http://www.egreenway.com/qigong/dragons.htm
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July 15, 2011
© Valley Spirit
Qigong, Green Way Research, Red
Bluff, California, 2003-2010
By Michael P. Garofalo, M.S., All Rights Reserved.
Disclaimer
五禽戲
Animal Frolics Qigong
Introduction
Dragon Qigong
Dragon Qigong is a regimen of physical exercises to achieve physical fitness, increased vitality, and good health; a mental self-development program to achieve optimum wellness, clarity, and integrated virtuous self-actualization; and a set of spiritual explorations to awaken a higher order presence, attain mystical insights, and realize joyfulness, inner peace, and enlightenment. Some aspects of Taoist inner alchemy are intended to enable one's spirit to attain immortality.
Qigong consists of two words. "Qi" is the Chinese word for energy, life-force, vitality, and aliveness. It is similar in meaning to the term prana in Hatha Yoga, and Ki in Japanese. "Gong" is the word for achievement through a disciplined practice, hard work towards mastery, and dedicated self-development. Qi is associated with the bodily process of breathing and the energetic aspects of breath. Qigong is a modern Chinese term for ancient Chinese health, longevity, and medical practices; and, in the West, includes Taoist and Buddhist inner cultivation and spiritual practices.
Dragon Qigong is normally associated with Wudang Mountain in China, and Daoist and Buddhist practices and views. There are Wudang styles of Qigong, Taijiquan, and Baguazhang (circle walking). Some styles of kungfu and Chinese martial arts are often named after a "Dragon." The mythology, lore, beliefs, religious connotations, and art involving Dragons in China, Japan, and in the West, are sometimes integrated into the physical, mental, or spiritual practices of Dragon Qigong as, for example, the hard work, determination, and persistence of the Carp Who Jumps Over the Dragon's Gate, or the Four Dragon Kings who guard the Buddha's Realm.
This webpage tends to focus on the Dragon as found in Chinese and Japanese East Asia traditions, but also includes information related to Dragon lore found all around the world.
The East Asian Dragons are often associated with water, rain, vapors, fog, springs, streams, waterfalls, rivers, swamps, lakes, and the ocean. Water can take many shapes and states, and Dragons are shape shifters and linked with transformation, appearing and disappearing, changing into something new. Water is found in three states, depending upon the surrounding temperature: a solid (ice, snow), a fluid (flowing liquid), and a gas (fog, vapor, steam). Since rainfall is often accompanied by thunder and lightening (thunderstorms and typhoons), the Dragon is sometimes associated with fire; and, since hot water and steam are major sources of energy in human culture, this further links the Dragon with the essential energy of Fire. The Dragon is thus linked with the chemical and alchemical transformative properties of two of the essential Elements, both Water and Fire. Dragons are generally benign or helpful to humans in East Asia, but their powers can also be destructive (e.g., flooding, tsunami, typhoon, lightening, steam, drowning, etc.). There are both male and female Dragons, kinds or species of Dragons, Dragons of different colors and sizes, and mostly good but some evil Dragons. Some Dragons can fly, some cannot fly; most live in or near water, a few on land. The body of a Dragon combines features from many animals, representing the many possibilities for existential presence. The Dragon in the East has serpentine, snake, or eel like movement qualities: twisting, spiraling, sliding, circling, swimming, undulating, flowing freely like water. [See: De Visser 1913]
Bibliography, Links and Resources
Dragon Qigong, Chi Kung, Daoyin,
Yangsheng Gong
Alphabetical Subject Index to the Cloud Hands Taijiquan and Qigong Website
The Carp Leaps Through the Dragon's Gate
Chi Kung (Daoyin, Qigong):
Bibliograpy, Resources, Links, Lessons
Chinese Healing Exercises: The Tradition of Daoyin. By Livia Kohn.
University of Hawaii Press, 2008. 268 pages. ISBN:
0824832698. History of Daoist health practices.
Cloud Hands Taijiquan
and Qigong
Cloud Hands Mind/Body Movement Arts
Blog
Correspondences and Alchemical Associations for the Dragon
Dao of Dragon Chi Kung. Presentation by Shihfu Jiang JianYe.
Instructional VHS, 121 minutes. "A good series of Chi Kung exercises from
other than WuDang Daoism. Inlcudes many dragon based exercises and
Swimming Dragon moves. The movements require you to be limber. The
include some squatting and twisting. The theme of the entire series is
dragon motions."
Source 1,
Source 2 Wayfarer.
"By Jiang Jian-ye. He has combined forms from many Taoist sects into one
form that contains stretching and whole body twisting to open key energy
channels in the body. There is step-by-step teaching and multiple repetitions
and views, plus reviews of segments and demonstrations at the beginning and at
the conclusion. 118 Min."
Daoist
Body Cultivation: Traditional Models and Contemporary Practices.
Edited by Livia Kohn. University of Hawaii Press, 2006. 243 pages.
ISBN: 1931483051. VSCL.
Daoist Studies and
Practices: Ripening Peaches
The Dragon and the Tiger The Inner Alchemy of Water
and Fire
Dragon and Tiger Qigong:
A Miracle Health System for Developing Chi.
Master Bruce Frantzis. North Atlantic Books, 2010. 262 pages.
ISBN: 1556439210. Energy Arts
Curriculum. "Dragon and Tiger is a 1500-year old self-healing
medical
Chi Gung (Qi
gong or chi kung) system based on acupuncture. It is sometimes called meridian
line chi gung because it helps free you of energetic (chi) blockages by
balancing the chi flow that runs through the acupuncture meridians or channels
of the body. Invigorating, yet calming, Dragon and Tiger helps you to release
stress and mitigate pain and illness."
Dragon Door Chi Kung. Presentation by Shihfu Jian JianYe.
Instructional VHS, 121 minutes. "There
is a great deal of emphasis here on gathering energy and spinal twisting (light
and safely done). A very decent and reasonable regimen for those looking for Chi
Kung. Some difficulties but anything in the routine can be modified to the
beginner. Some very logical and well planned sections." VSCL (VHS).
Source One: Plum
Publications. Source Two: Wayfarer Publications: "By
Jiang Jian-ye. This video teaches a Taoist qigong method from the famous Wu Dang
Mountain. There is a demonstration followed by step-by-step teaching of the 14
postures, which include subroutines. It is taught at slow and regular speed with
multiple repetitions and views. There are reviews of segments and at the end
there is a demonstration from the front and rear. 112 Min."
Dragon Gate Cave Taoist Temple
Dragon Gate Chi Gong Daoyin
Therapy. A combination of traditional Chinese
Chi Gong and Daoyin Techniques. Master Tao Dawson.
Dragon Gate Chi Kung.
Featuring Dr. Gordon Xu. Instructional VHS videotape, 64 minutes.
China's Living Treasures Series, Volume 26. This webpage includes a 3:41
minutes UTube Video. "Doctor Gordon Xu (Xu Guo Rong) of Shanghai is a
doctor of traditional Chinese medicine. He received training at the Shanghai
Medical Institute. He worked at the Huang Pu District Central Hospital and the
Shanghai Tui Na Center Hospital. He studied acupuncture and traditional Chinese
medicine under head of staff, Dr. Lee Yan Fong, top student of Dr. Lu Shou Yan,
China's foremost acupuncturist prior to the communist revolution. At the
Shanghai Tui Na Hospital he studied under head of staff, Dr. Wan Ming Ming. In
addition to mastering five systems of tui na (chinese therapeutic massage), he
is also a master of the Dragon Gate Chi Kung system. His teacher Master Yi Chien
Liang 1895-1986, nicknamed "one flower that faces heaven", was a Taoist monk
from the Wan So Temple (10,000 years Longevity Temple). Dr. Xu was Master Yi's
primary student and named by him as the 22nd generation successor to the Taoist
Dragon Gate (Chuan Zhen Pai) system. This system, founded by Wan Chong Yang,
dates back to the Sung dynasty (960-1127). On this tape Doctor Xu demonstrates
three levels of chi kung practice."
The
Dragon in China and Japan. By Marinus Willem De Visser (1876-1930).
Originally published in 1913. Edited with an introduction by
cryptozoologist Loren Coleman. Cosimo Classics, 2008. 258 pages.
ISBN: 1605204099. VSCL.
Dragon Qigong,
Eight Dragons Qigong, Ba Long Qigong, Presented by Mike Garofalo, M.S.
Instructions and descriptions of the eight movements.
Dragon Qigong,
Long Qigong, Presented by Mike Garofalo, M.S.
Instructions and descriptions of Dragon Qigong movements.
Dragon's Play: A New Taoist Transmission of the Complete Experience of Human
Life. By Charles Belyea and Steven Tainer. Illustrations by
Xiao-Lun Lin. Berkeley, California, Great Circle Lifeworks, 1991.
196 pages. ISBN: 0962930814. VSCL.
Dragon Staff, Choy La
Fut Style, Kung Fu short staff weapon. UTube Video, 1:14.
Eight
Section Brocade Qigong, Ba Duan Jin
The Emperor's Seal of the Dragon
Fire Dragon Qigong.
Grandmaster Lu Zijian Dragon Gate Daoism.
Five
Dragon Qigong Master
Zhongxian Wu. Five Dragon Qigong, Wulong Qigong is "based on
the ancient Chinese cosmological principle of the Five Elements. From the
perspective of this philosophy, the universe is constructed of five elements:
water, wood, fire, earth, and metal. Each element contains its own
characteristic qi and a natural cycle exists through which the qi of one element
is transformed into another. Peace and harmony exist when the qi of the five
elements flows freely through this cycle. As part of the natural world, a person
will maintain health if five element qi flows well in their body and is in
harmony with the environment. The Wulong Qigong form has five different postures
related to the five organ systems. Through daily practice, one is able to
work with each elemental qi in his or her own body and transform one element
of qi into another. The harmonious state
acquired through daily practice of Wulong gong can help to release disease and
maintain health."
Flying Dragon Qigong, Nine Dragon
Baguazhang, Official Jiulong Baguazhang Website, Dr. John Painter
Green Paths in the Valley
Blog
Looking into "Crouching
Tiger, Hidden Dragon" from Perspective of Chi, Tao, Chan & Compassion.
By Michael Chung.
Muscle and Tendon Changing Qigong - Yi
Jin Jing
One Old Druid's Final
Journey: Notebooks of the Librarian of Gushen Grove
Opening
the Energy Gates of Your Body (The Tao of Energy Enhancement). By Bruce
Kumar Frantzis. Illustrated by Husky Grafx. North Atlantic Books,
1993. Second
Edition. 174 pages. ISBN: 1556431643.
VSCL.
Qi
Dragon Health and Healing
Featuring Julia Liping Julia Zhu. San Francisco. She
is a certified Qigong instructor from China and a disciple of Taoist Master Yu Anren. She is the Qigong instructor at the American College of Traditional Chinese Medicine, a licensed acupuncturist, and a Zen student
of the San Francisco Zen Center.
Qigong
Empowerment: A Guide to Medical, Taoist, Buddhist, and Wushu Energy
Cultivation. By Liang, Shou-Yu and Wu, Wen-Ching. Edited by
Denise Breiter-Wu.
Rhode Island, Way of the Dragon Publishing, 1997. Index, glossary,
348 pages. ISBN: 1889659029. VSCL.
Qi: Bibliography,
Links, Resources and Quotations
Qigong
Teachings of a Taoist Immortal: The Eight Essential Exercises of Master Li
Ching-Yun. By Stuart Alve Olson. Heavenly Arts Press. 192 pages.
ISBN: 0892819456.
Excerpts VSCL.
Qigong (Chi
Kung): Bibliography, Links, Quotations, Instructions, Lessons, Notes
Subject Index to the Cloud Hands Taijiquan and
Qigong Website
The Swimming Dragon: A Chinese Way to
Fitness, Beautiful Skin, Weight Loss and High Energy. By Tzu Shi Kuo and
T. K. Shih. Edited by Charles Stein. Station Hill Press, 1999.
160 pages. ISBN: 0882680633. VSCL.
Swimming Dragon Baguazhang,
Sun Lu Tang's Baguazhang. Demonstrated by Sifu Joshua Brown. UTube
Video, 3:10.
Swimming
Dragon Qigong UTube Video, 3:42
Swimming Dragon Qigong UTube Video, 10:00.
Swimming Dragon Qigong: Google
Swimming Dragon Qigong.
UTube Video, 3:46. By Nando Reynolds.
Swimming Dragon Tai Chi. Julia Liping
Zhu L.Ac., San Francisco.
Swimming Dragon Qigong,
Form 1, Tai Chi, Taichi Qigong, Taijyi Swimming Dragon Quan.
Demonstrated by Julia Liping Zhu. UTube Video, 5:30. "Taiyi Swimming
Dragon Tai Chi / Qi Gong exercise. Originated from Taoist Wudang Mountain,
China, this form is Master Yu Anren's family heirloom. This video is showing the
first of three sequences, performed by Liping
Julia Zhu in 1997 in San Francisco."
Swimming Dragon Qigong,
Form 2, Tai Chi, Taiiyi Swimming Dragon Quan. UTube Video, 4:43.
Taiyi Swimming Dragon
Qigong, Form 1, Tai Chi, Taichi Qigong, Taijyi
Swimming Dragon Quan. Demonstrated by Julia Liping Zhu. UTube Video,
5:30. "Taiyi Swimming Dragon Tai Chi / Qi Gong exercise. Originated from
Taoist Wudang Mountain, China, this form is Master Yu Anren's family heirloom."
Taiyi Swimming Dragon
Qigong. Demonstration by Mark Mardon. UTube Video, 4:28.
Taoist Studies and
Practices: Ripening Peaches
Valley Spirit Center,
Red Bluff, California
VSCL = Valley Spirit Center Library, Red Bluff,
California
The Way
of Qigong: The Art and Science of Chinese Energy Healing. By Kenneth
S. Cohen.
Foreword by Larry Dossey. New York Ballantine Books, 1997. Index,
notes, appendices,
427 pages. ISBN: 0345421094. One of my favorite books:
comprehensive,
informative, practical, and scientific. VSCL.
The Web
That Has No Weaver: Understanding Chinese Medicine. By Ted J.
Kaptchuk,
O.M.D.. Chicago, McGraw Hill Contemporary Books, 2nd Edition, 2000.
Index, bibliography,
appendices, notes, 500 pages. Foreward by Margaret Caudill, M.D., and by
Andrew
Weil, M.D. ISBN:
0809228408. An excellent introduction to traditional
Chinese medicine and modern research on the topic. VSCL.
Wudang Mountain Qigong,
Taijiquan, and Baguazhang
Longhua Quan (Wudang
Dragon Form) includes 28 movements. UTube Video, 1:37. "Wudang Mountains
is comprised of both the Northern and the Southern Kungfu traditions. The
Southern tradition is focused on hand to hand combat, while the Northern
tradition is most famous for it's leg work. Longhua Quan is from Northern Wudang
and is mainly known for its intricate leg movements. When practicing this form
we can see the dragon's characteristics as well as its courage." This fast
form is demonstrated by Master Chen Shixing.
Wu Qin Xi, Five Animal Frolics Qigong
Wuji
Swimming Dragon Francesco and Daisy Lee-Garripoli, Qigong:
Beginning Practice
Yi Jin Jing - Muscle and Tendon Changing
Qigong
Yoga:
Bibliography, Links, Quotations, Notes
Postures,
Routines, Names of Movements
Dragon Frolic
Lessons, Instructions, Suggestions,
Comments
Dragon Qigong
By Mike Garofalo
1. The Silver Dragon Gazes at the Pearl and then Spreads Open Its Wings
2. The Blue Dragon Looks Down and Back at the Sea
3. The White Dragon Plays in the Clouds
4. The Red Dragon Walks at the Edge of the Abyss
5. The Brown Dragon Looks Out of Its Cave
6. The Red Dragon Gathers Lightening in the Sky
7. The Black Dragon Shows His Claws
8. The White Dragon Plays in the Clouds
5. The White Dragon Circles the Snowy Mountain
Waving
Hands Like Clouds Homepage
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North Sacramento Valley, Northern California, U.S.A.
Cities in the area: Oroville, Paradise, Durham, Chico, Hamilton City, Orland,
Corning,
Rancho Tehama, Los Molinos, Tehama, Gerber, Manton, Cottonwood,
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© Valley Spirit
Qigong, Green Way Research, Red
Bluff, California, 2003-2010
By Michael P. Garofalo, M.S., All Rights Reserved.
This webpage was first posted on the Internet in January 2003 at: http://www.egreenway.com/taichichuan/five.htm
This webpage was moved to the URL on June 15, 2009: Dragon Qigong. Part of the Animal Frolics Series.
This webpage was moved to this URL on May 17, 2010: Dragon Qigong at http://www.egreenway.com/dragonsrealms/dragons.htm