I was recently in New Zealand and wanted to share some of my experiences while traveling. New Zealand is a beautiful country, one that I have wanted to travel to for a long time.
In this blog I talk about the qi glowworms, the Maori festival, Kauri trees and the Qigong Tui Na workshop I held in Auckland.
The Qi of Glowworms
We arrived in New Zealand and one of the first places we visited was Waitomo. Waitomo is known for a few things one of which are caves with glow worms. Read More
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Osteopathy Founder A.T. Still
It has been a while since the last post here because I was traveling. I recently presented to the American Osteopathy Annual Conference held in Kentucky.
I was invited to give a lecture and workshop on ‘Physician Heal and Maintain Thyself’ where I spoke about my experience working as a Qigong Tui Na practitioner in Chinese medical clinics. I also spoke about the techniques that Chinese doctors use to regenerate themselves while working with patients.
For those of you who may not know, Wikipedia says Osteopathy “emphasizes the interrelationship between structure and function of the body and recognizes the body’s ability to heal itself; it is the role of the osteopathic practitioner to facilitate that process…The osteopathic medical philosophy is defined as the concept of health care that embraces the concept of the unity of the living organism’s structure (anatomy) and function (physiology).”
Osteopaths look at the body as a whole system with each part effecting the other. Osteopaths are board certified medical doctors and can also specialize although many go into family practice.
In my opinion Osteopathy is on the cutting edge in the medical field in terms of body-centered therapies.
My lecture at the American Osteopathy Annual Conference focused on what physicians can do to protect and maintain their own bodies as they treat patients. It is common for many healers to become tired and drained by their work, NOT just from long hours worked but also from emotional, mental and other types of negative energy carried by patients. In China, doctors are specifically taught to mitigate this by learning a variety of self-regeneration methods to protect and maintain their own body. This is often done by practicing qigong and other similar types of exercises. Read More
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Bruce with Gao Ji Wu – Current President of the Beijing Bagua AssociationIn Beijing last week I awoke super early and had the feeling I should go to the park to meet someone. I know not who! It is important to follow you hunches in life.
After rousing my wife, off we went to Tien Tan (Temple of Heaven) Park, where I used to learn and practice with Feng Zher Chiang over 25 years ago. I also spent a lot of time in the park practicing a rare form of Northern Preying Mantis which I did with Li Jing Ru who is also known for bagua.
Back then, Tien Tan Park was one of the largest and most important parks for martial artists to practice. Don’t ask me how but I have always had a knack for finding masters in the oddest ways. Today it was extremely cold, but when you have a intuition you have to see where it leads you.
When we got there we asked and were directed towards where people are practicing some martial arts. The energy didn’t feel right. We then met an elder man who pointed us in a different direction. As we walked down the road through the park, we saw people practicing with steel whips, a traditional Chinese weapon. We were definitely getting closer. Read More
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Bruce Frantzis at Bai Yuan Guan Temple in Beijing
From an insider’s view, Bai Yuan Guan, or the White Cloud Temple, is considered the meeting point for Taoists to connect from all over North China. The complex is the main Taoist temple in Beijing.
Over 25 years ago, from 1985-6, my Taoist master used to send me to White Cloud once or twice a week. He gave me meditation practices, which I did at two spots here. At the time I lived only a 15 minute walk away. Read More
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Taoist Master Liu Hung Chieh and Bruce Frantzis in the 1980's
Last week I was interviewed by China Radio International (CRI) about my experiences in China in the mid 1980′s. Please enjoy:
Born and raised in the USA, Bruce Frantzis spent a total of 11 years in China in the 70s and 80s. He was one of the few foreigners studying martial arts in this …
english.cri.cn/7146/2011/12/05/2001s670230.htm
Stay tuned for a few more blog posts from China.
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Fried Scorpions and Seahorses on a Stick
Walking through the streets of Bejing after twenty-five years is quite a trip!
One astonishing sight is the pollution. Yesterday the sky was a nasty shade of grey, and you could barely see the sun through the soup. Yet I was told that it wasn’t that bad. Apparently there is “bad”, “very bad” and then there is “crazy bad”. The U.S. Embassy issues a pollution alert only when the worst is “crazy bad”. All I know is that last night I began coughing, found black in my nostrils, and got a vicious headache. Normally to relieve headaches there are points you can press in the eyes and forehead bones just above the eye sockets. I have never experienced such pain from pressing these points, nor had my entire eye socket bone hurt so bad. Went to bed early, thankfully the headache was gone by morning. Check out this from the US consulate in Beijing: Read More
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Photo Shoot for China Radio International
Today in Bejing I met a friendly 17-year-old kid. He had heard of Lao Tse, but like his peers, knew little about Taoism except the simplified book of Lao Tse (the Chinese translated the Tao Te Jing from the classical Chinese characters to the simplified ones of mainland China). The Cultural Revolution, which aimed to destroy old Chinese culture, keeps continuing and going strong.
The young man mentioned that it seemed as if foreigners are more interested and knowledgeable about old Chinese culture than most Chinese. He commented that nowadays, many of the youth are driven by money and consumerism, leaving behind culture and human values.
The conversation made me reflect on an interview I had just finished with China Radio International (CRI). On air, I spoke of the relevance of Chi work to modern Chinese life, where everything currently is just about money. I expressed that regardless of economic status or social position, if a person’s inner life was not in good shape, life in general can easily be unhappy and unfulfilling.
Money alone is not life. Rich or not, a person whose insides and outsides are in balance will get the most out of life. At the end of my time on the air, I encouraged Chinese youth to find legitimate masters, learn from them, and keep the traditions alive for future generations.
From the road,
Bruce
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