autpaxautbellum (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
autpaxautbellum) wrote2021-02-20 07:02 am
autpaxautbellum) wrote2021-02-20 07:02 am
The sun and the moon
Taoism has a deep connection with nature - from one point of view, it is simply a philosophy and practice of bringing oneself in harmony with nature. Though tai chi might be considered a form of applied Taoism, our school seldom practiced outside. The times we did were out of expediency, a lot of room is needed to work with spears. The school had kind of an elitist attitude about this, thinking that people only practice outside when they lack a school or place to go train. There may be an element of truth in this, but it seemed a rigid attitude for an art form emphasizing flexibility.
The one exception I can think of was in regards to chi gung. Steve mentioned on a couple occasions that the ideal setting for little sky circle was halfway up the south side of a mountain, at dawn. There are not many mountains near me, so I have has few opportunities to try this. Also, as mentioned earlier, chi gung was.. not my favorite sort of training at that time.
As the reader may know, that attitude has been changing recently, as I’m beginning to see real value and practical application. So I was fascinated by the practice of solar and lunar etheric charging mentioned in the Paths of Wisdom book. These exercises are done outside, breathing in slowly, drawing in the energy of the sun / moon, then circulating it through the body. This was immediately attractive to me and I’ve been putting it into use. There seems to be some benefit even on cloudy days, but yesterday I was able to get a few rays of actual sunlight and I felt a great deal of warm positive energy afterwards, which was appreciated over the course of a busy and challenging day.
The lunar charging has a different feeling, cooler and more subtle. One feels not so much energized, but full of possibilities, or so I grok. I have been doing these practices in the woods and fields across the street. Most commonly partway up the hill near the oak, but sometimes in other spots like the ridge and the valley. The reverse breathing seems to work well with this, creating a kind of concavity on the inbreath that seems receptive to the rays. The Dogsuit seems bemused by these actions.
The book mentions that one should do solar charging before 10am and lunar before 10pm. I found this interesting as Steve had made the point that doing chi gung in full sun could overdo things and even cause sudden sunburn, so that could be a basis for the 10am guidance. However the 10pm guidance remains mysterious, as it bears no relationship to where the moon is in the sky.
Like many modern folks, I’ve historically paid little attention to the lunar phases and movement. Doing so has been an unexpected pleasure. It brings a sense of mystery and also peace... a sense of being a simple inhabitant of a living planet.
——————————
Update:
Mr.Greer was kind enough to answer my question on the 10pm time. He was not aware of the reasoning behind this, and his current recommendation in each case would be to do the exercise when the sun / moon is rising.
I'm still trying to internalize the movements of the moon, but I believe that raises the interesting possibility of doing both etheric exercises one-after-the-other (given the appropriate time of month). Seems worth trying at least once.
That said, I have found in my experience thus far that I prefer to do the the lunar exercise at night. There is something about bathing in the pure moonlight and being surrounded by the moonshadows that has a distinct and coolly energizing flavor which I have found absent during the light of day.
Form notes:
- don’t move forward too soon in grasp birds tail, coordinate with the extension of the fingertips - and don’t stay forward. Think of a curve where you move forward to the point of full extension then begin to retreat as the motion exhausts.
- need better coordination, more power, in lotus kicks. Maybe consider adding them to the morning exercise routine?
- lean back and kick.. too much tension in the right foot.
The one exception I can think of was in regards to chi gung. Steve mentioned on a couple occasions that the ideal setting for little sky circle was halfway up the south side of a mountain, at dawn. There are not many mountains near me, so I have has few opportunities to try this. Also, as mentioned earlier, chi gung was.. not my favorite sort of training at that time.
As the reader may know, that attitude has been changing recently, as I’m beginning to see real value and practical application. So I was fascinated by the practice of solar and lunar etheric charging mentioned in the Paths of Wisdom book. These exercises are done outside, breathing in slowly, drawing in the energy of the sun / moon, then circulating it through the body. This was immediately attractive to me and I’ve been putting it into use. There seems to be some benefit even on cloudy days, but yesterday I was able to get a few rays of actual sunlight and I felt a great deal of warm positive energy afterwards, which was appreciated over the course of a busy and challenging day.
The lunar charging has a different feeling, cooler and more subtle. One feels not so much energized, but full of possibilities, or so I grok. I have been doing these practices in the woods and fields across the street. Most commonly partway up the hill near the oak, but sometimes in other spots like the ridge and the valley. The reverse breathing seems to work well with this, creating a kind of concavity on the inbreath that seems receptive to the rays. The Dogsuit seems bemused by these actions.
The book mentions that one should do solar charging before 10am and lunar before 10pm. I found this interesting as Steve had made the point that doing chi gung in full sun could overdo things and even cause sudden sunburn, so that could be a basis for the 10am guidance. However the 10pm guidance remains mysterious, as it bears no relationship to where the moon is in the sky.
Like many modern folks, I’ve historically paid little attention to the lunar phases and movement. Doing so has been an unexpected pleasure. It brings a sense of mystery and also peace... a sense of being a simple inhabitant of a living planet.
——————————
Update:
Mr.Greer was kind enough to answer my question on the 10pm time. He was not aware of the reasoning behind this, and his current recommendation in each case would be to do the exercise when the sun / moon is rising.
I'm still trying to internalize the movements of the moon, but I believe that raises the interesting possibility of doing both etheric exercises one-after-the-other (given the appropriate time of month). Seems worth trying at least once.
That said, I have found in my experience thus far that I prefer to do the the lunar exercise at night. There is something about bathing in the pure moonlight and being surrounded by the moonshadows that has a distinct and coolly energizing flavor which I have found absent during the light of day.
Form notes:
- don’t move forward too soon in grasp birds tail, coordinate with the extension of the fingertips - and don’t stay forward. Think of a curve where you move forward to the point of full extension then begin to retreat as the motion exhausts.
- need better coordination, more power, in lotus kicks. Maybe consider adding them to the morning exercise routine?
- lean back and kick.. too much tension in the right foot.