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. He uses an image that you've probably heard before, being supported by thread or a line 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. 

  

The 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