Flying Phoenix Chi Kung

[Miffymog]

6 hours ago, BluePhoenix133 said:

Nice i have been doing stretches recently to try to achieve lotus posture, although not consistenly.

£119 for that book though.....Jesus.

 

It is not worth £119, especially as its actually quite a small book. I was lucky and got mine for a few pounds second-hand on  ebay

[Miffymog]

11 hours ago, BluePhoenix133 said:

Nice i have been doing stretches recently to try to achieve lotus posture, although not consistenly.

£119 for that book though.....Jesus.

 

I've been doing 15 mins stretches, every other day, for 2 to 3 months. Have gone from no flexibility to kind of half lotus both sides.

 

Instead of getting the book, you can just use YouTube tutorials and they cover all the main stretches you need.

 

But I'm not sure I'm putting in enough time to reach full Lotus, but that doesn't bother me yet.

[Miffymog]

3 months ago I went on a diet and lost 5 kg.

 

2 months ago I cut down on caffeine and now only have two to three coffees a week.

 

Last month I started Swimming Dragon exercises which have relaxed my back, and now for the first time I can feel Flying Phoenix energy in my static meditations.

 

Just recently I've gone from alternating days of standing meditations and sitting meditations to mixing the two. This means I've just experienced doing a seated moving meditation after performing Monk Gazing at the Moon, and the energy I felt in the seated moving meditation was much stronger than usual.

 

Very happy with how this practice is going 👍

 

 

[Ace]

Hello all,

 

My wife and I are returning to Flying Phoenix practice after a very long absence.

 

One quick question: is it ok to do the practice when you're sick (ie. A virus, bacterial infection etc)?   I ask because I've been told in the past that some kinds of Qigong should not be practiced when.

 

Thanks for any help out there!

[Miffymog]

.

Edited June 9, 2022 by Miffymog

[Miffymog]

1 hour ago, Ace said:

Hello all,

 

My wife and I are returning to Flying Phoenix practice after a very long absence.

 

One quick question: is it ok to do the practice when you're sick (ie. A virus, bacterial infection etc)?   I ask because I've been told in the past that some kinds of Qigong should not be practiced when.

 

Thanks for any help out there!

 

Monk Holding the Pearl 50-40-30-20-10 should be fine. I often do it lying in bed just before I go to sleep.

Edited June 9, 2022 by Miffymog

[tao stillness]

That's good that you pointed out that some kinds of qigong should not be practiced when ill.

Because it is not true that all qigong should be avoided when ill. I was laid up in bed for over a week several years ago from a nasty virus that I could not get rid of. I was told to practice the qigong that I had been doing for several hours that day and that I would be healed by the next day. So I did qigong for almost 4 hours and when I woke up the next day the virus was healed.

I have also read where Sifu Terry has done a lot of qigong at the first sign of a cold and that has helped get rid of the cold.

[Ace]

So...are we saying that FPCK is ok when sick?  Just wanted to check with those that have more experience with this particular qigong than I do.

 

Thanks for the replies thus far!

[Earl Grey]

9 hours ago, Ace said:

Hello all,

 

My wife and I are returning to Flying Phoenix practice after a very long absence.

 

One quick question: is it ok to do the practice when you're sick (ie. A virus, bacterial infection etc)?   I ask because I've been told in the past that some kinds of Qigong should not be practiced when.

 

Thanks for any help out there!

 

8 hours ago, Miffymog said:

 

Monk Holding the Pearl 50-40-30-20-10 should be fine. I often do it lying in bed just before I go to sleep.

 

8 hours ago, tao stillness said:

That's good that you pointed out that some kinds of qigong should not be practiced when ill.

Because it is not true that all qigong should be avoided when ill. I was laid up in bed for over a week several years ago from a nasty virus that I could not get rid of. I was told to practice the qigong that I had been doing for several hours that day and that I would be healed by the next day. So I did qigong for almost 4 hours and when I woke up the next day the virus was healed.

I have also read where Sifu Terry has done a lot of qigong at the first sign of a cold and that has helped get rid of the cold.

 

3 hours ago, Ace said:

So...are we saying that FPCK is ok when sick?  Just wanted to check with those that have more experience with this particular qigong than I do.

 

Thanks for the replies thus far!

 

Yes, Sifu Terry practiced FP when he had the flu, and even getting partially through the long form quickly made most of his discomfort go away. He posted somewhere in this thread years ago that he did this one winter in a corner of a mall and was much better.

 

The few times I do get sick, lying in MHPearl does wonders, and long form and many hours of MHPearl at least did significantly help my covid recovery.

[Ace]

Thanks so much for the help, Earl Grey!

 

Ace

[-ꦥꦏ꧀ ꦱꦠꦿꦶꦪꦺꦴ-]

Just another endorsement of Monk Holds Pearl lying down in bed when you are sick. If you are bed bound just do this for many hours a day. If you do feel well enough to stand do Long Form and Moonbeam, both will give you a real boost in energy.

 

I also like to have this playing in the background while doing Monk Holds Pearl.

 

[tao stillness]

There is also the Medicine Buddha chant that can be used.

But whenever I did Flying Phoenix Chi Kung I thought the music that was on each of the DVDs was the perfect sound to accompany the movements. After looking at over 100 different Qigong DVDs so far, I still believe that the Flying Phoenix series of DVDs is the best production of them all. A total work of art at the highest level, reflecting the consciousness of Sifu Terry and that of the music composer. I don't have a strong affinity for any kind of music, probably because I am so left brained, but I do find the Flying Phoenix music to be mesmerizing. 

[Earl Grey]

10 hours ago, tao stillness said:

There is also the Medicine Buddha chant that can be used.

But whenever I did Flying Phoenix Chi Kung I thought the music that was on each of the DVDs was the perfect sound to accompany the movements. After looking at over 100 different Qigong DVDs so far, I still believe that the Flying Phoenix series of DVDs is the best production of them all. A total work of art at the highest level, reflecting the consciousness of Sifu Terry and that of the music composer. I don't have a strong affinity for any kind of music, probably because I am so left brained, but I do find the Flying Phoenix music to be mesmerizing. 

 

This is by composer Robert Scott Thompson, who uses a lot of synthesizers.

 

This one in particular may be familiar to everyone:

 

https://robert-scott-thompson.bandcamp.com/album/antrim

[tao stillness]

Yes, several years ago I wrote to Robert and he was kind of enough to attach a download for the music which I appreciated the most from what he composed for the Flying Phoenix series.

[Miffymog]

Started to experiment with mixing up my routines, and it does seem to make them a little bit more relaxing and enjoyable.

 

There are a number of routine suggestions by Sifu Terry in this thread but they can be a bit tricky to find, however @Earl Grey has collated them all here.

 

I've mentioned this before, but him doing this has again saved me so much time and effort I just thought I would thank him another time.

[-ꦥꦏ꧀ ꦱꦠꦿꦶꦪꦺꦴ-]

4 hours ago, Miffymog said:

Started to experiment with mixing up my routines, and it does seem to make them a little bit more relaxing and enjoyable.

 

There are a number of routine suggestions by Sifu Terry in this thread but they can be a bit tricky to find, however @Earl Grey has collated them all here.

 

I've mentioned this before, but him doing this has again saved me so much time and effort I just thought I would thank him another time.

Thank you for reminding me that this thread exists! I’ve been doing Long Form, Moonbeam, WTTT then one meditation from Vol 1 or 2 that I alternate every day. Might try out one of the routines!

[zen-bear]

On 5/2/2022 at 10:36 AM, growant said:

Hi Sifu Terry, for the basic seated unmoving FP meditation with breathing sequence 50-10-50, can the hands rest on the thighs/knees if an elderly person is practicing who doesn't have the strength to hold the hands mid-air for a long period of time?

Hello Growant,

 

Nice to hear from you again after so long.   Sorry for the long delay in this response...but I just today saw your post and question.

Reason:  when I returned in late Feb. from 6-week working vacation in SoCal, I had to scramble to find a new abode in an extremely tight housing market here in the Berkshires of western MA after I decided to end my 4.5 year teaching-residency at a bucolic holistic health resort. But now I'm resettled after 2 weeks of moving like a sherpa and 3 weeks of unpacking and setting up new home and office.

 

Answer:   YES.  When you do the 50-10-50 meditation in Volume 2 (2nd exercise), you can rest your hands on the inside of your knees when you're in the half-lotus position or on top of the knees if you seated in a chair (with feet flat on floor and legs uncrossed).

Glad to know that you're sharing the FP Qigong art with the elderly.

 

**BTW, although I refer to the first 3 seated meditations on Volume 2 as "preparatory" exercises, because each has an esoteric breath control sequence integral to it, relative to the world of Qigong as it's evolved here in the U.S. since 1973 (when China opened up), they are just as powerful as the most effective Qigong methods that have made it to western shores.  So thanks for your post.

 

Best,

 

Sifu Terry

[Erbal]

Hello Sifu @zen-bear
Bought the DVDs last sunday, been entering the practice since then.

I do have a question regarding the breathing percentage and the form of breathing (havent finished the 219 pages here, so it might or might not be awnsered already, sorry if it is the case!)

I tend to do, in my normal day to day, a full breathing, filling first the dan tien,  and then keeping the air go to the chest and finally to the lower part of the throat.

Was wondering if this kind of breathing is OK to do, when doing the breathing patterns at the beginning?
For me, its a normal breathing, and doing only dan tien breathing its like I have to think about it.

But want to do the FP as it is how it has to be done.

to put it together:
Is it okay if I breath with this full body, while doing FP? Or it has to be a lower abdominal breathing only?

Thanks!!
 

Edited July 13, 2022 by Erbal

[Earl Grey]

1 hour ago, Erbal said:

Hello Sifu @zen-bear
Bought the DVDs last sunday, been entering the practice since then.

I do have a question regarding the breathing percentage and the form of breathing (havent finished the 219 pages here, so it might or might not be awnsered already, sorry if it is the case!)

I tend to do, in my normal day to day, a full breathing, filling first the dan tien,  and then keeping the air go to the chest and finally to the lower part of the throat.

Was wondering if this kind of breathing is OK to do, when doing the breathing patterns at the beginning?
For me, its a normal breathing, and doing only dan tien breathing its like I have to think about it.

But want to do the FP as it is how it has to be done.

to put it together:
Is it okay if I breath with this full body, while doing FP? Or it has to be a lower abdominal breathing only?

Thanks!!
 

Simplest answer: breathe naturally.

 

Also, the concise version of this thread is here on the AG forum:

 

https://forum.alchemical.garden/branch/zenbear/

[Earl Grey]

IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT:

Sifu Terry has decided that the 6-volume  CKFH DVD series teaching the FP Qigong will NOT be available on digital file format (mp4) but will continue to be available only on DVD at:
http://www.taichimania.com/chikung_catalog.html

Instead of selling digital downloads, Sifu Terry will be creating a subscription-based streaming service attached to www.taichimania.com where practitioners can select and stream any of the six CKFH DVD programs --as well as the Tai Chi For Health, Tai Chi Sword, Tai Ruler, and Liu He Ba Fa (6 Harmonies/8 Methods) programs--at any time during their subscription period.  All will be notified when this streaming platform goes online.

[tao stillness]

I see more and more teachers doing the streaming, more income that way.

For those who prefer DVDs but have newer computers that no longer have built in DVD players, such as all laptops, no need to despair. I recently bought a small DVD/CD player for computers that works great and only costs $29. 

But streaming is nice and does not take up space on computers like downloads do. 

Streaming is like renting. 

 

[Erbal]

1 hour ago, Earl Grey said:

Simplest answer: breathe naturally.

 

Also, the concise version of this thread is here on the AG forum:

 

https://forum.alchemical.garden/branch/zenbear/

Thanks for the response @Earl Grey
For me, naturally is the full body breathing... But will wait if Sifu Terry has any insight on this. Till then, will try to adjust to only belly breathing I guess, wich is what is stated in the videos.

 

[-ꦥꦏ꧀ ꦱꦠꦿꦶꦪꦺꦴ-]

1 hour ago, tao stillness said:

I see more and more teachers doing the streaming, more income that way.

For those who prefer DVDs but have newer computers that no longer have built in DVD players, such as all laptops, no need to despair. I recently bought a small DVD/CD player for computers that works great and only costs $29. 

But streaming is nice and does not take up space on computers like downloads do. 

Streaming is like renting. 

 

Also it’s not as easy to pirate if it’s streamable or on DVD. All it takes is for the wrong person to have the digital files and then they can upload it everywhere for free. It’s much harder and inconvenient to rip from a DVD or screen record a stream. 

[-ꦥꦏ꧀ ꦱꦠꦿꦶꦪꦺꦴ-]

1 hour ago, Erbal said:

Thanks for the response @Earl Grey
For me, naturally is the full body breathing... But will wait if Sifu Terry has any insight on this. Till then, will try to adjust to only belly breathing I guess, wich is what is stated in the videos.

 

I would just follow what he says in the videos

[Spicyfood]

Hello,

 

I want to thank you all, seekers and teachers, for bringing this lovely practice into my life.

 

Thank you, @Earl Grey and Roots of Virtue, for providing curated snippets of wisdom about this system over at the alchemical garden. It is obvious that you have a real love and appreciation for this practice and you motivated me to take the plunge.

Thank you, @Pak_Satrio, for your infectious enthusiasm and willingness to help your fellow seekers! 

While I was humming and hawing over whether or not I wanted to commit to a purchase and practice, you got a subreddit off the ground! That's fantastic and I'm so glad to see it. 

 

Thank you, @zen-bear! Thank you for sharing your grace and wisdom with us. 

 

------

 

You have my gratitude. All of you.

 

Robert 

(ofc, I like spicy food)