sbtl_nrg

I'm enjoying everyone's experiences. They're all very personal and inspiring. So here's a question for Sifu Terry or anyone knowledgeable in TCM. I recently began seeing an acupuncturist to treat weak kidney and liver energies. Is it okay to do Flying Phoenix Chi Kung on the same day as an acupuncture treatment? I did volume two this morning and had my treatment in the afternoon, and now I'm itching to do the standing meditations but I want to make sure this won't have a negative affect on the treatment. Thanks!

Wow man sorry, honestly I'm probably a being tad defensive. I did appreciate what you wrote and I agree very much with what you said. In the West, it seems like a more common error to undervalue the role of the vehicle (or equivalently, the guru) than to cling to the vehicle once the journey is finished. We just have that do-it-yourself type mentality - who needs the guru when enlightenment is in this very moment? But I've reasoned this way before and it turned out teaching me that I can't always do things best on my own.

In the video you say that one ought to imagine sitting on a chair or being suspended by a string to aid in keeping the back straight. Can one take this too far? And would it be incorrect to actually imagine that one's arms are draped over a large egg in the Wuji posture? These visualization seems to help me maintain good form, but I don't want to stunt my progress by limiting my awareness (not seeing the forest for the trees). Also, can it be counterproductive to sink too low into the horse or wuji stance? Thanks for your recommendation concerning the roller bar. I'll try it out.

It wasn't my intention to add or subtract anything from the FP meditations. My intent was to enhance my weightlifting with the relaxing effects of the qigong - not to enhance the qigong. If I'm going against any tradition, it's the weightlifting tradition, which I'm not so worried about as it's based on somewhat shaky principles in my opinion. Not sure where you got ungrateful from that.

Thanks fu_dog, that helps. I don't think this would be bad for my weight training, as I'm not approaching weights from a bodybuilding or powerlifting angle. I sometimes take up to ten minute breaks between sets to fully recover, and at times I even do single reps, because the form is what counts when you lift Olympic weights (Old time strongmen also trained this way - approaching lifting as a skill best developed by repetition with good form.) Not all lifters train this way, but many Bulgarian champs do. I suspected that the energy could begin to dissipate during breaks, thanks for confirming this. I'll definitely continue the meditations as prescribed. Now here's a question: would it be okay to use the meditations as breaks between my lifting sets, in addition to doing them all continuously, as recommended? I feel very good body alignment while doing these meditations, and it actually helps make the lifts smoother. I guess I'm asking if strenuous activity between meditations could lead to any undesirable effects... Thanks for your help!

Dead Souls - Gogol Blazing Splendor - Urgyen Rinpoche Awakening of Intelligence - Krishnamurti Journey to the End of the Night - Celine Textbook of Ayurveda Vol. 1 - Vasant Lad

Hi guys, I finally decided to register here after reading much of this thread (I've read other stuff on this site in the past as a guest). First I'd like to say thank you to Sifu Terry and others who are so helpful and willing to share their knowledge. I think the main reason I decided to try FPCK was the openness and insight I found in this thread. The results are impressive to be sure, but I think one can find incredible claims in just about any health-related discussion. Real knowledge, however, can't be faked. I've been practicing for about five days straight now. I do vol. 1 every day, and vol. 2 when I have time. I can't speak of tangible results yet, but I'm feeling generally more positive and the meditations are becoming easier to perform and more relaxing. Because I'm a busy guy, I'm wondering if I can combine my workouts with the meditations. I train for the purpose of becoming more coordinated and athletic, so I try to do everything in mindfulness. For this reason, I think taking meditation breaks while training can be of great benefit. But please don't be shy to correct me if I'm missing something! My sessions might look something like this: Session 1: (standing) monk gazing... chain punching (a la Wing Chun) bending the bows snatch (olympic lift) monk holding peach clean and jerk monk holding pearl turkish get up wind above clouds * NOTE: I don't train the lifts to failure or anything like that. The weights are to train the nervous system, so few reps with perfect form is what I strive for. Session 2: (seated) seated warm-up 1 balance board/coordination exercise seated warm-up 2 double-end ball work seated warm-up 3 chain punching MSW 1 upper-body exercise (usually isometric) MSW 2 L-Sit (ab exercise) MSW 3 I haven't tried combining the two yet, but this is roughly how I would do it. Thoughts? Thanks in advance.

Hey everyone. I come to this forum every once in a while anonymously when I have questions, and I usually find them already answered (quite thoroughly at that). Recently I started practicing the Flying Phoenix Chi Kung system, so I don't want to miss out on some personal help from wiser/more experienced members. Aside from that, I've been an avid reader of spiritual literature in general (Daoist, Buddhist, Hermetic, etc) for a while, and it's about time I start discussing something that interests me with other people. Talking about the weather is great and all, but there's no shortage of opportunities for that. Glad to be here!