Echo

Hey, I have a very practical question and am hoping that I can get a few helpful answers. I am a fan of western movement practices (calisthenics, animal moves, etc.) but also really interested in Qigong and other eastern style energy cultivation methods. I read a few books and tried a few things but nothing serious. I am meditating daily though. Due to time constraints I am wondering: Do you think it is necessary to do the same movements for the benefits of Qigong to manifest? In my opinion there are underlying principles (mindfulness, breathing) which could more or less easily be incoprorated in other forms of movement. Do you think that this will result in some/all of the benefits of Qigong practice or do you think that there is something inherent in the Qigong forms that will be lost and it therefore won't work? I'm really curious about your opinions.

So summarizing the things you all said, there is a part of Qigong that isn't "transferable" to other movement practices. Do you think that "simple" practices like Zhan Zhuang would be enough to supplement that part?

Are there any news on the possibility to get access to the videos over the internet (i.e via streaming)?

Some additional thoughts from my side: If replenishing jing/ming gong would actually lead to reversal of aging / physical immortality and it's a foundational practice logically there would be no need for lineages in the sects that have the correct methods, since no member would die of age related causes. Except for the members that die from accidents or leave earth for other reasons of course. In every other tradition I'm vaguely familiar with (Yoga/Tantra, (Tibetian)/Buddhism) immortality (in all forms) is considered an achievement of extremely advanced spiritual practice and not a foundation.

I'm not very surprised that teachings that could potenitally prolong your life on this earth for an infinite amount of time are not wildly known I think I recall one instance of a TDB-Member claiming to have "real" ming-gong in their scholl, which should be what we are looking for here if I'm not mistaken. (Edit: I think it was from Wiu-Liu Pai) Does "nourishing their corporal form" refer to eating, drinking, etc. (i.e. nourishing our body)? And is there any material regarding ming gong in the classical daoist literature? P.S: I really like the way you presented the material by the way!

I'm in the same situation as phil, so it'd be great for me as well. I searched the thread and Sifu Terry said that he is working on getting the DVDs uploaded on vimeo. Is this still the case and it's just a matter of time? Wishes you the best Echo

Just stopping by to add that I'm also really interested in liminal_lukes question about how Flying Phoenix Chi Kung and Bok Fu Pai as a whole relate to immortality.

Glad to have you back here! Big congratulations for becoming a dad! Hope your doing well and the cultivation helps with all the late hours And thanks for bringing the new Bodri books to my attention! Very interested in the gems you promised, since the other authors are pretty well known around here, I guess. Still curious about your opinion on their material though

Joeblast, thanks for your clarifications. It's still kind of difficult for me to get some practical takeaways for how to retrain the breath to be that "calm" (for lack of a better term). Any specific resources you can point to? Thanks again!

Hey guys, I'm Freddy, 20 years old, from Germany. I recently discovered my thirst and curiosity for spiritual teachings. I'm kind of lost within the vast realms of information regarding the topic and looking for a good place to learn, share and discuss and hope that the Dao Bums can scratch that itch. I'm currently reading about Daoism, different forms of Yoga and also some New Thought stuff. My biggest difficulty to date is actually differentiating between different forms of cultivation/ spiritual practice, because all the terms are new and unfamiliar. So excuse possible errors in that regard I hope you guys have some patience for a young, eager and curious fellow like me. As for myself, I'm excited to get started