Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Over-Training and Over-Cleansing

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • #16
    Over-training and over-cleansing

    A few things came to mind, when thinking of ways to manage over-practice or over-cleansing.

    As Leo suggested, focusing on the form (practicing on a lower level) is one good way. Another way I have found useful, when feelings of over-practice creep in, is reducing force training and focusing more on combat applications and combat sequences in a flowing manner. Or sparring with a partner.
    This also brings many benefits, besides being fun and a good way to use the excess energy.


    Best wishes,

    Nessa
    Nessa Kahila
    Shaolin Nordic Finland
    Instructor
    nessa@shaolin-nordic.com

    www.shaolin-nordic.com

    Comment


    • #17
      Thanks :-)

      Dear Wahnam Family,

      First of all, I would like to thank Leo Sidai for this fantastic thread. I find it very useful and I am sure that it will be of great help to all Shaolin Wahnam Family Members.

      I personally find that Sifu's transmission and teachings are becoming incredible powerful and more Zen than ever. For that reason, my practice is also experiencing a big boost. I always try to be extremely careful and not to overtrain. Even when being very careful, I find myself overtraining.

      As an example, my practice now consists merely on "Dancing Butterfly" from the 18 Jewels with Vigorous Chi Flow and sometimes the "Art of Flexibility". It has been this way for many months. After the Small and Universe Course, I had to redesign all my practice and start from scratch. It is like if I was playing soccer in school and suddenly I started playing soccer in the World Cup.

      Since the Small and Universe Course I estimate that, by doing the same practice, I have around 10 times better results. It is not easy to cope with that. Even by merely practicing "Dancing Butterfly" I find myself cleansing sometimes too fast.

      I would like to use this opportunity for mentioning how beautiful and meaningful practicing "Dancing Butterfly" has been for my life. This exercise has taken me to the next level in my journey. As I mentioned in my journal, I had a strange hiccup since St Valentines Festival 2014. I have had this hiccup for around one year and some months.

      This hiccup is now gone. It went away since a very beautiful practice that I had when practicing "Dancing Butterfly". I was on Chi Flow and I heard a voice in my mind asking me: "Why so serious?". In that moment, I started laughing like crazy. Many of my practices since then have been full of laugh.

      I feel my heart opening in a very meaningful way. Because of that, I had to redesign my practice again. I have noticed that my Chi is flowing better than ever and I had to reduce my practice again until my body adapts to this new energy levels. That shows me the profound effect that heart has over my entire being.

      I would love to practice Taijiquan more often but my body is telling me to go slow. I am taking my practice in a very relaxed manner and without any hurry at all. When the time is right, I know that I will progress naturally and my body will indicate me that I can practice Taijiquan more often.

      When I was preparing myself for the 108 Pattern Yang Set Course, I was training Taijiquan about 3 days a week for around 20 minutes each session. Even if it does not seem a lot, I felt overtraining. As I wanted to have the Set learned before the course, I asked Sifu what to do.

      Sifu indicated me that I was practicing too deep. The funny thing is that I didn't remember how to practice at a physical level. I had forgotten. I consider this fact very interesting. The main problem I had as a newbie in these Arts was that I wasn't able to go deep and now this turns out to be my biggest concern.

      Sifu was recommending me not to go so deep when I was practicing Taijiquan and for that, Sifu gave me some tips for keeping my practice at the physical level. For example, I could be more aware of my surroundings and notice how a breeze was blowing through trees or hear some noise in the distance.

      I found this advise very useful and has helped me to maintain my practice more at the physical level. I would like to add that this advise was meant to be for me so please don't practice in this way unless you check with your Sifu and he or she confirms it is ok.

      As Sifu has often said: "In our school many times less is more". I find that when training less I enjoy life more as cleansing is not drastic and does not affect my daily live. After all, cleansing is a lifetime/s process. In Sifu's words: "Not a speck of dust". So, it is important to enjoy life at the most. As Sifu often says: "These arts are meant to enrich our lives and not to slave us or make our life miserable".

      I want to use this opportunity for thanking Sifu for being such an inspiration, for being always there for us and for his endless generosity. :-)

      With Love, Care and Shaolin Salute,

      Santiago
      Last edited by sancrica; 18 May 2015, 01:31 PM. Reason: Grammar :-)

      Comment


      • #18
        Thank you all for sharing your profound experiences and wisdom!

        I would like to add that I just realized I may have taken the old saying "one hot ten cold days" a little to much too heart. If I miss a day of practice, I tend to have the nagging feeling that I need to overcompensate and over train to make up for it.

        Honestly, I feel as if I can probably practice one session of Small Universe or Dragon Strength and be good for a few days.

        Is this inaccurate logic?

        Thank you,
        Stephen

        Comment


        • #19
          But I like it....

          Thanks to all for sharing...The reason i started with ,but i like it, is in relation to the powerful drug perspective...I had a ball doing iron wire and dragon strength back to back for a

          spell..it was awesome...and i enjoyed it immensely....But it was apparent when it was time to back off, and not really in a bad way..It was just apparent, and thankfully i didn't

          "chase the dragon"..I actually listened to my own body. Imagine that , at 55 yrs I finally can be a grownup...And that's what these arts can do, mature us while at the same

          time helping us stay young.

          There is a thing that can happen where we are ready to face and experience things that would have been too hard at a previous time..And it will naturally arise, we can know it,

          and it flows on by. We don't need to try to make it happen, nor do we have to turn away, it just comes up and flows by.

          My most recent instance was only a week and a half ago..short version is , I woke up in the middle of the night panting with intense fear and the sensation of ice water in my spine.

          I did a few lifting the sky and went back to sleep..Woke up with the awareness that i'm dying.Literally and with great clarity. Realized it was truly the case since the day i was born.

          As soon as that clarified the "energy" of the fear was experienced purely, without the mental overlay of what any fear was about, and so began an amazing process of feeling and

          knowing this energy without it being co-opted by the various structures of primal fears of human beings..And it was beautiful and powerful and amazing..I was curious and interested

          in seeing what actually happens, understanding the energy that fear uses to seemingly control us and also protect us till we don't need it any more.

          And it all came and went on it's own, but i am forever changed and also aware that there is so much more that I still don't know and can be revealed as True Nature see's fit.

          It is a very exciting and amazing way to live, we just need to be patient and be wise, practice and play. And it helps a lot if we listen to those who have gone before.

          But that is really in the being wise part.. Warmly Gusty

          Comment


          • #20
            Many thanks to Sisook Leo for starting this wonderful thread which has been very interesting and beneficial to read.

            My story of overtraining relates to the first six months of 2012. At the time I simply absolutely positively had to train every single day without fail! There were no exceptions. My stronghold on this idea had some roots in my own journey in the arts and the struggle in my early years in achieving consistent practice. I certainly had consistent practice in 2012 and I wasn't going to let go of it too easily.

            This attachment to training every day was also a consequence of more generic roots which I think can be common to a lot of us in varying degrees at some stage in our journey. Here are a few:

            - if I don't train every day I will be disrespecting the tremendous Legacy of Shaolin;

            - if I don't train every day I will be insulting Sigung;

            - if I don't train every day I am not following instructions;

            - if I don't train every day I will fall behind in my training;

            - if I don't train every day I won't be as prepared as I can be for the next course I am doing with Sigung;

            - if I don't train everyday I will lag behind my brothers and sisters who of course are training every single day - WOW I even heard of one guy from Timbuktu who trains combat sequences for 2 hours every morning and can hold a horse stance for three hours!!!;

            - if I don't train everyday I'll never hold a horse stand for three hours!;

            - if I don't train everyday I am never gonna get this set picture perfect ... I gotta get it picture perfect!!!;

            - if I don't train every day I will be the fool in front of my classmates the next time I have to demonstrate a set in class - it won't be perfect;

            - if I don't train every day I risk my practice falling apart because I might not train the next day either;

            - if I don't train every day ... Look, I simply gotta train every single day! Training is what we do in Shaolin Wahnam!

            I'm sure there are many more.

            I can only echo the wise words of Matt regarding my experiences of late April/May of 2012 as I continued to train every day after a total of 16 days of training with Sigung in just over four months in three different countries combined with a number of intensive weekends of training with my Sifu - I was just not feeling good. This was not just a physical condition, but a mental and spiritual one too.

            But still I continued to train every day when my body and mind were crying out for a break.

            My Sifu has always stressed the dangers of overtraining and I have Sifu to thank for helping me realise that I very much needed a break at the time. My body had soaked in so much Chi in such a short time. Rest was very much required. No, not a reduced schedule, or a training on the physical level regime - it needed a total break.

            And so, on the very same week that Sigung was in the UK offering the amazing Baguazhang course, I tool my first break from training since the summer of 2009.

            Within the first two days of no training something very unexpected happened: a deep joy and and sense of gratitude welled up inside me. I felt such wonderful peace and contentment - it was not part of the script I had been narrating to myself for the time leading up to the break. To put it simply, it felt as if a weight had been lifted from me. I could breathe again. All of the blockages I listed above had been cut from me and I made a huge left forward in my understanding of the arts and in my training of the arts. It was a most wonderful lesson and I am very grateful for it.

            These days I have a good sense in myself of when I need to regulate my training, take a break from training, and when I need to step up my training. I think we all have this skill, but maybe some of the time some of us choose not to listen to it.

            I look forward to reading of more people's experiences on this thread.

            All the best,

            Kevin


            Last edited by Kevin_B; 19 May 2015, 10:35 PM. Reason: typo

            Comment


            • #21
              Listen to yourself

              Dear family,

              thank you Leo Sisookgung for starting this thread and thank you all for your very interesting and important inputs. I would like to add my two cents here because a thread on the topic of over-training would be incomplete without me adding to the fun.

              Yes, I have over-trained numerous times as well. Honestly, I have lost count of how many times I had to take breaks- meaning sometimes really long brakes like a month or two- from practising. Thanks to my wonderful and compassionate Sifu, I stopped before seriously harming myself which was sometimes not so easy.

              Looking back, the main source of my not slowing down at the right time on my own was deciding what to practise and when intellectually, e.g. "I have to practise XYZ every day no matter what (so that I can have result ABC)".

              I find that now I can make much better decisions on what to practise and when if I listen to how I feel and act accordingly.

              This has already been stated above, but I have learned this the hard way, so it's well worth repeating.

              Plus: Our arts are not meant to enslave us to them but to make our lives better! And that they certainly do. As Sisookgung Gusty put it in another thread: "it gets better and better without end".

              In this spirit, I would like to thank my Sifu for always guiding and protecting me even if I am stubborn.

              Of course, I also thank Sigung, Sitaigung and all the past masters for passing on this wonderful legacy of ours. It's great to be a part of it !

              Best regards,
              Steffen
              Last edited by Steffen; 20 May 2015, 07:43 AM. Reason: Format
              Our beloved Grandmaster has made it very simple for us:

              Don‘t worry,
              don‘t intellectualize,
              just enjoy your practice.

              May all beings be released from all suffering!

              Comment


              • #22
                Another gem from Sigung's "Iron Wire Set: 10 Questions to Grandmaster Wong:"

                However, if practitioners are not strong enough yet, or the force training is too powerful, they have to practice just a part of the method everyday. If the method cannot be divided into parts, like the case of Bone Marrow Cleansing, they will have to practice the whole method every alternate day, or one every three or four days.

                The interval should not be too wide apart that the practitioners miss the benefit of accumulated effect. It should not be too close that their physical body does not have enough time to adjust to the new energy level.

                Such subtleties are usually not known to students. Or even if they know them in theory, they lack the skills and techniques to make good judgment and adjustment. This is one reason amongst many others that internal force training should be attempted under the guidance of a competent teacher.

                Comment


                • #23
                  I've only experienced harsh cleansing a couple times, and overtraining just a couple of times as well, it usually happened due to praciticing a normal amount plus physical exhaustion from work or other rough activities.

                  By listening to my Sifu's advice and gradually working my way up in 15 minutes intervals I got to the point where I could safely train an hour or two in a session with only beneficial effects. I almost never go beyond 15 minutes though for a force training session, the rest would be stretching, footwork, and combat application.
                  Shaolin Wahnam USA

                  "Every morning you are born again. What you do today is the most important thing".

                  Comment


                  • #24
                    Hello all,

                    With the passing of years, I´m training less but getting more, normally I train 30 minutes a day, somedays a bit more...maybe I´m becoming very lazy

                    The advice of listening to yourself is the key.
                    Daniel Pérez
                    http://www.shaolinbcn.es

                    Comment


                    • #25
                      Hello. Its been a while since i posted.

                      This forum is a such a great place to share experiences and advice.

                      I have some experience with over cleansing and i wanted to share some advice..

                      Listen very clearly to your Sifu. Dont worry dont intectualise and enjoy.

                      Hope thats helpful.. and that i can contribute again sometime soon.

                      best wishes to all..

                      Kindest regards,

                      Nick

                      Comment


                      • #26
                        Great to see you back on the forum again, Nick. I hope you’re fine.

                        Thank you to everyone contributing to this thread!

                        Many interesting experiences and advices can be found here.

                        I hope many more will join to share theirs.

                        Best wishes,

                        Leo
                        Sifu Leonard Lackinger

                        Shaolin Treasure House

                        Shaolin Wahnam Wien & Shaolin Treasure House

                        Comment


                        • #27
                          In his recent Q&A Sifu gave another very good explanation on over-training and over-cleansing and its remedies:

                          You can find it here:
                          A selection of answers provided by Sifu Wong Kiew Kit to questions asked by the public on Shaolin Kungfu, Chi Kung, Taijiquan and Zen


                          Best wishes,

                          Leo
                          Sifu Leonard Lackinger

                          Shaolin Treasure House

                          Shaolin Wahnam Wien & Shaolin Treasure House

                          Comment


                          • #28
                            Madrid Courses, Over Cleansing and Over Training

                            Dear Shaolin Wahnam Family,

                            I would like to share with all of you a part of my diary and a review of the recent courses held in Madrid. I decided to post it here as I think that it can contribute to this useful and meaningful thread started by Leo Sidai:

                            The storm has finally passed and I am glad that it did. I took some time in writing this post so I could share more in detail about the recent skill that Sifu has so kindly transmitted me in Madrid courses.

                            Since some months ago, I knew that Madrid courses where going to be a great break through in my practice and journey. I felt that it was going to be equally important to the break through that Small Universe has caused in my life. I never imagined that it was going to be this way. That was a reminder on why I must go to Sifu’s courses with an open heart.

                            This post is going to be a mix of ingredients that includes the recent Madrid courses, daily practice, over training and over cleansing.

                            As many of you know, in August 2014 I came back to Spain. I just had to come back. Through the years I have learned that when it is time go, when it is time to move on, resistance to change only has caused in my life suffering and complications.

                            I remember Sifu’s words when answering a question in his website. I think that it was about someone that wanted to go to Asia and fully dedicate to the practice of Shaolin Arts, become a monk and stay in a monastery.

                            Sifu’s answer stay dormant deep inside of me, as many of Sifu’s teachings, until the time was right. Sifu was explaining that if someone just go and ignore all his duties and responsibilities there will be a time when God will tell him to go home. I didn’t understand then but I understand it now.

                            Along my life, I have been travelling a lot and I have lived in many different places. There has always been a point when I had that feeling. God was telling me to go home. When I was denying that call the only thing that I could face was adversity and suffering. It is a very interesting feeling because I could experience that, when I was flowing with that call, only good things were happening in my life.

                            So, this is the case with my return to my hometown, Salamanca. After 4 years in Ireland, God was asking me to go home. I was quite frustrated as everything was just perfect or so I thought. But after Small Universe Course, everything changed instantly. It is hard to explain but for those who have attended to this course will probably understand the feeling.

                            Between May and July 2014, I felt a resistance in Ireland. No matter how hard I tried, everything was directing me to Spain and complications kept summing up. It was like swimming against the river flow. I was really frustrated because I could not understand why it was happening what it was happening.

                            I had a good job, I was about to get an even better job at Microsoft, I could stay close to my lovely Irish Wahnam Family and I finally moved into a very nice flat just for myself. Life seemed perfect but something deep inside was telling me to go back to Spain and take a good break.

                            When I am receiving a call in the heart it is hard to miss as it is a constant whisper that accompanies my daily life. It is a feeling and intuition hard to ignore.

                            During all these years I have become very connected to God and I have learned to trust him with all my heart. Even when I could not understand I promised myself that I would trust God and I would open my arms and heart to everything that God is always willing to share with me.

                            My return to Spain happened in the blink of an eye. It was just fast as a thunder. Before I could realise I was back in Spain after 4 years away.

                            Only time could teach and offer me the big lesson that God had ready for me. I learned to trust God even more and I could understand after few months why I was taken away from Ireland and being asked to come back to my hometown.

                            For that call, I have always felt incredibly grateful as I felt God’s endless generosity and, as always, he could see what I could not see. This also reminds me a lot of my relationship with Sifu as he can see what I cannot see and offers me what is best for me.

                            Along the years, I have learned to ask God for the things that are best for me and not only for the things that I want as I know that I am short sighted and God is not. He can see what I cannot see. I think that this is part of the trust that I have gained during these years.

                            After a couple of weeks living in my hometown I felt a big release. A heavy burden was just disappearing from myself. I then knew that coming back home was a blessing in disguise. As everything in matter of faith and trust, I was offered another big lesson on letting God take me to wherever is best for me. This also reminds me that the only difference I see on "Letting Go" and "Letting God" is just one letter.

                            A lot of family healing has happened since I am here. It could only happen after having been in Ireland because it is in that stage of my life where I have received the courage and the strength to forgive. It is there where I have learned to give and offer what lies in my heart.

                            Many times I have been willing to offer my love but I just didn’t have the courage to do it. Many times I have been willing to share what my heart feels but I just didn’t have the courage to do so. With the loved ones is always the hardest as old patterns usually jump in and it is easy to come back to what I used to be.

                            4 years in Ireland has changed me forever as I could not be anymore what I used to be. It was the hardest challenge that I have ever had the chance to encounter. I then knew that God saw in me that it was time, that I was strong enough to step up into the next level of my journey. It was time to face everything and this could only happen in my hometown, Salamanca.

                            It will soon become the most meaningful period of my entire life. And for that, I was going to need a big break in my life. I just needed a break but I couldn’t see how much I needed it. God could see and he gave me, as always, what is best for me for which I am very grateful.

                            This break has offered me the opportunity to cleanse things that I wouldn’t have ever cleansed at any other place. I could only understand that in hindsight.

                            My parents own a country house about 15 km away from the city where I live. It is there where I had my morning daily practice. As it is quite isolated, I could really let go as there was no one around to hear my Chi Flows.

                            I was in the big need of those Chi Flows as I had really deep blockages that needed from the total let go. In the past, I could only have those Chi Flows in Sije’s house or in Sifu’s courses. I never had those Chi Flows in my daily practice as I could scare people around me so I always had to soften them a lot.

                            It has never been my intention to over train or to over cleanse. In fact, I have always tried to be extremely careful with my practice as I saw within the school that over cleansing or over training could caused big trouble.

                            I have always been very respectful with the Shaolin Arts and tried to follow Sifu’s and Sije’s instructions in the best way I could. Around 95% of my practices, since I belong to the school, have been just vigorous Chi Flows. I have almost never focused in Internal Force training as I knew that I wasn’t really ready and I didn’t feel well if I was practicing it in my daily routine. I wanted to fully recover my health before focusing on Internal Force training. I never urged in my practice and never tried to pursue power. Power never worried me and I never had interest on it.

                            When practicing Chi Kung in my parent’s country house, my vigorous Chi Flows were incredibly vigorous and led me to very deep and rooted blockages. I never thought that Vigorous Chi Flows could lead to overtraining because I was in the believe that I was practicing the lowest of all kind of Chi Kungs practiced in our school.

                            Somehow those Vigorous Chi Flows were making use of all the arts that I have learned within the school so far. I am not sure how it happened but it happened.

                            When letting myself go, I could feel that I went very deep. I could release a lot of negative emotions as desperation, anxiety, deep hurt and pain in my heart, anger, frustration, deep sadness and deep worry.

                            The country house has been the only place where I could totally let go as there was no one around. I think that this was one of the main reasons that led me to go so deep in my practice even when I was just doing vigorous Chi Flows and even when I didn’t mean it.

                            As I was liberating big blockages, my practice became really powerful and cost effective and I then started to face something that I knew, sooner or later, I was going to face.

                            In the past and in present I could not practice Taijiquan just because I easily over trained. I just didn’t know how to practice Taijiquan at the physical level. Seeing my Chi Kung practice in hindsight, it is clear that even when I was practicing Vigorous Chi Flows, I wasn’t able to make it less deep.

                            When becoming more skilful in my practice I was reducing and reducing my practice in terms of time. But this wasn’t enough. I was then trying to practice once a day but that wasn’t enough either. I was thinking to myself: Santi, what are you going to do when you can reduce no more?

                            I was hitting that point around 2 months ago. No matter how short or light I was practicing, I was over training. I could not practice Taijiquan though I love it very much. Even just practicing sports was leading me to over training. Chi Kung was sneaking into my daily life without me being aware of it.

                            For example, while I was playing guitar, flute, piano or even writing. Chi Kung state of mind is very natural when one is playing music or writing as one is flowing and relaxed. That was another form of practicing Chi Kung even when I wasn’t aware that I was doing so.

                            Now I am paying more attention to this Chi Kung state of mind after Sifu’s courses in Madrid. I can see that I was using it to perform many of the tasks that I do in my life and that I have to be very careful on controlling if I don't want to go too deep.

                            Being in Salamanca has led me to a very relaxed state of mind and life. My Chi here feels at home and for that reason my practice is stronger even when I don’t mean to. I now wonder if that is one of the reasons why Sifu’s courses in Malaysia are always so different from the ones held in the rest of the world. Maybe Sifu’s Chi feels at home too.

                            I remember doing a lot of gardening in my parent’s country house and after that I was having unpleasant over cleansing and I had to reduce my practice again. I was thinking to myself: How is that even possible? Well, I know now that Chi Kung is holistic and integrates in life and everything I do even when it is not my intention to do so.

                            In one of Sifu’s courses I remember that Sifu was explaining that we could practice Chi Kung by using any activity from our daily life. I understand it now but not before. That lead me to over cleansing and over training even when it was not my intention.

                            That, of course, affected my practice as I have never been able to practice arts like Bone Marrow Cleansing, Small Universe, Cosmic Shower or many other powerful arts that I have learned in the school. Thought I would love to practice them as they bring me great joy I had never been able to really practice them because they were too powerful for me.

                            After Small Universe course Sifu advised us to practice Small Universe during the first 2 months often enough in order to become skilful in the art. When I arrived to Dublin I tried to include Small Universe in my practice. I practiced one day and it felt amazing. I practiced the following day and it felt amazing. I practiced the next day and I had the most drastic cleansing since I joined the school. I then decided not to practice Small Universe as it was obvious that it was too strong for me.

                            Same happened with Bone Marrow Cleansing at the Bone Marrow Level. Only one practice was enough to start a deep emotional cleansing that led me to crying for 1 or 2 days. I then decided not to practice Bone Marrow Cleansing.

                            In fact, this has happened to me with every single powerful art in the school. I was never capable of practicing arts like Sinew Metamorphosis, Cosmic breathing or Cosmic Shower as they were leading me to over cleansing. It felt good the first days and I then was hit by over cleansing.

                            The only art that wasn’t leading me to overtraining or over cleansing was 18 Lohan Hands or 5 Animals Play and Vigorous Chi Flow. But I knew that sooner or later, as I was becoming more skilful in my practice, I was going to reach a time when the most basic and light art practiced in the school could get too strong for me.

                            As I mentioned above, that moment happened around 2 months ago. It was in Madrid Courses when solution came to me. This is why Sifu is a Grandmaster and this is why I am just a student. Sifu could see what I could not see.

                            Sifu was very kind with me as he took a lot of time and effort in teaching me how to practice less deep. I will be forever thankful because that is what I basically needed in my practice.

                            Sifu has been describing recently on how to practice this skill at the forum and his website. I feel as a precious gift of immeasurable value to have received this skill by Sifu’s heart to heart transmission as this leaves no space for mistake. Sifu made sure that I wasn’t leaving that course until I had properly learned that skill.

                            That is why I am so grateful. Sifu was very kind in coming by my side and personally transmit the skill until I was getting it right. Thank you Sifu for that. Thank you for always protecting and taking care of me. Thank you for giving me always what is best for me.

                            This demonstrated me again why is so crucial to receive the skills from Sifu. Sifu made sure that I really understood how should I practice from now on. In fact, as I was a bit concerned that I was deviating from my practice, I asked Sifu what should I practice. He told me that I could practice anything but I just had practice less deep.

                            Practicing less deep might seem simple and it is simple but not necessarily easy. An analogy occurs to me. When one becomes rich and is used to spend a lot of money, one gets used enjoy life spending a lot of money. If a time comes when one has to spend less money, one might have lost the capability of enjoying life when using less money.

                            It is like driving a powerful car. In a highway, one can drive it at 120 km/h and it is perfectly safe but driving at 120km/h inside a city is just not feasible and it would be highly dangerous and risky. The skill that a driver has of slowing down or speeding up, depending on the road he drives, will make of him an excellent and skilful driver and will allow him to drive safely to destination.

                            When Sifu transmitted this skill to me in Madrid courses I instantly knew that this is what I was missing in my practice. Sifu made me aware of the urgent need in applying this skill in my practice if I didn’t want to harm myself.

                            I have always followed Sifu’s instructions in the best way I can. I must confess that this new skill is incredibly useful and it is taking me to the next level of my journey. It is liberating me from a heavy burden.

                            This skill has allowed me to really practice at the level I need and I think that in our school this skill is going to be incredibly useful for students as practice is becoming so efficient that we are reaching a point where the risk of overtraining will become frequent if not the norm.

                            Learning to practice less deep and at different levels is incredibly hard for me and it is taking me some time and a lot of effort.

                            Seeing Sifu concerned about me made a big impact inside of me. After the courses, I came back to Salamanca and spend some time thinking about what just happened in Madrid. I decided to take a break in my practice until I was feeling my situation normalised. I also decided to spend my free time doing more outdoor activities, more physical work and spend more time with my friends.

                            As mentioned before, it has never been my intention not to follow Sifu’s instructions but seeing him concerned about me made me understand that I clearly did not follow Sifu’s instructions and I am really sorry that I didn’t as I have a very deep respect for him and I only want to practice in the way he wants me to practice.

                            I never thought that powerful arts like Small Universe, Bone Marrow Cleansing, Dantian Breathing or Cosmic Shower were sneaking into my practice without my consent. As I am now paying a lot of attention in lowering my level I see that they actually try to get into my Vigorous Chi Flows. I never thought of that and I never thought that it was even possible. As all the arts that we practice are holistic, they do. Being able to just practice Vigours Chi Flow and keep all the other powerful arts away results incredibly hard but I know that I will eventually get there.

                            I consider the skill that Sifu has so kindly taught me in Madrid as the most important skill that I have learned this year. It might seem basic but I know that from now on it is going to be decisive for my development and it is going to keep me safe from trouble. It is already saving me from a lot of trouble.

                            Thank you Sifu again for always taking such a good care of me. You made my practice safe and for that and all the things that you are doing for me I will be forever grateful. You are very generous and patient with me and I deeply thank you for that. Thank you for letting me be your student. That makes very happy.

                            With Love, Care and Shaolin Salute,

                            Santiago

                            Comment


                            • #29
                              Thank you for sharing your journey with us, Siheng!

                              It is indeed not always easy to lower the intensity of our training, as we are getting deeper and deeper while our skills develop.

                              I notice this also when I'm teaching. I'm not getting into a very deep state on purpose while teaching, but still on some days I get overloaded and keep my personal practice very short and on a low level (i.e. Dragon Strength on the form level).

                              Yes, Sifu is indeed always there to protect us. We just need too really listen to him and follow his instructions.

                              Best wishes,

                              Leo
                              Sifu Leonard Lackinger

                              Shaolin Treasure House

                              Shaolin Wahnam Wien & Shaolin Treasure House

                              Comment


                              • #30
                                Very prescient and detailed post, Sihing.

                                Sharing this aspect of your journey will help many people.

                                Sometimes dialing things back to concentrate on just chi kung and just the basics is exactly what we need.

                                Best,
                                Sifu Andy Cusick

                                Shaolin Wahnam Thailand
                                Shaolin Qigong

                                sigpic

                                Connect:
                                Twitter Facebook LinkedIn

                                "a trained mind brings health and happiness"
                                - ancient wisdom

                                Comment

                                Working...
                                X