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I have been looking for resources on Soaring Crane and they are hard to find. It was supposedly practiced by 20 million people at one time in China. What happened to it? I have found some teachers online, such as Torben Bremann, but books are basically non-existent. Dr. Pang Ming originally taught Soaring Crane before he developed Zhineng. I started seriously practicing Zhineng over 2 years ago, stopped for a while, then started again. I originally started Zhineng because it was supposed to be safe and effective. My research, including comments here on The Bums, lead me to believe it was one of the best systems. But, I'm just not feeling it. I think I had better results with Master Lam Kam Chuen's Zhan Zhuang and Ba Duan Jin, which I continue to do. But, I'm looking for more moving practices that are coordinated with visualization and breathing. I also practice Mantak Chia's 13 Movement Tai Chi Chi Kung, but I have doubts about his system as a whole, although, I do like some other parts of it. I'm looking for a really good movement system that gets the Qi going to counterbalance my seated meditation practice. Right now in week 3 of 10 of Wim Hof's Fundamentals course. To sum things up, I'm a married householder with school aged kids and limited time looking for an efficient system of practices to cultivate Qi, have a calm focused mind, and ultimately become awakened. So, back to the original question, Is Soaring Crane a good system with an active community? Or, are there other systems my fellow Bums would recommend?

Nearly four years ago, my best friend came across a Daoist master while backpacking across South America. He demonstrated his power by throwing him to the ground without even touching him and even saw a glowing green and blue energy substance emanating from his fingers during evening Tai Chi practice. His stories of this man ignited a flame that has consumed my entire life. After vigorous training and continuous research of the origins, roots and different sects of qigong I finally managed to fly out and train with the legend if a man that ignited my passion in the first place. My life is now completely entwined with the path of the Tao and training to achieve the highest level of power I can achieve in this lifetime. Humans were meant to be so much more than we are today, I hope to rediscover what we once were and be an example of what we can actually become if we dedicate the effort in training and meditation.

Hello All! By way of introduction, l will introduce myself by saying that I am a student of vital force energy, a long time practitioner of a Japanese healing art called Jin Shin Jyutsu, a practitioner of meditation through practice of Tibetan Bon and Chinese Qi Gong. For the past 21 years, I shared my life with my partner who was an accomplished martial artist and someone who had a thirst for knowledge. My partner recently passed away leaving behind a vast library of materials. I have gone through these materials and kept what was relevant to me, but now am tasked with finding new homes for the rest of his collection of books, training DVDs and VHS tapes. He was for a brief time, a distance student of Christopher Lee Matsuo, and I am selling his collection of Dragon Gate training videos at half price or less, depending on how many DVDs you wish to purchase. These DVDs were originally bought for $108 USD each, I am offering them for sale at $54 USD each. I also have PDF lists of books for sale arranged by broad categories of books on: Qi Gong, Chinese Martial Arts (Tai Chi, Chin Na, Bacqua, Kung Fu) and Japanese Martial Arts (Nimpo, Ninjitsu, Karate, Japanese Swordmanship, etc.) and also books on Taoism, Zen and other martial philosophies. There are also training DVDs and VHS tapes on Grappling, Dim Mak, Kuji Kiri and more. There is also an extensive list of Training DVDs featuring various Chinese masters. Suggested prices for books are $10 for 1, $19 for 2, $24 for 3, plus actual postage. I am also open to reasonable offers. Payment can be made via Paypal, or in Canada via E-Transfer or Square. If you are interested in viewing any of these lists, please contact me via email at [email protected] and I will send you a copy of whichever list(s) you wish to see. The information contained in these materials needs to be shared with those who will value the information, not stored in a box in someone's basement! Thank you!

Hello Bums, with my most recent discoveries about the focus of Mao Shan energy practices, I have thought about the idea of any teaching or practice being either a water or a fire path. I know that some practices are labeled as a "water path" or a "fire path." I, myself have used the designation of my practice being a "water" path for years. And I still like the characterisation of it being a water path. It gives the feeling of cool, peaceful, natural, flowing, feminine, etc... My thoughts about this designation have changed lately based on my most recent discoveries about the path I practice. I read on this forum a comment that I agree with which is that the whole idea of "water vs fire path" is a modern distinction. I think this is probably true. I think the most relevant practice would be in regards to the direction of energy flow of the Microcosmic orbit meditation. Fire path- being up the back and down the front and water path- being up the front and down the back. But even with that difference, I think designating one path water and the other fire is just a way to explain the different flow of energy not really about the nature of the energy itself. I would say that, in my opinion, based on my experience and based on what I know now about the goal of Mao Shan energy practices, that Mao Shan practices are definitely FIRE. But that does not take away from its distinction from other, more traditional Taoist energy practices. As I recently posted in my latest thread, I discovered after 30 years of practice in a Mao Shan internal martial art, that the techniques of the Mao Shan martial arts as well as the meditations, qigong and neigong were specifically designed to stimulate the pericardium meridian. And it did so in ways that you do not find in other, more well known Taoist energy practices. The pericardium meridian is actually an energy center in its own right. It is referred to in TCM as "The Emperor's Bodyguard." In fact, the Emperors' Bodyguard is considered to be an entity in and of itself. It is designated as being FIRE element, Lightning energy and feminine. It would be accurate to classify the pericardium meridian energy as a goddess. She is the lightning power that encases the Shen ( soul) and protects it from the harshness of 3 dimensional reality. It is the pericardium meridian that acts as an energetic shield to protect the heart from emotional and spiritual attack. I read about a very accomplished TCM professional who could tell just by feeling the pulse if someone had gone through a divorce. He said he could feel it as a wound in the pericardium meridian's energy shield around the heart. So, in that sense, the Mao Shan energy can be said to be different from other "traditional" Taoist energy as being more associated with the Feminine whereas more traditional Taoist energy could be referred to as Masculine. So I would say that since we are dealing with Qi energy, we are talking about Fire. But is the Fire Masculine or Feminine? Since we associate Water with feminine and Fire as masculine, it is understandable that anyone who is familiar with both Mao Shan and other Taoist traditions would feel inclined to associate one with Fire and the other with Water. So, for me, I will no longer call the Mao Shan practices a Water path. I will call it a Feminine path. Similar to the Vedic idea of a "Shakti" path. Shakti is the feminine path of energy practice and worship in Yogic traditions. Shakti is another term for the Kundalini energy. Kundalini is an energy and she is also a goddess and she is also FIRE. I believe this way of describing Shakti energy is a more accurate way of describing the Mao Shan energy practices. But I feel the need to be clear and make the distinction between Kundalini and Mao Shan energy. The energy of the pericardium is NOT Kundalini even though they both are Feminine Fire energies... But the actual nature of Kundalini vs Qi is whole other kettle of fish better saved for another discussion. If I may continue on the comparison of Kundalini Shakti and the Lightning Power of the Pericardium.... It is well known in Vedic/Hindu practices that if one wants real power, one should worship Mother Shakti. But one should also be very respectful of the power She holds. She can be very unpredictable and dangerous. The goddess Kali is a good example. She is the Mother, the complete embodiment of the Feminine. But she is also sometimes (inaccurately) referred to as the goddess of death. She is radical transformation. In paintings of her, one can find Kali dancing on the corpse of Shiva. If one has the idea that masculine is active and the feminine is passive, the representations of Kali and Shiva are powerful reminders of the opposite being true. One might wonder how it is that I practice a martial art that is known for its speed and devastating power and yet it is also closely associated with the feminine. ( my teacher's teacher became known for his martial prowess as a result of worshipping Kwan Yin. He credited his power to her alone).. The Mao Shan practices are also in alignment with the general description of Shakti by the Vedics. The Lightning Goddess, the Bodyguard of the Soul, in my experience, is powerful, quick, merciless and potentially dangerous, but also undoubtedly feminine and healing in nature. If I may continue a bit further... I have discovered that what makes the Mao Shan distinct as a spiritual path is that it is strongly associated with shamanic channeling. Every practice that I have found that is associated with Mao Shan ( whether that is through the sect I learned from or other Mao Shan practices from other lineages), is strongly focused on having the practitioner channel powers and energies. This is what makes Mao Shan a path of magic. There is not so much emphasis on intellectual understanding of the techniques as an instinctual and intuitive connection to the powers associated with them. The Mao Shan pracitioner is taught and encouraged to use shamanic channeling techniques to learn even more meditations and practices. The practitioner is encouraged to deepen their shamanic connections to the deities and spirits to teach them and further understand the practices. In my experience, every person who has learned the Mao Shan martial tradition who showed any promise started to create their own forms, practices and meditations. Every person with any natural inclination also started discovering their own "supernatural powers" such as healing, divination, magic, etc... I have never seen this to the same degree in any other art I have researched. One day a Tai Chi master came to visit our Mao Shan martial arts class. My teacher was showing him the Water form. The visitor paused and closed his eyes and swayed back and forth and my teacher asked him, "What are you doing?" He replied, "I'm searching for the water so I can better understand what you are showing me." My teacher said, "Don't waste your time searching for the water, just BECOME water." And then he delivered a palm strike to his chest. "Feel that?" "Yes."... "That's water. I didn't have to summon it. I just became water... Now try again. This time, just become water and don't think about it." The great grandmaster was a Mao Shan sorcerer who also was a well respected martial artist. And after my 30 years of practicing this art, I found the likely method of how he created these "Mao Shan Kung Fu Forms" that I had taken for granted. As a young man he, like many other young men from Southern China in the early 20th century learned Hakka Style Shao Lin Kung Fu. After learning Mao Shan magic, ritual and nei gong, he then learned how to channel energy from the ascended masters. The Kung Fu Forms he developed looked very similar to other Hakka style Shan Lin forms, but there was an extremely powerful energy to them that set his forms and martial arts apart from the rest of the Shao Lin Kung Fu of his time.... His forms LOOKED like other Shan Lin forms but the energy came from the Mao Shan focus on the pericardium meridian and had a very different feel and devastating effect. The way it was described to me by someone who knew the grandmaster, was that, "The Forms were Shao Lin, but the Magic was Mao Shan." After reverse engineering the Mao Shan Kung Fu forms for 30 years, I now see that what makes the Mao Shan Kung Fu different is that the techniques are solely focused on stimulating and releasing the energy in the pericardium meridian. But these techniques are hidden within what looks like traditional Hakka style Shao Lin Kung Fu forms. I believe that it is possible that the great grandmaster may not have had any intellectual understanding of the technique of the forms. But being the proficient Mao Shan sorcerer that he was, he simply channeled the ascended Kung Fu masters who taught him forms that stimulated the Lightning energy of the pericardium meridian and released the power of the Feminine. The powerful, devastating energy similar to the Shakti of Kali Ma... There are other things about the magic of the forms but I will keep those secret for the time being Thanks for letting me ramble. I think about this stuff a lot and it helps me to unpack this info somewhere where it might be understood and appreciated... Let me know what you guys think...

I've been waiting for a group like this to show up, and I have a really good feeling about this forum. It seems to be a place with people who know what they are talking about, and treat each other with respect. I am studying Herbal Medicine and Vitalism (the body's ability to heal itself) and I've come to see things as roads we find or make, for us to walk on. All Paths lead to one destination, but will we have the energy to reach that destination by ourselves? Hardly. Again, there are several ways to overcome this, and one of those is by combining the paths, use several and let them strengthen each other. Over time, understanding for one subject comes effortless, fueled by the knowledge amassed by the other paths. None of the paths I walked better than other people in the beginning, but the secret was that I was walking several, and was average in all of them. One day, the growth shoots up exponentially all of a sudden. It's Spring, and Winter's hard work proves itself to be fruitful. There is one more thing that I learned. It's that I learn faster by asking for advice and teaching from people who have spent way more time than me on a subject. And that is why I am here. To quietly observe a new community that I've never had a chance to be part of even though I would have like to, but couldn't due to circumstances, and to exchange however much knowledge I can, then go back to my Hermit-Mode and assimilate, so to say. I've searched far and wide until I found an Art that I liked and that suited me. I have discovered Zhan Zhuang a few years ago, and knew it was what I was looking for. But it's only now that I felt ready to seriously practice it, and so, I am a total beginner, but an adept learner at Zhan Zhuang and Qi Gong. I have some decent knowledge in theory, and I have good instincts, but I also have a lot of questions and observations from my experience so far, and I'd love to talk about them and discuss them here. I should mention that I am also dabbling in Dao and Acupuncture/Reflexology, and I'm rather good at Graphology. That's because, as I said, if I'm stuck somewhere, I won't waste too much time and hop onto another path. Then when I come back later with a refreshed mind, I might find that I've already overcome the hurdle through another path that gave me the exact answer that I needed.. Anyway, if you are interested, please hit me up!

Hello to all sifus Just started to learn the bone marrow cleansing form of qigong and trying to understand how many total forms are there to practice and which are considered to be important to practice? My intention is to first build up my qi in dantian, then learn to distribute it equally around my body. Would appreciate if anyone can provide a list with the name and purpose of each form as well.

I read something a few years ago that gave me an idea for a Wuxia drama. Chinese emperors often referred to themselves as the "lonely man" (guaren, 寡人; sometimes rendered as gujia guaren, 孤家寡人), i.e. "it's lonely at the top". "The Lonely Man" would be a great title for an undefeated martial artist, one who reigns supreme over a fighting competition for so long he is bestowed the title. The story would revolve around other martial artists competing in order to move up the ranks and finally face him in the hopes of taking the title for themselves. Thoughts?

Hi there, I lately discover Qigong and practicing Wim Hof Method I found the join very well together. I started on October a classroom training, but after few days it was stopped due the pandemic. So, I looked for an online course and watched the fundamental course of Lee Holden and liked a lot. Now I would like to go deep and I'm thinking if buying it's online course or look for someone different and would like your opinion. I found these and I will appreciate if someone that has followed them could tell me their opinion: -Lee Holden -White tiger -Lotus neigong -Videos of dr yang jwing-ming If you have other suggestion I will have a look.

As the title says, my main interest is mindful movement. The practice of melding the body and the mind. I’m a longtime yoga practitioner but would like to learn more about other mind/body forms of practice. Of course practice makes permanent a yoga teacher once to me. I need to move to bring calm and clarity to my mind.

Hi all, hope someone can help me. I have bipolar one disorder, so I'm VERY open to energy and if I don't sleep this can lead to issues. I'm sleeping fine bar one occasion 2 weeks ago - I tried storing my sexual energy for 6 days, sleep got progressively worse as I went on, by day 6 I was getting around 1.5 hrs light sleep. So I gave up, and released the old fashioned way. So, I'm looking to try again. Do I need to move the energy around my body? Should I do qigong before bed? I'd prefer to just do meditation if possible, but nothing from Mantak Chia as he's a bit out of my range energy wise. Any advice would be much appreciated.

I've been practicing martial arts for about 30 years off and on and recently decided to put everything else on hold and focus on energy -- namely, cultivation, storing and utilizing qi. When I heard about this forum, I thought it would be a great place to find out what has worked for others. It's a long, lonely road and I figured that perhaps others may have stumbled upon ways to expedite the journey or somehow get more "bang for your qigong buck!" Through this forum, I'm hoping to get some new ideas and perspectives on energy work, make new friends and perhaps meet a few masters!

Hello everyone, First, I want to say thank you. I have been reading through many forums trying to deepen my understanding and have benefited greatly from the conversations many of you have had within the different topics of the forum. Even though I have benefitted greatly I still have a lot to learn which is why I am now writing this post in order to ask for advice. As a background, I am a 26-year-old male from Ontario, Canada. My lifestyle hasn't always been the healthiest, but of late it has become healthier, though since getting a puppy it does make it difficult for me to leave the home outside of work for prolonged periods of time. At least that is the case for now. This makes it hard for me to pursue the idea of finding a master/teacher to study under. I am not even sure if there is a master from a good lineage near me and honestly I am not exactly sure how to go about finding that out. That being said I don't wish to just be waiting around. I want to start building a foundation now so that, karma willing, when I do find a teacher I will be in a place where they can begin to teach me. Thanks to Earl Grey I was pointed in the direction of Flying Phoenix, which seems like a perfect fit at least for now of a complete chi kung practice to follow in order to start building a foundation. I do have a couple of concerns though. Does it matter that I currently can't feel qi (chi)? Will practicing the methods from percentage breathing to forms allow me, over time, to start to feel qi and cultivate it to the basic level of mastery for Flying Phoenix? My next concern is about flexibility. Honestly, other than my spine, the rest of my body is quite inflexible. What should I do to increase my flexibility? I know that some of the poses in the FP (Flying Phoenix) meditations insist on them being done in half-lotus, however currently as I said my body is quite inflexible. What kind of recommendations would you give in order to increase one's flexibility? Are there certain poses that you have found which really help to release the body? I have a few books on increasing one's flexibility I have been starting to follow. I just wanted to know if any of you had insights gained through experience that you would be willing to share. Thirdly, foundation building is an important aspect of martial arts. So much so that I am told that the internal arts usually aren't given to the students for years until they have built the proper foundations within their bodies for their bodies to be able to endure those arts. My third question is what kind of exercises, forms, weight training should I do in order to get my body into a healthier and more optimal state? Are there certain exercises/forms/poses that I should be practicing? Finally, I have a question about the mind. Only building a foundation within my body will create an imbalance between my body and mind. I also wish to strengthen my mind. As such, I plan on reading 'Secret of the Golden Flower', the first five books by Carlos Castaneda and 'Tibetan Yoga and Secret Doctrines' by W.Y. Evans-Wentz. I am wondering if there are any other resources that you would recommend I read as well. I understand that everyone leads busy lives and perhaps doesn't have much time to sit down and respond to each of my questions, or any of my questions for that matter. However, I would be grateful for any wisdom and insight which you would be willing to impart. Thank you for taking the time to read this and I hope to hear back from you soon.

Hello I am curious if anyone knows any good methods to loosen tight facial muscles specifically the eyebrows, and under the eyes. I sometimes have an issue where my right eye will become somewhat asymmetrical and I got the insight last night that it was due to my right eyebrow being too tense sometimes. which I never noticed but I can now obviously feel, like it's trying to compensate. I also got the insight that if I could get it all to relax and loosen up it might also fix my strange vision problem. So I'm going to attempt it. I've heard of the bates method, but I was wondering if there were TCM or Qigong specific methods or massages for it. Side note I developed a strange vision problem a few years ago where my eyes are still 20/20 and stumped the western specialists but they are slow to focus is all they could come up with, which makes artificial lighting and screens looks semi blurred and hard to read text. This all started 5 years ago when I started smoking Cannabis again and would look at tv screens for long periods playing video games. Also when I do smoke a good amount it sometimes makes the problem extremely noticeable. It also amplifies my ability to feel chi greatly since I started practicing as well, weird trade off. Thanks for the help or ideas.

Curious if anyone is family with this sexual qigong technique in Ken Cohens book "the way of qigong". The book states whilst standing in qigong stance with palms open on inner thighs, inhale clench fists raising palms to naval region whilst whilst trying to raise testicles upwards and inwards... My question is do you have to clench the perineum, I've found clenching the perineum or pulling the abdomen slightly inwards raises the testes.. The book doesn't elaborate.. Any feedback appreciated.. Dan

Hello my name is Michael, I'm 43 years old, from and living in Chicago. I'm glad to have found this website and hope to be able to both contribute as well as be able to find what information I am looking for as it relates to finding a teacher and more information about getting started the right way with Mo Pai Nei Kung.

Greetings everyone. I am an experienced tcm practitioner here are some pictures of my herb garage: https://imgur.com/a/3M8MVCR And that is only a fraction of what I have in storage. I have tested almost 300 herbs in my body at this point. Not including mineral substances. I used tcm and herbs to completely occur extreme anxiety and psychosis that was ruining my life for years. Through this herbal journey I have become very very in tune with how different substances affect my body. At this point I can ingest herbs outside of the Chinese pharmacopoeia and with decent confidence say what their classical categorization would have been. The reason I am joining this forum is I want to add qi gong to my daily practice to enhance the energy manipulation I am achieving with herbs. Primarily I want to enhance kidney yin as that is the main deficiency I suffer from. Any classic routines for the enhancement of kidney yin?

I started Spring Forest Qi Gong last night. I am now getting a buzzing feeling in my forehead (third eye area). It's happening even when I'm not practicing. Although seems to disperse when I'm moving. It doesn't feel dangerous, but I could imagine increased intensity leading to headaches. I'm wondering if this might be alarming if my LDT is not developed? Note, I assume I have (many) blockages in my system. I have fairly bad allergies/skin issues, a janky neck, minor other joint issues, etc. Thank you for your insight!

Does anyone practice calligraphy as cultivation or have more information about it? I came across the following book description which some of you might find interesting:

Discussion about the meaning and importance of emotional regulation in preserving good health and being a competent internal training practitioner. There are a few ways to formulate the seven emotions in terms of Classical Chinese Medicine so here are two good sources giving slightly different points of view. Please note that this is an issue of translation and interpretation: the basic theory connecting to the five element transformations and the respective organ systems is not changed. What Are The Seven Emotions? Suwen (The Book of Plain Questions) says "The five yin-organs of the human body produce five kinds of essential qi, which bring forth joy, anger, grief, worry, and fear." TCM also believes that certain organs are related to emotional activities, i.e. the heart is related to joy, the liver to anger, the spleen to pensiveness, the lungs to anxiety and the kidneys to fear. The emotions are considered the major internal causes of disease in TCM. Emotional activity is seen as a normal, internal, physiological response to stimuli from the external environment. Within normal limits, emotions cause no disease or weakness in the body. However, when emotions become so powerful that they become uncontrollable and overwhelm or possess a person, then they can cause serious injury to the internal organs and open the door to disease. It is not the intensity as much as the prolonged duration or an extreme emotion, which causes damage. While Western physicians tend to stress the psychological aspects of psychosomatic ailments, the pathological damage to the internal organs is very real indeed and is of primary concern of the TCM practitioner. Excess emotional activity causes severe yin-yang energy imbalances, wild aberrations in the flow of blood, qi (vital energy) blockages in the meridians and impairment of vital organ functions. Once physical damage has begun, it is insufficient to eliminate the offending emotion to affect a cure; the prolonged emotional stress will require physical action as well. The emotions represent different human reactions to certain stimuli and do not cause disease under normal conditions. 喜 Joy "When one is excessively joyful, the spirit scatters and can no longer be stored," states the Lingshu (The Vital Axis). However, in TCM, joy refers to a states of agitation or overexcitement, rather than the more passive notion of deep contentment. The organ most affected is the heart. Over-stimulation can lead to problems of heart fire connected with such symptoms as feelings of agitation, insomnia and palpitations. 怒 Anger Anger, as described by TCM, covers the full range of associated emotions including resentment, irritability, and frustration. An excess of rich blood makes one prone to anger. Anger will thus affect the liver, resulting in stagnation of liver qi (vital energy). This can lead to liver energy rising to the head, resulting in headaches, dizziness, and other symptoms. In the long run it can result in high blood pressure and can cause problems with the stomach and the spleen. It is commonly observed that ruddy, "full-blooded" people with flushed faces are more prone than others to sudden fits of rage at the slightest provocation. 憂 Anxiety "When one feels anxiety, the qi (vital energy) is blocked and does not move." Anxiety injures the lungs, which control qi (vital energy) through breathing. Common symptoms of extreme anxiety are retention of breath, shallow, and irregular breathing. The shortage of breath experienced during periods of anxiety is common to everyone. Anxiety also injures the lungs' coupled organ, the large intestine. For example, over-anxious people are prone to ulcerative colitis. 思 Pensiveness In TCM, pensiveness or concentration is considered to be the result of thinking too much or excessive mental and intellectual stimulation. Any activity that involves a lot of mental effort will run the risk of causing disharmony. The organ most directly at risk is the spleen. This can lead to a deficiency of spleen qi (vital energy), in turn causing worry and resulting in fatigue, lethargy, and inability to concentrate. 悲 Grief The lungs are more directly involved with this emotion. A normal and healthy expression of grief can be expressed as sobbing that originates in the depths of the lungs - deep breathes and the expulsion of air with the sob. However, grief that remains unresolved and becomes chronic can create disharmony in the lungs, weakening the lung qi (vital energy). This in turn can interfere with the lung's function of circulating qi (vital energy) around the body. 恐 Fear Fear is a normal and adaptive human emotion. But when it becomes chronic and when the perceived cause of the fear cannot be directly addressed, then this is likely to lead to disharmony. The organs most at risk are the kidneys. In cases of extreme fright, the kidney's ability to hold qi (vital energy) may be impaired leading to involuntary urination. This can be a particular problem with children. 驚 Fright Fright is another emotion not specifically related to only one organ. It is distinguished from fear by its sudden, unexpected nature. Fright primarily affects the heart, especially in the initial stages, but if it persists for some time, it becomes conscious fear and moves to the kidneys. Adapted and slightly edited from: http://www.shen-nong.com/eng/principles/sevenemotions.html The Seven Emotions and Qigong The seven human emotions, i.e. joy, anger, worry, anxiety, sorrow, fear, and terror are normal phenomena of life activities which do not induce diseases under normal circumstances. However, abnormal fluctuations in the “seven emotions” may directly affect he functions of the viscera, disturb the circulation of blood and Qi, and thus cause diseases. Being affected by these emotions, the exerciser of Health Qigong will not be able to enter a peaceful and calm state free of distracting thoughts. And the results of the exercise will be naturally affected. It is believed in theories of the traditional Chinese medicine that: “Anger impairs the liver, joy impairs the heart, worry impairs the spleen, sorrow impairs the lungs, and terror impairs the kidneys.” Yellow Emperor’s Classic of Internal Medicine: Su Wen: Ju Tong Lun says: “Rage drives Qi upward, overjoy slackens Qi, excessive sorrow consumes Qi, terror collapses Qi, …… and anxiety causes Qi stagnation”. All of these have indicated that the excessive and over-excited “seven emotions” will impair the mental and physical health of man to certain extents. Joy is an embodiment of the happy and delighted mind. Yellow Emperor’s Classic of Internal Medicine: Su Wen: Ju Tong Lun says: “Joy will harmonize Qi and facilitate both nutrient and defensive Qi.” But over-joy will impair the cardiac Qi, just as Yellow Emperor’s Classic of Internal Medicine: Ling Shu: Ben Shen says: “The spirit should be hidden and kept from being lost during joy”, indicating that excessive joy will impair the mind. The heart is the core, commander, and grand master of all the five Zang viscera. It is the key to the health of the body. By practicing Health Qigong, we can regulate the blood-pumping function of the heart and enrich cardiac Qi. Anger is an embodiment of agitated emotion of man. People get angry and furious when they are discontent and unsatisfied. Generally speaking, proper expression of emotions is important for maintaining the physiological equilibrium of the human body. But persistent rage, fury, and gloominess will cause negative effects on the organism. Gloominess impairs the liver and upheaves liver Qi. Blood will ascend with the upward invasion of liver Qi, congesting the brain and causing discomfort of the body. This will lead to headaches, cerebral distension, hypochondriac pains, chest distress, dry eye syndrome, and even critical symptoms such as faint, hematemesis, and shock. Yellow Emperor’s Classic of Internal Medicine: Su Wen: Ju Tong Lun says: “All diseases originate from Qi…… Anger will cause adverse rising of Qi and even hematemesis or diarrhea”. Yellow Emperor’s Classic of Internal Medicine: Su Wen: Sheng Qi Tong Tian Lun says: “Excessive anger leads to segregation of QI from the configuration; and blood stagnating in the upper part of the body will cause raged syncope.” The liver controls dispersion and blood storage. It facilitates the functional activities of Qi throughout the body, keeps unobstructed circulation of Qi in the channels of all viscera, stores blood, transports blood, and regulates and controls the blood supply for various parts of the body. Worry means something or someone that causes anxiety. Excessive worries will have negative effects on the organism, impede the movements of Qi, and cause Qi stagnation. It is believed in traditional Chinese medicine that: “anxiety causes Qi stagnation”. It was said in ancient times that: “When the shape is not straight, Qi will not move smoothly. When Qi does not move smoothly, the mind will not be at ease. When the mind is not at ease, spirit will be scattered”, indicating that obstructed circulation of Qi has a direct influence on the spirit of man. Excessive worries will lead to obscure complexion in the spleen and stomach, dyspepsia, insomnia and dreaminess, dizziness, and many other symptoms. Sorrow (depression) is the embodiment of sadness and depression. Excessive sorrow will impair the pulmonary Qi and cause short breath, just as Yellow Emperor’s Classic of Internal Medicine: Ling Shu: Ben Shen says: “sorrow will block Qi and hamper its circulation” and “deficient pulmonary Qi will cause nasal obstruction and asthenia Qi”. Fear (terror) is the embodiment of apprehensive and fright. Excessive terror will impair the kidneys and cause chaotic Qi in the viscera. Yellow Emperor’s Classic of Internal Medicine: Su Wen: Ju Tong Lun says: “Terror collapses Qi……Terror disorders Qi”. To sum up, all “seven emotions” have important connections with the internal organs of the human body. The “seven emotions” are normal emotional signs of man and do not induce diseases under normal circumstances. And they actually play an important role in maintaining the normal physiological functions of the human body. But over-excitation which exceeds the normal range of regulation of the human body will result in diseases. Exercises of Health Qigong are mainly featured by: Body regulation, breath regulation, and mind regulation. Body regulation is the basis for breath regulation and mind regulation, while mind regulation is the core of the “Three Regulations”. It provides good regulating effects on all the viscera. Therefore the “Three Regulations” have very good influencing, regulating, and controlling effects on the mental state and temperament of man. And the emotional changes of the “seven emotions” will in turn influence the results of Health Qigong exercise. Therefore it is of great importance and value to learn the “seven emotions” and maintain a normal state of the “seven emotions” during the practice of Health Qigong. By doing so we can gradually replenish the “three treasures” of body (essence, Qi, and spirit) to achieve sufficient essence, abundant Qi, and complete spirit and thus truly understand the essentials of health preservation, disease prevention, and body-building. Adapted from here (original source isn't available anymore): https://neigong.net/2011/09/26/the-seven-emotions-and-qigong/

Dear friends, I've been lurking around for some time here and wondered if you can help me with this question: I learned the basic Tai Chi Yang Style 24 form in 2017 with a local Chinese teacher. Studied for a year more or less and I've been practicing regularly for 30-40 minutes each day now. I've been curious of Zhang Zhuang and learned the form as well, and started to practice 2-3 weeks ago for 5 minutes so far. I usually do ZZ after doing Tai Chi and haven't noticed any ill effects. Recently I read about Fragrant Qigong and it resonated a lot, specially as a way to treat certain health ailments I'm having (sleep quality, digestive issues and muscular tension) that haven't improved noticeably with my Tai Chi practice. So I was wondering if it is advisable to combine the three of them (Tai Chi, ZZ and FQ) or not. I'm aware that you should not mix powerful QG practices because they can cause more problems than good. But having into account that ZZ is viewed as a "neutral" practice in terms of Qi generation and movement and Tai Chi is more oriented towards achieving flexibility, centering and balance, could FQ complement my routine? The plan is to practice for one hour in total every day, or a bit more if time allows. Your comments and thoughts are most welcome. Thanks a lot.

Hi everyone, this is my first post here. I want to share a very interesting book that I read recently. It's called China's Super Psychics, written by Paul Dong. Not sure whether you guys have heard of it or not. The author is a Qigong master himself, in this book he tells some really interesting stories about the Qigong fever in China in the 1980s. In one chapter, he even introduces a way to open "heavenly eyes", he says most people can achieve this with 4 months' practice. I'm impressed by one of the conclusions in the book, ie. Qigong practice has a strong relation to ESP abilities. The healing power of Qi is also real. He also mentions "bi gu" (Chinese fasting), it's basically an advanced form of Qigong. Basically, human beings can survive on Qi by practicing Qigong. I know some theories in Daoism also prove this. I'm still learning about these subjects and doing some research in my free time. Btw, I find this website has some instructional books on Qigong that seem legit. Also, here's an interesting released document on Qigong. I'm very happy to find this great forum. Hope to make some friends here!

Hello all, I am Adrian, 48, (male) Auckland NZ. I've had a long association and interest in Daoist texts and philosophy after my aunt left the Dao te Ching in my house when I was a kid and I found it had a very strong feeling of familiarity and complete 'rightness' for me. I bumped into the Mo Pai thing with the Magus of Java text a few years ago about Jonny Chang, got interested, contacted Jim (now passed) and practiced it for about a year. I think I may have done myself some harm doing this without close supervision - but I stopped because I felt I was doing it from the wrong motivations anyway. In any case then I read a few of Shifu Lin's short works on Mo Pai and Sexual Alchemy. All this makes sense to me but I think I need to find a legit teacher to at least have some more conversations with as I'm not sure I'm ready or have time for hard core Mo Pai life commitment! Also I have a sense of uncertainty about Shifu Lin as some older threads on this site bear out. So does anyone have any advice for me about where to start a conversation with an experienced Daoist practitioner, not necessarily Mo Pai or even Nei Kung, ideally anyone NZ/Auckland based but with reasonable english!! I'm not much of a fan of just doing mysterious unexplained practices AKA "jacket on, jacket off"! Cheers, Adrian

Hello! I've been involved in quite intense practice of spirituality aiming towards nondual realization for the last couple of years (meditation, trying to maintain "witness consciousness" as much as possible etc). On this path, I also stumbled on repressed emotions, energetic blockages, bodily contractions etc, and am currently experiencing quite intense and "restless" energy my body most of the time. For these reasons, I've also gotten involved in both different kinds of psychological work, as well as energy work. The energy work part of this path is primarily why I'm here. I've done different kinds of energy work (e.g. tai chi, reiki, different forms of qi gong) in the past, and in general not had much benefit or even effect from most of them. Quite recently I did some kundalini yoga (mostly Sat Kriya daily), and at least this seemed to have a bit more effect than most of the others. One of the possible effects was that I seemed to develop a back pain. Eventually I felt that that probably wasn't the ideal practice for me, perhaps too forceful or otherwise not the best fit currently. I stumbled upon a criticism of kundalini yoga from a qi gong perspective, where it was claimed that K.Y. focuses too much on raising the energy, whereas including also downwards movement would be beneficial to many, as is the case with most qi gong, e.g. with the "microcosmic orbit". This felt intuitively like it might be useful for me, so I started to look into qi gong again a bit more. After random connections, I ended up finding a thread here that recommended Flying Phoenix qi gong, and then got the first DVDs. So, long story short, I've now started practicing the Flying Phoenix qi gong from the first DVD as a kind of supplemental / adjunct part of my general nonduality path. The DVD leaves some things unclear (e.g. what kind of short daily practice routine would be recommended for 10-20 min per day), so first thing I want to do is to start reading the apparently massive thread (which I saw mentioned at TaichiMania website) at: http://www.thedaobums.com/topic/12639-flying-phoenix-chi-kung/?hl= flying phoenix chi kung Probably in the beginning I won't be posting very much, as I assume that most of my questions have probably already been asked and answered in that thread...

Hello, Dao Bums! I would like to know if anyone can recommend a specialist or practitioner of Traditional Chinese medicine able to help with Qigong deviations, ideally someone in Central Florida or not far from it. The person in question is a Chinese female in her mid-50s with no previous history of mental illness. She learned qigong on her own without a teacher, and began forcefully and obsessively directing Qi into her head in an effort to develop psychic abilities. I believe she also mixed in Maya Fiennes' Kundalini Yoga videos. After many months or perhaps a year of this, she had the first of several psychotic episodes, and began hallucinating a voice. During these episodes, her body became very hot, rigid, and her skin very flushed, and she would make rapid jerking or shaking motions. Her behavior has been stable over a year, but she still hears the voice constantly, and says she feels 'bad Qi' moving around in the left side of her head. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Hi everyone This is my welcome post and I thought I would initiate a discussion about something I have been interested recently. Do you know any specific schools (UK), or Qigong systems which allows you to do Qi transmission in order to heal others. I have a background in Chinese Medicine, hence in my understanding that is partially whats happening during Acupuncture or massage, etc. However I am looking for a system which is more specialized in using such a healing method. In regards to my experience I mostly practice Yang style TaijiQuan and TaijiJian with some Qigong exercises on the side. Thanks