WORKSHOPS
Labor Day Weekends
Annual Energetic Retreat at Lake Crescent, Olympic Peninsula with Michael
GiIman and friends. POB 431, Pt Townsend WA 98368 web
- email
RIVER PRACTICE
Standing--preferably along the
Greenbelt, near river and trees--is my primary Qigong practice. My
intention is to stand, outdoors, winter-spring-summer-fall. However,
each winter more time is spent on yoga, a fine indoor complement
.
"Just what do you do?" ask
the curious. "Hopefully, nothing", is the reply, in what sounds like
flippant contradiction. "Recharge body by holding still in correct
posture, and breathing." Serious business, this relaxing and breathing;
stilling body-mind and spirit. Empty mind, connect feet to earth,
drop tailbone, lift crown of head to heavens; align spine to receive universal
Qi (Life Force). Relax, Breathe. That's all.
The Taoist in me knows Nature
is my highest teacher. My eyes absorb the seasons, shadows of birds,
fresh beaver evidence, new carving on the nearby tree; my ears, the rustle
of squirrels, calls of birds, sounds of passerby's; my nose, scents both
wild and urban. All year long, ducks float up and down the stream,
sometimes waddling onshore.
Qigong sounded like just the
health practice I'd been looking for when I first heard about it some 10
years ago. Many books and workshops later I am at home with the teaching
of Ken Cohen, who it turns out, was living in my old Boulder backyard about
the time I moved away in 1974. The last few Mays I've enjoyed returning
to Colorado for workshops. Ken, from NYC, is an impeccable scholar,
Chinese linguist and teacher; shaman trained in multiple traditions; Taoist
priest and Qigong Master (see qigonghealing.com).
I'll return refreshed, re-oriented and recommitted to the wonderful health
practice of Qigong. (Stories below.)
July 2007
Beauty of Qigong
- Boulder
Presenters table, Sunday
night qigong banquet, Orchid Pavilion, Boulder
Drove west
for an esoteric break in Colorado, Memorial weekend, with Ken Cohen and
friends. Beauty of Qigong, whatever, I was clue less to envision
the program; signed on because I enjoy most anything Ken puts together
and it was time to return west. As usual the program sounded daunting,
over my head, out of my comfort zone. Mime? Alchemy?
Perhaps because of the soft art rather than martial art focus, an agreeable,
smaller than average group gathered and pleasant hours at Chautauqua passed
quickly. As usual, I couldn't master, or remember a thing from the
new (whale) form Ken introduced. As usual, I was inspired to return
to the basics of qigong for health. I was delighted to witness mime
Avital teach; he embodies qi! Could almost--not quite--see qi extend
from his finger tips, so alive is his presence. I learned that while
I'm still uncomfortable standing up alone in front of a group (I wasn't
the only one to turn down the opportunity to be an example) I was pleased
that, thanks to yoga, I followed some of what he was trying to teach us
about movement and bodies. As Ken is to qigong, Samuel is to mime.
I was intrigued but not always amused by teacher of alchemy, Evan.
Barely survived his puns; kept thinking of his poor students. Good
thing I'm from Illinois, used to and unfazed by head and word trips.
Didn't
feel like my question about how the Yin/Yang sign is doing these days was
answered, though Ken said it was, and Evan explained that peace is found
by meeting in the field beyond which problems arise. Yes, but.
Did I really say what I meant? Was I really heard, or did I miss
the answer? Probably. Undoubtedly balance is eternal, but I
do wonder if one of the dots in the signs might not be tear shaped these
days. Sure seems like the planet is struggling with harmony in a
big way. But more than in other times? I don't know.
Earlier I'd thought I'd heard Ken say something to that effect. Hence
my current koan how is the yin/yang sign came to mind. Hmm.
" The Tao that can be told is not the eternal Tao. The name that
can be named is not the eternal name." (Tao Te Ching) The question
that can be answered, maybe isn't a question?
[
[ [
[ [
[ [
May 2005
Dos Daoists Masters
in Glenwood!
Masters Tseng and Gao Han,
center
edited digital by Jason
End of April
teachers, students and friends of qigong from around US and Canada gathered
in Glenwood Springs, Colorado, to study with masters Ken Cohen and Yun
Xiang Tseng. Young Wu Dang Taoist Master Tseng, now living in Ft
Collins (CO), respectfully honored his elder mountain Coloradoan, Jewish-Taoist-Shaman
Ken Cohen. They were a fine, complementary team. Among other
things, Master Tseng announced next year's Taoist Summit with 20 Taoist
priests, June 8-10. He promised psychic readings for those with "spooky
hearts". He sees a Taoist monastery for Estes Park. Hold on!
(Much as I love Colorado's Rockies, I hold a vision of a less high-end,
more rural/remote location!)
Master
Tseng shared Wudang Zhong He Gong. Very demanding, I thought, nearly
completely beyond me, barely got the gist; however appreciated the emphasis
on strong balls of feet, toes dug in; firm buttocks, and awakening ghost
town knees. Complemented yoga well. Ha Ha Ha Xi!
Haha Xi Haha Xi!
Delighted
to practice Hunyuan Gong again with Ken/Gao Han, whose teaching is more
my speed. Without a local practice group or discipline, enjoy repeating
familiar workshops! Can appreciate details and refinements.
This time I understood, "Qigong is not no tension; it’s no excess
tension!"
Both ever
so fluid and articulate masters offered something for everyone. Enjoyed
watching Master Tseng, listening to his extraordinary English and word
pictures. Contemporary as he seemed, I appreciated his solid base
when he said: “I am very sure I am not here to change ancient teachings.”
Particularly enjoyed Ken's discussion of teacher attributes the last day.
Enjoyed
meeting folks from around the country, a short walk with Montana healer
and teacher Patty; soaking with Wendy from BC, Gail from Denver, east coaster
Vicki. I'm always stunned that folks I've been with in other workshops
are there to study not say hello. When will I learn qigong is serious
biz! Observed our ferociously competitive group (60 different backgrounds)
from the book and audio sales table. Winced at the posture, boldness
and egos of so many martial and healing arts teachers. Sensed very
little of the peace, balance and grace of the masters.
Hoteling
it big time at Hotel Colorado was a major adventure for this econo car
camper, totally out of her comfort zone. Convenient, though.
Next time I'll camp with Wendy in the Glenwood canyon campground by the
tracks!
Loved the
vapor caves and squeezing in soaks, before their unconscionably early closing
times. Of course evening class sessions were pretty much wasted on
this quickly filled brain.
As always,
came home keen to share qigong basics, flummoxed as to how and where.
The Eagle Seniors let me know they're happy with their Richard Simmons
video. Wish me luck! Meanwhile qigong inquiries come in, keeping
me aware of the interest and need.
And every
breathe and moment is an opportunity to qigong principles.
November 2004
Under-standing STANDING
2004
((I'm) Re-inspired to "just
stand". Could "it" all be coming together at long last?
This year I treated myself to two workshops with Ken Cohen: last spring--Taoist
meditation techniques; this fall--I Ching and bagua practice. This
fall's workshop to learn how to get answers from nature was right down
my alley. Lately only the softer meditative path has felt comfortable
or relevant. Intellectually top heavy, I can learn no more forms--don't
practice what I already have. I need no more information. Clarity
and wisdom, yes; facts, probably not. Only Ken could have explained
the I Ching in a way I could "grok". I loved both the I Ching intro
and bagua practice. I'd "met bagua" in one of Ken's earlier workshops;
remember drawing circles under riverside cottonwoods, walking around with
monkey arms for months afterwards. (This fall's visualization meditations,
however, were embarrassingly lost on me.)
In one of the final bagua practices
this fall, at Kripalu, I dropped out of our 19 person circle when a knee
tweaked painful--no messing with sharp knee messages. Back home,
the other morning as I was inspired to review bagua in the traditional
8 step circle in my living room, almost immediately a knee screamed.
Retreated immediately, remarkably heated from just a few circles each direction.
The mandate was clear: first things first--Foundation. No bagua-ing
'til knees are in the right place (not to mention feet and legs).
Over Labor Day I attended a
swimming dragon form workshop at Tassajara, mainly as an excuse to return
to Tassajara, although ever hopeful of inspiration. The form turned
out to be completely over my head in terms of difficulty, with no resemblance
to the waving swimming dragon form I'd enjoyed years ago. But I loved
the warm-up qigong excellent instructor Liping Zhu shared. I was
relieved her philosophy was entirely compatible with Ken's. (Not
always so, I've learned.) Attempting to balancing while kicking one
leg reminded me I'm not going anywhere without qigong basics. Liping
understands how Americans want to move, skipping the strength developed
in stillness. I've continued practicing and sharing those fine opening
warm-ups back home--and, standing.
Liping patiently leads troops
to dive to the bottom of the sea (??)
Just stand, Jeannie.
Every workshop Ken teaches forms and techniques that soar way above my
loosely connected body-mind. At some point he always shares how his
first Chinese martial arts teacher read the newspaper while he, Ken, stood
still, trembling, for the first months of class, building up the necessary
strength to “do something". Unlike learning series and meditation
practices, this teaching story is never lost on me. While standing
is difficult for me, remembering a series is impossible. I don't
have a Chinese master to sit nearby while I practice standing. Eventually
I drift....
After feeling humiliated by
yet another pilates class last week, I "got it"--gotta work foundation
up, qigong style (rather than middle down, pilates style). Pilates
simply isn't do-able at this time. I hear the words, but can't do/feel
or apply them. Not so yoga or qigong, where I have a sense of being
able to do and learn a little something at least.
And, not so meditation.
Last weekend Leslie James was here from Tassajara Zen Center. To
my great surprise, she spoke about posture and lessons from her left shoulder.
At long last, the time seemed right to ask my long simmering question about
relaxation v. holding in place, particularly in regard to my right shoulder.
More and more over the months I've had the sense that relaxing my right
shoulder, just letting it hang, wasn't helpful. Instead, I need to
consciously draw arm into place in socket. Although I hear and subscribe
to the wisdom of relaxation, if I relax, sitting or standing, it means
slump to my body! For several years, I've realized I have little
awareness of right shoulder compared to left. (The right was involved
in a break decades back.) Years of "just relax" don't seem to have
brought me closer to comfortable or correct sitting or standing.
More recently I've begun experimenting with firming up and tensing, holding
in place, despite warnings not to force. It was affirming to talk
this over with someone who understood the subtlety of self-listening, relaxing,
forcing.
This week I'm standing (qigong
style), purposefully pulling right shoulder in, much as I did last weekend
sitting zen style, hands held, not resting. I'm encouraged that something
new may be happening rather than the same overwhelming feeling of difficulty,
getting no stronger, standing no more easily. My interest is revived.
Unlike what seems like everyone else, I've struggled with qigong standing
for years. This was not my experience with yoga, because I had such
a steady though un-quantifiable sense of getting and doing better, albeit
glacially. (I also had a local teacher.) If my shoulder needs
to be pulled into place, perhaps it explains why arm balances, chataranga,
a number of yoga poses have been impossible, not just difficult.
Also on the impossible list is the invaluable chi-lel squat!
Interestingly I always blame
myself (who else could it be!) when I "can't do" things. At the same
time I mention to yoga students my experience that sometimes bones simply
aren't in the right place yet to do a pose! Do I listen? Shifting
my right shoulder uses a whole chain of muscles differently, including
the "dime between shoulder blades" set and the bicep/triceps. This
causes the left shoulder to readjust; absolutely everything is changed.
By the end of 15 minutes, my right arm is " neurologically involved" in
a way that feels dreadful, but alive, headed towards new possibilities.
Time to call chiropractor so highly recommended a few years back.
A similar change has been slowly
coming about in the hips. The weight-one-leg standing posture shown
in one of Ken's video's captured my interest several years ago. Through
intermittent practice I've located looseness in the right hip and experimented
with "tightening" it up, realigning it with the left hip, much the same
way I'm now working with shoulders. It's a huge puzzlement whether
to turn right knee and leg in, or out? Where is the line of strength
after so many years? I truly don’t know for certain, but I’m feeling
sturdier following practice sometimes.
I’m inexpressibly grateful
to hordes of teachers, "great and small". This seems like a project
that shouldn’t have taken a lifetime, but has. Grateful to those
who tried to tell me what to do, confusing and derailing me for years at
a time. Grateful to those who didn’t, couldn't, wouldn't, shouldn't
or did answer questions. Grateful to many, many teachers who introduced
new experiences to my body, that woke up and taught lessons along the way.
I walked out of numerous classes, whined and complained, lesson after lesson.
Grateful for those who put up with this difficult student.
Standing strong is a project
that holds my interest; I like what’s happening this year. I'm motivated
to stand and walk stronger after decades of misalignment and weakness:
I promised to hike Idaho high country to scatter Joe's ashes. He's
younger; I promised anyhow.
CONNECTING HEAVEN AND
EARTH
From: Pangaia, Friend of the
QI, (9/8/02 11:00 pm)
"I have been spending a lot
of time stabilizing my body while I practice Qigong and Internal Martial
Arts. For years my teacher has told me that I should learn to balance
my body a lot better but as it is in these arts there are always a million
others things to work on. A few years ago I met a master who constantly
told students “zhong ding” which essentially means find your center of
balance. This master managed to create in my mind a new definition balance.
The precision in balance he demanded was mind boggling. To hold the head,
shoulder, hips, knees or ankles out by a quarter of an inch is to be off
by a mile. It seemed like an impossible task just to have the level of
awareness and sensitivity required to know when your body is so balance
little alone to be able to dial it in yourself. However, after years of
dedication I was able to greatly improve my balance.
There seems to be some kind
of magic that arises when a person is able to find an extremely precise
posture of balance. The sense of connectedness and flow of Qi is dramatically
increased. One of the concepts that I have been holding in my mind
while trying to achieve such precision of balance is connecting “Heaven
and Earth”. For me connecting Heaven and Earth means relaxing squarely
on the feet so gravity is pulling the body straight down to Earth while
at the same time pulling the head up high and vectoring it straight up
to the infinity of Heaven. I imagine two rods; one is connected from
my center all the way to the center of the Earth and the other is connected
from my center extending straight up to infinity. Holding this concept
in my mind seems to have a very spiritual effect on the body that does
not exists from the mechanics alone."
September 2003
RE-CHARGE 2003!
The crazier life, the higher
the swells, the more I rely on Ken Cohen's wisdom. No one explains
hurry sickness (or posture, or integrating brain hemispheres, or tells
stories...) like Ken. His teachings are my anchor in rough Idaho
seas. Every few years I yearn to strengthen that anchor, reconnect
with Ken's presence and integrity. Fine teachers everywhere, but
for me no one has Ken's unique blend of East /West experience and teaching
ability. He speaks to my every interest--qigong and nature, religion
and yoga. Above all, his heart and authenticity recharge my spirit.
Ken's combination of degrees,
languages, and cross cultural experience put him in an especially fortuitous
role to educate educators, dialog with physicians and other professionals.
Each year he also teaches All Levels workshops around the country.
This not particularly educated student first crossed the country to hear
Ken in 1997 and immediately recognized what she'd been looking for.
Ken assures classes we'll learn enough to practice qigong without another
workshop. Some who come to workshops go right off and start or continue
teaching, others become part of Ken's teachers program! Although
I want to share the good news of qigong, and occasionally make attempts,
I don't seem to have the memory or commitment to do so well, which is the
only way I would honor my teacher. Instead like the cat, I keep coming
back to hear the same teachings, and more! Ken's (reluctant) web
presence (my only lifeline to his schedule) listed the "right" workshop
at Kripalu this September (right subject, right length to go cross country).
Buddhist Qigong: the Legacy of Bodhidharma promised Bone Marrow and Tendon
qigong (two of my favorites), along with meditation. Yum. Got
the green light from Kripalu last summer that the workshop was a go, registered
and bought ticket on Northwest. What if, what if, the world's biggest
worrier said, but the universe conspired to get me across the country!
A rental Suzuki waited and cousins welcomed me "East".
Level: All
An ancient
Chinese method of exercise, breathing and meditation, qigong increases
the body’s supply of qi, healing energy.
Scientific
research shows that qigong can promote vitality and prevent illness. Because
of qigong’s effect on balance, strength and coordination, it can also enhance
performance in any sport.
We’ll
learn the healing, conditioning and meditative techniques attributed to
Bodhidharma, the founder of Zen Buddhism, including:
* Bone
Marrow Cleansing. Twelve gentle postures that drive pure energy through
the bones, an ancient preventative medicine for osteoporosis
*
Yi Jin Jing (transforming the muscles and tendons). From China’s Shaolin
Monastery, these dynamic exercises greatly increase physical strength and
the health of muscles, tendons and
ligaments
*
Iron Body. Conditioning and resistance exercises to strengthen the
bones, muscles and skin
*
Buddhist Qigong Meditation. Techniques to promote awareness and inner peace
*
Qigong Philosophy and Science. Principles of diet, posture, breathing and
exercise.
That first Sunday night about
20 of us met with Ken for introductions (nothing like the 50 some often
in Ken's classes). Expected to recognize folks from prior workshops
but didn't. We were the usual assortment of therapists, physicians,
folks in physical crisis, martial arts students and "just curious".
Ken explained he'd chosen the workshop date because it was World Peace
Day, near and dear to his heart, and his hopes for the UN. As I lay
in my adopted dorm bed that night, my left shoulder "shivered", reminding
me of a release that once followed a rolfing experience (in the right shoulder
of the arm I broke decades before). Hmm.
First thing mornings we learned
and practiced Buddhist meditation techniques--chants, visualizations, etc.
Ken shared meditation posture principles, recommending we sit tall, but
letting us be. I sat self righteously upright on double cushions
rather than slumping into the sling-back floor chairs provided by the center.
(I'm still making up for years of heavy duty slumping.) I learn much
from observing how Ken models teaching. The martial arts students
were particularly miserable attempting to sit cross-legged. It's
always music to my ears when Ken recommends yoga as an unparalleled system
for working with joints. (Maybe I'm lucky not to have local qigong
community, to practice yoga instead!) In no time at all, I understood
more about Bodhidharma and Buddhist meditation than an entire Buddhist
retreat a few weeks before! Ah, Ken and his former lives!
Good to review Bone Marrow
Cleanse, the very first system I heard Ken teach. (first things into my
mind often stay longest). Also good to review/finish learning Yi
Jin Jing, the tendon system, again, which I didn't quite learn a few years
later. Like that system a lot; feel it helps that formerly broken
arm set more squarely in shoulder, among other things. My mind knows
qigong is good for me, even though I don't have the energetic awareness
most folks seem to. To put it another way--intellectually I understand;
physically and energetically I'm still rather out of touch. (Hence
yoga practice has been essential.)
Enjoyed Thursday afternoon
particularly. Broke into small groups and attempted Chinese style
group poems. Ken introduced and prepared us for this exercise earlier
in the week. Roared with laughter as the 5 or so of us, looked confused
each time one of us offered a line. "What about snow?", one woman
asked, when another brought up mist. I was keen on these poems, since
I've previously practiced lines while listening to Ken's tape on the subject.
Had my four lines ready. Out of desperation we ended up using
several. I was most pleased that the group accepted my rainy day
wasp observation from the dining room, "as is", despite my requests for
assistance refining:
Raindrops hit window
Wasp wants out
While we struggled long and
hard to agree on 4 lines (the wasp was a "bonus") one prolific group whipped
out 11 lines! Enjoyed laughing with these strangers enormously.
Looking back, over a month
later, at the few notes I jotted on the fly I see with alarm we also practiced
a section from 18 Laohan; Tibetan Crane and Deer; as well as Iron Body!
Ken urges us to trust our body to remember. Alas, Laohan is only
a pleasant memory. I'd know it if I saw it again, but I don't seem
to remember so much as one part to practice on my own! Something
about prayer hands, turning palms out and reaching up slowly. Also
recall rolling head from side to side with fists like a deer antlers, but
just how that went also seems missing from body and psyche. Fragments
of
the first crane move remain--slap with back of the hand, let arm drop and
return forward. I practice a bit of body slapping now and then
(seen that before). I miss the old days of taking voluminous notes.
Used to go home with enough on paper to reconstruct much of the workshop.
Looks like my body and mind are still strangers! Here I am in Idaho,
inspired but frustrated, as always yearning for a local practice group,
the nearest known fellow practitioner states away.
From time to time Ken shrugs
an "I don't know"; much of traditional qigong was taught from master to
student, without explanation. Unless Ken is certain, he doesn't guess.
Naturally, the reason for hissing in the tendon series came up. At
the end of the workshop a woman announced an answer--she sensed an association
between sound and kidney-1 point. People nodded. I don't have
that kind of energetic awareness. As I hissed away one morning back
in Idaho, hands in fists, I realized sound was helping focus on--could
it be--the infamous, elusive, dan tien? Perhaps? Although I
soak up the information Ken presents, perhaps even more welcome is the
way he gentle challenges each to find the wholeness and freedom that come
from discipline and practice. Since no one is on a pedestal, I feel
safe and empowered. Within the wisdom of sages, I learn to listen
for my own. I may be life times behind, but I'm back on the path,
bumping along, thanks to this fall's recharge with Gao Han!
With a bow in Idaho
Summer 2002
STANDING AGAIN!
When I learned
this summer that Ken's Sept workshop (on my calendar for almost a year)
had been canceled, automatically I thought, "This or something better."
Acutely aware of my "hurry" sickness and lack of discipline this past year,
I'd been desperate for a qigong recharge to inspire me. In my face
was the unmistakable painful, healthy truth: do it yourself! "Rats",
the co-dependent-save-me howled, full well knowing better. A few
days later my eye caught the cover Qi magazine at the co-op:
The Passing of Master:
B.P. Chan
A True Person of No Rank
This could
only be by Ken. Bought a copy, knowing it contained the refresher
I craved. Savored every word of Ken's article, a perfect reminder
how to recharge inner batteries. The tribute to Ken's early
beloved teacher about whom he's spoken many times contained all the wisdom
I'd ever need to hear about health and qigong, told again, with Ken's impeccable
simplicity: STAND. Amen.
Qigong
is so simple! Why in the world don't I/won't I/can't I practice!!
(Wanna group, wanna group, I whine...)
To my astonishment,
I've resumed standing! Not at the recommended crack of dawn energy
gate, but standing each morning. Every time I hear the truth stated
so simply I'm inspired to return to practice.
Mind you,
it's only been a couple weeks, but I claim success. Body and mind
are hungry.
This time
my return to practice is inspired by not only fear of becoming a doddering
old person long before my time--My life is filled with examples of folks
who forgot to stand, or breath, or laugh. And I'm one of them!
This time I'm also inspired by anger! I'm tired of being humiliated
by youth in (mainly yoga) classes, where I topple or skip poses.
I'll show 'em: I'll practice qigong! I'll be strong as an oak, supple
as a willow! I'll stand like a post/tree to become so.
And so
I am. I imagine legendary B.P. Chan sitting nearby reading the Chinese
newspaper while I squirm, the way Ken reported Chan did during his (Ken's)
first months of classes. A minimum of 20 minutes Ken says if you're
working with others. Inside my recurrent image of a John Deere caterpillar
is in gear. (I'm from Illinois cornfields.) The image of powerful
tracks, crawling and moving skin down my back, bringing tailbone closer
to earth, opening compressed areas of spine; balancing pelvic bowl, then
crawling up belly, lifting sternum, allowing shoulders to open, neck and
head to release skyward, has been with me several years. After years
of practice I know it's gonna take a John Deere to make the changes I need.
John Deere/Allis Chalmers/Caterpillar, not fluffy angels. Not millimeter
shifts, but inches of compression and over-stretching, multi-degrees of
rotation, decades of imbalanced habits and compensation. I've gone
nuts wondering why and where I slipped out of balance. Forget it.
Maybe it's hundreds of thousands of miles with right leg on accelerator
pedal. Could be. The point of power, however, is now, with
standing and listening.
Legs and
hips are waking, revealing where energy has been blocked. After understanding
concepts mentally, I'm shifting to physical awareness: feeling, opening,
changing, strengthening and balancing. It's one thing to realize
weight is unevenly distributed, another to learn how to change that.
Snake standing has been especially helpful to awaken and realign severely
rotated pelvis. So rotated no teacher has dared broach the subject.
(Even the rolfer?)
After two
weeks, one afternoon I sensed deep change in the right hip (i.e. major
pain). Stabilizing this new pattern is my next challenge. Not
to mention carrying on life! For 5 days, sleeping, standing up and
sitting down, getting in and out of car, eating and bathroom, were all
I could handle. By the 4th day, small shifts were happening.
On the 5th, more "gave way" and I was able to work deeply with my hips,
while laying on my back (holed up in my tent bombared by hornets), breathing,
moving slowly. A few days later I was walking "normally" with a whole
new set of changes to adjust to: feet, belly and shoulders. The phrase
"Gradually Lengthening" keeps coming to mind (apologies to Stephen Levine's
"Gradually Awakening" title).
Four weeks
after starting, I'm still standing, awakening, thanks to masters of qigong.
Summer 2001
SIMPLE PRACTICE
Eager for a qigong refresher
and recharge after more than a year on my own, in July I headed across
the Cascades when I learned Ken [Cohen] would be in Seattle. Via
email Quan-Cheng Sun and staff of the Institute of Qigong & Internal
Alternative Medicine welcomed me warmly.
I
shouldn't have been concerned about a workshop of nearly 100 (nor of finding
Bastyr College's new campus)! I always seem to feel at home in the
Northwest; as the weekend went on several familiar faces came into focus.
Through my soft eyes, Ken absolutely shone as he shared with this respectful
group. His teaching is clearer and clearer. I'd taken the curriculum
before--EQH, External Qigong Healing. Because I rarely feel qi, it's
the most challenging workshop I've had with Ken; only with Ken do I feel
sufficiently safe to be in a workshop that emphasizes assessment and sensing.
I attended, not so much in search of knowledge, but clarity; to savor Ken's
incomparable teaching and to be affirmed of the basics. I love watching
how this master engages "beginners", long time practitionera, professionals
of any walk, students of all ages and phsical condition; how he asserts
that the ability to tap and develop life force/qi is natural to all of
us--indigenous cultures all over the world support this. In a world
where the latest, ultimate health program--even qigong form--is promoted
at every turn, in every catalog and brochure, I yearn to be reminded of
the power of basics energy work via the ancient art of qigong.
Sometimes
I teeter from all the advice I hear, read and receive about health and
teaching (yoga). (I "teach" yoga at a fitness club that keeps pace
with "trends in the industry"; I subscribe to yoga magazines filled with
training updates and superlatives, models in outrageous poses and outfits.)
I think I'll go mad! I just want to practice and share the basics
both my masters teach, but folks are plugged into, not only the medical
system, but The Media, while I don't even watch tv! Recently a tai
chi fellow told me it was too bad qigong had such a bad reputation.
I looked at him clue less. Qigong's been around for hundreds if not thousands
of years. It will survive much more than western impatience and opinion
and so will I! Humpf.
I remember
Ken crediting Charlotte Selver with teaching how to teach. I've since
read about her. Ken's patience, gentle humor and teaching stories,
clear presentation of information combined with physical practice, repetition
and ample question and answer sessions are a joy. His ability to
empower is extraordinary. He doesn't spend time correcting us; instead
he explains the basics of posture and breathing, then let's us explore.
When students ask how soon they will see results, he replies, "You can
see results right from the beginning". Following physical practice,
Ken explains clearly that having one's own personal practice and stilling
one's mind are essential to maintaining personal health and to assessing
imbalance in others.
The way
Ken empowers by teaching the basics of posture, breathing and listening
reminds me of Rachel Naomi Remen's simple conviction that silence and listening
are often our greatest healing gifts, to ourselves, and others. (Remen's
My
Grandfather's Blessing is my book of the summer.)
One of
my favorite moments during the weekend occured while Ken was explaining
the Chinese word picture for qi. Bastyr College is now on the beautiful
wooded grounds of former St. Edwards seminary, by Lake Washington.
Evidently, on weekends, the chapel is much in demand for weddings.
Like Las Vegas, all weekend, one wedding after another took place.
Just as Ken began drawing the contemporary symbol for qi on the blackboard,
strains of "Here Comes the Bride" drifted across the courtyard from the
chapel. I was delighted with the moment.
After completing
the curriculum, Ken ended the weekend with stories (by now familiar to
me). One addressed the power of standing practice (introduced briefly
at the beginning), and another shared a Chinese elder's four health secrets:
simplicity, acceptance, adaptability and the wisdom of childhood.
For this I came. In a world where learning more and more is often
competitive and technical, I'm inexpressible relieved to be reminded that
the power of many martial artists and healthy elders is developed through
the "simple" practices of standing meditation, right living and stillness!
How I need to hear that! My qigong practice remains erratic; however,
the principles of correct standing posture become more and more real as
I stand, rooting more solidly during both qigong and yoga. I sigh,
reassured that flexibility includes mind and spirit.
Once again,
thank you, Gao Han!
Winter 2001
KEEP MOVIN'
This new
year I began visiting tai chi classes (ever hopeful of finding a class
compatible with my "foreign"--nonlocal--background in qigong as well as
group practice). Several times I stopped in the senior center to
try to practice with that welcoming group (originally based at the YWCA)
which has practiced together for some 19 years! As best I can trace
this Boise lineage, Bonnie McGinnis Bryant (recently moved from Boise)
began studying Tai Chi Chuan with Master Mary Chow in LA (student of Master
Tung Ying Chieh, Dong style?) in 1974. Bonnie taught many in this
area, including, if I understand it right, seniors leader Jo, and Jeff
Vik (now OR). A number of others, including a now very elderly Tawainese
general, have taught tai chi in the Boise area over the years.
One Monday
morning, in Jo's absence, I was startled to find the seniors following
a long form from a tape in Chinese!! How the same region that
produced Helen Chenoweth could have seniors blithely waiving arms, following
spoken Chinese, is a mystery me! Always embarrassed that I don't
follow tai chi well (any series of movements i.e. dance, for that matter),
even when surrounded by experienced practitioners, I was wondering just
what I was looking for and why I didn't feel as though I fit in, when a
small piece of the puzzle fell into place: the group was exercising mind
over body. Arms moved, unrelated to bodies; feet shifted, without
relationship to earth. Afterwards several seniors commented (referring
to me), "She's done tai chi before; did you see her feet?" Hmm.
I like this group! Qigong before, not so much tai chi, but I didn't
argue.
Last I
knew I felt hopeless at tai chi. Could my erratic qigong practice
the last few years, focused mainly on standing, posture, and always on
learning to soften feet, listen to the earth, be slowly rooting?
Could the simple teachings of my master be seeping down to my feet?
Could active and passive be coming part of me? While fellow qigong
students move into teaching qigong professionally, I still wrestle with
the basics, regular practice, relaxing mind and body. If this is
my arm, why not relax this shoulder!!
The Chinese
are known for heroic feats of discipline, including memorization--parroting
back English without clue as to meaning. So too, perhaps, Idaho seniors
memorized long sequences of tai chi movements. Recalling dozens and
dozens of moves in order--over a hundred-- seems more like heroic mental
gymnastics than physical practice to me. (In the absence of a leader
within eye sight, I can't do so much as the first two moves!) However,
their practice works; the group is dedicated, successful, enduring and
supportive.
As I shop
for "tai chi like" classes around the area, I've noticed an absence of
warm ups or preparations and only a minimum amount of focus on education.
No warming up the golf swing, swimming a few laps first. Just do
it! I admire that determination and confidence. One evening
I visited yet another group, an informal class/club where the leader is
ordinary, patient, grounded; the pace slow and repetitive, and, lo!, the
form resembles my training! Good enough! I invited myself into
the back row.
My path
to qigong started with exploring Traditional Chinese Medicine. It
has included reading, lecture/discussion and meditation, along with doing.
After a few enjoyable evenings with the good enough group, I worked up
nerve to inquire about warmups, confessing I practice standing. "Oh,
those," responded a glamorous blond who could have been on the cover of
an aerobics magazine. She had tried to help me (not realizing
my near paralysis when faced with series of movements). "My husband
and I like to move." Of course.
It's a
Doing world, not Being. Perhaps I'll come early, stand, coil a little
silk, do some walking.
Especially
in Idaho, China seems like a very long ways off.
November 2000
STANDING with the
MASTER
As I turned
into Flicker Forest just after noon on a delicious, sunny fall day, my
eye caught the blue gray of a heron, pointing upstream. S/he stood
on a shallow bar, formed where a branch slows the stream, long legs looking
much like the branches that framed it's distinctive profile.
Stopped still in my
tracks, fully expecting it to fly off, as heron almost always do, usually
long before intruders arrive. But it didn't! My eyes grew big
in amazement. Its concentration remained fixed on fishing.
As I stood, it stabbed the water without result.
Wanted
to observe as long as possible; also wanted to practice my own standing!
Slowly I walked forward in a zigzag, not looking directly at the bird.
In slow motion, hung my pack on the overhead limb as always, awaiting the
inevitable flap of wings and sharp squawk. To my surprise, the heron
stayed! Stepping slowly, crane like, to my accustomed flat spot,
near stream and heron, began my own standing--drop tailbone, relax shoulders—acutely
aware of being in the presence of a master teacher of stillness.
Standing
with cranes, I thought ecstatically! After several years of practicing
by the river, this was the first time I’d literally stood with such a master!
The long neck folded into hunkered position, top of head slightly higher
than sunlit back. I continued to root feet and center, suddenly realizing
that the motionless heron was on one leg all this time!
When the
heron stepped forward onto slightly higher ground, it unfolded its neck
and lifted big, beautiful wings, awkwardly through branches, before settling
back down on two legs. It seemed to be thinking about whether to
fold a leg back under—I watched to see which one—but it remained on two.
Now and then, the bill opened slightly, as though muttering or cheering
on fish or crayfish.
When fishing
looked better behind, the body stayed motionless, neck turned. Its
remarkable long “chest” feathers could be seen clearly. Another stab
into the water yielded another "air" fish.
Never had
I been so inspired to stand still, just "be" (observing, of course)!
Slowly moved arms from position to position, all the while gazing, (hopefully)
soft eyed, on the beautiful scene, incredulous at the gift before me.
Like a teacher, the heron stood close, within 30 feet, without indication
it was distracted by me or scampering squirrels. Its focus, of course,
was that of a master.
Perhaps
since fishing was poor, the master shifted to maintenance: scratched left
“ear” with left foot, then scratched head. It began preening, long
bill reaching down long neck to straighten feathers. What a bill!
Like a knife! Looked to me like it scratched its neck by reaching
and rubbing down its back; however, maybe that was a back scratch!
It picked at the feathers at the base of its seldom seen tail, lifted the
right wing and scratched at the hinge of the wing and beneath. So
much for hunting and fishing.
Ever concerned
that I might not recall each precious detail, I walked slowly to my bag
for pen and paper. Ended up writing on a plastic sack! Opportunity
to exercise memory, I reminded myself. The day was glorious; the
stream barely moved. The heron stood; I went back to standing, jotting
plastic notes.
At last
the heron flew a short distance downstream, closer to the trail, where
it didn’t stay long. What magic! I floated home, awed with
the grace of having stood with Master Great Blue Heron!
September 2000
TALKING QI - 5 ELEMENTS
in the Voice
Each time
I attend one of Ken's workshops I return with new insight which I mull
over in the following months. This past spring Ken's seemingly offhand
comment about our voices containing all 5 elements of traditional Chinese
medicine (metal, water, wood, earth, fire) caught my attention. Not
only does voice strength or weakness reflect health of qi, the quality
of one's voice is a blend of the elements! I'd never considered that—however
I immediately understood that was why the minute I'd heard Ken's voice
on an audio tape I sensed his balance.
I've always
thought quality of voice told much, been acutely aware of the ability of
voice to soothe, irritate, hypnotize, enchant and reveal, all on top of
what was being said by words and in between words! Time and again
I've had to get past my initial gut reaction to voice quality in order
to hear a speaker's message. Now I'm beginning to understand something
of the elements I've been hearing without identifying. I enjoy flow
in a voice, but if it's too watery, I'll drift off. I'm jolted and
repelled if there's a metal edge that's too sharp. I respond to fire,
but not if it's roaring! As of this writing, I'm not clear about
listening for the quality of wood in voice, which the Chinese link to the
liver, anger and kindness. Perhaps it is the quality of life in a
voice. Earth, I think I intuitively recognize and tend to warm to--if
it's not muddy! I've a new delight-- reading qi via voice!
Recently
a new acquaintance stunned me by saying while I was away at Ken's workshop
and she was sick, she phoned my answering machine to listen to my voice!
Why is that, she asked? Seizing the podium with my newly emerging
understanding, I offered the idea of being able to sense elements in a
voice. Perhaps while she was ill, she was listening for a "missing"
element?!
from wwww.wuji.com
Jul-Aug 2000 newsletter
MASTER YUENG'S VISIT
In June Master
Yueng honored the Tian Shan Qi Gong class by visiting, teaching and answering
questions. He emphasized that thinking too much or visualizations
can really obstruct qi flow. "It's best to soften and feel, don't
think!" He warned about methods that focus on controlling qi flow
or channeling it to certain areas.
Unless
you're very well aware of all your own blockages this can cause damage
and many problems. Healing takes its time and can't be forced.
Focusing on a specific qi flow pattern in the body can cause you to force
the qi [orig: to enforce] into [ed.] blockages or force them
open before it's appropriate causing more health, energetic or emotional
problems. If you practice your qi gong and movements softly and gently
the energy will flow where it should NATURALLY. It will flow through,
[orig: and] strengthen and [ed.] open areas, flush sick areas,
and gently penetrate blockages when appropriate. The mind and body
has certain defensive mechanisms that will protect you until you're ready.
Re:
[Orig:
Take] emotional traumas hidden within our muscles and energy fields.
As we practice and get stronger the qi will gently loosen these areas until
we're able to let go or face them. Forcing them to open before we're
ready or strong enough does deeper damage. Most qi gong teachers
see this fairly often with students too eager to [ed.]
[and] practice
everything they read from some of the qi gong books on the market.
The secret Master Yueng taught that night . . .
Natural, everything must be done gently and naturally.
Andy
A LITTLE HUMOR, courtesy of TAO
OF POOH Website
