WOW - NOTTINGHAM REGIONAL COURSE
Relationship Intelligence Director, England
A regional chi kung class in action
The following discussion is reproduced from the thread Wow — Nottingham Regional Course in the Shaolin Wahnam Discussion Forum on 4th October 2004.
Wow — Nottingham Regional Course
Words will fail when I try to explain how much I got out of the weekend. -- Barry Smale.
Hello to all of the people who attended the course of the weekend (October 2004). It was great to put faces to the people I have been talking to on the forum.
Words will fail when I try to explain how much I got out of the weekend. I took another step forward in being able to relax. I learnt a little more about standing upright and relaxed. I got to have some experiences of realizing I was resisting where my chi was taking me and then letting it.
I got a chance to experience anger - just pure anger - and having love come in at the same time. I got to experience smashing a wall and shouting out loud, without pain or embarrassment. And the wonderful thing is, it was all from direct experience rather than me trying to understand someone's words. I began to get a sense of how easy it is for me to block things that otherwise might be quite natural.
I also got a chance to have Sifu look at and correct my stances. He looked at my Three Circle Stance, said a couple of things and something seemed to happen. I am not sure if he touched my waist/pelvis area but all of a sudden it moved to a different position. He explained how the way I was holding my hands and arms was locking energy up at my shoulders and elbows. Suddenly, I was experiencing the stance totally differently. I began to relax into it. My back seemed to extend. Things changed. When I stood up I was very full of energy. My hands felt pumped up and my arms felt like they were rising from my side, even though they weren't moving.
I can only describe the sensation as being fuller throughout my body - and this does not do justice to the experience but one has to say something. Sifu smiled at me. As he took me through the other stances making adjustments the feeling of power and extension stayed with me. What a fantastic experience.
In the Sinew Metamorphosis exercises that followed I began to let go in a way I hadn't managed before. At times it felt like I was getting into positions that would tear my body apart but as I gave myself up to the movement they just seemed to open me up. Scampering around in a circle like a monkey was fun. It was all fun.
Thank you to Sifu for sharing his experience with us - as I say words fail me. Thank you to Marcus for organizing the course. Thank you to everyone else who was there for helping to make it an unforgettable experience.
Smile from the heart,
Barry4th October 2004.