Gentle Exercises for Optimal Health

To Sign Up for Classes: (360) 398-7466, or email

Monthly Wild Goose Qigong Workshops

Once a month on Saturdays, Robert Bates will be teaching 2-hour Wild Goose Qigong Workshops. The workshops will be for both beginners and continuing students. Everyone will work on the First 64 form. Continuing students then can stay with the First 64 practice or work on Spiral, Soft Palms, or Slapping Healthy.

Time: 10:00 to 12:00

Dates: February 20, March 20, April 17, May 15 and June 19

Cost: $80 for the 5-class series or $20 per class

Location: Robert’s Healing Studio: 1095 E. Axton Road, Bellingham, WA 98226

Gain Greater Health and Have Fun Doing it

Wild Goose Qigong exercises are Chinese longevity exercises that originated in the Taoist tradition in the Kunlun mountains of Western China, many centuries ago. Long a secret, Wild Goose Qigong became widely practiced in China in the last few decades. The exercises represent the daily routine of a wild goose—a bird of longevity and high energy. Wild Goose Qigong is effective at helping treat disease, increase energy, improve mental clarity and brain functions, and maintain general fitness.

The Fabulous, Famous, Fantastic “First 64”

The “First 64” is one of the most well known Qigong sequences in the world. It is usually the one first taught in the Wild Goose system. It consists of 64 named moves of great variety that are performed in succession along a specific stepping pattern, much like a Tai Chi Sequence is done. Each of the moves has particular benefits for health, wellness, and healing. The movements flow together in a flowing, active tapestry. The “First 64” is a lot of fun to practice and has many unexpected and unusual moves. The form includes turning, twisting, stretching, leg strengthening, balance building, and spinal strengthening. There are moves to eliminate old, stuck and toxic energy from your body and fill yourself with fresh new energy.

These classes are moderately vigorous and will include warming up, stretching, Qigong drills, and instruction in the profound and fun movements of the of the long sequences.

Continuing my discussion of the Three “S”s of Qigong practice: Single Exercises, Sets and Sequences:

Sequences

A Qigong sequence is a series of movements put together into an artistic form. I often call these forms, but many people use the word “form” for a single exercise or a set. I’m playing with the word “Sequence” as a more accurate, separate descriptor.

In a Sequence–or form–one exercises follows another in an arranged order. Sequences usually cover some ground with different types of steps, arm movements and torso movements. These patterned forms usually face all directions within the series of moves.

Forms are Artistic Patterns

Forms–or Sequences–can be seen as patterns performed on the ground, in time, and in the space around you.

Sequential forms are a more advanced way of practicing than Single Exercises or Sets (though not necessarily better.)

Sequences are like books or encylcopedias of skills and knowledge. Often Sets are created by taking and adapting movements from forms into successive drills. I have done this with the Primordial Qigong Sequence, creating the exercise Set I call the Delightful Dozen out of it.

Whereas the Delightful Dozen faces one direction and calls for about a dozen repetitions of each exercise; Primordial Qigong faces each of the cardinal directions eight times in a circling sequence and with varying numbers of repetitions for each sequential movement within the form.

In the formal sequence of Primordial Qigong, each exercise has it’s own number of reps to do—between 1 and 10 reps—before  flowing into the next exercise

Other examples of Sequences include much of the system of Wild Goose Qigong, including The First 64, The Second 64, Soft Palms, Spiral, etc…

Yang Style TaiJi (Tai Chi)

Every system of Tai Chi (at least 6 different major systems out there) has it’s short and long forms as a major part of their training. The Yang Style of Tai Chi Chuan, for instance, has a widely taught beginner form of 24 movements; the intermediate  20 minute (or so) long 108 movements form; and another, rarely seen, more complex, 108 move form.

New Frame Chen Style Tai Chi Form

In my Chen Style Tai Chi class with Bob Lau we practice something called the New Frame. This very long and complicated form (which I have a long way to go to really understand in a significant way) is made of 83 moves. However, most moves have several sequential components to them, so 83 is a but a method of naming. There seem to me to be about 250 separate moves. “Whew.” I’m currently learning a Sequence called Spiral Taiji from my internal arts teacher Bob Lau.

Advantage of Sequences

An advantage of working with Sequences is that they force you to be present and fully conscious as you are training. Spacing out and not paying attention leads to missing your next steps and getting lost. Sequences are a magnificent as moving meditations.

With the differing numbers done of exercises, the exact sequences, the steps being taken and directions to face, sequential forms are masterful ways of training your memory.

Sequences also encourage a the building of artful skill. Forms add a tapestry of artistic color and nuance to Qigong.

And they are fun!

Here is a video of the First 64, the most well-known formal sequence from the Wild Goose Qigong, or Dayan Qigong , system.

Fast Versus Slow

I perform the set quite fast in the video. Faster Wild Goose practice tends to activate more Yang energy and eliminate more stagnant Qi than doing it more slowly. (And the rain was coming any minute as I was filmed.)

Performing at a slower pace is also a wonderful way to practice this form.

I do the form (as best as I can emulate) in the style of Paul Li, my most recent teacher of Wild Goose Qigong.

A Famous, Fun System of Exercise

Wild Goose Qigong is an intricate system of many movements done in the general style of Wild Geese. It is a famous system in China and getting more known here in the West all the time. It is great fun to practice.

There is so much just in this one form. There are

• Many point-charging movements
• Snap releases of Toxic Qi
• Stretches
• Qi Channel flow-increase movements
• Qi absorption techniques
• Organ regulating methods
• Brain and nervous system regulating
• Rooting stances to build a strong foundation
• Kidney charging for building the body’s energy
• Lung opening moves
• and more

Arms of the Goose

Notice how the arms are usually kept bent, like wings. This helps the Qi flow strongly through the arms.

Shimmering Hands

The special shaking hand motion is called Shimmering Hands. As far as I know this motion is unique to Wild Goose Qigong. Fast shimmering can break loose stagnations, open blockages, and build a more balanced nervous system. It can also be used to rapidly and repeatedly bring in new Qi and release old Qi.

Not only do I have a Delightful Dozen/Primordial Qigong Course starting on Monday, Sept 14 2009; there is also a Bellingham Wild Goose Qigong Club First 64 course. This form is a sporty, sophisticated movement pattern that take you all over the floor. It is fun and intricate, with many twists and turns and stretches and stepping and flapping and hand shimmering.

I will be teaching the First 64 on alternating weeks throughout the fall.

In the Cliff Mass Weather Blog are some life-saving ideas about how to survive a lightning storm if caught out in the open. Basically, get away from any tall objects, including trees and hills. Then crouch down and cover your ears.

I’ve done healing work with people who have been struck by lightning. Their bodies tend to be super-over-sensitive to any input and easily go into chaos instead of integration. It can be difficult to fully heal from even a peripheral lightning strike. I suggest avoiding lighting if it arises above you.

The Lightning Crouch position shown on the Cliff Mass blog post is remarkably similar to a to move in Wild Goose Qigong called “Return Qi and Fall Asleep. ” This is the penultimate move of the major form, The First 64. I’m not sure of the significance of this. I do know that Wild Goose Qigong was developed in the high Kunlun Mountains of Western China–where presumably there were many storms.

Applied Knowledge Leads to Health and Power

Over my years of practicing, observing and reading about Qigong I have often observed that Qigong and Tai Chi are difficult for beginners to understand. Many forms are simply too advanced or unusual for the average Westerner to grok.

The underlying methodologies are often hidden to the uninitiated, and often not even spoken of.

Knowing what you are doing, what you are trying to accomplish, why you are doing that and how to go about it are crucial to getting the greatest benefit from your practice.

Cracking the Qigong Code

I want to crack open the secretiveness and confusing-ness; to make the subtle motions and sublime notions of Qigong come to the light of easy awareness. Read the rest of this entry »

There is a famous (in China) Wild Goose Qigong form called the First 64. It takes 5 to 6 minutes to go through this long form-not much time out of any given day. I wanted to practice it everyday to deepen my connection to it, memorize it my muscles and bones, and refine my performance of it. I also wanted the benefits that comes with practicing it- the flexibility, back strength, thigh strength, energization, etc., etc.

Commit to Qigong

I decided to commit to a daily practice for 100 days. This is called a 100-day discipline. It is astonishing how difficult it can be to just do something everyday. Read the rest of this entry »

Yesterday, in the “8-Pulling Waist” Qigong workshop, the topic of practicing came up. It almost always does come up, and should. Qigong, for all it’s barrels-full of benefits, isn’t much good to you if you don’t practice. Over and over I have heard from students how difficult it is for them to keep up a practice, despite their initial enthusiasms.

Practice is the First Principle

The first principle of qigong, as I see it, is to practice. More fully, the principle is: Read the rest of this entry »

“8-Pulling Waist”

Taught be Robert B. Bates, DC, MMQ

Date:                      Sunday, April 5, 2009
Time:                     10:00 to 2:00
Cost:                      $60
Location:               Robert Bates’ Healing Space
Street:                   1095 E. Axton Road
Near:                      Bellingham, WA 98226
To Sign Up:           Contact Robert

wild-goose-8-pullling-waist-PDF

Have (Moderately Intricate) Fun

8-Pulling Waist (strange name, I know) is, for Wild Goose Qigong, a simple form. It is a set with a number of fun movements to play with. 8-Pulling Waist consists of 16 moves that take less than two minutes to perform. Some people like to do the form three times in a row for greater effect. Read the rest of this entry »

Three Days of Refinement

I just spent three days with Paul Li, a Doctor of Chinese Medicine and a Qigong master from San Francisco. Paul has been studying and practicing Wild Goose Qigong since 1978, shortly after it became public in China. Before this time, the system was completely, utterly, unknown. It wasn’t even known to exist by anybody except the legacy holder, it was so secret. Wild Goose Qigong is a vigorous, involved, complex Qigong that has an immense number of different types of moves. For those of us that like intricacy and variety, it is a fun system to practice.

Bellingham Wild Goose Qigong Club Read the rest of this entry »