipping to south america...

 

Thanks!

[Vajra Fist]

Does anyone else have anger issues arising from practicing FP? I've been practicing less than a week but I'm noticing strong emotional turbulence and irritation, when normally I'm pretty even-keeled and non reactive. It's a very noticeable shift. 

[tao stillness]

Luccas,

There are only hardcopy DVDs or else learning directly from Sifu Terry Dunn via Skype or Zoom or some media like that. No downloads at this time. He has online group classes weekly as you probably already know. 

[senseless virtue]

9 hours ago, Vajra Fist said:

Does anyone else have anger issues arising from practicing FP? I've been practicing less than a week but I'm noticing strong emotional turbulence and irritation, when normally I'm pretty even-keeled and non reactive. It's a very noticeable shift. 

 

This is not by any measure a problem that would be specific to Flying Phoenix. All internal arts will bring awareness to experiences you would rather avoid.

 

Sifu Terry would call anger and other uncomfortable emotional experiences as "grist in the mill" and encourage you to carry on. Emerging emotional blockages are a sign that you are processing some deep seated issues so keep this in your mind as motivation.

 

You didn't directly ask for advice, but I thought you might appreciate my take on this matter. You might want to take a look outside your formal practice and focus a bit on how well are you connected to your true feelings and feeling around certain people — starting with yourself. The Buddhist perspective to both fear and anger is that they are fundamentally about aversion and avoidance. Personally, I feel that facing such issues often benefits from the conscious practice of forgiving and asking forgiveness. Alternatively, it could be a reminder that you have not been true and stood strong against some past injustice that you should simply acknowledge as viscerally as possible in order to process it fully, which can be quite difficult if there is emotional disconnect.

[Vajra Fist]

Thanks @virtue that's good advice. Unfortunately it's not a slow anger which is often easier to pull apart and analyse. Its a sudden flash of irritation, where before there wouldn't have been anything. Like when I'm trying to talk to the wife, and the kid is banging a saucepan behind my head, normally I would have laughed at the absurdity of it, but instead I yelled harshly at the kid to stop. Sounds like a little thing but its definitely not how I normally am as a person.

 

I'm not a beginner in internal arts either, having practiced various qigong and meditation for nearly 20 years now. And yet I can't remember any meditation having this adverse effect before. I wonder if it is a sign of qi deviation? But if so, it would have had to arise purely from FP as I've stopped anything else these last few days. 

 

It could be that all my prior efforts have kept me at the beginning stages of internal arts, and this is a sign of heavy emotional purification, which has only arisen because FP is a higher yoga.

 

If so, then it may be merely a phase in the process. But - with the greatest respect - I see a lot of people with more experience under their belt at FP who still display these flashes of irritation, at least on this thread. Which makes me wonder if its something to do with the system and the way it works on your emotional system.

[Earl Grey]

8 minutes ago, Vajra Fist said:

Thanks @virtue that's good advice. Unfortunately it's not a slow anger which is often easier to pull apart and analyse. Its a sudden flash of irritation, where before there wouldn't have been anything. Like when I'm trying to talk to the wife, and the kid is banging a saucepan behind my head, normally I would have laughed at the absurdity of it, but instead I yelled harshly at the kid to stop. Sounds like a little thing but its definitely not how I normally am as a person.

 

I'm not a beginner in internal arts either, having practiced various qigong and meditation for nearly 20 years now. And yet I can't remember any meditation having this adverse effect before. I wonder if it is a sign of qi deviation? But if so, it would have had to arise purely from FP as I've stopped anything else these last few days. 

 

It could be that all my prior efforts have kept me at the beginning stages of internal arts, and this is a sign of heavy emotional purification, which has only arisen because FP is a higher yoga.

 

If so, then it may be merely a phase in the process. But - with the greatest respect - I see a lot of people with more experience under their belt at FP who still display these flashes of irritation, at least on this thread. Which makes me wonder if its something to do with the system and the way it works on your emotional system.

The short version is it is a high yogic practice and I too am guilty as charged with anger and irritation. Being a high yogic practice, it goes deep into your trauma and unearths it in a cathartic manner. So you get to work with whatever is there and use FP as an ally as Castaneda would say when addressing it as opposed to burying it.

[Vajra Fist]

16 minutes ago, Earl Grey said:

The short version is it is a high yogic practice and I too am guilty as charged with anger and irritation. Being a high yogic practice, it goes deep into your trauma and unearths it in a cathartic manner. So you get to work with whatever is there and use FP as an ally as Castaneda would say when addressing it as opposed to burying it.

 

Thanks buddy, that makes a lot of sense. Better to work these things out as you say than have them hidden and carried with you lifetime after lifetime. Now that you say that, I remember one of my teachers saying that a fundamental distinguishing factor of a true path is 'not to be easy'. Thanks for chiming in anyhow, good to know I'm not alone in this.

[moment]

8 hours ago, Earl Grey said:

The short version is it is a high yogic practice and I too am guilty as charged with anger and irritation. Being a high yogic practice, it goes deep into your trauma and unearths it in a cathartic manner. So you get to work with whatever is there and use FP as an ally as Castaneda would say when addressing it as opposed to burying it.

 

"addressing it as opposed to burying it."

[tao stillness]

The ancient Vedic way of dealing with what comes up is to feel it and stay with the emotion without getting distracted by the story that accompanies the feeling. Ignore what the thinking mind says about the emotion. Just feel the feeling as much as you can. It will most likely change to a different feeling beneath the original emotion. Just watch it but stay with it till it passes. The way to get rid of negative emotions is to fully be with them instead of burying them before they have fully been experienced. Not with thoughts, but just with feeling what is there. The sensations associated with the emotion. Start with what the body is feeling when the emotion is there. Just the opposite of what most psychotherapists would advise. I know of one therapist who is also a  qigong teacher and he does qigong therapy by having clients breathe and feel the emotion. He wrote a book about his qigong psychotherapy. 

 

[Takingcharge]

Whats up guys,

 

I wanted to ask, is there a specific scheduelle for when Terry dunn participates on here? Is it like a weekly thing?

Or does he just stop by when he can and or chooses?

 

 

 

 

Edited August 31, 2020 by Takingcharge

[tao stillness]

Sifu Terry Dunn replies to comments whenever his time permits. Earl Grey does a fine job of responding to many of the comments that he is able to answer on his own. That is in accord with Sifu Terry Dunn. 

[Earl Grey]

27 minutes ago, tao stillness said:

Sifu Terry Dunn replies to comments whenever his time permits. Earl Grey does a fine job of responding to many of the comments that he is able to answer on his own. That is in accord with Sifu Terry Dunn. 

 

I also try to forward relevant questions from the thread that I believe Sifu Terry would have a lot of wisdom to contribute for us all, but usually it's simple things I try to answer based on what he's already said many times on this thread that are repeated. 

 

He is on his way here as part of a recent discussion--but he also is busy teaching multiple classes weekly online, one of which I participate in and highly recommend, and you can find out more in his weekly newsletter:

 

https://terencedunn.substack.com/

[Eduardo]

Yesterday I started with the Flying Phoenix Qigong healing meditations, they are very relaxing and leave me with a feeling of serene tranquility and inner strength.
Indeed, the slow movements of the arms tend to awaken the circulation of the microcosmic orbit.
My personal practice includes Zhineng Qigong, SFQ, eight silk brocades, and some exercises of the Wong Kiew Kit system such as lifting the sky, harvesting stars, etc.

[Earl Grey]

6 minutes ago, Eduardo said:

Yesterday I started with the Flying Phoenix Qigong healing meditations, they are very relaxing and leave me with a feeling of serene tranquility and inner strength.
Indeed, the slow movements of the arms tend to awaken the circulation of the microcosmic orbit.
My personal practice includes Zhineng Qigong, SFQ, eight silk brocades, and some exercises of the Wong Kiew Kit system such as lifting the sky, harvesting stars, etc.

 

Welcome to the thread. Enjoy your FP practice, but be careful of mixing systems due to potential for qi deviation and inevitable need to prioritize the practices that resonate with you. 

 

Flying Phoenix is a complete system itself, so if you stick with it, you'll get quite a lot further. 

 

Enjoy reading through our over ten-year thread!

[Equidivium]

 

 

 

 

 

Edited October 22, 2021 by Equidivium

[BluePhoenix133]

Watch you dont damage your knees when doing lotus... like i did

Perhaps i will follow this routine sometime in the future if it is any good.