RichieRich

Interesting and helpful.

I don’t have a copy of Michael’s Healing Love DVD. But I see that one of the (many) exercises on it to build kidney energy is “knee walking”. Just wondering what your experience is of knee walking? Presumably, one needs to do it on a soft surface (e.g grass, a carpeted floor, mats at the gym) or wear knee-pads?

Correction duly noted! The first sentence of the Routledge Encyclopedia’s entry on Zhongxi couldn’t be clearer.

Breathing through the heels is first mentioned in Zhuangzi 6 which states that “the Real Man (zhenren) breathes through his heels whereas the ordinary man breathes through his throat”…

But I missed it!!!

I’m sure Michael wrote as he did because he’s come across numerous scholars who haven’t understood Lao Tzu’s meaning.

The scholarly work that has understood it is, arguably, somewhat obscure. I only stumbled across it whilst randomly browsing the Routledge Encyclopedia of Taoism. And the work referenced there (by Hidemi Ishida) is published…[Read more]

​Hi Michael

Enjoyed your response.

You write​

And even most of the Chinese scholar translations are not by Daoist adepts who would understand the deeper content of Lao Tzu and his clear qigong comments like “A Sage breathes through his heels”.

The scholar-idiots, whom you so greatly admire, haven’t a clue what this referring to. But…

[Read more]

Thanks for your response.

Having observed myself more closely, I find that – like you – the heel of Foot B is, in fact, raised prior to Leg A straightening!

I also notice that when Leg A straightens, Leg B straightens somewhat i.e. Knee B becomes somewhat less bent.

Whilst the straightening of Leg A and the partial straightening of Leg B…[Read more]

As I understand it, the Upper Dantien is an integral component of the Daoist alchemical process in that it’s the cauldron within which Shen is refined into Dao. This is, apparently, the process of “Lianshen huaxu”. So, from the perspective of completing the Daoist alchemical path, meditation upon the upper cauldron would appear to be rather…[Read more]

Do I understand correctly that as the weight shifts to one side, that leg initially bends slightly, then straightens, pushing down on the heel, as the hand on that side comes down

That seems right to me. Further, as the weighted leg (Leg A) straightens, the heel/knee/hip of Leg B lifts so that only the ball of Foot B is in contact with the…[Read more]

The record for the ascent of the North Face.

Here

The BKF course is three days (5 hours per day).

I’ve never done a course with BKF so can’t speak from personal experience.

However, one might argue that three days with someone widely regarded as a leading western teacher and who’s emphasizing internal techniques might just constitute “an honest and interesting and fun beginning”.

I seem to recall you live in the UK.

I know it’s not a Healing form, but towards the end of Nov, Bruce Frantzis is teaching the Old Yang Style in Brighton. There’s an emphasis on the internal techniques.

“And I’ve been putting out the fire with gasoline”

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Very interesting and helpful.

you are not negatively adding gasoline to the fire with a hyperactive ungrounded body-mind.

Couldn’t help but think of Bowie!!!http://https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n4xpdaIZyzs

Excellent! The doctor getting the better of the lawyer reminds me of my favourite lawyer joke.

A new client had just come in to see a famous lawyer.
“Can you tell me how much you charge?”, said the client.
“Of course”, the lawyer replied, “I charge $200 to answer three questions!”
“Well that’s a bit steep, isn’t it?”
“Yes it is”, said the…

[Read more]

Thanks for your thoughts.

Re Yiquan, were all its many standing postures laid out by its founder, Wang Xiangzhai, or have postures continued to be added since his death?

Hi Steven

Thanks for your thoughts. Very much appreciated.

Having read what you wrote, I didn’t go for the chi ball. Instead, I explained that the Lower Dantian is sometimes called the Sea of Chi and then made a connection between the external ocean (of water) lifting and setting down the arms and the internal ocean (of chi) gently…[Read more]