T'ai Chi Ruler activates the 8 Extraordinary Channels!

[cheya]

The DVD "T'ai Chi Ruler" produced by MasterWorksInternational.com explains and demonstrates a tai chi ruler set that activates the MCO and the eight extraordinary channel/vessels. (If you google it, this is the DVD with the grey-haired chap in a black and white taichi outfit on the front... ) The exercises are EXTREMELY simple and easy to do, and the energy is readily palpable. The DVD uses clear diagrams and animations to explore the dynamics of chi circulation. The exercises can be done with or without the use of the ruler (which you can find online at eBay or on martial arts sites). It is a beautifully done DVD, and I recommend it highly, especially for those who are working with the Eight Extraordinary Vessels and who want a pretty immediate experience of their Micro Cosmic Orbit.

 

Any other TaoBums seen or worked with T'ai Chi Ruler as a vehicle for developing the EEVs?

 

 

From the DVD blurb:

"T'ai Chi Ruler is a unique method of Chinese Chi Kung that nourishes and strengthens the internal energy of the body. It consists of simple exercises performed whilst holding a 'chih' - a shaped, wooden ruler, which activates the eight strange flow or psychic meridians and macrocosmic orbit of chi.

T'ai Chi Ruler exercises enable the practitioner to quickly build high levels of chi in the body. The health benefits of regular practice can include release of chronic tension, improved structural alignment, improved blood circulation, increased balance and poise as well as a calming effect on the nervous system.

 

Simple to perform, yet profound in its effects, this rare form of chi kung is a true jewel of Chinese Taoist alchemy."

[ralis]

The DVD "T'ai Chi Ruler" produced by MasterWorksInternational.com explains and demonstrates a tai chi ruler set that activates the MCO and the eight extraordinary channel/vessels. (If you google it, this is the DVD with the grey-haired chap in a black and white taichi outfit on the front... ) The exercises are EXTREMELY simple and easy to do, and the energy is readily palpable. The DVD uses clear diagrams and animations to explore the dynamics of chi circulation. The exercises can be done with or without the use of the ruler (which you can find online at eBay or on martial arts sites). It is a beautifully done DVD, and I recommend it highly, especially for those who are working with the Eight Extraordinary Vessels and who want a pretty immediate experience of their Micro Cosmic Orbit.

 

Any other TaoBums seen or worked with T'ai Chi Ruler as a vehicle for developing the EEVs?

 

 

From the DVD blurb:

"T'ai Chi Ruler is a unique method of Chinese Chi Kung that nourishes and strengthens the internal energy of the body. It consists of simple exercises performed whilst holding a 'chih' - a shaped, wooden ruler, which activates the eight strange flow or psychic meridians and macrocosmic orbit of chi.

T'ai Chi Ruler exercises enable the practitioner to quickly build high levels of chi in the body. The health benefits of regular practice can include release of chronic tension, improved structural alignment, improved blood circulation, increased balance and poise as well as a calming effect on the nervous system.

 

Simple to perform, yet profound in its effects, this rare form of chi kung is a true jewel of Chinese Taoist alchemy."

 

 

Have you used this particular form?

[cheya]

Have you used this particular form?

Hi Ralis,

I've been practicing with the ruler for a few weeks now, but only got this DVD 3 days ago. I bought a ruler on eBay with no instructions, so had to wing it. When I first picked up the ruler and did the forward rolling movement, the only movement I knew to do, I was astonished that I could feel the energy moving in MCO immediately. (Well, clearly up the back, not as clearly down the front.) It was so palpable that I immediately realized I was moving the ruler too fast and getting ahead of the chi' s rise up my back! I would have learned more exercises sooner, but I can't watch videos on my rural dial up connection.

 

I suspected that it was activating the eight extraordinary vessels, as your hands are basically making circuits in the path of what one of my teachers called "the suspender channels", which are about the same place on the chest as suspenders would lie. I first tried another DVD to learn the ruler sets, but was disappointed and not remotely interested in that version. I just kept doing what turns out to be pretty much the first set on this DVD. I've only had this DVD for a couple days now, so have only done all six exercises for those two days. However, I've never felt the chi so immediately from any other form or DVD. I'm a bodyworker, and I've been working with the EEV master/coupled points for a few years now, so that may have increased my sensitivity to this form, but I am REALLY impressed.

 

cheya

Edited December 28, 2014 by cheya

[ralis]

Hi Ralis,

I've been practicing with the ruler for a few weeks now, but only got this DVD 3 days ago. I bought a ruler on eBay with no instructions, so had to wing it. When I first picked up the ruler and did the forward rolling movement, the only movement I knew to do, I was astonished that I could feel the energy moving in MCO immediately. (Well, clearly up the back, not as clearly down the front.) It was so palpable that I immediately realized I was moving the ruler too fast and getting ahead of the chi' s rise up my back! I would have learned more exercises sooner, but I can't watch videos on my rural dial up connection.

 

I suspected that it was activating the eight extraordinary vessels, as your hands are basically making circuits in the path of what one of my teachers called "the suspender channels", which are about the same place on the chest as suspenders would lie. I first tried another DVD to learn the ruler sets, but was disappointed and not remotely interested in that version. I just kept doing what turns out to be pretty much the first set on this DVD. I've only had this DVD for a couple days now, so have only done all six exercises for those two days. However, I've never felt the chi so immediately from any other form or DVD. I'm a bodyworker, and I've been working with the EEV master/coupled points for a few years now, so that may have increased my sensitivity to this form, but I am REALLY impressed.

 

Adeha

 

 

What other DVD did you try before this one?

[cheya]

What other DVD did you try before this one?

 

Hi Ralis,

Terry Dunn's. After I ordered it, I read on TTB that he said the form demonstrated on that DVD was a "broken form" and that you needed the appendix in the book to get the practice right. So I guess that DVD isn't a great candidate for comparison.

 

Do you know of another Ruler DVD that you recommend? Have you practiced the form?

 

I got one book (not Dunn's) but it's not real helpful yet, although I've barely gotten into it.

 

cheya

Edited December 28, 2014 by cheya

[Gerard]

You'll gain more benefit by learning this:

 

 

Than by building your house starting from the roof.

 

These boys are displaying excellent, shen/mind, liver and kidney health.

[cheya]

Looks like you can sample a bit of the DVD at:

http://www.masterworksinternational.com/tai-chi/tai-chi-ruler/

[Taomeow]

Sounds great Adeha. I am recalling that Taomeow practices taiji ruler (or similar name) form...

 

Nice of you to remember!

 

Yes, I practice the version created by my teacher -- here's the beginning of the form demoed by him (the whole form takes about 5 minutes at a "normal" pace, and gets progressively more vigorous and sword-like toward the end.)

 

[cheya]

[witch]

Nice of you to remember!

 

Yes, I practice the version created by my teacher -- here's the beginning of the form demoed by him (the whole form takes about 5 minutes at a "normal" pace, and gets progressively more vigorous and sword-like toward the end.)

 

 

Hmm...

 

 

I follow Thoth; I think it's about time I started taoism instead of just agreeing that it is correct.

Edited September 9, 2011 by witch

[Dainin]

Hi Cheya,

 

I was interested in Tai Chi Ruler also, and purchased this dvd after your recommendation. It does seem to induce a nice feeling of qi flow over all. I do the movements more slowly than they show on the dvd, and try to coordinate the movements with breath. I don't have the sensitivity to really differentiate qi flow in the various channels, but experience it more holistically.

 

In my own practice, I've been doing the Tai Chi Ruler right after Primordial Qigong (the one where you gather qi from the four directions), sort of in accordance with Dr. Jahnke's model phases of "Gathering" and "Circulating" qi. It seems to be a good combination.

 

I've also obtained some materials (dvd and book) on the Feng Zhiqiang version, which I think is 13 movements, but I haven't begun to study it yet. Thanks for sharing your experiences with the form.

[cheya]

 

 

I was interested in Tai Chi Ruler also, and purchased this dvd after your recommendation. It does seem to induce a nice feeling of qi flow over all. I do the movements more slowly than they show on the dvd, and try to coordinate the movements with breath. I don't have the sensitivity to really differentiate qi flow in the various channels, but experience it more holistically.
......
I've also obtained some materials (dvd and book) on the Feng Zhiqiang version, which I think is 13 movements, but I haven't begun to study it yet. Thanks for sharing your experiences with the form.

Hi Dainin,
Yes, I do the practice more slowly than shown on the DVD as well. I don't feel the chi flow in meridians, or even in the vessels themselves in a specific way, more in a larger flow. Interestingly, in Feng Zhiqiang's book, he talks about that, that it is a MUCH larger flow than just in the meridians, more like a flood than a river! That puts me in mind of the "Great Thoroughfare" theory.

I got Feng Zhiqiang's book too, and at first thought it was a waste for me, as it is SUCH an awkward translation! But then I kept coming back to it, and gradually I start to fall in harmony with the translator and understand what he is getting at, even if the language is awkward. Now I'm finding it very helpful.

I THINK I have Feng's DVD coming in the mail, if I ordered the right one, and look forward to working with that as well. You can tell from Feng's book that many of the exercises are similar to the EEV DVD, but none have that rocking movement AFAICS. I think Ken Cohen's version may use the rocking movement throughout as well, but haven't been able to find a copy of that version. (I'm very interested in that rocking movement as DVD says it is specifically cultivating the yin and yang qiao vessels, the ones mentioned in connection to the Great Thoroughfare.)

I'm also exploring Yang's Tai Chi Ball, as the ruler and ball practices seem to have many principles in common. The ball practice is too hard on my knees to do much, but offers much to apply to the TCR practice. I'm also looking at tai chi bang (stick), which is supposed to be the yang "brother" of the more yin ruler practice. But my daily practice is the EEV TCR preceeded by a quick session with the Chinese chiming hand balls, using the TCR rocking stance. Gets those currents flowing right away! I can see how primordial would do similar.

I'll be interested in your experience with Feng's version!
  Edited August 23, 2016 by cheya

[witch]

I have ordered the beginner DVD from TaoMeow's sifu, and after doing a little investigating, I heard that a famous sifu here in Boston was a fellow student of his old master. I am going to see if her school will accept me; it is in Chinatown in downtown Boston.

 

http://www.taichi-arts.com/

[Taomeow]

I have ordered the beginner DVD from TaoMeow's sifu, and after doing a little investigating, I heard that a famous sifu here in Boston was a fellow student of his old master. I am going to see if her school will accept me; it is in Chinatown in downtown Boston.

 

http://www.taichi-arts.com/

 

Cool! Welcome to the hands-on legs-on everything-moves ranks of tao sympathizers.

 

The ibis video you posted is indeed a nice intro to taiji -- notice the leg work, no double weighted steps -- the whole weight (or most of it) on one leg at a time. This helps him glide over the uneven terrain with great stability (despite the matchstick thinness of the legs) without losing energy to wobbling and bouncing up and down. Embodying the knowledge of the distinction between "heavy" and "light" makes it easy to choose "light" and fly! Thoth knows taiji!

[billb]

Hi Cheya, I am just curious as to how long it takes to do this form and how long you practice it each day.

[cheya]

I am just curious as to how long it takes to do this form and how long you practice it each day.

 

Hi BillB,

The DVD doesn't say how long to spend. If I just do my own pace, it takes about 45 minutes. If I'm short on time I can get it down to 10-15 minutes, but I REALLY have to concentrate and use a timer. I like to feel the chi movement in each of the six sections, and then I like to just hang out in that sensation once it's established. If I'm in a hurry, then I just don't hang out. I only have to shorten the practice maybe twice a week.

 

Feng's book said do it five minutes each morning and night!

 

There are additional variations you can do with each movement, and if you want a shortened practice, you can skip them. But they expand the breadth of the energy movement and work on the middle and upper dantiens, so I like to include them too. The longer I've been doing it, the easier it is to get to the chi sensation for each movement, and the faster I COULD do it.... but the slower I WANT to do it!

[Vanir Thunder Dojo Tan]

I have ordered the beginner DVD from TaoMeow's sifu, and after doing a little investigating, I heard that a famous sifu here in Boston was a fellow student of his old master. I am going to see if her school will accept me; it is in Chinatown in downtown Boston.

 

http://www.taichi-arts.com/

 

 

Dang, i am never where i need to be, huh? How does one find a master in the middle of the flacking 110 degree californian high desert??? bleh. Dont know where to start.

[witch]

I have plunked down my cash, I have a T-shirt--I'm doing this. It is in a tiny basement room in Chinatown and quite a commute for me, but I know it's going to be so worth it.

[cheya]

A fellow Bum asked for a two-year update review of Masterworks International's Tai Chi Ruler practice. Well, it's still GREAT! It has vastly deepened my energetic sensitivity and my ability to both sense and run energy in my bodywork practice.

 

The chi sensations continue to evolve, as does my ability to attend to them. The six exercises are very easy and pleasant to do, but are also effectively "teaching me chi", if that makes any sense. One of my friends says "Ah, the Chi is speaking to you! Very good!"

 

The MI DVD says the rocking motion activates the heel channels, (qiao mai), which stay activated through all 6 exercises, some of which focus on other vessels. The rocking clearly acts as a chi pump, and it is also clearly independent of the physical breath: "breathing" from the heels! Keeping the attention on the weighted foot is a huge help to entraining with the energy. Any time I lose the chi sensation, I just go back to the feet. (Of course the constant rocking motion is also stimulating K1, Bubbling Springs, Yong Quan.)

 

One of the most useful things this practice taught me is to wait for the chi to arrive. That's a further step in the practice of slowing the movement of the ruler until it matches the movement of the chi through my body, which I discovered more or less right away. On the DVD, demonstrator Phil Young moves the ruler much faster than the chi moves in my body, so I slow it down. Otherwise I lose track of the sensation. Someone suggested matching the rhythm of a rocking chair on a summer porch, or how you'd rock a baby's cradle. The best example is the second exercise, something like shaking a liter of water, side to side, up and down. The chi moves like water sloshing in a row boat rocking on the waves. It moves to both the hand and the foot on the weighted side, but it takes a little longer to get to the foot. The practice improves dramatically when I remember to wait for the chi sensation to arrive at the foot before rocking back in the other direction. Another name for tai chi ruler is "Guiding Chi Needle." The hands, ruler, movements, all guide the chi around the body, at whatever speed the "energetic viscosity" of your body allows. I've found paying careful attention to that speed is critical.

 

An acupuncturist friend took my pulses before and after a very brief ruler demo which was just long enough to activate the energy (30-40 seconds). She said even just that short bit brought up both my yin and yang kidney pulses, which impressed her, because the kidney pulses aren't thought to be that amenable to rapid change. Raising and balancing of kidney chi may underlie yet another name for ruler practice: "Immortal's Wand."

 

This practice nourishes me. The energy that moves through fills, full-fills something my body craves that I can't even name. When I feel it start to circulate, my whole body heaves a sigh of relief/contentment, and muscles I didn't even know were tight, just melt. I do the practice at night just before bed and have absolutely no trouble sleeping.

 

Masterworks International says its version cultivates the eight extraordinary vessels, but I can't say I've really got discrimination between the vessels down yet. The Microcosmic Orbit is very easy to feel in the first exercise. The DVD illustrates which of the EEVs are cultivated by each exercise, but there is always more than one EEV involved, because the rocking is always pumping chi in the heel channels. Sometimes I can roughly track that circuit along with another, like the circling around the waist area, or the up and down circuit of chong mai. But mostly I just feel washes of energy with concentration on parts of some circuits, and with time, those washes of energy include more and more of my body. Also over time, the dantien sensation is becoming much more prominent.

 

The chi sensation is very strong, very.... viscous, almost, but it's pretty global. When it's moving up and down (which is most of the time, due to the rocking) it is a MUCH broader flow than an acupuncture meridian sensation. Wang Fengming likens meridian energy flow to a river with the towns along it being points, and says the TCR eventually induces a flow that's more like a flood, inundating whole regions of the body. Moving around my waist (dai mai), it's like waves of thick fluid moving around inside a huge donut, not like a line or even a firehose diameter. It's just big.

 

And it feels really good.

 

PS Now we could say that any practice done every day for two years will have many benefits. But finding a practice you are happy to do for that time can be a challenge. MI's Tai Chi Ruler has been that for me. I've looked at maybe seven other versions of tai chi ruler, and not been interested in any of them. Fun to watch, got a few hints, not my practice. The best of the lot is Special Taoist Taiji Stick and Ruler Qigong, as imparted by Feng Zhiqiang, and demonstrated by his son-in-law, Wang Fengming. (I'd still like to see Ken Cohen's version...) All the versions probably develop the same energy, but the MI version just suits me better.

[alleswasderfallist]

Does anyone know if Tai Chi Bang can produce similar benefits? This practice looks great, but I don't have the money for another DVD now. There's a Jesse Tsao Tai Chi Bang DVD streaming on Amazon instant video.

[Antares]

Cheya, thanks for update. If I don't mistake 8 extraordinary channels subsume pre-heaven chi. And if I don't mistake it requires transmission, I mean it should be a lineage practice. Probably you develop post-heaven chi.

 

I have this DVD and it's great. Paul Young holds classes in my city. But as I committed in another qigong I leave it for the right time for it. I don't think it's good to mix practices. But keep updating it. It would be interesting to know how you are getting on.

And remember that qigong and alchemy are not the same things. We can loose our time for secondary things. BUT TC MIGHT help with other practices, and as I said I would practice it later to see it benefits.

[cheya]

Hello alleswasderfallist,

 

 

As I understand it, Tai Chi Bang or Stick develops more the yang chi, and tai chi ruler more the yin chi. There are some great YouTube videos on bang practices, especially look for ones by Charles Tauber (and of course Feng Zhiqiang!). Tauber is great! He also makes BEAUTIFUL custom tai chi rulers and bangs.

Edited June 23, 2013 by cheya

[Bruce Qi]

for those who own Special Taoist Taiji Stick and Ruler Qigong dvd , how did you manage to obtain it ?

I have tried contacting the website but no answer ? any ideas ?

thanks

[cheya]

Bruce, I got that so long ago, I can't really remember, but it must have been from the website... I do remember he was a bit slow getting back to me on some questions, so maybe give it a bit more time... and then you can always write again. 

 

Good Luck!

[Cybele]

I got one on Amazon...