by Alisa Joaquin
A personal account of the Tai Chi, Qi Gung, & Taoist Meditation Workshop held at the Omega Institute with David Carradine from October 6-8, 2000
Arnold then asked if there were any other sensations, and one person responded with wobbly legs. He smiled at that and then shared what his Shaolin sifu said about that. "That's a washout of the old strength." He then said that when you feel that wobbliness, if you do not feel fatigued in your muscles, that's more energetic and you are starting to feel the connectedness through the leg channels. He went on to say that some would say that when they are doing their exercises, they might not find their center. He went on to say that you are always trying to find your center, that there are minute changes that are always occurring.
Another person had the sensation of heaviness. Arnold then went on to tell another story about his sifu. Arnold had gone to him and said that he wanted to be a sifu. His sifu said that Arnold should stand like this (sorry visual-Arnold was standing in the Wu Qi posture, but with hands raised to heart level and fingers pointing toward each other) for two hours each day. Arnold did that but nothing seemed to be happening until one day, he could feel his feet heat up and cool down. He went on to explain that even that was an energy exercise and that the longer you were to do that, the more the energy would flow.
There were more sensations that people were feeling, heating and cooling, movement, each he said were yin and yang experiences and that there is a natural rhythm that happens inside of you. He was saying that when you become keenly aware of this there are other aspects that start to open up. Part of the process of becoming more aware is that you discover this other aspect of yourself, or more like your true self, that small voice that lives inside you that Arnold's sifu called the Objective Observer or the sage voice. He said that you might want to do something and the sage voice might come up, questioning you on whether you want to really do that or not. He stated that there are a couple of aspects within the Tao, the Hun and the Po. The Hun represents the higher energies and the Po represents the more lower or courser energies of your being. He stated that when you become more aware of these energies, you start to become aware of this interplay between the Hun and the Po. He stated that in the Hun there are three facets and in the Po there are seven. The Po energies outnumber the Hun energies and that in order to strengthen the higher energies, you must cultivate them through this process so they will have control over the Po. Arnold asked if anyone had seen the statue of Lao Tzu, the old man riding on a water buffalo. He stated that represented the sage having conquered his courser self. He has taken his Hun, his higher self and he is now riding on top of the Po. The objective observer self is like a good friend, watching out for you. It's connected to the divine.
Someone asked about why you keep your tongue to the roof of your mouth behind the teeth. Arnold stated that you have two channels that run through the body that are naturally connected, a yin and yang channel. The master yang channel goes from the perineum that goes through the gates all the way through the top of the head and then to the roof of the mouth. The tongue is called the upper bridge. When you connect it there on the fire point (placing it to the roof of the mouth) you are more likely to feel and be more sensitive to the energy. What happens is you want to be able to get the energy flowing going through the tongue and going through the conception channel which is the master yin channel that is connected by the sphincter. By keeping the sphincter closed, just gently, you are bridging the upper and lower areas and you have a connection of the master yin and yang channels where energy can flow. That will feed into all the internal organs. Arnold's Shaolin teacher who told him to stand like that (in Wu Qi posture in regards to becoming a sifu) said it's the only meditation you need. He said just breath from the front and back (continuing this meditation for as long as possible). Arnold then said after three weeks, he could feel the energy moving. He then demonstrated on one person, a woman. She could feel a quivering. It was very strong. Arnold went on to say that it was a very real thing. He thought at first that his teacher was pulling his leg, but he realized that it was real. He stated that when it starts to emanate from you, you can use it for healing I thought of my own ability to focus my energy for relieving pain in others through my hands. I have been looking for a means to understand what it is that I do. I realized at that moment, this might be a way. I may have been doing a form of Qi Gung long before I ever knew what to call it.
Arnold went on to say that he does medical Qi Gung. He said there were certain treatments that you can do to help in regards to disease, and for correcting imbalances and dysfunction and going on to say that this is done through bodywork therapy. Sometimes you would touch and other times you would not touch.
Someone then asked if there were any differences in the energy used in Qi Gung and Reiki. Arnold stated that the energy was the same, but only the techniques were different. Chinese Medicine uses not only Qi energy, but they use acupuncture and herbs. His training took four to five years. He also mentioned that there were also teaching differences. In Chinese medicine, the teacher tells you what you need, but requires that you cultivate that energy within yourself. While Reiki teachers try to pass on the energy to their students. I think the Chinese come from a perspective that you already have that energy in you, you just need to build and cultivate it for your own use.
Someone asked another question regarding the reason for putting the tongue to the roof of the mouth and regards to the breathing. He did not understand why that had to be done. And Arnold once again explained it in this way. "It is so that there will be a connection of the energy. As you practice feeling the microcosmic orbit by connecting the energy flow, the line of that energy gets thicker and stronger. After a time, you not only feel it in the channels, it will fill an entire area within the body. When that energy is strong, even if you do not have your tongue to the roof of your mouth, the energy is going to flow." He stated that breathing in and out through the mouth does not matter so much, the energy is still going to flow.
Arnold took one final question. One woman asked about the yin and yang, which was which. He stated that it really doesn't matter. That one is more active and the other is more passive. He stated that if you look around it's easy to classify. Yang is more male and more active. Yin is more female and more passive. Day and night, for instance. Everything is more active during the day and at night, everything slows down. Action vs stillness. The idea is to recognize there are opposite polarities, but that nothing is totally yang or totally yin (think of the symbol of the Tao). He stated that if you take something to it's extreme, then the opposite will begin to naturally happen bringing everything back into balance. Think of a pendulum. When that pendulum swings as far as it's going to go in one direction, it will swing back to the opposite direction. He used the analogy of people working too hard as well.
Arnold then guided us through another exercise session and meditation going through each of the exercises. This was so relaxing. It felt really good. These cleansing exercises really do work to release tension in the body. I was doing some of these exercises the other day through David Carradine's Chi Gung tape. There are some of these, but there are different ones that are used for cleansing. For instance, the trembling horse was not used on the tape, but used at Omega. (While listening to the tape, I could catch in the background that someone had just come through the door. They are near the back of the room where the taping equipment is located. It must be the other instructors and David Nakahara. They are whispering in the background, but I cannot catch any words.) Arnold took us through the "holding the ball" exercise from the Wu Qi posture, having us feel the energy between our palms. (This particular exercise of holding the ball is different than what is done in the long Yang form of Tai Chi. In this exercise, you imagine that you are holding a ball between the your hands with your fingers curled toward each other.) I can feel this VERY strongly and have felt it for many years. I usually will face my palms toward each other and focus in this way, feeling the energy between my palms before I do a healing. I had no idea at the time when I did this that it had a martial aspect until three years ago when I started doing Qi Gung.
After we went through our exercises, Arnold went through some schedule changes, letting us know that there were two sections that had been added, an evening session on Saturday and one in the afternoon on Sunday. Some people were actually taking two workshops that weekend and had to choose. Arnold then introduced the other speakers. David Nakahara, though he was there, he did not speak much. He also arranged for this workshop to take place. He then introduced Rob Moses. Earlier I had seen the instructors entering through one of the side doors. I, at first did not pay much attention to the names, but then it dawned on me that the guy looked familiar. I watched for a moment, and then got a glimpse of the back of the jacket he was wearing. He at least had worked on Kung Fu: The Legend Continues.
Slowly realization hit me and I knew who he was. I am certain many of you will recognize him. Next to Caine, he would be one Shaolin that I certainly would want to have in a dragon's wing. Plus, he certainly would give Peter a hard time. Writing a story that would contain him would be an interesting challenge, such as what brought him to the temple and how did he become involved with Master Ping Hai and Caine. Did I give you enough clues as to his identity? Yes, it is our venerable Master Kahn.
Rob Moses
Rob is an interesting person. He has done Kung Fu for more than 30 years. He teaches the Praying Mantis Style and even has invented his own teaching methods, which will be covered on day two. He and David have been friends for a long time. Rob has been in a few independent films since KF:TLC, but his primary job came as a surprise. He is a carpenter.
He then introduced Heidi Singh, who is a Buddhist Minister (I mentioned her earlier). David Nakahara then mentioned the fact that David Carradine would be at Omega tomorrow (Saturday) because David was filming a television show that day and he would be flying out that night (Friday). We then broke up after that. We actually spoke with Rob Moses briefly, talking about plane delays. He also mentioned that when David talked to him about coming to Omega, he didn't take him seriously at first, but he ended up coming anyway, surprising himself. He asked us what it was like and we told him that it was a wonderful experience to be here and that last year went great. He said that he was looking forward to it and he had his own ideas about Chi to share with the group.
We then spoke with Arnold Tayam and I shared with him about my healing ability. He really thought that was great that I could do that.
On our way out, we then said goodnight to Rob Moses. I told him to get some rest and he said, "I will."
Later Helen told me that three people came up to her. They had recognized both of us from having seen my website and read my Omega account from last year. Helen told me that one of the people she spoke to (a guy named Mike) said he had read my piece at least three or four times and decided to come and check things out all because of what I had written. I am humbled by that and I am also curious to know how many more people came because of that piece. Helen and I then went to the cafe and bought a couple of cookies and some tea and coffee and headed back to our cabin and talked some more. Tomorrow was going to be an interesting day.
End of Day One
Alisa Joaquin Copyright@2000.
This personal account cannot be reprinted or sold in any other form without strict
permission from the author. It is being distributed here solely for your enjoyment.
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