Singing Dragon, Author at Singing Dragon and Handspring Blog

Play the Frog’s Breathtaking Speech Game

Singing DragonApril 24, 2013 0 Comments

Bring the benefits of yoga and yogic breathing techniques into the classroom and the home with this game from Frog’s Breathtaking Speech author Michael Chissick. Based on the book, the game is a fun way to help children to recognise negative emotions and lean how to turn these into positive ones.

Simply download the game board, card set and instructions from these links and with some simple steps you’ll be ready to roar the house down with Lion, shake the walls with the Woodchopper Breath and more.

The game is at its most effective if used with the book, Frog’s Breathtaking Speech – find out more about the book here.

Michael Chissick has been teaching yoga to children in primary mainstream and special needs schools as part of the integrated school day since 1999. He is a primary school teacher as well as a qualified yoga instructor. He is also a specialist in teaching yoga to children with Autism Spectrum Disorders. Michael trains and mentors students who want to teach yoga to children.

A Treatise on Xingyi Quan’s Three Jin 形意拳明暗剛柔三勁論 – By Master C S Tang

Singing DragonMarch 26, 2013 0 Comments

The terms of Xingyi Quan’s three levels of practice—Ming Jin (明勁), An Jin (喑勁), Hua Jin (化勁)—came from Guo Yun Shen and were systematized by Sun Lu Tang, who proposed three levels of practice:

training the Jing to transform into Qi
training the Qi to transform into Shen
training the Shen to return to emptiness.

Initially this theory was a concept without clear differentiation. In Dai family Xingyi Quan, each time one began to train a fist one had to practice it several times with a soft Jin at first and then a few times with a hard Jin before closing the movement. The intention was to practice slowly to begin with, ensuring that the movements were accurate, and to use the Yin energy completely, co-ordinating the movements between hands and feet. Through repeated practice one would collect the Jin in the body, accumulate a ball of Qi and release it with power and sound, with an integrated and explosive force in a single movement. Hebei Xingyi Quan inherited the above method but took a more direct approach, whereby one had to learn the hard Jin at first so that one would achieve power and could apply it quickly. Once one had mastered the fierce and hard way of practice, they would then begin to train the An Jin and Hua Jin.

The practice method of the three Jin is mainly used in the Five Elements Fists. Each fist is practiced in three ways. First, master the hard movement so that you can face the enemy; then begin to practice sets of the form; finally, go back to the beginning to train An Jin. When you are proficient you can train the Twelve Animal forms, before finally training the Five Elements Hua Jin.

The differences and training methods of the three Jin are described in detail below.[1]

Ming Jin

Hard Jin, long distance, extension, stepping hard into the front foot, fierce attacks, arm strength.

This is the power of metal, and explodes forward without thinking of retreat. As the Sword Classic of Yu Dayou states, “Every step moves forward, unmatched under heaven.” The Boxing Classic states, “Rushing up and rushing down the posture is like a tiger, fighting hard, entering hard without blocking.”

Ming Jin requires one to train the six harmony and four tips at first. The three centers (hearts) need to be solid and the Qi needs to sink into the Dan Tian. The body needs to prepare the five bows, and train so that one is stable and low, hard and fierce; one needs to have great courage. The Hun Yuan power, which is stable and accurate, must infuse the whole body, which has the effect of increasing power and speed. When striking one is able to knock the opponent back several feet, like “hanging a picture on a wall” or breaking the wall with a step. The classics state, let one “build one’s foundation, strengthen one’s body, the bones and body become solid like a rock of iron, and the form and energy field are imposing like the Tai mountain.” This is the foundational practice for changing the bones and transforming Jing into Qi.

An Jin

Soft Jin, short Jin, braking feet, blocking hand, the back foot following, using the Jing to hit, the power of the legs.

This is the wood energy; the steps are small, and thus you are able to advance and retreat. Each step is like an encampment. An Jin is the energy of being round outside but square inside: when training the outside looks soft and round and “moist,” but when issuing power the internal is square and hard and at right angles. When you strike your opponent, he will only retreat half a step but will have an internal injury. The classics state, let one “expand and lift their membranes, lengthen their tendons, the expansion is limitless.” This is the practice for training the tendons and muscles, and for transforming Qi into Shen.

Hua Jin

Elastic strength, twisting strength, the mystique of change, the wonder of dissolving.

At first one needs to develop a dragon’s waist—to twist and turn, to use opposing energy, and to hit slowly. The steps are lively—you will be moving in a zig-zag triangle—and the applications of the steps come from the Twelve Animals forms. The Five Fists contain more than six ways of dissipating the opponent’s energy. This form contains six changes and the fists attack in eight directions. The classics state, “Cleanse and empty the inside, lighten the body, the signs that indicate the interior is clean and empty: the flow of the Shen and Qi can be used, moving in a circle without hindering the moving and turning of the body, and one is as light as a feather.” Hua Jin is not categorized as bright or dark, hard or soft. Ming Jin is Yang and An Jin is Yin; thus, Hua Jin is a mixture of Yin and Yang, with Yin and Yang interpenetrating each other. The Shen and the intention penetrate the whole body, washing the bone marrow; this is training the Shen to return to emptiness.

The three Jin, from a theoretical perspective, are divided as above. Thus, Ming Jin is Jin or power that is easily seen; An Jin is hidden and cannot easily be detected; Ha Jin is negating the enemy’s force and returning it to the enemy.

During the training process, each level of training of the Five Elements has a strict demarcation. As with hand work, foot work, and body methods, each fist has a unique and fixed training method. It is a complete and complicated process.

Ming Jin is in the hands; the An Jin is in the elbows; Hua Jin is in the body. Ming Jin is hard; An Jin is soft; Hua Jin is elastic.

Ming Jin trains the Jing; An Jin trains the Qi; Hua Jin trains the Shen.

Ming Jin goes out and returns in a straight line; An Jin only begins when stillness reaches its zenith; Hua Jin remains inside and is not revealed.

Ming Jin uses power; An Jin uses Jin; Hua Jin uses the intention.

Finally, they all interpenetrate each other, shifting the soft to the hard and shifting the hard to the soft. Hua Jin is in complete control of Ming Jin and An Jin, mixed into one body.

The three Jin are shown within the Xingyi Quan system, with form and intention, as below:

The Five Element Fists contain the three Jin:
Ming Jin: Pi Quan, Zuan Quan
An Jin: Beng Quan, Pao Quan
Hua Jin: Heng Quan

The Twelve Animal forms are also divided into the three Jin:
Ming Jin: Tiger, Horse, Chicken, Eagle
An Jin: Bird, Snake, Bear, Alligator
Hua Jin: Dragon, Monkey, Swallow, Sparrowhawk

[1] Modern practitioners do not explicitly demarcate three levels of training Jin, usually focusing on training Ming Jin (as it looks good and is fierce) and stopping there. As for An Jin and Hua Jin, many do not understand them and so do not practice them. Most people think that practicing slowly and using less force is An Jin, and do not understand the way to practice Hua Jin at all.

For more on Xingyi Quan, and on Master C S Tang‘s work, visit his website: http://cstang.www3.50megs.com/index_en.html

We’re not the healer – by Noah Karrasch

Singing DragonMarch 25, 2013 1 Comment

I’ve long been troubled by the use of the word ‘healer’… it seems too many practitioners want to claim this title for themselves. First, I believe there’s a higher power, call it what you will, that truly does the healing. Second, I believe it’s got to be a decision from the client or wounded or ill person to be healed. Hopefully the practitioner will help that wounded or ill person to find healing, whatever it looks like for them. But to deliver healing and believe it’s coming from within one’s own ‘power’ or ‘knowledge’ seems incredibly egoic to me.

Emmett Hutchins told us long ago that Ida Rolf always marked her occupation as “Posture Teacher” in her IRS forms. She also made us realize that we are not the therapists as Rolfers; gravity was/is the therapist and we are the educator, invoker, or facilitator that hopefully helps the client find that gravitational line and adhere more closely to it and express more fully from it. The basis of Rolfing as she taught it was the idea that we didn’t fix symptoms on clients; we helped get them right in gravity and hopefully the symptoms fixed themselves. While I allow myself to look at and try to assuage symptoms in my work, I’m still more interested in helping that client become even more of themself; that’s the healing I’m able to offer.

Recent studies coming from Harvard Medical School are beginning to examine not only the role of placebo, but the effect of telling the client/patient that the treatment being given is placebo. Interestingly, even people who are told their treatment is a sham are getting better. What’s that about?

I believe it’s because the first step to ‘healing’ anyone is to help them realize that they are worthy of happiness. If we can sit with a client in a non-judgmental fashion and let them see that we acknowledge their pain, they feel the strength of that offered hand… it’s just easier to be in pain when someone is there and lets you know they feel your pain. And if the pain is acknowledged, it’s easier to let it go… what we resist, persists.

So, even more importantly, have we as facilitators of health taken the time to look deeply and fearlessly at our own pains? Or are we the kind of therapist who busily ‘fixes’ others without ever looking at our own situations, our own fears, our own weaknesses? To me a true ‘healer’ is someone who has committed to doing their own work first so that they can non-judgmentally sit with the client/patient, truly listen and create space for that person to express the pain, grief, shame, and guilt and get through it and on with their life. That’s healing, and that’s what I hope to achieve when I endeavor to help others ‘heal’ themselves.

Noah Karrasch is a certified Rolfer and licensed massage therapist, and holds a teaching degree from the University of Missouri, Columbia. He teaches core bodywork skills throughout the midwest and also works with the Wren Clinic in East London. Noah lives and works in Springfield, Missouri. For more on his work please visit his website: http://noahkarrasch.com/

Video: Ji Ben Qi Gong 基本氣功 (Fundamental Exercises), with Damo Mitchell

Singing DragonFebruary 21, 2013 0 Comments

Damo Mitchell demonstrates some very basic Qi Gong exercises which can be used either to maintain health if you are new to Qi Gong or as a foundation upon which to build your Nei Gong practice.

For more information, and full instruction on these exercises, see Daoist Nei Gong: The Philosophical Art of Change.

Understanding and treating the complex chronic patient – an interview with Isobel Knight

Singing DragonFebruary 20, 2013 1 Comment

What makes treating the chronic complex patient so difficult? Do you think there is still a lack of understanding about how best to approach this?

I think that practitioners are very scared by complex chronic conditions and can become very overwhelmed. I’ve had so many medical professionals dismiss me because they really didn’t understand what the problem was. Treatment of chronic complex conditions really does require a multi-disciplinary team of people and medical experts, as well as an overarching approach to treatment plans. This can all be overwhelming for one person.

Conditions become chronic and complex over the years. There’s often a long delay in diagnosis (research by the Hypermobility Syndrome Association in the UK suggests that diagnoses can take about 10 years). As an individual gets older, he or she will gather more problems, which makes treatment even more difficult, relating to more bodily systems. If the condition is intercepted younger, these can all be addressed and hopefully better controlled.

How has being an individual with EDSIII (Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome – Type 3, Hypermobility) influenced the way you treat people in your clinic?

Based on what I’ve experienced, I can certainly spot the condition very quickly in people who haven’t had a diagnosis. Although I can’t officially diagnose, if the symptoms are there, I can get them sent to their GP for a referral to an expert rheumatologist. So in this way it’s really helped some people. I also know what ongoing management they are often going to require, so I can both refer them on to practitioners that I know, and support them with Bowen Therapy in the areas that I know they will need help with.

I’m never overwhelmed by what patients say, and I always believe them. And that helps a lot.

Why did you choose the autoethnographic approach in writing your new book?

That was inspired by an author I quote in the book, who wrote about life with a kidney condition and eventually turned it into a PhD thesis. I thought it was a really good way of framing the book. It uses my story as a basis, but also weaves in the stories of others, to ensure that it’s socially representative of that culture group. But also, this is a personal story. I include some quite personal details, and I hope that this makes it much more accessible to read, not a dry textbook. It really says how the patient feels, from my point of view and from the points of view of others.

In the book, you go into quite a lot of depth on the psychology involved both in having a chronic complex condition and in treatment. Do you think that the importance of this area is underestimated?

Yes. I was actually really surprised how large the psychological section of the book ended up being. There are so many layers to it, trust being a very important one. The issue of trust is so important for any medical professional dealing with a chronic complex patient. Personally, I had been consistently told by a range of professionals that the pain I was experiencing was psychosomatic, and that there was nothing wrong with me. I think that most patients have years of that to contend with. In so many cases these conditions involve a legacies of problems that haven’t been fully handled since a young age. Behaviours change because of pain. That really has an impact on people. They get angry, they get depressed, they get anxious.

I’ve also included a section for the patient on managing chronic pain, cognitive behavioural therapy, and other psychological aids such as goal-setting, pacing, ways of communicating and dealing with doctors.

Medical professionals also need support psychologically in dealing with the complex chronic patient because, as mentioned, treatment can be very overwhelming for them, and quite emotionally draining. If one of your patients comes back every week with little improvement to their pain, it can be emotionally difficult as a therapist to make a positive spin on it and focus on treatment.

Social media seems to be a really supportive, positive force for the treatment and understanding of these conditions. How do you see this developing in future?

I think that because some patients with this condition can become quite disabled, and socially isolated, Facebook, for example, can be a real lifeline for them. It’s a way for them to get mutual support, to learn more about the condition, to realise they’re not alone in their experience. I’ve been staggered by the response to my Facebook page, and how it’s being used internationally to provide support and share information on this subject (but never any medical advice).

How do you hope this book will help professionals working with, and patients with the syndrome?

I hope that the patients will be able to see that there has been, in my story, quite a positive improvement due to the level of care I’ve had, and the experts I’ve managed to have access to. Physiotherapy has been essential in this. I’d like to offer patients hope but also the reality that this is a genetically inherited condition, which is about management, not cure. I hope that the book provides not only treatment information, but validation – they can take the book to their doctors to show them what’s going on. It’s as up to the minute as up to the minute can be in terms of medical research and practice.

In terms of the medical professionals, I hope that they can understand the full impact of a multi-systemic chronic complex condition, what it means to have bodily systems not working very well, and the impact that this has psychologically, physically and socially. I hope this helps them to develop a bit of a more empathetic approach.

I’m incredibly lucky to have been able to have 6 real experts in each field contributing to the book. This means that they’ve been really able to bring the book up to date with the latest research on treatment and medical management of the condition. That’s a real privilege.

First steps in promoting hair regrowth, for anyone affected by Alopecia and other hair-loss problems – with Vera Peiffer

Singing DragonFebruary 20, 2013 13 Comments

When your hair is falling out, you are not just having a problem with your hair, but also something else in your body, no matter whether you have other symptoms or not. As I’m explaining in my book Regrowing Hair Naturally, there is a reason why your hair is falling out. This reason is some form of toxicity.

Water and hair loss

Toxicity in your body makes your body too acidic. While some acidity is very important for body processes to function correctly, over-acidity is a problem and can lead to hair loss. If you then also don’t drink any water during the day, the acidity stays in the body undiluted and this is where damage occurs.

If you are worried about your hair at the moment, it would obviously be important to find out which toxins are causing acidity in your body, but even if you don’t want to do this, at the very least start drinking good quality water. Increase your water intake every few days from 1 glass a day to 8 large glasses a day (approximately 2 litres a day). This helps dilute the acid in your body, no matter what has been causing the acid in the first place.
Drinking water is the first phase of detoxing. The second phase would be to take particular supplements (these are different for each person) which bind with the toxins and then take them safely out of the body. A hair sample test can establish exactly which supplements your body needs to carry out this conjugation phase of detox.

When you drink water, make sure the water is good quality. Filter it with a charcoal filter (Brita or similar) or have a water filter installed under your sink. If your water supply is fluoridised, I would suggest to drink bottled water as fluoride is not a great substance to have in your body. Don’t drink unfiltered tap water, no matter what your water company tells you. Chlorine in water needs to be filtered out, and your charcoal filter will do that for you.

Wheat and hair loss

Over 80% of my clients who have my hair/nail sample tests done have a problem with wheat. Some of them have a problem with all grains (rye, barley, oats etc).

Have a think about what you are eating for a typical breakfast, lunch and dinner. If your diet consists of muesli, sandwiches, pizza and pasta, this will have a major negative impact on your hair, even if you don’t have a wheat intolerance. What you need to eat is a little meat, plenty of vegetables and some carbs such as rice or potatoes. I know that this is inconvenient, especially for breakfast, but you are actually better off with bacon and eggs or an omlette for breakfast than with a muesli if you want to help your hair.

Foods you need to avoid are bread, pasta, pizza, biscuits, cakes, pasties and anything else that is made from wheat or gluten-free wheat. It is not enough if you change to gluten-free wheat as many people are not just intolerant to the gluten in the wheat but also to the rest of the grain.

Frequently Asked Questions:

Water:

Can’t I have juice instead of water?

Juice has a lot of sugar in it which makes the body acidic, and too much acidity is bad for your hair. Drinking juice also dehydrates you. There is really no replacement for water.

I find it hard to drink water. If I do, I have to run to the loo too often

Start with drinking sips of water throughout the day. If you need to pee a lot it means that you are completely dehydrated and / or that you are drinking too much too quickly.

Wheat:

I find it very hard not to eat pasta, bread and cakes. Do I really have to give them up for my hair to grow better?

I know it’s hard to give up wheat. Wheat is actually quite addictive, but if you want your hair back, you will need to at least drastically reduce your wheat intake. Wheat and other grains can actually stop the body from detoxing because they produce mucus in the body.

Is it OK to have glutenfree bread instead of normal bread?

Yes, gluten free is much better, but even that type of bread does not contain the nutrients your hair needs to grow, so make sure you have proteins and vegetables most of the time.

For more tips on hair regrowth, visit Vera Peiffer’s website: http://www.hairgrowthuk.co.uk/blog/ and read Regrowing Hair Naturally

More from Vera Peiffer

Principles of Hypnotherapy
What it is, how it works, and what it can do for you

Vera Peiffer

This is an authoritative introduction to hypnotherapy explaining what it is, how it works, what its origins are, what to expect when being treated and how to find a reputable hypnotherapist. It also clarifies how hypnotherapy can help with mental and emotional trauma, anxiety, depression, phobias, confidence problems and unwanted habits.

Click here to buy the book

VIDEO: Wu Xing Qi Gong, with Damo Mitchell

Singing DragonJanuary 23, 2013 0 Comments

In this video, Damo Mitchell Demonstrates the Wu Xing Qi Gong. These are five basic health internal exercises from the Daoist tradition, which follow the principles of Tu Na, Liang I and Yang Sheng Fa.

These are the five exercises also featured in Damo Mitchell’s forthcoming book Heavenly Streams. Find more information on this book on the Singing Dragon website, and for more on Damo’s work, see www.lotusneigong.com.

Damo Mitchell has studied the martial, medical and spiritual arts of Asia since the age of four. His studies have taken him across the planet in search of authentic masters. He is the technical director of the Lotus Nei Gong School of Daoist Arts, and teaches Nei Gong in the UK, Sweden and the USA. He is the author of Daoist Nei Gong: The Philosophical Art of Change, also published by Singing Dragon.

Ten Methods of the Heavenly Dragon: An Interview with Robert Sheaffer.

Singing DragonJanuary 23, 2013 2 Comments

Robert Sheaffer has been a seeker all his life. He has been fortunate enough to travel extensively throughout the world and to witness numerous traditional spiritual practices. His time spent studying with the Adept Shun Yuan of the Heavenly Dragon sect was one of his most profound and lasting experiences.

– You describe yourself as a Seeker. What, in your opinion, does this mean?

I think it comes down to being curious. The imperative to know drives me. I can’t hear a question that triggers an interest without immediately needing to pursue it. It’s a lust for knowledge and learning. This isn’t simply about learning answers – you can go and seek things out and think you’ve got answers, but after this there’s a lot of internal work to come to a point where you feel true understanding of something. And with this understanding it really truly becomes a part of you.

I was initially propelled on this path in my early teens. I remember reading about phenomena of a certain kind – such as the psychophysiological effects and health benefits of chi-kung practice – and getting fascinated by them. Despite reading about how difficult it was and how much practice and effort was involved in realising these things for yourself, I seemed to stumble into them with no effort and no preparation at all. Although the ‘attainment’ of certain skills, such as an ability to feel and gain some control over one’s internal energy, didn’t come very hard to me, I’m still here, many years later, working on really understanding them properly.

The discovery and development of the self through the internal arts is a lifetime’s work. For many people, the physical aspect is the crux of this work, but for me it just didn’t turn out like that. My methods are very physical, but it’s understanding them on many levels, that’s what keeps me occupied day by day.

– Your book, Ten Methods of the Heavenly Dragon, is based on your own experiences. How did you find the writing process – was it difficult, or cathartic? Did you discover anything new about yourself with the distance offered by time?

Well, I think we should go back to a step before this book began. I was writing something else, entirely. And that piece of work was a real struggle. And then this ridiculous idea hit me – why not write something from personal experience?

It was then very obvious what I wanted to write about. And the book essentially wrote itself. I turned up at the library as soon as it opened, I started working, and they would throw me out in the evening. Everyday I had this weird distortion of time. It was not quite automatic writing, but it was as close as it gets to it. Everything I wrote about in this book came back in a full sensory technicolour replay in my head as I was writing.

There was one particular section which was so sad to read at the time, that I had to completely rewrite it. This was towards the end of the book when we go to visit another teacher, who was severely ill at the time. It just seemed to bring my whole experience down to a really sombre place, and I had to really refocus on the positive aspects of that visit, see it again from an entirely new perspective. This was not a good time to relive, but the rest of it was pretty good.

– Many key events in your story seem to be determined by chance. How do you view these circumstances – do you think there was an aspect of ‘fate’ involved, or is this just how you wanted to live out this experience?

I don’t like the word fate because it’s usually used in conjunction with an idea of predeterminism. I think that existence is far more random. The key question is that when opportunities, or chances arise, whether to take them and run with them, or to resist? Hard experience has taught me that if you resist you crash. As long as you keep going with it, it’s all good.

– You begin the book with a quote from the Tao Te Ching “…when the inferior man hears of the Tao | He laughs aloud at it| If he did not laugh, it would not be the Tao”. Why did you feel that this was particularly relevant here?

Lao Tsu was trying to provide a whole picture of the world, the way it works and how we can live in it. Here, he’s hoping to talk to everyone. So if people don’t have different reactions to what he’s saying, when he’s talking to everyone, what he’s saying must be missing something. This is a necessary aspect of this message – that it’s taken in different ways by different people.

My book is written directly from my personal experience, but I know that there will be people that read it and think it’s fantasy. And that’s fine, as long as they enjoyed it.

– What do you hope readers will take from the book?

Different people are going to be carrying different things when they approach this book. But I think that I’d hope it inspires people to follow their feelings and be able to let go and keep letting go of resistance. The moment you try and force yourself in a certain direction or resist your inner feelings, things become difficult. Even if you can see that the next few steps ahead are going to be really tough, however difficult that is, it’s better than resisting and going the other way. Once you’ve begun letting go you do feel quite quickly the benefit of that in your life, the smoothness of being carried along. My message to the reader would be that once you’ve started that, just keep it up and keep letting it go.

Request a copy of the UK Singing Dragon Complete Catalogue

Singing DragonJanuary 10, 2013 6 Comments

Make sure not to miss Singing Dragon’s latest UK Complete Catalogue. If you have not yet received a copy, please sign up for our mailing list and we’ll send a free one out to you ASAP.

Readers in the UK and Europe who request a copy of the catalogue before February 15th, 2013 will also receive a voucher for a 15% discount on the entire Singing Dragon list of books, with free postage and packing.

Take advantage of this opportunity to find new, forthcoming and classic books on Chinese Medicine, Holistic Health, Taiji, Qigong, Herbal Medicine, Yoga, Spirituality and more. Also, sample health-promoting recipes with The Functional Nutrition Cookbook, and Make Yourself Better with Philip Weeks’ books. Delve into the history of Ayurvedic Medicine and the Mudras of India, and discover the Five Levels of Taijiquan, Daoist Nei Gong and Chinese Medical Qigong.

To request your copy of our Complete Catalogue, please click here. To receive your 15% discount voucher, please be sure to click the checkbox for “Singing Dragon” under area of interest or else mention this offer in the “any further comments” section.

If you have previously received a copy of the catalogue, and would like to take advantage of the 15% discount, please feel free to request a voucher via email at post@intl.singingdragon.com.

What everyone should know about Qigong, and how it can benefit you – with Richard Bertschinger

Singing DragonDecember 18, 2012 0 Comments

Richard Bertschinger studied for ten years with the Taoist sage and Master, Gia-fu Feng. A practising acupuncturist, teacher of the healing arts, and translator of ancient Chinese texts, he works and practises in Somerset, England. Here, he explores some key concepts of Qigong, showing just how universally beneficial the practice is, and how easy it is to pick up.

* Qigong can also be called Dao Yin which means guiding or leading the Qi. So many problems come from blockages inside the tissue, so the idea is that you keep moving the Qi to loosen these blockages. There’s a wonderful saying ‘Door hinges never rot and running water never goes stale’, which brings out movement as primary to health. When you read about the biology of modern science you see that this concept is also biologically important: it’s the circulation of fluids and gases in the cell that provides the conditions for life. The interchange at the boundary of the cell is so important for the release of oxygen, the oxygenation of the tissue, the internal respiration of the cell. Here, it’s movement which is conducive to life.

* Originally these exercises were taught master to pupil and from father to son. You learnt, as one might say, energetically, through your skin, just by watching and following behaviour, on a very deep level. Now, when teaching we have to approach this learning slightly differently because you might get a group of 20 new people in a class that you might never see again. The starting point is to move the body. If students move their bodies the energy and breath will follow eventually, and they will get the secret. The brain itself will begin to adjust of its own accord. And the mind follows.

* Everyone has a different path. No-one comes in and qualifies 3 years later. One of the main principles behind Chinese medicine is that you suit the treatment to the individual and the condition – which of course can change. So with these exercises we’re looking for appropriateness. People can take from the book what they need at the time. What is wonderful is that it is such a natural practice and can adapt to many conditions. There is not one orthodox way, so long as you are following natural forms.

Illustration from Everyday Qigong Practice

Illustration by Harriet E. J. Lewars

* It’s important to have one particular space where you do these exercises and one particular time of day to do them. It’s difficult to just slip them in anywhere. However, I’m a great believer in us all being gifted amateurs. I think that people can very much take this practice home and do it themselves. I’ve seen students do most interesting things with exercises that I have taught them – you pick it up and pass it on.

* In Ezra Pound’s translation of the Confucian classic Da Xue, he highlights the saying ‘as the sun makes it anew, day by day make it new, every day make it anew’. My teacher Gia Fu Feng would encourage us to ‘rediscover’ the Qi everyday. We have to do this everyday or it gets covered over by the troubles, worries and issues of the world. I think it attests to the genius of the Chinese that they found a way to winkle out that health from our lives and to keep it there at a good level, keeping a good balance

* To have something that you can do under your own hands is just so valuable. Drugs are important but you don’t have to go down that route all the time – a lot is in our own hands. I’ve seen people come in with painful stomachs or painful knees, and if they do the rubbing exercises they improve. People with long-term conditions often respond well to Qigong as you are dealing with the smaller, finer (neuro-humeral) mechanisms in the body. When you practice in a gentle, conducive manner you actually have minute little chemical changes, which can make a great difference to overall wellbeing.

Author: Singing Dragon