CIRCLEWORK
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These Qi Gong classes will focus on
· Building nervous resilience and the mental and physical health benefits of practicing Qi Gong
· The somatic balancing of yin and yang energies.
· The internal energetics associated with the choreography of Qi Gong
· Unifying oneself and unifying oneself with the other.
Everyone can use more nervous system resilience in these demanding times. Learn how to naturally default to a relaxed calm Yin body state.
This practice is about feeling and sensing and the cultivation of whole body health and vitality using fundamental Qi Gong exercises.
Slow movement coupled with the breath is an excellent way to practice mindfully, pausing during movement is an excellent way to develop interoception. Interoception is a key to building resilience, mental or physical resilience. Resilience is the ability to return to balance, either mental or physical.
Qi gong practitioners have a unique opportunity to develop stronger, more stable nervous systems via the mindfulness practices associated with slow intentional movement coupled with the breath and imagination.
In the same way you do exercise for the corporal body, we can practice innercise (interoception) to cultivate mental physical resilience of the nervous system.
You can enroll in this course here.
Cultivating a Yin body state involves the process of recognizing your center and using that center as a reference point that you can use to guide you back to homeostasis. Think of the pull of gravity. This process involves coupling the breath with an awareness of natural internal feelings associated with healthy movement habits.
You can learn how to center yourself and default to a calm relaxed body and mind state. Coupled with the ability to activate and organise your fascial lines, this whole-body practice takes on the feeling of Yin; relaxed, connected and sensitive to the self and to others.
QI GONG NOTES FOR RESTFUL WATERS
Lesson 1 Introduction
BALANCING THE BODY
WHAT IS YOUR REFERENCE POINT FOR MOVING?
“Stay in the center, and you will be ready to move in any direction.” Alan Watts
Overview – Foundation teaching Zhong Xin Dao I Liq Chuan
Preparation for practice, finding your center
Form a circle and bow in
This series is based on interpreting and applying somatics to Qi Gong practice. Week One we ask “What is your reference point for moving?” then we find our centers as a starting point. This is a fundamental body state characterised by calm alert awareness and ease of movement.
Health is the greatest possession. – Dhammapada
If you are still, how do you initiate movement? If you are moving, how do you come to stillness?
Start with stillness
The Benefits of Qi Gong practice are
Health is the greatest possession. – Dhammapada
Physical vitality and mental acuity, resilience and the window of tolerance
Secular access – total health, resilience and deep connection, natural biological response, for everyone, an act of service
Cultivate Proprioception and interoception = a natural process
Stability, joint mobility, muscle tone, improved balance and range of control
Cultivate a whole body biotensegrity by activating the fascia, reduce tension at the joints
Cross lateral and contra-lateral movements improve brain hemispheric connections across the corpus callosum.
Joint opening and spinal rotation lubricate and nourishes the connective tissues in our joints.
Qi gong for building nervous resilience, a calm mind and body, health and vitality, High Performance Aging
Unification of ourselves (mental/physical) and with others, we keep ourselves mentally and physically healthy and support others to do the same.
Homeostasis, Window of Tolerance, practice leads to self-understanding
Overview of practice
This art is about feeling - Underneath the choreography of Tai Chi Qi Gong movement are a set of internal feelings.
Slow and subtle
Use your imagination to feel, this is a practice about how you feel.
Make adjustments
Stand, focus, interoceptive pause,
Mind and nervous system (sensations and feelings) and corporal body
BOUNCE
Stand, focus interoceptive pause
Rock - neutral
Axial extension and forward fold, proprioceptive wakeup call, whole body as one piece
Arm activation, proprioceptive wakeup call
ARMLINE ACTIVATION hasta mudra, palm activation, hold the ball
Axial extension and forward fold, proprioceptive wakeup call
AXIAL EXTENSION the back line, hang the muscles, macro cosmic orbital flow, tan dien and ming men
FOOT TO CORE
Absorb and Project – vertical alignment and the effect of gravity
Heaven/earth
Context ORGANISE AND ACTIVATE (how much?)
Taoism is based on balancing yin and yang energies. Knowing where your centre is helps us find neutral points, or balancing points while we move or be still. Staying connected to our centres has many benefits including physical, mental and energetic especially if we co-incidentally organise and activate our fascial system.
“Stay in the centre, and you will be ready to move in any direction.” Alan Watts
SLOW AND SUBTLE, PROPRIOCEPTION AND INTEROCEPTION
Healing practice, calm mind and relaxed body maintain coherence=resilience
Safety, limits, connection to centre
stability, strength and ROM
Natural, get out of the way, don't
Better to stop in time than to fill to the brim.
Grass and trees are pliant and tender when living, but they are dry and brittle when dead. (Lao Tzu) The Tao Te Ching Translation by Tolbert McCarroll
Secular access – total health, resilience and deep connection, natural biological response, for everyone, an act of service
Health is the greatest possession. – Dhammapada
Physical vitality and mental acuity, resilience and the window of tolerance
ZHAN ZHANG (John Gwong)– Standing, 4 vertical basics, while I talk. Bare attention
Setting up for mindfulness. Buddha dharma, Stillness, paying attention, focused awareness.
Quiet, stillness, default practice back to homeostasis
Empty everything out; hold fast to your stillness.
Even though all things are stirring together, watch for the movement of return.
The ten thousand things flourish and then each returns to the root from which it came. Returning to the root is stillness. Through stillness each fulfils its destiny. That which has fulfilled its destiny becomes part of the Always-so. To be aware of the Always-so is to awaken. (Lao Tzu) The Tao Te Ching Translation by Tolbert McCarroll
1. Make a gesture, health
2. Respect to all, attitude, good will
3. Posture sets up deep memory, context Qi Gong
4. Scan and calm, foot up the backline, sink down the front and settle on abdominal breath, activate the hands
5. Focus your bare intention to foster healing, mindfulness,
6. Breath, and stand
7. Offer benefits, gesture of good will
I have three treasures that I cherish and hold fast. The first is gentleness, the second is simplicity, the third is daring not to be first among all things under heaven. Because of gentleness I am able to be courageous. Because of simplicity I am able to be generous. Because of daring not to be first I am able to lead. (Lao Tzu) The Tao Te Ching Translation by Tolbert McCarroll
Taoism – yin and yang, binary?
The Tao gives birth to the One. The One gives birth to two. Two gives birth to three. And three gives birth to the ten thousand things. (Lao Tzu) The Tao Te Ching Translation by Tolbert McCarroll
Yin body state? Fascial activation, biotensegrity
NEAUTRAL
“Stay in the centre, and you will be ready to move in any direction.” Alan Watts
ROCKING finding Neutral is an awareness practice, change stance.
RELAXATION IS A PROCESS best posture
Empty everything out; hold fast to your stillness. Even though all things are stirring together, watch for the movement of return. (TO NEUTRAL) (Lao Tzu) The Tao Te Ching Translation by Tolbert McCarroll
BONE MARROW WASHING 3 energy centres
Heaven and Earth
First exercise of the Ba Dwan Jin, go to Circlework.Training….
Assists with shoulder mobilisation and improves blood circulation flow. On a subtle level it activates our bone marrow and strengthens our immune system.
(The next 5 weeks will be spent on refining our proprioception and interoception including practicing absorb and project, condense and expand, the eight spins and segments of the Ba Duan Jin.)
Benefits of practice
Somatic Qi Gong incorporates internal energetics with the external physical conditions and by default, will manifest to a balanced and relaxed practice. The overarching internal practice uses interoception and proprioception to recognize and feel where neutral is. Your centre is a reference point for moving. Where possible we want to be able to be stable and in a safe position. Somatic Qi Gong is safe and natural and focuses on learning a model for mindful movement and how to safely practice Qi Gong within our individual personal limits and style.
1 General
Form a circle and bow in
Health is the greatest possession. – Dhammapada
Focus is on mental and physical health and vigour.
Healing practice, calm mind and relaxed body maintain coherence=resilience
Paying attention to how we move and feel is a mindfulness practice in and of itself
Setting up the body for training, develop stability and strength, investigate the intersection between proprioception and interoception.
Safe, accessible and natural. Practice is cumulative.
SLOW AND SUBTLE, PROPRIOCEPTION AND INTEROCEPTION
Safety, limits, connection to centre
stability, strength and ROM
Natural, get out of the way, don't
Soft vs hard
Review
Setting up a somatic foundation for practice
Setting up for mindfulness. Buddha dharma, Stillness, paying attention, focused awareness.
Quiet, stillness, default practice back to homeostasis
Physical vitality and mental acuity, resilience and the window of tolerance
Access an infinite amount of subtle energy, let the energy flow through you and invigorate you.
1. Make a gesture to health
2. Respect to all, attitude, good will
3. Posture sets up deep memory, context Qi Gong
4. Scan and calm, foot up the backline, sink down the front and settle on abdominal breath, activate the hands
5. Focus your bare intention to foster healing, mindfulness,
6. Breath, and stand
7. Finish gently and offer benefits, gesture of good will
Bobbing and axial extension.
Foot to core connection.
Vertical alignment. Quad and hamstring hip flexion. Feel the muscles.
Horse stance. Squat. Vertical alignment
Reference point for moving is your centre. Bob and rock.
Rocking, neutral,
2 Absorb and project + BREATH, 3 planes and step
Macro cosmic orbital flow
Flexion/extension, quad dominant and hamstring dominant
Vertical, sagittal, horizontal
Horizontal hip rotation
Yin/yang surface of the body
Heaven and Earth practice with breath
3 ZHAN ZHANG (John Gwong)– Standing, 4 cardinal points in the vertical
Find your centre
Empty everything out; hold fast to your stillness.
Even though all things are stirring together, watch for the movement of return. IE to neutral
The ten thousand things flourish and then each returns to the root from which it came. Returning to the root is stillness. Through stillness each fulfils its destiny. That which has fulfilled its destiny becomes part of the Always-so. To be aware of the Always-so is to awaken. (Lao Tzu) The Tao Te Ching Translation by Tolbert McCarroll
Ba Dwan Jin
Hold up Heaven (#1) - triple burner, bone marrow washing, whole body energising/activating
Two hands hold feet (#6) – kidney (liver/spleen), yin inside leg, balance front line and back line,
Form a circle and bow in
NO CLASS APRIL 10
1 Review
The benefits of practice, nervous system resilience to connect with yidam and your community.
Practice outside if you can. Nature has infinite energy to access
Short doses add up and build memory and positively change the nervous system.
Softness triumphs over hardness…….What is malleable is always superior to that which is immovable. SOFT/HARD, MOVEABLE/IMMOVABLE
Grass and trees are pliant and tender when living, but they are dry and brittle when dead. (Lao Tzu) The Tao Te Ching Translation by Tolbert McCarroll
2 A/P + BREATH, 3 planes, split and step
Review
Horizontal hip rotation
C/E – hold the ball, yin/yang ball
Use the block to circle
Find your spine, axial extension, forward fold and brace and breathe
Inhale thoracic extension, exhale lumbar flexion
Diaphragm, into the spine, open the back
Create space in the vertebra, animate the spine by breathing, inhale/exhale
Inhale, expand thoracic spine, exhale expand the lumbar
Inhale lift the arms (effortless) breath move you
Do Holding Heaven exercise, lift to heart, breath lifts and opens the spine
(Ratios 4:4, 4:1:4:1 (don’t hold!), 4:2:4:2, 5:2:5:2, 5:3:5:3, 6:3:6:3, back out, 6:1:6:1……6:6, 4:4, )
3 ZHAN ZHANG (John Gwong)
Standing, 4 cardinal points in the vertical plane, activate the yin/yang side of the body
#3 Separate heaven and earth, open, split, open split and rotate.
8 spins
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