What if the coffee flavour will remind my brain of caffeine?
I’ll try to taper down and then if craving is still there and there is a Swedish fika going on, it would definitely make it easier to have a replacement and not feel left out. Thanks.
Going great with my energetic practices and caffeine intake tapering.
Today I only had half a cup of coffee and tomorrow none. I will most likely drink green tea, as it has benefits and is low in caffeine. We’ll see…
Zhan zhuang is going great. I have a goal to do it everyday for 21 days, then I am going to take a Qi Gong course. One interesting development of Khan ST1 is that I have come to realizations about my self-help addiction and self-sabotage. I basically read 100 books, watch 100 videos, ponder 100 ideas for improvement at the same time. I end up getting nowhere. So now just like my education in uni, I am taking one course at a time. We’ll see, my kink for too much is strong.
I feel great though since I started regularly engaging with a practice. I know the challenge is not over, because it’s when I feel good that I start neglecting the things I need. And then I am back at it again, an neurotic mess.
I feel great dude.
Gotta catch 'em all, right? I’ve had that problem, too. And I’ve gotten way better results by just focusing on one thing at a time, like Zhan Zhuang or San ti shi(from Xingqi Quan, check it out). These practices have infinite subtleties and no ceiling to them. So just getting good at one of them can yield way better rewards than spreading your attention thin on 100 courses.
By the way, I’ve noticed that Zhan Zhuang, in its most common forms, helps cultivate the same kind of energy that Sanguine promotes. Relaxed optimism, no fears and worries etc.
San ti shi, however, seems like the perfect fit for Khan because it quickly cultivates something very alpha and aggressive yet centered(it is the most militant internal martial arts stance, after all). Here’s an intro: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=InxyCGCEn4g
That’s beautiful, I appreciate your posts and thoughts on these matters.
I agree, I would love to keep doing Zhan Zhuang or similar, a full course, going through and progressing through this way, but I haven’t found any interesting one, so I decided to do a Qi Gong course instead. Thanks for the tip, now I have a different stance or way to experiment with. This is the one I am currently doing, seems very simple but I feel better, sleep better and just feel more resilient. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y07FauHYlmg I am also engaging with breathwork too, both have been helpful.
Sanguine is interesting and your post about how inner silence is good for Tao/Dao energetic practices caught my attention. Definitely something to consider.
I am currently interested in Neigong and Neidan, but I approach it with carefulness. I want to make sure I have proper experience and training in easier practices before delving into the potentially more challenging and even risky ones. That’s why I am doing simple Zhan Zhuang (appears simple to me) and Qi Gong and then slowly explore deeper.
This is a really meaty course, and probably the most detailed one out there. There is also a corresponding DVD. To be honest, he goes more in-depth than many teachers I’ve met in real life. But of course, these practices are usually best learned in-person, if you live near or in a big city.
You have a good mindset. Zhan Zhuang and other standing practices are quite deceptive though in how simple they appear. Fact of the matter is that they’re entire journeys in themselves, which is why I emphasized that they have no skill ceiling. They’d make perfectly fine main practices in themselves.
If you want inspiration, this will show you just how far people have went with them.
https://neijiabooks.com/the-internal-practices-of-sun-lu-tang/
I recommend to read 1 book more times. You soak in more information if you take your time. I went over 48 laws of power over 5 times and even then I was finding things I had not realized / acknowledged before in there.
As Musashi says * The way is in training : )
That’s sounds great, especially when it comes with a dvd where you can see the action.
I’m going to ask this TCM guy I know if he can recommend any teachers in my city when I am in his area. I don’t know, it feels like TCM docs may not be down with the dao
That’s the plan. there’s so many great books and resources out there, just studying one great book deeply will provide more for me than reading 100 in a shallow fashion. Greed 🥸
You guys have great ideas but also feed my self-help addiction lol
Joking aside, thanks, I took a note and will consider then when I’m done with my 21 day challenge.
Yo @GoldenBird, reading about TRE and there they talk about tremors as a sign of releasing trauma or stress or whatever. I realised perhaps that’s what I’m getting doing Zhang Zhuang? Or does that just mean I have weak legs?
With the new knowledge bomb about how zp is like a mini “4-stager” I shall really work myself up. I’ve been running microloops of K1, KB1 and ASBR for 3 cycles (01:30-03:00). Today I played K1 and KB1 for 03:00.
I tried TRE some years ago. David Bercelli, right? I thought it was an interesting exercise, although it not release much trauma in me. I only tried it for a month though. Compared to what I released on the first cycle of Khan TB, TRE wasn’t that effective.
Zhan Zhuang is a different animal. Getting tremors in your legs is indeed just a sign of your legs getting used to so much stress, as you would get them on any tough leg exercise. Ever seen Jackie Chan get punished with standing in the Ma Bu(Horse Stance)? Beyond what it does for martial artists, there is a phenomenon of particular interest for people into meditation and energy refinement: In Chinese, it is said that peak yang leads to yin. Yang can stand for extreme stress or aggression, while yin in this context stands for extreme stillness. There is a point where you can’t deal with the muscle spasms and tension anymore, and if you persist through it, you suddenly feel it switch from extreme tension to extreme relaxation and inner stillness(at which point it is easy to keep up the stance. If you see somebody who can hold these stances for hours, they’re likely in that state). In modern lingo, it would most likely be described as a switch from the sympathetic nervous system to the parasympathetic one.
I personally think it is a rather crude way of inducing these states(and can easily lead to injuries too), but as a half Chinese person I can tell you that the Chinese were always adept at coming up with sadistic, but also rather effective exercises;)
Yep that’s the guy. alright, thanks for the write up. I’m running TB, and KB1, third cycle now. I’m just thinking of ways to boost the healing I guess. Maybe it’s time to increase my listening times only.
My favourite Chinese or Asian exercise is having people walk up giant stairs up to a temple carrying buckets of water. jk
Also that’s interesting, it’s like leaning into power vs force. It forces you to let go of control I guess. You stop trying and it becomes easier to stand.
Hello recon my old friend. I see you have a new cute suit 🥸
I’m feeling better and progressing and sticking to one course and therefore having higher quality in my self-development but… but of course I’m getting impatient…
“What if I can speed it up? What if I ran through with 3 things instead of one? Imagine the progress!!!”
Ah…
En garde!!
Had a session with my naprapath and even though I haven’t worked out in the last few months and eating whatever, he said he really liked the bloodflow, I don’t know how he sees that, I guess if he squeezed your back you’ll turn red or not turn as much red or something? I don’t know. And he also said I look more fit.
How? Stand still and be fit! Maybe…
Zhan Zhuang + KB? Maybe…
Anyway, wait till I get this body flowing once I properly and consistently incorporate a Qi Gong practice. Right now I am doing journaling, reflecting, Zhan Zhuang and energetic breathwork (pranic).
Or I burn out again Time will tell…
Completed my 21 day challenge of energetic breath (pranic breathwork)
Almost done with my Zhan Zhuang 21 day challenge. It’s been great and I like the posture improvements as well as the increased body awareness and trust in your body you get with this practice. It’s so simple, yet can go so deep if you want. Besides those things, the esoteric aspects can also be more profound as you hero practicing. I’m sure I’ll keep doing a daily stance/position daily.
And this third cycle is also coming to an end today. I have two last loops of Khan ST1 and Khan Black ST1 and then we go on a washout.
Next cycle I’m unsure of SB, specifically for its dense nature together with K1 and KB1, which I’ll run for 2 more cycles and also increasing their loop duration, so things might become dense and challenging with just these two. We’ll see what I’ll do.
I feel better and better each day emotionally and I also feel I’m getting better physically. My energetic practices have also increased in effect so I’m going to keep leaning into that.
More energetic practices, more Zhan Zhuang, sprinkle in some QiGong, two tablespoons of shadow work and live life.
The darkness is like a cleanix box, you pull some negative energy out and release it and another thing comes up. 🥲
Washout day 1
Relapsed PMO, but it’s fine. I think I just have too much energy and can’t properly deal with it. I need to engage in calming exercises, to lower that energy induced anxiety.
ease
effortless
dao