Trunk

YO KEITH SAY, WHAT BLOOMS IN FEBRUARY IN SO .CALIFFORNIA?

The kumquats on my bushes are finally ripening. The fruits were in the green stage for some months, now, due to funny So.Cal. weather. Just ate the first few.

There was more qi in a single kumquat, grown here in my yard, than in everything put together that i've eaten over the last three days. :shock:

Its part of the Six Yogas of Naropa system. Reference "Tsongkhapa's Six...". The pre-requisites are extensive, the skill level is very far along.

Thanks guys, I love that site.

Is that guy in the squats the yodster?  Who's the babe - Mrs. Yoda?

This is Yoda relaxing afterwards:

Re-opened AlchemicalTaoism.com today, including re-compile of download version.

Thanks to Sean, for his prostrations graphic in the squats section. Also, thanks to Yoda for airborne lunges (including pics).

Most recent essay: Dealing with the Force.

cheers,

Trunk

WHO'S ON FIRST - NEXT GENERATION

George: Condi! Nice to see you. What's happening?

Condi: Sir, I have the report here about the new leader of China.

George: Great. Lay it on me.

Condi: Hu is the new leader of China.

George: That's what I want to know.

Condi: That's what I'm telling you.

George: That's what I'm asking you. Who is the new leader of China?

Condi: Yes.

George: I mean the fellow's name.

Condi: Hu.

George: The guy in China.

Condi: Hu.

George: The new leader of China.

Condi: Hu.

George: The main man in China!

Condi: Hu is leading China.

George: Now whaddya' asking me for?

Condi: I'm telling you, Hu is leading China.

George: Well, I'm asking you. Who is leading China?

Condi: That's the man's name.

George: That's who's name?

Condi:& nbsp; Yes.

George: Will you, or will you not, tell me the name of the new leader of China?

Condi: Yes, sir.

George: Yassir? Yassir Arafat is in China? I thought he's dead in the Middle East.

Condi: That's correct.

George: Then who is in China?

Condi: Yes, sir.

George: Yassir is in China?

Condi: No, sir.

George: Then who is?

Condi: Yes, sir.

George: Yassir?

Condi: No, sir.

George: Look Condi. I need to know the name of the new leader of China. Get me the Secretary General of the U.N. on the phone.

Condi: Kofi?

George: No, thanks.

Condi: You want Kofi?

George: No.

Condi: You don't want Kofi.

George: No But now that you mention it, I could use a glass of milk. And then get me the U.N.

Condi: Yes, sir.

George: Not Yassir! The guy at the U.N.

Condi: Kofi?

George: Milk! Will you please make the call?

Condi: And call who?

George: Who is the guy at the U.N?

Condi: Hu is the guy in China.

George: Will you stay out of China?!

Condi: Yes, sir.

George: And stay out of the Middle East! Just get me the guy at the U.N.

Condi: Kofi.

George: All right! With cream and two sugars. Now get on the phone.

Or maybe keep it, and just do them one handed.   From what I heard on dragondoor, adjustable KBs never quite capture the same feel but they work for swings along with dumbells.

I just went and tried my KettleGrip one-handed, then my KB one-handed. The KB felt better. Gonna return the KG.

Also, the one pood DD KB handles aren't huge either, but I can get all my fingers around it for two hand swings,

Good to know.

I received my KettleGrip from IronCompany.com yesterday, and i'm not satisfied. The handle opening is a little narrower than a standard kb, so its a little cramped to get both hands (really, just 3 fingers of each hand - which is how its done w/ the standard kb, - still cramped at that) in for the two-handed swing. dang! Now i've got to mail it back, get a refund.

I'm going to look around some more and see if i can find a kb handle that i like better. www.KettleStack.com is next on my list.

Sean,

Read most of it, scanned through some of it.

Exploring the pauses, at the apex of exhale and/or inhale - is a classic method. Key is to relax into it.

Cool post.

Keith

..your avatar in? very nice!!!

Yeah, 2nd that, looks good!

Haven't been finding my kettlebells that fascinating anymore.

I just started with kb's, and have been doing swings. Unusual thingies.

I noticed how much swings tap into basic fucking force & motion. The hips, buttocks, really drive the swing, - and the back and arms pretty much go for the ride (they do get some exercise, but aren't the engine of swings). It occured to me that kb swings are a useful method in processing residual force from retention.

Just an up-front notice of any amazon links that i post with the affiliate link of "alchemicaltaoism", the %$ goes to the UN World Food Programme. Check gets sent there directly (not that its been hardly any $ in the years that my site was up). Consider this my blanket notification re: that affiliate $.

And who else would you be referring to but me?

I honestly wasn't keeping track of who was writing on this thread. (and i know that sounds hard to believe.)

- and i hadn't read the whole thread, so i missed your initial acknowledgement of Plato. If you hadn't o' put your silly spin on your reply to me, i coulda said "oops, my bad" - but you had to be a dick about it.

again,

If the bs part could be dropped (or the adversities addressed directly and constructively), there'd be the possibility of productive conversation.

... or is it just me.

Seems like the forum picked up speed today.

I wonder if you could tell me what it says in parenthesis under my first post to Plato?

You could've as easily said that you acknowledged Plato at the end of your first post, but you've gotta make me jump through hoops as part of adversarial bullshit. :shrug: If the bs part could be dropped (or the adversities addressed directly and constructively), there'd be the possibility of productive conversation.

I dunno the answers to any of your queries in that post. Though it does seem that you're trying to do maybe too much at once. Plato would have better Sonnon/Furey comparison than i.

Chris,

a trip to a herbalist in the Toronto Chinatown would be a great idea

Agreed.

While all of Chinese Medicine might be beyond (most of our) scope, i think that a certain limited knowledge of "quick fixes" within your usual area of disharmony is achievable. - if approached in a learn-a-little-at-time basis.

It could be that a tcm dr will prescribe a patent medicine. Then you could look at the book and get a cursory description. Likely that, with the formulas that you are prescribed over time, that they tend to home in on a certain disharmony territory. Then you could - over the next several months - become familiar with 2 or 3 simple digestive formulas that treat your general area. Then you could handle your "general mild standard" stuff ok, and go to the dr when you get beyond that. That's very approachable, achievable, i'd bet.

Just to take a wild shot at this ("cyberspace, never-met-you" disclaimer in effect). With the itching and the bleeding, looks like heat is an issue. With the bloating, looks like stagnation is an issue. (On the slim chance that that'd be correct,) There'd be maybe 1 or 2 or 3 standard herbal digestive patent medicines that cooling and circulating (each for about $1.50 a box in Chinatown). You wouldn't have to know all about the formulas, only that #1 & #2 often help you some, and that #3 really doesn't work for you.

Of course, the prior step would be to see a dr of Ch.Med., and start with his/her recommendation. And use that as a starting pt for user-level study.

Keith

Sounds like a hard-wired configuration that you'll have to adjust for from here on out. (I could be totally wrong - but maybe not; everyone has an achille's heel.)

Chinese herbal medicine has a wide range of digestive formulas, many quite effective - and specific to etiologies. The patent medicines (excellent user's-guide book link) are pretty effective for this sort of thing, and very inexpensive. As my 1st sentence implies, unlikely to "cure" you, but likely to help substantially - with minimal $.

Trunk

p.s. The hardcore herbal guides are:

1. Bensky's Materia Medica (single herbs)

2. Formulas & Strategies (putting the herbs together)

.. i think it'd be clear to anyone who 's watched Plato's posts for a while, that by far and away his posts are driven by his avid and sharp R&D sword, and we've all benefited.

those Sonnan drills are great!! Those dorsal pistols are extremely cool.

Yeah, the Sonnon drills really got me started into a whole world of one-legged qi gong movement. Its difficult to describe in text, and i haven't seen any good pics of what i'm doing any where on the web, yet. Basically, you want to keep the kind of integral connectivity that qi gong postures and movement promotes - while exploring all sorts of angles and postures on one leg, slowly, slowly moving around while keeping integrity of form and root.

Those pics have some hint (really just a hint) of the sort of postural styles to explore, but apply the integral-qi-gong-body forms to the more extreme and varied angles of hip and leg in Sonnon's article. - and you really start to get some interesting results!

Its not really a strength-training drill, like pistols are, but a slow qi gong movement exercise that still does tap into the power areas of the body (legs, hips, tan tien, chong channel - 1 leg at a time).

The resulting increase in root, cnxn, blood flow in the legs, hips, and tan tien - have all been very interesting for me. Though, you've already gone really far with your leg work - probably won't be quite as dramatic for you.

T.

A few airbornes a day will eventually lead to pistols! I'm glad you are having fun with them.

Not sure if i ever want to do pistols.

I am having fun with a bunch of one-legged stuff though, starting with..

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/sonnon8.htm

.. and adding qi gong, internal martial, tendon changing, postures to it - going really slowly and exploring various one-legged positioning. Applying the principles (posture, movement, yi, qi) of internal work.

http://www.golem.demon.co.uk/cia.html

There's variety of positioning beyond what Sonnon shows. I'm on the look-out, actually, for a good resource re: one-legged zhang zhuangs and moving work (either online, or other). If anyone knows of any - shoot me a msg.

..barefoot outside as much as possible.

Dig that!

Its been raining here for nearly two weeks straight! Had two days of no rain, now it started again. I'm about to go out and run in the early morning rain right now.

T.