Dainin

17 hours ago, Learner said:

 

Are there any instructions online for Guo Lin Qigong?

http://www.healthyfoundations.com/guolin/guolin_video.html

Second Daoist Conference – A Post-Pandemic World: Visions of the Dao in a Modern World

https://daoistgate.com/second-daoist-conference-a-post-pandemic-world-visions-of-the-dao-in-a-modern-world/

Just learned that there is a DVD in English: https://www.primehealthproducts.ca/store/ydan-details.html

Another session of this course will begin on July 9th and goes through November 9th. I plan to sign up for it this time:

https://www.sylwushu.com/product/online-health-maintenance-qigong-by-master-helen-liang-2/

https://gyalshen.org/5-elements-practice-on-the-full-moon/

The Five Elements practices from the Bön lineage of Tibetan Buddhism are spiritual practices that assist in  removing  physical, mental, and energetic blocks. The practices invoke, balance, and harmonize each of the five elements through the use of sacred seed syllables, mudras (hand movements), mantras (sacred chants), physical postures, breath work and visualizations. These rich and ancient practices not only help to remove physical, mental and energetic blocks, they can restore balance and integrity in one’s life. The practitioner is guided to connect to his/her own inner wisdom in order to achieve one’s full potential and to be able to maintain a relaxed and awakened state of mind. When performed regularly, these practices help one to attain a healthier lifestyle and to improve physical, mental and emotional health. Invoking space clears a cluttered mind and creates spaciousness and recognition of the pure space of being.  Invoking air transforms pride to peacefulness and helps to support increased flexibility and improved communication.  Invoking fire transforms greed and desire into generosity and supports increased creativity.   Invoking water transforms jealousy to openness and supports a peaceful presence.  Finally,  invoking the earth element transforms ignorance to wisdom and supports a grounding, abiding presence. 

I took one two day in-person workshop with him and that was enough for me. It was on a short 5 or 6 movement form. He spent almost the entire first day on the first movement only, going into overwhelming, endless detail about it, then rushing through the rest of the form on the second day. Lots of self-aggrandizement and treating attendees in a demeaning manner. He brought a couple of guys who did Japanese martial arts up front to demonstrate that he could hurt them using pressure points. There were also some women hanging around up front gazing at him like cult members. He had one of them strip down to her underwear to make some anatomical point (he did this with a guy also). I doubt that his Chinese teacher would have done that. The whole vibe was pretty weird.

He also appeared to be over 300 pounds at the time, and had trouble walking. He said that he had been in 5 or 6 car accidents in the past few years. I give him credit for losing a lot of weight since then and being able to move better. I did take a few series of classes from one of his students later on, and fortunately that person had none of the same characteristics and was a better teacher than his master. 

https://www.gofundme.com/f/square-inch-press

"We are gathering funds for the newly launched Square Inch Press 方寸書社 (SIP), which will be the publishing wing of the Daoist Foundation 道教基金會 , a US-based Daoist religious and educational non-profit (501[c][3]) and public charity (170[1][A][vi]) dedicated to fostering authentic Daoist study and practice and to preserving and transmitting traditional Daoist culture. As one of the few Daoist presses, aspiring to create a similar cultural space as Snow Lion or Wisdom Publications in Buddhism and Paulist Press in Christianity, Square Inch Press will publish tradition-based books with a Daoist aesthetics and material culture. The current fundraiser aims to gather seed-money for book-design, type-setting, copy-editing, and the actual printing. The first projected title is Entering Stillness: A Guide to Daoist Practice 入靜指南 by Louis Komjathy 康思奇, Ph.D., CSO and Kate Townsend 唐鄉恩, EAMP, CSO. Anyone who makes a donation of $75 or more will receive a complimentary copy upon publication, which is tentatively scheduled for April 18, 2022. As is the case with other Daoist Foundation projects, all contributions are tax-deductible."

12 hours ago, moreira Filho said:

Hi. I would like to know the homepage that you find the Feng ziqiang DVD/Vídeo? I am not finding this material. Thanks.

Hi moreira, I think Cheya is taking some time off from the Dao Bums, so I'll try to answer this. The DVD is by Fengming Wang, a student of Feng Zhiqiang, not Feng himself. You can find it on this web page: https://www.worldtaiji.com/index.php/taiji-store  Note that he doesn't offer e-commerce, so you have to email him to discuss how to make payment. There is a book too, but the translation isn't very clear.

Another student of the Feng Zhiqiang method that has streaming video material on the tai chi ruler is Dr. Yaron Seidman. He offers a one hour intro and a full 12 hour course. You can find these here:

https://hunyuan.life/sub-category/tai-chi-1610885619922x645456003119185900

There is also some Youtube content of Master Feng demonstrating the stick and ruler (with no verbal instruction):

https://youtu.be/AtbuKO4PltQ

https://youtu.be/QyfBfYsmTO8

Inner Alchemy (from The Holy Mountain, directed by Alejandro Jodorowsky)

I first learned Yi Jin Jing from my medical qigong teacher Paul Fraser. He and his teacher Master Tom Tam learned it from a Shaolin monk when they were on a trip to China. Paul actually taught two forms, which he called external and internal Yi Jin Jing. The external form was similar to the second video in Vajra Fist's post above. Later on I got a Yi Jin Jing DVD by Master Jesse Tsao and it was very similar to what Paul had taught our class. Then I got the Chinese Health Qigong Association book (it came with a DVD) and it was also the same form. I've also taken Robert Peng's course and I'm repeating it now. His form is pretty similar but not identical to what is apparently the standardized version, and as Luke mentioned, he does go into a lot of detail about breathing compared to the other sources I learned it from. Some of the movements have a hatha yoga like feel and they are stretching the muscles and massaging the internal organs as well as stretching the tendons to a certain extent.  

The internal Yi Jin Jing that Paul taught was quite different. Here the movements were much smaller (some would probably be barely noticeable to an observer) but seemed to really emphasize stretching the tendons. Eventually I saw similar versions to this in an early book by Dr. Yang Jwing Ming and in a VHS video series put out by Roger Hagood called something like "Oriental Health Secrets." I'm currently in an online course with Sifu Anthony Korahais and he's now teaching "Sinew Metamorphosis" which is also similar. I think these teachers are all basically coming out of southern Chinese kung fu styles, so I would guess that is where this version originated. I like both approaches and they seem to complement each other.

https://www.sylwushu.com/product/online-health-maintenance-qigong-by-master-helen-liang/

This sounds like it should be a good series (she is the daughter of GM Shouyu Liang):

In this class, we will introduce a variety of techniques including but not limited to the following:

• “Fang Song Gong” (放鬆功）for deep relaxation of the body and mind.
• Dantian Breathing and Meditation for building and strengthening Dantian Qi.
• “Guan Qi Fa”(貫氣法)  works on absorbing the pure essence of the universe into the body and discharging impurities from the body.
• “Jin Gang Pai Da” (Vajra Sattava Hitting 金剛拍打法): a routine of exercise for promoting the circulation of Qi in the major meridian channels of the body.
• “Organ Qigong”(臟腑功) : a long series of exercises for strengthening the functions of the internal organs such as the kidneys, liver, lungs, spleen, and heart.
• “Jian Shen Qi Gong”(健身氣功) such as: “Yi Jin Jing”(Muscle Tendon Changing Classic 易筋經) for strengthening the muscles and tendons; Wu Qin Xi (Frolics of Five Animals 五禽戲) which derives its health rejuvenating properties from mimicking the movements of the Tiger, Deer, Bear, Monkey, and Bird; “Ba Duan Jin” (Eight Pieces of Brocade 八段錦) containing eight separate exercises, each focusing on a different physical area and Qi meridian; “Liu Zi Jue’ ( Six Healing Sounds 六字訣) which involves the coordination of movement and breathing patterns with specific sounds, etc.
• Emitting and Absorbing Qigong – Shaolin internal Qi training as to how to absorb Qi to make oneself stronger, how to emit Qi to help others.

These two Swimming Dragon movements might be helpful:

You may also want to check out a book called "Unwinding the Belly" which is more of a self-massage technique.

Dear Friends of Qigong,,

According to Chinese lunar calendar it is the festival of starting winter today (立冬 November 7, 2021). In the agriculture society it is officially winter season. So what should we do differently in terms of taking care of ourselves and keep up with wellness practice?

As “Yellow Empire’s Internal Classic” states, “the winter months are the time for closure and preservation.” That is, the three months in the winter are the season of all things closed and hidden. Our human body should also conform to the nature and store essence and absorb qi (藏精纳气). The wellness practice (Yang-sheng in Chinese) in the winter mainly refers to the means or methods, such as diet, sleep, exercise, daily routine, qigong and supplements, used to achieve the purpose of maintaining vital energy, strengthening body, and prolonging life. According to Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), winter is the season for concealment of vital energy, and the period from the beginning of winter to the start of spring is the most appropriate period for winter tonic.

http://yang-sheng.com/?p=12144

We are finishing the teaching of Five-animal play qigong today, and will move to Winter wellness practice next week. Here is the preliminary plan for the winter. Please let me know if you are interested in adding something else to the listing, I will be happy to share with you the wisdom of Chinese wellness practice.

For those who are interested in more knowledge and training in the wellness practice of winter, please join us every Sunday from 8:30 to 10:00am EST, our weekly online Qigong for health will offer systematic training in TCM wellness practice, including:

• ·         Standing meditation (Magnification by standing pole)
• ·         Meridian exercises
• ·         Time-zone and corresponding meridian -- daily applications
• ·         Qigong for nourishing kidney Qi
• ·         Qigong for raising Yang
• ·         Nutrition adjustment for winter
• ·         Six-minute standing for strength (unnamed standing pole)
• ·         Open Original-Channel Qigong
• ·         Wudang Sitting Eight Pieces of Brocade

And more….

The first class is a free trial, then you pay only $7 to $10 per class. Please register online at:  https://www.eventbrite.com/e/dr-chens-weekly-online-qigong-for-health-a-zoom-based-event-tickets-101852467472 .

See you in Sunday morning class soon,.

Peace and blessings!

Kevin

GiCheon is another one. I believe it's basis is in standing meditation. There is also a cold water component where they stand in mountain streams.

http://www.gicheon.org/

http://www.gicheon.com/gicheon/

I think that this and Sundo are both based on Daoist principles. Korea also has a strong indigenous shamanistic tradition but I don't know anything about it.

https://tenerifeonline.tibetanmedicineschool.org/courses/breathe-to-wellness

October 11th - November 22nd & 1 year free access to all the learning resources

With Dr. Phuntsog Wangmo and Fabio Andrico

A unique yoga experience. When we synchronize every movement with conscious breathing we find ourselves in a perfectly relaxed state. Each sequence performed in Yantra Yoga aims to guide the breath into a natural harmony with the mind and body. It is one of the oldest recorded systems of Yoga that exists in the world, and it was first introduced to the West in the 1970s by one of the foremost Dzogchen masters of our time, Chögyal Namkhai Norbu, when he understood the immense benefit it holds for everyone.

The main focus of this course is on the Lungsang, or the 8 Movements for Purifying the Prana, in these exercises we use breathing, movement and rhythm together to help us understand how to master all the aspects of breathing, how to inhale and exhale correctly, especially how to hold the breath, and particularly, how to guide the hold. Each of the eight Lungsang is named after the fundamental aspects of breathing it trains: slow inhalation, open hold, directed hold, quick exhalation, closed hold, contracted hold, and slow exhalation. 

I just picked up a nice little book about this practice:

Arm Swinging Qigong by John Robertson

I first learned this with Dr. George Love, who would do 88 repetitions as a warm-up. He would sometimes do these slowly, other times quickly. I also learned it from Dr. Roger Jahnke, who did it slowly and called it Flowing Motion. Both of these teachers had the palms facing up on the upswing and facing down on the downswing. They would both lift the heels on the upswing and the toes on the downswing. It became a rocking motion with Dr. Love's faster version.

More recently I've been doing the "Ping Shuai Gong" version with Dr. Kevin Chen during his weekly Zoom classes. He does 300 repetitions during his warm-up sequence. This one is palms down on both the up and downswing. The arms are kept straighter, it moves at fairly quick pace, the feet are kept flat and the knees bend every five reps. The knee bends bothered me at first, now I'm used to it. Dr. Chen and Dr. Love both say this practice is very good for detoxification. It does seem to pump a lot of the lymph nodes.

https://gyalshen.org/october-20th-on-full-moon-tsa-lung-and-five-elements-practice/

The Bönpo tradition of the Mother Tantra contains six classes, or paths, through which one can swiftly attain enlightenment. The first of these, called Thap Lam Cher, can  be roughly translated as taking the path to enlightenment. Perhaps it was given this name as it contains the majority of the practices that focus on the channels, winds, and tigles: mainly Tsa Lung and Tummo.

Join us on the Full Moon as Chaphur Rinpoche gives teachings on the theory and practice of Thap Lam Cher. These teachings will cover the basic theory of the nine lung or winds which range from the most coarse winds of delusion to the wind that underlies the subtlest mind of the natural state. Rinpoche will also explain how each of the 5 elements are an integral part of the Tsa Lung practice.  

Concurrent with these teachings on theory, Chaphur Rinpoche will lead students in the practice of Tsa Lung, taught to gain mastery over the nine lung and cause the cessation of the coarser winds of samsara.As a result, the deluded mind is purified and the practitioner is led to enlightenment.

This retreat is open to students who have any level of familiarity with the Bön teachings. All are warmly invited to attend and to savor the experience of Tsa Lung practice with the support of sangha. 

Also,  the lessons will be recorded and daily sessions will be sent out shortly afterwards.

This sounds interesting:

https://www.inner-craft.com/courses/embodied-zen/

Zen, as a stream of yogic spirituality, is not primarily an intellectual or psychological practice. Rather, it must engage and harness the practitioner’s whole being: the body, breath, subtle energetic system, and mind. Such whole-being practice is in fact, the source of its directness and tremendous power to transform our way of experiencing life. Enlightenment in Zen is not just in the mind: it must penetrate the very fiber of our bodies. To this end, Meido Roshi here instructs more regarding practices of internal energetic cultivation transmitted in the Rinzai Zen lineage. Tanden Soku (the breathing method centered on the navel energy center) is taught in greater detail as a foundation. The Naikan practice of Hakuin – which causes the vital currents of the body to sink downward and gather at the navel center – is instructed. Hara Tanren, practices of forging the energetic center, are introduced, along with the unique Zen way of walking. And to complete the course, suggestions for integrating this crucial energetic dimension of Zen training within daily life are given.

Hi Eduardo,

I also saw that form illustrated in Master Wong's book years ago. That book was also where I first saw Shibashi, which I subsequently searched out and it became one of my favorite sets. I never learned the Waitankung though (couldn't find much information about it back then). It looks like it was developed in 1976 (slightly before Shibashi) by Grandmaster Tuan Haji Ali Chang Chih-Tung and seems to be popular in Malaysia and Singapore.

You can find some information about Waitankung below:

http://waitankung.org/index.php?langsel=eng

https://www.philcheung.com/Wtk/wtk.htm    (links to a YouTube video of the Grandmaster).

There are a lot of videos about it in different languages on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLMWDBhBJRGW3vdn6b6_zNWYI-z6YaESQI

There was once a book about it, but it no longer seems to be available: https://www.amazon.com/Chinese-Waitankung-illustrated-Taoist-Health/dp/B00PKRUROW/

https://daoistgate.com/daoist-conference/

This is a free two-day event on August 7-8, 2021 sponsored by Daoist Gate Wudang Arts.

"The event will feature presentations from esteemed Daoist practitioners on a variety of topics related to the Dao De Jing, including Daoist morning and evening altar scriptures chanting, the earliest precepts of the Nine Practices of the Daoist Way of Life, and the classical Daoist meditation in Daoist practice. Master Zhou will also share his personal journey of becoming a Daoist priest."

There's also an Australian Jesus:

https://www.divinetruth.com/sites/main/en/index.htm#welcome.htm

and of course, the Date Jesus guy:

https://datejesus.com/

1 hour ago, escott said:

@Dainin I've been looking at your practice log. Can you tell me more about your experience with Shibashi? Two years ago I purchased Susan Thompson's Udemy course, Easy 18 Qigong. I never finished it. I think I started to ask myself what the purpose of the movements where and why should I do this? I just didn't see where it was leading. I Susan is an excellent teacher, btw. She faces you and does mirror, so she moves her left while telling you to move your right. That makes learning the movements so much easier.

Hi escott,

I've been practicing the first set of Shibashi (and occasionally the second set) for many years, and it's still among my favorites. I learned it from Sifu Wing Cheung in Ontario. I'm not familiar with the Udemy course that you mention, but I can recommend Sifu Cheung's materials and also those of Fabrice Piche (also from Canada) who studies directly with the creator of the Shibashi system, Grandmaster Lin Housheng.

A nice book on the first set is The Theory and Practice of Taiji Qigong by Chris Jarmey. This gives a lot of detail on aspects such as the breathing, mental focus (at beginning, intermediate and advanced levels), and the health benefits of each movement.

There are 8 sets in the system. Each one has 18 movements. Some of the movements are taken from Yang style Tai Chi. One of the sets is for health issues and one is like a "greatest hits" from the other sets. Unlike learning a traditional Tai Chi form, the individual movements are repeated (usually 6 or 12 times), rather than one flowing into another continuously. The Temple style Tai Chi that Dwai mentioned also has "single form practice" (i.e. repetition of individual Tai Chi movements) as part of their system. I believe that you can view recordings of the weekly Sunday sessions with Master Liao for free.

I've tried many forms of qigong over the years, and Shibashi remains one of my most favorite, and one that I keep going back to.