I gave up finding an instructor for Tai Chi... now I want to get a boook from library for it, what book would you recommend? I just want to start some basic qigong meditation. Hmm I think I'll need the author name for the books if you have any suggestion at all, because I may or may not be able to find it... actually the my local library have an online search engine you may go there and search too: http://www.librarycatalogue.act.gov.au/ipac20/ipac.jsp?session=1077J29R8E892.14770&menu=search&aspect=basic_search&npp=10&ipp=20&profile=vl&ri=2&source=136.153.10.112@%21horizon&index=.AW&term=meditation&aspect=basic_search#focus Thank you for your time!
Ok firstly where do you live? Seccondly i really can't stress to you enough how much of a mistake it would be to learn from a book! I don't mean to sound like a party pooper but the Qi Gong work (as well as tai chi) is incredibly complex and a book just can't show you what you need. Also if practiced wrong both can result in permanent mental and physical damage...this is not a joke. If you tell me where (roughly) you live i might be able to help you out...
Try the wildman from down under. Erle Montaigue. You can also do a search on google for his name and find very nice mpegs of certain katas and drills on his website (I especially like the push hands drills).
Hey Baguamaster, I think I am damaging myself with the standing meditation since I got blood marks in my skin in both shins. What am I doing wrong? Also I was going a tad too deep and I started to feel pain in the ankles. I practice qi gong in the horse stance, and I also do embracing the tree. BTW where do you live. Thanks, Gerard.
Please dont try to learn Tai Chi from a book. A book or video is only good if you already have some hands on experience. One can possibly learn EMA from a book or video, not IMA because its not just about movements you need to imitate. In IMA you need to relax mind and body , shifht weight etc and a book cant show that. Here is a list of places in Canberra that offer Tai Chi classes.You willl have to find out for yourself how good they are.You alos might want to ask if they teach TaiChi for Health and Fitness or Self Defence & Martial Arts. 90% of places do it for Health and Fitness. http://www.taichiacademy.com.au/contact.htm http://www.taoist.org.au/states/actcont.htm#Canberra http://www.ymcacanberra.org.au/S&FSailing.htm Also ask around the Chinese community in Canberra, sometimes you have good teachers that dont advertise or have websites Yes I agree, if you learn it wrong, it can be bad because no only do you have to unlearn the mistakes , you have to unlearn bad habits inadvertently picked up. Also when doing any Qigong, I agree , it's wise to be careful and do it slowly and under supervision.
Going straight to learning taichi from book or vid is impossible but I think you can get halfway there with learning qigong like Standing Like a Tree (Zhan Zhuang). One easy intro to that is a popular video in the UK linked below. http://www.shop-fast-easy-dvd.com/video_uk-item_id-B00004CQA1-search_type-AsinSearch-locale-uk.html It was a tv series years ago. If you can do the stuff in the video and get the feelings and benefits of it then you can start to move it with taichi. Rgds, David
Check out the ANU I think there are some good Yiquan practitioners there.I have heard reference to quite a few Yang stlye schools.Look round there will be some.
That's it, problem fixed. I was squatting doo deep in the horse stance, therefore there was too much strain in my ankles. I practiced today and I really relaxed myself, feeling slowly emptiness in mind & body. I don't know why the hell I didn't realise before that I was standing a bit too deep. Dangers of qi gong, improper misalignment and you can really hurt yourself :cry: Gerard.
Hi sorry it took me so long to reply! It pleases me greatly that you have sorted out your problem. Just remember not to strain anything and don't try to empty your mind or feel anything. If you try to do it it won't happen, just relax and breathe! In answer to you question i live in London, England and train with a man named Chris Ray Chappelle (www.skychord.com). I'm very lucky to have someone like him near me! I also train with Bruce (Frantzis) when he comes over to see Chris or my brother...I'm very lucky!!!!
What exactly happened is that qi got stagnated in my lower legs. I didn't circulate it properly. Silly monkey mind. Got distracted with some thoughts and qi stayed there. But know it won't happen again. Baguamaster why do u you say that I must not empty my mind? That goes against Dao. Emptiness and stillness of the mind are one of the principles of Daoism and qigong/neigong work. You really puzzle me. Xie Xie, Gerard.
Gerard, be careful to keep the knees relaxed (no tension) when you are doing standing practices. This is probably the reason for your problems in the shin and ankles. This was a mistake I did some time ago (and common for many people) -- and this was the advice a Qigong/Tai-Chi master (owner of a Qigong/Tai-Chi school in the Yang tradition) gave me.
One of the aims is an empty mind however what i was trying to articulate was that if you try to empty your mind or force yourself not to think then you may believe you are making progress but you are not (the Dao also says not to create conflict as does the book of changes, i.e. no strain to do ANYTHING). Relax and the mind will empty itself...
(the Dao also says not to create conflict as does the book of changes, i.e. no strain to do ANYTHING) Quoting Baguamaster X Of course my friend, of course. Gerard.
My Taoist teacher said original Taoist meditation was not practised in stationery stances. And never sitting down. Original Taoist teaching required all meditation to be moving , in fact Tai Chi is known as Moving Meditation. The reason is this. If you sit still, especially in a cramped posture like Lotus or any of the awkward & unnatural Yoga postures , blood flow and therefore Chi flow will never be as good as if you stand freely, moving gently and in relaxed manner. And empty your heart. Still your mind. Chi flow follows blood flow is well established in TCM. He said the reason for many modern day "Taoist" practising stationery postures is due to latter Taoism meditation incorporating later Buddhist Yogic meditation. An adulteration. I prefer to adhere to the original Taoist teachings, after all I judge a style by it's fruits. Taoist Martial Artists have been able to perform far more impressive " chi feats" than Buddhist Shaolin or Indian Yogis . If you like to explore this further, check up Taoist scripture especially any reference to " Tung-Ching " it deals the concept of Stillness incorporating Movement ....think it's in the Tao Te Ching. It just as important as " Wu Wei" - avoiding unnatural action, which is the basis of avoiding any training that requires you to endure pain. Also, as far as I know, Horse Stances are rarely practised by Internal Arts , it's mostly in the doamin of External, Shaolin. And yes , before I get contradicted by any of you , I'm fully aware that Hsing I has a stationery San Ti posture, YiQuan has station Zhan Zhuang, Bagua has the 3 circle tree hugging posture.
First reply to Soggycat and first attack :woo: Still meditation is about moving what you can't see. There is movement within stillness and what I am saying goes along the lines of Tao Teh Ching IMO it's impossible to attain high spiritual levels by moving meditation. All neigong work needs movement within stillness. For instance, how would you practice xiao zhou tian (micro cosmic orbit) in a non-still form? Regards, Gerard
Hey, if you've got an exhaustive global catalog of IMA schools (ie "tell me where you live and I might be able to help you out") know of any near Kanseung? It's in the northeastern tip of South Korea.
