March
   2006   

A horse watching me holding a horse stance.

Valley Spirit   
Author  
Contact 
Home  
Purpose   
Archives  
Green Way Blog   
Cloud Hands Blog   
CUESD Info/Zone Blog     
Valley Spirit Journal   
          
   

Websites
Spirit of Gardening 
Cloud Hands 
Cuttings: Haiku Poetry  
Green Way Research   
Zen Poetry 
    

     

March 1,  Wednesday,  2006

Work for CUESD 7:30 - 4.  Grant writing and research work, Room 13 lab supervision.

Gym:  Weightlifting - Leg work (leg curls, reverse leg curls, lat pulldowns, tricep pushdowns, etc.), spin class with Heather.  I was somewhat tired and sore.  

A very foggy morning.  

white sun
floats in fog -
shadowless trees

passions
hiding in lies -
bloodless crimes

boxcars of wood
from Mt. Hood - 
smell of diesel

Categories   
Search  
Archives   
Blogs     
Gardening  
T'ai Chi Ch'uan  
Qigong  
Indexes  
Photography   
Biographies  
General   
Months  
Mysticism  
Webmaster   
Mike Garofalo  
 
   

   
  

March 2,  Thursday,  2006

Work for CUESD from 7:30 - 4 pm.  SCVP Grant writing and research.

Gym:  Weightlifting: Arms and shoulders dumbell work.  Teach yoga class.
TFFC staff meeting 7 pm.

"Sitting silently, practice meditation;
The impulse is at yuanguan.
Continuously and gently regulate your breathing;
One yin and one yang brewing in the internal cauldron.
Nature must be enlightened, life be preserved.
Don't rush, let the fire burn slowly.
Close your eyes and look at your heart of life.
Let tranquillity and spontaneity be the source.
In a hundred days you will see a result:
A drop of elixir rises from kan, 
The Yellow woman is the matchmaker in between,
Both the baby and the red lady are perfect.
The beauty is boundless and inexplicable,
All over the body vital energy arises.
Who can know such a marvellous experience?
- Master Chang San Feng

T'ai Chi Ch'uan  
Yang Style  
Sun Style  
Sword  
Staff  
Saber 
Cloud Hands 
Qigong 
Links  
Chen Style   
Bagua  
Yang 24  
Sun 73 
Cloud Hands Blog   
Bibliography  
 

March 3,  Friday,  2006

Gym 6:30 weightlifting: chest and legs; Taijiquan with Kevin; spin class with Tonya.  Walking and Taijiquan at home.   

Work for CUESD 11-4 pm.  SCVP Research and writing.  

The focus of most religious Taoism is attaining immortality. This can have various meanings: eternal life, longevity of life, or attainment of superhuman physical abilities. Taoists have sought longevity by a variety of methods, such as:

* Focusing attention on the body through diet, exercises, and mindfulness
* Regulating the breath (ch'i), circulating its power deliberately to all parts of the body
* Harnessing sexual energy, especially by retaining semen and sending its power throughout the body
* Exploring alchemy with the goal of finding the elixir of immortality
* Behaving in a moral way that is in harmony with the Tao
* Searching for the Isles of the Blessed, where the Immortals dwell and may be persuaded to share their secrets of immortality

Taoist Beliefs  http://www.religionfacts.com/taoism/beliefs.htm

March 4,  Saturday,  2006

Teach Taijiquan at TFFC 10-11, teach yoga from 11-12:15.  

Walking and taijiquan after class.  Relax, read and nap in the afternoon.

Home work chores and projects.  

"The secret of happiness lies in taking a genuine interest in all
the details of daily life, and in elevating them to art."
-  William Morris

Take a look at Kent's Tai Chi Chuan notes on 13 postures.
http://www.kentstaichi.com/abouttaichi.html

The origins of Tai Chi Chuan go back to around the Sung Dynasty (960-1279) in China. As the story goes, Chang San-feng (), a Taoist priest, was meditating on Wu-Tang Mountain, in Hupei province. One day he heard a noise outside and found that a bird was attacking a snake. Chang watched as the bird attacked the snake's head and the snake yielded at his head and struck with his tail. Then the bird attacked the snake's tail and the snake yielded at his tail and attacked with his head. When the bird attacked the snake's belly the snake yielded at the belly and attacked with both his head and his tail. In the end the bird gave up and flew away. Chang was so impressed with the beauty and efficiency of the snake's defense that he decided to create a martial art using the yielding (yin) and attacking (yang) method of the snake. He combined the thirteen postures (see below) with Taoist philosophy and exercises to create Tai Chi Chuan. Chang then wrote what is known as the Tai Chi Chuan Classic () a very important read for those studying Tai Chi Chuan (see the Resources page for links to translations of the Classics).

Refer to my Zhang San-Feng webpage.

March 5,  Sunday,  2006

"Eden is that old-fashioned House
We dwell in every day
Without suspecting our abode
Until we drive away."
-   Emily Dickinson

Walking and Taijiquan in the morning.

"Avoid deficiency and excess; avoid projections and hollows; avoid severance and splice."
- Stuart Olson

"Do not show any deficiency, neither concavity nor convexity in movement. Do not show disconnected movement."
- Jou, Tsung-Hwa

"No part should be defective, no part should be deficient or excessive, no part should be disconnected."
- Yang, Jwing-Ming

"Let there be no hollows or projections; let there be no stops and starts."
- Barbara Davis

"When performing T'ai Chi, it should be perfect; allow no defect. The form should be smooth with no unevenness, and continuous, allowing no interruptions."
- Liao, Waysun

"Let the postures be without breaks or holes, hollows or projections, or discontinuities and continuities of form."
- Benjamin Lo

" Move in a continuous, even and smooth manner.
Do not overextend the limbs or sully the forms.
Flow like the Great River
Filling all the holes and hallows,
Unbroken, gathered, full, unstoppable;
Seeking the True Level, finding the Golden Mean,
Neither excessive nor deficient in Yin or Yang;
Holding postures as perfect as the Blue Lotus,
Moving steadily between forms like the White Tiger,
Uniting body and will in the Jade Furnace,
Transcending inner and outer, starting and stopping."
- Michael P. Garofalo

The Principles of T'ai Chi Ch'uan is attributed to the
Taoist Master Chang San-Feng, circa 1300 CE.

March 6,  Monday,  2006

Work for CUESD fro 7:30 -4:  SCVP Grant finishing touches.  

Gym: 4:20: wightlighting - high reps and light with good form, spin class from 5:15-5:50, teach Yogalates for Lauren from 6-6:45 pm.  

"Hi Mike: I'm writing because I got your name off of the T'ai Chi website for elementary teachers. The reason is that I am the author of a 9 books series called Margie and the School of Hard Knocks, about a 65 yr. old woman who gets to live her life over from age 3 and go to a special school to learn life's lessons, among which is Qi Gong and T'ai Chi. The importance of it is explained and stressed as a part of daily life. It is stressed so much that the kids at the main school join 6 other schools in China in Level Three for a T'ai Chi exhibition. At the school each year there equals 2 in the outside world. The books are great for all ages; especially children from 8 up. T'ai Chi blends in so beautifully with the rest of what's in my books, I hope you'll take a look at my website: www.margiegerow.com. I'm also a former teacher and sub."
-  Margie Gerow, 

One sees clearly only with the heart.
Anything essential is invisible to the eyes.

-The Little Prince

See the truth -
feel its essence -
don't imagine or think about it.

-Stonepeace 

March 7,  Tuesday,  2006

Work for CUESD from 7:30 - 4 pm.  Catchup on other grant projects, supervise library staff, work in EAST lab.  

Gym: 4:20- Heavy weightlifting (pulldowns, reverse leg curls, back hyperextensions, seated leg curls, triceps pressdowns); teach yoga from 5:30-6:45 pm.  

Grandmaster Madame Sun Jian Yun (1913-2003) gave us the following advice about the practice of Sun Style Tai Chi Chuan:

1.  The head should be upright but do not use force.  Let the spirit be full.

2.  The mouth should be gently closed with the tongue at the upper palate.  Breath gently through the nose. (Note: Personally, I prefer to have my mouth loosely open).

3.  Both shoulders should be loose and dropped.  Be careful that they are not raised: raised shoulders cause the chi to float.

4.  Both elbows should be pressed down.  When the elbows and shoulders are dropped, chi can be sunk at the dan tian.  When the elbows are pressed down, the arms can be bent, with stored energy ready to be released.

5.  The fingers should be open and loose.  The wrist should be flexible.

6.  The chest should be held in, not extended.  An extended chest causes chi to float, resulting in top heaviness.  

7.  The waist must be flexible, as it is the commander of all the whole body's movements.  

8.  The legs should be bent: 'apparent' and 'solid' must be differentiated, otherwise agility is lost.  

9.  'Chi sunk at dan tian' means deep breathing.  Deep breathing is very important in Tai Chi Chuan, but it must not be forced.

10.  Meditation is seeking movement in stillness; Tai Chi Chuan is seeking stillness in movement.  During practice, the heart must be calm and the mind must be focused; only then can the physical movements be smooth and agile. 

11.  A special feature of Tai Chi Chuan is 'use will-power, don't use strength.'  The aim is to achieve force that is alive, with extreme softness yet extreme hardness, extreme heaviness yet extreme agility.  When will-power arrives, power arrives.  If mechanical strength is used, it becomes sluggish and clumsy, floating externally, out of place in external arts."

-  Translated by Wong Kiew Kit.  Found in "The Complete Book of Tai Chi Chuan" by Wong Kiew Kit, 1996, p. 262.  

March 8,  Wednesday,  2006

Work for CUESD from 7:30 - 4.  Library supervision business, other grant work,
catch up.  

Gym:  Weightlifting for 35 minutes, spin class for 30 minutes with Heather, teach Yogalates from 6-6:45 pm.  

I often come across idealist statements that express the idea
that "My mind creates the World."  

"What is mind? No matter.
What is matter? Never mind."
-George Berkeley

"We are mind and matter, but it’s the mind that matters,
more than matter, as "mind over matter",
whether you mind it or not.
So mind your mind."
-Stonepeace 

There is value to minding our mind, observing the processes of 
our minds, controlling and directing our minds, uplifting our minds,
and expanding our minds.  However I'm of the opinion that my
mind really depends on all other minds to give meaning and purpose
to our lives, and that it is a false pride to think that my mind creates the
world.  

It is the World that creates your minds.
It's our minds that think we create our worlds.
It's our minds that can imagine other Worlds.  
It's our minds that believe in falsehoods and the impossible.  
It's our minds that tell stories of the past.  
Take away all the other minds and your mind won't last for long.
Millions of minds have disappeared into the World.

Work for CUESD from 7:30 -4.  Grants: Reading First, mail SCVP, room 9 lab work.

Gym: Weightlifting for 40 minutes, teach yoga from 5:30-6:45 pm.  

A few interesting Zen blogs to visit:

Whiskey River
http://whiskeyriver.blogspot.com/

Zen Filter
http://zenfilter.blogspot.com/

Zen Under the Skin: A Dharma Blog
http://zenundertheskin.typepad.com/zenreflections/

Home chores and writing in the early morning.

Walking and taijiquan at home along Kilkenny Lane.

Shopping in Chico: used bookstore, Asian store, Karen's birthday presents, and lunch.

Dinner out and shopping chores with Karen in late afternoon.  

Thundershowers with light to heavy rain and hail today.  

"February"

"Blending with the wind,
Snow falls;
Blending with the snow,
The wind blows.
By the hearth
I stretch out my legs,
Idling my time away
Confined in this hut.
Counting the days,
I find that February, too,
Has come and gone
Like a dream."
- Ryokan
Dewdrops on a Lotus Leaf: Zen Poems of Ryokan
translated by John Stevens

New books to read:

Raja-Yoga.  By Swami Vivekananda.  New York, Ramakrishna-Vivekananda Center, 1956.  Revised edition, 1982.  ISBN: 091120623X.  Glossary, index, 297 pages.  MGC.

The Hundred Thousand Songs of Milarepa, Volume One.  Translated and annotated by Garma C.C. Chang.  Boston, Shambhala, 1989.  Oriental Studies Foundation 1962, Shambhala 1977.  Pages 1 - 356.  ISBN: 0877730954.  MGC.  

The Hundred Thousand Songs of Milarepa, Volume Two.  Translated and annotated by Garma C.C. Chang.  Boston, Shambhala, 1989.  Oriental Studies Foundation 1962, Shambhala 1977.  Pages 357-730.  Index to pages 1-730.  ISBN: 0877730962.  MGC.   

Essential Tibetan Buddhism.  Translated with commentary by Robert A. F. Thurman.  Edison, New Jersey, Castle Books, 1995.  Notes, 317 pages.  ISBN: 0785808728.  MGC.  

The Tibetan Book of Yoga.  Ancient Buddhist Teachings on the Philosophy and Practice of Yoga.  By Geshe Michael Roach.  New York, Doubleday, Random House, 2003.  114 pages.  ISBN: 0385508379. 

Gentle snow in the morning.     

Teach yoga and taijiquan at TFFC: 10-12:15 am.  

Home projects and chores.  

"Your lungs fill & spread themselves,
wings of pink blood, and your bones
empty themselves and become hollow.
When you breathe in you'll lift like a balloon
and your heart is light too & huge,
beating with pure joy, pure helium.
The sun's white winds blow through you,
there's nothing above you,
you see the earth now as an oval jewel,
radiant & seablue with love.
It's only in dreams you can do this.
Waking, your heart is a shaken fist,
a fine dust clogs the air you breathe in;
the sun's a hot copper weight pressing straight
down on the thick pink rind of your skull.
It's always the moment just before gunshot.
You try & try to rise but you cannot."
- Margaret Atwood, Flying Inside Your Own Body

Walking and Taijiquan in the morning. It was cold and very overcast most of the day.

Worked on Karen's computer.  Reading and watch DVDs.

"When your vision penetrates through and your use of it is clear, you are spontaneously able to turn without freezing up or getting stuck amid all kinds of lightning-fast changes and complex interactions and interlocking intricacies. You do not establish any views or keep to any mental states; you move with a mighty flow, so that "when the wind moves, the grasses bend down."
- Zen Letters, Teachings of Yuanwu
translated by J.C. and Thomas Cleary

Shambhala Warriorship: Tibetan Buddhism, Tantra, Yoga

Raja Yoga

Walking and Taijiquan in the late morning.  

Worked on Karen's new computer - what a frustrating disappointment.  After nearly three months of work - the modem disconnects, the connect speed is too slow, and Internet does not work properly.

Gym workout in the afternoon: weightlifting 25 mintues, spin 45 minutes with Nichole, cardio kickboxing with Tonya and Matt for 40 minutes.  The Kickboxing workout was quite strenuous - I probably will be sore on Wednesday from the new movements.  

Reading until midnight - "Zen's Chinese Heritage."

"Even though your practice is not good enough, you can do it. Your breathing will gradually vanish. You will gradually vanish, fading into emptiness. Inhaling without effort you naturally come back to yourself with some color or form. Exhaling, you gradually fade into emptiness -- empty, white paper. That is shikantaza. The important point is your exhalation. Instead of trying to feel yourself as you inhale, fade into emptiness as you exhale.

When you practice this in your last moment, you will have nothing to be afraid of. You are actually aiming at emptiness. You become one with everything after you completely exhale with this feeling. If you are still alive, naturally you will inhale again. 'Oh, I'm still alive! Fortunately or unfortunately!' Then you start to exhale and fade into emptiness. Maybe you don't know what kind of feeling it is. But some of you know it. By some chance you must have felt this kind of feeling."
-  Suzuki Roshi, Not Always So

Work for CUESD 7:30-1.  Appointment with Dr. Plett at 2 pm.  My AIC blood sugar numbers hardly improved despite the new drug - metaformin.  My blood pressure numbers were down.  All other measurements looked good.  My prostrate numbers continued to rise and an appointment was made with the urologist.  

Gym: Weightlifting (chest, squats, dumbells), teach yoga for 75 minutes to 15 people.  I felt pretty energetic and not very sore from last nights extra cardio kickboxing workout.    

"What is the best way to sever our attachment to material things?

First, we need a good sharp sword, a sword of discrimination, one that cuts through appearance to expose the real. We begin by making a point of noticing how quickly we became dissatisfied with material things and how soon our sensory pleasures also fade into discontent. With persistent awareness we sharpen and hone this sword. Before long, we find that we seldom have to use it. We’ve cut down all old desires and new ones don’t dare to bother us."
-  Han Shan, Maxims

Work for CUESD 7:30-4.  Teach students, work in room 9 installing software.  

Another grant I wrote brought in $129,900 for the Corning School District.  It is the Enhancing Education Through Technology Grant, Round 4, for Olive View and Woodson Schools.  

Karen and I drove to Redding for dinner at Roundhouse and shopping at Barnes and Noble Bookstore.  A nice evening out to celebrate her 58 birthday.  Heavy rain on the way home.   

"Human beings are
soft and supple when alive,
stiff and straight when dead.

The myriad creatures, the grasses and trees are
soft and fragile when alive
dry and withered when dead.

Therefore, it is said:
The rigid person is a disciple of death;
The soft, supple, and delicate are lovers of life.

An army that is inflexible will not conquer;
A tree that is inflexible will snap.

The unyielding and mighty shall be brought low;
The soft, supple, and delicate will be set above."

-  Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching, Section 41 (76)
Translated by Victor H. Mair, 1990

Work for CUESD 7:30-1.  Manager's monthly meeting.  Go to Price's Pharmacy.  

Chiropractic adjustment by Dr. Strawberry and an hour massage by Carol Borer.

Weightlifting for 40 minutes (high repetitions and less weight), teach yoga for 75 minutes.  Don't overdo before weekend YogaFit Level 3 workshop.    

"What you think you are
is a belief to be undone."
-  Gift from a Course on Miracles

Working out provides us with needed movements for our muscles, joints, coordination, tendons, strength, skeleton, spine, and skin.  

Working in provides us with needed movements to enhance our oxygen delivery system, our blood circulation, our heart rate, our vital organs, our hormonal system, our bio-chemistry, and our consciousness.  

Working with others provides us with needed social interactions, positive group dynamics, and the joyfulness of harmonious group movements.  

Working through the mind provides us with needed attention to our inner awareness, our sensations, our feelings, our emotions, our thoughts, our memories, our self-image, and our beliefs.  

Working beyond the body-mind provides us with needed attention for matters of the spirit, for values, for our highest aspirations, for the future, for our soul.  

I'm reading the following book:

The Nia Technique. The High-Powered Energizing Workout that Gives You a New Body and a New Life.  By Debbie Rosas and Carlos Rosas.  New York, Broadway Books, 2004.  Bibliography, glossary, 324 pages.  Illustrated with photographs.  ISBN: 0767917308.  MPG.  Nia is a newer fusion exercise system, and "Nia" stands for "Neuromuscular Integrative Action."

Fundamentals of Nia:

The joy of movement is the secret of fitness.

Fitness must address the human being, not just the body.

Movement must be conscious, not habitual.

Use you body in the way it was designed to be used.

Use your body to heal your mind, emotions, and spirit.

Take the path of least resistance.

The Five Principles of the Body's Way:

The body thrives on dynamic ease.  

The body demands balance.

The body is balanced in yin and yang.

The body's way demands simultaneous mobility and stability.

The body itself reveals the body's way.  

No work for CUESD.  

Gym: 7:30 am: Weightlifting for an hour, spin for 45 minutes with Tonya.  Walking and Taijiquan at home.  Shopping an lunch in Chico.  Drive to Sacramento.  

St. Patrick's day - BKEG's 48th birthday.  Gave her numerous presents.

"A monk asked, "What's the essential meaning of Zen?"
Xita replied, "You don't have Buddha nature."
The monk said, "What is sudden enlightenment?"
Xita drew a circle in the ground with his staff.
The monk asked, "What is gradual enlightenment?"
Xit poked the midle of the empty space three times with his staff."
-  Zen's Chinese Masters, 2000, p. 208
   Translated by Andy Ferguson

Deshan said to the monks, "If you speak you get thirty blows.  If you don't speak, you get thirty blows."
Yantou later said, "Old Deshan usually just relied on a white staff.  If the Buddha came he hit him.  If an ancestor came he hit him.  Why does he have so many students."
-  Zen's Chinese Masters, 2000, p. 199

"Students are as numerous as sands in the Ganges but none are awakened.
They err by searching for the path in another person's mouth.
If you wish to forget form and not leave any traces,
Wholeheartedly strive to walk in emptiness."
-  Dongshan, Zen's Chinese Masters, 2000, p. 186
   Translated by Andy Ferguson

I participated in the YogaFit Level 3 Teacher Training Workshop, Day One, in Sacramento, California, from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.  Our enthusiastic, knowledgeable, witty, and engaging instructor for the workshop was Stuart Rice.  We participated in a 2.5 hour master level workout, discussed the elements and need for a personal practice, reviewed the Yamas and Niyamas of Pantanjali's classical yoga text, did some team teaching exercises, and learned a great deal about the anatomy of yoga.   

Five Ways To Be Real
The Practice of Dzogchen Buddhism

Naturalness and Simplicity

Rely on the Natural State.  Be yourself, your true unaltered self.  A meditation instruction to carry with you: Everything we need is with the natural mind - innately whole and complete.  So relax.

Authenticity, Non-contrivance, Non-fabrication

There is nirvanic peace in things left just as they are.  Striving and struggle is extra.  Leave it as it is and rest the weary heart and mind.  See through everything, be through everything - and remain free, luminous and complete.

Openness and Oneness

Stay open-minded and inclusive.  Pure presence is a state of nonjudgmental, non-interfering choiceless awareness or panoramic attention to the 'is-ness" and "now-ness" of all things.  Be open to your experience.  Let go and let things fall into place as they will.  Perhaps wherever they fall is the right place.

Awareness and Wisdom

Present awareness knows and sees what is, as it is.  Innate wakefulness is wise and effective in its own brand of insight and discernment combined with uncommon common sense.

Spontaneous Energy Flow

With freedom and decontraction, inexhaustible uninhibited energy is released, surging forth, bubbling up from within.  When we let go and loosen our tight-fisted grasping, our repetitive holding patterns, we are buoyed up and become one with the flow.  This is the natural flow, the sacred zone masters describe.  You can access it at will."

-  Lama Surya Das, Awakening to the Sacred, 2003, p. 325

I participated in the YogaFit Level 3 Teacher Training Workshop, Day Two, in Sacramento, California, from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Our enthusiastic, knowledgeable, witty, and engaging instructor for the workshop was Stuart Rice. We participated in a 1 hour master level workout, discussed the elements and need for a personal practice, reviewed many new postures, did some team teaching exercises, and learned even more about the anatomy of yoga.

This was my last YogaFit teacher training workshop. I have now completed the 200 hour teacher training program. I am now eligible to apply for the 200 hour “Registered Yoga Teacher” certificate from the National Yoga Alliance. I have much more to learn. 

Reading the following books:

I have found the three books by John Loupos, a Kung Fu and Tai Chi master, to be of significant value to me.  His writing is clear, thoughtful, and grounded in extensive experience.  Tai Chi teachers will find much information of high value in these books. 
The books are published by the Yang's Martial Arts Association and well edited.   

Exploring Tai Chi: Contemporary Views on an Ancient Art.  By John Loupos.  Boston, Massachusetts, YMAA Publications, 2003.  135 illustrations.  Glossary, index, 206 pages.  ISBN: 0940871424.  MGC.  

Inside Tai Chi: Hints, Tips, Training, and Process for Students and Teachers.  By John Loupos.  Boston, Massachusetts, YMAA Publications, 2002.  Glossary, resources, index, 209 pages.  ISBN: 1886969108.  MGC.  

Tai Chi Connections: Advancing Your Tai Chi Experience.  By John Loupos.  Boston, MA, YMAA Publication Center, 2005.  Index, 194 pages.  ISBN: 1594390320.  MGC.  

First day of spring - vernal equinox.  

Work for CUESD from 7:30- 1 - Overtime work.

Urologist appointment with Dr. Smith to investigate prostate problems.    
I must have a prostrate test for cancer in early May.

No exercise tonight.  I need some rest.  

Reading the following books:

Pagan Spirituality: A Guide to Personal Transformation.  Joyce and River Higginbotham.  Woodbury, Minnesota, Llewellyn, 2006.  Bibliography, index, 259 pages.  ISBN: 0738705748.  MGC.

Paganism: An Introduction to Earth-Centered Religions.  Joyce and River Higginbotham.  Woodbury, Minnesota, Llewellyn, 2004.  Bibliography, index, 272 pages.  ISBN: 0738702226. 

Shamanic Experience: A Practical Guide to Contemporary Shamanism.  By Kenneth Meadows.  Shaftesbury, Dorset, England, Element Books, 1991.  Glossary, bibliography, resources, index 196 pages.  ISBN: 1852302267.  MGC.  

Mind/Body Fitness: Focus, Preparation, Performance.  By Tom Seabourne.  Strategies for Success from a Champion Martial Artist.  Boston, Massachusetts, YMAA Publications, 2001.  Index, glossary, 159 pages.  ISBN: 1886969876. 

Work for CUESD 7:30-4.  Work on grant budgets, meetings, ordering for 5 grants, and library business.  

Gym: Weightlifting for 40 minutes, teach yoga for 75 mintes.  

The Eight Elements West
http://www.eightelementswest.com/about.html

1.  Consistent Exercise
Energize through safe, results-oriented exercise.

2. Body Alignment
Promote proper posture, spinal strength with flexibility, and body awareness.

3.  Natural Nutrition
Implement sound eating practices for life.  

4.  Sound Mind
Embrace life obstacles with self-awareness, reflection, imagination and creativity.

5.  Relaxation and Centering  
Cultivate and calm the bodymind connection everyday.

6.  Community and Environment
Surround yourself with trusted friends and family. Be kind to the Earth.

7.  Individual Action
Time is precious. Let change begin now, with you.

8.  Heart of the Human Spirit
Transform life through your heart, where true strength resides. 

Work for CUESD 7:30-12.  Work on grant budgets, meetings, ordering for 5 grants, and library business.  Attend LitFest in Red Bluff - teach two classes on web publishing to 6-12 grade students.  It was called: See You on the Web!  Finished at 5 p.m.  

Gym: Spin class for 45 minutes with Nichole, cardio kick boxing for 40 minutes with Tonya and Matt.  I was very stiff and sore before, during and after the workout.  

SivaShakti: Hatha and Tantra Yoga   Includes the Tantria Podcasts.  

basically the sexuality represents the fundamental tendency of joining together the (+) and the (-), the Solar and the Lunar, the YANG and the YIN, the Male and the Female, the HA and the THA, for attaining the final condition of Union, the neutrality of the Absolute, (0), the peace of the spiritual Androgyne, who has summed up in itself all the potentialities of the manifestation. This goal, which is actually common with all the spiritual paths of our planet, is achieved in TANTRA through various ways, and this gives birth to several branches of the Tantric system.

http://sivasakti.com/articles/tantra/introduction-to-tantra-art04.html

One such surprising example can be found in certain schools of HATHA YOGA; as few know, the word 'HATHA' proceeds from the two Sanskrit roots HA - Sun, and THA - Moon, which makes HATHA YOGA the discipline of the "Union of the Sun and the Moon", or otherwise said of the (+) and (-), of the Masculine and Feminine. Therefore, the genuine HATHA YOGA is a kind of TANTRA in which the union of the Male and Female aspects occurs within the being of the practiser, through specific methods, fact which entails a final condition of inner balance, harmony, and power. As a matter of fact, it is a well-known fact that HATHA YOGA is a typical Tantric instrument for training, and that in most of the Left-Hand TANTRA ASHRAM-s it is deemed to be an indispensable practice. That is why, also in our course there will be frequent references, and exercises belonging to the HATHA YOGA system. However, returning to the initial topic of this paragraph, it can be noted that scholars still have difficulties in deciding if HATHA YOGA in itself is belonging to the Right-Hand current (since physical sex is not necessarily involved) or to the Left-Hand one (being so physical, and bringing about a kind of physical "inner sex"). But, for the real practisers all these distinctions have little importance, since they are mainly concerned with the practical, effective results of their spiritual discipline, and not with theoretical speculations.

Work for CUESD from 7:30-4.  EAST lab computer work, set up Access and Excel files for EETT4 and Gearup, meet with people on grants, visit Olive View Library, complete library survey for CDE online.      

Gym: Weightlifting for 15 minutes, teach yoga for 75 mintes.  

Raining most of the day.  I worked for CUESD from 9-2 p.m..  

I was tired and sore - so I rested at home in the afternoon.  I have a slight cold with minor aches and pains.  

Start and finish YogaFit Level 3 homework this weekend.  Start studying Tai Chi for Arthritis study.  

Walking and Taijiquan at home.  Overcast and cool in the morning.  

Teach Tai Chi from 10-11 and yoga from 11-12:15 am.  

Do YogaFit Level 3 homework.  

Study Tai Chi for Arthritis book and DVD.  

Reading the following books:

Tai Chi Ch'uan: The Technique of Power.  Cloud Hands Edition.  Cloud Hands Publishing, 2003.  No author or publisher information.  ISBN: 0-974201308.  290 pages.  This book, for me, was not worth purchasing.  Most of the book consists of uninspired and otherwise readily available "translations" of Chinese Taoist works and common Tai Chi classics. The translations have no commentary, and few references are given.  The modicum of Tai Chi advice is mediocre, vague, and very general.

Walking and Taijiquan at home for 90 minutes.  

I worked outdoors in the garden for 5 hours.  Karen and I went to dinner at Debbie's house - excellent meal!  

Finish YogaFit Level 3 Homework.  Study Tai Chi for Arthritis book and DVD.  

"The doctor of the future will give no medicine but will interest his patients in the care of the human frame, in diet and in the cause and prevention of disease."
-  Thomas Edison

Happy is the man who has acquired 
the love of walking for its own sake!
- W.J. Holland


There is this to be said for walking: It's the one mode of human 
locomotion by which a man proceeds on his own two feet, upright, 
erect, as a man should be, not squatting on his rear haunches 
like a frog. 
- Edward Abbey 

http://www.egreenway.com/taichichuan/walking.htm

Zen Dance is "beyond religion, it manifests all of reality. It is an embodiment of meditation in motion, or movement creation," as well as spiritual practice and physical conditioning. But, like life, it is also ephemeral: "Dancing is painting on air."
Lee Sun Ock, creatrix-choreographer of Zen Dance, http://www.buddhapia.com/eng/time/2.html

Valley Spirit Mind-Body Newsletter
Issue 8, March 26, 2006

T’ai Chi Ch’uan, Yoga and Qigong News
By Michael Garofalo

Red Bluff, California
530-200-3546

Class Schedule for Yoga and T’ai Chi Ch’uan
March – April, 2006
Instructor:  Michael Garofalo

Tehama Family Fitness Center , Red Bluff 

Yoga, Tuesday, March 28^th, 5:30 p.m. – 6:45 p.m.
Yoga, Thursday, March 30^th, 5:30 p.m. – 6:45 p.m.

Saturday, April 1, Taijiquan and Yoga Classes Cancelled
Mike attending a Sun Style T’ai Chi Ch’uan Workshop in Oakland

Yoga, Tuesday, April 4^th, 5:30 – 6:45
Yoga, Thursday, April 6^th, Class Cancelled

Taijiquan, Saturday, April 8^th , 10:00 – 11:00 a.m.
Yoga, Saturday, April 8^th , 11 a.m. – 12:15 p.m.

Yoga, Tuesday, April 11^th, 5:30 – 6:45
Yoga, Thursday, April 13^th, 5:30 – 6:45

Taijiquan, Saturday, April 15, Class Cancelled
Yoga, Saturday, April 15, 11 a.m. – 12:15 Lauren Teaches Yoga

Yoga, Tuesday, April 18^th, Class Cancelled
Yoga, Thursday, April 20^th, Class Cancelled

Taijiquan, Saturday, April 22^nd, 10:00 – 11:00 a.m.
Yoga, Saturday, April 22^nd , 11 a.m. – 12:15 p.m.

Yoga, Tuesday, April 25^th, Class Cancelled
Yoga, Thursday, April 27^th , 5:30 – 6:45

Taijiquan, Thursday, April 27^th, 7 p.m. – 8 p.m. (New Class Starts)

Taijiquan, Saturday, April 29^th, 10:00 – 11:00 a.m.
Yoga, Saturday, April 29^th, 11 a.m. – 12:15 p.m.

Taijiquan Advice from Grandmaster Madame Sun Jian Yun

Grandmaster Madame Sun Jian Yun (1913-2003), daughter of the famous Sun Lu-Tang, gave us the following advice about the practice of Sun Style Tai Chi Chuan:

1.  “The head should be upright but do not use force.  Let the spirit be full.

2.  The mouth should be gently closed with the tongue at the upper palate.  Breath gently through the nose. 

3.  Both shoulders should be loose and dropped.  Be careful that they are not raised: raised shoulders cause the chi to float.

4.  Both elbows should be pressed down.  When the elbows and shoulders are dropped, chi can be sunk at the dan tian.  When the elbows are pressed down, the arms can be bent, with stored energy ready to be released.

5.  The fingers should be open and loose.  The wrist should be flexible.

6.  The chest should be held in, not extended.  An extended chest causes chi to float, resulting in top heaviness.  

7.  The waist must be flexible, as it is the commander of all the whole body's movements.  

8.  The legs should be bent: 'apparent' and 'solid' must be differentiated, otherwise agility is lost.  

9.  'Chi sunk at dan tian' means deep breathing.  Deep breathing is very important in Tai Chi Chuan, but it must not be forced.

10.  Meditation is seeking movement in stillness; Tai Chi Chuan is seeking stillness in movement.  During practice, the heart must be calm and the mind must be focused; only then can the physical movements be smooth and agile. 

11.  A special feature of Tai Chi Chuan is 'use will-power, don't use strength.'  The aim is to achieve force that is alive, with extreme softness yet extreme hardness, extreme heaviness yet extreme agility.  When will-power arrives, power arrives.  If mechanical strength is used,  it becomes sluggish and clumsy, floating externally, out of place in external arts."

-  Translated by Wong Kiew Kit.  Found in "The Complete Book of Tai Chi Chuan" by Wong Kiew Kit, 1996, p. 262.  

Free Online Information on Taijiquan, Qigong, and Yoga
Websites by Michael P. Garofalo

Cloud Hands: T’ai Chi Ch’uan and Qigong
http://www.egreenway.com/taichichuan/index.htm

List of movements for the Yang style Taijiquan 24 form and 108 forms.
Webpages on relaxation (sung), breathing, spiral energy, bagua, Taoism, staff and sword weapons, and four other forms of taijiquan.

Cloud Hands Journal
http://mpgtaijiquan.blogspot.com/
Daily notes, quotes, comments, news, and resource pointers on Taijiquan, Qigong, and Yoga.  The Valley Spirit Mind-Body Arts Newsletter is also published in this web-log.   

Valley Spirit T’ai Chi Ch’uan
http://www.egreenway.com/tcc.htm
Resources for students in our Taijiquan and Qigong classes. 

Valley Spirit Yoga
http://www.egreenway.com/yoga/index.htm
Resources for students in our Hatha and Raja Yoga classes.

Yoga and Yang Style Taijiquan Instructor Needed

Because of some business responsibilities and my personal yoga and taijiquan training program, I need to be out of town sometimes.  I’d like to work with someone to be my backup or co-instructor in yoga or taijiquan at the Tehama Family Fitness Center , pending approval by Ginger Olds.

Talk with Mike Garofalo if you are interested in this opportunity (530-200-3546).  . 

YogaFit offers Level I training in Sacramento on 6/17, 7/8, 8/12, and 9/9.
Yang Style Taijiquan training is provided by Mike. 

Valley Spirit Mind-Body Arts Newsletter Subscriptions

If you would like to subscribe or unsubscribe from this newsletter then just send an email to the publisher, Mike Garofalo.

Best Wishes for a Great Spring!  

Walking and Taijiquan at home for 90 minutes.

YogaFit Level 3 homework finish.  

I taught River some Yang TaiChi from 8:30-10 am.  

Appointment with my podiatrist, Dr. Swaim.

Gym at 4:30:  Weightlifting for 45 minutes, spin with Nichole for 45 minutes, basketball shoot around.  Tonya did not show for Cardio-Kicking boxing.

Study Tai Chi for Arthritis book and DVD.  

"Now qigong expert Stuart Olson translates into English Master Li Ching-yun's treasured teachings on the Eight Brocades. One of the most famous qigong masters of this century, Master Li Ching-yun is reliably chronicled to have lived more than 250 years, during which he practiced the Eight Brocades on a daily basis. His longevity and personal endorsements attest to and validate the Eight Brocades as the quintessence of Taoist health and qigong practices."

"Qigong Teachings of a Taoist Immortal: The Eight Essential Exercises of Master Li Ching-yun."  Translated with commentary by Stuart Alve Olsen.  Healing Arts Press, 2002.  92 pages.  ISBN: 089281945 .  

The Chinese Art of Tea.  By John Blofeld.  Boston, Shambhala, 1985.  Appendices, 206 pages.  ISBN: 0394737997.  MGC.  

American Yoga.  By Carrie Schneider.  Photographs by Andy Ryan.  New York, Barnes and Noble Books, 2003.  Index, 215 pages.  ISBN: 0760745587.  MGC.  

Work for CUESD 7:30 - 4.  

Gym at 4:30: Weightlifting for 45 minutes, teach yoga for 75 minutes.    

Study Tai Chi for Arthritis book and DVD.  

“As the biocentric view suggests, the garden prospers when control is balanced
by equal measures of humility and benevolence. A balance is struck. Control,
servitude, respect, imagination, pragmatism, an ecological conscience, compliance,
and a certain measure of mysticism and altruism all meld together to provide
nurturance. Try to separate the various aspects into their constituent parts - grant
any one of them the status of fundamental gardening definition and one soon
skews the entire process. Put them back together again in the service of the
two-way street called nurturance, and we express the state of grace called gardening.”
- Jim Nollman, Why We Garden: Cultivating a Sense of Place, 1994, p. 106.

Because gardening involves both the will and the actions of the gardener, both his mind and his body, gardening helps nuture the body and mind of the gardener. The gardener exercises in a variety of ways of benefit to the body: balancing, lifting, breathing more fresh air, pulling, flexing the limbs, wholesome food, etc.. The gardener exercises the mind: enjoying beauty, planning, patience, learning agricultural science and botany, spending money wisely, remembering, caring, etc.. Gardening provides a mutually beneficial nuturing of both garden and gardener. 

Work for CUESD 7:30 - 4.  

Gym at 4:30: Weightlifting for 45 minutes, spin with Heather for 30 minutes, basketball shoot around, Cardio-Kickboxing with Matt and Tonya for 40 minutes.  

Study Tai Chi for Arthritis book and DVD.  

"Authentic grokking: It points to a new way of encountering the world, sensing it as a whole, and seeing it reflected in oneself. The jargon term "grok" is used to point to ways in which this goes beyond a purely conceptual understanding and is rather a mode of being in relationship with the world. 

The term was introduced into science fiction by Robert Heinlein ("Stranger in a Strange Land," 1961) as meaning literally "to drink" and metaphorically "to be one with" -- connoting understanding in a global sense involving intimate and exhaustive knowledge. It has been taken up by cognitive scientists, philosophers and neuro-cosmologists -- as well by practioners of zen. Its German origin as verstehen implies a special form of sympathetic, experiential and intuitive understanding. Milo Clark (The Art of Grokking, 2000) summarizes his use of it, in contrast to the unwitting perpetuation of conditioned thought, as:

For my purposes, to grok extends beyond ordinary and even extraordinary levels of comprehension moving far into the vestigial core of being human and possessing, as well as using qualities rarely engaged these days. We may grok more from our reptilian brain segments than from the later evolutionary lobes. As we move beyond transcendent experiencing to genuine transmutations of consciousnesses [plural intended] of being, we move from understanding to grokking -- and then stay there, leaving behind all which is behind without, in any fundamental way, negating the qualities of knowing personally, individually and collectively the histories of humankind on this planet -- now quite lost, barely available through ordinary processes, education, etc. to most. Meditation practices pursued to realization, first levels of samadhi, for example, provide some sensing relevant to and transferable to ordinary, daily life which helps to break, to free from the lulling dualities dominating most.

Also spelt as "groking", Bill Hayashi has explained it as "moving from a merely conceptual, mental understanding to a personally felt and experiential knowing" (Groking: Transformational Knowing, 1997). For Obafemi Adewumi:

"Groking occurs naturally when we practice whole body listening. To grok something is to grasp it: to get the marrow, the inner meaning, the crux, or the gist of it. It is to get the essence of a communication or sharing such that we are able to recreate it in our own language. By practising groking, we can all become contributors to the planetary evolution. Groking enables us to learn quickly and to share what we have learned with others". "

Authentic Grokking

http://www.laetusinpraesens.org/musings/grokking.php

Authentic Grokking
Emergence of Homo conjugens
2003

Work for CUESD 7:30 - 4.  

Gym at 4:30: Weightlifting for 45 minutes, teach yoga for 75 minutes.    

Study Tai Chi for Arthritis book and DVD.  

Feeback from Readers during March:

"I started with quotes, and went from there ... besides the technical "ease" of the website- ie. easy to navigate, appealing, and content-rich, it speaks to me as coming from someone passionate about their subject.  Thank you! Your work displayed here, is inspirational."  
-  Lisa M. Deschamps, 3/3/06

"I was impressed with the depth of the information presented at your website.  I really appreciate and admire the research you have put into the arts we both so enjoy.  I would like to ask if I can use some of the information from your Eight Section Brocade Qigong webpage for a college course I am teaching on the set. Thank you!"
-  Neil Ripski, Eight Shadows Fist  (http://www.eightshadowsfist.com), 3/5/06

"Mike, I like what you write in the Green Way Blog.  I've recently taken a big turn in my life.  And well... I find being awake is particularily good.  The the more you awake, the more you see people who awoke before you; and, all of these people are willing to help or see you through that awakening.  It is a very good feeling.  I really appreciate your websites and thoughts. Keep it up!.  I smile a bit more everyday because of them.  Have a good day, Mike."
-  Mathieu Valotaire, 3/15/06, http://matschitoryu.blogspot.com, Chito-ryu Karate

"Thank you so much Mike for publishing the 53 movements of the sword form online. I have searched long and hard for this information. Thank you for sharing and for your hard work! Aloha.
-  Precious James, 3/27/06, www.myspace.com/preciousjames 

Taiji and walking at home.  Gym: Weightlifting for 40 minutes, spin class with Tonya for 50 minutes.  

Pulling Onions:

Impatience may be justified, but err on the side of patience.
Making a living is different from making a life.
Just because you have pains, you don't have to be one.  
Better to lend a helping hand than just to point a finger.  
Gardening provides a mutually beneficial nurturing of both garden and gardener.
Minding the mind, massaging the muscles, grokking the garden.  
It is already together because we can't think any other way.