TERRY DUNN'S TAI CHI FOR HEALTH / QIGONG FOR HEALTH NEWSLETTER #31
3-day immersive workshops in Taoist Elixir Method 31 Basic Meditations and Yang style Tai Chi Chuan 60-part Short Form, Push-hands, and straight word.
MID-OCTOBER NEWS: 3-DAY IMMERSIVE QIGONG & TAI CHI WORKSHOPS COMING AT TAO RETREAT (THE CHINESE CULTURE ESTATE), AT 33 TAO ROAD, IN CATSKILL, NY
• October 22 - 24: Taoist Elixir Method Qigong – Basic 31 Meditations. Learn the entire first level of the six-level Tao Tan Pai Nei Kung system.
• October 29 - 31: Tai Chi For Health: 60-Part Yang Short Form, Push-Hands, Tai Chi Sword (‘Tis Halloween so bring your costumes!)
• FOR INFO ABOUT CHINESE CULTURE ESTATE, VISIT: http://hancca.org/?page_id=1234
Master Terry Dunn will be giving two more 3-day residential workshops in October at the beautiful Tao Retreat --aka, Chinese Cultural Estate (CCE)--on 98 acres a short distance from the town of Catskill, NY. Tao Retreat is owned by Han culture expert, Julia Li, who dedicated to furthering understanding of traditional Chinese arts and culture.
Each workshop is an immersive training where students at all levels--from absolute beginners to advanced Qigong, Tai Chi and Kung Fu adepts-- can master the foundations to advanced levels of each of the Taoist monastic health disciplines that Sifu Dunn has practiced and preserved over the past 48 years:
I. OCTOBER 22 - 24: TAOIST ELIXIR METHOD (“TAO TAN PAI”) BASIC 31 MEDITATIONS
“The vitalities of heaven and earth, sun and moon, Are fundamentally inherent in our bodies. If reality and consciousness do not stray from each other, Creation is always in the palm of your hand. “
—Chang Po-Tuan, Taoist of the 11th Century
Taoist Elixir Method (“Tao Tan Pai”) is an authentic system of Taoist monastic hygienics, martial art and spiritual art that was created in the Tang Dynasty and is attributed to Lu Tung Pin (Lu Deng Bin), the de facto leader of the 8 Taoist Immortals (saints). This rare tradition was preserved for 23 generations mostly at the Ancient Temple of the Yellow Dragon ( 黃龍古殿 Huanglong Guguan ) near Mt. Luohu in China’s Guangdong province before Taoist priest Share Lew brought the art to America in 1948.
In this 16-hour immersive workshop, Sifu Terry Dunn teaches the Tan Tan Pai 31 Basic Meditations (“TTP-31”) consisting of 15 standing moving meditations and 16 seated meditations, all of which involve movements except three of the seated meditations. The TTP-31 is a system of moving meditation and breath control that imparts good health, vitality and personal empowerment by coordinating eyes, mind, movement, and breath according to an alchemic formula that opens the heart, clears and focuses the mind and profoundly strengthens the body. The specific health benefits of Tao Tan Pai practice are improved circulation, respiration, digestion, metabolism, posture, balance, flexibility, peripheral vision, neuro-muscular coordination, deeper physiological awareness, and development of instinctive stress-management skills. The TTP-31 Meditations is comparable to a complete system of Yoga, yet it is the foundational practice--the first of six levels--of the esoteric and powerful Tao Tan Pai Nei Kung, which is the alchemic engine that empowers Tao Tan Pai Kung Fu and Tao Tan Pai healing arts. Within the kung fu world, Tao Tan Pai is recognized for its forte—bringing energy to the hands instantly. Thus the TTP-31 Qigong is the perfect complement and support for any athletic activity as well as martial arts.
As a system of Chinese yoga, the Tao Tan Pai 31 Basic Meditations develops natural body mechanics and begins the basic cultivation of internal energy that empowers the Tao Tan Pai Kung Fu. Each of the 31 Basic meditations trains both the “shen-chi” and the “ching-chi.” Besides learning the 15 standing and 16 seated meditations that comprise the TTP-31, you will also learn the Short Form Power Yoga, consisting of an essential sequence of 5 of the 31 meditations, which is a classical—not modern— distillation of the TTP-31into a powerful and handy regimen designed for daily practice of approximately 40-50 minutes.
Workshop schedule:
This Taoist Elixir Method Qigong workshop consists of 8 two-hour sessions with 3 sessions on Friday, 3 on Saturday, and 2 on Sunday at these times (with these slight adjustments to the first 2 Friday classes):
Friday: 11am- 12:30 pm; 2:30pm - 5pm; 7pm - 9pm
Saturday: 10am - noon; 3pm - 5pm; 7pm - 9pm
Sunday: 10am - noon; 2pm - 4pm
Tuition:
$295 early registration
$330 day of workshop
$45 for each of the eight 2-hour sessions ($40 / session prepaid)
** Zoom participation: $35 per 2-hour session or $220 / all 8 sessions
• Please send payment via Paypal (to zenbearinc@gmail.com) or via Zelle (to terencepdunn@gmail.com) •
Rooms:
There are only 3 rentable rooms at Tao Retreat:
One room with bathroom: $350 / day
Two rooms with a shared. bathroom: $248 / day
Ten floor beds in the main tea house / event hall: $60 / night
[Room or floor bed rent includes each day’s meals]
•• Also, there are plenty of comfortable bed & breakfast inns and resorts in and around the town of Catskill. For example, Wolff's Maple Breeze Resort: https://www.greatnortherncatskills.com/resorts-lodging/wolffs-maple-breeze-resort
Meals:
2 excellent meals plus one smoothie or light soup before sleep.
• Meals are included with room or floor bed rentals
• Meal plan for non-residents: $50 per day.
••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• TO MAKE ROOM AND/OR MEAL PLAN RESERVATIONS, - PLEASE CONTACT Yurong 豫容 Julia Li 李 at: jl@hancca.org •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
BTW, the meals provided by the chef at Tao Retreat is authentic, super-fresh Sichuan cuisine—real Chinese “comfort food” in which all the vegetables and mushrooms are home-grown. Most people who’ve tried it agree that the food alone is worth going to Tao Retreat…because you can’t this quality of food even at good Chinese restaurants unless you go back and ask the chef in Chinese to cook his best style.
And for those not partial to excellent Chinese food, there are many restaurants nearby in Catskill, ranging from nice Italian and seafood restaurants to fast food.
II. OCT. 29 - 31: TAI CHI FOR HEALTH: 60-Part Yang Short Form, Push-Hands, Tai Chi Sword (It’s Halloween, so bring your costumes!)
In this 16-hour immersive workshop, Terry Dunn will provide students of all levels with expert, step-by-step instruction in the 60-posture Yang Style Tai Chi Short Form that was created by his teacher, Grandmaster William C.C. Chen. To accelerate the learning and refinement of your Tai Chi form, you will learn a wide variety of easy-to-do classical Tai Chi warm-up and conditioning exercises that Terry has distilled from his vast repertoire acquired over 45 years in martial arts. These include: (a) the Yang Style Tai Chi exercises of Gen. Abraham Liu; (b) Qing Dynasty Imperial Guard Exercises; (c) Silk-Weaver’s Exercise; (d) a wide regimen of “Silk-reeling” (chan su jin) exercises from Chen Style Tai Chi Chuan; (e) Six Harmonies/Eight Methods (Liu He Ba Fa) conditioning exercises.
In addition to 4 hours of Form practice a day, you will also learn the basics of Push- Hands (Tui-shou) practice for 2 hours each day. Push-hands (fixed step sparring) is the collaborative training vehicle where we learn the self-defense applications of the form and develop Tai Chi’s “soft power” by attempting to unbalance, uproot and displace our practice partner by using as little strength or force (li) as possible. In Push-hands, we put to use all the 5 cardinal principles of Tai Chi form and apply two more principles: “stick and no resistance.”
This workshop is appropriate for students of all levels of Tai Chi experience–from absolute beginners to intermediate and advanced students who have Tai Chi forms under their belt and are skilled at Push Hands. Its primary purpose is to help students at all levels gain proficiency in the 60-posture Short Form and to improve their Push- Hands skills in order to enjoy more of Tai Chi’s great health benefits. Also, depending the level of attendees, Terry will teach the Tai Chi sword form.
Terry Dunn’s teacher of the past 8 years, Grandmaster William C.C. Chen, is a senior student of the great Chinese physician and Renaissance genius, Professor Cheng Man-Ching (1902 – 1975), a master of the “Five Excellences” – painting poetry, calligraphy, herbal medicine and boxing (Tai Chi). This poem of dedication at the opening of the Shr Jung institute in New York City expresses Professor Cheng’s Taoist philosophy actualized and applied through his teaching of Tai Chi Chuan:
Terry Dunn has been studying Tai Chi Chuan since 1980, when he trained under Master Abraham Liu and attended 12 consecutive summer retreats with his classmate, Master Benjamin Lo. In 1989, with his teacher’s permission, he produced “Tai Chi For Health - Yang Short Form” and “TCFH - Yang Long Form,” which to this day are the most popular and best-selling instructional Tai Chi videos in the English language.
Workshop schedule:
This Flying Phoenix Qigong workshop consists of 8 two-hour sessions with 3 sessions on Friday, 3 on Saturday, and 2 on Sunday at these times:
Friday: 11am- 1pm; 3pm - 5pm; 7pm - 9pm
Saturday: 10am - noon; 3pm - 5pm; 7pm - 9pm
Sunday: 10am - noon; 2pm - 4pm
Tuition:
$295 early registration
$330 day of workshop
$45 for each of the eight 2-hour sessions ($40 / session prepaid)
**ZOOM PARTICIPATION: $35 per 2-hour session or $220 / all 8 sessions
• Please send payment via Paypal (to zenbearinc@gmail.com) or via Zelle (to terencepdunn@gmail.com) •
Rooms:
There are only 3 rentable rooms at Tao Retreat:
One room with bathroom: $350 / day
Two rooms with a shared. bathroom: $248 / day
Ten floor beds in the main tea house / event hall: $60 / night
[Room or floor bed rent includes each day’s meals]
•• Also, there are plenty of comfortable bed & breakfast inns and resorts in and around the town of Catskill. For example, Wolff's Maple Breeze Resort: https://www.greatnortherncatskills.com/resorts-lodging/wolffs-maple-breeze-resort
Meals:
2 excellent meals plus one smoothie or light soup before sleep.
• Meals are included with room or floor bed rentals
• Meal plan for non-residents: $50 per day.
••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• TO MAKE ROOM AND/OR MEAL PLAN RESERVATIONS, - PLEASE CONTACT Yurong 豫容 Julia Li 李 at: jl@hancca.org •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
BTW, the meals provided by the chef at Tao Retreat is authentic, super-fresh Sichuan cuisine—real Chinese “comfort food” in which all the vegetables and mushrooms are home-grown. Most people who’ve tried it agree that the food alone is worth going to Tao Retreat…because you can’t this quality of food even at good Chinese restaurants unless you go back and ask the chef in Chinese to cook his best style.
And for those not partial to excellent Chinese food, there are many restaurants nearby in Catskill, ranging from nice Italian and seafood restaurants to fast food.
WEEKLY COMMUNITY CLASSES
I. TAI CHI FOR HEALTH - the 60-posture Short Form NEW SATURDAY CLASS every Tuesday 6:00pm to 7:30pm EST.
Classes No. 60, 61, 62, 63 = October 5, 12, 19, 26
The 56th class of my Tai Chi For Health weekly course will be Livestreaming this Saturday from 6:00 pm to 7:30 pm EST at Eastover Estate in Lenox, MA — with physical distancing and masks required of attendees taking the class live.
“Nothing under Heaven is more pliable than water. But when amassed, there is nothing that can withstand it. That the soft overcomes the hard and the yielding overcomes the unyielding is a fact known to all men but utilized by none.” — Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching
Graceful in movement, slow in tempo, relaxed in fluid natural postures, Tai Chi Chuan is an ancient Chinese martial art practiced by millions throughout the world as a moving meditation for health, longevity, and self-defense. Regular practice of Tai Chi forms imparts many health benefits: improved circulation, respiration, flexibility agility, balance, posture, coordination, metabolism, bone and muscle strength, neuro-muscular coordination, immunity, and heightened ecological awareness. Tai Chi Chuan has also been accurately described as medicine, metaphysics, and psychology—all in the body of a martial art.
Class Agenda
In this ongoing weekly class, I teach the popular 60-posture Yang Style Tai Chi form (pre-choreographed routine) created by my teacher, Grandmaster William C.C. Chen. You will learn the essential postures and body mechanics of Tai Chi Chuan that will give absolute beginners a solid foundation from which to further explore the art, while enabling experienced Tai Chi players of all levels and from all styles to advance their practice.
A. WARM-UP MODULE: Each class begins with 40 minutes of classical Tai Chi warm-up and conditioning exercises that I have distilled from a vast repertoire of training methods acquired over the past 46 years from several traditions: Yang Tai Chi, Chen Tai Chi (Silk-reeling Exercises), the “Silk-weaver’s Exercise” (a Qigong form not to be confused with “The 8 Brocades”), the excellent Qing Dynasty Imperial Guard Exercises, plus several Liu He Ba Fa training exercises.
Then we proceed to practicing three essential Yang style Tai Chi conditioning exercises that I learned in the 1980’s from my first Tai Chi teacher, the late General Abraham Liu (a senior student of Prof. Cheng Man-Ching), which I still practice to profound effects and teach to this day: (1) “Wave Hands Like Clouds” done in bow-stances and in ma-bu (horse riding stance); (2) The 90º-pivoting “Play Guitar/Lifting Hands” exercise that perfects the sit stance or cat stance; (3) the smoothly alternating “Snake Creeps Down” exercise that traces the infinity symbol (a sideways “figure-8”) with the core of the body, which is so effective for developing flexibility, posture, balance, and total-body circulation, and essential for mind-body integration.
*These three essential exercises are taught in the first 45 minutes of both of my Tai Chi For Health dvds (the all-time best-selling Tai Chi instructional videos/DVDs in the English language since their release in 1989: http://www.taichimania.com/taichi_catalog.html
B. FORM INSTRUCTION: After the warm-up module, you will receive detailed, step-by-step instruction in the 60-posture Form created by my teacher, Grandmaster William C.C. Chen. My method of Tai Chi form training is based on first learning structure, and then learning flow. That is, each posture must be learned and correctly held as a standing meditation. Then we practice transitioning from one posture to the next to develop “flow.” IMHO, art is in--or is made in--the transitions. [*Transitional flow, btw, is what each of the essential 3 conditioning exercises in the warmup module develop.] Only when the sequential flow of Tai Chi postures becomes completely relaxed, frictionless and “muscle-free” does form practice become true “moving meditation” and the full health benefits of Tai Chi form become actualized. First structure, then flow. Mastery of the solo form as a moving meditation comes when the Tai Chi player can perform the form as one thought—and one no longer feels the body.
Once proficiency in the Form is attained, we delve into the second half of the Tai Chi journey: Push-hands (“Tui-shou”) practice, or fixed-step sparring, in which one attempts to unbalance and displace one’s practice partner using a minimum of physical strength (li). Push-hands practice teaches the subtle martial applications of the Form and how to apply Tai Chi’s “soft power” for self-defense. We practice the solo form to know ourselves; we practice Push-Hands to harmonize with our environment, to neutralize aggression and (with mastery) to win without fighting.
“Those who practice Tai Chi Chuan will gain the pliability of a child, the vitality of a lumberjack, and the wisdom of a sage.” – ancient Chinese adage
JOINING THE TAI CHI FOR HEALTH LIVESTREAM Saturdays 11:30am - 1:00 pm
If you are a Berkshires resident, you may attend my Tai Chi For Health class in person if you observe physical distancing and wear a mask.
If you are participating via Livestream,
The Zoom Meeting ID is: 898 2468 9870
Registration URL:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89824689870?pwd=Ym1YYTNqQ0JTVk9yd29Wek9mTGFhdz09
FEE: $35 per class; $240 / 8-class series; or $500 / 16-class series
• Please send tuition via Paypal (to zenbearinc@gmail.com) or via Zelle (via terencepdunn@gmail.com)—well before 11AM on day of class —or send an email to zenbearinc@gmail.com asking to be sent a Paypal money request that you can use any credit or debit card to pay.) You will then be sent the Meeting Password by 9am on Tuesday.
• All participants must register in advance for this meeting at the above URL.
II. QIGONG FOR HEALTH FOR FIRST-RESPONDERS: FLYING PHOENIX QIGONG ON SUNDAYS
Classes No. 74, 75, 76 = October 3, 10, 17 (No classes on October 24 and 31)
Our 74th Livestream of Qigong For Health For First-Responders is set for this Sunday, October 3 from 4pm to 6pm Eastern Time (U.S. and Canada), with 30 minutes of discussion and Q&A immediately following.
Each class immerses you in two (not one, but two) authentic and powerful ancient Taoist monastic systems of Qigong that impart tangible and visible health benefits repeatable verifiable health benefits.
(1) Taoist Elixir Method (“Tao Tan Pai”) Qigong - Each class begins with a half-hour practice of the Tao Tan Pai Short Form Power Yoga, a classical distillation of the Tao Tan Pai Basic 31 Meditations.
(2) Flying Phoenix Heavenly Healing Qi Meditations(“Fei Feng San Gung”) imparts tangible energizing and rejuvenating effects—and deep meditative states of consciousness— in surprisingly swift manner—within 30 to 45 minutes of practicing any combination of the 8 basic standing meditations or 24 seated meditations. The allostatic (restorative) effects of FP Qigong practice continues long after one’s practice has ceased.
"Flying Phoenix Qigong practice significantly elevates parasympathetic tone. 90 minutes of practice of this Qigong is restorative in real time and over time afterwards."
- Yetsa A. Tuakli-Wosornu, M.D., M.P.H., IOC Dip. Sp. Med. Assistant Clinical Professor, Yale School of Public Health Department of Chronic Disease Epidemiology
The Flying Phoenix Qigong was created in 1644 by the famous Taoist, Feng Dao Deh (Feng Do Duk in Cantonese) of Ehrmeishan. The video above shows my impromptu demonstration of the “Flying Phoenix Heavenly Healing Chi Meditation,” which is the capstone exercise of this vast Qigong system that bears the same name (“Fei Feng San Gung” in Chinese). Once this moving meditation is memorized, its practice--done with the eyes closed--subsumes the practice of the preceding 7 standing meditations of the system (taught on Volumes 1 and 3 of the DVD series). Its regular daily practice maintains peak immunity and ensures continuous cultivation of a tangible reserve in the boy of the Flying Phoenix Healing Qi.
“Moonbeam Splashes On The Water” (below) is the second most advanced Flying Phoenix Qigong meditation, next to the capstone meditation.
**SEE THE POSTSCRIPT FOR TESTIMONIALS ON VIDEO ABOUT THE HEALING AND REJUVENATING EFFICACY OF FLYING PHOENIX QIGONG.**
Joining the Livestream Session
To learn these two extraordinarily transformative Qigong arts that are both easy-to-do and profoundly restorative holistic health regimens, and join a lively worldwide community of students dedicated to health, personal growth, self-empowerment, inner peace and outer peace, sign up for the next Sunday session:
The Zoom Meeting ID is: 828 1622 1377
Registration URL: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZYldu-qrDopHdPmWX5jNr_K8HBFiFLN5Ahg
FEE: $40 per class; $280 / 8-class series; or $500 / 16-class series
• Please send tuition via Paypal (to zenbearinc@gmail.com) or via Zelle (to terencepdunn@gmail.com) before 1:00 PM on the day of he class) —or send an email to zenbearinc@gmail.com asking to be sent a Paypal money request that you can use any credit or debit card to pay.) You will then be sent the Meeting Password by 2pm..
• All participants must register in advance for this meeting at the above URL.
• Berkshires students are welcome to attend this class in person (with physical distancing and mask-wearing, of course).
III. INTERMEDIATE QIGONG & BASIC KUNG FU
Classes No. 68, 69, 70, 71 = October 6, 13, 20, 27
October 6 will be the 68th intermediate-level Qigong & Basic Kung Fu class of this ongoing weekly series (from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. EST). This course concentrates on the intermediate and advanced levels of the two rare and powerful Kung Fu/Qigong system— Tao Tan Pai (Taoist Elixir Method”) Nei Kung created in the Tang Dynasty and Ehrmei Mountain White Tiger Kung Fu, created in 1644 by Taoist monk Feng Dao Deh, and which includes Flying Phoenix Celestial Healing Qigong, the medical qigong system and health safety “net” of Bok Fu Pai.
Prerequisites for joining the Intermediate class have recently been adjusted—please note:
1. Proficiency in all of the Flying Phoenix standing Qigong exercises up to and including “Moonbeam Splashes On Water” moving meditation—i.e., proficiency in performing all the meditative exercises in Volumes 1, 2 and 3 of Chi Kung For Health DVD series. —i.e. you should have “Moonbeam Splashes On Water” moving meditation memorized and be able to do it and its breath conrol sequence from memory and with the eyes closed.
2. Proficiency in the Tao Tan Pai Short Form Power Yoga—and familiarity with the overall sequence of TTP 31 Basic Meditations—as acquired through attendance of two 3-day TTP Qigong workshops at Eastover Estate over past 3 years, or 3 months of weekly community classes.
Class Agenda:
1. Warm up with the Tao Tan Pai Cane Form
2. Instruction in the basic Tao Tan Pai Monkey, Crane, Snake, Tiger, or Dragon forms.
3. Refinement of “Moonbeam Splashes On Water” (2nd most advanced Flying Phoenix moving meditation)
4. Refinement of “Flying Phoenix Heavenly Healing Qi Meditation”, aka, the Long Form Standing Meditation (on Volume 4 of CKFH).
** NOTE: The following advanced arts (#5 - #10) are only available to students whom I have been certified as instructors in Flying Phoenix Qigongh and/or Taoist Elixir Method Basic 31 Meditations:
5. Practice of “Monk Serves Wine”, advanced seated FP Mediations (#9 - #24)
6. Introduction to Advanced Flying Phoenix Qigong (9 standing moving meditations)
7. Instruction in the Bok Fu Pai “Eagle Claw Ten Hook Attack Form”, an excellent comprehensive form.
8. Instruction in the preparatory exercise of 8 Sections of Energy Combined Kung Fu
9. Introduction to “10,000 Buddhas Ascend To Heaven” Meditations
10. San-shou (free sparring) and how to use the Mok-Gar “Browns” techniques effectively.
JOINING THE INTERMEDIATE COURSE LIVESTREAM: Wednesdays 6pm - 8pm
To experience these two rare and powerful and restorative holistic health traditions and join a lively worldwide community of students dedicated to health, longevity, self-empowerment, spiritual growth, and attaining inner peace and world peace, sign up for the next session:
The Zoom Meeting ID is: 896 0406 3723
Registration URL:
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZ0rd-2oqDgtGNeRiIIHgc8ijH6zV8wml26d
FEE: $60/ class or $440 / 8-class series or $800/16-class series
• Please send tuition via Paypal to zenbearinc@gmail.com or via Zelle to terencedunn@gmail.com (well before 4:00 PM on each day of class) to receive the ZoomMeeting Password by 5pm EST.
REMINDER: there are two more 3-day residential workshops in October:
• October 22 - 24: Taoist Elixir Method Qigong – Basic 31 Meditations
• October 29 - 31: Tai Chi For Health: 60-Part Yang Short Form, Push-Hands, Tai Chi Sword (It’s Halloween so bring your costumes!)
--at the Chinese Cultural Estate, 33 Tao Road, Catskill, NY (see top of page for registration information)
IV. MUSICAL PICKS THIS MONTH ~HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!~
1976-78: The Excitable Boy lived up the street from me at the top of the hill in Los Feliz. He released this song in 1978.
••• Oingo Boingo came out with this fun hit in 1985. 20 years earlier, in 1965, my 5th grade teacher at Wilshire Crest Elementary School was a Mr. Milt Elfman—the future Danny Elfman’s father!
BEST COVER OF THIS CLASSIC 60’S TV THEME SONG—GREAT SURF MUSIC TO DANCE TO, TOO!!!
mitakuye oyasin,
(Lakota prayer that means “To all my relations” or “All are related”, or “Help and Health to all my Brothers and Sisters” )
Sifu Terry Dunn
P.S. Sunday “Qigong For Health For First Responders” Class Agenda:
A. Warm-up: We begin every class with this easy and healthful basic Qigong routine called “the Silkweaver’s Exercise”, which you can learn on your own by practicing to this Youtube video that I excerpted from one of my accredited Medical Qigong I course for Emperor’s College of TOM:
**If you practice to this video this as homework and memorize the Silkweaver’s Exercise choreography, you’ll hit the deck “running” in all of my weekly classes and be able to attain deeper levels of relaxation, mind-body integration, physical comfort, emotional calm, and mental concentration during each class.
B. After warming up with the Silkweaver’s Exercise, we practice 50 minutes of the Basic Tao Tan Pai 31 Meditations (“TTP-31” for short), which in and of itself is a complete system of Yoga, compared to what has been taught in Yoga classes throughout the western world. We start off by learning a distillation of this series of 31 called the “Tao Tan Pai Short Form Power Yoga” consisting of the first four standing Meditations followed by the third of the 16 seated meditations (aka, Meditation No.18). This is a classical practice, not a recent advent or abbreviation—which I practiced daily every morning during my first four years of kung fu training—from 1976 to 1980. It is one of the most reliable and effective self-empowering yogic practices to elevate and organize one’s energies, and to instantly concentrate Qi flow to the hands.
We practice 4 to 15 of the standing meditations and 2 to 5 of the seated meditations in each class. By adding new meditations each week, we cover all of the 31 Basic Meditations of Tao Tan Pai in about 12 classes. This easy and yet profoundly healthful and transformative practice can be started by beginners in any class.
Both the practice of the Basic TTP-31 Meditations and the Flying Phoenix Qigong involve standing and seated, moving and sedentary meditations. Both are complete and powerful health-enhancing and consciousness-transforming systems of Taoist hygienics in and of themselves. And as I explained in earlier issues and in the Flying Phoenix Chi Kung discussion thread on www.thedaobums.com (started in Nov. 2009 by businessman and qigong practitioner Lloyd McClelland of Orlando, FL), ever since I began learning Flying Phoenix Celestial Healing Qigong in 1991, I’ve marveled over its energizing and rejuvenating effects that continue well beyond the end of each practice session. As one contributor to the FPCK daobums.com thread posted about 7 or 8 years ago, he was riding his bike about 12 hours after he had practiced FP Qigong when suddenly the tangibly sublime, deep, circulation of FP Qigong’s healing Qi suddenly enveloped him.
This restorative process has been corroborated by scores of Qigong students year after year after year…
~ Here is a spontaneous testimonial given by my dear friend and student Rori Kanter, who described her healing experience that came on after she got home after taking her very first 2-hour lesson in Flying Phoenix Qigong in a free class that I gave on April 28, 2019 during World Tai Chi Qigong Day weekend at Eastover Estate in Lenox, MA (click the blue ”Watch on Vimeo” button:
~ Six months later on November 4, Rori gave this amazing report of her annual physical check-up by her primary physician:
Tao Tan Pai Qigong catalyzes the Flying Phoenix Qigong, deeply enhancing and prolonging the healing effects of the latter.
But beyond this fact that Flying Phoenix Qigong induces a healing event in the practitioner that continues long after the practice of the Qigong has ceased and can also induce a healing event several hours after the practice has concluded, I discovered seven years ago—after practicing Flying Phoenix Qigong for 23 years and the Tao Tan Pai Qigong for 38 years—that the Tao Tan Pai Qigong if practiced prior to practicing the Flying Phoenix Qigong, acts as powerful foundational catalyst or “accelerant” that enhances the restorative effects of the Flying Phoenix Qigong and prolongs “normal” duration of the energizing, rejuvenating, and self-healing events activated by the latter. Hence the format of every class in this Sunday series is one hour of Taoist Elixir Method Qigong followed by an hour of Flying Phoenix Qigong.
• These two reviews came in after each had taken my first “Qigong For Health for First Responders” class on March 29, 2020 consisting of one-hour of TTP Basic 31 Meditations followed by one hour of Flying Phoenix Qigong:
I felt a surge of tangible sensations coursing through my entire body, streams of subtle vibrations and tingling with a particular focus in the chest and head areas. Unlike the typical calming, relaxing, and sometimes sedative effects that I usually experience from FP, this pattern of energy was more invigorating, enlivening, and longer-lasting. I was alert and full of energy with an underlying sense of ease and contentment. Its effects were still mildly present three hours after the session ended, and most surprisingly, after a heavy meal, something I haven't quite experienced before even having attended a dozen intensive workshops. Although we only practiced basic exercises from each system, my experience mimicked ones I’ve had practicing advanced meditations from TTP and FP separately in longer sessions. I can only attribute these effects to the thoughtful, specific, and unique combination of TTP and FP that was offered.
--Spencer Lawrence, Jersey City, NJ
I’ve studied with Sifu Terry Dunn for 3 1/2 years at Eastover and any place else I could get the chance. The major focus of that study had been Flying Phoenix Qigong and related Bak Fu Pai arts. I’ve taken a couple of workshops in Tao Tan Pai but never gave it any thought, devotion or practice. Recently I’ve partaken in Sifu Dunn’s Sunday class “Tao Tan Pai + Flying Phoenix Qigong for Peak Immunity...” It consists of one hour of Tao Tan Pai followed another hour of Flying Phoenix. For the last 12 weeks I’ve faithfully practiced TTP daily with profound results. My lung capacity has greatly increased; my inhalation and exhalation are longer and deeper now (something useful In this time of pandemic). I’ve noticed, too, that my heart rate has slowed down by 5 beats per minute.
As to the synergistic relationship of these two seemingly unrelated disciplines, I’ll mention a few. Tao Tan Pai is the perfect warmup for Flying Phoenix Qigong. It loosens both the body and mind. It deepens the relaxation response putting one in an altered state much sooner. This state of relaxation is so deep that by the end of Sunday’s class I can barely keep my eyes open. This is especially true of the Monk Serves Wine series of exercises. My personal practice will forevermore start with TTP and end with Flying Phoenix.
--Tony Arcuri, Queens, NY
Numerous similar testimonials have been received via email, Zoom, Skype, and phone messages expressing thanks, elation, and joy over the demonstrable and verifiable synergy between Tao Tan Pai Qigong and Flying Phoenix Qigong.
Because Flying Phoenix Qigong in and of itself is outstandingly effective medical qigong system that produces repeatable and verifiable restorative health benefits, as confirmed by thousands of practitioners around the world using my DVD series since 2004 (as documented on the 11-year running “Flying Phoenix Chi Kung” discussion thread on the www.thdaobum.scom blogsite) and using my VHS cassettes with the same content since 1996, today, after having taught 58 weekly classes, students have attested that this combined regimen (of one hour TTP Qigong followed by one hour of FP Qigong) is an exceptionally effective therapeutic recovery regimen for first-responders (military, police, fire-righting and medical professionals) that will stave off stress caused by exposure to high-risk situations where injury, disease, violence, abuse and trauma are commonplace. Furthermore, based on my experience and the experience of my students over the past15 months, I am absolutely certain that his combined Qigong regimen is an effective pre-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) for first-responders and health workers on the front lines of the coronavirus pandemic to increase their stamina and maintain peak immune levels. Thus I have been actively seeking rigorous clinical testing of Tao Tan Pai Qigong + Flying Phoenix Qigong by any top medical center in the world.
• See you on Sundays to explore the profound holistic health benefits of these two remarkable Qigong systems.•