Hi there!
Thank you to those who joined me in meditation and chats, and those who haven't been able to join but have expressed your enjoyment of these emails. I feel energized and blessed with your presence. Here's today's summary of our lively session (hint: 5 bullet points).
1. Meditation
Today we tried reverse abdominal breathing. A breathing exercise more energizing than natural abdominal breathing and a good basic training for fajin. Do it before or after a form routine.
2. Mindfulness
How much awareness should one have when doing qigong or taiji? How much and how should the mind be engaged? I'm not sure if I can summarize adequately what everyone contributed here. But we talked about a range of qi sensations from warmth, currents, to utter peacefulness. A quote that keeps ringing for me is "when i know who am i and what my heart is, the qi feels very different; it's powerful, calm, present, kind..." (sorry if i've butchered it a little!)
3. Taiji anatomy
- What is "kua"? The area where your legs join the torso -- Chinese dictionary says it's "the area between the legs and the outer sides of the waist".
- How do you explain the perineum (where it is) to a class without being graphically specific? Can you just refer to it as in the pelvic floor. This suggestion was vetoed by most as the pelvic floor area is quite broad. Many hand gestures emerged as people offered solutions. It was a hoot to watch!
- The wuji alignment principle of "three points on one line". Anyone ever got confused about this? I know I have, the first day I learned it! Today's consensus seems to be "forget about diagrams; go with the feeling".
4. Next Thursday, March 18, 7-8pm, we will continue our Meditation (7-7:30 pm) and Taiji Chat (7:30-8 pm). We have a fun topic: what is your favorite / the funniest / the most incomprehensible / the awkwardest / the awesomest taiji posture? This could be the actual physical posture, or a posture name. Feel free to send me topics you'd like to discuss or hear about in future sessions also!
Zoom link is the same:
Topic: Taiji Meditation and Chats
Time: March 11, 2021 07:00 PM Pacific Time (US and Canada)
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84221837967?pwd=QlZITzVLODN1ODQvRm5ZOXpIemYzZz09
Meeting ID: 842 2183 7967
Passcode: 202101
*** Feel free to join either the meditation (7-7:30pm) or the chat (7:30-8-ish), or both! ***
5. New online Wuji class! I forgot to mention this during our chat, but my Wuji Qigong online course will be opening on April 1: https://movingstillness.teachable.com/p/wuji. You all are welcome to enroll for free, using coupon code TAIJICHAT. Let me know if you have questions. I would also appreciate it greatly if you could help me spread the word (perhaps without the coupon code though haha!).
Qi-ers!
Yan
https://movingstillness.org
Email: yli.taiji@gmail.com
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