Beep

On 26/10/2023 at 6:07 AM, Summer said:

Not FP but agree with midnight practice. Every time I've done it the sensations and everything else have been way more intense than any other time of the day. Wonder why this is? Ayaveda says its nope. The secretion of hormones say that too. TCM is gallbladder. Maybe it strengthening the gallbladder which in turn helps the liver circulate chi more smoothly? That and gallbladder emotions are like confidence, assertiveness etc.. and feel good on top of the practice? I wonder if midday practice with heart timing would help or not with it being opposite? Maybe not but it is very, very noticeable in boost.

On 26/10/2023 at 6:07 AM, Summer said:

Not FP but agree with midnight practice. Every time I've done it the sensations and everything else have been way more intense than any other time of the day. Wonder why this is? Ayaveda says its nope. The secretion of hormones say that too. TCM is gallbladder. Maybe it strengthening the gallbladder which in turn helps the liver circulate chi more smoothly? That and gallbladder emotions are like confidence, assertiveness etc.. and feel good on top of the practice? I wonder if midday practice with heart timing would help or not with it being opposite? Maybe not but it is very, very noticeable in boost.

Thank you for these responses, I been putting of practising at midnight , but ill give it a shot and see how it goes

What are peoples experiences with practising flying phoenix and tao tan pai at midnight? I have read midnight is when yin energy is strongest and it could be too strong so was just wondering if this was true.  

Thank you 

5 hours ago, zen-bear said:

Hello Beep,

 

Yes, it is okay to practice FP Qigong only if you have the relatively mild Omicron variant of Covid.  But if you have an infection of the Delta variant or Alpha variant, then you should definitely consult with your western physician (an M.D.) before you begin any form of exercise...because of the fact that so many people died or suffered long-COVID symptoms from those earliest and more deadly variants.

 

I speak only from my personal experience of practicing FP Qigong while I had  the OMICRON variant of COVID-19 and am not hereby not rendering any form of medical advice:   I had caught in Jan. 2022 during the first leg of a flight from NYC to Chicago/O'Hare to LAX.  I had no symptoms other than the siightest tickle of a sore throat on the left side that was 1/4 the irritation level of any previous sore throats up that time in my life.  But this one persisted for 5-6 days.  I was doing lots of physical labor moving belongings into storage, and not sleeping enough.  So I thought the sore throat was just stress symptom from lack of sleep.  Finally, I did the FPCK Long Form slowly three times.  Halfway through the third round, I no felt anything irritation in my throat.  **I am NOT saying that FP Qigong is a reliable remedy for COVID.  But only that it can't hurt or exacerbate Covid. I am saying that I have very strong immunity because I've been practicing FP Qigong since 1991 (as well more advanced Bok Fu Pai Yogas) and also Tao Tan Pai Nei Kung since 1974, which is why, I believe, I experienced no Covid symptoms whatsoever other than the persistant minor irritation/tickler on the left side of my throat.  

As I had postd in early 2022, I got tested for Covid only because 2 good friends I was visiting had tested positive.  So on a Sunday I went to the same PCF testing clinic they went to.  I tested positive (+).  But at that time I had no symptoms whatsoever.  Then six days later, I went to a good friend's Super-Bowl watcing party.  Because he's very well-off, he had all his guests before entering take the most expensive Covid home test kit that money could by at the time.  I tested NEGATIVE 3 times.

 

That's my long-winded way of stating:   (1)  Doing FP Qigong cannot hurt if you have Covid because it does not add any stress to the human process whatsoever.  It can possibly help with Covid symptoms as I had explained that that had happened in my case.

If you have a variety of Covid symtoms, use FP Qigong very carefully and gingerly.  The second you feel any type of new stress or worsening symptom, stop.

 

Whatever you do, stick with the professional advice of your western degreed physician.

 

Hope you feel better and test negative soon.

 

Sifu Terry

 

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Thank you for telling me this Sifu, I have tested negative now thankfully.  I found that after the first few days of rest due to joint aches as a symptoms, doing Bending the bow and monk holds pearl helped me over come those joint aches quickly. This was because after practising those exercises,  most of my joint aches were gone the next day and I could get moving again.

Thank you again 

38 minutes ago, Pak_Satrio said:

Hi Beep,

 

When I had covid I found that FP helped me recover. If you are bedbound do Monk Holds Pearl lying down. Also take these pills: Lianhua Qingwen. It will make you have a bad stomach but they help with covid symptoms.

Hi Pak_Satrio, 

Thank you , I will shall keep practising flying phoenix qigong still with COVID. I'm not bed bound since I rarely get sick, just some sharp muscle pains here and there  . I shall attempt monk hold pearls and some seated meditations and see if it goes well. 

Hi Sifu Terry,

Is it okay to practice Flying Phoenix Qigong with COVID19 ?. I tested positive this morning and was wondering if doing FFQ meditations would help recovery.

Thank you

Hi Sifu Terry,

On 21/08/2023 at 4:08 AM, zen-bear said:

Hi Beep,

 

Two suggestions for you--and any other practitioners who experiencing discomfort doing the seated MSW meditations on Volume 2:

(1)   Use a meditation pillow.   It's fine to sit on a meditation pillow or a booster cushion that raises your seat a few inches that makes the half-lotus or crossed-legged position comfortable..  

(2)   Prop your back up against a wall or piece of furniture like a ottoman or front of a couch.  As I've posted starting in Year One of this thread, FP Qigong is very accommodating and user-friendly.  You can start the seated meditations with your back against a wall and then eventually move away from the wall to practice.

 

Enjoy.  And feel free to send me a video of your seated MSW practice if you are still experiencing problems.

 

Best,

 

Sifu Terry

 

P.S.  Today, as a warm-down at the end of my Tai Chi Class 11a.m., after 75 min. of Tai Chi form practice, I led the class in practicing these 4 standing FP Qigong meditations--

Monk Gazing at Moon,

Monk Holding Peach,

Monk Holding Pearl, and

Wind Above the Clouds

--for a total of 40 minutes.

 

 

www.taichimania.com/chikung_catalog.html

terencedunn.substack.com

Thank you sifu

2 hours ago, Pak_Satrio said:

Hi Beep, are you doing the seated motions in half lotus comfortably? If half lotus isn’t comfortable for you yet then stick with just normal cross legged during FP while practicing half lotus outside of FP practice.

 

Make sure you aren’t slouching and your back is nice and straight. When starting FP you might have some aches and pains because there are muscles or body areas that you aren’t used to working with. As long as it isn’t too painful and affects your concentration then just keep going through it and it will eventually go away as your body gets used to practice.

 

If possible, next time you do seated practice take a video and post here or send to Sifu Terry so he can see what is going on.

Thank you for your response. I actually find the half lotus position more comfortable than the normal cross legged which might seem a bit strange.  Ill see how I go tomorrow when I practise and ill keep an eye out for slouching. If the problem still persists and there's no improvement then I shall send a video to Sifu terry as you have suggested and hopefully he can suggest a solution.

Hi all,

Just a question, when practising seated meditation from Vol2 , did any of you experience pain or stiffness in the chest, or sensations such that make you feel like your going to Belch ? I been practising it for a bit but the pain or pressure builds us after doing a bit of the seated ones which have hand movements. ( I usually do a few standing mediations and then seated ones, but I have no pain during the standing ones). Is this some thing I should be concerned about (maybe bad posture or alignment) ? Or could it possibly be just that my body isn't used to doing the movements seated ( lack of conditioning) ? Some thing I noticed is that during the mediations I unconsciously start to slouch, I fix when I notice it but could this be the cause ?

11 hours ago, Miffymog said:

 

You'll be fine.

 

If you find yourself experiencing too much chi after a session, the advice is actually go and eat something as that 'turns it off'.

Oh I see , Thank you 

Hi all ,

sorry just a question , I know generally in qigong we shouldn’t eat or drink minimum of 30 mins before or after qigong. The dvd say don’t eat before but nothing about after. I was super hungry and ate straight after a qigong session which I normally avoid. Is this harmful for practise or it doesn’t matter ? 
Thank you 

 I deleted the question now because the issues is all good now . I was just over thinking it at the time 

8 hours ago, Pak_Satrio said:

Until you feel ready. There’s no need to rush, you can go as slow as you like or you can go straight into it. What I would recommend before you start volume 3 is have a private lesson with Sifu Terry so he can correct your form before you get into the more complicated sets of volume 3 onwards.

Oh I see , thank you 

Hi all,

sorry to bother you guys again but just a question , if I train everyday for about an hour or more , how long is it recommended to practice volume 1 and 2 until I progress to volume 3 ?

15 hours ago, zen-bear said:

Hi EFreethought,

 

Welcome to the world of Flying Phoenix Qigong practice and to our jazzy thread!

 

Yes, please follow my advice for mentally calibrating the breath cycle into 10 parts that Searcher7977 so kindly  found and quoted for you.   He's right, you don't have to strive towards or limit yourself to  10 seconds per each inhalation and exhalation.  Not everyone can stretch their breath duration to 10 seconds on the inhalation or exhalation.  There is an average resting breathing rate for humans, which is 12 to 16 breathes per minute (thus 5 seconds per breath [2.5 secs. per each inhalation and exhalation] or shorter is "normal").  But every one's different.  Plus lung capacity and breathes/minute can be readily trained and conditioned to super-normal durations by exercise and either voluntary or involuntary stress.  Athletes who do aerobic sports and non-athletes who do aerobic sports and exercise can easily expand their lung capacities and lower their heart rates and breathes per minute--and maintain these higher functional levels--by their active professions and lifestyles.   So can practitioners of Yoga (--I mean, real Yoga like  Ashtanga Yoga, Arobindo's Integral Yoga, and Iyengar Yoga--the way they were taught in the 1960's (as opposed to the diluted, over-commercialized, 5th generation New Age, tea-and-sympathy, "a.m./p.m."  wastes-of-time that only makes leotard,  yoga mat and incense companies wealthy).  

 

As a good example:   in Tao Tan Pai ("Taoist Elixir Method") Nei Kung, the other Taoist monastic Qigong system I preserve and teach (that I started learning 18 years before I started FP Qigong with GM Doo Wai),  the first level Qigong is the Basic Tao Tan Pai 31 Meditations ("TTP-31").  As the name reflects, this level consists of 31 Meditations.  The 31 consists of 15 standing and 16 seated.  Each exercise and the sequencing of the entire system was designed in the Tang Dynasty (24 generations ago) to effectively increase lung capacity,  decreases the resting respiratory rate (breathes per minute at rest).   And the first exercise of the 31 is a signature exercise called "Circling Palms" (also called "Cloud Hands"--but no relation or similarity to Tai Chi's "Wave Hands Like Clouds").  This exercises consists of overlapping inward circling of the arms done on a horizontal plane and at shoulder level.  And when this circling pattern is  done the classically prescribed number times or rounds in each session a regular daily basis (with the appropriate follow-up meditations), this conditioning gradually and steadily expands the practitioner's respiratory efficiency far above normal while keeping the body in parasympathetic tone throughout.  During my years of training at the Taoist Sanctuary under my favorite teacher the ven. John Davidson, we would work our way up to 20 seconds for each inhalation and 20 seconds for each exhalation.   Circling Palms  is seen in the the beginning of this overview video showing 8 of the TTP-31 Meditations:

 

 

 

*All of the 31 basic meditations work individually and together synergistically in the classical sequence to effectively expand lung capacity (tidal volume), reduce resting respiratory rate--through a yogic methodology that coordinates the functions of eyes, mind, movement, and breath--where the eyes and mind constantly directs the flow and manifestation of the internal energy (Qi) to the intended part of the body, starting with the hands.  The TTP-31 Meditations as a system develops natural body mechanics that enables frictionless movement to do better kung fu--which in the broader sense going beyond martial arts  means "mastering work".   And, again, the  Qi cultivated by the TTP Yogas is a general vital energy that can be directed by one's shen (psychic focus or intentionality) to effect healing or to empower kung fu or any type of physical or athletic activity.  Traditionally, the TTP-31 is practiced concomitantly with the TTP Five Animals Kung Fu forms--tiger, dragon, snake, crane, and monkey, where all the kung fu forms have the TTP Yoga built into them, making each one an essential complement to the practice of TTP-31 system and the higher levels of the Tao Tan Pai Nei Kung system.  In other words, without the Kung Fu forms, one cannot attain the full benefits of the TTP Yogas. 

 

• I repeat again that the the Flying Phoenix Healing Qi has purely healing properties and cannot be used in any way with martial intent.   Qi cultivated by the TTP Nei Kung system--at any level--is different from which .   Because FP Healing Qi purely healing and restorative and because FP Qigong is tamper-proof and asshole-proof,  I've been able to teach the complete art including the esoteric breathing formulas since I first learned it from GM Doo Wai.   (I can now say this after  14 years on this thread),

 

in •for it scares away evil people who don't like the feel of its health transformation) of

 

[And, again, in answer to your question and others' questions about how one can learn the TTP-31 system, the answer is only through my classes and workshops that are Zoomable--or those given my classmates who trained at the Taoist Sanctuary. There are no published instructional materials on Tao Tan Pai.]

 

All that said:  the bottom line in terms of how to calibrate your breathing cycle into equal 10 parts is is to be very mindful of your breathing over a good period of time.   Here's one healthy approach for beginners that I haven't posted before:

(1)  Take a series of deeper-than-normal breathes all of the same approximate duration--and try to stretch each breath so that each inhalation and exhalation is more than 5 seconds (that's 10 sec. per breath).  That automatically puts you into "parasympathetic tone" (rest and recovery mode).

2.  Then take as deep an inhalation as you can comfortably manage and exhale for the same duration;

3.  Calibrate or partition each breath into 10 parts.   When I first started learning FP,  I counted "one potato, two potato, three potato. etc."    At the start of this thread, Sifu Garry Hearfield in Australia posted that he also counted "potatoes" when he practiced his Sunn Yi Gung from GM Doo Wai.

 

I hope this clarifies how to do FP Qigong's percentage breath control formulas.

 

Sifu Terry Dunn

 

 

P.S.  btw, LAST CALL for my 14-hour FP Qigong workshop this weekend, June 23 to 25 at Tao Retreat in Catskill, NY that is ZOOMABLE--where all remote students get real-time interactive form corrections and guidance to the same extent as my in-person students.  (I have large monitor set up on which I can see all students participating.)

 

WORKSHOP SCHEDULE -- June 23 to June 25:   7 two-hour sessions with 2 sessions on Friday, 3 on Saturday, and 2 on Sunday at these times (EST):

Friday: 3pm - 5pm; 7:30pm - 9:30pm EST
Saturday: 10am - noon; 2:30pm - 4:30pm; 7:30pm - 9:30pm EST
Sunday: 1 0am - noon; 2:30pm - 4:30pm EST

•TUITION

$350 early registration
$385 day of workshop
$55 for each of the seven 2-hour sessions 

• ZOOM PARTICIPATION:   $40 per 2-hour session or $250 for all 7 sessions [Zoom log-on links will be emailed to registrants the day before the workshop begins]

• Please send payment via Paypal (to [email protected]) or via Zelle (to [email protected] •

 

FULL DETAILS:    https://terencedunn.substack.com/p/flying-phoenix-qigong-workshop-14

 

 

 

Yes this helps a lot , thank you for clarifying 

40 minutes ago, EFreethought said:

 

Figure out how much pressure you need to exhale completely (but without straining yourself) for 10 seconds. Then count off the number of seconds for each exhale in the meditations exhaling with that same pressure. So 20% would be 2 seconds, 30% would be 3 seconds, etc.

 

Oh I see, ill try that thank you

Hi all,

I am new to this system of

qigong ( Still on DVD 1 &2 ). I was just wondering did anyone specifically count or measure using a stop watch to determine how much to exhale for each breathing percentage approximately?. Or is this unnecessary and something I will become more aware of as I practise ?

Thank you 

Hi everyone,

Its my first time here and was wondering if anyone can please teach me how to post questions in an already existing forum?

Thank you