Zongoo.com: Learn about Falun Dafa
I have been practicing an advanced form of qigong for almost 5 years now. The
name of this practice is Falun Dafa. Have you ever heard of or seen Tai Chi? Well, Falun Dafa is similar and yet
very different. It is similar in the sense that is has slow and gentle
movements. It is dissimilar in the sense that it is easy to learn. There are
only 5 gentle exercises to that are so simple and easy to learn that a small
child or an extremely elderly person could still learn and do them. Another major advantage that Falun Dafa has is that it is free to learn and
practice. There are no class fees or ongoing monthly dues to pay. You can
download video instructions from a Falun Dafa web site or you can learn from an
actual volunteer instructor.
The volunteer instructors can be found in almost every major city around the
world. And they won't charge anything to teach you this wonderful, energizing,
health promoting exercise practice. I know this for a fact because I also serve
as a volunteer instructor in the Kansas City area. So what have I obtained from the practice after 5 years? That's an easy and
exciting question to answer. After just two months of this practice, a nagging
and recurring back pain that I had for many years went away. I was able to stop
getting back treatments from my chiropractor. That was 5 years ago and I haven't
needed any further treatment since. What is exciting about the above example is that previously I tried many
things to alleviate my back problem. Nothing else worked! I've always been relatively healthy with only minor health issues throughout
my life. I have met other people that had more severe health issues that also
received total relief from practicing Falun Dafa. What do the exercises entail? Let's talk about them here. What I'm about to describe is from my own experiences, if you would like a
more accurate description and explanation of the exercises, please reference a
book by Li, Hongzhi, the man who brought Falun Dafa out to the public. The name
of his book is Falun Gong. You can get a copy of his book for free from
the main Falun Dafa web site,
http://falundafa.org . The first exercise is a gentle one that involves stretching from head to toe.
To perform one cycle of the exercise takes about 3 or 4 minutes. It is done from
a standing position with the knees and hips relaxed, until the gentle upward
stretch that accompanies each of the exercise's movements. When practiced this 3 or 4 minute exercise is usually repeated three times.
In normal circumstances, it takes about 12 minutes to repeat this exercise a
total of three times. The second exercise is a standing stance with 4 positions. Each position is
held for a length of time that can vary depending on the ability of the
practitioner. In the beginning it would be fine to just hold each position for
maybe 1 minute each or even less, depending on the person's ability and comfort
zone. Advanced practitioners might work up to as long as 7 minutes or more for each
position. However, you can gradual improve your time according to your own
wishes and abilities. The third exercise is a gentle exercise where you move your arms up and down
in front of the body. In the first half of this exercise the hands go in
opposite directions. In the second half, the arms go in the same direction. Each
repetition of the exercise takes about 3 minutes. Generally, when practiced,
people will repeat this exercise three times, for a total duration of about 9
minutes. The fourth exercise is similar but different in that the hands trace a path
around the entire body. The path travels along the front of the body and then up
the back of the body. The hands reach about the level of the mid-back before
being brought in front of the body again. The path is traced for a total of 9
times constituting one repetition of the exercise. The fourth exercise is generally repeated three times when practiced. When
done this way the total time to repeat this exercise three times is about twelve
minutes. The fifth exercise is done sitting down in the cross-legged position. The leg
cross can be simple "Indian" style or slightly more advanced depending on the
ability and comfort zone of the person practicing. There is a sequence of hand gestures at the beginning and there are positions
to hold. The duration of holding the hand positions can vary. Once again, how
long is determined by the person practicing. Both how long you hold the hand
positions and the overall duration of the exercise are entirely at the
discretion of the person practicing. In the beginning a person might only practice the fifth exercise for a few
minutes. Advanced users may practice for an hour or longer. Again, it all
depends on the ability and comfort level of the person practicing. These are very simple explanations of the exercises. For more detailed and
accurate accounts of the exercises read Falun Gong by Li, Hongzhi. Or
alternatively, you can download his
instruction videos from
the main Falun Dafa web site mentioned previously. Mr. Li also has another book called
Zhuan Falun, which
to my understanding expounds on the characteristics of the universe:
Truthfulness-Compassion-Tolerance. I wrote that with the hyphens to underscore
that this is one characteristic and not three separate ones. Again, that is my
understanding about them and much more profound understandings can be found in
the book Zhuan Falun itself. Because you can practice Falun Dafa with others in a group setting without
being charged any initial or recurring fees, it seems like the perfect
alternative to other exercises that charge money to participate in. Exercising
with a group or alone is fine and each person may have his or her own preference
on that. It's enjoyable either way. I personally practice it both ways. On the weekends we do have a group
practice here in the Kansas City area and you are welcome to come join us if you
are in the area. Fortunately, many cities throughout the United States, Canada
and around the world have similar group practices. You don't have to come to
Kansas City to enjoy this wonderful practice. I have one last item of note. It seems that some people can't stand to see
others enjoy something good. And this is no different. The current person that
runs China, Jiang Zemin, is terribly furious at people who practice Falun Gong
for no logical reason that anyone can come up with. He brutally persecutes those
who practice it in China. If you want to learn more about the persecution of Falun Gong in China, there
is a web site that you can visit,
http://faluninfo.net. They even offer suggestions to help end the
persecution if you are so inclined. I do hope you get the chance to experience what I have from the practice. The
health of my body and a deep sense of peace and well being are some of what I
have obtained. This article is for information purposes only. The information is not meant
to give advice or attempt to prevent, treat or diagnose any health problems. If
you have or think you might have any type of health condition, please consult
your primary care physician immediately. Consult him or her before taking up any
form of exercise http://www.zongoo.com/article8420.html
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