Nei Gong Notes, December 16, 2025
This week’s lesson: a Nei Gong one on Absorbing to Breath. Weirdly basic (at least at a technique level) – it was basically taking the previous week’s video and saying to add in reverse breathing, with some technique advice for reverse breathing, but the technique advice was stuff we’d seen a year or so ago? I did get pretty absorbed in while following the instructions, though… And I also watched the Qi Building Deeper Aspects video; nothing super striking though.
Wednesday: 90m Wu Ji; first time in ages that it’s been that long, body was nicely connected, a little easier putting my mind in my Dantian than it used to be? (I was also noticing that when doing the lesson on Tuesday night.) Don’t get me wrong, though, it still pops out a ton. And things opened up a bit 75 minutes in, especially in my arms. And 40m Dantian Gong.
Thursday: 20m Taiji Hook Punch, and I went through the 37 form and the Chen long weapon forms. My TCM doctor said I was doing worse on Thursday than when he saw me on Wednesday, and he thought the long Wu Ji session might have been a factor. 25m Wu Ji / Ji Ben 1 combo. I started to rewatch the Subtle Body video but I was too sleepy so I decided to take a nap.
Friday: Nothing! Feeling a little off so I slept in and my wife and I were doing things together all afternoon / evening. I wonder if the Wu Ji stressed me too much and got me sick or if it purged something out in a useful way or if it was irrelevant to this and I’d just picked up the fringes of a cold from something else I did on Tuesday or Wednesday.
Saturday; 20m Zhan Zhuang, 10m Taiji Wu Ji, my regular Chen class.
Sunday: 20m Three Circles, the monthly advanced Chen class. And I rewatched the Subtle Body video.
Monday: The Sink to Open Zoom Informal Session. Really interesting; I feel like it helped my understanding of / ability to sink the flesh off the bones, and it was not only opening but also building connectivity in interesting ways. In one Wu Ji in particular I felt connectivity up my arms much more broadly than I normally do – normally it’s like connectivity across cables but that time it was more like connectivity along a sheath. Also one small thing: in the Water Hui Chun he had us angle our hands in a bit when they were above the diaphragm, and that helped with my connectivity, I should do that more.
Tuesday: 20m each WSSF 3 and Taiji Hook Punch. And I went through the Chen sword forms, the 37 form, and the Xinjia first form. And I went through the recording of Rick’s December 10 Zoom class; I liked how I got absorbed while going through that.
Not sure how much I’ll do the next couple of weeks – I’m visiting my brother’s family before Christmas, and then my kid will be here until New Year’s. So my practice will be sporadic; I’m definitely not watching a lesson this week (though that’s actually good timing because the Taiji Hook Punch video includes a different punch at the end which I haven’t been doing, so if I have time to do something like that I can do that second one), we’ll see if I watch a lesson next week but I suspect I’ll skip then too.