Saturday, May 09, 2009
Chi Gong, Kundalini, cellos, Rumi and a day in the Park
http://www.mnwelldir.org/docs/qigong/qgsm.htm
(The above is a site I just happened to discover a few minutes ago--I posted it here because it contains, among other things, videos showing the actual movements the speaker is describing, making it easy to follow his instructions. Chi gong includes a myriad of forms and exercises, but these are presented here in an especially clear manner.)
Other videos are available on youtube--you can type in chi gong on the search site. Several of these are clearly directed toward the martial arts--I find these of no personal interest. I prefer a much more "feminine" approach, with a slow movement directed toward connecting with the "heavenly spirit" rather than preparing to do combat. Here is another site which seems to be more in line with this description, but I have not watched all of it:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bSZq78t4WMg
However, although precise instruction in established forms can be useful, you can in fact make up your own movements for chi gong, following the energies themselves as they move through the body. I think it best to take an occasional class to keep in touch with tradition, but ultimately I follow a "free form" practice, in which the energies direct me rather than vice versa. I learn a great deal that way, much of which is not offered in formal instruction (that I have encountered.)
Today was my lucky day, filled with unexpected delights. But then I've been having lots of lucky days recently. For beginners, we have had several days of sun in a row in San Francisco, and when these happen, everyone suddenly becomes happier and friendlier, and the atmosphere changes in every way. Even the birds in the park seem to be celebrating--what?--the coming of spring, perhaps, or finding a mate or the birth of young ones--or else they simply sing from pure joy.
Question: What do the various items mentioned in the title have to do with each other? Very little, except they all seem to be an important part of my experience the last two or three days.
First, the morning practice continues to be outstanding, with lots of fresh and lovely chi running, especially when I stand before Buddha in my wall thangka and visualize the outlines of his body, then run energy through intention around these lines within my inner visual field (something new for me.) Is this why dedicated Buddhists spend years memorizing each detail of the chosen deity? Don't know, but maybe it is for this purpose, to bring the specifics of the energies to the very points included in the mental diagram. (I am now calling my energetic flow chi instead of Kundalini, though I believe what I now feel is simply a stepped down version of the original sensations. Both are exquisite.)
Then later I dropped by a nice vitamin/health store near Golden Gate Park. And I met the owner himself, a charming man who was extremely knowledgeable about supplements and who also--I discovered--a long time chi gong practitioner. We had a fascinating conversation and I was delighted to learn the he too experiences blissful inner energies, and could answer some of my questions that no instructor has adequately responded to over the years. When I showed him my "delicate practice" (slight movement of fingers or eyes), he was not at all surprised, and explained that you could move chi through intention alone, and that the eyes were in fact one of the primary means of directing those energies through the body. He also told me that you could rotate the energies around your body, swirl them around the room, and perform other interesting feats. He had learned much of this from his one time teacher, who is no longer alive, she having died at the age of 100.
When I left, I heard gorgeous cello music flowing from the corner a few blocks away. I stopped to listen to this young student, who had studied at a neighborhood non-profit music school which serves many low income students who might not otherwise be able to take lessons. Adults and children paused to listen in fascination and rapture to this glorious sound emanating from the youth and his magical instrument (there is something quite special about the cello, I think.)
On the bus home, I sat next to a delightful woman who had also heard this ethereal music and we agreed that what the world needs is more cello music (and artistic expression of all kinds). Then I discovered that she was also a poet, and a lover of Rumi and Mary Oliver (plus Rilke), all of whom are my special favorites. She also has explored expressive movement as well as gardening, all good for the soul. When we got off together, we agreed to meet in future and share poems and reflections.
So I counted this as a special day, one in which rare and significant connections occurred and a day I will indeed not forget soon.
Blessings to all. May your days also be filled with joy and exultation, good health and unexpected encounters with delight.
(The above is a site I just happened to discover a few minutes ago--I posted it here because it contains, among other things, videos showing the actual movements the speaker is describing, making it easy to follow his instructions. Chi gong includes a myriad of forms and exercises, but these are presented here in an especially clear manner.)
Other videos are available on youtube--you can type in chi gong on the search site. Several of these are clearly directed toward the martial arts--I find these of no personal interest. I prefer a much more "feminine" approach, with a slow movement directed toward connecting with the "heavenly spirit" rather than preparing to do combat. Here is another site which seems to be more in line with this description, but I have not watched all of it:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bSZq78t4WMg
However, although precise instruction in established forms can be useful, you can in fact make up your own movements for chi gong, following the energies themselves as they move through the body. I think it best to take an occasional class to keep in touch with tradition, but ultimately I follow a "free form" practice, in which the energies direct me rather than vice versa. I learn a great deal that way, much of which is not offered in formal instruction (that I have encountered.)
Today was my lucky day, filled with unexpected delights. But then I've been having lots of lucky days recently. For beginners, we have had several days of sun in a row in San Francisco, and when these happen, everyone suddenly becomes happier and friendlier, and the atmosphere changes in every way. Even the birds in the park seem to be celebrating--what?--the coming of spring, perhaps, or finding a mate or the birth of young ones--or else they simply sing from pure joy.
Question: What do the various items mentioned in the title have to do with each other? Very little, except they all seem to be an important part of my experience the last two or three days.
First, the morning practice continues to be outstanding, with lots of fresh and lovely chi running, especially when I stand before Buddha in my wall thangka and visualize the outlines of his body, then run energy through intention around these lines within my inner visual field (something new for me.) Is this why dedicated Buddhists spend years memorizing each detail of the chosen deity? Don't know, but maybe it is for this purpose, to bring the specifics of the energies to the very points included in the mental diagram. (I am now calling my energetic flow chi instead of Kundalini, though I believe what I now feel is simply a stepped down version of the original sensations. Both are exquisite.)
Then later I dropped by a nice vitamin/health store near Golden Gate Park. And I met the owner himself, a charming man who was extremely knowledgeable about supplements and who also--I discovered--a long time chi gong practitioner. We had a fascinating conversation and I was delighted to learn the he too experiences blissful inner energies, and could answer some of my questions that no instructor has adequately responded to over the years. When I showed him my "delicate practice" (slight movement of fingers or eyes), he was not at all surprised, and explained that you could move chi through intention alone, and that the eyes were in fact one of the primary means of directing those energies through the body. He also told me that you could rotate the energies around your body, swirl them around the room, and perform other interesting feats. He had learned much of this from his one time teacher, who is no longer alive, she having died at the age of 100.
When I left, I heard gorgeous cello music flowing from the corner a few blocks away. I stopped to listen to this young student, who had studied at a neighborhood non-profit music school which serves many low income students who might not otherwise be able to take lessons. Adults and children paused to listen in fascination and rapture to this glorious sound emanating from the youth and his magical instrument (there is something quite special about the cello, I think.)
On the bus home, I sat next to a delightful woman who had also heard this ethereal music and we agreed that what the world needs is more cello music (and artistic expression of all kinds). Then I discovered that she was also a poet, and a lover of Rumi and Mary Oliver (plus Rilke), all of whom are my special favorites. She also has explored expressive movement as well as gardening, all good for the soul. When we got off together, we agreed to meet in future and share poems and reflections.
So I counted this as a special day, one in which rare and significant connections occurred and a day I will indeed not forget soon.
Blessings to all. May your days also be filled with joy and exultation, good health and unexpected encounters with delight.
