Valley Spirit Gardening Journal by Michael P. Garofalo, May 2005.

"The three noble principles: good in the beginning, good in the middle,
good at the end."
- Pema Chodron, The Places that Scare You, p. 1

Yin Style Bagua Bear System, Volumes 1-10. Presented by Xie Peiqui and He Jinbao.
Each DVD is over 2 hours long. Plum Flower Press.  Instructional media. Yin Style Bagua
Martial Arts Series. Produced by the Association for Traditional Studies.  MGC.

Tai Chi for Arthritis. Instructional DVD, 80 minutes. Narwee, Australia,
East Action Video, 1997. The DVD is in four languages: English, Spanish,
French, and Chinese (Mandarin). ISBN: B000066G1X.
There is also an instructional videotape version. Wellspring Media, 1998.
ISBN: 1885538847.  Also available in Spanish and Chinese (Mandarin).
Created by Paul Lam, M.D.. This work is supported by the Arthritis Foundation
of Australia. A short 12 movemnt Sun style taijiquan form is used.

I will be going to the Tai Chi for Arthritis workshop in Oakland, in July, 2005.
Therefore, I am learning this short form and reading the book below.

Sun Style Tai Chi - 73 Forms. The Competition Forms. An instructional videotape
by Dr. Paul Lam. A competition form created by Professor Men Hui Feng of Beijing
University based on the Sun style.  "This detailed instructional video includes a
demonstration of the set by its creator, Professor Men Hui Feng. Sun style is
characterised by its powerful Qigong elements, agile steps and flowing
movements." VHS, 103 minutes.  Contents: Introduction to Tai Chi and the
Sun style. Comprehensive instructions. Demonstrations of the complete set
by Dr. Paul Lam from front and back views. A demonstration by the creator
of the set, Professor Men.  ASIN: B000066G1T.

"Namaste from Nepal!

I am a Nepalese national from Kathmandu, Nepal. I am 29 years old male and I
was not having any physiological problem till last month.

Recently, I have been diagnosed diabetes and I was little bit disturbed but now everything
is fine and I am doing good. I had gone through the book " Perfect Health" by Deepak Chopra,
which helped me a lot and the biography of Wasim Akram, a diabetic who is one of the fastest
cricket baller in the world.

I am planning to reset and re-energise my body, soul and mind through Chi Kung which is the
ultimate way to discard ailment and attain bliss and health. I am planning undergo the specific
training package for Diabetes offered by you. let me know the fees or charges for that specific
course offered by you. Please let me know how can I do that? I hope you would co-operate
me and help me.

I hope to hear from your end soon.

With love,

Nawraj B.

Kathmandu, Nepal"

Here is how I responded to this worried, yet enthusiastic and determined fellow:

Dear Nawraj Bhattarai,

I'm assuming your a Type 2 diabetic.

My advice:

1. Walk four days a week for one hour each day.

2. Take any medicines or herbs on the exact schedule recommended.

3. Get enough rest, reduce stress, and completely relax more.

4. Do some strength training three days a week. Larger muscles use
more glucose.
5. Reduce bodyweight by 10% by eating fewer carbohydrates.
6. Read medical literature on the subject to become more informed.

7.  As for yoga or qigong, both are useful in building a little more strength,
     breathing deeply to reduce stress, helping build self-discipline, and
     helping improve the functioning of internal organs.

     Any yoga, qigong, and/or taijiquan routine will help, if you "do it"
     six days every week. Start with the Eight Section Brocade Qigong,
     and the 24 Form Yang Tai Chi, and/or some Iyengar or Jois yoga routine.

You should be disturbed about a diabetes diagnosis. You can, however,
take practical and useful steps to control and lessen the impact of this
disease. Remember, however, you need a strong spiritual center to
deal with the unpleasant news that may come to you.

Talk about your planned program with your physician.

Tell me how its going every now and then.

My very best wishes for your health and happiness,

Mike Garofalo

Refer to my Tai Chi for Diabetes webpage.

Christine C writes:

"My mother used to recite the May Day poem ("A fair maid, who on the first of May...) to us.
We would pick flowers from the yard, put them on the doorstep, knock on the door and hide.
Of course, she would act duly surprised. My mother passed away 3 years ago. I thank you
for posting this on your website. It brings back fond memories!"

"Ba gua is most likely the only purely Taoist martial art. As such, it contains a great deal of
original martial information that has not been changed or adulterated by time. Ba gua is
considered by highly respected internal masters to be the most technically sophisticated
and effective of the internal martial arts. Ba gua includes all the internal and external
circling and spiraling techniques completely or partially absent in the linear martial arts.
Ba gua is one of the clear antecedents of aikido, the major internal art of Japan, and
includes the overt health and energy practices usually missing in aikido. Ba gua has the
grace and beauty of the other internal arts, but its movements are done and normal and/or
fast aerobic speeds, rather than in the slow motion of tai chi, which many martial artists
shun. Ba gua include the complete spiritual tradition of the martial arts, which is found
much less often in tai chi and hsing-i. Ba gua fulfills many of the reasons people like
to do tai chi, but with heightened internal awareness and in a much more dynamic form
of relaxation."
- B. K. Frantzis, The Power of Internal Matrial Arts, 1998, p. 54.

"Start in a standing position, with your feet parallel and spaced a shoulder-width
apart. Slightly bend your knees. Your back should be straight, with your buttocks
tucked and your pelvis thrust slightly forward. Your shoulders must be relaxed and
your chest slightly concave, with the chest muscles relaxed. Do not slouch or round
your shoulders too much. Your body should be relaxed. Focus your eyes straight
ahead, mentally lining up your nose with your navel."
- Jane Hallander, Tai Chi Chuan's Internal Secrets, p. 17

Work for CUESD from 7:30 - 4:30 pm. Various projects: Reading First, library
improvements.

Weightlifting for 45 minutes: Bench press, squats, dumbbell curls, shrugs, triceps kickbacks.
I enjoyed the yoga class taught by Gudrun from 5:30-6:45 pm at the TFFC.
Dig trench in the evening before dinner.

Started work on a major and final upgrade to the Yang Long 108 Form webpage. I plan
to update the bibliography, links, and revise the description (html and pdf) for the entire
form. I am also going to do the same for the Yang Short 24 Form. Along with
the Eight Section Brocade, and Sun Taijiquan, these are the four foundation
contributions of my Cloud Hands website for 2005. I want these four webpages at
the Cloud Hands website to all to be of high quality, complete, detailed, and informative.
These are the four forms that I practice and teach: Brocade 8, Yang 108, Yang 24,
Sun 73, and Sun 12. .

"Longevity consists of
maintaining one's health,
slowing down the aging process,
living without illness and pain,
and dying peacefully without
bothering other people."
- Huai Chin Nan

Work for CUESD from 7:30 - 2:30 pm.

Weightlifting at TFFC for 45 minutes: Pull downs, triceps and shoulder pull downs,
leg curls and reverse leg curls. Spin bicycling class with Tanya from 5:30-6 pm
at TFFC.

Weightlifting for 45 minutes: Bench press, squats, dumbbell curls, shrugs, triceps kickbacks.
I taught the yoga class 5:30-6:45 pm at the TFFC - Mellow Down Thursday.

Continued work on the major upgrade and update to the
Yang Style Taijiquan 108 Form webpage.
Answered questions to homework assignment for YogaFit Level III.

"Industry, thrift, and self-control are not sought because they create wealth,
but because they create character."
- Calvin Coolidge

Strength training for 30 minutes. Spin class at TFFC from 8:30-9 am with Tanya.
Tai Chi class with Kevin Weaver from 10-11.

Continued work on the major upgrade and update to the
Yang Style Taijiquan 108 Form webpage.
Answered questions to homework assignment for YogaFit Level III.

"If we practice the science of yoga, which is useful to the entire human community
and which yields happiness both here and hereafter - if we practice it without fail,
we will then attain physical, mental and spiritual happiness and our minds will
flood toward the Self."
- Shri K. Pattabhi Jois, Yoga Mala

Continued work on the major upgrade and update to the
Yang Style Taijiquan 108 Form webpage.
Answered questions to homework assignment for YogaFit Level III.

"Reality is a question of perspective; the further you get from the past, the
more concrete and plausible it seems -- but as you approach the present,
it inevitably seems incredible."
- Salman Rushdie

Worked on household projects and chores. Helped Karen set up her
new outdoor chairs and tables, and pot plants on the porch.

Continued work on the major upgrade and update to the
Yang Style Taijiquan 108 Form webpage. Revised Section I - all documents.
Answered questions to homework assignment for YogaFit Level III.

"The intense desire for God-realization is itself the way to it."
- Shri Anandamayima, Matri Darshan

Continued work on the major upgrade and update to the
Yang Style Taijiquan 108 Form webpage.
Answered questions to homework assignment for YogaFit Level III.

Work for CUESD from 7:30 - 4:00 pm. Technology Plan was approved by
the State. Started work on West Street library project. Reading First follow up.

Weightlifting for 45 minutes: Bench press, squats, dumbbell curls, shrugs, triceps kickbacks.
I enjoyed the yoga class taught by Gudrun from 5:30-6:45 pm at the TFFC.

Work for CUESD from 7:30 - 4:00 pm. West Street library project, Maywood
projects.

Weightlifting at TFFC for 45 minutes: Pull downs, triceps and shoulder pull downs,
leg curls and reverse leg curls. Spin bicycling class with Tanya from 5:30-6 pm
at TFFC.

"It is immediately apparent that this sense world, this seemingly real external
universe, though it may be useful and valid in other respects, cannot be the
external world, but on ly the self's projected picture of it. The evidence
of the senses cannot be accepted as evidence of the nature of ultimate reality."
- Evelyn Underhill

Weightlifting for 45 minutes: Bench press, squats, dumbbell curls, shrugs, triceps kickbacks.
I taught the yoga class 5:30-6:45 pm at the TFFC.

"Act as if the future of the universe depends on what you do, while laughing at
yourself for thining that your actions make any difference."
- A Buddhist maxim

Drove to Sacramento for YogaFit class from 5-9pm on adapting yoga to exercise
the butt area of the body. The teacher was the beautiful, lively, and knowledgeable
Rose Zahn.

"It matters not how barred the gate,
How charged with punishment the scroll,
I am the master of my fate,
I am the captain of my soul."
- William Earnest, Invictus

Nei Jia Quan: Internal Martial Arts Teachers of Tai Ji Quan, Xing Yi Quan and
Ba Gua Zhang. Edited by Jess O'Brien. Berkeley, California, North Atlantic
Books, 2004. 326 pages. ISBN: 1556435061. Description. MGC. Extended
interviews with Tim Cartmell, Gabriel Chin, Gail Derin-Kellog, Bruce K. Frantzis,
Paul Gale, Fong Ha, William Lewis, Luo De Xiu, Allen Pittman, James Wing Woo,
Tony Yang, Zhao Da Yuan, and Albert Liu.

Tao of Yiquan: The Method of Awareness in the Martial Arts. Volume 2 of the Trilogy:
Warriors of Stillness. Meditative Traditions in the Chinese Martial Arts. By
Jan Diepersloot. Walnut Creek, CA, Center for Healing and the Arts, 1999.
Index, notes, 272 pages. MGC. ISBN: 0964997614.

The Essence of T'ai Chi Ch'uan: The Literary Tradition. Translated and edited by
Benjamin Pang Jeng Lo; Martin Inn, Robert Amacker, and Susan Foe. Berkeley,
California, North Atlantic Books, 1979, 1985. 100 pages. MGC. ISBN: 0913028630.

Essential ABS: An Intense 6-Week Program. By Kurt Brungardt. A Men's Health
Peak Conditioning Guide. Radale Press, 2001. Index, 144 pages. MGC.
ISBN: 1579542921.

"For whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap."
- The Bible, Galatians 6:7

Attended the YogaFit class on Pre-natual and Post-Partum Yoga from
8-5 pm at Healthy Habits Yoga Studio. Rose Zahn taught the class.

Weightlifting at TFFC for 45 minutes: Pull downs, triceps and shoulder pull downs,
leg curls and reverse leg curls. Spin bicycling class with Tanya from 5:30-6 pm
at TFFC.

Revised Yang Style Taijiquan Long Form Movement descriptions. Studied various
Yang Style videotapes and DVDs, section by section: Fong Ha, Terry Dunn,
Doc Fai Wong, Yang Jwing-Ming, Yang Jun.

Weightlifting for 45 minutes: Bench press, squats, dumbbell presses, shrugs, triceps kickbacks.
I enjoyed the yoga class taught by Gudrun from 5:30-6:45 pm at the TFFC.

Revised Yang Style Taijiquan Long Form Movement descriptions. Studied various
Yang Style videotapes and DVDs, section by section: Fong Ha, Terry Dunn,
Doc Fai Wong, Yang Jwing-Ming, Yang Jun.

"Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one."
- Albert Einstein

Weightlifting at TFFC for 45 minutes: Heavy power shrugs, clean and jerk, and leg work.
Spin bicycling class with Tanya from 5:30-6 pm at TFFC.

Revised Yang Style Taijiquan Long Form Movement descriptions. Studied various
Yang Style videotapes and DVDs, section by section: Fong Ha, Terry Dunn,
Doc Fai Wong, Yang Jwing-Ming, Yang Jun.

Joined with instructors at TFFC for group photograph. Talked with Kevin Weaver.
Carol Purdy, a long-time Taiji and Qigong student at TFFC, died this week after
a six year fight against breast cancer, she was 63 years old. Rest in peace, Carol!

Weightlifting for 45 minutes: Pulldowns, leg curls, bench press, triceps pressdowns.
I taught the yoga class 5:30-6:45 pm at the TFFC.

Revised Yang Style Taijiquan Long Form Movement descriptions. Studied various
Yang Style videotapes and DVDs, section by section: Fong Ha, Terry Dunn,
Doc Fai Wong, Yang Jwing-Ming, Yang Jun.

"If I could tell you what it meant, there would be no point in dancing it."
- Isadora Duncan

Spin class at TFFC from 8:30-9 am with Tanya.
Tai Chi class with Kevin Weaver from 10-11.

Attended the CUESD picnic at Woodson Bridge State Park. A beautiful evening
with good conversation. I met the new Superintendent Steve and his wife Cindy.

Revised Yang Style Taijiquan Long Form Movement descriptions. Studied various
Yang Style videotapes and DVDs, section by section: Fong Ha, Terry Dunn,
Doc Fai Wong, Yang Jwing-Ming, Yang Jun. Finished the project! Started on
Sun style internal martial arts writing, studying, practicing, and learning project

"Mountains, a moment's earth-waves rising and hollowing;
      the earth too's an ephemerid; the stars--
Short-lived as grass the stars quicken in the nebula and dry
      in their summer, they spiral
Blind up space, scattered black seeds of a future; nothing
      lives long, the whole sky's
Recurrences tick the second of the hours of the ages of the
      eternity is nothing too tiresome,
Enormous repose after, enormous repose before, the flash
      of activity."

I taught Taijiquan and Qigong from 10-11am, and Hatha Yoga from 11-12:15am at TFFC.

Generally, my "hard style" strength, endurance, and hatha
vinyasa yoga training is done in the evening.

Karen and I went up to Anderson and Redding in the afternoon for lunch at Tokyo Garden,
shopping for wedding supplies and shoes.

"Untold unspeakables
Fill all unspeakables;
The unspeakable eons
Explanation of the unspeakable
cannot be finished.

If untold Buddha-lands are reduced
to atoms,
In one atom are untold lands,
And as in one,
So in each."
- The Buddha, The Flower Ornament Scripture

Worked very hard outdoors all day. It was very warm today. Summertime heat
is finally coming! I was exhausted when we stopped working at 7 pm.

"A person is never himself but always a mask; a person never owns
his own person, but always represents another, by whom he is possessed.
And the other that one is, is always ancestors..."
- Norman O. Brown

Mow lawns, water, clean up around the house. Mick and April arrive in the early
afternoon. Visiting with everyone. Very busy with preparations.

The Art of Chinese Swordsmanship: The Manual of Taiji Jian. By Yun Zhang.
New York, Weatherhill, 1998. 287 pages. ISBN: 0834804123. Sifu Yun
Xhang was a student of Grandmaster Wang Peisheng (Ying Cheng).
A 32 movement Wu short Jian form, by Wang Peisheng is taught. MGC.

"Journeys bring power and love
Back into you. If you can't go somewhere,
Move in the passageways of the self.
They are like shafts of light,
Always changing, and you change
When you explore them."
- Rumi

"Avoid extreme emotion of all kinds, especially as you grow older.
Nothing drains energy from the body as rapidly, nor disrupts the functional
harmony of vital organs as completely, as strong outbursts of emotion."
- Lee Ching Yuen

Work around the house on improvement projects and wedding preparations for
parties and visitors. Visit with and help Mick and April.

Chinese Swordsmanship: The Yang Family Taiji Jian Traditions. By Scott M. Rodell.
Annandale, Virginia, Seven Stars Books and Video, 2003. 304 pages.   Introduction,
sword traditions, history, safety, Yang classical form and Michuan Taiji fighting system.
Review   ISBN: 0974399906.   MGC. The Michuan Jian form is meticulously
described and photographed and applications shown on pages 73-184, and the
Public Yang Jian is likewise described on pages 185-257. Applications and swordplay
with partners are covered. The basic Jian cuts are explained on pages 41-64.

"Freedom is born of self-discipline. No individual, no nation, can achieve or maintain
liberty without self-control. The undisciplined man (or woman) is a slave to his own
weaknesses."
- Alan Valentine

Work around the house. Visit with and help Mick and April. Visit with Sean, Alicia,
and Uncle Bob. Alicia and Sean Flinn, and Bob Blaize arrive from Portland. We all
went to Chico for dinner at Sierra Nevada brewery. Many visitors from April's family.
Mick and his young friends went out for a bachelor party.

"Four innate sentiments dispose people to a universal moral sense.
These are sympathy, fairness, self-control and duty."
- James O. Wilson

Work around the house with preparations for visitors, parties, and rehearsal
party. Visit with everyone.

Wedding rehearsal at Cone Grove Church. Pizza dinner for the group at our home.
April's aunt almost lost her little dog. Many friends and family from Southern California.

"As we become ever more cut off from our roots and further removed from
our sense of connection to the rest of the human race, our environment, and
to the understanding of the interrelatedness of the universe itself, disease
will become more and more prevalent."
- Solala Towler

April Lenore Scott and Michael Delmer Garofalo are married today. Wedding at
Cone Grove Chapel on Highway 99 East in Dairyville and Los Molinos area.
Reception at River Front Restaurant on Antelope Blvd.

"Self-reverence, self-knowledge, self-control ... these three alone lead life
to sovereign power."
- Lord Alfred Tennyson

Visiting with many people at our home.  I drove to Chico at dawn to pick up
my Uncle Bob. Alicia and Sean leave for Portland.  Major house clean up
and wedding support work.

"Nothing is so fatiguing as the eternal hanging on of an uncompleted task."
- William James

Memorial Day. We have 10 people sleep over at our home - friends of Mick
from Los Angeles. Wedding clean up, return wedding supplies, trash management.
We enjoyed a nice dinner. Everyone was tired.

"It is for us to pray not for tasks equal to our powers, but for powers equal to our tasks,
to go forward with a great desire forever beating at the door of our hearts as we travel
toward our distant goal."
- Helen Keller

Work for CUESD from 7:30 - 11:30 pm. Start reorganization project with all library clerks at
West Street library. Drive to Chico to return wedding supplies.

Weightlifting for 45 minutes: Bench press, squats, dumbbell presses, shrugs, triceps kickbacks.
I enjoyed the yoga class taught by Gudrun from 5:30-6:45 pm at the TFFC.

I was just too busy last week with wedding activities and socializing with family and friends
to have much time for physical exercise, yoga or taiji. Resuming practices today.

Monday
Beat around the bush
Lift myself up by the bootstraps
Make mountains out of mole hills
Jump to conclusions
Climb the walls

Tuesday
Drag my heels
Make my point
Push my luck
Pull my own load
Hit the nail on the head

Wednesday
Bend over backwards
Jump on the Band Wagon
Grab all I can get
Run around in circles
Shoulder my share of responsibility

Friday
Push it to the limit
Pull out all the stops
Add fuel to the fire
Pave the roadway to hell
Throw it all away

Saturday
Open a can of worms
Put my foot in my mouth
Start the ball rolling
Go over the edge

Sunday
Pick up the pieces.
Wade through the morning paper
Lift my spirits
Toot my own horn

Tai Chi Chuan, Taijiquan, T'ai Ch'i Ch'uan, Tai Chi, Tai Ji Quan, Taiji, Tai Ji Chuan, Tie Jee Chewan
Walking, Gardening, Weightlifting, Yoga, Meditation, Stretching, Exercise, Physical Fitness
Chi Kung, Qi Gong, Qigong, Chee Gung, Qi, Chi, Tu Na, Dao Yin, Yi, Neigong, Gung Fu
Valley Spirit Blog, Gu Shen Blog, Valley Spirit Taijiquan Journal, Tai Chi Diary
Tai Chi Chuan, Taijiquan, T'ai Chi Ch'uan, Tai Chi, Tai Ji Quan, Taiji, Tai Ji Chuan, Tie Jee Chewan

Chi Kung, Qi Gong, Qigong, Chee Gung, Qi, Chi, Tu Na, Dao Yin, Yi, Neigong,
Tai Chi Journal, Tai Chi Diary, Taijiquan Journal, T'ai Chi Ch'uan Journal
Ch'i Kung Journal, Ch'i Kung Diary, Qigong Journal, Qigong Blog, Qigong Diary
Yoga Journal, Yoga Blog, Yoga Diary
Walking Journal, Walking Blog, Walkng Diary
Meditation Journal, Meditation Blog, Meditation Diary
Valley Spirit Taijiquan Journal Blog
Cloud Hands Tai Chi Journal
Taijiquan Notes, Comments, Reflections

Cloud Hands Website
Taijiquan, Qigong, Taoism, Classics, Weapons: Sword and Staff

Fitness and Well Being Website
Gardening, Meditation, Walking, Yoga, Strength Training,
Fitness for Older Persons, Aerobics, Relaxation

The Spirit of Gardening
2,700 Quotes Arranged by 130 Topics, History, Guides,
Psycho-Spiritual Aspects of Gardening

Green Way Research
    Online Publishing, Research, Indexing, and Services
     By Michael P. Garofalo
     Red Bluff, California

Red Bluff, Tehama County, North Sacramento Valley, Northern California, U.S.A.
Cities and small towns in the area: Oroville, Paradise, Durham, Chico, Hamilton City,
Corning, Rancho Tehama, Los Molinos, Vina, Tehama, Proberta, Gerber,
Manton, Cottonwood, Olinda, Cloverdale, Dairyville, Bend, Centerville, Summit City
Anderson, Shasta Lake, Palo Cedro, Igo, Ono, Redding, Shasta, Colusa, Willows,
Richfield, Fall River, Montgomery Creek, Alturas, McCloud, Dunsmuir, Yreka, Happy Camp,
Shingletown, Burney, Mt. Shasta City, Weaverville, Williams, Chester, Orland,
Susanville, Weed, Gridley, Marysville, Yuba City, NorCalifia, CA, California.

Valley Spirit
Journal

Daily Reflections, Activities, Reading, Notes, Quotations, Comments, Links, References
Notes and Observations about Fitness and Well Being: Gardening, Walking, Taijiquan, Yoga, Qigong
About This and That - Ku Shen Journal - A Daily Journal/Blog

May 2005

Index to the Valley Spirit Journal

By

Michael P. Garofalo
Living in the Rural North Sacramento Valley, Red Bluff, California
A Brief Biography of the Author

Valley Spirit Journal

Daily Reflections, Activities, Reading, Notes, Quotations, Comments, Links, References Notes and Observations about Fitness and Well Being: Gardening, Walking, Taijiquan, Yoga, Qigong About This and That - Ku Shen Journal - A Daily Journal/Blog

May 2005

Index to the Valley Spirit Journal

By Michael P. Garofalo Living in the Rural North Sacramento Valley, Red Bluff, California A Brief Biography of the Author

Valley Spirit
Journal

Daily Reflections, Activities, Reading, Notes, Quotations, Comments, Links, References
Notes and Observations about Fitness and Well Being: Gardening, Walking, Taijiquan, Yoga, Qigong
About This and That - Ku Shen Journal - A Daily Journal/Blog

By

Michael P. Garofalo
Living in the Rural North Sacramento Valley, Red Bluff, California
A Brief Biography of the Author