Chi Cultivation

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" rowspan="2" width=225 BGCOLOR="#000000" TEXT="#F7F7FF"> <bR> <bR> <div> <B><IMG SRC="1988ce20.gif" border=0 width="140" height="226" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> </td> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=94 BGCOLOR="#000000" TEXT="#F7F7FF"> <div> <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#BF0000" FACE="Garamond" ><B>Goddess Touch</B><B> </B></FONT><FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#BF0000" FACE="Garamond" ><B>    |   </B></FONT><B>  </B><A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Goddess Touch"><U><B>home</B></U></A><B>  |  </B><A HREF="kama_sutra.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Kama Sutra Practices"><U><B>Kama Sutra Practices </B></U></A><B>|    </B><A HREF="offerings.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Offerings"><U><B> offerings</B></U></A><B>  |  </B><A HREF="testimonials.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Testimonials"><U><B>testimonials</B></U></A><B>  </B></div> <div> <A HREF="massage.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Massage and Healing Touch"><U><B>Massage and Healing Touch</B></U></A><B>   |   </B><A HREF="mastery.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Lingam Mastery"><U><B>Lingam Mastery</B></U></A><B>   |   </B><B>Chi Cultivation</B><B>   |   </B><A HREF="goddess_worship.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Goddess Worship"><U><B>Goddess Worship</B></U></A><B>   |   </B><A HREF="sacred_love.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Sacred Love"><U><B>Sacred Love</B></U></A><B>   |   </B><A HREF="yoni_healing.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Yoni Healing"><U><B>Yoni Healing</B></U></A></div> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" height=386 colspan=2 BGCOLOR="#BF0000" TEXT="#F7F7FF"> <div> <B>Chi Cultivation</B></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> <B>Balancing the energies in the human body and synchronizing the mental and physical is essential to restore vitality and tap into the infinite power of the Kundalini.  The exercises below can be practiced alone or with a partner and before embarking upon the higher Tantric practices.</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>It is said that to the extent a practitioner achieves oneness through these methods, aging ceases.</B></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <B>T</B><B>AOIST </B><B>GOLDEN FLOWER</B><B> EXERCISES</B><B> </B></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <B>SHAKING AND BREATHING</B></div> <div> <B> </B></div> <div> <B>This set of exercises is designed to open up the breath and body in a safe, easy natural way.  The idea is to shake your body, with as little effort as possible: i.e. not holding on to the muscles, and just let the individual limbs move. At the same time you focus on exhaling deeply, again with little effort, thus letting go of all tensions. The healthy energy of the body is thereby allowed to circulate and balance itself. Also the joints gradually open up which is an essential to allow the chi to flow. </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>BREATH RELEASE </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Sexual repression, fear of personal power, fragile self-image, ungrounded personality - these things are often behind an inability or difficulty in doing belly breathing. Often it is merely the result of habitual breathing patterns. And what is needed is to develop a new habit. With a little practice, new power is felt, more balance is obtained. More grace, more ease and greater resistance to illness and injury result from mastering full free abdominal breathing. </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Lay down on your back and place your hands over your belly button. Inhale. Send the breath deep into your belly. As you do, your hands will rise up under the pressure of the breath. (Breathe in-diaphragm moves down-belly pops out-hands rise up).</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Exhale through the mouth. Use a gentle "blowing" technique, pursing the lips, pushing with the belly as you do. (Breathe out-diaphragm moves up-belly goes in-hands sink down. </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Some people imagine a bellows (you remember that thing people squeeze to fan a fire. It has two handles, and an accordion type device, with an air nozzle at the end. Think of your belly as being where the handles are that you squeeze the breath out with, and your lips form the other end. Another analogy is that of an eye dropper. Picture a glass tube with a rubber bulb at the end. You squeeze the bulb and this forces air out the tube. Your belly is the bulb. It drives the exhale. </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>When practicing, it is best to take one breath at a time, making sure that you are coordinating the breath so that the initial movement is triggered by the abdominal muscles. With practice, no effort is required to maintain a smooth comfortable rhythm and flow. </B></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> <B>LAZY CAT WALKING </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>This exercise develops the basic stepping used in the Golden Flower form. You walk like a lazy cat, shifting all the weight from one leg to the other. Practicing this exercise helps you understand how to use the legs in the form, and it also helps to develop your leg muscles and joints so that the form is easier to practice. </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>There are two variations to this exercise, each with two forms of stepping. Beginners start with an upright posture and very exact movements. This helps them understand how to step in the form. For intermediate students, we use a 'drunken cat walking' variation where you lean the torso backwards and forwards to help open up the joints more and develop better balance. </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>The two forms of stepping are normal step; and glide (or scanning) step. With the glide step, you scan the ground with your foot, imagining that your foot is connected to the depths of the Earth thru a magnetic connection. This helps develop grounding and awareness in the legs. </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>SWAN WALKING </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>This is another exercise to help understand the dynamic movement of the lower body in the form. The exercise is a 'Peng' (ward off) to a corner; pick up the ball; then step and Peng to the next corner, continuing in a line. This exercise focuses the attention on the stepping and on moving into the correct transitional stance with the alignment of the crown of the head; the perineum; and the heel of the standing foot. </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>WARM UP SET </B></div> <div> <B>This is a set of exercises which can be used to warm up the body, mind and energy prior to practicing the form. They are done slowly and with ease and control. They are usually felt to be relaxing, but they can also be invigorating as they help to balance the energy flow in your body. </B></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <B>GOLDEN FLOWER TAI CHI STYLE</B></div> <div> <B>ENERGY CULTIVATION </B></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <B>STANDING FOUNDATION </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Standing Foundation is the most fundamental exercise in all of our energy development work. If you do no other exercise, you should practice this one! People often report that after having been taught Standing Foundation, they continue to practice for many years as they notice the incredible results. </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Standing Foundation is often referred to as 'Chi Kung', but that term covers a broad range of practices. Standing Foundation consists of a few, simple standing postures. You take a posture and stand in it, consciously, effortlessly, gathering back your whole being and reconnecting with the energies of the Universe. It might sound like a simple thing to just stand still for a few minutes, but, if you haven't tried it, you'll see that it can be quite challenging at times! </B></div> <div> <B>Standing Foundation is one of the most simple, yet powerful exercises of all. Some form of standing can be found in most systems of martial art. It may seem mysterious, but what happens is that you align your body to stand with perfect balance. In this position you are also aligned with the Earth's magnetic and gravitational fields, and your energetic system starts to gather and collect energy, like an electric generator. </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>When practiced over many years, your body slowly re-aligns itself, and the energy starts to flow more easily. This is as effective a method of energy cultivation as most of the more well known meditation practices, and even more effective than many of the esoteric ones! </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Standing Foundation cultivates your grounding by melting away tensions in your legs, allowing the connection to the Earth to return. It is therefore an essential practice for any serious Tai Chi student, and cannot be recommended too highly. Also if you are simply interested in cultivating your Chi, this is a fundamental practice. It can also be used by bodyworkers to help understand grounding and to develop the power to heal (see the Chi Healing section for more about this). </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>ENERGY DIRECTION (PO CHI) </B></div> <div> <B>Energy Direction exercises are not traditional Tai Chi exercises. They help to calm the mind, open up higher centers, and to guide the energy around the body. They are a perfect inclusion in the Golden Flower Style as they help to promote the goal of general stress relief and harmony which is much needed in today's society. </B></div> <div> <B>These exercises also have a deeper basis which is revealed as the students are ready to move further with these exercises. </B></div> <div> <B>One particular benefit of practicing Energy Direction, or 'Po Chi' exercises is to train Tai Chi Vision. This is the ability to place the gaze into the far distance and let the eyes relax, unfocus, and let all of reality enter into the mind. This is the kind of vision to use while practicing the Tai Chi form. </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>MERGING HEAVEN AND EARTH </B></div> <div> <B>This is a Chi Kung exercise which we use for 'Closing', i.e. to end a session of practice. It should not be used at any other time. This is another slow moving sequence which helps you to reconnect to the Earth, then to Heaven, and finally to gather and mix all of those energies back in the Lower Dan Tien (the center in the lower belly area). </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>SITTING MEDITATION </B></div> <div> <B>Within the Golden Flower Style, we also practice sitting meditation. This helps to calm the mind and gather all of your essence. We simply sit upright in a chair and be still and quiet for a few minutes. You can try it now as you read this. </B></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>