Aksijaha Posted October 18, 2014 So recently my teacher taught I and my gungfu brothers a tasty bit from our bagua style. It pretty much was the final piece of our xiantien bagua I had yet to learn (w00t!!). This "bit" was some neigung which is practiced while lying down. Very similar to ashtanga/hatha yoga's savasthana/shavasthana. I'm familiar with the practice of savasthana or the corpse posture from exposure to Chaos Magick/occultism (Liber Null/Peter Carroll) and from a semi-serious Mysore style Ashtanga Yoga practice (ongoing for maybe a year now). Also have done a fair bit of lucid dreaming type stuff. All these old interests suddenly seem very relevant to my PRIMARY LIFETIME OBSESSION (which is baguazhang.. of course.. just ask NAJA). Recumbent neigung (or any sort of spiritual cultivation) is not really my teachers specialty (he likes the fighty bits, just like I do). So it's time to explore what else may be relevant or connected in the Daoist corpus. Can the Bums with experience/reading in this area please recommend some good source texts and research directions For instance, next month I'm "doing baguazhang... while in a flotation tank" (I know.. mostly it's an excuse to go float LOL). 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Gerard Posted October 18, 2014 Can the Bums with experience/reading in this area please recommend some good source texts and research directions Hmm...this is going to be extremely difficult for a non-transmitter (maybe I'm wrong) whether they are Westerners or Chinese if you are trying to find Taoist sources of information about circle walking. Have you read the following? The 禹步 (Dances of Yu) and the Sigil of Saturn On the other hand, trying to accurately determine the real origin of Bagua in time (and location) it's impossible since the Chinese themselves are assimilationists, they tend to integrate practices from various sources harmoniously; the truth is this art is ancient and most likely circle walking itself is purely shamanic (not necessarily Chinese) in origin. Various indigenous cultures have adopted practicing around a circle in their rituals (native North American, Siberian, Mongolian...). Btw, The Magician Point to Heaven and Stab the Earth Palm Interesting concidence, isn't it? 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BaguaKicksAss Posted October 19, 2014 I have been practicing horizontal Bagua for years.... generally right after a rather strenuous bit of Bagua... though I call it "napping" . More seriously, could you narrow down a bit what you are after? You mentioned a few things/topics in your original post... I'm assuming you don't just mean "the neigong you can do during Zhan Zhuang can also be done laying flat" sort of stuff either. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dainin Posted October 19, 2014 (edited) It's not part of Bagua, nor Taoist in origin, but I find the practice of Yoga Nidra to be exceptionally powerful and transformative. This is a meditation done while lying in savasana, and includes systematic rotation of attention through individual parts of the body, then integrating them into larger units, culminating in full body awareness. Other parts can involve awareness of the breath, sensations such as heaviness and lightness, temperature, imagery, etc. I've been doing this for a while and keep peeling back layers of chronic tension that I wasn't really aware of, often resulting in a blissful state. The practice was developed by the late Swami Satyananda of the Bihar School of Yoga, integrating various tantric meditations into one practice. Dr. Richard Miller's Integrative Restoration (iRest) Institute is doing a lot of work using this with veterans suffering from PTSD. There are lots of different audio CDs available of it. The Atma Center in Cleveland is the North American branch of the Bihar School and sells a number of them on their web site. Edited October 19, 2014 by Dainin Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BaguaKicksAss Posted October 19, 2014 Fantastic! Maybe, if one can find a way, to draw circles (or connect to circles) while one is lying down, it can be considered baguazhang? I've had a few dreams where I was circle walking in them . 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
joeblast Posted October 19, 2014 lying down is one way I teach to access the crura of the diaphragm your spine is a train track, your breath-intention is a toy choo choo train. drive slowly down the track from solar plexus level to lower dantien level, then slowly back it back up the track to the solar plexus. keeping your awareness there for a long period of time gets interesting, just like if you do this sitting 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Aksijaha Posted October 19, 2014 Gerard, I am sorry I wasn't very clear. I'm a 15 year bagua guy. So information on circle walking.. while always welcome and of interest, is not something I would likely post asking for. My question was on reclining/horizontal neigung practices.. basically things done while stretched out on the ground. That article is very interesting.. the up down hand position you refer to is (in Gao/Guanghua Baguazhang) the signature posture of the 2nd Big Palm Change, 龙形穿手掌 lóng xíng chuān shǒu zhǎng dragon form piercing hands palm. Adding to this (since my primary interest/expertise is the martial/fighty side).. the posture you showed in the Tarot is also remarkably similar to the iconic image of the Archangel Michael, and is the chamber/ready posture for the #1 strike in most/many escrima/arnis/kali systems.. the strong-side shoulder to opposite hip cut.. or "Tatang de San Migeul" or "the strike of St. Michael". 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Aksijaha Posted October 19, 2014 It's not part of Bagua, nor Taoist in origin, but I find the practice of Yoga Nidra to be exceptionally powerful and transformative. This is a meditation done while lying in savasana, and includes systematic rotation of attention through individual parts of the body, then integrating them into larger units, culminating in full body awareness. Other parts can involve awareness of the breath, sensations such as heaviness and lightness, temperature, imagery, etc. I've been doing this for a while and keep peeling back layers of chronic tension that I wasn't really aware of, often resulting in a blissful state. The practice was developed by the late Swami Satyananda of the Bihar School of Yoga, integrating various tantric meditations into one practice. Dr. Richard Miller's Integrative Restoration (iRest) Institute is doing a lot of work using this with veterans suffering from PTSD. There are lots of different audio CDs available of it. The Atma Center in Cleveland is the North American branch of the Bihar School and sells a number of them on their web site. That is precisely the sort of thing I was looking for. Thanks for the tip and the clew! Fantastic! Maybe, if one can find a way, to draw circles (or connect to circles) while one is lying down, it can be considered baguazhang? As long as I'm in the Wo/Lying posture breathing a certain way.. it IS Baguazhang. At least in the style I am part of. I've had a few dreams where I was circle walking in them . Those sorts of dreams are extremely awesome. I need more of those in my life. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Gerard Posted October 26, 2014 Gerard, I am sorry I wasn't very clear. My question was on reclining/horizontal neigung practices.. basically things done while stretched out on the ground. Ah, OK, got you; not a problem and sorry for posting different info as I wasn't quite sure. Regards. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
