Papayapple

OK, but what about your calcium intake? I find it hard to get that 1000mg+ a day even from eating cheese and yoghurt, not to mention vegs. After I dropped eating dairy completely I started to develop dental caries due to slight demineralization. After about three months of introducing dairy it slowly starts to get better... Besides that, I agree it is weird food. It kind of gives me diarhea, I feel a bit bloated and slugish indeed. Potatoes much worse though.

Why dairy, actually?

Can anyone post an interesting documentary of Chinese cultural revolution? or a book maybe?

Yes I know and thanks for your emphasis once again. I was hoping I could find a nice Jibengong set in the book Gerard. The videos of master He are great, I've watched most of them and I practice the stances. I'm just looking for a more or less "complete" routine, and still trying to find out which exercises are best for me right now. Something that would have detailed step by step instructions - like this awesome one And Damo- he's out of reach for me now.

Recently I've stumbled upon Bisio's book Bagua Nei Gong Foundation Body training If somebody could kindly skim through the content list and tell me if this would be the good place to start? thx.

After couple months of good, general stretching, I figured out, well it's kind of easier to move around and throw some kicks in the air, but that Padmasana probly ain't gonna happen so easily, and since one day I hope to dig real deep into meditation, it would be nice to start a routine that is going to prepare my hips and all for that. So in short: who can recommend a simple, day to day thing that is not too hard to perform and that kind of forgives mistakes? Not looking for something dramatic, just safe and effective in the long term. For example, will this do the trick? I should add I'm currently doing first few of these every morning. Thanks for help!

well that looks... scary

Slightly off topic, but Apeiron&Peiron What does it mean to receive a transmission? is it simply a long training session with a master?

Could you repost the photo you added in the post "full lotus only hurts when I get out..." ? "Make sure you work on counter-rotating your legs back from your hip sockets. Because the counter-rotation here is the key to full-lotus. IOW, your toes should not be pointing forward, but pointing up or even backwards in this stretch." I don't quite get what kind of stretch that might be..

The book of Five Rings! "In time, all things work to your advantage if you pursue them with an open heart."

Of course... It's funny but I was just to write about it. I realized recently that most of the stretches talked here or there are simply forbidden for me right now. I'm talking about these and even simple seated forward wide angle leg stretch. The reason is basically this: my hamstrings, calves and buttocks may be too tight and there's too much strain on the tendons/muscles on the inner side of the knee. At least that's what the book "Stretching: Everything You Never Wanted To know" says. (I think it's free btw, try googling it). It also says you should stretch in a specific order, which totally makes the difference now that I've tried it: 1. back 2. sides (external obliques) 3. neck 4. forearms and wrists 5. triceps 6. chest 7. buttocks 8. groin (adductors) 9. thighs (quadriceps and abductors) 10. calves 11. shins 12. hamstrings 13. instep stretch your back first stretch y our sides after stretching y our back stretch y our buttocks before stretching your groin or y our hamstrings stretch y our calves before stretching your hamstrings stretch y our shins before stretching your quadriceps (if you do shin stretches) stretch y our arms before stretching your chest So what I do now is I isolate each muscle, and don't do both limbs at once, so I could control the stretch better. The ironic thing is that eventually I went back to what my gym coach told me to do, that dude really knew what I needed! Some of these: The thigh stretch I do with the knee bent almost at 45 angle, it doesn't take much to feel it... Butterfly is off limits for now, because of knee pain. The book "Stretching: Everything You Never Wanted To know" also has some great basic info about types of stretching(active, passive, isometric, PNF...) and lots of reference books. : stretc h y our bac k (upp er and lo w er) rst stretc h y our sides after stretc hing y our bac k stretc h y our butto c ks b efore stretc hing y our groin or y our hamstrings stretc h y our calv es b efore stretc hing y our hamstrings stretc h y our shins b efore stretc hing y our quadriceps (if y ou do shin stretc hes) stretc h y our arms b efore stretc hing y our c hest : stretc h y our bac k (upp er and lo w er) rst stretc h y our sides after stretc hing y our bac k stretc h y our butto c ks b efore stretc hing y our groin or y our hamstrings stretc h y our calv es b efore stretc hing y our hamstrings stretc h y our shins b efore stretc hing y our quadriceps (if y ou do shin stretc hes) stretc h y our arms b efore stretc hing y our c hest

I just find sitting cross legged uncomfortable. Sitting in a chair is even worse for concentration, and also I hope that being more flexible and sitting in full lotus might help with balance and proper back alignment(right now I just CAN'T find the right posture and quickly get middle, or lower back pain while sitting, my knees are lower than hips). I found this thread which is pretty convincing http://www.thedaobums.com/topic/12514-what-is-so-special-about-full-lotus/ Love Andrei's reply ;D

Wow awesome poll! Give me a second! By "I don't know" and 'Other' I understand partly everything listed and everything in between, as I realize I'm not only driven by my most virtuous motivations. I would also add just plain 'Fun'. Since it resonates with me-the child so much. It's good to know though, that my main choices were the most typical, seems like we're all just aiming for PEACE! Gonna change the world together! Yay!

Wonderful method, thank you for sharing. What weight did you use? Which do you think is optimal? Very slight discomfort, or discomfort that is challenging for your nerves? I've been doing a butterfly stretch laying on my belly for the last two days, and it's incredibly effective.

Can you please expand on what you said? Where exactly is the link?

Was just about to add that. is there any logic in synchronisity actually?

I'm always wondering why do some people find such abstract studies amusing. Sure it's probly good science, but what can a normal person get from all this? Apart from good tools to win an argument? Yesterday I had a conversation with a buddy about music, and I say something about objective listening. And heeey he goes talking about how objectivity doesn't exist and "woa dude nothin's real! checkout Kant!" And I just lost interest. What's the deal really? Confused Papple.

Yeah, like - want your mind to be sharp? Do something that requires your mind to be so.

The first version of this stretch can be done standing too(on one leg), and it's easier because you can lean with your upper body forward, which is easier than pulling. It's funny, I didn't realize it, but my coach actually gave me this stretch a few weeks ago.

Warmth, fresh air, and a my new 300$ latex mattress lol.

Yeah I was just like that too. Half the age of anybody in the class, and half flexible. I was never that much flexible as a kid either. But now I think I'm starting to be. Jibengong works! Yes I understand, It'll take years, I'm not in a hurry, I just need the right sequence. Such as shown here ? http://www.yogajournal.com/article/beginners/pigeon-pose/ The question is how to know when to stop, and is there any point in immediately repeating the stretch? Also, Is slight "bouncing" during a stretch helpful? What should I feel actually? Relief, discomfort(?), or slight pain? Some people say that if the muscle is very tight, you probably will feel pain and you should just persevere.

Thanks to everybody for input! That seems good, except the knees seem to be under great stress. And I have some pains in my knees sometimes, I don't want to strain them even more. So I'll save that one for future.

Though thing. It always seems like consistency is crucial, but only until some time passes and you start to crave all the benefits at once. Even though there is so much progress unfolding. I also play. And I write. And I know writing is usually just like working with anything else. Better to write 2 bars a day, in my case at least. Playing is like that too, and I'm slowly coming to a realization that no, I can't allow myself to try to "get" just a bit more juice out of that lick. Once I become self-conscious and thoughts begin, it's pretty much over. And I start to burn out and fall into frustration. Better to stay non-expectant. Or maybe it's different for different things? If what you practice is supposed to be what you're gonna live off, then you'll probably want to be as "proficient" as possible, and not expecting that much more pleasure from it than from walking(not that it can't be super-fun right?). But if it is something special, or when your income(health condition, mood, or else) may at some point not depend on it, then it could be a different thing. Sadly, my experience is that the latter is just too damn hard, because of... lots of things.

"For God's sake! Not a lot! Just everyday." - My piano teacher.

Some kind of a teacher maybe, or a wizard!