80-year-old woman impresses with gymnastics routine, also does 4x4 walking

 

1min video. 
At the end, she does what I call 4x4 walking, doing walk meditation using 2 hands and 2 feet.

I'll link to my 4x4 set of exercises later.

(video copied from youtube.com/watch?v=MxxBTHoC2IY ) 

One of the great things about China is they have these parks with great exercise equipment like the lady is using, for free public use. You see old people, and people of all ages going there to these parks every morning to work out for a couple of hours and socialize. 

In the USA, you'll see that also in the parks with any heavy chinese populated community, like Chinatowns in SF, LA, NY. 

The takeaway from the video, is if you keep moving and exercise everyday, like that 80yo lady, you're going to avoid a lot of health problems most modern sedentary people suffer from.

Immortal Fang's Longevity Qigong: Rubbing the Abdomen to Prevent Illness and Prolong Life

As an ebook for kindle, this book is 10$. 

https://www.amazon.com/Immortal-Fangs-Longevity-Qigong-Rubbing-ebook/dp/B07K3TVBVC

You can read a preview of it on amazon to get an idea what it's about.

I've learned a lot of qigong, taiji, yoga, etc., in my lifetime, so usually I don't add any new qigong routines to my daily practice in their entirety, I just pick off something from it if it offers a benefit not in my existing routine.

I've been doing this IFLQ (Immortal Fang's Longevity Qigong)  every day for about 4-5 months now. I was going to wait a few more months before I shared my comments, but I've done it long enough now to be pretty certain of its benefits, and someone asked me a question about  what breathing qigong exercises I recommend so I'm sharing this article early. I'll add more of my detailed comments later.

Short story for now is, I highly recommend it. I do it as part of my sleeping bag yoga routine, lying down in my sleeping bag, shirt pulled up so I can get the heat and qi from my hands directly into the lungs/chest. It takes me anywhere from 15-30 minutes to do.  I do it in the morning, evening, and sometimes midday (so minimum of 30min a day total, up to 1.5 hr). It seems to be helping with spring allergies, among other things.  

There are times when you're body is too tired to meditate, not tired enough to sleep, a little too tired to maintain sitting meditation posture, so lying down doing this qigong replaces time I would have been taking a nap or sleeping. In other words, I can find a hour every day where this doesn't take up time and energy from more spiritually important activities. 

Exercise #9 I found confusing, so I wrote the author to ask for clarification. This was the conversation.

I highlight the important parts if you don't want to read the whole exchange.

Shen Long Publishing wrote: 

the last exercise - you are sitting - you lower the body to the front first- like you are bowing

and then the body makes a circle (not swaying back and forth- but a circular motion with the body)

with these two points clear - 1- bowing to the front first - 2-circling the body

please read the instructions and look at the illustration again 

it should be more clear -- but if you have questions - let me know

...

the versions (actually 2 versions) of this set that I learned are significantly different from what is outlined in the book... (but it is basically the same set)

and they are part of a larger system of practice that originated and was practiced in taoist monasteries...  

so my experience is not really important or comparable

--------------------------------------

 Then move from the front of the left knee and turn to the front of the right knee. Turn 21 times. Then as previously, turn from the right to the left 21 times.

In the previous method of Swaying the Body to the Left, the chest and shoulders sway out to the front of the left knee. Then sway to above the right knee. Then sway over the right knee towards the back and pull the waist back. It is best to sway and turn to the fullest. Do not sway quickly. Do not use strength.

---------------------------------

- you bow straight forward and come up 2x

- then you circle the body - lean forward over the left knee - circle rightward over the right knee - then backward to come back around to the left knee --  that equals 1x

repeat for the number of repetitions

then circle the other way

the next page - has more instructions on the circling

and the picture shows the body inclining and moving in a circular motion

Shen Long Publishing wrote: 

in the book - it translates as sway

but you are swaying in a circular motion

it says:

"In the previous method of Swaying the body Left,

the chest and the shoulders sway out over the front of the left knee.

Then sway to above the right knee,

then sway over the right knee twards the back and pull the waist back..."

making a circle

the head, shoulders, and torso stay mostly aligned..

as the picture shows

the pivot point for the circular swaying is the waist

Frankk wrote:

ok, I think I understand. If the tailbone contacting the ground as the center of the circle, you make 21 circles/revolutions with as big of a radius as you can clockwise from left to right, and then 21 circles counter clockwise. Correct?

Frankk wrote:

about how long should it take to do the full routine (ex. 1-8 repeated 7 times) then #9 sitting?

Shen Long Publishing wrote: 

yes- correct

Shen Long Publishing wrote: 

the time varies on what speed of your movements...   as you practice day to day, the speed you practice will naturally vary a bit, so sometimes it will take longer and sometimes the time will be shorter

but overall - I don't think you should try to make the movements too slow or too fast..

make them natural would be the best strategy

some people report that it does take them a fair bit of time to do the set- and others don't have that experience

Frankk wrote:

One more question about the #9 sitting exercise. Can that be done with full lotus instead? with the feet kind of slipping around on the instructions, i feel like I'm going to tip over on a bunch of spots around the circle, and end up just making smaller circles.

Shen Long Publishing wrote: 

I don't see any reason why it could not be done in full lotus, if you can sit in full lotus

Frankk wrote:

thanks 🙂

Shen Long Publishing wrote: 

but pay attention to the verses for that exercise..,  its not a stretch to the full range of motion exercise...  its to move the joints and get the qi to enter the spine... and the rest of what the verses say...

Frankk wrote:

got it. focus intention on filling marrows with qi and 3 dan tiens.  🙂

Shen Long Publishing wrote: 

more like swaying the body in a circular path to allow thd qi to enter the joints and spread through the body, rather then an intense focused intent

Frankk wrote:

got it. relaxed intention. One more question occurred to me, I had assumed the shirtless model in the book was just to help locate spatial position of where to put hands, but I'm wondering if that's what is preferred? To have hand to skin contact rather than wearing layers of clothes, especially in winter?

  

Shen Long Publishing wrote: 

hand on the body directy would be better...   winter it might be easier to do the laying down version... massaging under your clothes and blanket

Other FAQ the author of the book addressed

http://spiritdragoninstitute.com/blog/immortal-fang-longevity-qigong-questions

5 finger acupressure points to push with thumbnail, standing qigong tips

@3:45 :  5 finger acupressure points to push with thumbnail, with some pressure, not just touching.

On his standing meditation tips, I think they're ok, but I think too many detailed tips like "almost smiling, but not smiling", is just too complicated and will make people not fully relax. I would say just completely relax the head and face, don't care about what the expression looks like. Think thoughts of kindness and compassion, and if that causes a slight smile to form, so be it, but I never found it helpful to force a smile. 

chinese health balls (rotate two in one hand), barefoot walking on sun warmed pebbles

 

Nice article here on some really good exercises. 

http://www.originalpurity.org/gurulin/b5files/f0/f0182.html

excerpt:

Human hands are sensitively connected to the rest of the whole body. Hence, by massaging different parts of the hands, various parts of the body can be stimulated. Feet and ears are similarly related to the whole body. Chinese medicine teaches healing techniques that involve massage or acupuncture applied to these sensitive parts. However, to promote one's general well-being no professional knowledge is needed; all one needs is to adopt some simple exercises on a daily basis. For example, one may adopt the habit of massaging ears whenever one is waiting for a green traffic signal, or one may walk barefoot on pebble paths for fifteen to thirty minutes daily. This article talks about a traditional Chinese hand exercise called health balls.

...

After using the small health balls for a few days, I could hardly feel their presence in my hands. I then switched to the larger balls and felt comfortable with them. While practicing the health balls, I become more aware of the areas on my hands that are tense or sore and, gradually, also other parts of my body that are not at ease. Doing this exercise does help release tension. Whenever I become tired of reading or writing, I walk around and play the health balls. In this way, my body soon returns to a relaxed and supple condition. Sometimes I walk barefoot on pebbles in my yard while simultaneously playing the health balls. (It is so comfortable to walk barefoot on pebbles warmed by the sun.)

Frankk comments:

I've been doing barefoot walking on gravel (concrete driveway with gravel top layer) for a few years now, and highly recommend it. Unlike the author above though, I probably do it between 1 to 2 hours a day total. I do it with taiji quan and qigong, outside, sun warmed gravel, but only when the ground is warm. So probably 6-8 months of the year. When the ground is cold I wear shoes.

If I do taiji in public park with grass, I'll go barefoot if ground is warm, and not too much animal shit on the ground. 

Just like with meditation, yoga, taiji, qigong, you can feel getting sunshine and walking barefoot on the earth feels good, you don't need to read scientific studies to be convinced.

This book, about 10-15$, talks about health benefits of barefoot walking, it's a lot more than you might think. 

https://grounded.com/earthing-the-most-important-health-discovery-ever/earthing-book

You can also google 'earthing' to find free articles that cover most of the basics.

chinese health balls

I have two pairs at home, the noisy steel type. I haven't done them in many years, but tried it out just now, and because of my extensive taiji and other qigong that I do, I was able to very dextrously perform it. Rotate both hands, two balls in each simultaneously, and can do any permutation of independent rotation direction in each hand. 

That's from my taiji training, which I do a minimum of 1-2 hours everyday, but the article had a great suggestion that I highly recommend. When you do your walking meditation, you can do it barefoot walking (if ground is warm), and work up to two chinese health balls in each hand, it's great for your health.

kegel exercises - can it lead to loss of internal energy (similar to how sexual activity and lustful thoughts do)?

I do kegel exercises everyday just for good general health, spending a few minutes to do a few sets.

Here's how I do mine.

I do it as part of my sleeping bag yoga sequence, so I'm lying down, totally relaxed.

I breathe naturally, relaxed.

In other words, I'm  not trying to coordinate breath and stretch it out to synchronize with the muscular contractions in any way.  If I'm inhaling or exhaling as I do the muscle contractions, I don't care, just focused on trying to be as relaxed as possible (passaddhi, pacification, kaya and citta body and mind). 

I'll at least 9 reps per set.

And I'll do at least two sets.

first set: I contract the muscles that would stop urination. I hold the contraction for a few seconds. The focus, like every other jhana and taiji or qigong practice as I do, is to be a relaxed as possible. The more relaxed you are, the smoother, more effortless the motion is, the more easy and smooth your breath is. 

second set: I contract that muscles that would stop defecation (excreting feces, taking a shit). Same process of relaxation as with stopping urination. 

I spend enough time on the exercise to feel like I'm improving, getting smoother, easier, or at the very least, just not getting worse (body getting tighter and more blocked up energetically).

Can this kegel exercise cause leaking of internal energy?

Not for me, and not the way I do it, with no breath coordination, totally smooth and relaxed. 

But someone with existing health problems, who knows? The body is resilient, but also fragile. Some energy channels getting blocked, and then with jhana charging up your battery to much higher power than you had before, weird things can happen. 

Some of the kegel exercises, and qigong in general that are IMO too finicky in trying to coordinate breath with movement, causes mental and physical tension, thus blocking jhana.

If you can maintain partial jhana (total passaddhi pacification of body and mind) while doing any qigong or kegel, or even western physical exercises like pushups and pullups and jogging, you'll pretty much be assured of minimizing internal energy expenditure or leakage.

Probably the biggest cause of internal energy loss is strong negative emotions like lust, anger, fear. Even if you don't masturbate, if you have lots of intense lustful thoughts, there will be internal energy loss, it will drain your jhana battery.

If you have no lustful thoughts, for example when I take a shower, I could rub my private parts as hard and as long as I want, there won't be any erection, no internal energy loss, no sexual fluids being generated because of the absence of lust.  

As a counter example, if you have strong enough lust, for example you're young, horny, not experienced at being celibate for long periods of time, say 3 months or 6 months, even a few seconds of exposure to very stimulating visual or even just thoughts of strong lustful intent can cause an ejaculation, without anything contacting your genitals at all. 

vegan spaghetti and vegan 'parmesan' cashew powder, using coffee grinder

 

The main item I want to focus on is the vegan 'cheese'.

Rather than buy the nasty processed vegan cheeses that are typically sold in health food stores,

I prefer to make mine fresh. It's much faster, easier, healthier, and tastes better.

Top of picture is a black and decker coffee grinder, costs about 15$.

I bought it from amazon, I also bought a 4 year extended warranty for 4$.

These coffee blenders tend to break easily for no reason, so the warranty is worth it.

What I used above in the picture, is ground up organic raw cashew, unsalted. (costs about 10$/lb from costco).

Looks like parmesan cheese, has a similar consistency, and I use it in the way it's often used in the picture above, with spaghetti.

It doesn't taste like parmesan, but it has it's own distinct, delicious cashew nutty fatty satisfying flavor, goes great with spaghetti type dishes.

If you added some olive oil, salt, garlic, basil, it would probably taste like parmesan made pesto sauce.

The takeway from this article is the coffee grinder lets you make all kind of vegan 'cheeses' using various kinds of nuts.

I've also ground almonds, walnuts, black sesame seeds (toasted), to great effect.

You're probably going to get much more nutrient absorption by doing this, it's like getting machine assisted chewing breaking down roughage thousands of times more finely than you would ever have the time to do with your teeth. 

You can use it in your salad dressing, and I like to use this instead of nut butters.

And another thing is I like to do it fresh and eat it right away. Nut butters get rancid quickly, and they make you constipated.

Nut powders digest easily. 

coffee grinder cleaning tip:

coffee grinders can be serious pain to clean until you figure out a few tricks, since you can't just run it under the water in the sink.

I keep a toothbrush just for cleaning this device.

I brush up nut powder debris, takes about 1 minute.

With a damp slightly soapy dish sponge but with most of the water squeezed out so it doesn't damage the device, wipe down what I can. (about 20 seconds)

Then I rinse the soap out of the sponge, squeeze out as much water out of sponge as I can, then wipe down the device again trying to remove any soap residue.

Then I have a clean rag just for the device, and wipe up any dampness. (about a more minute for all of above),

Then I set it out in the sun for 5 minutes for the device and the rag to dry up, as I'm doing other kitchen cleanup.

It's a pain in the butt to clean at first, but once you get used to it, the 3 minutes or so it takes is well worth it to have the freshest vegan cheese possible.

Sometimes I'll make extra portion to last 1 or 2 more days, but generally I like to just make as much as I need for the day.

videos of qigong yoga ish type of gentle exercise with greater ranger of motion than your garden variety

 

Some more of his videos

https://youtube.com/channel/UCtvm8miwVmtiW2OoV5-KVnw

https://youtu.be/Jj1684uFzow

https://youtu.be/y7_BfXa4ymw

靜坐很簡單，從數呼吸開始，體驗平衡而自在的自己《靜坐的科學、醫學與心靈之旅》

https://youtu.be/THv2IPNMP0Q

螺旋拉伸

https://youtu.be/0O1oN7mEVbA

【靜思書軒心靈講座】最終的真相 擁抱生命無限的愛 - 楊定一

【靜思書軒心靈講座】最終的真相 擁抱生命無限的愛 - 楊定一

tips on making beans digestible from friend who was vegan for decades

 

yeah, i've been a vegan for decades until last year, when we raised our own turkeys [at home].  we raised 2 female turkeys, and they started laying eggs last year.  they lay very little eggs (like one or two per week), but finally we're able to eat [unfertilized] eggs without feeling guilty.  

well, i eat soy beans in natto and tempeh, and some organic tofu once in a while. i love beans but can't have too much due to allergy (i get gout-like attacks when i eat too much beans/nuts).  

to resolve the gas problem, you can try sprouting the beans first (the soaking takes 1 day, and sprouting takes about 2 days).  once sprouted, the phytic acid is also removed a bit for better digestion, and they're a lot easier to cook.  you can also add some vinegar when cooking it to reduce the gas even more.  people in my family don't get gas from the beans because we always cook this way.  if you still have gas, you can try adding a leaf of epazote to reduce it more (Guatemalans use it all the time to cook beans.  they're sold in nurseries so you can plant them in your yard). if you still have gas, you can try taking some charcoal powder, that should get rid of your gas immediately. 

stannous fluoride, and the preferred toothpaste for people with sensitive teeth, low bone density in root structure, deep gum pockets > 3mm

 

Courtesy of my friend Chris the dental hygienist: 

There are 2 types of agents that are used for tooth sensitivity. Potassium nitrate, and stannous fluoride. Teeth have pores, and it’s “usually” the pressure changes around these pores that cause hypersensitive teeth. Potassium nitrate works by entering these pores, and traveling to the nerve to reduce sensitivity. Stannous fluoride is a special type of fluoride that blocks those pores to prevent the pressure changes. What I like about stannous fluoride is that it also has the effect of being antimicrobial, meaning it will help keep your mouth cleaner. Bacteria are one of the things that can cause inflammation and further gum recession, so I like that stannous does this. As far as “rebuilding” teeth, I think you what I said was remineralize teeth. All fluoride helps draw calcium back into your teeth (including stannous fluoride). Fluoride won’t “rebuild” the teeth, but it will strengthen your teeth by making them “denser”. Potassium nitrate toothpastes can have fluoride too, they just don’t have stannous fluoride, because that would “seal” your teeth and prevent the potassium from getting to your nerve. Basically, the potassium nitrate toothpaste is missing out on that antimicrobial property which really helps with the tissue around your teeth. I recommended parodontax because it was the only toothpaste in clinic by sensodyne that had stannous fluoride, but now sensodyne actually has several varieties of stannous toothpaste . I recommend stannous, but if you choose to switch toothpaste be aware it usually takes 14 days for sensitivity toothpaste to take effect (meaning there may be a few days in between switching toothpastes that you are more sensitive. One other thing to consider, I believe you said you ate a lot of salsa, and acidic foods. Fluoride helps your teeth reabsorb calcium, but there are several studies that show stannous is better at preventing acidic food from causing erosion. 

This model from colgate has stannous flouride.

also consider using flouride mouth wash daily

The most important thing is to brush with a fluoride (any type) toothpaste and clean with an interdental aid (like floss, or a periodontal aid). One other thing that might be helpful if you’re up for it is to add a non-alcohol based fluoride mouthwash like ACT into your daily routine. The extra fluoride would be helpful, but make sure it doesn’t have alcohol (like listerine) because alcohol will dry out and further irritate your tissue (gums) if you use it every day. 

New variation: 🏃👨‍🍳🦎🐍 shake and bake lizard snake, perfect for sleeping bag yoga

 

This new variation I invented recently, to add to the move set shake and bake 🏃👨‍🍳🥧 <- hyperlink on emoji

I do this move as part of the sleeping bag yoga routine. 

Basically, the frame is similar to these 2 popular yoga poses.

Now instead of a static pose that you hold for 5 seconds, 10 seconds, or whatever, take it off the rails and make it into a mobility exercise with constant motion, twisting this way and that, 

* also flexing the spine inversely every now and then (like alternating updog and down dog principle), 

* adding neck movement,  incorporating different neck exercises like turtle, neck circles, 

* doing pushups like a lizard 🦎 from updog position, I'll pop off 9 or 18 at various speeds, to try to get some circulation and flow into lower arms and wrists, hands, fingers. 

* use your imagination. Just flex your spine as many ways as you can think of, 🐍all the range of motion a snake can make,  keep it moving most of the time, but take pauses to go into a static position like updog or cobra for 5-30 seconds at a time, but not too long that your spine gets sore.

* do this for a couple of minutes, or longer. The key that makes it work is the constant movement, and flexing of the spine allows you to do deeper work melting blockages in your spine and body, heating it up and breaking it down. Compared to just doing yoga static updog and downdog. If you have a sore back with back issues, it's still going to be sore and mostly unfixed afterwards if you just use conventional physical therapy with overly simplistic range of motion, or static stretches. The key that makes the shake and bake family of moves so effective is the continuous motion builds up heat that penetrates to all cells in the body and melts the frozen tight areas. But you have to make sure you spend enough daily time heating the body up and melting the ice, many sessions throughout the day. First make sure you do enough to NOT retrogress, and then figure out how much more you need to do to fix back problems and make forward net progress.

what inspired this move:

Great new move to help with jhana constipation and people with lower back, middle back pain.

I do this move in the morning as part of my 15-20 min. sleeping bag yoga routine (done lying down inside a sleeping back). But I also will do it many times throughout the day in between sitting meditation session. For example, rather than doing a straight 3 hour sit, usually I'll break it up it up into 45 min or 60 min portions with 5-10 of stretching and mobility exercises in between. What this new move replaces, is just vanilla updog and cobra, or updog and cobra with some twisting. Finally the light bulb went off recently and I decided to explore, how much movement can I add into these limited static poses?

🦀 Crab shuffle squat suite

 I made a really important discovery the past year.

We've been taught to think of stretching (muscles, tendons, ligaments) with an overly simplistic and restrictive model which severely limits the potential benefits.

You think of stretching as you having to straighten your body and some body part of interest. 

revolutionary insight (I'm sure I'm not the first to realize this) 

Stretching can happen in any bent shape or unexpected posture. But we rush through the transition, where very useful and important stretches are happening, and rush into the straight extended pose where we think the "real" stretch happens. And in these common, extended pose stretches that we see in yoga, runners stretches, etc., the static posture favors certain body parts to get stretched, while neglecting 95% of that same body part that was supposed to be stretched.  For example, if you do a standing forward bend, the goal is to stretch the entire back, but only the stretchiest part of the back gets a stretch, while the upper back which really needs stretching, near the neck, shoulder, doesn't get much stretch. Not to mention all the other parts of the back you don't stretch unless you add some twisting, and contracting certain areas while doing the forward bend. Similar problem with a runners lunge or side to side leg stretch. The stretchiest part of the leg tissue gets stretched, but the rest of the leg which really needs stretching, is neglected.

enter the 🦀 Crab shuffle squat suite

This isn't the only way to exploit the important insight above, but it's a great example of how you can take a few very simple yoga poses and stretches, and turn it into a whole universe of amazing stretches by spending time and pausing, improvising in the space before and the transitions to what we used to think the "real" stretch pose was. For the purpose of the video, I go through the transitions fast just to move along so you get the idea. But in a live drill, I would go through movement and transitions more slowly, improvise, and give extra love and attention to parts that need it, that the conventional world's idea of stretching and yoga would completely overlook. 

Some important details you can't see from the video unless I point it out

I'm frequently rocking on my feet, between heel down or toes down, that will hit many areas to stretch around the feet, ankles.

Whenever my hands are planted on the ground, they're strategically placed so my shoulders and arms get stretched. 

And on top of that, I slowly move my neck through various points of motion.

To get even more advanced, if you shape and move your hands in feet in various configurations, then you get hand, finger, foot, toe stretches. 

5 for the price of 1

In other words, when you see me doing what looks like a normal runners stretch, I'm actually doing at least 5 stretches at the same time, for the same price in time and energy to only stretch one body part if I follow conventional stretching protocol. This is a huge benefit in efficiency (time, energy, money).