Maybe

Hey Ben, I'm a novice too, and I'm coming into this from a similar position it seems. I don't have much to add, and I'm *CERTAINLY* not an authority, so take what I have to say with a grain of salt and wait for someone else who's more experience to weigh in to be sure. First: Starting out a Qi Gong or energy practice at all will come with some hurdles, especially if you're doing it after an illness, or after being sedentary, or after an injury, or during struggles with anxiety or depression. Qi Gong can be great for these things, especially Flying Phoenix or other healing systems, but it's important to realize that you'll need to get past the hurdles. If you're getting shoulder tension, examine your posture. If you can, get to a physical therapist to have them gauge your muscle strengths and general structure. I just had a physical therapist check me out not too long ago and let me know that my shoulders have been compensating for my traps, and that my scapula aren't functioning as they should because of this muscle deficiency. You may have a similar problem. When doing Flying Phoenix, if I tried to hold Monk Gazes at the Moon for more than 5 minutes, I would get bad inflammation on my left side. After realizing how to hold my scapula correctly, that no longer happens. Second: Don't worry about things like moving the energy at will at first. Focus on the mechanics first and foremost. Do the movements or poses as perfectly as you can, keeping an eye on the breathing sequences at the beginning and mastering and memorizing those as well as you can. If you're trying to move energy around early on before you have a good foundation, you might end up hurting yourself. This is why some schools wont recommend doing microcosmic orbit until you've practiced for about a year at least. Qi Gong is a long, gentle process and the results will come consistently and slowly as long as you maintain your practice. For me, one of the main things I had take hold quickly was an elimination of my social anxiety. If I have a function I have to attend, If I've doing Flying Phoenix at all any time that week, I am more centered and sure of myself and capable of maintaining my composure. There's been other things too, like I've noticed my digestion works better after being consistent with the practice. Lastly: In regard to the sensation changes, that's normal. Your mind is becoming more alert and you'll have increased sensation to visual, auditory, or even taste and touch sensations. You'll notice a lifting of any 'brain fog' you might have had and an increased capability to focus. This is normal. If you've become accustomed to the dulled sensations, you'll find that these increased sensations will also be adapted to in time. Just stay the course and stay calm and focused. In regard to the congestion, I'm not sure what to make of that. If you're trying to direct your energy, it might be a result of that. It might also be a blockage or something else, but I couldn't say because as I stated before, I'm just a novice. Keep practicing, go slow, and take breaks if you find yourself hurting too much to focus or practice. Flying Phoenix is a healing art, so you should notice the results as long as you hold the course as much as you're able.

I saw the start of the thread, but then at the end you posted quotes off his website, I was confused as to the intent. Thanks for clarifying though. It seems like common sense that anyone who would try to sell enlightenment would be a fraud.

Shiva, are you promoting his work? I don't understand.

Hello again all. I've been progressing in my practice and enjoying it. I've run into a small hurdle that I'd appreciate some advice on. The DVD 1 poses (monk gazes at the moon and monk holds the peach) are very shoulder intensive and static. I find that my shoulders and neck become pretty sore the next day if I try to progress past the 5 minute mark. Perhaps I'm being a bit overzealous, but my hope was to move past the 5 minute mark into the 6 minute mark to make the practice more worthwhile. Which school of thought is more correct in this practice: A ) to push through the pain and move the practice marker as long as possible more quickly or B ) to slowly progress and rest if the exercise becomes painful Posting this at all is a little embarrassing. If only I'd kept my physical training regimen from high school alive instead of becoming sedentary and losing all that flexibility and strength Any advice is appreciated. Hope you're all doing well, fellow practitioners.

I've got a question: My practice has a lot of static holds. I find that my shoulders have become very sore, making daily practice difficult. What should I do to counteract this? Should I rest and dismiss the idea of daily practice? Should I continue and hope that the practice will eventually tone up my shoulders to the point where the holds become easier?

Apologies if my questions are too frequent, but here's another one After the breath control sequence, should breathing be regulated in any specific way during the movements? In Bending the Bows, should I only inhale as I raise my arms and exhale as I lower them, or does that not matter in this system as much? (This is how I've been doing it, with resting breaths between as needed, as mentioned in the DVD) In the other static exercises, it seems clear that breathing in any specific way (other than deeply and relaxed and through the nose following the breath control sequence) is unnecessary.

Apologies for any perceived tone. I'M very new here myself. I have no intent to fight or argue with people in this place, because the people here have shown me a huge amount of kindness, generosity, and guidance. I was just trying to ask a probing question to understand more about Iron Marshall's perspective is all. His most recent post makes his position pretty clear as a truth seeker.

Iron Marshall, have you read through this thread in its entirety, or are you just jumping in now?

Thanks for the response Sifu Terry. I've taken it as a normal bodily response to exercise, because the standing meditations definitely work up a sweat. My guess is that the aim is to get to a point where the poses, movements, and forms can all be practiced without feeling the body at all, to allow for the sensation of energy and the clearing of the mind. That's the aim, and the reason I've been practicing daily. I definitely notice after a day of not being able to practice at the regular time or having to do a lesser practice due to a busy schedule or some other reason, the benefits are still there, but less pronounced. As soon as I start back up again, the benefits all flood back. All in all, I'm loving this system and I can't wait for my paycheck to get the rest of the videos (even though I suspect I'll be working through discs 1 and 2 for a solid 6 months at least before moving to more intermediate forms).

Quick question: Does anyone else get hungry immediately following Flying Phoenix? I find that I get fairly ravenous after my practice.

The videos seem to prove what Sifu Terry said well enough. Subsequently, the authorization video that Ausar posted seems highly doctored. Lastly, anyone charging 2000 to 10000 dollars for a sequence of videos or teachings to attain enlightenment is a scam artist, plain and simple. Any spiritual practitioner knows that money cannot be the gatekeeper to enlightenment, and that money in fact corrupts and inhibits enlightenment. Every sage has taught this. Whoever Ausar is, he isn't using a real name, and thus isn't trustworthy. That alone is enough.

Also, thank you VERY MUCH to user Seatle185. He got me the first two DVD's as a gift after I mentioned I didn't have the money to purchase them yet (my income fluctuates a lot based on my current project load). Without his gift, I'd be working with the difficult to follow (but apparently also effective) Wild Goose method as taught by Dr. Bingkun Hu (which are apparently very effective also, but maybe not so beginner friendly). I had access to those through my wife's Amazon Prime account (free through her work), but not much else. Very excited about this journey into the world of qigong.

In an effort to bring things back on course, I'd just like to say thanks again to Sifu Terry for bringing this system to all of us. I'm on week 3 of Flying Phoenix. I'm at 5 minutes of daily practice of forms 1 - 4 (Monk Gazes at the Moon, Bending the Bows, Monk Holds the Peach, and Monk Holds the Pearl). My slightly protruding gut, years of sedentary life, and stiff lower back have prevented me from doing Wind Above the Clouds, but the exercises (and daily stretching) are loosening me up and diminishing my gut. What I've noticed so far is: 1) My mental focus is back. I am no longer mired in a rut of brain fog. My work involved creating aquaponics systems for people, which involves a lot of calculations, sketching, 3d modelling, consultations, interpersonal interactions, budgeting, project management, botany, and a number of other rigorous mental exercises. My work was becoming very difficult as my energy was being sapped by a number of different seeming disease processes that were becoming more pronounced, greatly affecting my focus. After just a few weeks of Flying Phoenix, my focus is back. 2) My stomach health is greatly improved. For the past 15 or so years, I've suffered from irritable bowel syndrome. It has spiked and subsided at various points in my life. Lately, it's been much worse which led me to pursue qigong in the first place. On top of the IBS spike, I've been diagnosed with acute gastritis, which had made life even worse with constant bloating, diarrhea, nausea, and abdominal pain. It was very rough for a little while, and I'm still recovering. Flying Phoenix has accelerated my recovery time significantly. I can eat things that I couldn't eat at all anymore without consequences (like cheese, yogurt, tomatoes, etc.) about once or twice a week without having problems. My elimination process has normalized. Things are moving along very well in terms of strengthening my stomach and intestines. There's still more to be done. I'm fairly certain I'll be needing to see an acupuncturist and getting some Traditional Chinese Medicinal herbs to fully rectify and balance the system. Flying Phoenix seems to have laid an excellent foundation for healing. 3) My strength is improving. I noticed a strange sensation a week or so ago which was somewhat frightening. When I would bend over to pick things up, I noticed a twitching in my left chest (where I've had a rib that has a tendency to slip out of place and cause a lot of pain). I became worried by the twitch and wondered what was going on. I had some anxiety over the sensation (which I was able to keep down very well thanks to the mental fortification aspect of Flying Phoenix), but realized that there was probably nothing truly wrong. A few days later, I realized that I could manifest this sensation at will. To my surprise and embarrassment, I realized that the sensation I'd been feeling was just a strengthening of my intercostal and pectoral muscles. Most of the movements in Flying Phoenix 1 seem to strengthen the pectoral, neck, shoulder, core, and leg muscles. I'm noticing these effects, and I'm very thankful for them. Stretches that used to be difficult for me are much easier. It's easier to move freely. It's easier to perform actions that were difficult before. The general improvement in strength is very welcome. 4) My Anxiety and Panic have subsided greatly. For the past two years I've suffered from general anxiety and panic disorder. This began, I believe, after foolishly mixing a few controlled substances on accident with some friends. It was a catalyst to mental and physical distress the likes of which I've never known. It was highly unfortunate. Since then, I've been much more of a hermit than before. I've avoided people, places, and activities that I used to find very fun and nourishing. I avoided these because of budding agoraphobia, fear of panic attacks, and a general lack of confidence in my physical and mental state. Flying Phoenix has definitely strengthened my mental reserves. I imagine that the energy I've built up has acted as a buffer between myself and the rest of the world, shielding me from overwhelming sensations or experiences. It feels like I did when I had been very involved in spiritual practices in previous eras of my life. I feel like I'm myself again. I can enjoy my life, my wife, my surroundings, my friends, and my family again. I am so thankful for this, I cannot state it enough. All of this is, again, to say THANK YOU VERY MUCH to Sifu Terry. I've been at my wits end for a long time in regard to my health physically and mentally, but I am confident now that I'm on the first steps of the path toward health and well-being. I hope to meet you in person someday to undergo some training and consultation in regards to my form. I've been in contact with you via email and have been very grateful for your responses. I look forward to scheduling something in the coming months / year.

Hi all. I've been practicing Flying Phoenix for about two weeks now, and I'm really enjoying it. A heat wave is about to hit Southern California unfortunately, and I don't want to break my streak of practice. So my question is, is qigong (or specifically Flying Phoenix if anyone knows) safe to practice in the water? I know a strong wind is no go, but what about a nice mellow pool?

That seems to be the consensus unfortunately. I don't have the money for these things, and these books and DVD's, at least to get a whole set, are expensive. Dr. Hu's stuff is free to watch on prime, so that's all I have access to for now. I've noticed a small difference in my mental fortitude after even just a few days of forms 1 and 4 twice a day.