missthang

I'm sorry, Barracuda, but I've been on Gary's site and while I was initially intrigued, the more I watched and read the more turned off I got with his over-the-top, cocky attitude. I realize different techniques and approaches work for different people and I don't discount the fact that he may do amazing work with many people, but I have learned enough about myself and my instincts to trust my gut when it tells me to avoid certain practitioners. To me, the epitome of a person with positive, powerful Qi has a quiet confidence about them -- they don't feel the need to figuratively beat others about the head with how amazing they are because their truth and their abilities will surely shine and be evident to true seekers. Again, this is not to imply that he doesn't help many others, but even if I had the budget to spend with him, I would not based on his overbearing approach. Thank you for your suggestions though.

Vortex -- I appreciate the suggestions. I did "therapy" for years and found it pretty worthless. I've done EFT the past few years and have found it far more effective. One of the big challenges right now is I just don't have the money to spend on any more practitioners (I've incurred a lot of debt the past few years trying everything under the sun -- only a few of which have proven helpful). I've done lots new agey energy healing things as well as probably 100 acupuncture sessions, massage, yoga and though tons of intense research, I'm now more knowledgeable about herbs and supplements than many naturopaths, but of course, this is from a Western perspective -- I realize Chinese herbs are different and I've tried 3 or 4 herbal preparations from TCM pracitioners as well, but I'm not all that knowledgeable about Chinese herbs. But I don't really know what the root issue is from a TCM perspective. The best guess of the latest doctor is that I have small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (sibo) and/or candida overgrowth. I took a round of antibiotics targeted for sibo, but they just made me worse. I'm now doing yet another herbal anti-pathogen protocol, this one adds DMSO which is supposed to help the herbs absorb better and break through any biofilms where the bacteria and yeast may be shielding themselves. The suspected cause is overuse of antibiotics/poor diet. But again, that doesn't really point to the energy issue from a TCM view point. Each TCM practitioner I've seen has had a different take on where the blockage is, but despite having spent thousands of dollars with them, the issue still exists. I'm curious about your remark about the male fetus -- that seems really out of left field to me. Would you mind explaining that to me a bit? Thanks.

Thanks, Soaring Crane! I've tried hundreds of natural remedies (and have actually improved significantly) but I leveled off about 6 months ago and can't seem to get all the way better. This is one product I actually hadn't heard of (I'm sure I'm one of Amazon's best customers since I've purchased every other natural remedy in existence from them:-), but I'll check it out for sure.

As I mentioned in my original post, learning from a local qigong teacher is not an option at this time.

Thanks so much for that info on Dr. Shealy's acupuncture points! I've been using some suggested by a guy who came up with certain points for digestion, but I wasn't really sure I trusted him. Dr. Shealy'v very reputable, though, and since you endorse his method as well and he lists the points on his site, I'm going to try it for sure! You da man!

Thanks, Michael. I only spend about 15 minutes doing the home acupuncture but when it hits right, I end up with a nice chi buzz afterwards:-) Btw -- I sent you a PM about your system.

Thanks, Guys. Those are helpful threads. I seem to have narrowed it down to SFQ, GoT and Flying Phoenix. Again, my priorities are healing and energy, not necessarily spiritual enlightenment (though I have nothing against that -- I'm just more concerned with getting my physial health in better shape first). One other question -- I know in certain styles of QiGong, you are specifically told not to engage in any other type of energy work while you are doing this style (fragrant QiGong, for example). I don't have any burning desire to spend more time than necessary working with my energy to see improvements, but I have a home acupuncture pen (an electronic device) that I use on key acupunture points when I really need an extra boost. I called SFQ Friday and asked them if doing acupuncure/acupressure would contradict their style of practice and they said it wasn't recommended. I guess what confuses me is that I've ready repeatedly that acupuncture, qigong and herbs are the 3 prongs of TCM and you can receive the best results using them together. Any thoughts here?

Hi -- I've been lurking here a while and this is my first post. I'd like some advice on choosing a style of QiGong (or Nei Gong) to get started with. I've played around the past year with some Americanized versions of QiGong (Lee Holden's stuff) and while they are somewhat helpful (I do sometimes feel chi moving), I don't think they're powerful enough to get me where I want to go. My goals are: 1. Help heal some digestive issues that I've been working on via other means the past couple of years. 2. Increase energy (compromised digestion=compromised energy). 3. Eventually be able to feel and direct chi within my body to wherever I want it to go and possibly help others with their healing. Here are my challenges to learning at the moment: 1. Cost -- I'm on a really tight budget right now and just can't afford one of those $1000 courses or to study with a sifu and I don't actually think there's one in my city anyway. So I need to start with a dvd or downloadable video that's less than $40. 2. Time -- I don't have 1-2 hours every day to practice. Some days I could definitely do an hour -- other days, only 30-45 minutes. I like yoga pretty well -- I like the stretching, the breathing and the focus and it does help a little with strength. But even though a good yoga session will leave me relaxed and more focused, I don't feel the chi from it, so it's not likely to help me achieve my goals as much as QiGong (I believe). I understand kundalini yoga focuses on freeing up and directing yin chi, but I think for healing, one needs yang chi as well, right? Especially if low energy is an issue. It would be nice if the system were one that would enable me to study at home for the first 3-6 months but there would be good instructors in the U.S. that I could take a workshop with down the road as my practice advance. Maybe this should go without saying, but developing and feeling chi quickly (not having to practice for months before you feel it) is a high priority. Perhaps some of my goals are unrealistic, but even so, if you could suggest types of QiGong that would most closely match these, I would surely appreciate it.