Standing Qigong

[Choke]

One of the forms of qigong that I practice involves a stationary standing posture much like the "hugging a tree" posture. Now I've only been doing this for a short period of time and can hold this posture in a relaxed manner for a good 10 minutes.
I've experianced the much talked about sensations such as tingling, heat, and fullness but of late, as i have gradualy build up the duration that I can do this, I've begun to experiance a feeling of "rustyness" in places such as my elbows, fingers, etc. Its almost like they are stuck in the position they are in but arn't. :rolleyes:
Anyone know anything about this or have felt something similar?:confused:

[Choke]

Thanks for the reply. It made alot of sense to me.

Though what exactly does "li" mean? I may know what you mean but am not sure.

Another question - What benefits have you gained (or hope to gain) through ongoing practice of this form of Qigong? Both in a health and martial sense...



Choke

[nairb]

Could you explain the "three pillars or three seas of energy pose?"
Or the "lifting water" form?

I've heard of some things that sound similar to these names, but never these in particular.

[nairb]

Thanks for the explanation!

[guohuen]

Your quite welcome.

[churn-ging]

You said that u should be standing in the goat riding stance, is that the same stance as wing chun's yee gee kim yeung ma (charcter two goat riding stance)?

Also, do you feel that wing chun's first form can help you to develop chi or whether you feel that it can be practiced as a chi gung exercise?

[dezhen2001]

churn-ging: good way to hijack a thread! :D lol

I've found that doing SLT over a long time (1/2 hour or more) really makes me feel very relaxed, rooted and more calm. I mean mainly doing the 1st section (tan sau, wu sau, fuk sau...) for most of that time.

There seems to be a constant debate whether it can be treated as qigong or not, but in my mind it is. Qigong is for making you healthy and developing the body in the right way, and SLT does that for me. Also it develops the mind, intent and attitude, so it's good :)

From the little about gong fu that i know, there are some different types of goat stance, not just the YGKYM.

Hope this helps,

david

[Choke]

I am learning an internal form from my Sifu. This form is for Chi and health, though its martial applications are very good.

Now, whenever I practice the form by the time I'm done I feel like I'm shaky on the inside. It’s a hard sensation to describe but after a little while it goes away and I feel fine if not better than before I did my form.

What exactly is this? Anyone?

Note: this is not the only sensation I get from doing the form - among others my extremities heat up (I have poor circulation), etc.

Though I may be focusing too much on these sensations, I would like to know what is going on so I can focus better on my breathing and the movements.

Thanks.

[Nexus]

I prefer dong chu over skoal.

[Choke]

Thanks as always for a quick and to the point reply guohuen.

Nexus - What is skoal? And what did you mean when you said that you prefered dong chu over skoal?

Thanks guys.

[Nexus]

Choke - Skoal is a chewing tobacco. I was being cad, ie. just joking around a bit. Not to be taken seriously

:p

[Choke]

Some more questions (yes I'm full of them :))

1) I have heard that by placing your hands on your dan tian for a few minutes and concentrating on the warmth flowing from your hands into your dan tian you can store the Chi that you built up during your practice???

2) Is it bad to do chigung at night anytime near going to bed? Will it keep you awake after?

3) Ok so say I've continued to practice till I no longer experiance this dong chu. What comes next? Will I then be better able to build and retain qi? (As well as allowing it to flow freely with no blockages) What is the next step?


Not sure if I am asking the right questions or saying exactly what I mean, but it was worth a try :p

[Choke]

That was an awsome reply guohuen! Thankyou very much! You have given me more to think about :)


Choke.

[Nexus]

guohen,

I would be careful when explaining the practice in terms of phases. I would say that it ranges for all practitioners, and a teacher will usually guide an individual towards what they need, rather then sticking to a certain schedule of sorts. In that sense, some teachers may bring a student from hung ha chi kung, microcosmic orbit, to meridian meditation, to organ meditation, to iron shirt chi kung. etc.

It could range depending on a patient/students needs and focus. High meditation aspiration (goals of cultivation) usually lead to more refined teachings such as microcosmic and greater cosmic orbits, drawing the nectar to the golden flower, ad naseum.

[guohuen]

True. Thanks.

[Serpent]

guohen, can you explain a couple of terms for me please?

What does chong chi, dong chu and zou huo mean exactly?

I'm following pretty much what you're saying but I haven't come across these terms before. Are they Mandarin?

Thanks mate.

(Also, while we're on the subject (kinda), what does guohen mean? Is it actually your name or what?)

[Choke]

Regarding stationary/standing Qigong a friend of mine made the comment today that he finds it difficult to keep his abdominal breathing relaxed at the end of each inhalation and exhalation i.e., after breathing in there is a small tense in the abdominal area before breathing out and again after he has breathed out there is a slight tensing of the lower abdominal area before he breaths back in.

Now this is not the case with all the stationary postures. Mainly with a "Crane spreads its wings" type posture and a few others.

Any advice as to how to make the cycle of breathing smoother and to eliminate any tensing of the abdomen completely?

Or does he just need to relax and practice? :p

One last thing - though I understand your hesitation at describing the small circulation guohuen, I was wondering if you could point me in the direction of any good information on the web and/or in print so that I may get a better understanding?


Thanks for all the help.
Choke.

[Choke]

I went and did a little searching on microcosmic orbit and discovered one site that revealed some interesting things.

http://www.qi-medicine.co.uk/articles/microcosmic.htm

One of the most interesting things was that microcosmic circulation could be acheived through the patient practice of Qigong whereby the DanTian will become filled with Qi and subsequent qi overflows into the microcosmic circulation.

Interesting stuff!

[Nexus]

Choke - Master T. T. Liang who is currently 102 years old used to say "just breathe to dan tien, chi flow everywhere". Meaning that the circulation and all the specific meditations were not necessary as the dan tien breathing alone would be fulfilling. What he said is true.

[dezhen2001]

i would say just to keep practising (in the correct way) and you will recieve the benefits... whatever happens, happens :)

david