EXPANSION, CONTRACTION, COMPRESSION

BECOMING UNSTUCK: Expand, Contract, Compress, Repeat

One of the first Qigong forms I learned, and one that I practice with friends regularly is "Compress Pearl." 

Palms face each other, okay, the Laogong points on the palms face each other, as though we're holding a ball, or a pearl in front of the lower Dan Tian. As we inhale, the arms lift to the sides creating more space. The arms lower on an exhalation, letting the palms organically draw back to the pearl. Open, close, open, close. 

Eventually one might feel some sort of sensation between the palms, energy, electricity... Sometimes I feel as though two magnets are being pushed towards each other, they create some sort of a energetic resistance. 

Compression = Reduced volume created by external pressure or squeezing. An object is made smaller due to an external force or applied pressure. Compression also comes in the form of a hug. 

Perhaps we're embracing or caressing that Qi ball at our Lower Dan Tian. It's a good thing. 

Contraction = Becoming smaller, shorter, or tighter. This action generates force and causes movement. Contraction is an inward expression, due to internal changes rather than an outside squeeze.

Expansion = We make room for inspiration. We open our eyes. We connect to the vastness of the universe. We experience a sense of awe. 

We've also been practicing "Shake the Back Seven Times to Eliminate the 100 Illnesses" or "Drop the Heels" or "Drop the Post."

Brace yourselves. As we contract, squeezing our muscles, lifting onto our tiptoes, we inhale. As we release, we drop our heels and exhale. Contract on the inhale, expand on the exhale; the opposite of "Compress Pearl."  

I teach a variation of "Drop the Heels" as it is practiced by the Shaolin Monks. We raise up onto the balls of our feet, onto our tiptoes, lifting the heels, inhale, and then drop onto the heels exhaling as we create a vibration throughout the body. 

The variation I teach also involves raising the shoulder up to the ears, making fists, bending the wrists so that our fists are behind us, even the eyebrows instinctively rise, we've inhaled, we hold the breath for a moment, squeeze, squeeze, squeeze. And then we drop onto our heels with a mighty exhalation. We release. Our arms swings out in front of our bodies. It's as though a spring has been released.  

What have we done here? We've contracted our muscles, drawing inwards, compressing. We've created an isometric compression by holding for even just one second. The real lesson comes with the release. 

Release = Relief 

"Six Directional Breathing" is an excellent practice focusing on breath, expansion and contraction. 

Begin by focusing on the lower abdomen and the lower back, the Dan Tian and the Ming Men. Place one palm just below the belly button, the other hand, palm facing out at your lower back. Breathe. See if you can feel your hand at the lower Dan Tian gently move forward on the inhalation. The back hand? I feel as though I’m creating space between my rib cage and my sacrum. 

Now we grow wings. Bring your arms to your sides. We are going to breathe into the sides of the body, expanding the rib cage. Feel space in the arm pits. The inhalation encourages a gentle lift of the arms. The exhalation allows the "wings" (yes, you've grown wings) to settle back down towards the sides. Your wings are attached to your spine. Feel that connection. After a while, the lift of the arms feels effortless. The breath is creating the lift. Wu wei, effortless action. 

I introduce the next direction, UP, by imagining that as you lower your wings, you are gracefully generating lift, like a bird. On the downstroke, wings compress air beneath them. This generates the upward lift needed to raise the bird’s body against gravity. 

Breathe and feel a lift at the crown, the Bai Hui. Feel space all the way down the torso, down to the perineum, the Huiyin point. Maybe we can imagine the breath traveling all the way down to the feet. 

Another application: next time you practice "Compress Pearl," see if you can feel the expansion in six directions. 

All together now: front and back, side to side, top to bottom. 

Space, expansiveness, lightness; fly like a bird. 

I spend a great deal of time thinking about Qigong's effect on the psyche. 

Expansion creates feelings of openness, receptivity, growth, and connection. We may feel aligned with our desires and values. We feel energized, inspired, and ready to reach beyond our current limitations. Think like a tree. 

We feel drawn to the ethereal realms, Shen and Hun; being in awe while being inspired by dreams. The expansiveness of heaven creates the sense of awe. Shen spirits are tethered to the heart, fire element: expansion, the draw to move upwards.

Contraction in contrast signals a need to pause, reflect, ground ourselves, sometimes emerging from fear or uncertainty. How does your body feel when you're nervous, anxious, frightened, sad? While contraction may feel restrictive, it serves as a necessary process for introspection, focus, or recalibration before we can expand again. 

This compressed state is common in the realm of the Po Soul of the corporeal realm. The Po Soul is connected to the lungs. The lungs express shades of grief. How does your body express grief? 

Visit FAQ about the Wu Shen, the Five Spirits to learn more about the Shen, Hun, Po, Yi, and Zhi Spirits; metaphors of the human psyche. 

Both expansion and contraction contribute to a well-rounded psyche.

Is one good, the other bad? No. 

Compression is sometimes given a bad rap. It’s paired with suppression, or repression. Play with this idea: think of compression as a zip-drive, creating space. Rather than storing raw memories, we can compress “data” into images, archetypes, and dreams. The expansion may help us retrieve "data," let go, move on. Or, perhaps we'll keep the "data" safe until we're ready to process. Read my blogpost: Descending Into Awareness

Expansion and compression are two halves of a single whole. These expressions are present in the natural world, the seasons, day and night, growth and decay... All living things express expansion and contraction. The universe is thought to be expanding. 

Yin and Yang.

Expansion comes with great relief. While it may feel like the grand finale, it’s not the penultimate since the process repeats and repeats in our daily lives, in our practices. I end my sessions by practicing expansion. Then we ground ourselves. And then we bow three times, expressing gratitude. The bows feel like a compressed hug. 

Qigong forms you'll see in this video expressing expansion, compression, and contraction:

• Six Directional Breathing
• Green Dragon from the East
• Compress Pearl
• Wise Owl Turns Its Head
• Dragon Transforms Qi
• Drop the Heels
• Monkey Lifts Paws

May you experience expansiveness, safety and balance.

One more thought, life begins with an inhalation. 

Expansion. 

Life ends with an exhalation. 

Contraction. 

In the meantime? BREATHE! 

I love you all. 

Brian

A hug, compressed love

PRACTICING WITH INTENTION

We have been practicing Ba Duan Jin, the Eight Brocades, as taught by various teachers. Some variations of the forms are subtle, some are more obvious. All forms offer an aesthetic as they also encourage a particular connection and sensation. Forms connect us with our bodies, our breath, and our surroundings. 

Today we practiced the forms as taught by the Buddhist monks of the Shaolin Temple. 

Watching someone practice the Shaolin forms may be perplexing. Until you practice along. The intention seems different. 

Intention, Yi, is a delicate balance of directing energy toward a goal while maintaining a state of "allowing," or, as commonly put, being "true to oneself" while flowing with the natural rhythm of life.

"Yi dao, qi dao’ translates roughly as: "where the intention goes, the qi flows." If we slow down movement, or even stop it altogether, and focus our mind on a direction, a spiral, a reach, where our eyes focus, or even a punch, we will enjoy attentive awareness. 

Let's look at the Chinese character for "yi."

Yi is a combination of two radicals. On the bottom is an open bowl, symbolizing the heart, Xin. Above the heart is the radical for sound, a musical note, a chant, a poem. We connect inspiration and intention; insight and fulfillment the hearts desire. We sing. 

Since it has been my intention to encourage my friends to "make it your own," I am not going to direct their attention to feeling this or that. I have included a video of a Shaolin monk practice and also of Mimi Kuo Deemer. I first learned the Eight Brocades by watching this video every day for almost a year. Practice and notice. What resonates with you? 

After studying forms by many teachers, I have created a set which I enjoy. For today. Tomorrow could be different. 

I wish for you peace, health, and endless inspiration

Brian

MAKING IT YOUR OWN

Have we met?

If so, you know I embrace thinking outside of the box, mixing it up a bit, exploring different angles, making it my own. Box? What box?

Way back when, I was working on a Master's Degree. I wasn't drawn to the degrees offered by university. So, I found a professor/advisor who helped me create my own individual studies degree, Special Education Arts. We designed a curriculum which included: theories of creativity, brain hemisphere studies, learning styles, psychology, philosophy... Of course I lasted about a year, dropped out and went to massage school. 

But it was a formative year. Creating my own degree program taught me a lot. 

A Theories of Creativity class was my favorite. There are many ways to define creativity. I came up with this theory: 

A process of creating something new involves observing processes and ideas from many sources. We then organically adopt and integrate that which resonates with us.

Notice I said "A process of creating..." 

The key is in observation, learning, and being inspired by various sources. It's a fluid process. As I say: "the learning never stops." If it does we become stagnant. "Ew, David." 

I've been having fun teaching the Ba Duan Jin, the Eight Brocades. This is the first set I learned during quarantine times. I watched one video by Mimi Kuo Deemer. I practiced every day for nearly a year, always with Mimi. 

I then watched a video of the Eight Brocades as practiced by the Shaolin Monks. 

Wait! 

That's not how Mimi does it. Needing to place approaches in their respective boxes, I attached labels: Taoist and Buddhist. Boxes? I really went there?

I found another video of a Shaolin monk practicing the same forms. But wait, that's not how the other monk practiced. His "punching with an angry gaze" is downright fierce. Wait, I kind of like it. 

Back to my practices with friends. We began with the Brocades as taught by Marissa Cranfill. Me being me, I had to sneak in a couple of subtle variations that I like. 

I typically don't teach from videos. But, having practice videos for students is helpful. AND, I'm trying to make a point: look how Marissa/Sonny/Mimi/Shaolin monks do these forms. Soon, you'll see MY set. Then, what resonates with you? Don't think too hard about it, just feel it, intuit it.  

I suppose I'll need to make a video of MY Eight Brocades, knowing that a week later I may say "oh, I don't do it that way anymore." 

This week we practiced the forms as taught by Sonny Mannon, Rooted Alchemy. He begins his Brocade video by saying: "there are many variations of these movements. So we're going to go through a standard variation of each one of these that I really like to do." Go Sonny!

I like some of his variations. 

While we're on the topic of Sonny. I'm also sneaking in some Baguazhang forms: continuous motion, circular footwork, circular or spiraling body motion, complex internal mechanics. These are often associated with Taiji and also martial arts forms. But, I find many Bagua forms as being complimentary to Qigong practices. Thinking outside of the box. What box? 

We'll continue by studying Mimi's forms, then the Shaolin forms, then my forms. 

Then, homework assignment kids: come up with your own set. 

P.S. I sometimes teach a form and notice students doing something slightly different. I don't insist on imitation because their body, mind, spirit, may need to move in their unique way. As long as their movements are in line with the intention of the form, I say, go for it. Dance your dance. Often times I learn from their variations. Sometimes I just smile.

I wish for you good health, an open mind, and a desire to create.

I love you all,

Brian

SPRING PRACTICES

I get together with friends Friday mornings at the Healing Arts Center in Arvada, Colorado. We're currently exploring the Eight Brocades and warm-ups that encourage focus on these concepts:

SONG and ZHONG DING 

SONG = relaxed, sinking energy connecting the mind with physical sensations, fostering internal awareness and grounded stability. 

ZHONG DING = central equilibrium; finding balance and stability in the body through proper alignment and distribution of weight. Key to this alignment is maintaining a connection of the: 

• Bai Hui (crown of the head)
• Hui Yin (perineum), and the
• Yong Quan (soles of the feet)

I recently took a class with Matthew Komelski offered but the National Qigong Association. He uses an image that you've probably heard before, connecting the Bai Hui (the crown) to the heavens. 

But, he takes this a step further. Visualize that honey is dripping down off of a honey spoon. Threads of honey flowing down as we lift up. Bring this image into your body, lifting upwards while gravity allows our energy to settle downward. The thread lifting us from the Bai Hui continues down through the center of the body to the Hui Yin (perineum), and then down to the Yong Quan (the arch of the foot). Zhong Ding. This flow occurs in the Zhong Mai, or Chong Mai channel.

Now, try this, see the honey spiraling down; small, almost imperceptible spirals. You pull the honey spoon up as the honey spirals downward. This will take some practice; drawing upwards while settling, relaxing, and sinking energetically. 

Okay, we've been focusing on internal sensitivities and practices, Neigong. Let's integrate this internal sensitivity to our external practices, Waigong. 

I'm always playing with new warm-ups. It's not just about moving our bodies, opening joints, and creating space, we're also hooking up our minds with our bodies. Sonny of Rooted Alchemy leads us through a set of Tai Chi warm-ups that encourage weight shift, movement from the Dan Tian, lifting, dropping, stability... 

For a couple of weeks we'll be practicing the Ba Duan Jin or Eight Brocades set as taught by Marissa Cranfill. Marissa will be presenting at the 2026 Conference of the National Qigong Association  taking place right here in Denver, September 8th -10th.  

My plan is, after a couple of weeks, we'll watch how another teacher Mimi Kuo Deemer teaches the Eight Brocades. And then, we'll practice the forms as taught by the Shaolin Temple. 

Why? Finding inspiration from various sources offers a chance to make things our own. What resonates with you? That being said, I do a couple of the forms you'll see in this video using my own variations, but the intention remains the same. 

At the end of every practice I bow three times. My first bow is to my teachers; past, present, and future. Every time I practice with friends, I learn something new. I include them as my teachers. 

  

Let's talk feet. We're always checking in to make sure we're rooted. As mentioned above, I've taken the liberty of tweaking a couple of forms. Dropping the Post at the end of the Eight Brocades is one of these forms. The feet are a natural focal point as we lift and drop. Oh, there it is again, lifting and dropping. 

As we were coming to the end of our practice, one friend mentioned a Taiji (Tai Chi) concept of nine points of the feet, feeling contact and rootedness through these nine points. We had to investigate. 

And sorry Mary, yup, I've tweaked the foot contact concept slightly. I'm a rebel. No news there, right?

During Dropping the Post we lift onto the balls of our feet, hold for a few seconds, and then drop on to our heels. I feel the contact and stability created as we make contact with the heel (one), the side of the foot (two), the balls of the big and little toes (three and four), and the five toes (five through nine). Try it. 

So there you have our practices for Spring. 

Enjoy

I wish for you good health, happiness, and new Spring growth

Brian

DEEPENING YOUR EXPERIENCE WITH THE WU SHEN

 

As I've studied the Wu Shen over the years, I've stumbled on many books and videos. I believe this is a life-long journey. The more I learn, the more I think "I'm just scratching surface." 

Allow yourself to ask, stop, consider your question and look up a satisfying answer. Then, give yourself time to reflect and integrate. 

BOOKS

This was the first book I stumbled upon containing invaluable information, and it's an pleasant read. The descriptions of each of the Wu Shen are almost poetic. 

Dechar, Lorie Eve. Five Spirits: Alchemical Acupuncture for Psychological and Spiritual Healing, Lantern Publishing and Media, 2021

Again, a pleasant read. The Wu Shen are described by function: Physical, Energetic, and Spiritual. 

Exercises to cultivate each of the Spirits are offered. These include movement, breathing, and reflection. 

Nosco, Stephanie, Follow your Tao: A Simple Guide to Banking Your Energy for Inner Harmony. Headline Publishing Group, 2024

Another book by Lorie Eve Dechar along with Benjamin Fox. The elements are explored regarding their place in Inner Alchemy work. Knowing the association of the elements with the Wu Shen brings it all together. 

Mention is made of Kunlun Mountain and Xi Wang Mu, Queen Mother of the Western Paradise. 

The role of archetypes are explored, referencing Carl Jung. And healing modalities including acupoints and essential oils are discussed. 

Dechar, Lori Eve and Fox, Benjamin. The Alchemy of Inner Work: A Guide for Turning Illness & Suffering into True Health & Well Being, Weiser Books, 2021. 

While this book addresses Chinese Medicine along with Yoga, the Wu Shen are explored as they accompany the elements and the seasons. 

Raye's approach is holistic, including diet, movement, breath-work and meditation. 

Raye, Jennifer. Wisdom of the Earth, Wisdom of the Body: a Seasonal Guide to Chinese Medicine and Yoga for Balance and Vitality, Shamble Publications, Inc. 2025

Very much a clinical text book, I was able to glean information about the elements and the Wu Shen. 

Each of the Spirits are mentioned throughout the book as the psyche is explored. 

I use this as a reference book. It's not a light read. 

Maciocia, Giovanni. The Psyche in Chinese Medicine: Treat ment of Emotional and Mental Disharmonies with Acupuncture and Chinese Herbs. Churchill Livingston Elsevier, 2009. 

There are also numerous videos available. Some are very basic, some dive deep, quenching my appetite to learn. 

Dr. Richard Lai is an acupuncturist. Watching his videos I get the impression that he's teaching as a seeker, a learner. I appreciate that. 

Lorie Eve Dechar has a number of videos available on YouTube. 

I hope I've planted some seeds that may grow and blossom into a deeper understanding of your Self as you navigate the world of the Five Spirits.

May you be happy, healthy and always curious,

Brian