Regarding Dao Zou

[Blume]

Anyone knows how this practice is actually done.I mean walking backwards. One could circulate the orbit while walking backwards, but what else is there? One walks slowly or fast etc. I heard its quite an effective practice.

Any response is appreciated.

[NeiChuan]

I think I'd rather just go find the guy myself.. The guy sounds like a salesmen.. and a bad actor. I definitely dont doubt that some of the most powerful practices are the most simple.. Just how this guy presents it.. Just the whole 500$.. Still sounds interesting lol.

 

but Yea I'd rather go and find the master then be fooled outta've 500.

[soaring crane]

I don't know what NeiChuan is referring to but I've done backward walking on my own and in groups, without any formal instruction. Maybe there are some good techniques that can be learned, but it's pretty simple on its own. I integrated it experimentally into a Qigong Walking group a couple years ago. We continued to harmonize the breath with the pace, but "every man for himself", meaning not all at the same rate or cadence. I held my mouth shut.

 

We made it a very visual exercise, or better said, the visual aspect come to the forefront (a good way to cool down the liver fire). The most powerful aspect was the sense of moving backward in space/time, of living in a mirror-image of normality, if I'm explaining that correctly.

 

We developed the sense that, instead of everything coming at us and being constantly made aware of what's coming next, and likewise being distracted by those images, we had no rigid outline of where we were going. I can't really express it well at the moment but during the exercise, the whole world moves away from you instead of at you. And that has an incredibly profound affect on many levels, dependent upon your mindset at the time.

 

 

There's an obvious element of trusting nature, and giving up our unhealthy controlling tendencies.

 

Obviously, you want to do it in natural surroundings. The most effective environment, in my experience, was on a large, relatively level meadow. But we first did it on a sandy gravel path to get used to it. The difference between the two is very large. Walking backward on the meadow is a much more powerful meditation than on a path where you still have fixed boundaries you can rely on to carry you in the right direction.

 

It's very interesting that this thread appeared now because I recently met one of the women who did this with me and she asked if we're going to do it again this year. I think we will

 

Edit: jeepers, I googled Dao Zou and found the website. The man writes:

 

"To my astonishment he stopped training - looked at me with a soul-stirring smile and began to explain the details of what he was doing. My brother-in-law was there to help with the translation, whenever needed, and I made sure to remember every detail being shared. "

Meaning, he learned this for free from a generous soul.

And at the bottom of his page, he has convenient links to credit cards for you can click to pay him a lot of money for the info.

I can't remember a time when I felt more disenchanted with the internet. I feel filthy for having just looked at the man's testimony. Very bad, very very.

Edited February 4, 2010 by soaring crane

[NeiChuan]

What had meant was, I was glad to hear about it cause I diden't fully doubt it but seeing a huge sale at the bottom takes back some of what he said.

[Blume]

Thanks for sharing thoughts on this subject.

I have no issues with Matt Furey making millions of Dollars a year. As long as i get to see some of the techniques from somewhere.I'm fine with it.

I've heard that one also takes 1000-2000 steps per workout. But don't know for sure.

[Aetherous]

Funny how some of the simplest and weirdest looking practices are some of the most powerful.

 

Also funny that it costs so damn much.

[NeiChuan]

Funny how some of the simplest and weirdest looking practices are some of the most powerful.

 

Also funny that it costs so damn much.

 

soooooo true lol

[gendao]

I have no issues with Matt Furey making millions of Dollars a year. As long as i get to see some of the techniques from somewhere.I'm fine with it.

I've heard that one also takes 1000-2000 steps per workout. But don't know for sure.

I love how Matt over-commercializes simple stuff that Chinese folks generously show him for free, lol...

It was nothing more than an old man walking backwards.

 

Slowly.

 

I mean real, real slow.

I have heard about some similar practices - where you just do standing qigong and then you will often naturally start stumbling backwards...

 

However, that is a natural, not deliberate, reaction.

[宁]

i listened to his presentation. my thoughts are, the man deserves his money.

i think it is not the method that counts, but finding a man that can 'make' you practice it, 'make' you fall in love with it, and motivate you to think in a more complex way.

linear thinking will get us no-where.

[Blume]

In the olden days this kind of stuff was protected by the masters and only years of service to the master would reveal any knowledge regarding these techniques.

Now masters have realized that nobody would serve them any more so why not take payments instead.Most of it is public knowledge anyways. If I am making 2000 i will happily pay 500 for this kind of stuff. I also like the free stuff. anybody would like to reveal Dao zou method please go ahead. i am all ears.

[elmer]

I love how Matt over-commercializes simple stuff that Chinese folks generously show him for free, lol...I have heard about some similar practices - where you just do standing qigong and then you will often naturally start stumbling backwards...

 

However, that is a natural, not deliberate, reaction.

 

 

Depending on who you ask, it can also be a deliberate (for some, subconscious) action.

[Blume]

If anything I guess all the teachers should double or triple their course prices to balance the free stuff available.

[Aetherous]

If anything I guess all the teachers should double or triple their course prices to balance the free stuff available.

 

This is a sticky subject, but I totally disagree.

 

Students pay the most by having to cultivate themselves.

 

It's like...these practices are tools. If the manufacturer (teacher) sells a shovel (a practice) for thousands of dollars, it won't make any difference for your crops (your progress). Might as well just buy it for 1 dollar...because where anything pays off is in its correct application over time. And the manufacturer or tool doesn't do that for you.

 

These days people are selling all sorts of broken shovels, glued together, for too much money. It's a huge waste. And some of these manufacturers don't even know what they're selling (like Matt Furey)...if they're good salespeople, they might motivate you for a little while. But does that actually help in terms of the quality of the shovel (it might be a piece of crap), and your own hard labor spanning the whole season? Nope. If you gain motivation, you're bound to lose it...especially when it doesn't truly come from within.

 

So, teachers should stop ripping people off. There are other ways to make practices seem to be worth more.

[soaring crane]

anybody would like to reveal Dao zou method please go ahead. i am all ears.

 

I don't know specifically what goes on in Dao Zou but I doubt seriously that it's much different from other Qigong Walking methods. As already mentioned above, these forms are tremendously popular in China now, and Walking is very common in the clinics these days, afaik.

 

(This is the kind of thing people do for their health now, instead of Peking Form, Wild Goose, Soaring Crane and the other long forms)

 

Try this:

 

Walk backwards, very slowly and consciously, utilizing the entire sole of the foot, ball to heel. Take the first step with with right foot and count two "beats" as you very intently place it on the ground - meaning the ball is "1" and the heel is "2" and when you step with the left foot, it'll be "3" and "4", ball/heel respectively.

 

Inhale through the nose, short quick intakes of air, short and quiet, on the 1 and 2, right foot. Exhale out the nose on 3 and 4, left foot. Distinct little outward "puffs", but very soft.

 

In, In, Out, Out - Right, Right, Left, Left

 

That's how you walk.

 

Keep the shoulders relaxed but the palms turned to the ground, allow the arms to move naturally, freely. There are a lot of variations on arm movements and also quite a few things to do with the trunk, especially around the mingmen/kidney area but those are things that you most likely can't learn without someone watching what you're doing. It's better to just relax and be a bit playful at it.

 

As I mentioned above, remain very conscious of what's going on in your field of vision. I think this is one of the key elements to backward walking. Relax the face, smile, relax, smile, enjoy, be playful like a child (that's probably the biggest secret of the whole thing and the area where anal-retentive westerners, who want to be told specifically which way to turn at every move while they demand to be instructed by expensive gurus have the hardest time connecting).

 

Create your own program. If you want to count 1,000 steps, go ahead. It's your game.

 

I could write another ten pages on Qigong Walking... for free

Edited February 5, 2010 by soaring crane

[Andrei]

what Scotty said ^

 

i listened to his presentation. my thoughts are, the man deserves his money.

i think it is not the method that counts, but finding a man that can 'make' you practice it, 'make' you fall in love with it, and motivate you to think in a more complex way.

linear thinking will get us no-where.

 

It is pure NLP, he is not motivating you, he just convinces you to give him your money

[soaring crane]

what Scotty said ^

It is pure NLP, he is not motivating you, he just convinces you to give him your money

 

hah! You're right, that's what it is, now that I listened to it again. What does he actually say of value to anyone but himself?

 

 

 

[OneSeeker]

I had never heard of this Matt Furey person before, so I Googled him. Ay caramba!

 

First thought: Anyone who would refer to himself as "Zen Master of the Internet" has no idea what Zen is and no respect for anyone who does.

 

Second thought: He exemplifies Oscar Wilde's definition of a cynic as "A man who knows the price of everything and the value of nothing."

 

If anyone's interested in reading a fairly crazy/funny rant about Furey, there's one here.

 

Edit: Well, my first attempt at a link doesn't seem to be working. Workaround: Google "Matt Furey" and look for the hits from sadlyno-dot-com.

Edited February 5, 2010 by OneSeeker

[soaring crane]

check out this video:

 

 

if the embedment doesn't work:

 

 

That's a bit like what we do here except the crossed-over legs is new to me. The tempo and the fluidity are the same, I'd like to know his breathing technique.

 

I poked around youdoob looking for videos of Qigong Walking and was left feeling pretty flat. I wonder how much it's actually practiced outside of China and Germany. It's a fundamental part of the teacher certification schooling here, one of the most important things we learn.

[NeiChuan]

check out this video:

 

 

if the embedment doesn't work:

 

 

That's a bit like what we do here except the crossed-over legs is new to me. The tempo and the fluidity are the same, I'd like to know his breathing technique.

 

I poked around youdoob looking for videos of Qigong Walking and was left feeling pretty flat. I wonder how much it's actually practiced outside of China and Germany. It's a fundamental part of the teacher certification schooling here, one of the most important things we learn.

 

ya know if he worked on it a bit he could probably be in some dance groups over here

[宁]

what Scotty said ^

 

It is pure NLP, he is not motivating you, he just convinces you to give him your money

 

 

we don't have to agree... but i like him, he's on the spot with most of what he says, and that's pretty rare in this business.

[Andrei]

we don't have to agree... but i like him, he's on the spot with most of what he says, and that's pretty rare in this business.

 

I like him too but I don't buy him

 

 

We continued to harmonize the breath with the pace, but "every man for himself", meaning not all at the same rate or cadence. I held my mouth shut.

 

We made it a very visual exercise, or better said, the visual aspect come to the forefront (a good way to cool down the liver fire). The most powerful aspect was the sense of moving backward in space/time, of living in a mirror-image of normality, if I'm explaining that correctly.

 

We developed the sense that, instead of everything coming at us and being constantly made aware of what's coming next, and likewise being distracted by those images, we had no rigid outline of where we were going. I can't really express it well at the moment but during the exercise, the whole world moves away from you instead of at you. And that has an incredibly profound affect on many levels, dependent upon your mindset at the time.

 

I think this^ worth be explored. I saw many times elder asians walking backwards, sometimes very fast, sometimes very slow. It is one of the "flowing backward" or "counter-flow" methods. I should try it someday, maybe doing Taichi or Bagua backwards. Some many years ago I learned Taichi the right-hand usual way, then I tried to unlearn it and learn the whole form left-hand. Same with the sword, just by curiosity to see how the body/mind reacts. I was like a baby learning again to move from scratch.

[~jK~]

I like him too but I don't buy him

I think this^ worth be explored. I saw many times elder asians walking backwards, sometimes very fast, sometimes very slow. It is one of the "flowing backward" or "counter-flow" methods. I should try it someday, maybe doing Taichi or Bagua backwards. Some many years ago I learned Taichi the right-hand usual way, then I tried to unlearn it and learn the whole form left-hand. Same with the sword, just by curiosity to see how the body/mind reacts. I was like a baby learning again to move from scratch.

 

Walking backwards is a corrective action as to walk with balance is seen as to also balance the organs of the body.

 

Here are a few pictures of the related areas of the foot to the organs.

Click on this .^. one and it will become larger.

I've seen people come out of the foot massage therapist office that seemed in a euphoric state of mind. I've tried a few of their methods and found that I could shut off the blood flow to areas of the body which is used to build up pressure for internal organ washing out.

 

In the parks there are often areas where pointed but small rounded river rocks set in cement for people to walk on so as to massage their feet.

 

One of my Chinese girlfriends was totaly facinated by the bottom of my shoes and asked me how I kept the balance. I told her I learned to walk in the mountains where if no ballance I would fall. She asked how long people in the mountains lived and I told her often to 100.

Edited February 6, 2010 by ~jK~

[~jK~]

Some many years ago I learned Taichi the right-hand usual way, then I tried to unlearn it and learn the whole form left-hand. Same with the sword, just by curiosity to see how the body/mind reacts. I was like a baby learning again to move from scratch.

 

Ambidexterity is also valued as a balanced way.

I learned it from 12 years in Japanese Karate which taught using 2 superballs (or ping pong balls) - one for each hand - that are thrown to: Floor then Wall then ceiling and catch them -one with each hand.

 

Also to increase acuracy of finger position i as well as to develop being able to freeze time & movement.

 

Ambidexterity is also taught by learning to play a musical instrument - here is the one I began with and teaches the best system for beginners: http://www.ocarina.co.uk/ - the ceramic ones are best.

Wind instruments are favored in Taoist temples as they develop breathing. I also play the harmonica, recorder and one from Charlie Hind that has become to be known as the wooden sweet potato which, once masterd, opens the door to many other musical instruments as it uses the same fingering system:

 

One last observation from China is to practice Tai Chi in front of a full length mirror - it magnifies the Chi...

[Blume]

I don't know. But Its not about what they are selling.Its about valuing the teacher. If i have to pay a lot to be in personal presence with a teacher like Mantak Chia, Anthony Robbins, Joe Vitale i will pay, I will get much more than knowledge or tools from them in return.In fact i don't have to get anything in return. As far as Matt Furey is concerned he is not ripping people off but giving back by opening schools in rural china. Private Jet lifestyle is not meant to be for everyone.

 

Its time i should pay money for the right tools rather than spending money on drugs and alcohol. I should respect and value my teachers. Anyone showing me how to do it in the best possible way. Showing insider information i cannot get from anywhere else. I should pay them too. This way i practice abundunce mentality rather than lack.I personaly seek out the very best information, and that comes at a price.It's like having private time with tony rbins. Good finances allow people to spread the right ideology rather than spreading hate and prejudice.I am even willing to serve them like a butler if i have to, just like old times. I am a pure obedient disciple.

[~jK~]

I don't know. But Its not about what they are selling.Its about valuing the teacher. If i have to pay a lot to be in personal presence with a teacher like Mantak Chia, Anthony Robbins, Joe Vitale i will pay, I will get much more than knowledge or tools from them in return.In fact i don't have to get anything in return. As far as Matt Furey is concerned he is not ripping people off but giving back by opening schools in rural china. Private Jet lifestyle is not meant to be for everyone.

 

Its time i should pay money for the right tools rather than spending money on drugs and alcohol. I should respect and value my teachers. Anyone showing me how to do it in the best possible way. Showing insider information i cannot get from anywhere else. I should pay them too. This way i practice abundunce mentality rather than lack.I personaly seek out the very best information, and that comes at a price.It's like having private time with tony rbins. Good finances allow people to spread the right ideology rather than spreading hate and prejudice.I am even willing to serve them like a butler if i have to, just like old times. I am a pure obedient disciple.

I wonder if this is written by Matt Furey ?

I do know that the Chinese government does not need help, nor -to the best of my knowledge- accepts help in opening schools in rural China.

Simply put - Remember that +Trillion $$$ Deficit that USA has? - It is in China's pockets.