ReturnDragon

I wish I have four legs too; but I only have three.

Hi, dwai Do you consider what you two are doing is fajin?

@1.31 There are two stances: Static and dynamic stands First one: Breathing stand @ 1:53 Static stand demo @ 2:11 stand with feet together; toes point toward the front; body straight with head's up Lower chin goes inward; eyes look straight forward; lips slightly closed; lock the teeth slightly; breathe with nose Mainly is abdominal breathing; require the sacrum and coccyx to be center with vertical; shoulders relaxed; elbows down to the sides of the buttock; thumbs toward the front; palms facing inward; sink body slightly downward; left foot move toward the left; feet parallel at shoulder width; body sink downward with knees bent.

路上逢人半里難。 It's hardly to see anyone within a half mile on the road. It means there was nobody around, at all, to indicate the loneliness of a Taoist.

人世知音能有幾。 How many true friends are there in a life time. 天地萬物是良朋。 All the things in nature are my good friends. 今日歌頌仙狐訣。 Today I praise the fox immortals on my departure. 施放眾生盡解脫。 Release all lives to let them free. 逢山過山到深山。 Crossing from mountain to mountain into the deep mountain. 逢水過水進池潭。 Stepping over all the waters into the deep lakes. 雲霧山頭乘風去。 Clouds and mist, on the mountaintop, are gone with the wind. 東西南北逍遙游。 Roaming freely in all directions. 深山百鳥千聲叫。 All the birds in the deep mountain are making their calls. 河海深處好修煉。 Deep places by the river and the sea are good for cultivation. 山神土地來相助。 The gods of the mountain and earth come for mutual assistance. 路上逢人半里難。 It's hardly to see anyone within a half mile on the road. I hope this will clear the mist!

Hello, everyone: I was a long time member here, AKA Chidragon. Now, I am returning back to the Thedaobums community; and hope things will be better in a Taoist atmosphere! Thank you very much!

Hi, rideforever Thank you for your safely concern. Yes, you are very correct. It is better to do ZZ on flat ground. Why does one need an apparatus anyway? If you read the title of the OP, it says "balance test" rather than a practice. Since it is a test, don't you think a special apparatus should be used for an ultimate test with a higher degree of difficulty. Don't you think this practitioner had any training or confidence to perform the balance test. Do you think any average person can just hop on the narrow platform and stood there for a 6 minute video demo?

@thelerner ** I tend to edit, re-edit and re-re-edit my posts. Not to change there their content, usually to improve grammmar and flow. Occasionally my conscience will put a gun to my head to clean up bad attitude.

He can do that too!

This is only for those who are interested. It was a discussion with a biochemist from another site. At least read the last post to see where we stand. Ref: http://discuss.yangfamilytaichi.com/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=4235&hilit=mitochondria

Hello, TDB It has been quite awhile we talk about Chi with the ancient Chinese concepts. I was wondering is anyone would like to relate these concepts to modern science. IMO There must be a co-relationship between them. To me, the first thing comes into my mind when speaking about energy is mitochondria. Please read this article and see what you think? Do you think Qigong, ZZ or Tai Chi practice has anything to do with the mitochondria in our body cells? Ref: https://coachcalorie.com/increase-mitochondrial-density/

With respect to the previous view, the two GB 14 points are the two red dots above the eyebrows. Is that what you are refferring to?

The top one is looked from the outside. The bottom one is looked from the inside(center). The bottom one is the most commonly used. I had seen the top one in a Taoist temple, once, in China last year.

Follow the green line is the continuous GB meridian in the front and back of the body. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_acupuncture_points#/media/File:Chinese_meridians.JPG

@GSmaster Only the man of virtue knows whom to love and whom to hate. Confucius, Analects 4.3 hmmmm...I wonder did he really say that?

@ChiDragon You are lucky if you don't get any.

Muscle contraction energy Ref: https://www.ck12.org/biology/muscle-contraction-energy/lesson/Muscle-Contraction-Energy-Supply-Advanced-BIO-ADV/

I think I had stepped my foot on the wrong side but not by mistake. Rather it is good to be on two sides. Like the yin and the yang.

You all Lim's are alike.....

hey, Limahong Are you the same stalker of mine from another site? AKA yslim?

Yes, Chuang Tzu was right. He says: "I rather use some other's words. It is because no one believes what I say."

Your lung capacity is the total amount of air that your lungs can hold. Over time, our lung capacity and lung function typically decrease slowly as we age after our mid-20s. The reason we practice Qigong or Tai Chi is to restore the lung to its normal capacity. Ref: https://www.healthline.com/health/how-to-increase-lung-capacity

Sorry, I was mean to answer Steve about abdominal breathing. But computer was acting up. So, I used my smartphone which is not very smart for me to handle this kind of input. Anyway, you are right. This is exactly what I want to point out. Did you know mitochondria use oxygen to produce energy? When we talking about energy, we cannot exclude mitochondria. In increase oxygen means increase the ability for the mitochondria to produce energy. We cannot just mention energy without thinking about mitochondria. Yes, I grant you! Meditation do not increase energy. However, it will, if one does in combination with a good breathing method. Here is the proper way of Tai Chi breathing and good for cell respiration which taking place hidden inside the body. https://www.energyarts.com/qigong-breathing/

Hi dwai Hypothetically, you are telling me that normal people are breathing properly; and the good taiji or qigong people are not. Then, the good taiji or qigong people are not good. Yes, I have heard of the term “turtle breathing”. Turtle can take one breath and stay under water for 8 full minutes before taken another one.

Please let me get to that. Most people ask that question because they didn't know the concept. Please hold your questions until I give more insights. Next thing you need to know is about muscle contraction. That will answer your question.