Exploration of Yin and Yang in the Qi Dao Movement Practice

When learning the basic Qi Dao movements, you will learn to use both hands, one performing the primary movement and the other performing the secondary movement. Qi Dao respects the philosophical principles of Yin and Yang common in Oriental schools of thought, which oppose as well as complement and balance each other. Like a magnet where the positive and negative poles cannot exist without each other, Yin and Yang movements need to work together to balance and synchronize the body and its energy field. In each spatial plane of movement, such as the mid-sagittal (Centerline), frontal (vertical) and transverse (horizontal) planes, there are directions having Yin or Yang qualities.

Yin movements represent the feminine aspect of universal energy flowing forward, downward and inward, each viewed in relation to one’s center. Yang movements represent the masculine aspect of universal energy flowing backward, outward and upward, again viewed in relation to one’s center. It is interesting to note that Western medical terminology uses the identical categories of direction: anterior – forward, inferior – downward, interior – inward, posterior – backward, exterior – outward and superior – upward.

The basic directional movements of Qi Dao are paired up in each of the spatial dimensions. When one arm performs a primary movement, the opposite arm makes a secondary movement to provide counter-balance. By definition, primary movement is a movement that coincides with the direction of the motion of the body’s center of mass. The power of the primary movement does not come from the tension of the arm muscles, but from the momentum of the whole body. By definition, secondary movement is usually the movement of the opposite arm in reverse. Most secondary movements have no inherent power because they move in the direction opposite to the momentum of the body.

Forward Push, Closing and Downward Press in this context require transverse motion of the legs – stepping towards the target with the opposite foot from the arm making the primary movement and bringing the weight on the front foot. Backward Pull, Opening and Upper Cut, on the other hand, usually require homolateral motion of the legs – stepping towards the target with the foot on the same side of the body as the arm making the primary movement. Imagine practicing these movements as if you are practicing Tai Chi – slowly and effortlessly. It will make your practice more meditative and pleasant. Qi Dao teaches that only harmonious steps can lead you to harmonious goals.

About the Author

Lama Somananda Tantrapa is the holder of the lineage of Qi Dao that has been fostered in his clan for 27 generations since 1224 AD. He has over 30 years of experience in Qi Dao and other internal martial arts. After pioneering Qi Dao Coaching in 2000, he has provided wellness, peak performance and life coaching to hundreds of clients from all walks of life. His coaching has inspired many professional athletes, speakers, dancers, singers, writers and actors to open up to the infinite source of power that exists within everyone.

Lama Tantrapa is the author of the bestselling book and DVD entitled “Qi Dao – Tibetan Shamanic Qigong.” Being an avid speaker and presenter, he appeared on many radio and TV programs in the US, Guam and abroad. For more information about Qi Dao Coaching, workshops, retreats, and long-distance learning opportunities, visit www.qidao.org.

Ask the Qi Dao Master… How to survive the current crisis?

Let me share with you today one of the most peculiar aspects of the Qi Dao teachings: most of us live in a world of self-fulfilling prophesies. Whatever we focus our attention on gets stronger, or as the Chinese put it, “Yi Dao Qi Dao,” where awareness goes – energy flows. If we direct all our thoughts towards some undesirable events we are afraid of happening in the future, so to speak, daydreaming about the worst case scenarios that we keep rehearsing over and over in the head, guess what we are most likely going to experience? That’s right; we are going to manifest exactly those scenarios we dread so much!

At this point, you may be inclined to ask a million dollar question: What are we supposed to do now… think only nice thoughts about the economy and hope for the best? Well, believe me; I am far from proposing to see the world through rose-colored glasses. Just like I ask my Qi Dao Coaching clients, I would suggest that you experiment with switching from thinking about the undesirable scenarios to daydreaming about something you resonate with. Just remember that any thinking about the future by definition falls under the category of daydreaming; therefore, you have total freedom to dream up anything you resonate with. Once you actually come up with a scenario that is more acceptable and reasonably realistic, you may ask yourself the following question: How would I need to be in order to live my dream? It does not really matter how far you may be now from the way you need to be to manifest your dream. As long as you are capable of maintaining your vision of yourself being that way – be it stronger, smarter, more creative or simply calmer – you are actually tuning into the frequency of the energy of consciousness associated with that state. Generally speaking, the longer you maintain your focus on a certain state, the more of the energy associated with it will flow through you into every action you take in your daily life.

Now, let’s look at the economy of this country in general for a moment. As any economist would concur, the flow of money keeps the market strong, while any slowing of such flow weakens it. If people and companies do not spend money or circulate goods, the market freezes, mainly because of the psychological reservation associated with spending money when credit is not available. The worst case scenario can become a self-fulfilling prophesy on a national scale as well. So, what is the way to manifest a different, more exciting future? We need to release the grip of fear and tune into another, happier way of thinking. Since there is no way to make others think more positively, we must show an example of such thinking in action. As it were, we have to “walk the talk” in order to influence others.

To put my money where the mouth is, I am opening up my schedule to accommodate the first ten Qi Dao newsletter subscribers interested in receiving a free coaching session from me directly. If there are more than ten applicants, up to twenty more people will be able to receive Qi Dao Coaching on a sliding scale until the end of this year. Right now, Academy of Qi Dao is also willing to provide financing to ten additional students who exhibit a strong desire to enroll in the Basic Qi Dao Practitioner Certification Program. For more information or to schedule an appointment, please email academy@qidao.org today.

What is Enlightenment?

My students and readers often ask me why I believe that enlightenment is a process rather than a destination. To find the answer to this question, we need to recall one the main tenets of Buddhism – the principle of impermanence. The historical Buddha Shakyamuni realized, as probably did many other more or less enlightened beings before and after him, that change is the most constant thing in this universe. Nothing exists forever or even remains permanent. This applies to enlightenment too, since we all have a tendency to fall asleep even after the most profound awakenings. If the enlightened state is just as impermanent as anything else, then it makes much better sense to speak of enlightenment not as a state but as a process of awakening, which may go through certain phases and be as cyclical as most other natural phenomena.

A Mahayana approach to enlightenment – the path of Bodhisattva – also suggests that even one thoroughly ready to experience enlightenment may choose to remain in the world of Sansara to fulfill the vow of enlightening all the sentient beings. The Bodhisattva may be committed to this vow not only out of compassion, but also out of recognition of the dream-like nature of reality. As in a dream, where all dream characters are essentially products of the dreaming mind of the dreamer, so in the life of the Bodhisattva, all sentient beings are dreamed up by the Bodhisattva’s consciousness. Therefore, that consciousness cannot claim to be fully awake if any of the dream characters are not awake reflecting those aspects of the consciousness that are asleep. Since every second bazillions of new sentient beings are being born and need to experience enlightenment moment by moment, the Bodhisattva must sooner or later realize that Nirvana is not to be sought somewhere outside of Sansara, but rather in the midst of it. (This is not my thesis - many Buddhist sutras suggest exactly this).

Now, from a practical perspective, can enlightenment be experienced more than once? What did Buddha do after he experienced it? Did he continue traveling the eight-fold path? If he already got all there was to get out of this path, he would not need to continue meditating and practicing anymore. Living an enlightened lifestyle is not only what one does after experiencing enlightenment, but also a journey allowing to experiencing it each and every step along the way. This is why I believe that enlightenment is the journey itself, not the destination.

Dream Being - the missing link between The Secret and The Power of Now

Let me share a bit of my understanding of the connection between The Secret and The Power of Now. Of course, this is going to be a watered down version of my teachings, because of the space limitations here. In my recent book Qi Dao - Tibetan Shamanic Qigong, I introduced my translation into English of an interesting term that should help us out on our quest. The term is Dream Being, which may be both a noun and a verb. As a noun, it is synonymous to the Dao or the Source of the dream called life. Some may call Dream Being the Creator, although the dreamer of the dream and the world of the dream are not separate essentially, because everything in the dream is a projection of the dreamer’s consciousness. Therefore, the Creator and the totality of Creation are one. Our dream called life just appears to have all kinds of appearances of things and events made of nothing else than pure energy… that is why I call it a dream. Isn’t everything in a dream made of nothing else but the energy of consciousness that we tend to perceive as though is has some recognizable forms and names?

The process of manifestation of the dream is something happening moment by moment, which you can observe when your attention is focused on the present moment. Now is the only time when the process of manifestation occurs. So far we have been going hand in hand with The Power of Now. If we are interested in learning more about manifestation, the way to know anything about it requires being present in the dream. This is what I call Dream Being as a verb, which is also synonymous with being lucid in the dream. The moment you realize that you are dreaming, you may also realize that manipulating the world of dreaming is not what Dream Being is about, since it is not the ego that is the source of the dreams, but a much deeper aspect of your Being that is the deeper aspect of everyone of us, our common true nature. If you recognize that trying to manipulate the flow or struggle with it is the easiest way to turn the dream into a nightmare, you are ready to just enjoy being in dreaming. Dream Being as a verb means being in the flow of your dreaming, surfing the wave of manifestation as it were. When you experience Dream Being as such state (or process) of being in the flow, you are literally living your dreams! There is nothing that you strive to manifest or obtain, because you are enjoying the ride on the wave of manifestation empowered up by much greater power than your ego.

I consider this pretty close to essence of the teachings presented in The Secret, albeit the presenters may not fully aware of the intricacies of their own teachings. We tend to teach whatever we need to learn the most, do we not? I am also open to any suggestions and critiques, as I would like to learn how to share this teaching well in English, which is my third language.

Please check out my recent book The Art of Being in the Flow for more information on the basics of Qi Dao, my family style of Tibetan Shamanic Qigong and my teachings of Dream Yoga.

About the author

Lama Somananda Tantrapa is the holder of the lineage of Qi Dao that has been fostered in his clan for 27 generations since 1224 AD. He has over 30 years of experience in Qi Dao and other internal martial arts. After pioneering Qi Dao Coaching in 2000, he has provided wellness, peak performance and life coaching to hundreds of clients from all walks of life. His coaching has inspired many professional athletes, speakers, dancers, singers, writers and actors to open up to the infinite source of power that exists within everyone.

Lama Tantrapa authored a bestselling book and DVD entitled “Qi Dao – Tibetan Shamanic Qigong.” Being an avid speaker and presenter, he appeared on many radio and TV programs in the US, Guam and abroad. For more information about Qi Dao Coaching, workshops, retreats, and long-distance learning opportunities, visit www.qidao.org.

Free Tibet

In just 7 days over 1 million people have signed the petition supporting human rights and dialogue in Tibet - the fastest growing internet petition in history! After decades of injustice, the Tibetan people are crying out to the world for change, and the world is answering.

As China’s leaders decide whether to respond to Tibetan grievances with increased repression or dialog with the Dalai Lama, an International Day of Action has been declared for Monday, March 31st. In a few days, thousands of people in cities across the world will march to Chinese embassies and consulates, and stack hundreds of boxes containing our petition outside them. 1 million signatures makes a mountain of boxes - it’s a powerful way to deliver our message.

We have just four days left until the petition delivery, but by doubling our efforts we can to secure the support for this petition even larger - to 2 million signatures - in this short amount of time. Please use the link below to sign, if you haven’t already, and then forward this message to all your friends and family:

Please click here to sign this important petition.

The Chinese Communist Party hardliners are lashing out publicly at the Dalai Lama, but many Chinese people believe that dialog is the best hope for stability in Tibet and in China. Governments around the world have begun calling for dialog, and there are many hopeful signs that, if we can keep the pressure up, the Chinese authorities will agree.

China’s President Hu Jintao values his country’s international reputation, and he needs to hear from us that the “Made in China” brand and the upcoming Olympics in Beijing will succeed only if he chooses dialog over the Party hardliners’ repression. An avalanche of global people power is moving to get his attention. This petition recognizes the concerns of the Chinese leaders about riots and separatism that could lead to dangerous instability. It supports the position of the Dalai Lama, that the best path to stability and development for China lies through dialog and respect, not repression.

This is the most promising moment in decades to address the occupation of Tibet, but the media is already moving on to other news. We need to seize this moment with a massive statement of global support this Monday - for the next four days, let’s pull out all the stops for free Tibet.

Please click here to sign this important petition.

About the Author

Lama Somananda Tantrapa is the holder of the lineage of Qi Dao - Tibetan Shamanic Qigong - that has been fostered in his clan for 27 generations. He has over 30 years of experience in Qi Dao and other internal martial arts. He was primarily trained by his Grandfather who was the last Grandmaster of Qi Dao.

Before immigrating to America, he actively participated in peace marches and conferences in the former Soviet Union supporting the peace work of his spiritual mentor and friend Junsei Terasawa who aspired to build a Peace Pagoda in the center of Moscow, Russia. His initiatives dedicated to peace work and spiritual freedom were subjected to persecution in his homeland thus he received religious asylum in the United States in 1997.

Rinpoche is an author of a book on Qi Dao and a companion DVD, as well as Qi Dao Home Study Course. Being an avid speaker and presenter, he appeared on many radio and TV programs in the US, Guam and abroad. Visit us online at www.qidao.org.

ON MEDITATION

Meditation can be described as an experience of being in a state of mind that does not require any thinking to be aware of the experience. In most cases, if you think that you are meditating, by default, you are not meditating, because your mind is busy thinking. On the other hand, meditation is quite distinct from a deep sleep where you are completely unconscious of your experience. To the contrary, when meditating, you may experience much greater degrees of consciousness than the habitual level of awareness in your daily life. This is not unlike becoming lucid in a night-dream and realizing that you have never been so awake… even in your daily life.

Think about it: whatever you know about your live is based on your recollection of the facts and events of your life. Your knowledge about life in general is based on the same mechanism of memory that allows you to remember your dreams; that is why the line between the dreaming and waking states of consciousness quickly disappears under scrutiny. Moreover, few people would doubt nowadays that everything in this world is made of energy, just like everything in your dreams is made of nothing else than the energy of consciousness. The true nature of reality is one and the same in both of these worlds - the dream world and the world of daily life - suggesting that they actually are not two separate realities but one mystical universe, however strange or even weird things may appear in different parts of it. You might even say that the only distinction between the daily world and your dream world is in being able to tell that you were dreaming once you wake up, but you may not have such a wherewithal in your daily life… perhaps, until the dream called life is over and you wake up from it.

By following my teachings of Dream Yoga and regularly practicing these Qi Dao meditations, you will learn to recognize that you are dreaming during your dreams, which is called lucidity or lucid dreaming. Being lucid literally means knowing that you are dreaming while having a dream (it applies to both day- and night-dreams). It has many profound implications that directly link it to enlightenment. Indeed, being awake in the dream allows you to:

• Recognize that each and every one of the dream characters, objects and experiences in your dreams are products of your own dreaming consciousness
• Realize that all the qualities of your dream characters and the whole dream world reflect back to you those aspects of your consciousness that you don’t identify with
• Learn to identify not only with your own persona, but also with any other dream characters, since they are all the parts of the same Dream Being, which will lead you to a deep understanding of everything and everyone, as well as developing compassion
• Heal whatever ails you as well as any ailments of your dream characters by connecting to the unmanifest dreams hidden beneath the ailments and enabling those dormant aspects of your dreaming to manifest in the most harmonious fashion
• Demonstrate that your physical abilities, mental capacities and creativity are limited only by your own inhibitions, ignorance or self-limiting beliefs
• Know that fighting against the flow of dreaming is a sure way to transform any dream into a nightmare and promote further suffering
• Comprehend that being creative does not need to translate into manipulating anything in your dream, but rather into finding more creative ways to be in the flow of your dreaming
• Trust that the flow of your dreaming, however mysterious and unpredictable, comes from the source within you - the dreamer
• Expand your sense of identity from merely one of the dream characters to identifying with the dreamer, also referred to as Dream Being; on the grand scale, the creator and the creation are one - the entire universe is dreaming itself into existence.

Imagine now that you can translate all these qualities of consciousness into your daily life. That would be bona-fide enlightenment, wouldn’t it? As I wrote in my recently published book entitled Qi Dao - Tibetan Shamanic Qigong: The Art of Being in the Flow, ‘What I call enlightenment is being completely lucid and awake to the reality of the dream called life… realizing that the source of your individual dreams is the same as the mystical source of the big dream called life.’ This source is what I refer to as Dream Being, which is also the totality of this existence.

Discover the magic of Shamanic meditation as taught by Lama Somananda Tantrapa. This extraordinary audio CD will take you on a mystical journey of discovering your inner world, the world of lucid dreaming and spiritual adventure. In addition to the foundational methods in Dream Yoga and Bön – Tibetan Shamanism, this unique CD also includes the special meditation serving as a preparation for the Qi Dao Initiation into the practice of Empowerment.

A bonus feature, the self-healing practice from the first book in the Qi Dao trilogy, will help you transcend your own patterns of holding tension and become centered. You may enjoy this practice on your own although it is easier to learn and master with a practice partner or a Certified Qi Dao coach. Being centered is essential for developing greater sensitivity of subtle flows of Qi, which will enable you to be in the flow. Learning to be consistently centered may even lead you to receiving an Initiation into the Qi Dao tribe of spiritual adventurers.

Regularly practicing these meditations, you are destined to experience:

· Being accepting of and attentive to your life’s lessons

· Being present and never stuck in the head

· Being grounded, rooted and centered

· Being relaxed, natural and spontaneous

· Being awake in the dream called your daily life

· Being in the flow, in the right place and at the right time.

About the author

Lama Somananda Tantrapa is the holder of the lineage of Qi Dao that has been fostered in his clan for 27 generations since 1224 AD. He has over 30 years of experience in Qi Dao and other internal martial arts. After pioneering Qi Dao Coaching in 2000, he has provided wellness, peak performance and life coaching to hundreds of clients from all walks of life. His coaching has inspired many professional athletes, speakers, dancers, singers, writers and actors to open up to the infinite source of power that exists within everyone.

Lama Tantrapa authored the book and DVD entitled “Qi Dao – Tibetan Shamanic Qigong.” Being an avid speaker and presenter, he appeared on many radio and TV programs in the US, Guam and abroad. He currently serves on the NQA Board of Directors. For more information about Qi Dao Coaching, workshops, retreats, and long-distance learning opportunities, visit www.qidao.org.

MORE ON MEDITATION

The greatest manifestation of Qi Dao meditation is becoming an enlightened being – a fully awake Dream Being. You can not only dissolve the boundary between the worlds of dreaming and daily life but even your dream body will be able to merge with or separate from your physical body at will, which is the most guarded secret behind most of the psychic phenomena and Qigong mastery. This can be considered to be the fourth and final juncture of the Qi Dao journey of self-realization. Of course, after the most profound awakenings, we all tend to fall asleep again; hence enlightenment shouldn’t be viewed as a destination, but rather a process of becoming more and more awake all the time.

In order to be able to translate this kind of lucidity into your daily life, you can develop your awareness through the practice of lucid dreaming, which is the third stage on this Shamanic practice, also referred to as Dream Yoga. Being lucid in your night-dreams will empower you to discover the most extraordinary abilities: essentially, you will be able to experience anything you want, since you will be dreaming everything up. Do you feel like flying tonight? How about being able to visit other planets or galaxies? Would you like to be able to communicate with animals, plants or some otherworldly energy beings? And, of course, things like walking on water or shape-shifting would easily become common place frolics in your dreams.

Most psychologists know what you, as a spiritual explorer, will learn experientially: most of your dreams symbolically reflect your daily life. If you never question reality during the day as to whether you are dreaming, though, how often will you question reality of your dreams at night? That is right; most likely never! So, if you want to be lucid in your dreams, you ought to start asking yourself a question whether you are dreaming during the day, which constitutes the second stage of Qi Dao path of self-realization. During this step, you will be able to learn relating to everyone and everything as dream characters made of energy fields. You will also develop an attitude of being in the flow of the energy by finding harmony with it, without judging or manipulating it.

Obviously, not every beginner is immediately ready to surrender to the flow right away, that is why there is the first, preliminary step that you are about to take now, which will prepare you for the rest of your spiritual journey. As it were, the journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step.

The practice of Qi Dao meditation begins with certain preliminary practices that are specifically designed to prepare you for deeper, even more profound Dream Yoga practices presented in my advanced teachings. The sequence of these practices follows a natural progression of training although it may be altered if deemed necessary.

I always suggest enjoying these meditations in the appropriate set and setting. This means that a quiet and focused mindset is crucial for the success of your practice. No doubt, meditation will harmonize your mind, so the more you practice, the more meditative your mindset will become. A setting may be considered appropriate where you would not be distracted by external noises, smells, commotion, and other disturbances. With practice, you will find it possible to meditate in more challenging environments; believe it or not, I have to confess to having meditated in all kinds of places, including hospitals, airports, casinos, and even nightclubs. I also invite you to experiment with meditating at various times of the day to find out when you have the easiest time entering the Qigong state. Eventually, you will learn to seize every opportunity to enjoy being in the flow, thus bringing life into your meditation by bringing meditation into your daily life.

As with everything else in Qi Dao, meditation does not have to be done by the book. For instance, although I suggest certain sitting, standing, reclining, or dynamic meditation practices, you have the freedom of choice regarding your physical position and other aspects of practice. In order to stay free from poor postural habits, make sure that you try various poses and choose the ones that you resonate with. Many yogis are trained to sit in Padmasana (Lotus Pose) with the legs crossed in front of the body. Those who cannot twist their legs into this pose usually resort to a Half-lotus, or Quarter-lotus, which is much easier on the knee and hip joints. I personally prefer to sit in Zen Seiza – a kneeling position with both feet tucked under the buttocks with or without a sitting pillow called Zabuton. Let me bring your attention to some crucial details of sitting in any pose.

First, check your alignment of the spine, including the cervical spine – your neck. If you have a practice partner or anyone who could assist you with testing your sitting position, ask him or her to apply some consistent pressure on the top of your head to find out whether you rely on your bones or muscles to keep yourself upright. If just a slight pressure makes you fold or collapse, you may need to either improve your alignment by gently pulling upwards by the tips of your ears or switch to a different position altogether. If you pay a close attention to your body, you may notice the position of your head and even upper torso changing slightly when you pull upwards by your ears. Your sternum may lift upwards opening up your chest and letting you breath become deeper and easier. You may even have a sigh or release or start yawning, which simply means that your diaphragm has let go of tension offering your body an opportunity to breathe fully and feel more alive.

You can also ask your partner to push you slowly from the front, back or either side in order to test your overall stability when sitting. You may be quite surprised by the degree of influence that the position of your hands can have on your stability. Simply compare the results of the pushing tests with your palms facing up versus the palms down. I invite you to experiment with all of these and other ways to sit in order to discover the way that allows you to be especially relaxed and present – the way you resonate with. Because your body and mind are just different aspects of one and the same organism, you can experience mental relaxation much easier when you are physically relaxed and vice versa.

About the Author

Lama Somananda Tantrapa is the holder of the lineage of Qi Dao that has been fostered in his clan for 27 generations since 1224 AD. He has over 30 years of experience in Qi Dao and other internal martial arts. He was primarily trained by his Grandfather who was the last Grandmaster of this style of Tibetan Shamanic Qigong. In addition to being recognized as an incarnate Bön lama, ordained as a Buddhist monk and initiated into Subud spiritual brotherhood, Rinpoche holds a degree in Cultural Anthropology and certifications in Qigong, Hypnosis and NLP.

Affectionately addressed by his students as Rinpoche, Lama Tantrapa’s initiatives dedicated to peace work and spiritual freedom were subjected to persecution in his homeland thus he received religious asylum in the United States in 1997. His unique background is complex enough to include serving in the Soviet Army’s Special Forces, being kidnapped in the Ukraine and going through several near-death experiences.

Rinpoche’s coaching has inspired many professional athletes, speakers, dancers, singers, writers and actors to open up to the infinite source of intuition that exists within everyone. After pioneering Qi Dao coaching in 2000, he has provided wellness, peak performance and life coaching to hundreds of clients of all ages from all walks of life. For years, he operated Portland Qigong Clinic – one of just a handful of Qigong clinics in the United States at that time. He also founded Academy of Qi Dao – the first and only Qigong School in Guam.

Rinpoche is an author of numerous articles as well as multimedia training materials. Being an avid speaker and presenter, he appeared on many radio and TV programs in the US, Guam and abroad. He is the executive producer and host of his own Internet Radio show “The Secret of Qigong Masters.” He currently serves on the Board of Directors of the USA National Qigong (Chi Kung) Association.

For more information about Qi Dao coaching, workshops, retreats, and long-distance learning opportunities, visit us online at www.qidao.org.