AND THE SEASONS, THEY GO ROUND AND ROUND - Joni Mitchell

 

How often to you feel like you’re in-between two things: two meals, two tasks, two days? Between yesterday and today? Nighttime, an in-between time. Nighttime, a reset. Nighttime, Wuji, emptiness. A time for potential, limitlessness, or the unmanifested, the in-between time. Wuji is described as a state of primordial nothingness or the ultimate void from which all things arise.

Viola part from the Opera "Paul Bunyan" by Benjamin Britten
End of Act One. Perfect. 
Sticker Work by Sam Headlee

“… have faith in tomorrow. That these hours of ambiguity and indecision may also be the hours of healing.”

How about the in-between times seasonally. 

It’s late August or early September, the color of the sky seems a little softer, the evening temperatures are much cooler (at least here in Colorado). But here in the Northern Hemisphere, Fall doesn’t “officially” begin until September 22nd, the Fall equinox.

Even meteorologists concur. “This just doesn’t seem right.” They talk about astronomical seasons defined by the tilt of the earth and meteorological seasons determined by the Earth’s temperature. According to meteorologists, Fall begins right after Labor Day, the beginning of September.   

Winter: feels like it around Thanksgiving. Nope.

Spring: we want to start planting our gardens in early to mid March. Nope.

Summer: here in Colorado we can still have Spring snowstorms in June. Yup.

WELCOME TO THE “DOYO” ZONE

DOYO, a Japanese word used in both traditional Japanese and Chinese medicine.

18 days before each equinox or solstice is a transition time, the in-between time. DOYO periods are governed by the Earth element which is most active and requires extra attention to diet, eating at regular times, observing emotions, practicing moderation, and yes, Qigong and moderate exercise.

Below we have the often used generating and controlling cycle of the elements and the seasons. "Late Summer" or what I call "Harvest" falls between Summer and Autumn. Growing up we called this "Indian Summer."

Five Elements, Five Seasons
Harmony Within Acupuncture

I follow this model of four seasons determined by the Solstices and Equinoxes. Whoa, me? A Pragmatist?

DOYO, again is the transitional 18 days at the end of each season. Some people subscribe to the idea that DOYO starts 10 days before the end and lasts 10 days into the following season. Rebels. 

Mend Acupuncture

As you can see, every season is associated with an element. DOYO, again is associated with Earth element which is both Yin and Yang. 

Sympathy and worry are emotions linked to the Earth element. When balanced, the Earth element fosters empathy and compassion, while imbalances can lead to excessive worry, anxiety, or feelings of being taken advantage of.

The Earth element also governs the “Yi,” intention. It's important to be mindful of what we mentally and physically ingest, as these can impact our choices, as well as our emotional and physical well-being.

Recommendations, what to ingest:

Food supporting Earth element:

• Yellow and Orange Foods.
• Naturally Sweet Foods: sweet potatoes, carrots, peaches, rice, squash.
• Whole Grains: short grain brown rice, whole grain breads.

Cooking methods:

• Steaming and slow cooking to maintain nutrients.

Avoid:

• Excessive amounts of dairy, raw foods, and foods that are overly cold or creamy.
• Processed foods and added sugars: Limit or avoid processed foods, added sugar, and overly salty foods. 
• Excessive Sweetness: While natural sweetness is beneficial, excessive amounts of sweet foods can negatively impact the Spleen and Stomach.

Sing:

Yes, Sing! Every element has an associated sound, through which it expresses itself. The sound of the Earth element is singing. Whether your stage is the shower, the car, or in the middle of a park, get those vocal cords warmed up and sing your heart out!

Qigong: 

I wish you all happiness and good health.

Brian

THE BEAR/DEER CONUNDRUM

Look at various books or watch videos and you will see animal Qigong forms being associated with seasons and elements. One teacher may associate the deer with winter, another with spring. The tiger forms, are they spring or fall exercises? It’s a conundrum.

Taoist practices draw inspiration from nature, movement, the elements and the seasons. Each season is associated with an element, a color, a sound, an emotion, an organ… The organs associated with winter are the kidneys, the element is water. It is especially important to nourish the kidneys during this time. The kidneys store fear but also our self-confidence.

The earliest Taoist practices were inspired by the ways of animals. Shamans drew inspiration from the stars. They saw green dragons, vermillion birds, yellow snakes, white tigers, and black turtles. Eventually these mythical creatures of the heavens were joined by animals walking the earth or flying in the sky. These animal forms were eventually standardized, becoming the Five Animal Frolics.

A previous post called Listening to Trees explores the Five Element and Five Season models commonly used in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). But, where do the Five Animal Frolics fit in? Metal is always the element of winter, fire is the element of summer, water is the element of winter… but the animals? The animals take some twists and turns. Literally and figuratively. Get ready to think outside of the box. 

Model #1: Five Elements/Seasons/Organs with the five animals. Reminder: the fifth season is what some call "harvest." Others call it late summer, we used to call it Indian summer. 

Model #2: Five Elements with Five Animals, but the animals are in a different order. 

The inconsistency among these models? Animals. Time to frolic and dance. 

Animal Frolics imitate movements of the tiger, the deer, the bear, the monkey, and the bird. Let's look at the bear. 

Mimi Duo Deemer in her book Qigong and the Tai Chi Axis describes the bear forms: 

"The forms... draw on the power and strength of the bear, but also use twisting and rotational movements that directly stimulate and release tension from the area of the kidneys and adrenal glands." 

The forms that she demonstrates release tension in the back, build suppleness in the waist but also strength the  legs and arms. We release fear and embrace self confidence, "...make me feel powerful and full of perseverance." 

Winter is the season of maximum Yin, time to rest. Winter is when nature lies fallow. Energy is conserved. Plants store resources deep in the earth. 

If we as humans were to follow our natural inclinations, we would seek out cozy, warm havens to settle in for the winter. 

I join some others relating the bear to the harvest season and those "in between times" that occur before each equinox and solstice. Time to gather our resources and prepare for the upcoming season. The Chinese Health Qigong Association describes the bear as clumsy, heavy and slow. The bear sways, the bear lumbers. Focus is placed on the area of the stomach and spleen, organs of the harvest season and the metal element. 

Swaying motions affect the epigastric region, back to the stomach and spleen. During the harvest and fall seasons the bears need to put on weight to prepare for winter and hibernation. This process is called hyperphagia. During hyperphagia bears live for food, don’t get in the way. 

We practice movements imitating these qualities of the bear. Movements nurturing the stomach and spleen. Movements rooting us to the earth. But we’ll also nurture the kidneys and the water element by turning and twisting the waist. 

And now, the deer.

The deer also conjures images and movements of the winter. Deer spring into action, but then they stand still and alert. Yesterday in Colorado we had a snow storm, action. Today feels quiet and withdrawn, stillness. 

Many deer forms utilize lateral flexion and rotation of the waist, home of the kidneys. The kidneys are the organs of water, of winter. 

But then, there are movements that elongate the gall bladder meridian and strengthen the muscles along the liver meridian. 

Gall bladder and liver, organs of the spring and of the wood element.

Mimi Kuo Deemer describes the deer forms as related to the spring. 

“… they follow coiling pattern through the spine that suggest the movements in spring, which are to spiral upwards and outwards. The deer represents grace, sexual vitality and spirit.”

Let’s bring it all together: 

During the Eastern Han Dynasty (25-250 CE), an esteemed doctor named Hua Tuo formalized movements imitating the instinctual patterns of animals. He called this practice Wu Qin Xi, or Five Animal Frolics. 

Hua Tuo practiced acupuncture, surgery, herbology and movement. “Movement is the only reason that teeth are falling out and tongue is not!” and that “moving water can’t become stale and that worms can’t be found in door hinges.” 

By moving with intention we learn to trust our inborn animal instincts. We learn and imitate their rhythms and movements as they adapt to the seasonal changes.

Hua Tuo prescribed an order for learning the Animal Frolics: tiger, deer, bear, monkey and bird. While many have theorized an association with the seasons, his learning order does not reflect a seasonal order.  

Honor the bravery and ferocity of the tiger, the sereneness and attentiveness of the deer, the ponderousness and heaviness of the bear, the nimbleness and smartness of the monkey, and the lightness and grace of the bird. 

The Chinese Health Qigong Association states:

“Wu Qin Xi is not designed just for superficial imitation of the outer attitudes of those animals… the postures and movements of the exercises are elegant, so as to stimulate enthusiasm for learning and practicing the exercises… after a certain period of practice, both physical and mental health are improved.” 

Think and move like the tiger, the deer, the bear, the monkey and the bird.

Become these animals. 

Resource time!

The 5 Element Theory and the associations of each element. The animals listed on this table are from the 5 Sacred Guardians, yet another set from the old days. These are mythical creatures based on Astrology.  That’s for another time. 

Videos to practice with:

Deer Forms, Chinese Health Qigong Association

Bear Forms, Chinese Health Qigong Association

The following four videos are by Alex Hui

Qigong with Kseny

The outline for my upcoming practice

Be well, be happy, respect your instincts, frolic, and follow your bliss.
💗

Brian

SEASONAL CHANGES; SUMMER TO "HARVEST"

Look out, we're moving into Pumpkin Spice Latte season.

The party called Summer is winding down.

My friends at the Pacific College of Health and Science (I used to visit them regularly for acupuncture and Chinese herbs) tell us about seasonal changes:

Whenever there is a season change, according to traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) beliefs, the energy frequency of the body or a person’s “qi,” may not be in harmony with the season’s frequency. Therefore, a person’s qi may be blocked, which leads to negative side effects from bodily sickness to mood swings.

A most obvious seasonal affect change involves food.

Our bodies reflect seasonal changes in a variety of ways including simple ways like what we crave to eat. Sperber used an example: “Who wants to eat a big heavy stew in the middle of summer? No one.”

Fun facts to remember:

• TCM recognizes five seasons: Spring, Summer, "Harvest" (my term for late summer/early fall), Fall, and Winter. 
• Five elements are associated with the five seasons (in the same order as the seasons): Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water. 
• The elements rise, like fire, and the elements fall, like water. Except for Earth which holds steady, neither rising nor falling. 
• Each element is associated with a body organ (same order): Wood = Liver, Fire = Heart, Earth = Stomach and Spleen, Metal = Lungs, Water = Kidneys.
• Five animals are associated with the five seasons (same order): Tiger, Monkey, Bear, Crane, and Deer. Some Qigong practitioners associate the five animals differently. This is the order often used, and the one I like. So there. 
• Living in the mountains of Colorado, it's clear that we're coming into "Harvest" season. 

Tomatoes are ready to be picked. I've already harvested my fresh peas. My jalapeño peppers are turning from green to red. I'm pulling out flannel shirts to wear for at least part of the day. My pumpkin blossoms are about to become pumpkins and my sunflowers are freakishly tall with HUGE flowers.

We're not just moving into cooler weather, we're moving into Earth season, Stomach and Spleen season and the season of the Bear. While I'm a huge fan of the summer monkey frolics, I'm ready to move on.





SPECIAL MESSAGE FROM OUR FRIENDS at Colorado Parks and Wildlife

Black bears in Colorado are entering hyperphagia and will spend up to 20 hours a day trying to search out and eat as much food as possible as they fatten up for winter...

Twenty chicken sandwiches, 10 large orders of french fries, 10 soft drinks and 10 milkshakes is the approximate fast food order needed to total 20,000 calories. That is how many calories hyperphagia, an increase in feeding activity driven by biological need, drives a hungry black bear to consume every single day as they pack on the pounds to build up their fat reserves to survive the winter.



Okay, no need to go food crazy, but we should consider how our seasonal biological needs shift. Like the bear, it's time to get our feet on the ground, clean the house and take care of home projects, settle back into the kitchen and make some comfort food. It is a time when we get to come home to ourselves, and absorb the fruits of our labors. Time to take care of the Stomach and Spleen.

During our practice "in a park" this week we tapped specific acupressure points; we acted like monkeys but started thinking about some sweet bear moves; and we dredged energy channels of old stagnant Qi and then cultivated new Qi, strengthening our immune system and general vitality.

After turning and twisting and warming up, we practiced Tapping the Eight Nests, unblocking Qi flow and encouraging movement of lymph. My teacher Alex Hui will explain and demonstrate.


Tapping and moving while focusing on specific points and areas of the body is essential. 

For example, tapping on Lung One and Two points boosts Lung Qi. 

After "Harvest" comes Fall when I am likely to experience respiratory problems. I can nip that in the bud by purging stagnant Lung Qi and replenishing it with new, clean Qi. 

The Kua (inguinal crease) is home to many lymph nodes. By tapping at and moving from the Kua, we can wring out those nodes and get lymph AND Qi moving. 

The diagram captured from a video by Steven Cardoza shows the Side Channels connecting the Lung points (near the shoulders) and the Kua (tops of the legs).



During our practice I also introduced bits of Bear movements. We'll finish those up this next week.



But, since we may not quite be ready to drop summer "like a hot potato" we continued with Monkey forms. You can find those on a previous blog post. Ready? Go!

Our Qi cultivation brought us back to Ji Ben Qigong forms which you'll also find on a previous post.


Enjoy!

Qigong, what is it and how on earth do you say it?

WHAT IS QIGONG?

What is Qigong? What does it mean?
Qi = Life force. It is pronounced "Chee." Gong = Cultivation. Say "Gong" the “”o” is like aw as in paw. 

The ideogram for Qi is made up of steam over rice, implying that Qi is nourishing and ethereal. The rice cooking symbolizes the release and utilization of energy. In the Chinese language, Qi is part of everything. It can be used to describe a person's complexion, the weather and one's emotional state.

Qigong is a practice which hooks us up with nature and with our own personal connection to the world.

There are many styles of Qigong. I practice primarily Taoist Qigong and Medical Qigong. I also love Animal Qigong which has routes in ancient Chinese shamanic traditions. Cool stuff.

While the Taoists and Buddhists were creating Qigong practices centuries ago, Qigong is not a religion or specific to any religion.

Sweet, now what is it?

Qigong is a slow, meditative movement practice. Qigong employs breath work, visualization, meditation and movement. Each practice draws on influences from nature: the elements, animals, the seasons.

Qigong is one branch of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), the others being acupuncture, nutrition, herbology, and massage.

Five elements are key to TCM: Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal and Water.

Five... wait, five? Yes, five seasons are also important in TCM : Spring, summer, late summer which I refer to as "harvest," fall and winter.

There are many animal practices with Shamanic routes: the deer, bear, monkey, crane and tiger. But many other images of mythical animals were conjured as far back as the Paleolithic period: the dragon, a vermillion bird, the white tiger, the black turtle and the yellow snake.

Practicing Qigong with me will introduce you to mythical creatures, connect you with nature and the seasons. And, it will connect you with your body. Again, I practice Medical Qigong. Possible physical shifts may include: decreased muscle pain, breaking up of fascial adhesions, headache relief, sinus pain relief, lower blood pressure, decreased joint pain, more energy, better sleep, balanced moods and on and on and on...

LISTENING TO TREES

I moved to Colorado with my parents when I was 16 years old. Like many young people I was trying to find my place. Life had been a little rocky before the move and I took this as an opportunity to redefine myself. Nobody knew me or my past. I was a clean slate.

My sister inspired me with books. As a gift she sent me a copy of the I-Ching, the Book of Changes. Hungry for new direction, I took this odd yet intriguing book up to a mountain park and sat under some tall trees. I read a little, and then sat. I just sat, unintentionally meditating. 

It must have been spring because I remember patches of melting snow. I remember the smell of the earth and the warmth of the sun. I remember listening to birds and the sound of the breeze in the trees. I remember just feeling, without words, without an intended meaning. I remember looking up, realizing I was part of something big, something nurturing. 

Nature.



Taoist philosophy and TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine) observe nature, providing an understanding of where and how we fit in. Connection. These observations go back to ancient times. Early Shamans gained inspiration from animals, from elements, from the stars, from light and shadows, from the seasons.

A common thread connecting all living things is Qi, energy. Qi exists in nature. We cultivate Qi from the foods we eat, from the air we breathe. Practicing Qigong outside connects us with the five elements common in TCM and Taoist philosophy: wood, fire, the earth, metal, and water. The elements teach us how to get unstuck, how to move. If I’m feeling stressed, I remind myself to move around obstacles like water. If I’m feeling unbalanced, I root myself like a tree and reach towards the sun.  

During Qigong practice, we observe and imitate the movements of animals, mythical creatures, swaying trees, streams and ocean waves, children playing, clouds drifting. We learn by becoming these things.





Each element is paired with a season. 

• Wood = Spring: growth. 
• Fire = Summer: expansion, heat. 
• Earth = Harvest (late summer): abundance. 
• Metal = Fall: inspiration and letting go. 
• Water = Winter: stillness, conserving of energy.

A note about Taoism:

Taoism is a philosophy. You can be Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist, Hindu, Atheist, Agnostic… and still be inspired by Taoist thinking and practice Qigong. There are those who practice Taoism as a religion with rituals and icons. Deities, often borrowed from other cultures, and are assigned particular roles. But I stick with learning from Taoist philosophy without the rituals and icons. Well, maybe one ritual: 

I do bow.

At the end of each Qigong practice session I bow three times. By bowing I am showing reverence and connection.

The first bow is to my teachers which include all living things; the people I study with, practice with, the people and animals and living things that I come in contact with: trees, my dogs, the breeze, the blue sky. I learn by noticing the world. 

My second bow is to my body, my biology, the Jing I was born with. Biology shared with children, brothers and sisters, parents, ancestors. 

My final bow is to the Tao, the Way, my place in nature, perhaps a collective intelligence. I call it the Tao. The Tao unifies all living things.

This is what I discovered decades ago as a kid sitting under a tree in a park on a mountain on a cool and sunny day with an odd little book about changes.

Collected together, the ethers of the universe constitute a unity; divided they constitute Yin and Yang; quartered they constitute the four seasons; [still further] sundered, they constitute the five elements. These elements represent movement.

-Tung Chung-Shu

Now, go find your tree.

EARTH DAY QIGONG

What a lovely morning practice we had in Davis Lane Park.

We celebrated Earth Day, one week late, but shouldn't every day be Earth Day? 

Being a chilly morning I chose to begin with more vigorous warm-ups and Silk Reeling. We then practiced forms associated with the Earth element. Now, hold on to your hats, this is where I took us to for a ride. 

Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), of which Qigong is one branch, references the elements, the seasons, directions, sounds, our body's organs and meridians and even animals.

You'll notice that there are FIVE seasons. What, What? Yes, we have the run of the mill Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter but between Summer and Fall we have a season I like to call Harvest. 

You will also notice that Earth is the element of Harvest. Brian! It's Spring! Deer Frolic time! We're supposed to focus on the Wood element, the deer, the Liver and Gall Bladder Meridians. I was never good at "supposed to." I was thinking out of the box when I proposed Earth element forms including Monkey Frolics! Being cheeky myself, Monkey Frolics are my favorites. 

As with all group practices, I pick and choose movements and forms to fit our group. From this list we did Spinal Twist (good warm-up), and we talked the Qua (the inguinal crease) with the goal of feeling weight distribution through our legs and opening our hip sockets. More warm-ups with shoulder and back opening pumping and swinging. 

By this time we were ready to bring it down, do some flow, some Silk Reeling, Coiling Snake, and  a little brain exercise called Open and Close the Door. 

After a meditative earth focused Wuji (emptiness stance) we started our flow with some "frisbee throwing" a.k.a. Diagonal Flying. This also introduced our focus on the Solar Plexus, the Earth Element Center. 

As always, I am providing YouTube videos created by some of my many teachers. Some of the forms will feel familiar, some will be new. Enjoy your practice!

Mimi Kuo Deemer practicing Earth Element Forms

Mimi Kuo Deemer, Earth Element

Nick Loffree, Qigong for Harvest

Alex Hui, Monkey Form

TAOIST FIVE ELEMENT QIGONG

Five Elements, Five Seasons, Five Animals: Five Qigong practices, encouraging health and vitality for the body, mind and spirit.

Our external or internal experiences are paired with the Five Elements, When the external (climate, both physical and social) and internal (our physical selves) elements are balanced, we experience health and prosperity. When out of balance we experience disease.

The elements are not static, they are fluid. We move from one element to another. They may also be referred to as the “Five Phases” or “Five Transformations” or “Five Orbs."

Today during Qigong in a Park we practiced the Taoist Five Element Flow. 

Five elements show up often during Qigong practice. The flow that we practiced today focused on the elements and the corresponding Yin organs.

Metal: Lungs
Water: Kidneys
Wood: Liver
Fire: Heart
Earth: Spleen or Pancreas

During the standing meditative postures we added whispered sounds. A purging practice, Healing Sounds cleanse and nurture the physical body and emotions, "our baggage". There are six healing sounds, we practiced the five today. The sixth sound purges the Triple Warmer. We'll save that for another time. 

The Element/the Yin Organ, the sound and an emotion to purge, soften or temper:

Metal/Lungs: SSSSSSSSS (like a snake) grief/sadness 

Water/Kidneys: CHOOOOOO (like a choo choo train) fear

Wood/Liver: SHHHHHH (quiet please sound) anger

Fire/Heart: HAAAAAAA (sigh of relief) excess joy (think about it) 

Earth/Spleen: HOE (Long O, ho ho ho) Worry, anxiety

A new video forthcoming

Be well, be happy, and follow your bliss

Brian

5 ANIMAL FROLICS: MONKEY

Wu Qin Xi (woo chin shee) Five Animal Frolics or Exercises imitate the movements of the tiger, deer, bear, monkey and crane. As with many Taoist and Shamanistic practices, the exercises were inspired by simple observation. The system was designed by a physician of the Eastern Han Dynasty (25-220 C.E.), Hua Tuo. Mr. Hua Tuo came to the conclusion that by watching and imitating the instinctual movements of animals, our own physical, emotional and spiritual needs may be met.

The exercises nourish the functions of the meridians and internal organs. Each animal is paired with an element and season, inspired by the 5 Element Theory of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM).




A quick review of the elements and seasons. Fire is related to summer. Earth: harvest (late summer, early fall). Metal: fall. Water: winter. Wood: spring. Here's an easy way to remember the elements: wood feeds fire, fire nourishes earth, earth creates metal, metal feeds water, water nourishes wood.

It's not uncommon for Qigong practitioners to mix it up a bit. Some find inspiration of the crane during the summer. I've known some to practice bear forms during the winter, although I wonder; bears hibernate in the winter. And while I adore naps, I don't feel the need to imitate napping. I've got that skill down.

Each animal has many forms, some Yin, some Yang. For example, Monkey Forms include: Raising the Monkey's Paws, Monkey Grabs a Peach, Monkey Turning, Monkey Picking, Monkey Catching, and other captivating moves.

My favorite animal? You probably guessed. The monkey! I consider myself to be a bit of a cheeky monkey. The monkey is nimble and clever. The monkey scampers from tree to tree. Practicing the monkey forms we move quickly, with focus and balance.

MONKEY RAISES PAWS



Each animal has a hand position. The monkey paw is hooked, the tips of the fingers touching, the thumb tucked in, the wrist bent. Meridians end or begin at the fingertips. We connect these meridians with the position.



The paws are raised to an acupuncture/pressure point on the sternum. While doing so the shoulders are raised, the abdomen is lifted and the gluteals are activated both by lifting the torso and also lifting on the the tip-toes. Qi is drawn in and compressed at the Heart Center. And then released.



The act of compressing and then releasing is common in Western exercise techniques and Eastern bodywork practices. In Thai Yoga Massage for example, spots along the circulatory system are compressed, constricting blood flow. By releasing, the "flood gates" are opened, clearing stagnation. The same happens energetically with Qi.

RAISING MONKEY PAWS, KEY MOVEMENTS

Focus on creating a rooted posture when lifting the heels. Focus on lifting from the crown of the head, the Bai Hui. As you raise the arms up, the abdomen and gluteals are pulled in and then released as you lower down.


MONKEY GRABS A PEACH



This exercise involves foot and hand movement, twisting, reaching and visual focus.

Let’s set the story: The monkey sees a peach. It clears the branches and reaches for the peach. It then proudly displays the peach.

This form was initially tricky for me to learn. But, I went with the story told by my teacher Alex Hui and it became simple. And cheeky.

The eye-hand coordination sharpens the connection of the right and left hemispheres of the brain. Once we hook up the brain we begin moving as the monkey moves. With practice we become the monkey. Doing so encourages a joyful, uninhibited "play date" offering a break from an anxious or depressed mindset.







PICKING FRUIT, KEY MOVEMENTS

Focus on the coordination of the lower and upper body. The choreography of the arms involves a variety of movements: stretches, expansion and compression. Like a playful dance these movements are repeated symmetrically on each side of the body.

Todays practice:





And now, enjoy two videos by Alex Hui teaching two Monkey Forms.




Resources:

https://alexhui.com/

https://library.singingdragon.com/