Dainin

Hi escott,

Soaring Crane was one of the many forms of qigong banned by the Chinese Communist Party following the "qigong boom" which lasted from some time during the 1980s until the mid-1990s. The ascent of Falun Dafa led to many other schools being categorized as "evil cults" by the CCP. There were also rumors that some people with pre-existing psychiatric conditions had psychotic episodes due to the spontaneous qigong section at the end of the Soaring Crane form.

In the USA, Soaring Crane seems most popular in the Pacific Northwest, where it was taught at an acupuncture college in Portand by Professor Huixian Chen. There were also some Chinese teachers who taught it in New York City (not sure if they are still active or not).

Soaring Crane is a short form, divided into five sections with a spontaneous qigong section at the end. I practiced it for a while. It's a good form and produces a lot of qi in the hands. I learned it from Dr. Wu Dhi in Miami (both from his DVD and in-person). He calls it Flying Crane. He learned it from a Chinese doctor in Michigan. I think there are a few slight variations in what he teaches from the "original." Although I'm not currently practicing it, it is a form that I do think is one of the better ones, and one that I'll probably go back to practicing eventually. (Fragrant Qigong is another one in this category for me, btw).

The most comprehensive information available about the form (including the book) can be purchased here: https://qi.org/products2/

If you can find a copy of this out-of-print DVD, it features the late founding grand-master, Xiao Jin Xiang and was filmed in some beautiful locations during his trip to North America. It might be available online from the producer Maureen Goss.

Gerald Sharp also has a DVD on it. I haven't seen that one, but have some of his others and they are very good indeed.

Best regards,

Dainin

This guy was supposedly Castaneda's qigong teacher:

Howard Y. Lee

I've had a lot of qigong experience and some limited workshop exposure to Tibetan Yoga practices like Tsa Lung and Trulkhor. Some of the foundational concepts regarding energy and meridians are similar, although the "maps" are different. One difference I noticed right away is that the Tibetan practices seemed to emphasize breath retention during the movements much more than qigong does. Breath retention can be found in Indian pranayama practices such as Kumbhaka. Since Buddhism was transmitted from India to Tibet, maybe this came along with it, although I suppose it could be indigenous to Tibet as well. Personally, I didn't really enjoy the breath retention during movement so didn't continue with the practices. They are interesting though.

Hi moreira,

I just saw on Facebook that a student of Sifu Larry Johnson will be teaching an online introductory four week series on the Hua Shan Taoist Qigong beginning on March 4:  https://robinrosario.com/

This was what she posted:

Hi Everyone!!! I am starting a new beginning 4 week introductory series to the very unique and rare Hua Shan Taoist Qigong system. This is a vigorous style of Qigong. If you tend to get dizzy from vigorous breath work then I recommend taking private lessons rather than the group class. You will learn 4 exercises during the course. The first exercise is to balance your energy and eliminate toxins. Exercises two through four, respectively, work to harmonize the liver, heart and lung channels. Qigong is like having your own personal treasure trove of good medicine. Even after decades of practicing Qigong, I am more inspired than ever and am excited to share this with you. Hope to see you. To sign up please visit my website: www.robinrosario.com 

1 hour ago, bamboo said:

thank you for bringing this to my attention.
 

Is it possible to buy the DVD of this form anywhere?

You can find it for sale here: https://plumpub.com/sales/dvd/dvdcoll_chikung3.htm

One of my teachers, Sifu Lester Holmes, has been offering 2-3 classes daily on Youtube and FB:

https://www.youtube.com/c/TaiChi360/featured

https://www.facebook.com/lester.holmes.3

His lineage is Temple Style (Master Waysun Liao's system), his teacher was the late Sifu Ron Hoffman. Please consider subscribing to his Youtube channel if his teaching resonates with you. _/\_ _/\_ _/\_

I have limited exposure to Tai Chi Chih, but enjoyed what I've tried of it. I have never heard of the Yang Luchan attribution before. Some of it clearly comes from Tai Chi Ruler. The following blog post discusses Justin Stone, his Tai Chi teacher, and how some information in his books changed over time:

Tai Chi Chih: Lineage or Lone Star?

From what I've heard, the Guang Ping branch of Yang Tai Chi is probably the closest thing today to what Yang Luchan taught, as it is attributed to his son Yang Banhou. There is an interesting discussion about this as a bonus on the late Master Y.C. Chiang's Taiji DVD.

These were the people who sold it online for many years: http://www.khtc.ca/index.html

It doesn't look like this site has been updated in a while and the link to Meditation Mastery in the links section doesn't work, but you could try emailing them to see if it is still available.

This started today and goes on for four days. It's free to view now, the recording can be purchased:

https://qigongglobalsummit.com/

Master Waysun Liao: https://www.taichitao.tv/

Hi moreira,

This thread is almost 10 years old, so the people who were posting back then may not be around here to answer you anymore.

I do not know Sifu Larry Johnson's contact information, but the school that the original poster was studying this method at (in Miami, Florida) is:

https://www.kungfuconnection.com/

Hope this helps

It would also be nice if more of the older but never used ppds and those that have been inactive for several years could be moved to the sleeping section.

It's been a long time since I did any reading in this area, but my impression at the time I did was that Stoicism had a lot of common ground with Buddhism, especially the emphasis on personal morality and being a good member of society. I also remember thinking about parallels between Epicureanism and Daoism. Although the word "epicurean" is today defined as this sort of decadent, greedy,  luxury seeker, the original ancient Greek Epicurus and his followers were very much into simplicity, nature, friendship, and moderation.

Menla Online: Igniting Your Inner Fire - Tummo Retreat

Sounds interesting:

Join us for this rare and precious offering, as Bob and Dr. Nida lead us through an introduction to Tummo practice, its history, and its context within Buddhist Inner Sciences, providing instruction on the foundational meditations and visualizations necessary to begin its practice.

Purifying all negativity and enhancing innate bliss, the Tummo fire practice is one of the Six Yogas in Vajrayana Buddhism and is the foundation of other Tibetan yogic practices, including Karmamudra. Its purpose is to gain complete control over all body functions, resulting in perfect health and the experience of continuous bliss.

Dr. Nida and Robert Thurman will explore the inner and outer yoga traditions of Buddhism through the teachings of Yuthok Yonten Gonpo the Younger, the life stories of the Wild-Yogi Ascetics or Mahasiddhas, and the philosophical writings of Atisha, Nagarjuna & Tsongkhapa to provide practical lessons, tools and perspectives to sensitive beings of any time.Dr. Nida’s senior student James Bae will provide Nine Breath Purification instruction and Tummo demonstrations. 

Daoist Yoga Online Learning Program with Tom Bisio - Launching Monday May 18.

I'm not affiliated with him, but have some of his other programs and can attest to their quality.

You might want to look at the book Kundalini Energy and Christian Spirituality: A Pathway to Growth and Healing by Philip St. Romain.

Hi VinC,

Last year I had a neck problem from an improperly executed shoulder stand that resulted in an annoying crackling sound whenever I turned my head. This lingered for a long time but fortunately it didn't hurt much.

Around this time I picked up a set of DVDs on a form called Liangong, available through Gerald A. Sharp (chiflow.com). The very first time I tried this form,  the cracking sound vanished and hasn't returned since. There are three 18 movement sets of Liangong. The first one is for " Stress, Strains and Sprains" and I think that you might find it helpful. One thing Sharp stresses a lot is the importance of lifting your chest for the movements where you turn your head. Good luck.

Tom Bisio:

Foundational Level

Intermediate Level: Core Patterns and Movements

I would recommend closely studying this classic text to change your perspective on aliens:

https://www.amazon.com/Here-Come-Aliens-Colin-McNaughton/dp/0744543940/

https://www.thedaobums.com/profile/9-ron-jeremy/content/

This Grandmaster is almost like a resurrection of the legendary early Tao Bum Ron "Mahalingam Al-Salami" Jeremy.

Falun Gong makes their money from the Shen Yun performances:

https://www.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/stepping-into-the-uncanny-unsettling-world-of-shen-yun

"Shen Yun is a nonprofit. In 2016, it reported more than seventy-five million dollars in assets and more than twenty-two million dollars in revenue."