Cloud Hands Blog

Most of my Internet publishing is done at the Spirit of Gardening Website, the Cloud Hands Taijiquan Website, the Valley Spirit Qigong Website, Ways of Walking website, Ripening Peaches: Taoist Studies and Practice website, the Meditation and Yoga websites, and the One Old Druid's Final Journey website.  Most of my many webpages are organized and listed in the right side bar of this Cloud Hands Blog.  I do have an alphabetical index to most of my internal arts webpages at Green Way.  

A few of the webpages of mine are served to over 20,000 readers a month during some months of the year.  The Cloud Hands blog is currently served to less that 2,500 readers each month.  Therefore, I focus more on developing and improving webpages, and put far less effort into writing for this blog.  Nearly everything you read in this blog is found in one or more of my webpages.   

I try to post something to the Cloud Hands Blog every day.  When pressed for time, I sometimes repeat a previous post and just change the title of the post.  Most of the posts function as pointers to my more detailed webpages on the same or related subjects.  

Most of my web publishing from October 2011 until February 2012 will be focused on my study of the Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu, and on the Magic Pearl Qigong.  

My wife, Karen, and I no longer make any posts to the Our Paths in the Valley blog.  This change will help us reduce expenses for Typepad and save time.  Maintaining just one blog is sufficient for our purposes in 2012.

Nearly all individual bloggers and web publishers that I know earn no significant income from their web publishing.  The same is true for us, therefore more of our time and effort is spent as employees at our regular part-time jobs.   

This is the week for Thanksgiving Celebrations in America.  

Happy Thanksgiving!  

Mike

T'ai Chi Ch'uan Cane and Walking Stick Practices

The only martial arts weapon that I practice with is a cane.  I practice all the Taijiquan sword and broadsword forms that I know with a cane.  


Every time I take a walk I carry my cane with me.  Using various cane strikes and stretches while walking is an excellent way to exercise the upper torso.

I use an Instructor's Walking Cane, 40" (103 cm) long and 1" (2.54 cm) in diameter, from Cane Masters.  This cane weights 1lb, 2 oz (510 gm).  This beautiful martial arts combat cane is made of pure hickory heartwood, has multiple notches at three key gripping points, has a rounded hooked horn, and has a rubber covered tip.  I also own the same Instructor's Walking Cane made of oak - a gift from my children.   

Cane Research Project at Valley Spirit Taijiquan

Self-Defense Arts and Fitness Exercises Using a Cane, Walking Stick, or Short Wooden Staff
All documents were created by Michael P. Garofalo, M.S.
Published by Green Way Research, Valley Spirit Taijiquan, Red Bluff, California, 2009-2011

Way of the Short Staff. Comprehensive bibliography of books, media, links, and resources. Includes research on cane, short staff, walking stick, jo, etc..

These documents normally include a list of the movement names in the specific cane or short staff form, and the final direction to face for each named movement sequence. Some documents provide detailed descriptions for each of the movement sequences. All documents include some commentary, notes, and a bibliography of books, media, and links. Many of these documents are in Adobe PDF read/print only format. The documentation of this research is an ongoing project of mine in 2009-2012; consequently, many documents are still incomplete. Over time, I intend to provide for each movement: 1) the martial technique used, 2) direction of technique application, and 3) the final leg stance. All of these forms can be practiced with a cane or walking staff under 40" long.

Bodhidharma's Shaolin Cane (Damo Cane, Shaolin Damo Kung Fu Cane). As taught by Master Shi Deyang. 21 movements in 3 sections. List of names and directions.

Cane Research Project and Blog Notes from Michael Garofalo, Valley Spirit Taijiquan.

Cloud Hands Taijiquan Bibliographies, Instructions, Guides, and Research in Taijiquan and Qigong.

Chen Taijiquan Broadsword Form. As taught by Grandmaster Chen Zenglei. 23 Postures/Movements. Practice with cane. List of Names.

Chen Shen-Pu's Taijiquan Short Staff. Created by Grandmaster Chen Shen-Pu, and taught by Shifu Jiang Jian-ye.. 74 movements. List of Names.

Eight Immortals Taijiquan Cane, Routine One, Yang Style of Taijiquan. As taught by Master Jesse Tsao. 36 movements in 10 lessons. List of Names.

Eight Immortals Taijiquan Cane, Routine Two, Chen Style of Taijiquan. As taught by Master Jess Tsao. 36 movements in 10 lessons. List of Names.

How I Use Instructional DVD's to Learn Cane Forms

Martial Arts Techniques for the Cane and Short Staff. Lists, Notes, and Commentary.

Northern Energy Taiji Cane (Beifang Qi Taiji Zhang). As taught by Sensei James Bouchard. 24 movements. List of names and descriptions.

Shaolin Cane. As taught by Shifu Ted Mancuso. List of the names of the movements, and detailed descriptions in 16 Lessons.

Standard Simplified Yang Style Sword Form. 32 movements. Detailed descriptions. Practice with a cane.

Tchoung Ta-Tchen Cane. Created by Grandmaster Tchoung Ta-Tchen. 33 Movements. List of Names.

Thunder Stick Cane Form developed by Chen Pan-Ling and as taught by Chen Yun-Ching. 24 Movements. List of Names.

Way of the Short Staff. Comprehensive bibliography of books, media, links, and resources. Includes research on cane, short staff, walking stick, jo, etc..

Way of the Staff. Comprehensive bibliography of books, media, links, and resources. Includes research on the staff, bo, gun, quarterstaff, pole, etc..

Wudang Tiger Tail Short Staff . As taught by Shifu Jiang Jian-ye. 48 movements in this Wudang Mountain Taoist sort staff form. List of names.

Yang Family Tai Chi Short Staff by Xu Minshan. As taught by Shifu Jiang Jian-ye. 104 postures. List of names.

Personal Transformation Principles

We sometimes feel the need for dramatic changes in our lifestyle for a a variety of good reasons including a dissatisfaction with the results of previous actions and habits. We want to change our character, behaviors, habits, thinking, or values so as to effect a "Transformation."

I recently reread a book by Baron Baptiste, a influential and popular yoga master, titled "40 Days to Personal Revolution: A Breakthrough Program to Radically Change Your Body and Awaken the Sacred Within Your Soul' (Fireside, Simon and Schuster, 2004). Yogi Baptiste gives an explanation of a plan for personal transformation, and includes his views on the guiding principles (Laws) for such significant changes: 

"The Twelve Laws of Transformation

1. Seek the Truth
2. Be Willing to Come Apart
3. Step Out of Your Comfort Zone
4. Commit to Growth
5. Shift Your Vision
6. Drop What You Know
7. Relax with What Is
8. Remove the Rocks
9. Don't Rush the Process
10. Be True to Yourself
11. Be Still and Know
12. Understand that the Whole is the Goal"
- Baron Baptist, 40 Days to Personal Revolution, 2004, pp. 5-45.

Over the years, I have also collected many quotations regarding the power of the will in human action. Willpower is a key component of successful personal transformation. The will is very much like a muscle: with exercise it gets stronger, it needs time for rest and recuperation, it needs to be feed properly with behavioral and mental nutrients, it needs some stretching and flexibility work, and needs to be cross-trained to develop full and responsive power.

I think some of the guiding techniques for personal change include:

1. A realistic and truthful assessment of our physical, mental, emotional, and social
self-potential and possibilities.
(Baptiste: 11, 10, 1, 5)

2. A clearly articulated vision and goals for the future.
(Baptiste: 12,5)

3. A detailed action plan, objectives and timetable needed to accomplish the goals.
(Baptiste: 12, 5, 1)

4. A wholehearted commitment to and belief in the action plan.
(Baptitste: 4, 2)

5. Direct efforts on a daily basis to fulfill the action plan.
(Baptiste: 4, 11, 10)

6. Having patience, steadfastness, determination, courage, and flexibility.
(Baptiste: 7, 9)

7. Acknowledging and breaking through one's inner resistance to change, abandoning
or tearing away from one's past actions.
(Baptiste: 2, 3, 6, 8)

8. The regular review, evaluation, and realistic assessment of progress on a weekly
and monthly basis.
(Baptiste: 1, 3, 8)

We also need to take advantage of techniques to manage the unconscious and well as conscious forces that comprise our inner life. Try exploring techniques such as visualization, repeated affirmations, guided meditations, rituals, art, hypnosis, neuro-linguistic programming, music, etc. 

Lifestyle Advice from Wise Persons 

Planting Blubs

In our area, this is the time of the year for planting bulbs, corms, and tubers for late winter and spring blossoms.  

We plant a lot of onions and garlic.  We also have a large garden with many iris and narcissus plants.  

“Since Iris is the Greek goddess for the Messenger of Love, her sacred
flower is considered the symbol of communication and messages.
Greek men would often plant an iris on the graves of their beloved
women as a tribute to the goddess Iris, whose duty it was to
take the souls of women to the Elysian fields."
- Hana No Monogatari: The Stories of Flowers

School of the Seasons


“The Iris flower is the flower of wisdom. Iris flowers are the emblem of France. Iris Flowers are associated with twenty fifth wedding anniversary. These Iris Flowers grow in the temperate, sub-arctic and warm climatic zones. They are poetry by themselves. There is numerous folk loree on Iris Flowers. It is believed to this day that “pothos” or passion is the son of “Iris” and “Zephyros”. The story unfolds that when the west wind passed through alluring “Iris”, it symbolized the vividness of passion. In Greek, “Iris” meant both a flower and rainbow. Iris Flowers are often termed as eyes of heaven.”
- Iris Flowers  


Green Way Wisdom - Flowers

Pulling Onions: Quips and Sayings of an Old Gardener

November Chores in the Garden

Bear Frolic Qigong

I have practiced various versions of the Five Animal Frolics Qigong for a number of years.  There are many different versions of the Animal Frolics.  In the winter months I practice the Bear Frolic a bit more often.

The exercise set is considered to be Daoyin, or what is now called Qigong (Chi Kung). In this context, the word "Dao" means to guide, lead, show the way, slowly, inch by inch. The word "Yin" means to pull out, draw out, or stretch. So Daoyin are mind-body exercises that show us how to draw out the potential for diseases and restore an integrated or balanced state of well-being in body and mind.

Many people credit the famous Chinese physician, Hua Tuo (110-207 CE), with developing a popular Daoyin animal frolics set which consists of exercises based on the deer, crane, monkey, tiger, and bear. Hua Tuo's best student, Wu Pu, lived to be over 100, and wrote that Hua Tuo told him:

"Man's body must have exercise, but it should never be done to the point of exhaustion. By moving about briskly, digestion is improved, the blood vessels are opened, and illnesses are prevented. It is like a used doorstep which never rots. As far as Tao Yin (bending and stretching exercises) is concerned, we have the bear's neck, the crane's twist, and swaying the waist and moving the joints to promote long life. Now I have created the art called the Frolics of the Five Animals: the Tiger, the Deer, the Bear, the Monkey, and the Crane. It eliminates sickness, benefits the legs, and is also a form of Tao Yin. If you feel out of sorts, just practice one of my Frolics. A gentle sweat will exude, the complexion will become rosy; the body will feel light and you will want to eat."

 "In addition to the key points of Qigong exercise, the Frolics of the Five Animals require attention to the following points:
1.  Integration of Form and Mind
2.  Flexible and Circular Movement 
3.  Slow and Fast Movement  [The Bear's movement is slow and steady.]
4.  Heaviness, Stability and Subtlety 
5.  Softness and Toughness  
6.  Order of the Frolics  [The Bear movement is done first in the series: bear, deer, tiger, monkey, and crane.] 
7.  Coordination of Movements with Respiration 
8.  Three-way Stability 
9.  Preparation  
10.  Conscientiousness 
11.  Perseverance in Practice  
-   Jiao Guorui, Qigong Essentials for Health Promotion, 1988, pp. 193-195.  This is one of the earliest good English language texts on Qigong practices.   

Be sure to take a look at:

Bear Frolic.  UTube Video, 2:08 Min.  Performed by Anson Rathbone, 2007.  As taught by Deguang at NESA's Medical Qigong Class.  

Seldom Just One

The Many Create and Elevate The One

“Simplifying our relations to things sometimes allows us to live
more complex intellectual and emotional lives.
Repetition and diversification are Nature’s formulas.
Simplifying and simplicity are never simple matters.
The empty garden is already full.
The simplest garden is never simple.
It takes four seasons to know one year.
Complexity is closer to the Truth.
Diversity, multiplicity, relations, combinations, mixtures, complexity -
rarely just one process or one thing.
Never just One: fruit, a hoe, the moving Sun.”
- Michael P. Garofalo, Pulling Onions





Photo by Karen Garofalo taken in downtown Red Bluff, CA, November 2008.


“An agricultural adage says the tiny animals that live below the
surface of a healthy pasture weigh more than the cows grazing
above it. In a catalogue selling composting equipment I read
that two handfuls of healthy soil contain more living organisms
than there are people on the earth. What these beings are and
what they can be doing is difficult to even begin to comprehend,
but it helps to realize that even thought they are many,
they work as one.”
- Carol Williams, Bringing a Garden to Life, 1998

Green Way Wisdom - Complexity

Walking in the Harmony of the Unborn

Ways of Walking: Bibliography, Links, Resources, Quotations, Notes.
A website by Michael P. Garofalo. 

Walking Meditation

"A person's heart and mind are in chaos.
Concentration on one thing makes the mind pure.
If one aspires to reach the Tao,
one should practice walking in a circle."
- Taoist Canon

"I was the world in which I walked."
-   Wallace Stevens, Tea at the Palaz of Hoon

"Allow walking to occupy a place of stature equal with all the other important activities in your life.  As difficult as that might seem, here's how to do it.  Make it a practice.  That's right.  Turn your walking into a vehicle for personal growth as well as for fitness.  This will add a higher level of integrity and intention to your approach because you will find that it is a way to deepen and upgrade your relationship to your body.  Instead of merely giving your legs and a good workout, you'll be practicing to relax more, to breathe better, to expand your vision, to open up your range of motion, to increase your energy, to feel and sense your body.  The list is exciting - and endless.  With all of this to look forward to, your walking program will take its place alongside everything in your life you value most, and you'll be amazed at how easy it is to schedule time for something you really love to do."
-  Katherine Dreyer, Chi Walking, p. 56 

Caloric Expenditures Per Mile by Walking  

Ba Gua Zhang: Circle Walking Internal Martial Arts 

"When you walking along naturally, you're walking in the harmony of the Unborn."
-   Bankei (1622-1693)

"Above all do not lose your desire to walk. Everyday I walk myself into a state of well being and walk away from every illness. I have walked myself into my best thoughts and I know of no thought so burdensome that one cannot walk away from it. But by sitting still, and the more one sits still, the closer one comes to feeling ill...if one keeps on walking everything will be alright."
- Soren Kierkegaard

Walking Quotations

Playing Around

T'ai Chi Ch'uan is for me, among other things, a way of playing. Playing to lift my spirits, playing to meet a challenge, playing for delight, playing to show off, playing for exercise, playing for no reason at all.

"We are never more fully alive, more completely ourselves, or more deeply engrossed in anything than when we are playing."
- Charles Schaefer

"The true object of all human life is play.
Earth is a task garden; heaven is a playground."
- G. K. Chesterton

"It is a happy talent to know how to play."
- Ralph Waldo Emerson 

Index to the Cloud Hands Website

Sitting Quietly

"The first level of stillness is about being with yourself in order to know yourself. This is accomplished by being wide awake and aware as you deliberately relax into yourself. The idea is to consciously enter into a state wherein you temporarily suspend everything you think you know about who you are, including anything you have ever been taught, and simply be attentive to what's going on right there where you are. You practice being quiet, both physically and mentally, as you pay attention to the sensations in your body, the various thoughts in your mind, and your current experience of being conscious and alive. You practice simple body-mind awareness, being conscious of the moment you are now in, and thereby experience with clarity the energy of you. You consciously experience yourself as you actually are. In this way you open yourself to a new, truer, less distorted experience of you and the world."
- Erich Schiffmann, Yoga: The Spirit and Practice of Moving Into Stillness, 1996, p. 7. 


"Sit quietly
focus and forget
rest with the great achievement.
The ancient child asks
"what is the great achievement?"
It is beyond description in any language
it can only be felt intuitively
it can only be expressed intuitively. 
Engage a loose, alert, and aware
body, mind, and sound
then look into the formless
and perceive no thing.
See yourself as a sphere
small at first
growing to encompass
the vastness of infinite space. 
Sit quietly
focus and forget then
in a state of ease and rest
secure the truth of the great achievement.
Employing the truth will not exhaust its power
when it seems exhausted it is really abundant
and while human art will die at the hands of utility
the great achievement is beyond being useful.
Great straightness is curved and crooked
great intelligence is raw and silly
great words are simple and naturally awkward. 
Engaged movement drives out the frozen cold
mindful stillness subdues the frenzied heart.
Sit quietly
focusing
forgetting
summon order from the void
that guides the ordering of the universe."
-  Tao Te Ching, Chapter 45, Translated by John Bright-Fey, 2006

"There are many matters and many circumstances in which consciousness is undesirable and silence is golden, so that secrecy can be used as a marker to tell us that we are approaching the holy."
-  Gregory Bateson, Angels Fear


"You are sitting on the earth and you realize that this earth deserves you and you deserve this earth.  You are there - fully, personally, genuinely."
-  Chogyam Trungpa

"Teach us to care and not to care.
Teach us to sit still."
-  T.S. Eliot

Ripening Peaches: Taoist Studies and Practices
Standing Meditation


Quiet in the Garden


Sitting in the Garden

Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu, Chapter 45

Dao De Jing by Laozi
Chapter 45

"Perfection cannot be attained,
but it can be noticed.
If you pay full attention
to what seems flawed and ordinary
you will notice the perfection
hiding beneath appearances.
If you pay full attention to each other
you will notice how perfectly
you are each becoming who you really are.
By seeing the perfection in what is
you allow the creation
of what is not."
-   Translated by William Martin, 1999, Chapter 45 

"What is most perfect seems imperfect,
But using it doesn't use it up.
What is most full seems empty,
But using it doesn't wear it down.
Great straightness seems crooked;
Great skill seems clumsy;
Great eloquence seems hesitant.
Movement conquers cold,
But stillness conquers heat.
Clearness and serenity
Are beneath-heaven's norm."
-   Translated by Herrymon Maurer, 1985, Chapter 45   

"Esteem lightly your greatest accomplishment, your patience will not fail.
Reckon your great fullness to be emptiness, your strength will not become exhausted.
Count your rectitude as foolishness,
Know your cleverness to be stupidity,
Recognize your eloquence to be stammering words,
And you will find that
As movement overcomes cold, and as stillness overcomes heat, even so, he who knows the true secret of tranquility
Will become a pattern for all mankind."
-   Translated by Isabella Mears, 1916, Chapter 45 

  

"True perfection seems flawed
Yet its usefulness is never exhausted.
True fulfillment seems empty
Yet its usefulness is infinite.
True straightness seems crooked,
Great skill appears easy,
Great eloquence sounds awkward.
Cold overcomes heat.
Tranquility conquers agitation.
Purity and stillness is the universal ideal."
-   Translated by John R. Mabry, Chapter 45 

"Great perfection appears defective,
but its usefulness is not diminished.
Great fullness appears empty,
but its usefulness is not impaired.
Great straightness seems crooked,
Great cleverness seems clumsy,
Great triumph seems awkward.
Bustling about vanquishes cold,
Standing still vanquishes heat.
Pure and still, one can put things right everywhere under heaven."
-   Translated by Victor Mair, Chapter 45  

"The greatest accomplishments seem imperfect,
yet their usefulness is not diminished.
The greatest fullness seems empty,
yet it will be inexhaustible.
The greatest straightness seems crooked.
The most valued skill seems like clumsiness.
The greatest speech seems full of stammers.
Movement overcomes the cold,
and stillness overcomes the heat.
That which is pure and still is the universal ideal."
-   Translated by John H. McDonald, Chapter 45 

  

"The greatest attainment is as though incomplete, but its utility remains unimpaired.
The greatest fullness is as a void; but its utility is inexhaustible.
The greatest uprightness is as crookedness; the greatest cleverness as clumsiness; the greatest eloquence as reticence.
Motion overcomes cold; stillness conquers heat.
Purity and stillness are the world’s standards."
-   Translated by C. Spurgeon Medhurst, 1905, Chapter 45  

Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu: Introduction, Bibliography, Commentary, Chapter Index 

Chapter 45 of the Dao De Jing by Lao Tzu

Index of Translators of the Tao Te Ching

Ripening Peaches: Taoist Studies and Practice 

Chapter 41   Sameness and Difference, Hearing of the Tao, Hidden and Nameless Tao, The Unreality of Appearance, Path of Contraries and Opposites, Bringing to Completion, Laughing it Off,  同異 

 

Chapter 42   Transformations of the Tao, Reason's Modifications,  Avoid Violence, Unnatural Death, One Produces Many,  道化   

 

Chapter 43   At One with the Tao, Quiet, Softness, Flexibility, Emptiness, The Function of the Universal, No Expectations, Not Acting, Overcoming the Impossible, Wordless Teaching,  偏用 

 

Chapter 44   Sufficiency, Cautions, Setting Up Precepts,  立戒

Chapter 45   Changes, Opposites, Contraries, Tranquility, Great or Overflowing Virtue, Stillness, The Virtue of Greatness, Great Accomplishment,  洪德    

 

A Brown Leaf Falling

As I played with the Yang Long Form, each of my steps crunched leaves under my feet. As I reached down to pick up the needle from the bottom of the sea, I picked up a few leaves from the graying autumn grass. As I crossed hands in the horse stance, a fig leaf fell on my fingers.

"despite fascination
do not be concerned
that form is emptiness
and emptiness is form
It is All
a brown falling leaf
no different
from
anything
else."
- Michael McClure

"Last day of October,
dead leaves dropping--
form is emptiness.
First day of November,
ditch completely dry--
emptiness is form.
- Michael Garofalo, Above the Fog

Poetry by Mike Garofalo

Cloud Hands Taijiquan

Soaring

"For years, I've practiced ritual.
It's dead now.
For years, I've practiced meditation.
It's dull now.
Finally, there is only soaring
Like an ectoplasmic ribbon
Floating over the sea.

When one is mature spiritually, one no longer needs the structure
of ritual or formal meditations. This is not to say that structure was
unnecessary, for without it one could not stand at this vantage point.
But once one attains a level where one has completely internalized the
lessons of structure, one can freely improvise in fresh and valid forms.

In spirituality, one can soar, free of ordinary restrictions.
Imagine yourself on a high cliff overlooking the ocean. Slowly your body
elongates like a ribbon. Longer and longer, undulating up into the sky.
Before you is the limitless vastness of the ocean and sky. You feel
drawn forward, and you can glide and soar over that expanse like a
ribbon. That is spiritual freedom.

Autumn is about to pass into winter. Spring is on the other side,
just as spiritual soaring is on the other side of stiff ritual.
Devotions have their own seasons. When you first learn them, they are
magical. Then they yield their harvest and wither. On the other side of
the withering is a new spring and a new spiritual vista. Wherever you
are in your spiritual years, cooperate with the cycle of the seasons,
until you emerge like a dragon, soaring in the sky."

365 Tao: Daily Meditations
By Deng Ming-Dao

November 10, Day 314




"What a joy it is to feel the soft, springy earth under my feet once more, to follow grassy roads that lead to ferny brooks where I can bathe my fingers in a cataract of rippling notes, or to clamber over a stone wall into green fields that tumble and roll and climb in riotous gladness!"
-  Helen Keller  

A Peaceful Place

"The Art of Peace begins with you. Work on yourself and your appointed task in the Art of Peace. Everyone has a spirit that can be refined, a body that can be trained in some manner, a suitable path to follow. You are here for no other purpose than to realize your inner divinity and manifest your innate enlightenment. Foster peace in your own life and then apply the Art to all that you encounter."

"One does not need buildings, money, power, or status to practice the Art of Peace. Heaven is right where you are standing, and that is the place to train."
The Art of Peace by Morihei Ueshiba (1883-1969) 

"This practice is part of an ancient Chinese health system of exercises. One of the first references found about this type of exercise is in the Huang-Ti Nei Ching (Classics of Medicine by the Yellow Emperor, 2690-2590 B.C. E.) which is, by the way, probably one of the oldest books in the medical field. This posture, practiced and transmitted secretly in martial arts circles, has been openly shown to the public since the last century. Wang Xiang Zhai, a very famous martial arts master of that period in China, made of this technique the base of a new martial art that he called I Chuan (Mind Boxing). He used to say, "The immobility is the mother of any movement or technique."
- Victoria Windholtz, Standing Like a Tree
T'ai Chi: The International Magazine of T'ai Chi Ch'uan: Volume 19, No. 6, December, 2005, pp. 6-9.


Zhan Zhuang: Standing Like A Tree. Rooting Deeply Into Tranquility, Power and Vitality. A Chinese Meditation and Qigong Discipline. Bibliography, Links, Resources, Practices, Quotations, Notes.

Energy (Qi), Vitality (Jing), and Spirit (Shen)

Vitality, Energy, Spirit (Jing, Qi, Shen)

The kindly old man, Shou, a Taoist Saint, holds the Sacred Peach, a dragon staff, and a gourd filled with the Longevity Elixir. The flying bats and crane are frequently used symbols of longevity.

All Taijiquan and Qigong players will hear and/or read at some time about self-cultivation of vitality (Jing), energy (Qi), and Spirit (Shen).

Members of Quanzhen (Complete Perfection) Taoism, Northern or Southern Branches, emphasize various health practices, inner alchemy (Neidan), internal arts, rituals, recitations, and meditation techniques to transform oneself when on the spiritual path.

Ripening Peaches: Daoist Studies and Practices

The Peaches of Immortality

My Daoist Reading List I recommend books by Livia Kohn and Yang Jwing-Ming, and translations by Thomas Cleary.

Tai Chi Chuan and Improving Your Health

"The University of Queensland, Australia, has released an exciting study for anyone looking to lose weight.  Researchers found that the gentle, yet powerful, exercise known as tai chi helps with obesity and excess weight, in a number of ways.  The scientists discovered that tai chi:

• Improves body mass index (BMI–an indicator for healthy weight);
• Reduces the amount of abdominal fat and overall waist measurements;
• Improves blood sugar balance–a critical element for maintaining a healthy weight or to lose weight;
• Reduces high blood pressure;
• Significantly reduces depression; and
• Improves the body’s use of insulin (insulin resistance)–a significant factor for weight gain and diabetes, among other serious health conditions.
• 
  

Founded in China thousands of years ago, tai chi is a graceful set of gentle movements designed to improve the flow of chi–energy–throughout the body, promoting health and healing.  This form of exercise is suitable for most people, including those suffering from injuries and illness.

This exciting new research proves the effectiveness of an ancient mind-body healing practice that has been in use for thousands of years in China."

Tai Chi to Loose Weight and Reduce Depression:  http://www.care2.com/greenliving/tai-chi-diet-depression.html

Tai Chi Chuan:  http://www.egreenway.com/taichichuan/index.htm

Qigong:  http://www.egreenway.com/qigong/index.htm

Walking:  http://www.egreenway.com/walking/index.htm