Well i really fell in a heap with this one last year. The knee injury didn’t help, but i could have done more one finger stuff. My teacher has been on at me all year about doing the one finger qigong more seriously, so i’ve decided to step up and try to be the student he would like me to be. So: 45 minutes every day of standing one finger qigong, first exercise for a period of 90 days. After that i progress to the second exercise (there are 5 altogether). Apparently it helps yr leg strength, endurance and “rooting”, it also helps yr bare hand strike penetration. But mostly what i have discovered in myself is my mind calming down, having the discipline to stand and turn my focus inward for that length of time. Whoa, look out… could that be maturity creeping up on me? :-)
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I missed a day on the 2nd due to my surgury (a word i constantly have to remind myself is not sugary… which makes me think about how long it’s been since i’ve visited the dentist and i really don’t want to do that); i had a vague idea of doing some one finger stuff in the waiting area but it was completely packed out with oldies waiting to have their knees fiddled with as well – didn’t feel like embaressing myself in from of half the population of Castlemaine :-) The procedure was surprisingly quick… 30 mins and then a couple of hours in recovery before being packed off home. Even though i felt pretty compis afterward, i kept half-nodding off and losing large chunks of time, so decided not to practice.
Yesterday (3rd May) i did a round of 1 finger qi gong whilst sitting up in bed, but that was it. I can see i’m going to get very bored with 1 finger qi gong in the next week or so!
Both days i did 10’ Standing tree meditation and one round of 1 finger meditation. Kept my beanie on because of the colder weather on Monday… really noticed how warm and tingly my hands got when i did this. I wonder if it’s a good thing to wear synthetics when doing qi-gong, especially on your head! Hmm, probably not.
Tomorrow is my knee surgery, so i’ll have to do my practice during the day, as i’m going to be pretty out of it in the evening.
Did 7’ Standing tree and 15-20’ Tien di ren on Friday evening, around 1.30am. Too late really, but glad i got it done ‘cause i’d been busy all day and was tempted to let it slide.
Sat unfortunately was a wash-out. I’d been visiting freinds during the day and didn’t get home in time to practice before my lover came over for the night… probably not a good idea energetically to practice after sex, never mind what she would have thought about me jumping out of bed at midnight like a modern day Cinderella! ;-)
Sun was a late one again – 12.30am. My sleeping habits are shot! Did 10’ Standing tree… a big jump from my previous 7’, but i’ve done this before so i reckon i can take it. Felt good – really warm palms. Also did a lazy 15’ Tien di ren.
Ahhhh… just finished. 7min Standing tree (really sitting tree -no sense in aggravating my already sore knees) meditation and then a round of 1 finger Qi gong. Really nice at this time of night – so quiet. I feel ace now.
I started my Qi gong account yesterday on the train to Melbourne… from Sunbury to Spencer St. (~5.25 – 5.50pm) i sat upright to do the 1 finger qi gong exercises. Very odd experience as i don’t usually practice in moving vehicles. (I usually like to feel connected to the earth in some way when i practice) The movement was kindof annoying at first, but i gradually got used to it. Got crown tingles and finger tingles as well as some shaking and settling, so something must have been working! Next time i’ll try to pick a seat without constricting armrests though.
That night at Em’s i also did 7 min Standing Tree and then some Tien Di Ren. Felt strong crown tingles, especially during exercise 3 in Tien Di Ren – almost unpleasant in intensity. Must revise the form to make sure i am doing it properly. Also, i need to make up my mind whether i am natural or reverse breathing! The confusion arises i think cause i’m paying too much attention to applying the three locks… just concentrate on breathing evenly and slowly.
After i finshed, my right knee (my supposedly “good” one) locked up on me… hurt behind the knee. Probably just did too much today and stressed it out. Might want to try it sitting down if this is a problem again.
Right! Nearly 1pm, so i better get off this thing and practice again! (yawn.. too tired…)
bleurgh… not enough sleep. spent too much time surfing on the net and was finally too tired to do my qi gong. From now on i’m going to have a note on the computer to remind me to get off at 11pm, regardless of what i’m doing at the time. We’ll see if that fixes things.
I’ve been practicing Ba gua zhang for 5 years now, but it still feels very much like i’m learning it from the “outside in”, rather than from the “inside out”. The internals are there, but i’m largely unaware of them, meaning my focus and general health isn’t as good as it could be. It’s really the prefect time right now for me to work on improving this stuff, cause i’m injured (cartilage tear) and waiting for an knee operation. (did i say my health wasn’t as good as it could be??) If i can do 30-45 minutes a day of Qi-gong (a chinese moving meditation for harmonising essence, energy and spirit) for the next month, i should be over the “week on, week off” slackness factor, and can keep going for the rest of the year! That’s the plan anyway. :-) I want to use this forum for tracking my progress and any changes i notice during practice. This will be my starting daily practice:
1. Standing tree meditation (7-15mins)
2. One finger qi gong (25 mins) or
3. Heaven earth man qi gong (20 mins)
I will do this between 11pm and 1am, in the main living area, facing the garden (north)
