“TRON BELLY BUCKET GONG” ‘These are the basics and the source of all the skills of Eight Treasures Fist. A A 4 Dantien Gong Practise daily during the Zi time (I pm-Lam) and the Yin time (3am to Sam). ‘You should find an area with many Cypress trees, plenty of fresh air and peace and quiet. Firstrelax and move your head, imbs, waist, knees and ankles for a couple of, minutes. Then stand still and face south. Gently close your eyes and mouth. Drop you chin slightly, close you toes and hollow the soles of your feet. Your hands should hang naturally and your legs should be as wide as your shoul- ders. Fig 1) ‘Star to relax, from the top of your head passing down your neck, shoulders, upper arms, chest, lower arms, stomach, waist, hips, thighs, knees, lower legs and feet. Repeat this three times. Now breathe heavily through your mouth three times. Then breathe in naturally through the nose and out through the mouth. ‘While you breathe in you should keep you tongue between your teeth and upper palate and your abdomen should move out slightly. Lift up your two hands (Fig 2) to your forehead, palms facing in and fingertips pointing to ‘each other. Slowly lower your hands and let the palms and your fingers slightly point up. At the same time imagine the Qi passing down from the top of your head from the Baiui point sinking down to the Dantien and breathe out through your mouth to your Dantien. ‘The movement continues to move on, your hands keep going down until they almost reach the ground. At that moment your arms and legs should be straight, not bent (Fig. 4). Meanwhile imagine the Qi coming from your Dantien, spreading through both legs. to the soles of your feet, to your Yongquan point and breathe out. Separate your hands to the sides and breathe in and straighten your body. Also, imagine the Qi coming from the Yongquan point to the Dantien. ‘Come up, breathe in through your nose and then bend down and breathe out through your mouth. Repeat forty nine times. fier a week to a month practising Dantien Gong you will find your hands and legs will be warm, tingling and itchy. Your body is sometimes warm, hot, will feel expanded, healthy light, tall, small, shiny and you stomach will make noises. This is quite natural and ‘weccall these feeling ‘Qi feelings’. QiMagazine 14“NOURISHING ORIGINAL QIGONG” ‘The Eight Treasures Style Qigong contains standing, sitting, lying and walking methods of training. Here I will introduce them one at time i A from 30.up to 60 minutes. 4 The Bear Position Stand with your feet as wide as your shoulders and slightly bend your knees. Keep your back straight so your Baihui, Wuyin and Yongquan points are inline. Hold you hands out ether side of your waist, palms facing down and breathe naturally through your nose (Fig). Fig7 1 Standing Position 1. Standing Pillar Position Stand still, with your feet as wide as your shoulders, with your toes pointing straight ahead and your hands hanging naturally by your sides. Your Bai Hui point should point up so you need to drop your chin slightly. Gently close your ‘mouth and look straight ahead. Your shoulders should be loose and your knees slightly bent. The Baihui, Wuyin and Yongquan points should all be in a straight line (Fig 4). 2. Child Worships Buddha ‘This standing position is the same as inthe ‘Standing Pillar Position’ except you should hold your hands in front of your Midale Dantien. Your fingers should point up and be positioned just below your chin (as if you are praying), and your Laogong Doin foc each oer. Relax you shoulders and elbows. Another name for this exercise is “A Josstick Towards the Sky’ (Fig 5). Figs 3 Tiger Guarding Position ‘Squat down into a ‘horse stance’. Your toes should point forwards, this means you should keep your toes in. When you knees are bent, they should not go past your toes. Keep the Baihui, Wuyin and ‘Yongquan points in a line, close your mouth and gently look forwards. Keep you chest up, you shoulders and hips relaxed. Keep your weight on your Yongquan points. Hold your hands in two fists distance in front of your Dantien, palms facing down and fingers pointing to each other (Fig 6). Breathe naturally through your nose. Whilst you breathe out imagine that your Qi comes from your Dantien down to the Wuyin point and then keeps flowing down to the Yongquan points . Whilst you breathe in imagine the Qi flows back up the inside of the legs, rising up to the Dantien. The breathing should be normal, never force or breathe hea ‘To start with, stand for 1 to 5 minutes, and when your Qi and your legs are stronger you can stand ByMoMen Den Qi Magazine 15Eight Treasures Hard Qigong Fig? Fig 11 Part 2 Sitting Positions 1 The Sitting on a Mountain Method Sit on a chair or stool, keeping your body and head upright. Relax your chest, shoulders and stomach and close you eyes and mouth. Your Baihui point and Wuyin point should be in a straight line. Your nose, navel and Dantien should also all be in line. When you are sitting, your knees should be bent at right angles and the soles of your feet should be flat on the floor and your feet should be parallel to one another and at shoulder width. Rest your hands on your thighs and breathe naturally. (Fig 9) 2 The Two Dragons Wind the Root Method Sit with your legs crossed on a bed or a cushion, either leg on top. Keep your back and head straight, close your eyes and mouth. Place one hand ‘on top of the other, either hand on top, so that the palms face up and the thumbs are open. Rest your two hands in front of your Dantien and breathe naturally. (Fig 10) 3 Five Hearts Face the Sky Sit in the same posture as “Two Dragons Wind the Root’ except this time you should sit in a full lotus position. The soles of your feet should face upwards and the hands are the same as before. Now your feet, palms and heart: the Five Hearts, face the sky. Breathe naturally. (Fig 11) QiMagazine 44 Guan Yin Method This position is similar to the last except you can sit in a full or ahalf lotus. Place your palms together in front of your Shenzhong point (middle Dantien) as in the Original Nour- ishing Qigong posture ‘Child Worships Buddha’. Again breathe naturally. (Fig 12) Lying Positions Fig 13 1 Lying Down Method Lie down on a bed with a pillow under your head. Close you eyes and mouth. The soles of your feet should face each other, this makes the Yongquan points oppose each other. Now with your index fingers, touch your eyes, or place them ‘on your Dantien, Breathe Naturally. (Fig 13) 2 Lying to the Side Lie on your side. Women should lie on the left side and men on the right. Bend your waist. If your are ying on your right, your left leg should be bent on top of your right. Your left hand should be resting on your left thigh and your right hand should lie, palm up, in front of your face. Reverse the positions if you are lying on your left. Breathe naturally. (Fig 14) Walking Stand naturally and lightly concentrate on your Dantien until it becomes warm. Slowly start to walk as normal. Breathe in 4 you start on your left foot and imagine the Qi coming down from your Baihui point, flowing down to the Dantien. As you breathe out the Qi continues to flow down to the Yongquan point of your right foot and the right toes should grasp the ground, Keep repeating the process until the Yongquan point is warm, then change and practice with the other foot. byMoMen Dan QiMagazine 15Eight Treasures Hard Qigong part 3 Strong Eagle Claw Gong ‘his exercise has another name “Thousand Strong Eagle Claw”. It is an exercise esp in your t with your powerful fingertips hit their acupuncture points. Fig 18. ly for the ten fingers. Ifyou succeed ing you will be able to break a bow! or stone just by squeezing it. You can also grasp people's joints, bones and Ready Position Fig 18 Fig 19 2. Mountain Eagle Looks For Food First of all make a ‘horse stance’ and place your fists at the side of your waist. Slowly push out with your palms, palms facing down. Breath naturally. Fig 20. Slowly move your hands to the right and breathe in, and at the same time swallow Qi down to your Dantien then hold the Qifora while. Imagine the Qi coming up to the Middle Dantien then passing out through the hands to the fingers. Now use all your energy to close your fingers, like you are grabbing a stone and want to crush it. Fig 21. Now release the breath and let the Qi go back to the head QiMagazine 4 Face South, stand naturally and breath normally. Turn the toes in slightly but keep your feet balanced with your shoulders. Your gaze should be slightly stronger, with good spirit and slightly concentrate on you lower Dantien. Fig 17. 1. The Male Eagle Shows it’s Claws ‘Stand until your Dantien feels warm. Then change your breathing to reverse breathing, but still breathe through your nose, First, inhale strongly through your nose and then bend you knees so that you are ina ‘horse stance’. Lift up your arms, closing your fists in front of your chest. Ax the end of the breath, swallow the Qi to the Dantien, as if you are eating something, then breathe out. As you do so, push your palms out imag- ining that you need to use one thousand pounds of force to do so. As your arms push out, release the tension in your arms. Imagine the Qi coming up from the Dantien to the middle Dantien, then releasing out to the palms and chrough the laogong points and fi- rally all the way to the fingertips. Now breathe in and imagine the Qi going back to the Dantien and straighten your legs. Repeat 49 times. Fig 20 Fig 21Eight Treasures Hard Qigong part 4 Strong Jin Gong Palm This isa very powerful section within the Eight Treasures Hard Qigong System. It develops an iro lie palm tha is strong enough to break wood and stone. There are rwelve movements in total. 1. Sinking Tiger Stand naturally with your feet as wide as your shoulders. You should face south looking straight ahead with strong spiritin your eyes. Let your arms hang naturally, breathe naturally and concen- trate your thoughts at your Dantien. (Fig. 28) Sink into a wider stance, lifting you hands up to your chest, level with the middle Dantien, Your palms should face each other and your forearms should be horizontal, asif you are holding some- thing between them, Your weight should be over the centre of your stance and your joints should be relaxed. Breathe naturally. (Fig. 29) Acer fifteen minutes to one hour of practice, slowly straighten your legs and drop your hands. Rub the palms together, for about one minute or until they are warm, then wash your face about twenty time. Then finish asin the frst exercise (see Qi Magazine issue 23). ‘While practising this form fora long time you will fel warmth in your hands, along your arms and in your Laogong points. Your fingers will also feel swollen. This means alot of Qiis passing through your hand channels, At the same time, your legs willalso feel warm. The Qiwill ‘g0up from your Yongquan points to the wuyin point and tothe kidneys. This makes the body tingle and feel warm. ‘When practising this standing position you do not need to concentrate on any part of the body. Just lex the Qi flow allover the body. This will help the channels to open and store the Qi. You should practice until your whole body is hot and tingling before going on tothe next exercise; this normally takes about one hour. Qi Magazine 142 Pushing Down a Thousand Catties “Asbefore, stand straight with your Baihui point pointing straight up, your back and your feet as wide as your shoulders. Slightly turn the toes in, relax the shoulders and groin, and let your chin drop slightly. Look straight ahead and drop your hands to your side, but keep the elbows slightly bent and the fingers facing forwards. (Fig 30) Using reverse breathing, concentrate you thoughts on the Dantien. Breathe through your nose and tighten the anus. As you breathe out, agine the Qirising up to the middle Dantien (Shanzhong point), then agine it spreads to the arms down to the Laogong points on both palms and squeeze your toes together. Push downwards using strength, asif you are pressing a very heavy object down. When your arms are fully ex- tended, release the tension, breathe in and imagine the Qi returning from the Laogong points to the Dantien. Repeat 49 times. 3 Fierce Tiger Pushes the Mountain OS Fig 3t Continuing from the last movement, use the same reverse breathing, but just stand and relax for one minute before you start. Breathe in as you move your arms backwards, bringing them up so yourhands are up to your shoulders. (Fig31) Breathe out, close your toes, concentrate allthe Qiin your palmsand_push forwardsasif you are pushinga very heavy object (Fig 32). Imagine all the Qi goingto the palms and the fingers. ‘When your arms re extended, relax the whole body. Breathe inas you circle your arms out and backwards, bringing the hands round to the chest and repeat the movement again. Repeat 49 times. 4 Phoenix Stretches its Wings Continuing from the last movement using reverse breathing again, breathe in and open your arms out to the sides. The elbows should be pointing down, your shoulders relaxed and your palms facing down and level with your shoulders. Let your wrists bend slightly (Fig 33). Tighten the anus, close your tocs. Breathe out and push out along your arms. Letall your Qi flow from the Dantien to the Middle Dantien, spread outalong yourarms to your fingers. Use strength as you push, as if you are pushing something very heavy. When your arms are extended, relax your body and repeat the exercise, at total of 9 times. Tobecominued... by Mo Men Den Qi Magazine 15,Eight Treasures Hard Qigong part 5 Continuing the ‘Strong Jin Gong Palma’ section of the Eight Treasures Hard Qigong, 4. Phoenix Stretches its Wings. Continue the last movement “Fierce Tiger Pushes the Moun- tain”, Using reverse breathing again, breath in, open hands to the side with elbows down, shoulders relaxed, palms up to shoulder height, palms facing down and bend your wrists (fig 33). Meanwhile life the arms, close the toes, then breath out, with palms pushing out. Let all the Qi from the Dantien to the middle Dantien, spread out to the arms, to the palms and ten fingers, At the same time, you feel as if you are pushing a very heavy object but then relax the whole body and repeat the movement 49 times. 5. Catch The Sand From The Bottom Of The Sea. Use natural breathing through the nose. In the beginning stand still. Relax the mind, slightly separate the stance to shoulder width, Put your fists in front of your Dantien, facing each other (fig 34). Bend down and breath out. Fists change to palms then slowly push down coordi- nating it with your breaching. You finish the breath just as your hands reach the ground, Make the whole body relax (fig 35), and then slowly raise up your body. Imagine there is something strong and heavy you need to pull up. At the same time breath in, stopping your hands at the Dantien. Palms change to fists again, resting at the Dantien. Repeat 49 times. Fig 34 Fig 35, QiMagazine 146. Pick Up The Stars, Catch The Moon. ian? Stand still as before. Slowly lift up your arms with palms open, keeping very relaxed, while breath- ing in. At the same time look at your hands (fig 36). Change the palms to fists, as if you are grab- bing something. Imagine there is a very strong and heavy thing in the sky which you need to pull down whilst you breath out (fig 37). At the same time swallow the Qi to the Dantien. Do 49 times, 7. Iron Cow Ploughs The Field Put you hands on the floor, close your legs, lift up your hips and stand on toes (fig 38). Bring all you attention to the Dantien, and breath in through the nose. Relax the body and swallow the Qi. Now breath out, pushing the hips forwards and bend your arms until the back is straight, all the breath releases . out. Fig 38 In the beginning repeat ten times. Then do about twenty building up to one hundred, but make sure your body is strong enough to stand it. Do not force yourself too much. When you can manage to do it well, put a stone on your back, slowly practise with the weight. This will make your back very powerful and strong (fig 39). tobe continued . by Mo Men DanEight Treasures Hard Qigong part 6 Another section from this Hard Qigong system - ‘Iron Bridge Gong’. Once again, please do not practise on your own unless you have a qualified instructor. 1. Immortal Cuts Wood Stand still and concentrate on your Dantien for 3 to 5 minutes. Lift your arms up to the sides so they are at shoulder level and with your palms facing down, Meanwhile, breathe naturally through your nose and imagine the Qi coming up from the Dantien, to the QiMagazine 4 Shenzhong point and then spreading out along both arms until your arms feel warm and you can feel the Fig 46. Now swallow the Qi down to your Dantien and tightly clench your fists. Fig 47. Curl your arms towards your head as Fig 49. if you are pulling back two heavy objects. Breathe out through your nose and hold your breathe. Fig 48. Open your arms very quickly and bend your knees. Fig 49. Repeat 49 times.2. Demon Checks the Sea Fig 50. Fig 51. Form a ‘horse stance’ with your fists Punch downwards, crossing your wrists held at your sides and breathe and breathe out. Repeat 49 times. Fig 51. naturally. Fig 50. 3. Dragon Plays with Water Assume a ‘horse stance’ and lift your right fist and breathe in, Fig 52. ‘Swallow the Qi, breathe out and imagine the Qi going down to your Dantien. Fig 53. Slowly turn to the right, then slowly push your fist tensing it as you push. Repeat 49 times alternating from left to right (where left and right count as one). Fig 52. 4. Iron Cow Ploughs the Field (4s in issue 27) 5. Monkey Climbs the Tree For this exercise you will need « horizontal bar that can support your weigh Pull yourself up so your chin is above the bar, breathing in as you go up. Fig 54. Slowly lower yourself, breathing out and imagining the Qi sinking down to your Dantien. Magazine 15