Bear, Sea, Stars and Trees

February 1 is considered the first day of Spring in the Chinese calendar and is also the celebration of Imbolc (pr: im'olk) and St. Brigid's Day in the Druid/ Celtic year (Candlemas for Christians), so all hail to the divine force of the coming light! This is interesting in light of the yijing reading for this week (she foreshadows, interestingly....)

To celebrate this turn of month and season, I have added new content to my website for our community of seekers:

We have been exploring the Yijing (I Ching) by doing a reading for each week of 2021:

Yijing reading [January 31st through February 6th]

We are also exploring animal totems and symbolism, along with related seasonal Qigong practices. This link will take you to our animal of the month- the Bear- and a pdf file with instructions for a late winter/early spring Qigong practice based on this noble animal (this will eventually be a video):

New Animal Focus for February + Bear Qigong PDF

We are still practicing the Hun Yuan and/or the Daoist 5 (or 5 Element Organ Exercises) weekly-

Hun Yuan Qigong:

This is one of the foundation sets that we practice in my classes and the one we come back to no matter where else we roam. It is one of my favorites as it can be a great introduction to Qigong and it can be deepened for more advanced practice. It's like:

Catching the dragon’s ocean wave,

Flying the Heavens on dragon spirals,

Tracing the Earthly and Celestial circles

of your own winding space in the cosmos.

Trippy, lol. But seriously-

The exact age of the Hun Yuan is not known, but it is recognized as one of the most ancient sets of Taiji/Qigong exercises. The modern version of Hun Yuan Qigong forms was introduced to the public in China by martial arts/ tai chi Grandmaster Feng Zhiqiang (1928-2013). He was one of China’s foremost martial artists, with 66+ years of experience as a teacher and practitioner. Grandmaster Feng, despite his status and world renown, remained the embodiment of service, ethics and modesty; though he could have become quite wealthy, he chose to live modestly throughout his life. He was humble enough to state in his book, "Hunyuan Qigong" that he believed the Hun Yuan forms belong to no one master, style, or country, that instead it was a gift given to the world from the Divine.

“Xinyi Hunyuan Taijiquan is not an inheritance from my masters. It is a rich legacy to the people of the world. I have a responsibility and duty to promote it to the world to benefit humankind.”

(Intro, page v.)

He made good on his responsibility training many in China and in the Western world the deep, profound cultivation that this style of Taijiquan and Qigong has to offer.

During a 2001 interview, J. Justin Meehan asked Grandmaster (GM) Feng what doing these forms was like. He had several poetic answers- but these three show the hidden, yet obvious nature of Hun Yuan Qigong: he said it is like “a moving form of standing still”, also, “swimming in air”, and then again, “using the body to draw beautiful taiji diagrams”. In answer to the question, “what is the meaning of Hun Yuan”, GM Feng says it is about circles, “We call this Hun Yuan because it is the “Origin” or the “Original”. We know that revolves in circles as well. It the same as with the Sun and the Moon. The entirety of the universe is revolving in circles. Also, we people are revolving in circles. Everything is revolving in circles together. So, this term refers to the interrelated circling of everything in the universe…”

So, see- it’s not just you. We are all doing it. Going around in circles. At the same time as a whole lot of other things and other beings. If you'd like to do some circling with our group, some options to join us are here:

Upcoming and ongoing classes that may interest you:

Ongoing Weekly Qigong - Hunyuan Qigong and Seasonal Practice (Late Winter- Bear Qigong)

(Via Zoom for the moment)

Two choices:

For registration/information: click 3Bao Healing

Nashville Community Education has started it's Spring 2021 session.

Classes are still virtual and will continue to be unless our Covid19 restrictions are lifted. I will be teaching two Qigong sessions there during March/April

Click: NCE for registration and pricing information

Other offerings from my lovely Qigong family in Nashville, TN:

The Temple of the Tranquil Earth will be holding a blessing ceremony for the Chinese New Year, on Thursday, February 11th. Abbess Sarah Cherry will lead our small circle of "Friend of the Dao" for the service. Traditionally, this is a day (really, a celebration over 15 days) at the start of the spring season, when people welcome the energies of the new year and ask for blessings of harmony, happiness, health, prosperity, protection from harm, a wish for joy and peace in the world and the universe. If you'd like a special blessing for yourself and your family for the upcoming year, please visit Sarah's website and submit your name so she can include you in the service. Request form here. You do not have to be Daoist to participate! Because audio and video quality are not always guaranteed with Zoom, et al., we will do the ceremony "off camera"; however, Sarah will hold a virtual roundtable discussion about it via Zoom on Friday, February 12, date of the actual New Year.

Dr. JMichael Wood /5 Virtues Medical Qigong starts 2021 Medical Qigong Practitioner courses this Spring!

See 5virtuesqigong.com for more details about these marvelous courses!

Andrew Krichels, has begun a monthly series of unique Qigong classes:

Creative Action Seminars

&

Yuliya Gulmi, WeQigong is offering Qigong cultivation in February for meditation and nervous system reset sponsored by Ha Le Integrative Health.

Thank you

Love and gratitude,

Cyndi

Works cited:

Feng Zhiqiang, "Hun Yuan Qigong", (trans. Chen Zhenghua), Hunyuantaiji Academy, PO Box 11474, Alberta Canada. www.hunyuantaiji.com. 2001 Printed by: Priority Printed, Ltd (Canada)

“Hun Yuan Taiji/Qigong of Grand Master Feng Zhiqiang” an article uploaded to Scribd.com, attributed to J. Justin Meehan; interview and notes: 2001.