Nei Gong Notes, August 29, 2023

I forgot to mention in last week’s post that I’d watched the Ping Heng Gong video in the previous week: it was actually the next one for me to watch when I stopped going through new videos in the class while trying to work on MCO stuff and then getting my energy levels in order, but I figured that being outside more would probably do me good now. Unfortunately, the Qi Gong sequence that it comes with won’t work for me, so I’ll have to come back to it; I did do some Qi Gong in a grove of redwoods in a park that week, and I was glad I did that. Probably still too much people stuff around to really fit Damo’s recommendations there, though? But being near those redwood trees really did feel nice; not necessarily nice in an energetic way, but also I’m willing to believe that enormous redwood trees are more powerful than a small grouping of normal trees in a park.

Anyways, I went to see the doctor last Wednesday, and things are healing. So I got to switch to a smaller brace; it leaves all of my fingers free, which is a help both for daily life and for internal arts. I’ll go back again after four more weeks; after that they’ll take an X-ray and, if it looks good, the splint will be optional. I still won’t be completely healed after that, but most of the way, things might be back to normal after another month? (Good timing, I should be fine for Rick’s rescheduled course in November.)

I can do significantly more with the brace; not everything, though, there’s a metal piece that goes from my arm to the back of my hand. So I can’t bend my wrist much; things that actively have me bend my wrist are completely out (e.g. no lotus mudra, so I still can’t do the Ping Heng Gong sequence, and no Nei Gong Wu Ji), but even moves that involve more gentle curves to my wrist feel unnaturally forced.

Still, I can do the Water and Earth Hui Chuns, which is great; that certainly felt good. And I tried going through the Tai Chi first form; not a performance that I was proud of, but I could do it well enough for me to be glad that I’d done that. So I went to Tai Chi class on Saturday; Silk Reeling was mostly fine (though probably slightly iffier than the form), and the Dao was fine too.

Having said that, I probably moved around my hand forcefully a little too much, because my hand was aching after that more than it had in a while? So I went home and iced things up; it felt basically fine after that, though I’m feeling slight aches even this week? So I should probably take it easy; I think I’ll still try to do a bit of Tai Chi tomorrow and/or Friday, but if things feel worse after that, then I’ll probably skip class on Saturday, and otherwise I’ll probably go but I’ll try to take it easier.

Also, one day after getting the brace off, when I was doing Tai Ji Wu Ji, I felt something vibrating in my left wrist; I wonder if some stagnation was clearing out there?

Other than the improved hand situation, it hasn’t been 100% the best week: my sleep has been off, for puppy-related reasons. So, honestly, on many days my practice has looked like it did before I got the new brace. I’m working on that, hopefully it will improve soon… (And she’s a very good puppy; but she is still a puppy.)