Just got Gift of Tao I &II

[chenplayer]

So I just got my Gift of the Tao dvd's in the mail (thanks Yamu for all your help). I have never done any qigong before and have been practicing Taiji and some Bagua. I was just wondering if you guys have any tips before I start diving into these dvd's. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated. Thank You all for your time!!!

 

-Rob

[Ish]

All the info is basically on the DVD's so rewatch till it all sinks in.

Also useful to remember Gift of the Tao goes hand in hand with the Stillness Movement system so that's worth looking in to.

 

I too am just getting into the Gift of the Tao 1, going at a snails pace but it gets a bit clearer every time i practice.

 

Best of luck

[Brian]

My recommendation would be to watch all of both DVDs and then focus on just GOT I for a while. I would suggest starting with just the first move of GOT I and do it until it requires no thought, then add the next move. The third move was a bit of a struggle for me, for some reason, but the next few instantly felt natural. I would add a move or two at a time rather than stumbling through the whole thing. In this way, you will reduce the amount of unlearning you have to do and you will find the moves build on each other energetically so it is a natural progression. Personally, I conclude every session with Salute to Master Wang, even when I was still learning the sequence and even when I intentionally do a partial set.

 

I would also recommend doing approximately equal amounts of GOT and S-M. (When asked whether it was best to do an hour of sitting Stillness-Movement, an hour of standing S-M or an hour of GOT, Ya Mu responded with something along the lines of, "Why not an hour of each?")

 

ALWAYS take the time to do the closing after doing S-M; it only takes a few minutes.

 

It is nice to be outside in nature but even more important (especially at first) is to be in a location without distractions. The mind is a slippery thing and providing it with shiny objects just makes practice more difficult.

 

Oh! Anything I say may be totally wrong so pay attention if I am discounted by Ya Mu or any of his students...

[ChiDragon]

A seeker...

My native source tells me what Still-Movement Chi Kung is. I want to hear one's own words as one understands it. Do you think it is worth your time to go through this information exchange....??? Thanks.

 

What does 'still' really mean in your practicing system....???

[Brian]

A seeker...

My native source tells me what Still-Movement Chi Kung is. I want to hear one's own words as one understands it. Do you think it is worth your time to go through this information exchange....??? Thanks.

 

What does 'still' really mean in your practicing system....???

 

 

I'll try but I know I won't do the topic justice. You really oughta just try it yourself. In any case, though, I suspect you will attempt to validate my reply against your notion of "what it means..."

 

The essence of jingdongong is passive. While gently holding awareness on the dan tien, one allows all else to fade into the background. Thoughts will arise as the brain struggles to maintain control. After time, the thoughts decrease in urgency and in frequency until the next thought is something like, "Hey! I haven't been thinking!" (The brain's a sneaky little bastard...)

 

Anyhow, in conjunction with this growing "stillness," new things begin -- for instance, with me one of the first things I noticed was a sense of simultaneous contraction towards and into the dan tien and expansion away from it in all directions at the same time. An illustration that popped into my head early on was that "waterfall" effect that happens when a pint of Guinness is poured -- a bubbling, rising, sinking, condensing & clarifying. Of course, it is really nothing at all like a pint of Guiness...

 

The state of S-M may include unwilled movements -- vibrations, twitches, "shaking," spasms, swaying, arm movements, etc. I have, for instance, been doing standing S-M and realized that at some point both of my hands had floated away from my sides and out at a 45-degree angle.

 

Often, I will feel "movement" beginning while doing either GOT or Sequential Energy Center Activation, Balancing & Dimensional Expansion. There are several GOT movements which end in a static posture and it is not uncommon for that static condition to be interupted by unwilled movement. For me (so far, anyhow), this is usually in the form of a buffeting or twitching that lasts only a few seconds, and I just let it happen and pick up my practice again once it has passed.

 

During and after S-M, I feel that I have expanded in some fashion (my "energy-body"), and I have the perception of heightened senses (increased sensitivity to my surroundings), and my internal calmness seems to blend into my surroundings, if that makes any sense. I also often have tingling or buzzing sensations, particularly in my arms/hands. I get these same sensations when doing several of the GOT movements when I am patient enough to find that inner calm -- in those cases, it feels that the movements of my arms/hands are through an energetic medium with which I am interacting -- like moving a magnet through an electric field or a conductor through a magnetic field, for instance.

 

It is important to note about S-M is that nothing is "forced" -- nothing is "visualized" -- and one should also keep in mind Master Wang's admonition to be calm, to be a good & moral person, and to practice.

 

Hope this helps!

[chenplayer]

Thank You so much to all of you for the replies!!!!! Seeker thanks for the info about watching both and then sticking to GOT I. I was watching the first dvd and I was very nervous because I did not think I was going to get the whole form down. But now with the suggestions of doing one part and adding more I feel quite relieved.

 

This is all super helpful and I can't really thank you guys and gals, enough. I will be studying over sea's for about a year and I wanted to finally do some qigong instead of lurking at the bums forums. I always felt i really haven't had any thing to contribute, but thanks to all of you I have finally got the courage to start. Hopefully this will help me relax and concentrate on all the studying I am going to be doing.

[chenplayer]

I also forgot to ask is the stillness movement on the dvd's?

[ChiDragon]

A Seeker....

Thank you very much......

[Ya Mu]

The Stillness-Movement and chidragons misinformed viewpoint has already been discussed in the Taoist section. He just posted that so someone would say what it is and he could "correct" them. I like your explanation.

... An illustration that popped into my head early on was that "waterfall" effect that happens when a pint of Guinness is poured -- a bubbling, rising, sinking, condensing & clarifying. Of course, it is really nothing at all like a pint of Guiness...

...

Some very famous and some not so famous horses do Stillness-Movement and some perhaps would agree with you; others would drink you under the table...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5zr134jenuo

and

http://www.irishcentral.com/sport/Horse-legend-Zenyatta-drinks-Guinness---SEE-VIDEO-106675698.html

[寒月 Hanyue]

Lets go backwards

 

I also forgot to ask is the stillness movement on the dvd's?

 

You can't separate GoT and S-M neigong, and you can't separate Yamu and S-M neigong. So yes it is on the dvd's even when it is not

 

So I just got my Gift of the Tao dvd's in the mail (thanks Yamu for all your help). I have never done any qigong before and have been practicing Taiji and some Bagua. I was just wondering if you guys have any tips before I start diving into these dvd's. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated. Thank You all for your time!!!

 

-Rob

 

I still struggle with letting go of preconceptions, but that is learning, peeling away the layers and trying not to attach to new misconceptions. So I have two pieces of advice, feel free to listen or ignore, they may or may not be helpful;

 

1) Empty cup, whatever you want to call it. Yamu's lineage is what it is and isn't what it isn't. You say you haven't done 'qigong' before, so thats good (you're in for a treat).

 

2) There is a real benefit to going through the form with the dvd playing IMVHO. I have been meaning to write of this, as I was blown away by the Got II and SECABD dvd's!! I don't mean trying to follow Yamu like a yoga/pilates dvd . This is different to and mutually beneficial as getting out doors in the BIG SPACE.

 

Best,

Edited July 31, 2012 by snowmonki

[寒月 Hanyue]

The Stillness-Movement and chidragons misinformed viewpoint has already been discussed in the Taoist section. He just posted that so someone would say what it is and he could "correct" them. I like your explanation.

 

Some very famous and some not so famous horses do Stillness-Movement and some perhaps would agree with you; others would drink you under the table...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5zr134jenuo

and

http://www.irishcentral.com/sport/Horse-legend-Zenyatta-drinks-Guinness---SEE-VIDEO-106675698.html

 

Awesome

[ChiDragon]

The Stillness-Movement and chidragons misinformed viewpoint has already been discussed in the Taoist section. He just posted that so someone would say what it is and he could "correct" them. I like your explanation.

 

 

Sorry...!!!

The discussion was never finished due to some prejudicial issues in the Taoist section.

[Ya Mu]

Awesome

My horse prefers Fuller's Porter...

 

chenpalyer,

You have gotten some good advice. On the first DVD there are the full runthroughs on the right side of the menu and on the left side are the movements broken down into groups of 3. This is the best approach; get the first 3 down (one at a time if you like) then go to the next 3 but always do the first 3 as well, then the next 3 but do all the previous ones as well, etc. Some of these moves look mind-boggling (as well as impossible to understand) to someone who just watches the dvds without practicing. But once practiced they become natural feeling and as one recognizes the energetics they feel like "coming home". Then one realizes that they are really simple to do but represent complex energy patterns. That 3rd move (Got I) on the dvd is simply switching Heaven and Earth hands each time; one hand goes to Heaven while the other goes to Earth then opposite hand goes to Heaven and Earth.

Gift of the Tao III now has a new move that will be introduced in Finland!

[Jetsun]

Sorry...!!!

The discussion was never finished due to some prejudicial issues in the Taoist section.

 

Why don't you tell us your understanding of Stillness Movement from your native sources ? I am genuinely interested as at the moment there are only a few sources of information publicly available in English about it so more information is always valuable. I don't practice the system or want to defend it so am not trying to lure you into an argument or anything.

[寒月 Hanyue]

Why don't you tell us your understanding of Stillness Movement from your native sources ? I am genuinely interested as at the moment there are only a few sources of information publicly available in English about it so more information is always valuable. I don't practice the system or want to defend it so am not trying to lure you into an argument or anything.

 

He found a copy of Master Hu's qigong leaflet released by the Chinese government in the 50's. It's. an interesting booklet, but doesn't explain S-M neigong. Though it does briefly outline qigong methods taught by Hu.

 

The best description i've read outside of Yamu's lineage was by the late grandmaster Feng. Bear in mind that it is a lineage system, Master Wang received the lineage but you can't discount the influences of his other teachers, all prominent and influential teachers of cultivation. Master Hu was accomplished in alchemy, his writings however reflect the time period of introducing practices to a wider public audience, I think the terms might be misleading to some qigong people today.

 

It's a great booklet, but like anything with substance needs context from a teacher who knows IMO.

 

Best,

 

Ps. Sorry for short post, sent from smartphone.

[Ya Mu]

Why don't you tell us your understanding of Stillness Movement from your native sources ? I am genuinely interested as at the moment there are only a few sources of information publicly available in English about it so more information is always valuable. I don't practice the system or want to defend it so am not trying to lure you into an argument or anything.

The thread where this was discussed is in the Taoist section. I just briefly looked so as to give you a link but my search gongfu on this forum is not too good.

 

NO ONE who doesn't practice qigong for themselves can have a valid opinion about what it actually is as the experience itself will differ from any type of academia or pre-conceived notions. And this especially applies to Stillness-Movement as what you see is only a surface reflection of what it actually is and any particular thing written about it just can't even come close to describing the actual practice; this includes everything I have written, everything Master Wang has written, and everything Master Hu has written.

 

I can answer questions about Stillness-Movement and always am glad to do so. And indeed have posted here quite a bit. But really the only way to know more about it is to learn and practice it.

[Birch]

""Hey! I haven't been thinking!" (The brain's a sneaky little bastard...)"

 

Hahaha. Yes I got nailed by this one just the other day (it was very blissful though:-))

[Sonhoffman]

Gift of the Tao III now has a new move that will be introduced in Finland!

 

 

Wow! World premiere!

[ChiDragon]

Why don't you tell us your understanding of Stillness Movement from your native sources ? I am genuinely interested as at the moment there are only a few sources of information publicly available in English about it so more information is always valuable. I don't practice the system or want to defend it so am not trying to lure you into an argument or anything.

 

I am glad that you've asked with an open mind. They are some literature that were written by some people with the desirable knowledge, I don't see why that we cannot share it with everybody. For what has been siad, I will continue in my OP thread just for your sake. This is just a matter of discussion with people who are interested even they are not in the practice. BTW I am not selling anything.

 

Please keep in mind, anything that makes sense or not; it doesn't matter who said or wrote it. Our minds are set for absorbing knowledge not to reject; but of course we have to do some filtering. It's worth to look into what someone else has to say; and you'll be the judge of that....

 

I sincerely thank you for opening the door for me to the gate of all wonders. Thanks again.

[thelerner]

NO ONE who doesn't practice qigong for themselves can have a valid opinion about what it actually is as the experience itself will differ from any type of academia or pre-conceived notions.

I'd add you can tell much about a practice by its students. They're not the loudest bunch but the TaoBums who are dedicated practitioners of S-m seem very impressive to me. A couple of them have written about there experiences in their Personal Practice sections.

 

Michael

[gramp]

chenpalyer,

 

In learning the Gift of the Tao dvd's, I found that the following advice from Ya Mu (found at this thread Neigong at the Beach! Stillness-Movement Workshop on Hilton Head, SC - Nov 2012) has helped me.

 

Once a person catches on they see that each move builds on the previous moves and that there is a lot of repetitive movement that is just perceived as differently complex but is really simple. Initially it is not what the mind expects and it is sometimes perceived as very difficult. As these are duplicates of higher vibration energy patterns as seen on other vibrational levels, by letting go of the mind involvement, we discover that these are natural energy patterns that our body/energy body LIKES to do.

 

Another video player that will allow a person to slow down the speed is VLC Media Player. Many times I have found this software useful.

 

I found and downloaded VLC Media Player onto my PC and onto my Mac. Wow! I love this software! Lots of great features. First, it's FREE (no cost). It's open source so you can tinker with it (if you have time and skills).

 

Now, I can slow the playing speed, and play the audio, too! The audio slows down, but keeps the pitch normal. I'm watching and listening to Michael while practicing the moves and the transitions at 50%, or 25%, of normal speed.

 

Then, I practice without the DVD and go as far as I can confidently remember. (And, just re-watch the portions that I wasn't confident.) Sometimes, I'll just practice while listening to the opening song play over and over -- it's about 3minutes and 30 seconds for each play -- so, I'll do one movement per play.

 

By movement 5, my dogs have gotten interested. By movement 10, they've piled up around me, and it's become 'zig-zag through Dog Land' !

 

When I can go through GOT I smoothly (without having to stop and remember how to transition to the next move), I'm going to start learning GOT II ! And attend my first workshop (before the end of the year) !

[Ya Mu]

Good job, gramp. One thing that Michael has mentioned is to "not go past the chi." Once you begin to sense the chi, while moving slowly, within the "chi field," you will be able to keep and build upon that chi development. There is never a need to go as fast as Michael does in the video.

 

Best to you. _/\_

Good point!

Initially, one cannot stay within the qi except at a slow pace. The exercise in GOT II called "Walking in the Qi" illustrates this very well and really does get a person to understand what I mean by "staying within the qi". It applies to ALL walks of life; this fact does become abundantly clear to anyone willing to do the exercise.

 

However, after doing the practices for some time, and this time period depends on several factors, but probably a matter of years for most, we can do them faster and still stay within the qi and still get the benefit. Sometimes I do them at a crawl and sometimes I do them about twice as fast as in the video. Depends on the energetics of the moment in the moment.

[Brian]

As someone who is definitely still crawling, I find slow is good!

 

I'll try to be careful with my wording here but we'll see...

 

The movements in GOT are each cyclical and, as such, I find that I am often using one of my body's own cycles as a metronome of sorts -- the one that most closely matches the pace that feels right is my breathing. I don't concentrate on my breath and I am generally unconscious of it while doing either GOT or S-M, as opposed to other things I practiced in the past. When my awareness notices my breathing, however, I find that my breathing and my movements (in the case of GOT) are almost always in some manner of synchronization.

 

One thing I've noticed is that my inhalation/exhalation are often backwards from martial arts "norm" in relationship to the directions of motion (towards/away, up/down, etc.)

[chenplayer]

Gramp thank you so much for telling me about VLC its been a big help. I just started doing the form and I have been enjoying it so far. Since its the first time doing any sort of qigong I am still stumbling about but loving it any ways! I try to keep my mind clear when I do it and trying to leave my intent on my dantien. I do catch myself looking at my hands when I do the form, I guess its an old habit from my chen practice. I see I have A LOT to work on ( like keeping my tongue placed on top of the roof of my mouth). I will keep with it and will have ample opportunity to practice daily since I am going to grenada for pre-med, so lots of beach practice!!!! Once again thank you all for all the helpful tips and information. I love you guys/girls!!!!!

 

- Rob

[Jedi777]

I just started S M and love it so far. I am getting the DVDs for Christmas

I live in IL near St. Louis MO I hope to learn in person this next year from Master Lomax.

Thanks for this post everyone !