Qigong and Other Martial Arts

VIDEO: Yijing, Shamanic Oracle of China – An introduction by Richard Bertschinger

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Richard Bertschinger studied for ten years with the Taoist sage and Master, Gia-fu Feng. He is a practising acupuncturist, teacher of Chinese healing arts, and translator of ancient Chinese texts. He has just published a new translation of the Book of Change, Yijing, Shamanic Oracle of China: A New Book of Change, which he has been working on for the past thirty years.

In this video, Richard talks about the essence of change as explored through the Yijing, and on the elemental energies represented through the book’s trigrams.

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Read a Preview of Yijing, Shamanic Oracle of China »

Copyright © Singing Dragon 2012.

 

Managing stress and achieving balance through seated Tai Chi and Qigong exercises – An Interview with Cynthia Quarta

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Cynthia W. Quarta has taught martial arts for over twenty five years and was the Activities Director at an assisted living facility. She continues to teach seated Tai Chi classes in a number of locations to a range of ages and levels of physical fitness. She lives in Great Falls, Montana, USA.

In this interview, Cynthia talks about how she came to develop the exercises in her forthcoming book, Seated Tai Chi and Qigong: Guided Therapeutic Exercises to Manage Stress and Balance Mind, Body and Spirit.

Can you tell us a bit about yourself and how you came to practice martial arts in the first place?

I saw my first martial arts demonstration (jujitsu) when I was nine years old. I wasn’t able to take lessons, however, until many years later when one of my advanced ballet students asked to be excused from classes so she could take her black belt test. That was the first I had heard about her involvement in the martial arts. I offered to barter dance lessons in exchange for instruction in her style of Korean karate (Kwon Bup) to which she agreed. Shortly after that she began teaching several other classes in which I also participated. I finally received my black belt and, after my sensei moved out of town, opened my own dojo. Throughout the succeeding years, I had the opportunity to study Eagle Dragon Chinese Kenpo Kung Fu as well as a smattering of WuShu and Tae Kwon Do.

What motivated you to write this book, and what is it about generally?

While I was working as the Activities Director at a local retirement community, I used my dance and martial arts background to design an exercise program for the residents. When the community changed from one for able-bodied retirees to an assisted living facility for those with limited physical mobility, I had to change my approach. With the help of a core group of resident fitness enthusiasts, I developed a program of seated exercises based on the Yang style of T’ai Chi Chuan and the energizing exercises of Qigong.

This book presents a series of seated exercises to benefit people of all ages and levels of fitness. It is written for therapists and caregivers who want to provide an alternative, effective and creative approach to healing. The book includes instructions specifically for these health care professionals to assist them in their work with their patients/clients.

Why do the Tai Chi and Qigong exercises you’ve adapted in the book lend themselves so well to being practiced in a chair?

Both Tai Chi and Qigong are gentle exercise systems that provide healing and increase overall wellness. Regardless of a person’s situation – whether they are recovering from surgery, recently injured, elderly, or dealing with a chronic disability – these exercises are safe and yet amazingly effective. The emphasis in these exercises is on proper breathing and the involvement of the mind in the process of reducing stress, increasing energy and improving oxygen levels. For that reason the practitioner need not be in top physical condition or, for that matter, even able to stand in order to reap the benefits from the use of these exercises.

What positive effects can professionals hope to see in their clients and patients as a result of using the exercises?

The professional who uses this system with his/her patients will see immediate results in stress reduction, increased oxygen levels, improved appetite, more restful sleep, and a decrease in pain and stiffness. Mayo Clinic, Harvard Medical School and a number of other medical facilities with research divisions have published studies on the benefits of regular Tai Chi and Qigong practice. I encourage any health care professional considering whether or not to try this program to research these studies (most of them are conveniently available online).

Are there any common obstacles that professionals face when trying to guide their clients/patients through the exercise? How can this book help?

The primary challenge is the lack of knowledge and familiarity. Most of us in Western countries haven’t been exposed to Eastern medicine to any great extent. Overcoming the resistance to a new, holistic approach to improved health is usually the biggest obstacle at the beginning. As time goes on, though, and as patients begin to experience the benefits, their attitudes will change. This book contains a basic but inclusive explanation of Chinese medical theories to help professionals explain to their patients why these types of exercises can improve anyone’s level of health.

Why is it important to include a chapter on self-care for the professional?

If there is anyone who needs help in managing stress and achieving balance in their busy lives it is those who labor daily with patients who are ill or disabled! Therapists must be both relaxed and balanced in all areas of their lives if they are to help others achieve their wellness goals.

How does the book reflect your general philosophy about health?

I believe that an exercise program that works in combination with a healthy lifestyle and a well-balanced body, mind and spirit is the secret to a long and vigorous life. The exercises described in my book are gentle and safe and because they are designed to be practiced while seated, they provide a program that can be used daily even by those with physical limitations or of advanced age. In other words, this exercise system can be used throughout one’s life from youth through middle age and on into the later years, while at peak physical condition or at a stage of life when diminished mobility and strength present a daily challenge.

Copyright © Singing Dragon 2011.

Event: An Evening with Master Zhongxian Wu

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Here’s an event you might be interested in by one of our most respected authors who is visiting the UK in February for a series of lectures and workshops.

The Chinese Tea Company Presents
An Evening with Master Zhongxian Wu

CHA DAO: The Way of Tea
An exploration into the traditional Chinese culture and appreciation of Tea

GU QIN: The Ancient Chinese Zither
A rare performance of ‘Qin Xin’/Heart Music

Time: Tuesday 31st January 2012, 7pm
Location: Juyan’s Teahouse,
14 Portobello Green, London,W10 5TZ
Admission: £30

This event is limited to 8 people, so please book in advance to ensure a space.
Premium Teas will be available to drink and purchase on the evening.

Contact either Alex: 079 212 65432 Or Juyan: 079 908 98549
For more information on Master Wu please visit: www.masterwu.net

And for more information on the Chinese Tea company
Download the PDF about this event: Master Wu Tea Evening

Qigong is the source of Chinese medicine

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Master Zhongxian Wu is the lineage holder of four different schools of Qigong and martial arts. While in China, he served as Director of the Shaanxi Province Association for Somatic Science and the Shaanxi Association for the Research of Daoist Nourishing Life Practices. He has now been living and teaching in the West for just over ten years, and in February 2012 will visit the UK for a series of lectures and workshops celebrating the new Chinese year of the Water Dragon.

We are honoured to publish this special extended interview with Master Wu.

Master Wu, thank you so much for agreeing to talk to Singing Dragon. I think you have just celebrated ten years of living in the West. Have you found over that time that our understanding of Chinese medicine has changed?

The Western understanding of Chinese medicine has definitely changed in the last ten years. I have noticed two main changes, with respect to the general public and the practitioners themselves. In terms of the general public, more and more people recognize the efficiency of Chinese medicine to meet their health care needs. More people are embracing Chinese medicine treatments because they want minimal unwanted side effects (or better yet, none at all) and also want to build up their health in order to prevent a future illness. In terms of Chinese medicine practitioners, I have seen that more practitioners are looking to understand the roots of Chinese medicine, and are emphasizing their own personal cultivation (for example through meditation, Qigong practice, studying the Yijing, Chinese astrology, etc.) to help them deepen their knowledge of Chinese medicine. Also, I see more practitioners are educating their patients about how important it is to strengthen their own Qi by improving their daily lifestyle habits and having a commitment to some internal cultivation practice.

How can Western practitioners best prepare themselves for studying Chinese medicine?

In terms of studying Chinese medicine, there is no difference in preparation for a Western practitioner or an Eastern practitioner. The best way to prepare is to do personal cultivation. In the Chinese medicine traditional education system, before the Master teaches you anything about medicine, they always first stress that you learn to be a good person and to cultivate your virtue. A good doctor first needs to be a good person, and have a good heart to help others. Traditionally, you didn’t learn medicine as a business venture to make tons of money. For the Master to share knowledge with you, he/she has to be clear that your deep purpose and drive is to help others. The HuangDiNeiJing (the Yellow Emperor’s classic text of Chinese medicine) emphasizes that you have to be careful not to teach certain skills to the wrong person – the wrong person, meaning someone who does not carry a high level of virtue.

You are lecturing at the Confucius Institute in London in February on the topic of Qigong as the basis for Chinese medicine. Can you say a little about why this is such an important topic?

Yes, Qigong is the source of Chinese medicine. The whole system was discovered by ancient enlightened beings who made profound connections about their bodies and Nature while in heightened Qigong states. According to the QiJingBaMaiKao (Investigations into the Eight Extraordinary Vessels), a book by the Ming Dynasty’s famous herbalist LiShiZhen’s, the subtle energies of the inner pathways of the body (for example the pulses, the points, the meridians, and even the organs themselves) may be seen only by those who cultivate Fan Guan (literally, ‘reverse observation’), or the ability to look within with clarity. LiShiZhen concluded that only high-level Qigong practitioners could see the meridian systems. Before the modern term Qigong became popularized, all Qigong cultivation practices (including seated meditation) were known as Guan, which itself means ‘observe or observation’, and implies self-observation.

Also, to develop an appropriate herbal formula for someone requires an understanding of Qi harmonization. Chinese herbal medicine was first taught by the ancient shaman king ShenNong (Divine Farmer). Actually, the first Chinese book of herbal medicine, ShenNongBenCaoJing is named after him and it is generally accepted that he wrote it as well. Our legends say that, through tasting the herbs, he was able to feel the different quality of Qi in each herb and understand how it relates to the Qi of the organ and meridian systems in the body. This kind of sensitivity and awareness was possible because he was a very high level Qigong practitioner, and was able enter into heightened states of consciousness and perception.

There would be no Chinese medicine without the ancient shamanic Qi cultivation practices of Qigong.

Would you tell us a little more about Qigong? Many people in the West are confused about what it is.

Qigong is modern, popularized term for an ancient method of physical, mental and spiritual cultivation. It can be translated into English as Qi cultivation, spiritual cultivation or working with the Qi. By the way, by Qi, I mean the vital energy of the universe that keeps everything alive. Qigong practice models a harmonious way of life and has been used throughout thousands of years of history by those who wish to attain Enlightenment.

Qigong involves working with the three parts of the body (Jing, Qi and Shen). In Chinese, Jing means essence and represents the physical body. The physical body is our structure and our container. It holds our essential life energy, our Qi body and our spiritual body. We can strengthen our physical bodies by practicing special Qigong postures. As I mentioned before, Qi translates as vital energy of the entire universe, including of course, the vital energy of your body. Your breath is deeply connected with the Qi body. Qi can also be translated as ‘vital breath’. In Qigong, we cultivate our Qi body by maintaining awareness of our breath and by learning techniques to regulate our breath. This will increase our vital energy or life force. The Shen means spirit, and represents our spiritual body. In general, our mind is related to our Shen. Once we pay too much attention to the external world or worry too much about what is going on in our life, we weaken our Qi. If we are always looking outside, we leak our spiritual Qi. In Qigong practice, we learn to look within in order to preserve our life energy.

How does it relate (if it does) to practices such as Yoga?

I have never practiced yoga, so I don’t have the personal experience to be able to talk about how it relates to Qigong. However, a number of my students are yoga practitioners by profession, and many of them connect their Qigong practice with their yoga practice. They have found that elements of their Qigong practice complement their yoga practice so that in general, the practices enhance each other.

What is the purpose of your cultivation/Qigong practice?

From the view point of Daoist practioners, the Daoist tradition is the immortal tradition. The purpose of Daoist cultivation practices is to become immortal. This often begs the question of what exactly is meant by immortality. In Chinese, the word for immortal is Xian, which is an image of a person who lives on a mountain. Throughout history, many Daoist masters have referred to themselves as ShanRen– Mountain People – because they spend long hermitages in the mountains (or anywhere in nature), cultivating their true humanity. Another word for immortal is ZhenRen– real or true human being. From the Chinese ideograms, we can see that the concept of an immortal is of one who has cultivated good health, happiness, and humanity and embodies these qualities in everyday life.

The idea of immortality or everlasting life has nothing to do with yearning to live forever. On a superficial level, of course no living being can escape death. Death is simply a part of the universal Five Elements natural cycle. However, death is always accompanied by the process of rebirth. In this way, there is no death. In the Immortal’s tradition, we have an expression – XinSi ShenHuo, which translates into English as “allow your heart to die so that your spirit will live.” I interpret this to mean that by embracing death and bringing it gracefully into our hearts, we understand the knowledge of immortality. This, to me, is enlightenment.

Yes, our lives are short – no matter how long we live, compared with the long stream of the time of the Universe, our lives are just a momentary sparkle. Sometimes, when people physically die, their spirits remain very much alive. The quality of our lives is not measured by the time we spend in this world, but how we learn to transform our personal emotional energy into a force that can help others.

You are also teaching a couple of workshops in the UK in February. They sound very interesting – can you tell us a little more about the practices?

Of course. I am excited to be teaching Fire Dragon Qigong in London and Five Elements Qigong in Oxford. Both are traditional Chinese Qigong forms.

Fire Dragon Qigong embodies the spirit of the rising dragon, which is an auspicious symbol of transformation in Chinese culture. Regular practice of this form establishes free flowing Qi in the 12 meridian systems of the body. It also helps transform areas of stagnation, thereby bringing the physical and emotional bodies into a balanced state of well-being. Actually, according to the Chinese calendar, the year of the Dragon begins on February 4, 2012. I will teach Fire Dragon Qigong that same weekend in honor of the Dragon and the great global transformation that will happen in 2012.

The Five Elements theory lies at the heart of classical Chinese philosophy and healing principles and is the foundation of Chinese cosmology and Chinese medicine. The Five Element Qigong form helps harmonize the Five Element’s Qi in our bodies and organ systems with the Five Element’s Qi of the Universe. Regular practice will help us smoothly navigate change in our lives.

What in your view are the greatest benefits of practice for people looking for a healthier lifestyle?

In the traditional Chinese healing system, the definition of medicine is something that embodies these three qualities: vitality, joy and harmony. Anything may be considered medicine, and doesn’t necessarily have to be a physical object. Instead, medicine is any object, event, thought or action that increases your vital energy, brings you joy (that you then can share with others), and helps you live harmoniously with yourself, with your family and friends (and society as a whole), and with Nature. In Chinese tradition, we consider Jing, Qi and Shen to be the best and most important medicine in the world. The greatest benefit of a regular Qigong practice is that you learn to access and optimize your own best medicine within – your Jing, Qi and Shen – to support your daily life.

Does a knowledge of Chinese medicine increase the benefits of Qigong?

Yes and no. In my experience, everyone who has a regular practice of a traditional Qigong form receives benefits from their practice. In ancient times, Chinese medicine was discovered through the practice of Qigong, and it gave a pathway of understanding the Universe through each individual body. In this way, the benefits of Qigong practice precede formal knowledge of Chinese medicine itself. In modern days, we often go the opposite direction, and use prior knowledge of Chinese medicine to help guide the practice. People who have taken time to study Chinese medicine may have a better idea of the specifics of how the Qigong form is working in their bodies. In spiritual cultivation practice, there is a phenomenon called “knowledge stagnation”, where having a lot of knowledge and thinking too much about what you think the practice will do becomes an obstacle to experiencing what is actually happening. On the other hand, advanced Qigong practitioners can use their knowledge of Chinese medicine to really deepen their practice. Either way, as long as you continue your daily practice with an open heart, Qigong will improve your health and deepen the relationship you have with yourself and with the Universe.

You have for some years been teaching an interesting Lifelong Learning programme, where students spend several days on retreat learning intensively from you. Could you tell us a little about this, and about the change and development you see in the students that follow through the programme?

In China, the traditional relationship between the student and Master is like parent and child, so that the Master can continue to give students guidance and support through their lives. Also, in different stages of practice of even the same Qigong practice, students will experience different phenomena, some subtle and some strong. Having step-by-step guidance helps the students understand the changes and keeps them from getting discouraged.

The purpose of the Qigong lifelong training is to create a family-style community of practitioners who are dedicated to supporting each other in their cultivation practice. We meet annually to share our experiences with the practice and to learn how to go deeper on this path to Enlightenment. Our intensive, week-long retreats provide the opportunity to learn a form in such a way that the practice becomes a part of the students, a part of their body and a part of their spirit, and this makes it easier for the practice to become part of their daily life. The retreats offer a different level of experiential learning than a few hours’ workshop or a weekly class can provide.

Over the last ten years of teaching in the West, I have seen many changes in my students – recovery from a disease process, increased energy, strength and flexibility, uplifted spirits, better relationships with others, healing practitioners who report greater success with helping their patients, etc. It is always nice for me to see how close my students grow towards each other during the retreats and how friendships grow into relationships that feel like family. We enjoy having a big Qi family!

Is Qigong a practice in which progress for all students occurs at roughly the same rate?

Not really. Different people have different bodies, different health conditions, different commitment levels (in terms of daily practice) and so have different experiences with their Qigong practice. Even the same person will have different experiences with their Qigong practice. Sometimes you will experience areas of plateau before you reach the next level, sometimes you will feel like you are moving ‘backwards’ in your progress and suddenly shoot forward, and sometimes it is just steady. After almost 40 years of practice, I feel I learn something new from my practice every day, even from the same form, again, again and again.

Would you tell us a little about your own experience with Qigong? How old were you when you began to practice?

I started to try some Qigong practice when I was about five years old, and began to take my practice really seriously when I was about 11. Originally, I practiced Qigong to have some fun. Surprisingly, I discovered many health benefits through the practice. In my first years of my memory, I was very sick, and every week I would have a terrible fever and my parents would take me to the hospital for medicine. I realized that I didn’t have to use medicine to recover when I was 11, and recovered through my Qigong practice even faster. So, I decided to stop taking any medicine and dedicate myself to my Qigong practice. Also, when I was young, I was very nearsighted and needed glasses. One summer break, I spent about one month in nature, practicing Qigong. At the end of the month, my eyesight improved so much that I didn’t need glasses anymore. Anytime I am feeling sick, have low energy, or something in life happens that affects me on the emotional level, I always practice Qigong and it helps me recover quickly.

Did you find it hard to keep up the practice during your education years, and how did you manage it?

Not at all. I followed the traditional way, as taught by my Masters, and got up early, at 4 am, to practice at least 2 hours every day. I lived on-campus during high school and university, and would be done with my practice before anyone else had gotten up. I always felt like I had more time to do everything I wanted than my classmates did. I think I had more energy than everyone else because of my Qigong practice.

Do you go back to China to visit the Masters who taught you?

Yes. Almost every year I go to China to see my Masters and spend time with them. It is the same way I go to visit my parents, just like family.

I know you are the lineage holder of several lineages. Would you tell us a little about what this means, and how the lineage holder is chosen?

In China, traditional arts and disciplines are passed on through a discipleship system. In this system, the acknowledged Master of a given discipline teaches a small circle of students. Traditionally, the Master will always design many obstacles for the students, making it difficult to continue studying. Most students will drop off because of these obstacles. When the Master feels the time is right, he/she will select the next “lineage holder” from the close-knit circle of students who have had the perseverance to carry on. The lineage holder is then responsible for preserving the entire system of knowledge and passing knowledge to others.

Your beautiful calligraphy appears on the covers of your books – would you tell us a little about the relationship between Qigong and calligraphy?

Calligraphy is a form of Qigong — it is movement within the brush and painting with your breath. When we practice calligraphy, we are working with our three treasures, Jing, Qi and Shen, which is the same as any Qigong practice. When we make a piece of art, we need to have the same three elements found in all traditional Qigong forms – correct posture, breathing and visualization techniques. In fact, in the Daoist tradition, we use the calligraphy brush as a tool for healing and spiritual cultivation. One special kind of calligraphy created by a Master is used as talismans for healing and for FengShui purposes.

It seems it all connects up – Qigong, Healing work, Calligraphy, Qin music, Yijing prediction, FengShui. Do they all support one another?

All of these are different styles of Qi arts and Qi cultivation. These practices are Qi vehicles for human beings to connect to Nature and live in harmony. On a superficial level, these practices may seem different or unrelated, but yes, they do connect up. The entire Universe is like an invisible Qi web, which connects everything. As LaoZi states in his DaoDeJing, the universal web is vast, and nothing can escape from it.

Master Wu, thank you so much for answering all these questions. We truly appreciate it, and the Singing Dragon in London is really looking forward to your visit in February!

Please visit Master Wu’s website at www.masterwu.net to find out more about his visit to the UK in February 2012 as well as his writing, teaching, music and calligraphy. You can find his four books published with Singing Dragon – Chinese Shamanic Cosmic Orbit Qigong, The 12 Chinese Animals, Seeking the Spirit of the Book of Change, and Vital Breath of the Dao, as well as his DVD Hidden Immortal Lineage Taiji Qigong – on the Singing Dragon website intl.singingdragon.com

Copyright © Singing Dragon 2012.

Singing Dragon and Authors attend the National Qigong Association (NQA) Conference 2011

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Singing Dragon was thrilled to attend the 16th annual conference of the National Qigong Association (NQA) in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, USA, from August 19-21.

We were so pleased that our distinguished author and Tai Ji Master, Chungliang Al Huang, was asked to give the keynote address on the Saturday night. During his presentation, Master Huang painted some beautiful calligraphy and demonstrated his joyful style of Tai Ji. Immediately following the talk, Singing Dragon was honored to host a reception where Master Huang signed dozens of copies of his four new perennial editions: Quantum Soup, Embrace Tiger, Return to Mountain, Essential Tai Ji, and The Chinese Book of Animal Powers.

Master Huang signs a copy of 'Embrace Tiger, Return to Mountain' with his distinctive calligraphy for Jeannie Peck.

Singing Dragon author Solala Towler was also a presenter at NQA this year. His book, Cha Dao: The Way of Tea, Tea as a Way of Life, drew considerable interest at our stand.

Singing Dragon author Master Zhongxian Wu was unable to be with us this year, but in his absence two of his senior students stepped into the breach and led the workshop on the Mother Form. Master Wu’s new book, Chinese Shamanic Cosmic Orbit Qigong, and his DVD, Hidden Immortal Lineage Taiji Qigong, were very well received by the attendees.

We had a phenomenal time at NQA this year and we wish to thank the organizers, presenters and attendees for their good will and positive energy!

Copyright © Singing Dragon 2011.

Michael Davies on the benefits of the gentle exercise known as Jiangan – The Chinese Health Wand

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Michael Davies is a senior instructor with the Tai Chi Union for Great Britain. He has been practising Chinese internal arts for over 30 years and teaching Tai Chi Chuan for 13 years. He runs a Tai Chi club with regular classes, workshops and seminars in Tai Chi, Qigong and Jiangan. He lives in Hertfordshire, UK.

Here, Michael answers some questions about his new book, Jiangan – The Chinese Health Wand.

Video: Click to see Jiangan in action!

When did you first come across the Chinese health wand?

I saw it performed by an elderly Chinese man while on holiday in Malaysia in 1982, then later read a copy of the book by Bruce L. Johnson, the man who discovered the system in Shanghai in 1945. I had only just begun learning Tai Chi, which I took up mainly for the martial and meditation aspects. So although I was intrigued by the ‘Chinese Wand’ I was not sufficiently motivated to study it at that time. It was thirty years later, after working in an office and experiencing a sedentary lifestyle for much of that time, that I become more interested in the health aspects of Asian arts. I had become a Tai Chi instructor but felt that there were areas of conditioning and fitness that even this Chinese treasure was lacking. I decided to revisit Johnson’s book and experiment with the exercises, and was so impressed that I wrote this book.

What does Jiangan mean?

In Chinese (pin-yin) ‘Jian’ means health and ‘Gan’ means pole or wand. Jiangan can therefore be translated as ‘Health Wand’. Although there is no direct mention of Jiangan in Chinese written records, such exercises have been traditionally passed down from teacher to student orally for many generations. Dr Cheng, the Chinese Grandmaster who taught Bruce Johnson, claimed that the art was as old as Yoga and Qigong. But unlike other Asian mind-body systems that developed health aspects as by-products of spiritual advancement (Yoga), martial skill (Tai Chi) or healing specific illnesses (Qigong), Jiangan was specifically devised as a daily health and fitness maintenance routine for the gentry and imperial family who had unique health problems caused by their sedentary lifestyle. So for this purpose only the exercises evolved, the less effective and less safe exercises being replaced by more potent and safer exercises through countless generations. This makes it a scientific and comprehensive daily work-out.

Did you find Jiangan easy to learn, and have you found that the practice has expanded over the years?

It is very easy to learn but deceptively so. It possesses hidden subtleties and can be as simple or as challenging as you like. People tend to start practising physically but when the body adjusts there is less need for physical exertion. Eventually you realise that it is very much an internal exercise and you focus more on the deep diagrammatic breathing and develop a meditative frame of mind which greatly enhances your practice. The book takes the reader through the exercises in great detail and suggests traditional mental imagery based on the Chinese element system which helps to link the physical movement to spiritual concepts.

What are the health benefits, and how long each day do you need to practice?

The benefits include a sense of well-being, a clear tranquil mind, deep restorative sleep, increased energy, sexual vitality and fertility, increased circulation, clear skin, more efficient metabolism and improved digestion. But in addition Jiangan stretches and strengthens the physical body and is capable of delivering body-shaping results associated with vigorous gym workouts. It is therefore a holistic internal-external exercise. Many people separate health and fitness but Jiangan regards both as the same. Although there is stretching and strengthening similar to Western exercises these are performed in the style and spirit of a Tai Chi or Qigong routine. We approach stretches in gradual stages, always returning to the beginning posture with each breath and not holding a stretch for longer than a breath. Every movement is cyclic, gradual and gentle. So physical goals can be achieved at the same time as ‘internal cultivation’ because they are both part of the holistic joining of mind and body. Perhaps the systems’ most crucial contribution to health is its capacity to improve posture and help with a whole range of back, shoulder, and neck problems.

Twenty minutes a day is adequate to avail oneself of the many health benefits.

VIDEO: Michael Davies demonstrates some Jiangan exercises.

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Is this a purely ‘health’ practice or does it, like other Chinese energetic movement forms, carry within it a deeper spiritual practice?

The unique esoteric aspects of the art are based on Chinese traditional medicine and more obscure ancient practices, particularly involving the Gan itself. I discovered that the length that Johnson and Grandmaster Cheng specified for the Gan is approximately a ‘Golden Ratio’ longer than the length of an average person’s arm, which is probably the basis of the intriguing esoteric principles surrounding the Gan (‘Wand’ is an apt, rather magical term). Holding the Gan at each end – one hand considered ‘Yin’ and the other ‘Yang’ respectively – may relate back to the Healing Rods of ancient Egypt. Continuing with the Egyptian theme, this wide grip creates a symbolic pyramid shape with the body. As we continually circulate Qi around this ‘pyramid’ its vertex or tip repeatedly focusses on and stimulates the body’s two ‘polarity points’; the Yang (Baihui) on the crown of the head and the Yin (Huiyin) at base of the spine. This process relates to the important Chakra centres of Yoga and can also be seen as a simplified way to perform the ‘Microcosmic Orbit Meditation’ of Taoist alchemy. The ‘Yin-Yang’ concept is also an important influence on body mechanics. In most exercises the Gan acts as a fulcrum or lever. In many of the exercises, one part of the body is motionless (Yin) while another part is in motion (Yang). This creates a resistance that causes beneficial stretches and also massages internal organs. It is a methodology in stark contrast to Tai Chi where all the body moves as one unit.

Why do you think it is not very well known?

Bruce Johnson said that Dr Cheng was the last Chinese Grandmaster. When he introduced it to the West in the 1950’s there was little enthusiasm for Asian arts. By the time Tai Chi and Qigong became popular Johnson had given up teaching for religious reasons. The art was left behind. Though a few people kept it alive using Johnson’s out-of-print book as a reference point. But the internal, philosophical side of the art was not being taught. In recent years it seems to have been relegated to the role of a ‘quirky physical exercise with a stick’.

Using my experience in Chinese internal arts I wanted to rediscover the internal philosophy and present the art as originally intended so that a new generation can reap the health benefits. In fact, it was the way Jiangan effects the physical body that was the catalyst for writing the book. Even though I had been practising Tai Chi for over thirty years, like many men my age I had developed a middle-aged spread. There seems to be a consensus amongst Tai Chi and Qigong practitioners that it is possible to have a middle-age spread and still be healthy and to regard exercises that focus on physical improvement as somehow inferior and cosmetic. But an expanding waistband is often a sign that visceral fat – the fat that sits around the major organs and linked to diabetes and heart disease – is accumulating in the body. After practising Jiangan for several weeks my middle-ages spread was gone and I felt fitter, leaner and stronger, more supple than I had for years. I hope that my book will be particularly useful to people attracted to internal Chinese health but who also need to reduce weight and keep fit.

How does this practice fit within the Chinese martial arts tradition, and how might you integrate it with martial arts practice?

Jiangan is not a martial art and there is no evidence that it evolved from martial techniques. However, the dimensions of the Gan itself is approximately the same as the Chinese short staff (sometimes called the ‘Gun’ or ‘whip staff”) used for some martial forms.

It is a complete and integrated warm-up, a stretching, strengthening and Qigong-energy type practice that can be utilised to support any martial art training. It enriches training sessions and makes them more effective.

Now that the book is published, what is your next challenge?

I would like the art to become better known and more widely practised – particularly in the areas where it’s unique qualities can make a significant contribution, such as tackling obesity and weight-loss – especially in seniors and helping sedentary people overcome problems associated with their lifestyles. As it is simple to learn there is great opportunity for a wide range of people to teach themselves without long-term commitment to lessons or classes. Johnson wanted his own book to be in every nursing home, every hospital, every physical therapy room, every doctor’s office. I would like to see Jiangan practised by workers in offices and factories to increase productivity and the health of the workforce. I would also like to see it practised in schools and colleges, where it could not only help maintain student’s physical fitness but also be an accessible introduction to Chinese internal arts.

Copyright © Singing Dragon 2011.

Qigong Massage for Your Child with Autism – An Interview with researcher and author Dr Louisa Silva

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Dr Louisa Silva has a medical degree from the University of California, a Masters in Public Health from the Medical College of Wisconsin, and is a fellow of the American Academy of Medical Acupuncture. She is director of the Qigong Sensory Training Institute, Oregon, where she has completed multiple research studies into the effects of qigong massage on young children with autism.

Here, she answers some questions about her new book and DVD, Qigong Massage for Your Child with Autism: A Home Program from Chinese Medicine.

How did you become interested in traditional Chinese approaches to health, and in working with children with autism?

I am trained in three disciplines that are of equal importance to my work: Western medicine, Chinese medicine, and public health. My interest in Chinese approaches to health began when I was in Medical school at UCLA. Nixon had gone to China, and the nation had just heard about acupuncture being done on his aide. My Medical school invited a team from China to come over, and together they did a radical mastectomy under acupuncture anesthesia. At that moment, I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that Chinese medicine was powerful, but was too buried in my medical studies to begin to study it. It wasn’t until I had been out in practice for a few years, that I began to hit the wall with allopathic medical understanding and treatment of chronic conditions that I turned to Chinese medicine and began to study it. I found that Chinese medicine offered a way to strengthen the body so that it could throw off illness, and that it had much to offer to help improve general health and vitality. I saw the research showing that chronic conditions could be improved or cured. Over the years, I integrated what I had learned in medical school about Western diagnosis and treatment of illness, with the ancient Chinese techniques for improving health and removing illness. My interest in public health led me to pursue Chinese medical approaches to chronic illnesses that are natural, non-invasive, and easliy available to families.

My interest in autism began in 2000, when the son of a dear friend was diagnosed with autism, and I realized how little there was to offer parents of newly diagnosed children. At that point, I decided to teach a qigong massage protocol that I had learned from my Chinese medicine professor to the boy’s parents, and we found that it was helpful. This began a whole new career path for me in research, as I knew that for qigong massage to be accepted in the West as a treatment for autism, the research studies would have to be carefully done and published in scientific journals. I joined Teaching Research Institute at Western Oregon University, and now, 11 years later, we have published many research studies showing that the massage is effective, and explaining how it works.

What is Qigong Sensory Training (QST), and what are the benefits of QST for young children with autism?

Qigong Sensory Training is the name that we chose for the qigong massage methodology that is described in the book. It is a five month program of daily parent-delivered massage, and it has shown improvements in behavior and social and language skills in controlled studies. Not only does autism become less severe, but the child has general improvements in health in important areas like sleep, digestion, ability to calm themselves down, and toilet training; there is less aggressive and self-injurious behavior, and parenting stress is considerably lower.

How did the book/DVD come about and what is the idea behind it?

Our research suggests that behind the delays seen in children with autism lies a sensory nervous system that is out of kilter – the child’s skin, eyes and ears aren’t perceiving the world around them the way others perceive it. The senses are hypersensitive or hyposensitive or both. Many children have problems recognizing gentle touch and pain, some children don’t seem to notice when they are injured, and the senses don’t seem to work together – they don’t turn their head to look at someone’s face, and coordinate listening at the same time. Ordinary events can be confusing and upsetting for the child, and in the end, the brain doesn’t reflect accurate information about the world around them.

The hallmark of autism is a delay in social development that is apparent by age three. However, before age three, the important self-regulation milestones must be achieved for social development to proceed. The self-regulation milestones of the first three years of life are the foundation for healthy development. They are: 1) the ability to have a regular wake/sleep cycle, 2) the ability to have regular digestion and elimination, 3) the ability to self-soothe when upset, 4) the ability to regulate orientation and attention, 5) the ability to toilet train, and 6) the emerging ability to regulate emotions and behavior in response to social cues. Without these milestones, social development is delayed.

We know that all self-regulation takes place in response to sensory input. There was never a self-regulatory event that was not in response to sensory input. When sensory input is faulty, then self-regulatory output is also faulty. When sensory input is severely faulty, as it is in autism, then there is global delay of self-regulation milestones. Our research shows that children with autism have severely abnormal sensory responses, expecially of touch, and globally delayed self-regulation milestones before the age of three.

The massage works three ways: 1) it improves the circulation to the skin and normalizes touch pain responses. 2) it triggers the self-soothing response, and allows the child’s nervous system to learn to self-soothe. 3) it improves the health and vitality of the body so that digestion, elimination, toilet training and the body’s ability to remove toxins are improved. The child becomes stronger, healthier, more aware, and better able to pay attention at home and school, and to learn.

In our research, we used trained specialists to teach parents the massage, and work with them and their child over a period of months while the child overcame their barriers and difficulties with touch. We have trained a number of therapists on the East and West coast of the US, but the vast majority of the world has no trained therapists in this method. The book came about in response to many requests from parents the world over who did not have access to a trained therapist to learn the massage, and were asking for information about how to give the massage at home. It contains the full curriculum that the trained therapists impart to the parents over the months that they work with them.

Who is the book for, and how much do you have to know about TCM to use it?

This book is for families of young chldren with autism. They do not have to have a background of TCM to use it. We have explained the important ideas that they will need to use when they give qigong massage in ordinary, everyday language.

In the book you talk about the Chinese medicine explanation for the (behavioral and physiological) symptoms of autism as blockages of energy. Can you explain a bit here?

Chinese medicine considers health a state where there is abundant, free-flowing energy and circulation, and illness a state when there are blocks in the energy flow, which interfere with the free flow of the circulation. According to Chinese medicine, there is a block of the circulation to the skin, which results in the sensory nerves being over or under-sensitive. The massage normalizes the circulation and the sensation returns to normal. When the skin feels normal, many self-injurious behaviors simply disappear. The brain receives normal information about the surface of the body, and motor skills improve. For example, very quickly after sensation on the hands becomes normal, fine motor skills increase; after sensation on the feet improves, gross motor skills increase. Constipation is another example of a block of energy in the bowel, so that it does not eliminate normally. The massage quickly restores strength and energy to the bowel, and constipation resolves.

What are some challenges that parents face when attempting this kind of intervention, and how can your book help to overcome them?

At first, it can be challenging for parents to establish the massage in the child’s daily routine, as there are many parts of the body where the child is uncomfortable to touch. Often, the part of the massage that they like the least is the part where they need the most help. For example, many children with autism refuse touch on their ears. These are often the same children who do not listen or have language. Once touch on the ears becomes normal, they begin to use their ears to listen, and we see language pick up. Overcoming difficulties in particular areas is where it can be extremely helpful to have a therapist to work with. The book contains many ways to approach difficulties with touch on the different areas, as the most direct way for the child to overcome these difficulties is for the parent to continue to work with the massage. The techniques are also demonstrated on the accompanying DVD. Our program is a minimum of five months, and by the end of the first month, the majority parents have been able to help their child overcome their difficulties with touch, and both parent and child are enjoying the massage as a nice part of the daily routine.

Copyright © Singing Dragon 2011.

Singing Dragon author Master Zhongxian Wu on the Shamanic Root of Qigong 气功 and of all Chinese culture

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Excerpted from the Introduction to Chinese Shamanic Cosmic Orbit Qigong – Esoteric Talismans, Mantras, and Mudras in Healing and Inner Cultivation by Master Zhongxian Wu.

The Shamanic Root of Qigong 气功

When I was a child in China, I was curious about the way that the local Wu 巫 (Chinese shaman) would give treatments to patients. How could an acupuncture needle release the pain when the Wu placed it in a suffering patient’s body? How could chanting, meditation, and use of talismans help patients recover from illness? Although I gathered more knowledge about the principles of Chinese medicine as I grew up, I did not get answers to my questions during my childhood. Ever inquisitive, I sought the answer to more questions: What are meridians? What are acupuncture points? Where did this knowledge come from? How did this intricately layered system of medicine develop? Through decades of dedicated Qigong and self-cultivation practices, I gradually found the answers to these questions. As my practice of ancient Chinese wisdom techniques deepened, I began to understand that ancient Wu 巫 (Chinese Shamanism) is the root of all Chinese culture.

In ancient China, shamans were respected as sages, or enlightened beings who understood the way of nature and how it related to human beings. Ancient Chinese shamans considered human beings as the precious treasure residing between heaven and earth. How then, does one protect this precious life? Through study and observation of the Universal way, the ancient Chinese sages realized that achieving harmony in the body is possible when a person follows the balancing principles of the universe in everyday living. With living in harmony as the final goal, the ancient shamans created an ancient life science system designed to keep the physical body, the mind, and the spirit healthy. Today, we know this ancient life science system as Qigong 气功.

Choose A Beneficial Qigong Form

The term of Qigong made with two Chinese Characters: Qi 气 and Gong 功. In English, Qi translates conceptually as vital energy, vital force, or vital breath, while Gong translates as working hard in the correct way. In general, Qigong 气功 means Qi cultivation. Any movements, postures or activity done in a conscious relationship with Qi can be called Qigong. If you are not yet aware of the Qi flowing through and around your body, you can cultivate this consciousness through correct traditional Qigong practice, and develop a better understanding of the internal and external Qi network.

Qigong is a way of cultivating knowledge and a method of practice that should be learned through correct and careful guidance and through personal experience. You will feel it is easier to merge the principles of your Qigong practice into your life and to feel its powerful effects if you have the support of an experienced teacher to guide you. People often ask me what kind of Qigong form will be suitable for them. I always suggest that they choose a traditional style of Qigong, one with deep cultural roots that has proven to be authentic over centuries of practice.

Chinese Shamanic Cosmic Orbit Qigong

Three of the essential practices of Chinese Shamanic Qigong are the Fu 符 (talismans), Jue 訣 (mantras), and Yin 印 (mudras). Talisman, mudra, and mantra are specific rituals common to ancient shamanism. In my tradition, we still preserve and utilize many special talismans, mantras, and mudras as specific techniques for cultivation and healing/self-healing. Fu (talismans) are Qi (vital life energy) energized diagrams, symbols, or Chinese characters used to channel a vital energy in order to create a harmonious Qi field for healing or living. Jue (mantras) are special syllables, spells or sounds used spontaneously to resonate with Universal Qi and to circulate the Qi within the energy network through the vibrations created by your voice. Yin (mudras) are ancient hand positions used to connect with universal energies and act as a vehicle to access ancient wisdom of the Universe that is bound within the body.

Chinese Shamanic Orbit Qigong is a time-honored, esoteric style of Qigong, which focuses on cultivating internal Qi circulation and attaining enlightenment. Ancient shamans discovered that the energetic patterns of nature are reproduced in all levels of the cosmos, from the largest, macrocosmic (Universal level) scale to the smallest, microcosmic (living organisms and the cells, organelles and particles within them) scale, they deduced that the flow of Qi in the body is just like the ceaseless rotation of the sun, moon, and stars. Therefore, in Qigong terminology, orbit refers to the Qi circulation in in the body. The fundamental concept of balance in Chinese wisdom traditions holds that you will maintain health and experience well-being if Qi is free flowing in your body.

My new book, Chinese Shamanic Cosmic Orbit Qigong, illustrates the details of the Shamanic Orbit Qigong practice, including talismans, mantras, mudras, movements, visualizations, and therapeutic benefits. I hope you will enjoy this book and gain great benefits from your daily practice.

Master Zhongxian Wu is the recognized master of multiple lineages of classical Qigong, Taiji and martial arts. He has been teaching unique and professionally designed courses and workshops to beginning and advanced practitioners, as well as for patients seeking healing, for over 25 years. In addition to Chinese Shamanic Cosmic Orbit Qigong – Esoteric Talismans, Mantras and Mudras in Healing and Inner Cultivation, he is the author of The 12 Chinese Animals – Create Harmony in Your Daily Life Through Ancient Chinese Wisdom; Seeking the Spirit of The Book of Change – 8 Days to Mastering a Shamanic Yijing (I Ching) Prediction System; Hidden Immortal Lineage Taiji Qigong: The Mother Form; and The Vital Breath of the Dao – Chinese Shamanic Tiger Qigong. He and his wife, Dr. Karin Taylor Wu, live in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains of central Virginia, USA, and together founded Blue Willow Health Center. You can find more details about his teachings at www.masterwu.net.

Copyright © Singing Dragon 2011.

VIDEO: Lisa Spillane demonstrates the Six Healing Sounds – Qigong for Children

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Lisa Spillane is the author and illustrator of the new book, Six Healing Sounds with Lisa and Ted: Qigong for Children, which teaches young children how to transform negative feelings into positive ones by using simple breathing techniques that are based on ancient Chinese Qigong exercises.

Using a special sound for different parts of the body, Lisa and Ted show that a “haaaww” can heal the heart and blow away impatience, and a “whooooooo” can steady the stomach and chase away worries.

In this video, Lisa demonstrates each healing sound from the story so that parents, teachers, carers and children can make sure they’re getting the most from them.

Click below to see how it’s done!

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Lisa Spillane qualified as a teacher of Art and Design at the National College of Art and Design (NCAD) in Dublin, Ireland. She also has a master’s degree in Education and is a co-founder and former Director of Artlink Ltd., a charitable company promoting access to art in the North West of Ireland. Having taught at a number of schools, Lisa went on to work for several years in Northern Ireland on community projects with children and young people. She learned Qigong meditation from attending classes taught by Grandmaster Mantak Chia. Lisa currently lives in Brussels, Belgium.

Copyright © Singing Dragon 2011.

Qi Gong as a “process”: Journeying from dynamic movement to inner stillness

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By Michael Acton, author of Eternal Spring: Taiji Quan, Qi Gong and the Cultivation of Health, Happiness and Longevity.

I came to Qi Gong through Taiji Quan, which is considered in China to be both a high level Qi Gong and a highly respected traditional martial art. I started Taiji in London back in 1976 when there were very few serious and knowledgeable instructors around. I had already dabbled in Japanese martial arts. Taiji was like a breath of fresh air, I found it both fascinating and fulfilling. It also reflected more accurately my growing interest in Buddhism and Daoism and their expression in Chinese art and culture. My first important teacher was a Malaysian Chinese and he introduced me to Wu style Taiji Quan. After several years he returned to Malaysia. I visited him there and learned and saw aspects of Taiji I had not seen in the UK. I also saw Thai and Malaysian martial arts whilst in Southeast Asia.

Back in the UK, I continued to practice with some students from my old group but I also began a more earnest investigation of new teachers and other styles of Chinese martial arts, notably Chen Style, Ba Gua, Hsing Yi and Traditional Yang Form. I also spent six months in Dharamsala, Northern India, painting two pictures for the Office of the Dalai Lama (see below) which gave me an opportunity to study meditation and Buddhist philosophy. This had a significant impact upon my personal development and my inclination towards Qi Gong as a therapeutic and spiritual path. It also inspired me to seek out a high level teacher in China.

Michael Acton's painting of one of the great teachers of Buddhism, Shnatarakshita, displayed in the Namgyal Temple in Dharamsala.

In 1992 I went to Shanghai, the home of Wu Style Taiji and met Master Li Liqun, a fourth generation Taiji master and a senior disciple of Ma Yueh Liang. Master Ma and his wife Wu Ying Hua, (daughter of Grandmaster Wu Jian Quan who developed the Wu Style as we know it today), were the gatekeepers of the Southern Wu Style martial system of Taiji Quan and were both renowned for their skill and knowledge. Master Li was a life long practitioner of Chinese martial arts and was a highly respected Taiji master and Qi Gong doctor. It was my good fortune to meet him and I considered myself lucky when he invited me to study with him.

From Master Li I re-learned everything I thought I already knew about Taiji. I studied the weapons and martial strategies and learned the rare Kuai Quan (Fast form) – said to be the original hand form. I also had the chance to study Qi Gong in depth. I studied Master Li’s methods and his widely acclaimed 5 Yin Organ Back Step systems. It was a profound introduction to Qi Gong as a therapeutic/health practice and a cathartic experience for me. I stayed in China for nearly four years and have subsequently been back for a year’s stay plus many, many visits, including my recent visit in late 2010 when I was invited to visit the graves of Ma Yueh Liang, Wu Ying Hua and Wu Jian Quan, to pay my respects as an ‘apprentice’ of Master Li’s. Master Li has always been generous in his teaching and believed that everyone should have the chance to practice and study Taiji Quan to cultivate their vitality, health and happiness. He also encouraged me to teach in the same spirit and I have been teaching now since 1996. In 2006 I founded the Wu Shi Taiji and Qi Gong Association UK with Master Li Liqun as our Honourary Chairman. Its aim is to teach the traditional Wu Style Taiji Quan as passed down by the founder Wu Jian Quan as well as the methods and principles of Qi Gong as passed to me by Master Li Liqun.

The Qi Gong course I teach has evolved over many years of teaching, studying and investigating Taiji and Qi Gong. I confess: it has taken me a long time to acquire the maturity and depth needed to teach Qi Gong properly as well as position all the developmental stages of Qi Gong practice in an intelligible and sequential way. My course addresses the difficulties many Westerners find in accessing what I call the Qi Gong ‘experience’. I deliver a broad syllabus of principles, methods and strategies used in therapeutic Qi Gong.

The syllabus covers four main Qi Gong strategies:

  •  Dynamic movement
  • Medical/Therapeutic Qi Gong
  • Qi Absorption/Emission, and
  • Meditation

I offer both an understandable syllabus and relevant theoretical framework. My emphasis always remains true to my Masters’ with its primary emphasis on the therapeutic and healing aspects of Qi Gong rather than the mystical, martial or even religious. Generally I follow the Chinese medical paradigm as expressed in Traditional Chinese Medicine, and although this can present problems for many students who are unfamiliar with the principles and theory, I always seek to explain the Chinese ideas in a digestible and experiential way.

Many of my senior Qi Gong students are either therapists, osteopaths or acupuncturists and they find that the therapeutic methods I teach both enhance their level of treatment and give them the means to manage their own health. I also teach many students who have medical conditions, some quite serious, that need managing. It is this context that has propelled and informed the syllabus and the depth to which I teach. I believe that serious students, especially those in the healing professions, need a full range of Qi Gong methods to be useful in their practice and relevant to their patients as well as to themselves. I have come to see the principles, methods and strategies as being intimately linked and interdependent, each providing a stepping stone for a deeper and more profound experience. Qi Gong is about Nourishing Vitality which requires far more than learning a few sets of movements. Nourishing Vitality means the practice of ‘conservation, restoration, nourishment and transformation’. Qi Gong should be seen as a ‘process’ and as such it unfolds progressively as you journey from dynamic movement to inner stillness. It is why in China the practice of Qi Gong is often referred to as a ‘way’ or the ‘Dao of Qi Gong’.

I have recently started running a beginners’ workshop at the Crouch End YMCA in London. It is usually held on the last Saturday of each month. There are still places available since we are still at the beginning phase of the syllabus. However, once we pass this phase it will not be easy for beginners to join this group, so call or e-mail if you are interested as soon as possible. My aim is to create a dedicated group which can progress together through the whole syllabus. Group cohesion and commitment is important in cultivating the right context for study.

Key Components of my syllabus:

  • Postural Dao Yin – Eternal Spring Qi Gong – (Yong Chuan Dao Yin Fa Gong) Dynamic Movement and posture based method.
  • Mental Dao Yin – The 5 Yin Organ Step Back Method of Master Li: Dan Tian cultivation, Energy circulation, Energy gate method, 12 Meridian method and Self Strengthening method.
  • Qi Absorption – 3 Opening and 9 Rotations, Heaven, Earth and Man Qi Gong, Qi Emission and Qi Absorption techniques.
  • Meditation – Respiratory techniques, Dissolving, Visualising Method, Blending and Transforming, Small Heavenly Circuit, and Entering Stillness.

For more information, contact:

Wu Shi Taiji Quan and Qi Gong Association UK
Tel: +44 (0)1225 832 292
msi.yuan-acton@macunlimited.net
www.wutaijiandqigong.co.uk

Copyright © Singing Dragon 2011.