Taijiquan & Daoyin

It’s April now and spring is back. The weather is getting warmer and warmer and many flowers 花(huā) are blooming. In Chinese, there is a beautiful phrase to describe this view: 春暖花开(chūn nuǎn huā kāi) , can you guess what this idiom means? Yes, it’s really a season of 春暖花开..

In Chinese tradition every year is dedicated to a specific animal. In Chinese horoscope there are twelve animals of this tradition are the rat (Chinese language: 鼠,pinyin: shǔ) ox (牛 – niú), tiger (虎 – hǔ), rabbit ( 兔 – tù), dragon (龙 – lóng), snake (蛇 – shé), horse (马 – mǎ), lamb (羊 – yáng), monkey ( 猴 – hóu), rooster (鸡 – jī), dog ( 狗 – gǒu) and boar (猪 – zhū). Each of these animals is thought in China to bestow certain personality traits on people born in that year. According to the Chinese zodiac, the Dragon is welcomed back in 2012 after the year of the Rabbit.

People born in the year of the Dragon are said to share certain characteristics. Occupying the 5th position in the Chinese Zodiac (Chinese language: 中国生肖, pinyin: Zhōngguó shēngxiào), the Dragon is the mightiest of the signs.The Dragon is regarded as a divine beast.  It is said to be the deliverer of good fortune and a master of authority, earning those who are born in the Dragon year honor and respect. Dragons are the free spirits of the zodiac.  They are known to be extroverted bundles of energy.  They are almost inevitably successful because they exhibit confidence and show fearlessness in the face of adversity. They’re passionate in all they do and they do everything on a grand scale.

The year of the Dragon is traditionally marked by excitement, unpredictability and intensity. However, of all the five dragon years – metal, water, wood, fire, earth – (Chinese language: 金，水，木，火，土，pinyin:  jīn, shuǐ, mù, huǒ, tǔ) this Chinese New Year ushers in the Water Dragon. Chinese Dragon years tend to magnify both success and failures. The year of the Fire Dragon traditionally wreaks the most havoc. So what influence will the water have on the powerful energies of a Dragon year? Like all Dragons, the water dragon is an innovative and fearless leader however the Water dragon is noted for its calm, visionary intelligence and is far more sensitive to others needs. Since the water exerts a calming influence on the dragon’s innate fire, the Water Dragon will act wisely and is much more willing to set aside his ego for the good of all.

Chinese traditions suggest that a child born in the year of the Dragon is a natural leader and the icon of China’s emperors symbolizes power (Chinese language: 权利, pinyin: Quánlì) and wealth (Chinese language: 财富, pinyin: Cáifù). Because it is an especially auspicious year, it’s predicted that China’s birth rate will increase by five percent. That means makers of baby products can expect lucrative business opportunities from the Dragon year baby boom.

Dragons are compatible with the Monkey or Rat and incompatible with the Ox and Goat. Dragons tend to fall in and out of love quickly. Their charisma and charm tend to attract people, whose attention they crave. They are most likely to settle down when they meet  a partner who is strong enough to keep up with the Dragon’s flamboyant and, at times, stubborn sensibilities.

Famous Dragon celebrities include John Lennon (Chinese language: 约翰列侬, pinyin: Yuēhàn liènóng), Al Pacino (Chinese language: 艾尔帕西诺, pinyin: àiěr pàxīnuò) and Matt Dillon (Chinese language: 马特狄龙, pinyin: mǎtè dílóng).

All in all, the 2012 Water Dragon (Chinese language: 水龙, pinyin: Shuǐlóng) year is likely to bestow the Chinese Five Blessings of harmony, virtue, riches, fulfillment and longevity. Which just adds fuel to the Dragons fire that this Dragon year is about breakthrough and not burnouts.

中国结(Zhōng guó jié) Chinese Decorative Knotting

As a means of artistic decoration, the art of knotting 中国结(Zhōng guó jié) is an ancient Chinese handicraft that dates as far back as the Tang Dynasty (CE 618-907). The most commonly used knotting material in China is silk and comes in a variety of bright colors. However, since red being the luckiest color in China being that it symbolizes good luck and a long and prosperous life, it is used the most. Besides being used as a hanging decoration in the home and as an adornment to articles of clothing, examples of Chinese Decorative Knotting range from articles of jewelry (rings, earrings, bracelets and necklaces, as well as small pendants that hang on bracelets and necklaces) to actual articles of clothing such as buttons and belts. Do you have any 中国结(Zhōng guó jié)?

Among the various calligraphy tools used in Chinese calligraphy, the writing brush 毛笔 (máo bǐ) is special to China. It represents one of the “four treasures of the study,” the others being paper, ink and ink stone. A brush comprises of two parts: the head and shaft. The head is made of goat, wolf, rat or rabbit hair, which is softer than bamboo, a pencil, quill or ballpoint pen. The shaft is made of bamboo, wood, lacquer and porcelain, as well as some precious materials, including mother-of-pearl inlays, ivory and jade. Without the writing brush, Chinese painting and calligraphy could not have achieved such distinct features, and thus would not have enjoyed such great success around the world.

 

TREE BALANCING ARTS
(Ping Heng Gong 平衡功)

History and theory

Balancing Arts are traditional excises of Taoism moving arts. They had been kept in secret by Taoist qigong masters for centuries and was introduced to the public recently by Wang Liping, one of the most powerful Taoist master at our time. Master Wang had been trained by three Taoist masters in Lao Mountain in Shandong Province, China since his childhood and began to serve the public in 1980s. Balancing Arts have been proved to be a very effective way of improving our internal qi, external qi and healing power.

Master Wang taught people doing tree balancing arts.

 

The Balancing Arts were developed on the basis of ancient Tunashu (breathing technique), combined with certain style of body movement, to exchange qi with plants, animals, earth, moon, sun and star.  Balancing arts exercises would train you to reach a balance between your internal qi and the qi from the nature. Balancing Arts can efficiently clear up any kind of blockage in our body.
The Balancing Arts can be practiced against trees, human and the universe. For beginners, It is better to practice The Balancing Art against trees, because trees have their roots deep underground, and their body high in the sky. Trees have their own circulation system and have stronger natural qi in their body. Ancient Chinese qigong masters realized that exchanging qi with trees could greatly improve our health many centuries before scientists found that trees gave out oxygen which our human being lives on. Now we can better understand why practicing qigong against trees can improve our health.
The Balancing Art was designed to help the practitioners to be able to emit qi out and take in the qi from the universe. It is an efficient way to bring you the power of healing. Big trees are ideal objects to exchange your qi. Ancient Chinese qigong masters found that tree have the qi which we need and different trees have different qi which can improve our different internal organs differently. This can be better explained with the theory of Five Elements.

Five trees and five organs, five elements and five colors

Ancient qigong masters found that different trees contain different color elements. For example, pine tree have green element; willow trees have yellow element; poplar trees have white element; cypress trees have black element and apple trees or phoenix trees have red element. In the theory of Five Elements, pine tree belong to wood element, apple tree and phoenix tree belong to fire element, willow tree belong to earth element, poplar tree belong to gold element and cypress tree belong to water element. In our body, liver is wood element. Heart is fire element. Spleen is earth element. Lungs are gold element.
Kidneys are water element. The relations of the five elements are as these: Wood generates fire; fire generates earth; earth generate gold; gold generates water and water generates wood. This is called generating cycle. There also exists a destroying cycle, it is as this: wood destroys earth; earth destroys water; water destroys fire; fire destroys gold and gold destroys wood.
The illustration and table can help you to understand and remember the relations of The Five Elements. Knowing this, you will know which trees you need to exchange your qi with according to your health situation.
Basically, practicing the balancing arts against:
- Pine trees will help to improve your liver function
- Apple trees or phoenix trees will improve your heart function
- Willow trees will improve your spleen function
- Poplar trees will improve your lung function
- Cypress trees will improve your kidney function.

Practicing and functions

If you have problems with particular organs, you can choose the relevant trees to practice the balancing arts. It is very important to know that the generating and destroying cycle between the five elements. For example, if you have liver problems, you need to practice the balancing arts against pine tree. But sometime it may not work. This is not because the knowledge is wrong. It may be because your liver problems are caused by lack of kidney qi. According to the theory of Five Elements, kidney qi generates liver qi. If the kidney qi is depleted, it can not generate liver qi and cause liver problems. It is described as the mother can not breed the son. So the root of the liver problems is the lack of kidney qi. The right way to release this kind of liver problems is to doing the balancing art against cypress trees to improve your kidney qi. You should not practice the balancing arts too much against poplar trees if you have liver problems. Practicing The Balancing Art can strengthen gold qi or lung qi. But if lung qi is too strong it will destroy liver qi and make the liver problems worse. Perfect health is a perfect balance. having this idea in mind, you will know what to do due to your own health situation.
Another important goal you can achieve from the balancing art is building up your healing power. The balancing art can help you to be able to balance your qi, make your qi more powerful and help you to be able to efficiently emit out your qi. In another word, you will be able to connect your qi with someone you want to help. The more you practice the balancing arts, the more healing power you can build up and the better results you can expect.
There are several ways to practice The Balancing Arts against trees, which are introduced as below, so you can begin to practice this unique tree balancing art and benefit from it right away. Generally speaking, there are two types of Tree Balancing Arts: fixed steps and moving steps.

Chinese Version (中文原文)

平  衡  功(一)

“平衡功”是“灵宝通智能 内功术”中的外动功，是一种古老的吐纳术，通过修炼者的肢体有序之动，配合严密的呼吸方法，用意用气用百窍和植物、动物、人相交换有形有质的“信灵”，使 人体宇宙的电磁场和植物、动物、人的电磁场相对抗的统一。修炼者发出自身宇宙无形之质与植物、动物、人相交换气质、血质、髓质及相交换心领神会的“信 灵”，使修炼者能达到人与植物、人与动物、人与人之间的“信灵”气质、血质、髓质相对抗的平衡，故名：平衡功。平衡功在古时对治疗各种肿瘤、内脏积血、肿 块、脓肿有一定的疗效。

初学平衡功者最好和大树相对抗地炼，因为“人生于世，浮而 无根。”就是说：人出生于母体后，本身就成为无根之体，要靠水谷养肢体而生长，人体有“气行之路”、“血行之路”、“秽物排出之路”。树木天生有根，根基 深，树木虽无血液，但它有“气行之路”、“水行之路”和“排浊之路”。树木体积高大，稳定，又是天然之物，人与树木对抗地交换“信灵”有益无害。

“平衡功”固定步法的修炼方法

双手上下拉动

姿势与动作：

修炼者面对大树，两脚自然分开，两脚距离宽于肩，两膝微曲，双手轻松自然下垂于大腿两侧，闭目，平视，合齿，舌抵上腭，静止一会。双臂平伸，虚腋，两手掌平开，立掌，两掌心对大树，修炼者要与对炼的大树保持一定的距离，距离由修炼者的功夫而定。

双掌距树身，为身树相距的三分之一。初学者闭两目，功夫深者两目圆睁，双手同时沿大树树身平行上下拉动，两腿配合两手臂上下起伏，两膝缓缓曲伸，脊柱正直，两膝曲伸程度由修炼者的功夫、年龄、体质而定。

呼吸：

修炼平衡功者的呼吸要紧密地配合动作，呼吸的方法要与动作的起伏而定呼气与吸气。修炼者向上拉动时吸气，向下拉动时呼气，呼吸要逐步做到细、匀、长、缓、微。

意念：

意念两掌掌面和面前的大树。大树是一个带有特定色素的大气柱，两掌也会发出同样色素的气体来，和大树相对抗地交换“信灵”。

]

Contact information, Email: mail@laoziacademy.us Website: http://www.laoziacademy.us

U.S. IRS (Internal Revenue Service) authorized 501 (c) (3) non-profit, charitable, educational organization. Copyright © 2009-2011, all right reserved by http://www.laoziacademy.us

With a five pound potato bag in each hand, raise your arms up to chest height in the rounded “Standing Meditation” posture. Hold the bags while maintaining the posture as long as you can. Try to reach a minute or two, then relax. After a few weeks of daily practice, you should be able to hold ten pound potato bags. Gradually build up your strength until you can hold the posture for about two minutes. 

After a few more weeks, progress to  fifty pound bags and, then, 100 pound bags (I am at this level). 

When you are confident practicing with 100 pound bags, put a potato in each bag.

Peng (Péng)

They say in Tai Ji Quan that 4 ounces deflects 10,000 pounds. How can this be so? First, you must have “Peng.” Peng is why the Xing Yi Quan practitioners do the standing meditations of I Chuan (Yi Quan). The great Grand Master Guo Lien Ying would often be seen “standing” in the “Universal Post” position.

Ba Mén/Ba Jìn Eight Gates or Eight Energies(Strengths)

The chief energies/strengths are the 4 primary hands or primary directions and the four corner hands or four diagonal directions are for assistance. The four primary hands are the basic rule and the four corner hands are the alternatives.

The four primary hands (four cardinal directions)

1. Peng Jin (outward) - Ward off, Tai Chi’s essential energy, power of flexibility and resilience (born in the thighs), energy of defensive attack, under opponents hand. Attack. Evading is to attack. Yang or hard.
2. Lu Jin (inward) - Pull or Roll-back, Péng in reverse energy - energy of friction and rubbing, evade and adhere. Over opponents hand. Defense. Evading is to attack. Yin or soft. (Peng changes to Lu is the inward drawing of silk, and Lu changes to Peng is the outward drawing of silk. These are the two basic energies/strengths of Tai Chi.)
3. Ji Jin (outward) - Press, two hands when they are joined. Energy of two forces combined, when there’s not enough peng jin. Two energies combined as one, energy of dexterity. Adhering is to attack.
4. An Jin (inward) - Push, Listening energy, single and double finger / palm. Lower peng jin, used in sinking, creating pull force. The posture of an looks as if one is preparing to push one or both hands. An from the front = peng jìn, An from the left or right = lu jìn, An combined = ji jin.
5. Cai Jin - Roll-pull, reverse of ji jìn, incline downward towards the rear. Energy of two forces divided. Here use fingers for Tai Chi Chin Na techniques. Like picking fruit, one hand grabs branch down and other grabs fruit. Outside hand is peng and below hand/grabbing is cai. Don’t use cai horizontally toward the back, it must incline downward toward the back. Use cai on only one of the opponents arms, not both.
6. Lie Jin - Split, Tai Chi’s small strike energy. Begins quickly a few inches from opponent. Energy of striking (first line of defense). When lie is used by one hand the other hand must have inside drawing of silk energy to keep the body in balance. The hands can mutually interchange their use. Lie is used to draw silk outward toward the opponent when you are very close. This strike can’t stop half way you’re committed, so strike quickly and very close the body.
7. Zhou Jin - Elbow strike by moving the arms up & down (Lie’s second line of defense). After you over extend yourself and cai and lie won’t work, now use zhou, elbow strike after wrist or from wrist.
8. Kao Jìn - Shoulder strike. Used in a slanting direction, a strike by the whole body, body strike (Lie’s third line of defense). Again used after over extending yourself. Shoulder strike kao, knee strike kao, stomach strike kào, back strike kào. Kào is used when the hands and feet are tied up.

• Peng drawn inside = Lu, Peng combined = Ji, Peng drawn down = An, Peng divided = Cai, Peng followed by a strike = Lie, Peng turning and elbow striking = Zhou, and Peng turning and body striking = Kao.

The twelve rules for developing Peng From Guo

1. Keep the body centered
2. Sink the shoulders
3. Sink the elbows
4. Keep the wrists straight (fair lady’s hand)
5. Keep the tailbone tucked in
6. Keep the knees bent
7. Step light (empty step)
8. Feet must be empty and solid
9. Top of the head turns
10. The back rotates
11. Waist (tight) connected not slanted
12. Lower belly rises

• First point: 2 arms connect above elbow and below shoulder
• Second point: 2 thighs follow each other
• Third point: Back bow collects energy at the chest (chest is neither concave nor convex).

The Nine rules for developing Péng From Kwok

1. Crown as if suspended from a thread
2. Eyes looking into the distance (eye level)
3. Ears listening inward
4. Tongue to the roof of the mouth
5. Head as if balanced on a pin
6. Neck and back straight (up and down)
7. Sink the chest, raise the back
8. Abdominal breathing
9. Drop the pelvis

Wu Fang Five Directions

1. Forward (metal)
2. Backward (wood)
3. Step Left (water)
4. Step Right (fire)
5. Center (earth)

14 Examples of Bu (stances or steps)

1. Breaking Step - like Tai Chi stance, used to half step and twist so ½ step and you can sink then twist (toes come up) then make contact and toes go down, then strike. Frontal attack.
2. Backward Step - step back with toes then rest of foot (step back repulse monkey).
3. Rolling Step - when the foot turns as a result of following the body. The sole of the foot creates friction. Foundation of Neutralizing energy.
4. Rising Step - going to a rooster stance, knee kick.
5. Sinking Step - stepping down with foot from a rooster stance.
6. Withdrawal Step - stepping to the side, from inside to outside.
7. Collecting Step - stepping from the outside to the inside.
8. Curved Step - outside step forward for attack or defense.
9. Slanting Step - stepping diagonal to left or right.
10. Horse Step - horse stance, L stance, has double sinking step.
11. Fishing Step - horse step to the side where the hand and thigh help each other, cloud hands.
12. Empty Step - Empty stance while top of body rises and inside receives (lift the plams).
13. Turn the Body Over Step - putting spine in position to twist for a strike.
14. Pushing Step - front foot advances and the rear foot follows (forward stepping and leaping forward).

• Note Step 1 & 3 (Breaking and Rolling) are the Foundation of Tai Chi Foot Work.© 2000

Xiao Jiu Tian or Little Universe Cycle

Another postural point is to touch the tip of the tongue to the roof of the mouth. This is called closing the gap in the Xiao Jiu Tian or Little Universe Cycle. This cycle is the conception vessel in the front of the body and the Governing Vessel in the back of the body which connect at GV1 (Long Strength) and CV1 (Meeting of Yin). Both end up at the mouth where they don’t touch, hence the tongue touching the roof of the mouth closes the loop at GV27 (Correct Exchange) and CV 24 (Receiving Fluid).