Chen Tai Chi Introductory seminar in Washington DC. (陈氏太极拳 Chen Taijiquan)This is Part 2 of the video which answers questions received during the break, including posture principles (无极站桩 Wu Ji Zhan Zhuang) and similarities between Chen, Yang, [...]]]> Here is the second part of our introductory videos taken during our recent Qigong and Tai Chi Certification seminars.

Chen Tai Chi Introductory seminar in Washington DC. (陈氏太极拳 Chen Taijiquan)This is Part 2 of the video which answers questions received during the break, including posture principles (无极站桩 Wu Ji Zhan Zhuang) and similarities between Chen, Yang, Wu, Wudang styles of Tai Chi. Seminar taught in December 2010 by Shawn Cartwright, TCCII Execuctive Director. He is a 20th Generation indoor student of Grandmaster Chen Quanzhong, Xian China.

I went up to the terrace at 7:30 AM to practice my Yang Style 108 Form Tai Chi with the sight of people working in the fields and barren 13,000 ft. mountains rising in the background. It was absolutely beautiful and peaceful with clouds seeming to brush the tops of [...]]]> Day 9, Saturday, April 24 (Xizhou)

I went up to the terrace at 7:30 AM to practice my Yang Style 108 Form Tai Chi with the sight of people working in the fields and barren 13,000 ft. mountains rising in the background. It was absolutely beautiful and peaceful with clouds seeming to brush the tops of the mountains and the sun slanting through the clouds. Afterwards, at 8 AM, I joined the others in the courtyard where we practiced Qigong and Chen Style Tai Chi which gave me a full workout before breakfast.

Daybreak over Yunnan: Sun shines through the clouds as a lone farmer begins his work

We left on the bus at 9:30 for Weibao Mountain which is a sacred mountain about 1 ½ hours’ often perilous drive from Xizhou. This driver just loved his horn and used it constantly. Like people who cannot talk without arm gestures, I would bet he could not drive without his horn.

As we drove through the Yunnan countryside, I noticed cedars of Lebanon—shades of Italy—and more browns than ever before. We drove past fields and fields with farmers working them. Brian, who with Frank and Neil had accompanied us that day, explained that the government was putting in pathways and irrigation to make the farmers’ lives a little easier.

We passed a big, modern building that was at least seven stories tall. It was a new middle school! The Chinese government in the wake of the earthquake in Sichuan Province has been building all new schools, replacing the poorly constructed ones like those which were destroyed in 2008.

The mountains always stood in the background. The fields made a huge patchwork quilt of browns, tans, greens stitched together with thin rows of green grass (?). We drove out of Bai country and into the land of the Yi people. What a contrast! Instead of the white walls with black and white tile paintings on them, the homes of the Yi people were covered in what looked like brown mud. I even saw someone plastering the mud (?) on the side of a house. It was put on in an artistic way, but it still looked like mud.

Weishan

We visited a textile factory in Weishan. Some woman were tying elaborate knots in a white cloth. Outside stood huge vats used for dying and fixing the dyes. It seemed like a pretty big production, but there weren’t many workers that day, and it seemed almost closed down. They opened the warehouse for us, and I looked for a jacket but found a pretty scarf for my 90-year-old mother instead. The warehouse was very small, more like a large closet really, but the quality of the merchandise was unmistakable.

A few (not me) went upstairs where people were sewing and found a clean, Western toilet—a total luxury this trip as we have not seen many when out and about in the countryside of Yunnan Province where not that many tourists venture. The report was misleading. A kind worker had unlocked their secret treasure for a desperate tourist and then locked it up again. It was marked only in Chinese characters, so, when a few of us went in search of this gift, we found nothing. I asked people in Mandarin. One said “upstairs” (lou shang). Another said “below” (lou xia). We never found it. I guess the workers’ largess only extended so far…

Upstairs at street level, we found a store. The prices were less than those of the warehouse! I bought a glasses holder for my mother. A mannequin displayed the traditional Bai outfit we had seen so much of — red and white with a little blue headdress, a pink or red vest, white shirt, and pants with roses on them, plus a white apron with a rose. I didn’t expect this as this was Yi People country.

Weishan is a pretty town with the Yi mud-sided houses and fluted gray roofs. We went to a restaurant. By that time, those of us who hadn’t found the WC in the factory were beyond asking about bathroom qualities. Good thing we were desperate. This restaurant offered us a slit in concrete that sloped down to the outside. We literally had to hold our breath as we squatted, but nonetheless it was a very welcome hole in the ground.

The restaurant, despite its rather odoriferous facilities, was lovely but simple inside. A huge obviously hand-painted Bai-type mural decorated one of the walls “inside.” I put “inside” in quotes because, although we weren’t exposed to the sky and elements, one side lacked a wall. Luckily, it wasn’t too cold.

Lunch consisted of the usual veggies, veggies with a little meat, veggies and tofu, and fava beans. Once again, these were the type of beans that people pick up from the road after the cars and motorbikes and motorcycle cars run over the stalks so as to separate out the beans from the chaff. In this area they grow corn and garlic as well as the beans. All are plentiful at every meal, and the lots of garlic permeated the food we had been eating.

The restaurant kitchen was smaller than a ½ bathroom or about the size of a head in the cheapest cabin on a no frills cruise ship. Someone had cooked at least a dozen dishes in that kitchen for us, not to mention the dishes for other patrons. Incredible!

Outside the restaurant, I finally snapped a good picture of one of those ubiquitous motorcycle cars—a motorcycle with an attachment that makes it look something like a car. This was one of the better ones.

In the town square about 15 dancers and musicians performed for the locals. They were from the Yi ethnic group. They wore colorful outfits with white tunics, bright green pants, a black apron (women) or vest (men). The dancers invited us to join them. Weishan is not a tourist town. Westerners are still a curiosity of sorts. Donna so entranced one man that he asked her to marry him. (Yinong translated for him.) We danced a little, Donna being the star.

We walked up a side street off the square where Brian wanted to show us a funeral shop. The shop sold paper goods of EVERYTHING of the earthly world so that people can buy them and burn them to help send their loved ones over to the other side with all the luxuries he or she probably didn’t have in this life. Brian told us that families are sure to include the deceased one’s favorite things as well as the luxuries including lots of money. The shop sold paper cars, radios, dishwashers, fridges, clothes, money (one was a fake $100 bill with a picture of Confucius on it!), toiletries, radios, TV’s, everything imaginable. It was quite fascinating.

The Bai architecture also is prevalent even in this town of mostly Yi people. Yinong told us that the Yi people tend to be more outgoing and that the Bai People tend to be more somber and serious than other ethnic groups. 25 of the 56 ethnic groups in China live in the Yunnan Province. Perhaps that’s because it is the crossroads between South China and North China, Mainland China and Tibet.

Up the same street as the funeral shop, through a small arched door, we found a courtyard complex that Brian hopes to get from the government to start another Linden Centre in Weishan. Brian told us that the Chinese government is pleased with their work in Xizhou and might give them the historic complex for free for 10 years and then charge about $2500/year rent from then on. This comes with the deal that the government would develop the infrastructure of the town to support the tourists who would come.

At the present time, in a large room off the courtyard was a dance studio. Little girls, who left their little shoes outside, skipped into the room to dance. They listened intently to their teacher and tried each step very hard. Their little foreheads screwed up with concentration. A few parents stared anxiously into the room from the courtyard. It was quite a picture into modern China. The little girls couldn’t have been more than six-years old. Some of the parents carefully balanced their daughters on their knees to take off their shoes.

Weibao Mountain

We walked back through the streets of Weishan and boarded our bus to continue our journey to Weibao Mountain, honking all the way. We passed through Xiaguan, a town with a million people in it, so much larger than the towns we had been visiting. Xiaguan is a transportation hub for the region. A large Muslim population lives there. The rest of the trip, the bus wove up and around a new, steep, winding, narrow road to climb the mountain to Weibao Mountain Park. We could see cell-phone towers and new electric lines atop one of the mountains. China now leads the world in wind turbine-produced electricity!

Sacred Weibao Mountain rises to a height of 9000 feet. The altitude did not prove to be a problem as we had been living at over 7000 feet for almost a week. Of course, before hiking up a steep mountain path, we just had to empty our bladders of all that tea we had drunk. A modern, two-story building that housed the facilities stood just outside the park. We climbed some steep stairs to the second floor bathrooms. They were absolutely luxurious–Asian toilets complete with ample TP and artfully decorated with black tile all around and a lovely black and white wave-like border at about chest height. Unfortunately, spotless and beautiful as it was, the bathroom still smelled faintly of previous users because of the necessity of putting TP in wastepaper baskets. The national parks do better than many restaurants!

Relieved once again, we walked over a huge Yin/Yang design made of stone or tiles, under an elaborately-carved entrance with its delicate, flowing fluted roof, and into the park. There were a total of four temples in the park, but the time was a little late, and Temples #3 and #4 would be a four-hour hike up the mountain and back. We opted to visit only the first two. We walked up at least 200 steps, probably many more than that, slowly climbing up the mountain. The altitude didn’t seem to bother anybody, but I noticed that we did move very slowly. The steps and wide paths were new, having been constructed only a few years previously.

Periodically along the path we stepped under a stone gate with colorful little flags flying from the sides on strings going diagonally into the ground as they did at the front entrance to the park. What looked like pine trees lined the path.

Resting places for the bodies of Daoist priests

Like grim sloping sentinels, covered in algae, moss, and leaves occasional graves stood on one side of the path. We had seen many of these oddly-sloping graves on the way to Weibao Mountain. They look like body-sized sloping cylinders with writing on them. Yinong read the characters on one of the graves and told us it was that of a special soul, a Taoist priest or monk who was well on his way to being a Celestial Immortal.

Temple #1

The first temple, a Taoist/Buddhist Temple that still was in use, displayed a female Buddha. Round cushions with crocheted covers that resembled some my grandmother had made dotted the floor in front of her waiting for followers to kneel. Incense burned and perfumed the building with its pungent aroma. Food offerings lay on the table. Beautiful wooden panels with colored inlays stood near the entrance. We all took pictures.

Outside the temple we encountered a man who wore the very same black and white jacket I had bought in Dali. It looked worn and well used.

Down from the temple on a lower level, we found a long, very long, pinkish (almost orange) wall that looked brand new which it was. Yinong told us that it had been modeled on a Japanese wall and told a story. Yinong related it—life, battles, love, peace, harmony. The wall looked out of place in front of an old-style temple.

Temple #2

Itenerat Daoist Priest at the Sacred Dragon Well

The second temple, although not actively used, housed an itinerant Taoist priest. This temple was much more interesting and looked really old and well used. We spent quite a bit of time there in the courtyard. This temple is very special as it guards a Sacred Dragon Well. A clear small lake in the middle of the large courtyard reflected the walls of the temple. A stone fence surrounded the lake and willow trees dipped their branches into the water. A bridge, draped with plants and what looked like small weeping willows crossed the lake in the middle. In the center of the bridge there was a small covered pavilion with a fluted roof. Chinese characters decorated all the posts.

Group Photo at Dragon Well Temple

In the main part of the courtyard by the pavilion, we held a healing circle led by Yinong. The chi coming from the Sacred Weibao Mountain and the temple was very strong. We all felt it. I tingled and buzzed all the way down to my toes. The feeling lasted until we left the temple area. We also sent a chant into the Universe to heal the Earth.

The priest came out from the inner sanctum to stand with us and talked to Yinong. Then, moved by our healing circle and perhaps with permission of the priest, the caretaker brought out bottles and allowed Frank to fill them with water from the Sacred Dragon Well. He used a long ladle to scoop up the water into a bucket and then pour the water into the bottles. The well was just a hole in the stone of the courtyard with a fern growing out of it. The water is supposed to promote long life and good health. Everyone received a bottle. Brian told us that never before had the caretaker let non-Taoists drink from the well.

Jan and I took our bottle of Dragon Water back to the Linden Centre where we put it into the water boiler provided in every hotel room in China (for tea) and boiled it for the requisite amount of time for purification. Then we put some tea into it and drank it. Sacred water or not, we didn’t want to take any chance of getting sick.

The caretaker, who lacked half her teeth and seemed taken with us, urged us to go back to the front of the Temple to take a group photo. We insisted that she be in the photo as well. She stood, all four feet of her, between Jan and I, looking tiny and bent. She seemed quite pleased with us and with herself.

Then, for a photo-op, Shawn stood in front of each of two Bai style murals that flanked the front entrance to the temple. One of the murals depicted a tiger, the other a dragon. Shawn went through some of his Kung Fu moves in front of each as we snapped pictures of him in action. His tall, lanky figure dressed in black and the graceful poses he practiced in front of the huge dragon and tiger paintings in black and white painted an unusual living picture that should be immortalized somewhere. I just found out that a UTUBE video of him practicing in front of the tiger has been posted on the TCCII website.

On the honking bus ride back to the Linden Centre, we passed the biggest Wal Mart any of us had ever seen. I would have loved to peek inside. The building was so many stories that I couldn’t get the entirety into a picture. We also enjoyed seeing the usual fields, lakes, as well as more of the oddly-shaped graves out the window, but the Wal Mart really caught our attention. The motorcycle/car body combination and people in traditional dress standing out front contrasted with the ultimate symbol of modern life. China continues to be a picture in contrasts.

Plato and Gigi greeted us at the door. Plato always turns his head when I want to take a picture of him. Gigi ducks all pictures. Dinner at the Linden Centre was excellent and varied as usual. I think Pam and Jerlene and others had another massage. Tired, we all went to bed early.

          Today began at 8:00 AM in the courtyard where we started to learn Chen style Tai Chi, the original, style of Tai Chi.  We also practiced the Eight Pieces of Brocade and our exercises.  Behind us in the courtyard was a large backdrop of a wall with a fluted [...]]]> Day 7, Thursday, April 22 (Xizhou)

          Today began at 8:00 AM in the courtyard where we started to learn Chen style Tai Chi, the original, style of Tai Chi.  We also practiced the Eight Pieces of Brocade and our exercises.  Behind us in the courtyard was a large backdrop of a wall with a fluted top and lovely, painted scenes and a peaceful circle in the middle.  While we were practicing, a man with a scarf around his throat came into the Linden Center.  We later found out that he was a star of the Beijing Opera.  Governors, famous singers, who next?

Yinong’s Lecture on Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism

          After breakfast Yinong gave us a power point lecture on Taoism, Buddhism and Confucianism.  I’ll never forget her beautiful analogy to explain the philosophy of the three.  Confucianism is like the grocery store.  We take only what we need from it.  Buddhism goes straight to the heart and can be represented by psychologists who delve inside our minds to find the truth of us.  Buddhism also is the philosopher who delves inward to improve and grow and find the Buddha nature in himself.  Taoism, on the other hand is the pharmacy.  We go to it when needed.  It goes through the inner and outer body and is the relationship between the Universe and us. 

            Buddhists search to find enlightenment through self perfection. Of the three, Buddhism is most like a religion.  It has very much the same philosophy as Taoism which is perhaps why often we saw both Taoism and Buddhism practiced in the same temple.  Enlightenment can be achieved through much meditation and inward seeking.  Buddhist monks often can disregard physical existence.  All goes through nature.  And, once the heart settles, all falls in place.  Buddhists believe that the Dali Lama is the reincarnated Buddha.

Taoism is about one connecting to the Universe through Tao.  There is no separation between us and the Universe.  Everything comes from the ONE (the Tao).  Source, law, way, nature.  It is a complete system in establishing harmony between human beings and nature.  Adherents strive to reach Celestial Immortality.  Taoism is the path, the sun and the moon, a path with humans walking underneath them.  It is monks walking up a mountain and down again—the divine connected to the earthy.  It is constant work to maintain and cultivate the balance by going through the inner and outer body.  Taoism trains both mind and body.  From Tao comes Yin and Yang, the two major forces in the universe

            None of the three religions/philosophies have a supreme God.  Buddha, Lao Tse, and Confucius began as human beings but got to the point where they accepted the Supreme Truth.  They were teachers and sages who taught their wisdom.  Followers of the three “religions” believe that supreme beings are humans who, through their own self-cultivation and study, have reached Enlightenment or Celestial Immortality. 

            Once a human makes the connection, that person has supreme healing powers (like Jesus).  There are many gods because there are many human beings who do extraordinary things and cultivate themselves to reach the highest level of human existence.  They become like super human beings.  Those who do so, like Da Hei, get statues of themselves put on a pedestal in the temples.  And, once one reaches Enlightenment or Celestial Immortality, one can decide the path they will follow in the next life (animals or anything).  Or, they can come back as a teacher. 

Qigong and Yin and Yang:

The Taoist concept of human and nature united as one is the foundation of Qigong practice such as the 8 Brocades we have been learning.  The Ying is the mother–quiet, fluid night.  The Yang is the father—sun, strong day  Qigong (and Tai Chi as well) is the relationship of the two opposite forces as they mix and unite.  Yin and Yang are the source of all creation, what the Taoists call the 10,000 things which makes sense to me.  We must follow the laws of nature in stillness and wisdom to discover our true nature.  We must cultivate our bodies, our minds, and our spirits through the practice of Qigong.  Qi = breath, air, vital energy, the power for all life functions.  Gong = work and achievements.  In other words Qigong is breath and energy work.  To practice Qigong daily is a path to return to health and Nature.

Of course, this is only the bare bones of what she talked about, but it should serve to whet the appetite of those of you who have not experienced her lectures or meditations and act as a reminder for those of us who have.

Visit to a home across the street

After our lecture, we walked across the street to visit the home of the Zhang family. The Linden Centre has hired most of the family. The dog, Plato and three-year-old Gigi wander over to the Centre to visit Gigi’s mother, Ling Ling. The Zhang’s home was an example of what was becoming to us, a typical Chinese family courtyard home in a small town. I say this with the knowledge that family courtyard homes are dwindling in number as the years go by and times change. Most Chinese live in apartments in the cities.

The difference in the Zhang’s home was that a huge, 300 + pound Da Hei with trident, mirror, six arms, and a bell lay under one of the roofs in the courtyard. Someone had covered Da Hei’s eyes with a red cloth so he wouldn’t see that he wasn’t in his temple. Brian and Jeanee had “rescued” the statue from a temple that was being destroyed.

Da Hei temple statue saved in Xi Zhou, China

The Elder of the Zhang family isn’t too pleased to have Da Hei there, but Brian hopes to have a museum in Xizhou with this statue of Da Hei as a main feature. A museum would attract tourists and bring more business to Xizhou. Thus Brian convinced the elder to keep the statue there. Brian would need to restore the statue, though, since his bottom half was broken. Poor Mr. Zhang might have a blue visitor in his courtyard for a while.

Another walk through Xizhou

We walked on again into Xizhou, past the fertile green fields, past a cart with huge bales of some kind of grass stalks with beans, and past the Zhang’s home. The bales were probably from the fava bean plants they spread on the streets for the carts, cars, bikes, motorbikes, and people to crush. We passed the red, horse-drawn cart (a local taxi?) with locals in it.

As we continued our walk through the narrow streets into the center of the town, we also passed homes with the red banners hanging on the doors. The street we traversed needed paving, and the homes looked poor. We came to the square where Jeanee and Brian bought two more Chinese pizzas for us to share. This time I tried the salty one.

There weren’t many merchants on the square, mostly food vendors. Working people, some dressed in Bai traditional dress, were catching a bit of lunch. Some bought true “Chinese take out.” Others stood in the square, Eating their lunches and talking with friends.

After consuming our snack, we continued our walk through the streets of Xizhou. We stopped to look at a basket of mulberry leaves with hundreds of white silkworms crawling through them. The tiny worms sold for about 30 cents each, not cheap in China. I remember the silkworm factory we visited in 2008, how the guide told us that one tiny silkworm cocoon produced hundreds of feet of silk thread, a truly remarkable white, slimy creature.

Again, we remarked on the unusual style in which the Bai people paint their homes. Up close, the paintings were even more interesting and full of detail. The black on white paintings and designs were different on different homes.

A visit to Mr. Dong, Village Elder

The purpose of this was a trip to see the village elder, an 85-year-old man who had worked with the Flying Tigers during World War II. Mr. Dong plays several instruments (traditional ones), paints, and has written several books. In his heyday, Mr. Dong had five factories and came from a wealthy family. During the Cultural Revolution, the government took over the factories, and Mr. Dong and his family were moved to this small house. The home was constructed in the family courtyard style with all generations living together around the common courtyard.

With his pointed beard, Mr. Dong looked like an old Confucius with a devilish grin. He wore a French cap like my father used to wear, and a white Chinese jacket. He also wore an impish smile and obviously had an eye for the ladies. He had quite a lively personality with a good sense of humor, and exuded a lively spirit, full of life. His wife, on the other hand, had the look of a long-suffering woman.

In the panels of the Dong’s inside doors were lovely, stylized paintings in black and white. He told us (via Brian as translator) that originally there had been carved marble in the panels, but during the Cultural Revolution, they were destroyed. Mr. Dong had repainted the same designs onto cardboard and placed them in the doors. Brian gave him some pictures that he had taken on a previous visit. Mr. Dong was very pleased.

We wandered up a really narrow staircase to Mr. Dong’s “library” where, we were told, he likes to sit under a picture of Confucius that he painted a few years back. He was quite proud of that painting.

The study was dark with one opaque window. Boxes of books sat on the floor. On the walls, we found pictures, pictures of Mr. Dong when he was young. Tools, painting materials, and lots of books in bookcases and lying around completed the room.

This was the first home in which I had seen any more than one or two books. There also was a TV in there. On the wall behind the TV was a large red hanging with the usual blessings written on it. In Mr. Dong’s study, papers covered the top of his desk and every available surface. Again, pictures of him and of drawings he had made decorated the walls. Both rooms were not closed off to the elements.

The kitchen, as we had experienced before on this and the previous trip, was outside. It looked poor and almost primitive. There apparently was no indoor plumbing for toilets and no heat that I could see except sacks of coal and wood in the corner of a storeroom.

Mr. Dong posed with each one of us and with the group. He hugged each one of the ladies and held our hands very firmly in a very strong grasp. He really liked Yinong and Jerlene.

From Mr. Dong’s home, we went to try to see a Muslim Temple. There are many Chinese Muslims, enough that even in a tiny town of 2,500 people, there is a temple (mosque). There was gold writing on black on a large plaque on top of a red door. Unfortunately, it was closed, and we couldn’t get in. I remember the Muslim street from the last trip.

On our way back to the Linden Centre, we passed a house under construction. The door had been designed with beautiful, intricate woodwork above the fluted door. I include a picture here because it was so lovely and unusual. It had yet to be painted, so you can see the intricacy more clearly.

Tea Plantation and Qigong

After another yummy lunch at the Linden Centre, I watched a starling dart here and there in the courtyard. Around on of the spotlights on the roof of a walkway, a swallow had built a nest. I could see at least six chicks’ heads peeking out. I guess they didn’t feel threatened by the people at the Centre.

Our group met up in front of the Linden Centre, walked down the street, and boarded our bus to go to a tea plantation located 8,000 feet up a mountain. Tea grows best in high altitudes. On the way, we passed a pigeon house—a white rounded cone shaped with pictures painted on the sides. How whimsical!

Picking Organic Tea in Dali, China

This tea farm kept the tea trees low for easy harvesting. Some really ancient tea trees towered in the background. The leaves from the ancient tea trees make the best and most expensive Pu’er tea. The Chinese believe that the tea carries the powerful energy of the old tree. Someone gave us baskets that fit like a front pack on our chests. They gave us instructions to pick only the bright-green, new top leaves. He showed us how to twist the leaves just right so as not to harm the plant. We picked for at least 45 minutes. Further up in the field of low trees, women with umbrellas to protect their skin from the sun, picked leaves as well.

Frank from the Linden Centre, Pam, and I pooled our harvested leaves into one basket that we took turns carrying on our chests. It was tough to fill the basket even ½ full as the leaves are so tiny, even with three of us picking.

As it started to rain, we went to a building where, in the courtyard, a young man explained how different teas are made. I was very surprised to learn that all teas come from the same tea tree. I still find this hard to understand as teas taste so different. It is the process that turns it into one of the four types of tea:

Green — drink immediately

White

Red—black tea to us

Pu’er—native to Yunnan Province; best from ancient trees; fermented

Oolong –black

Jasmine tea, my favorite, is a green tea with jasmine flowers mixed in.

From the tea farm, we could see the higher mountains. Lovely! We who live in flat Florida especially appreciate mountains. After picking the tea, we walked to a building built in traditional fluted-style architecture. We drew up chairs, trying to get out of the rain. The young man, our meager pickings in our baskets in front of him, explained how tea is brewed. He insisted that, among the six categories of Teas, Pu’er is the best.

Someone tipped over one of our five baskets and quickly scooped up the spilled leaves. These were high quality leaves, now seasoned with courtyard stones. A tiny tiger cat knocked another by rubbing against it, but we rescued the contents before all had spilled to the ground.

Green Tea (Liu Cha) and Jasmine Tea (Moli Hua Cha) which is green tea

Meditate

Heat water to 80 degrees Celsius

Pour water in first and then put in tea

Nod three times

When put water in, raise container three times as you put it in

Pu’er Cha

Heat water to boiling

Use glass and ceramics

Qigong and Energy Work

After our lecture, we climbed some stairs to a terrace which overlooked the lake and distant mountains on one side and tea trees and near mountains on the other. There, with a spectacular view on both sides, we practiced Qigong. It was the perfect place, high up on a concrete terrace in the mountains with the gentle perfume of tea trees wafting to our noses. Yinong demonstrated gathering energy from the four directions. She shared, and we all tried to imitate her. My hands and feet tingled so much, I had to dump some energy after the exercise.

In the distance, we could see Dali. Shawn gave a Kung Fu lesson to a young man from the Linden Centre, Frank, I think. It seemed a bit ironic to have the American Master teach a Chinese young man in China.

Shopping in Dali and Tea Ceremony

Afterwards, we boarded our bus and descended the mountain to Dali. They parked the bus, and we walked down a street that was a shopper’s paradise. Gigi and Donna were thrilled! We were rushed through although some snuck in a little shopping along the way. We were to eat lunch at a vegetarian restaurant. On the way back from the restaurant, I bought a jacket for 20 RMB ($3) that would go OK with the red outfit I had bought at the tye dye factory. I also bought a cheap 10 RMB bracelet for my granddaughter, Isabelle. We would return to Dali and that shopping street on Sunday to spend more time and money.

At the vegetarian restaurant, there was a lovely courtyard/garden ringed with tables. The building was painted red. A very old man with the smoothest skin I have ever seen was sorting tea leaves. Apparently, he was the owner of the restaurant. With his long white beard and bald head, he looked like a kind sage. I found out later that he takes herbs and eats only vegan and practices TCM to stay in shape. It must work as he is supposed to be near 90 years old and looked 30-40 years younger.

Inside the restaurant, the same young man who had given us the lecture at the plantation, the Tea Master, held a tea ceremony for us and told us even more about teas. During the demonstration, he always poured water through the tea and threw out the first run. Everything he used was either glass or porcelain. Of course we all tried the several teas he made for us. The young Pu’er tea was excellent

Interesting Tea facts from lectures

Tea helps reduce blood pressure and cholesterol as well as blood sugar levels

Tea is best drunk early in the morning with meditation and calm

In the old days they said “eating tea;” now it is “drinking tea” although they do

eat tea leaves. We gave over the tea we had picked and someone

cooked it in a dish for our lunch!

Sugar in tea is not good for old people

Dark teas are best for winter when it is cold

Each tea has a season in China:

Summer = White Tea

Fall = Green Tea

Winter = Black Teas

Spring = Flower Teas like Jasmine

Drink tea ½ hour after a meal

During the Tang Dynasty, the tea ceremony was passed to Japan

 Originally, Pu’er tea came from Pu’er through Dali to Tibet and along the way,

It became fermented

Some use tea to wash hands or water flowers

I bought some fermented Pu’er tea from an ancient tree for son Jesse who is a tea buff who mixes his own blends and thoroughly enjoys and appreciates a good tea. It was a round brick of tea picked in 2004 from an old tree and fermented until now. It wasn’t cheap. 100 RMB (about $15) for a relatively small amount. I hope he likes it. I questioned the fact that there was French on the box. The young man informed me that the French love Pu’er Tea, so they ship it there. It is the only country that buys Pu’er Tea. But, when I went into the Asian Depot in Naples, Florida, I found Pu’er Tea. He apologized that it wasn’t in brick form. When I finish the teas I brought back from China, I’ll go buy some.

Lunch, Dinner, Plato, and Bed

After the lecture and tea ceremony, we went into lunch. It was totally vegetarian, vegan actually as most Chinese tend to be lactose intolerant. The table and chairs were almost modern in wood. They looked more Japanese than Chinese. A waitress served us a huge bucket of rice accompanied by a dish of lotus root (ah, one of my favorites) and a host of other dishes that contained tofu. Pam, who normally dislikes tofu back home, decided that she really likes Chinese tofu. There is a definite difference, and the texture is better. Don’t know how they prep it beforehand, but I’d love to know.

Lots of the dishes contained mushrooms. Some looked as if they really contained meat. One dish looked like Morningstar Farm’s veggie sausage links. They sure didn’t taste like Morning Star Farms, though! Since there were a plethora of tofu dishes, we were felt stuffed for quite a while afterwards.

Of course, at our age, we daren’t ever pass up a bathroom, so we made use of the one in the restaurant, figuring that, after all, the restaurant was quite fancy… The facilities were in the backyard and had a corrugated roof. Befitting the fancy restaurant, the toilets were the flush variety and clean, but Asian, of course. Unfortunately, the aroma was rather pungent. They lacked TP, and the wastepaper basket you put the TP in was full. We washed our hands at an outside sink.

Still, none of us were particularly perturbed. Any port in a storm! It would be nice, however, if the government could fix the plumbing system so that one could flush the toilet paper.

After lunch, we had more time to wander the streets and go shopping in Dali. I’m still kicking myself about not buying this great jacket for $6 because I thought it wouldn’t go with anything. I bought granddaughter Isabelle a bracelet.

As we drove back from Dali to the Linden Centre and Xizhou, we rode bumpily, honking every few minutes (or more), riding past green fields, rotating crops, farmers working their fields, all with tall, misty mountains in the background.

Upon our return to the Linden Centre, we were enthusiastically greeted by Plato, the Chinese Chow that belonged to the family across the street. Plato was a typical Chow with his black tongue, fluffy tail, thick, soft fur and compact size. His fur was filthy as he probably had been rolling in the street helping to separate the fava beans from the chaff, but we all petted him anyway. Accompanying him as always was his three-year-old master, Gigi, son of Ling Ling who works at the Centre. The two have free reign of the Linden Centre.

Dinner at the Linden Centre was upstairs and excellent as usual. Jan and I ate with the Lindens which included their two sons, ages 11 and 14—Bryce and Shane. Having kids and dogs around at the center gives it a nice homey flavor so that it doesn’t feel like a hotel at all, but a large home.

After dinner most of us went to a beautiful glassed-in garden with cushions inside, a meditation room. Yinong led us in going through the Healing Sounds. The room reverberated with our voices. The sounds swirled around us and made our bodies vibrate, really vibrate and resonate with the combined voices. Some were the identical s the Six Healing Sounds I am learning from Master Jesse Tsao’s CD, but with each sound Yinong also explained the organ, element, energy and system it addressed. We also moved our hands to follow the sound. The result of the Healing Sound meditation was that we all slept extremely well. I felt terrific! I think it really worked to detoxify and replenish our systems.

The sounds are in the Pinyin spelling. It is an incredibly powerful and grounding meditation.

Xu (shoo) to brighten eyes and support liver with spring, wood energy

He (her) to calm the heart with summer fire energy

Si (Ssssss)to moisture the lungs with autumn metal energy

Chui (choo we)for kidneys with winter water energy

Xi (shee) to balance the triple burners

Hu (whoo)to strengthen the spleen and digestion

We taught Tai Chi and Qigong to critical care nurses who were holding their annual convention in Washington, DC. We had a full class of very enthusiastic Qigong students. For [...]]]> Critical care nurses learn the ancient Chinese healing art of medical Qigong. They learned how to integrate mind, body, and spirit for self-cultivation and healing others.

We taught Tai Chi and Qigong to critical care nurses who were holding their annual convention in Washington, DC. We had a full class of very enthusiastic Qigong students. For some of them, it was their first exposure to this ancient Chinese healing art. The Qigong forms we taught are part of TCCII’s Qigong certification program approved for CNE credits.

One thing that was quite remarkable at this convention was the size of the space dedicated to the “quiet room.” They had a full labyrinth, meditation area, and room for the Tai Chi classes. The space was about 10 times larger than last year.

We have longed believed that Qigong, meditation and other mind-body connection practices are ripe for introduction to a larger audience. This was another indicator of an increasing awareness of mind-body-spirit practices among some segments of the population.