Clouds Over Qingcheng Mountain: Posting Exercises to Try

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Mount Qingcheng, one of China’s mystical mountains, has been the birth place of discovery, realization and preservation of the recipes that stimulate the deep potential of the human body for generations. Clouds Over Qingcheng Mountain, the follow-up book to Climbing the Steps to Qingcheng Mountain by Daoist master Wang Yun, simplifies the complex practices of Daoism handed down by generations of accomplished Masters – such as posting, breath practice and meditation – and gifts the reader with its most valuable aspects for a modern world.

In this extract, we share three simple posting exercises to incorporate into everyday life to promote the flow of qi and blood, boost the immune system and help relax the body.

Posting relaxation exercises

[Benefits of posting include: promoting the smooth flow of qi and blood, methodically harmonizing the breath, and clearing the channels of the entire body.]

Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, imagine a string hanging straight down from the upper dantian (near the pineal gland) to the huiyin point (the perineum), and landing on the floor between your two feet. Next, imagine your whole body as a bag of air, as if you were completely hollow. At the same time, relax your body; from the hair on your head down to the yongquan points at the bottom of the feet. Everything is totally empty, like a transparent crystal ball. Relax your body in this way and repeat the visualization three times. Continue reading →

Clouds Over Qingcheng Mountain: Testimonials from Wang Yun’s Students

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Immersing the mind with the concepts of the Daoist path of health and immortality, Clouds over Qingcheng Mountain – the new book by Daoist master Wang Yun – invokes the sacred birthplace of one of China’s mystical mountains that has stimulated both mind and body for generations.

Whilst the first volume, Climbing the Steps to Qingcheng Mountain, invited the reader to travel across time and through the history of China and Daoism, Clouds over Qingcheng Mountain is more focused in the book’s purpose. Wang Yun places special focus on relaxation and the breath through five sets of foundational yet all-encompassing practices, such as posting, to deepen both themes. He offers tales from his life and journey, along with accessible tools to strengthen both body and qi.

Bridging the gap between practical experience and philosophical background, Clouds over Qingcheng Mountain simplifies the complex practices of Daoism handed down by generations of accomplished Masters, and gifts the reader with its most valuable aspects for a modern world.

In these videos, students of Wang Yun give testimonials on the master’s teaching, and how they benefited from practising the exercises in the book on a regular basis.

 

Working with Death and Loss in Shiatsu Practice: Knowing What Ki Is

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Tamsin Grainger has been a Zen Shiatsu practitioner since 1991 and is the co-founder of The Shiatsu School in Edinburgh, as well as being a prolific writer and teacher. Below, she gives a glimpse of what readers can expect from her new book, Working with Death and Loss in Shiatsu Practice.

Introduction

Working with Death and Loss in Shiatsu Practice is a guide to bodywork in palliative care. It looks at how Shiatsu practitioners sit with their clients when they are grieving, how they listen to the bereaved, what language they use at the end of life, and above all their touch.

Because Shiatsu practitioners can address and hold the physical, emotional, mental and spiritual aspects of clients at the same time, as a result of their deep training based on hands-on experience, they are supremely placed to practice in this arena. My book looks at all these levels and provides support for the practitioner who wants to be centred, open-hearted and well primed.

The book contains a wide range of useful and illuminating theory which has been collected together in one volume for the first time. It covers the dying process and the ideas which underly Shiatsu practice as it pertains to loss and palliative care. It looks at the traditional ideas as well as at current teaching, and supports and encourages each individual to find their own confidence.

Knowing what Ki is

Shiatsu practitioners are taught that Ki pervades everything, that everything is made of Ki. Though invisible in its purest form to most human eyes, it may be felt by clients and practitioners alike. Continue reading →

Announcing our Acupuncture Webinar Series: Join us on our Facebook page every week

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We are delighted to announce that Singing Dragon is launching a new Acupuncture Webinar Series.

Starting on the 15th of September, join us every Tuesday and Thursday at 8pm BST/3pm EST on our Facebook page for a new webinar by renowned acupuncture professionals.

You can join in the discussions, and our authors will be on hand to answer any questions or comments you may have on the day.

You can also submit your questions for our authors ahead of time by emailing hello@intl.singingdragon.com.

Click here to visit and follow our Facebook page!

 

Our Acupuncture Webinar Series schedule so far features:

  • CT Holman – 15th September – Applying Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches to Chinese Medicine Treatments
  • Rebecca Avern – 17th September – Why do children become ill?
  • Mary Elizabeth Wakefield & MichelAngelo – 22nd and 24th September – Vibrational Acupuncture: Integrating Tuning Forks with Needles
  • John Hamwee – 29th September – Amplifying the Power of Treatment
  • Hamid Montakab – 6th October – TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine) versus CCM (Classical Chinese Medicine)

We are in the process of confirming many more events with our authors. Follow our Facebook page to stay up to date with upcoming events!

Please note: webinars will be available for 24 hours, after which they will be available for purchase through the Singing Dragon Library for a small fee.

 

Continue reading →

Svadhyaya Breath Journal: Download an extract from the companion workbook to Restoring Prana by Robin Rothenberg

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Singing Dragon was proud to publish Restoring Prana: A Therapeutic Guide to Pranayama and Healing Through the Breath for Yoga Therapists, Yoga Teachers, and Healthcare Practitioners by Robin Rothenberg in December 2019, to critical acclaim. We are therefore delighted to announce that Svadhyaya Breath Journal: A Companion Workbook to Restoring Prana by Robin will be published in August 2020, and is now available to pre-order!

This companion workbook provides a pre-formulated breath journal, which follows the chapter chronology of the parent book, Restoring Prana, a training manual on transformative breathing presenting a new way of understanding and applying breath to a wide range of ailments. Each chapter in Restoring Prana ends with specific practices that the reader is asked to track in a breath journal – and this workbook provides a pre-formulated journal for this purpose, with the key concepts highlighted and with space for breath charts, logs and reflection.

Continue reading →

Lee Majewski & Ananda Balayogi Bhavanani on Yoga Therapy as a Whole-Person Approach to Health

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Lee Majewski and Ananda Balayogi Bhavanani’s new book, Yoga Therapy as a Whole-person Approach to Health, is published in July 2020 – a groundbreaking book that explores yoga and yoga therapy as a multi-faceted approach to wellness.

Lee Majewski C-IAYT is a yoga therapist at Marsden Centre for Integrative Medicine, Vaughn, Canada and visiting senior yoga therapist at Kaivalyadhama Yoga Institute, India. She is a cancer survivor and since 2006 has worked with cancer and psychosomatic chronic disease patients, including running intensive yogic retreats for cancer patients in Europe, North America, India and Australia.

Ananda Balayogi Bhavanani is Director of the Centre for Yoga Therapy Education and Research (CYTER) and Professor of Yoga Therapy at Sri Balaji Vidyapeeth University. He is also Chairman of the International Centre for Yoga Education and Research at Ananda Ashram, Pondicherry, India and Yoganjali Natyalayam, the premier institute of Yoga and Carnatic Music and Bharatanatyam in Pondicherry.

Together, they created this book for yoga therapists, health professionals and all those interested in this modality to provide a deeper understanding of yoga therapy, carefully clarifying yogic concepts and exploring how deep yogic work can be practically applied to a range of chronic conditions.

Watch an in-depth discussion with the authors, facilitated by Dr Lori Rubenstein Fazzio, clinical professor of yoga and health at Loyola Marymount University, and owner of Mosaic Physical Therapy in Los Angeles.

 

Treating Psoriasis with Chinese Herbal Medicine

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We are thrilled to announce that the new, revised and updated edition of Treating Psoriasis with Chinese Herbal Medicine, the wonderful book by Sabine Schmitz, is being published by Singing Dragon in July 2020.

In this video, Sabine introduces her book, the first comprehensive English-speaking guide to treating psoriasis with Chinese herbal medicine.

We have implemented some exciting changes into this edition:
  • We’ve vividly enriched the book with illustrations, photographs of both the skin and the tongue (including a tongue atlas), as well as in-depth case studies and new information based on the latest research.
  • It is beautifully designed and type-set – readers will now find it much easier to navigate and dip in and out of the text as needed.

The perfect resource for Chinese medicine practitioner or student interested in treating skin conditions, this is the first ‘Western’ Chinese medicine publication dedicated specifically to psoriasis, and it takes a modern, practical approach to treatment, looking at the root cause of the condition from a Chinese medicine viewpoint, examining the most common Chinese medicine syndromes and formulas that have been proven to be most effective, and discussing the role of environment and emotional health.

New TCM Dermatology Series with Singing Dragon

This book is the first of a new TCM dermatology handbook series that Sabine is working on with Singing Dragon, with practical books about the most common skin diseases.

We’re creating the ultimate resources for practitioners to use in clinical practice – easy to read, use and navigate in day-to-day practice, and based on her many years of experience in treating skin conditions with Chinese medicine.

To keep an eye out for upcoming books in the series, subscribe to the Singing Dragon mailing list by clicking here.

Sarah Scharf: New Opportunities for Yoga Teachers in Lockdown

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Sarah Scharf, MFA is a yoga teacher, author of the upcoming book, Holding Space: The Creative Performance and Voice Workbook for Yoga Teachers and theatre artist. She holds an MFA in Physical Theatre and has completed multiple training courses in Yoga of various styles. In London she taught at Triyoga – the largest studio in Europe – and worked as a mentor for the Yogacampus Teacher Training. She runs popular workshops and training on voice work and performance skills for yoga teachers, and works as a movement director and teaching artist for theatre. She is an American currently living in Vienna.

With the onset of regulations that have temporarily closed yoga studios and suspended public gatherings we have seen a rapid change in the yoga industry. Using live streaming video conferencing has become the most common way of teaching. Many of us have been challenged as teachers not only to learn to use the technology, but also to deal with the emotional elements of growing again as teachers. Some feel like they have to start over, especially those that relied heavily on hands on adjustments during their teaching and didn’t develop the language skills to adequately describe detailed movement or actions. This process of shifting online has shown many of us where we need to grow. It’s an opportunity for us to refine our work, to get more comfortable with ourselves and perhaps even create new opportunities.

There are many ways to teach online. I’ll focus on these options in the context of teaching yoga or movement and meditation:

  • interactive livestream classes
  • non-interactive livestream classes
  • online trainings/workshops/courses

Interactive Live stream

Interactive live stream requires conferencing software if you want to control the entry of participants. The main bonus is that you can see your students in real time. This gives you the opportunity to offer verbal adjustments and individualised instruction. This is only possible when you can see your students, which will require a larger screen for bigger groups so you can avoid scrolling. Some teachers use a projector, making sure it is a quiet one so the sound isn’t a problem. Other teachers avoid demonstrating and simply sit close enough to their screen that they can see everyone. Continue reading →

Sarah Scharf on Holding Space and Preparing for Teaching Yoga Online

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Sarah Scharf, MFA is a yoga teacher, author of the upcoming book, Holding Space: The Creative Performance and Voice Workbook for Yoga Teachers and theatre artist. She holds an MFA in Physical Theatre and has completed multiple training courses in Yoga of various styles. In London she taught at Triyoga – the largest studio in Europe – and worked as a mentor for the Yogacampus Teacher Training. She runs popular workshops and training on voice work and performance skills for yoga teachers, and works as a movement director and teaching artist for theatre. She is an American currently living in Vienna.

Improvisational theatre has a rule that is not to be broken under any circumstances: Yes, And. The principle is simple: whatever is happening must be accepted before we add to it. The pandemic has made this principle my greatest ally. It helps me acknowledge the challenge of uncertain work income, the inability to plan or make decisions with a full picture and the intensity of grief that has rocked me as our world has changed so quickly. At a recent workshop I gave, a longtime yoga and meditation teacher commented that improvisation is very much like mindfulness. I totally agree. Mindfulness as a practice of being aware of what is present, what is actually happening versus being stuck in our thoughts and expectations, is the basis of improvisation.

The “new normal”

Teachers of all types have suddenly been asked to teach through new mediums. People with different types of jobs are zooming and working remotely. Those of us who have work that can be moved online are lucky, yet the transition has been rocky for a lot of us. My background in theatre and many years of teaching experience have really helped me to adapt. Most of this blog is adapted from my upcoming book Holding Space:The Creative Performance and Voice Workbook for Yoga Teachers. We don’t need to be trained actors to communicate clearly and effectively through screens. We do need to embrace improvisation, allow for the learning curves and be extra kind to ourselves. Continue reading →

Experiencing Acupuncture: An Introduction by John Hamwee

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John Hamwee is an experienced practitioner and teacher of acupuncture and zero balancing, with over twenty-five years’ experience in practice.

He is the author of Experiencing Acupuncture: Journeys of Body, Mind and Spirit for Patients and Practitioners, which was published in April 2020, as well as Acupuncture for New Practitioners, Intuitive Acupuncture, The Spirit of the Organs and Zero Balancing.

In this article, he briefly explains why he decided to write his latest book, and how he hopes it will help both acupuncturists and their patients.

I am often puzzled and regularly find myself faced with difficult choices in my acupuncture practice. How many times in the treatment room have I thought – I wish I could talk to one of my teachers right now. I know they wouldn’t tell me what to do but they would make suggestions based on their deep knowledge and long experience. They’d say how they managed when they struggled with diagnoses which were convincing but didn’t work, when they found the  messages of pulse, tongue and symptoms contradictory, and when they too had patients who somehow seemed to resist treatment. Continue reading →