Final Class

Attended the final class session this evening. Earth element (spleen and stomach). Color is yellow. Healing sound is "Hu" (hoo). This set of channels control the four limbs, the strength of the extremities. A key intervention for me since I still experience weakness in my upper arms and shoulders.

The next class is Power Healing, which will be taught by some students of Dr. Sha. Woman came tonight to introduce the class. I'm glad I read Sha's book. Otherwise what she said may have sounded like gibberish.

I think I'll go ahead with the PH course and then think about going to Tayam's class next year. He's given a solid set of movements that will work for as long as I wish to practice. The PH class will be local. That's a plus.

Metal -> Water -> Wood -> Fire -> Earth
Lung -> Kidney -> Liver -> Heart -> Spleen
White -> Blue -> Green -> Red -> Yellow
Sssss -> Fu -> Shu -> Ha -> Hu

The Taoist Five -- Keep on practicing...

Class 7 of 8

Fire element--heart, small intestine, pericardium and triple heater. Color red or to keep it from being too intense, pink. Sound is Ha! (Haaaaaa)

Good energy from the class. Was feeling really logy before I went. Came out juiced and hungry (of course). This was the next to last class in the series. When finished, it will have provided a solid set of movements and postures for a sustained practice. Of course, there is always more to do, to learn.

I let my diet get out of whack and took in too much sugar over the past few days. Caused a breakout (folliculitis) on my upper lip--creates an angry inflammation that takes a few days to subside. Directing Qi to the area to facilitate healing. I believe it is triggered by sugar and direct sunlight--also a measure of internal anxiety. Not sure what I'm worrying about exactly--life, I suppose.

Looking forward to the last and future classes.

Daily Practice

Finding that I enjoy and do not regret doing a daily Qigong practice. Have some difficulty doing two sessions each day, but don't seem to have any resistance to one time a day.

Usually feel better once I've done a set of moves. If I do a second set of exercises, I tend to do them after I'm in bed and horizontal. These tend to be in the style of the Power Healing forms as written up in Dr. Sha's book.

I'm definitely feeling more alert and able to focus my attention for longer periods of time. If I can manage to get the kinks sorted out in my back, I should be ready for longer periods of sitting and writing. Looking forward to tomorrow's class and my day of things I plan to do before attending the session. My state of well being is at a good level for a change.

Sixth Class of Eight

Had substitute instructor for this class. Was good to have someone go over the same data, but from a slightly different viewpoint. He helped make sense out of some material that could be confusing.

He also did some of the movements/exercises slightly differently. His use of arm movements to reinforce energy flows was especially helpful to me--it loosened up how I was doing the practice.

He introduced the wood element (liver) and the form for that organ. It was more like a martial arts movement. The liver deals with anger (anger can be stored there). The paths to and from the liver are connected to the eyes. I realized that the last time I got angry, I sent the anger up and out of my eyes--interesting! Also, that some of my dreams a few nights ago had an anger component. Precognitive dream, perhaps.

The follow-on class after this set is complete will be on Power Healing. It's a form of Qigong that uses a variety of techniques to facilitate healing and health. It was put together by a Dr. Sha (see links). There is a book on the subject by Dr. Sha. I got the book and am encouraged by my initial work with some of its ideas.

Came away from the Qigong class full of energy and hunger. Had to stop and eat dinner before going home. This has been a consistent result after each class.

Fifth Class of Eight

Went into the 2nd element, water, tonight. Kidneys and spleen organs and the pathways to those organs are exercised. I'm experiencing a lot of discomfort on my right side (knee, hip, back) and found the movement to be hard to do, but doing what I could manage helped anyway.

The cleansing sound for this element is Fu (Foo). The one for metal (air) was Sssss. These sounds have no correspondence to the ones listed in Jahnke's book. What's the story here?

Energy level after going to the class was high--perhaps a bit unfocused, but high--clear and open. I was also hungry and had to go get something solid to eat. Thought about a pastry, but went for something more nutritional--lasagna--good old comfort food.

Kidneys and spleen are associated with the emotion of fear. Since I've been in that state over the past year, it seems no wonder that my energies are low and scattered--that my Jing and Qi are out of whack. Feel better after tonight's session. Look forward to practicing further and seeing what happens to my energy levels. I get a glimpse of being healthy once again--it feels good and natural.

Practiced and Slept

Did a practice round this afternoon and fell asleep afterwards. Did the practice because I had been sitting for some time and thought it would energize me. Had the opposite effect--put me to sleep. Just an observation. No need to draw conclusions.

Fourth Class of Eight

Learning something new with each class. Tonight the teacher introduced the five elements and began to show us the Taoist Five Qigong Set of movements. The opening exercise is a perfect solution to a feeling of blockage that I was experiencing in the middle Dan-Tien region.

The use of movement and sound helps open up the area where I experience blockage. In addition, he explained what we can be looking for when we are doing circular breathing--the variety of sensations we might feel. As he was explaining all this, I got a definite pulsation in my back on the right side. It's the kind of pulsation I've experienced at the chiropractor, but there it is usually in my scalp. So that's what the sensation is--little Qi bubbles moving about.

As I thought about all this, I realized that my "condition" is a complex mixture of short-circuited, blocked, weak, and overstimulated Qi patterns. I've had a blowout and even the tremor in my arm and leg is Qi that's gone awry in my body. For the first time, I could see myself healthy, totally healthy, once again. I believe I'm on the right pathway, the correct journey.