Happy Spring! Happy New Year!

February 4, 2016

Dear Qi friends,

Happy BingShen 丙申! (The Year of Yang Fire Monkey) Happy Chinese New Year!

Year of the Fire Monkey began 4 February, 2016 at 17:45 (Beijing time)

According to the principles of Chinese cosmology and astrology, a new Chinese animal year or astrological year always begins with LiChun 立春 (Establishing Spring), the moment each year when the Sun reaches the exact celestial longitude of 315 degrees.

Chinese New Year (lunar calendar) is February 8, 2016

In contrast, the Chinese New Year is always marked by the lunar calendar and falls on the day of the second new moon after the winter solstice, which this year, falls on February 8th.

BingShen, Mercury, Mars and Saturn and you …

From a cosmological perspective, the energies of Mercury, Mars, and Saturn will influence our living environment during the Year of BingShen.

According to Daoist Five Element cosmology and alchemy principles, these energies will manifest as Cold Water, Heat Fire, and Wind Wood.

In other words, we will experience dramatic weather patterns this year, with weather patterns shifting very quickly. This pattern will prove difficult for those of you who have weak gastrointestinal function, kidney function, or heart function.

BingShen, Mercury, Mars and Saturn for practitioners …

Clinically, practitioners will see more clients with problems relating to heart disease, diarrhea, hearing, headaches, eyesight, and/or skin problems throughout the year.

As always, I will offer more information about the specific seasonal influences in my future newsletters.

Join me on Twitter!

I have been writing these seasonal greetings for many years now and have had requests from some of you to stay in touch more often.

With this in mind, I have just started sharing some traditional cultivation wisdom with Qi friends through Twitter. Don’t worry, the frequency of my Tweets will not overwhelm you! I post only at those random moments I have an inspiration.

You are welcome to follow me on Twitter @masterwu99

The Beginning of Spring

LiChun also marks the beginning of the spring season. Although spring officially starts today, February 4th, I felt that the warm spring energy arrived earlier than anticipated (last week), at least here on the east coast of Sweden.

This Spring, Expect Heat Fire 

Although there will be some cold days interspersed throughout this spring season, it will likely warm up quickly!

The dominant Heat Fire energy in this spring will cause blood, lung, and/or skin related problems for many of us.

Balance the Heat Fire with Cooling Energy

Cooling foods and tea will be good for balancing out the Heat Fire this spring season. I recommend that you enjoy foods like daikon radish and bitter melon regularly.

During tea time, choose chrysanthemum, green, and white teas!

Go to Bed Early!

Even though it is getting lighter and lighter outside, going to bed early will help preserve your Yang energy. It also will make it easier for you to get up early for your early morning cultivation practice!

In general, going to bed early will be great for your health during this spring season.

Maintain Your Health through Daily Qigong

Of course, as I always emphasize, the best way to maintain your balance is to continue your daily Qigong practice. I recommend you try the Monkey Internal Alchemy Meditation practice from my book, The 12 Chinese Animals. The benefits from this practice will be greatly enhanced when you cultivate this energy during this year of the monkey.

Emerging from the Dragon’s Den!

After our annual winter hibernation period, spent focusing on our personal cultivation, we are following the seasonal Qi and have emerged from the Dragon’s Den!

Weekly Qigong in Stockholm

I have started sharing my practice again with Qi friends here in Stockholm with a weekly lunchtime Qigong course.

Of course I will continue my teaching/travel schedule through out the states and Europe this spring!

In Loving Memory of Grandmaster Yang RongJi 楊榮籍

This coming autumn will mark the 15th anniversary of the passing of one of my most influential teachers, Grand Master Yang RonJi.

According to Daoist numerology, the number 15 represents perfect, complete cycle, reunion, or return.

In special honor of his spirit and of the Hidden Immortal Lineage, we are offering a Taiji retreat in southern Washington state (the Pacific Northwest area of the US) this coming April.

In honor of Grandmaster Yang’s spiritual return, we are also offering part one of the HuaShan 華山 24 Form in upstate New York during the spiritual birthday of the Big Dipper constellation (part two will be offered in 2017).

As I have written about the Hidden Immortal Lineage Taiji form in my book, Seeking the Spirit of the Book of Change, I will share a little about the HuaShan 24 Form for you here:

The HuaShan 24

HuaShan is one of the most sacred Daoist Mountains in China. It represents the Metal Element and martial power. The HuaShan 24 is the most simple, yet most challenging and most powerful form I have ever practiced.

I clearly remember the moment Grandmaster Yang began to teach me the HuaShan 24 Form. After many years of training the Hidden Immortal Lineage Taiji form, one on one, he told me that he believed I had mastered the physical aspects of my Taiji form and that it was time for me to find my GongFu 功夫 (meaning inner power) within my Taiji. The HuaShan 24 is the form he taught me in order to help me get to the next level.

Since then, I have practiced the HuaShan 24 to strengthen my GongFu regularly and held the practice secret. For the first time, I am now ready to share the entire form with students. All students who are ready to take this challenge are welcome to join us for part one of the HuaShan 24 in Accord, NY in October!

2016 training opportunities:

For your convenience, here is a brief list of my upcoming teaching events:

• Tuesday lunch hour Feb – Mar – BaGua XinJing, Stockholm, Sweden
• 3 March, ChaDao, New York, NY
• 4 March – ChaDao, Baltimore, MD
• 5-6 March – Opening the Spiritual Fortress, Baltimore, MD
• 6 March – Dragon Body, Baltimore, MD
• 15 April – Shamanic Healing, Portland, OR
• 16-17 April – Fire Dragon Meridian Qigong, Portland, OR
• 17 April – BaGua XinJing, Portland, OR
• 19-25 April – Taiji Push Hands Retreat, Glenmore, WA
• 29 April – XinYi 5 Elements, Palmer, AK
• 29 April – ChaDao, Anchorage, AK
• 30 April – Dragon Body, Anchorage, AK
• 1 May – Opening the Spiritual Fortress, Anchorage, AK
• 2-4 May – WuXing QuanWu Certification, Portland, OR
• 5-11 May – Lifelong Training session 3, Portland, OR
• 27 May – Intro to Chinese Astrology, Nantes, France
• 28-29 May – XinYi BaGua, Nantes, France
• 4-5 June – Shamanic Tiger Qigong, Lyon, France
• 24 June – ChaDao, Decorah, IA
• 25-26 June – XinYi BaGua, Decorah, IA
• 17-22 August – Lifelong Training session 1, Flatön, Sweden
• 25-30 August – Lifelong Training session 2, Flatön, Sweden
• 2-7 September – GanZhi program session 1, Flatön, Sweden
• 2-7 October – HuaShan 24 part 1, Accord, NY

I hope you can make it to one of these events! As always you can check my website for updates on my teaching schedule.

Cooling Qi to you and your families from the three of us,

Master Wu