Golden Shield training update -- Cue Rocky theme

I was determined to continue practicing my Qi Gong this morning, as I had missed 2 days in a row. My Golden Shield instructor, Dan Pappas, had suggested that since I was training in the basement and it was a bit chilly down there, to do jumping jacks or jump rope or something to warm up before I started. I borrowed T.'s jumprope and hit the driveway -- that's when the Rocky theme started up. Who else jumps rope but boxers, really?

I proceeded to the basement and set up, starting in on the breathing parts of the practice. The song was still going in my head, but I was determined not to get flummoxed by it and just to train through. As I started in to the meat of the training, it occurred to me that this is like training to be a superhero. I remembered back to a conversation I had with Squirt (Doctor Octagon's 7-year-old son).

"Superpowers aren't real tho."

"Oh I wouldn't be so sure about that."

"What do you mean?"

"I'm just saying, people can do more amazing things than you might imagine. [although I didn't cite any examples, I was thinking of Tibetan Monks who practice Tum-mo, & Parkour practictioners running up and down walls] You would be surprised at what people can do."

I couldn't let him get too rigid at such an early age. It doesn't take much reading in Taoist or Buddhist or Yogic literature to find accounts of remarkable feats by people. Of course over time the stories get inflated, but I've seen some amazing things in my short life already, so I figured I'd just stick a doorjam in his mind to keep it from getting too closed.

Many remarkable feats are from Qi Gong practitioners.

So I kept training, and the Rocky theme never really went away. I feel all buzzy and perky now, despite having less sleep than anyone else in the house.

This part of the practice is really like giving yourself some sort of bodywork treatment -- like when a massage therapist practices Tapotement. It feels like I am giving myself acupressure -- and really that's what's happening. It is a trip too that this practice uses a tincture, topically applied. I've read about Taoist practices using herbs in many forms, but none I have practiced so far ever prescribed them. Pretty cool really.

Going to be a beautiful day in Portland, ya'll have a good time now.

Bp