Nei Gong Notes, February 8, 2022

Not a lot to say about Nei Gong this week. The lesson was titled “Full Moon Practice”, and I assumed it would be something that I didn’t care about, but actually I liked it: it was about a seated practice for opening up the Chong Mai, and it felt pretty interesting even when practicing it this week when the moon isn’t full. Damo says that it’s more effective right around the full moon, and that you feel some of that effect even doing it at home during the day (but you get more when doing it outside at night in view of the moon); honestly, I’m dubious about that sort of linkage, but I’ll be glad enough to have an excuse to do this practice a couple of times a month, so I’ll probably follow that recommendation anyways.

Other than that, I probably did the least amount of Nei Gong practice this past week that I have over the last couple of months; partly because of a dentist appointment last Wednesday, but also I’ve just been more tired than I would like. Though I have sometimes been doing a second seated practice even on non Wednesdays/Fridays, because the practice from the previous week seemed important and it only takes 15 minutes.

Tai Chi went well, though. I’m continuing to feel my Dantian as being more present, and feeling connections from it to other parts of my body, so I think I’m finally starting to understand this whole Silk Reeling concept. And I think I’ve figured out some things as well. In the step forward in Jing Gang that I’ve been thinking about over the last month or so, I think my perception of a symptom last week was right but the fix wasn’t, and my fix from a few weeks back also wasn’t right: it’s not so much that I should close my left Kua, but instead I should open up my right Kua. That way, I get in the correct position before stepping, and I feel a lot more stable. And in Oblique Posture, I think that, when coming up while opening my arms, I should pivot my body from lower down than I had been, closer to the pelvis instead of the middle of the back. That way, my tailbone naturally goes under the body, instead of requiring me to tuck it after the fact.

We’ve started the Hunyuan 48 form; unsurprisingly, the beginning is just like the beginning of the Hunyuan Dao form. I’m glad we’re doing that, it’s an interesting experience, much more flowy. And I’m also enjoying the spear, it feels fun in a way that’s different from the other weapons forms that I’ve learned.