by Rick Barrett | Nov 2, 2019 | Jade Pillow Gate, Taiji
“When practicing the form, one should cause the yu-chen point at the base of the skull to stand out, then the spirit and ch’i will effortlessly meet at the top of the head.” Cheng Man-ch’ing, in Master Cheng’s Thirteen Chapters on...
by Rick Barrett | Aug 7, 2019 | Jade Pillow Gate, Taiji
In my last few posts I have been emphasizing “Opening the Jade Pillow Gate” (yu zhen) at the base of the skull. Doing so unleashes the “spirit of vitality” (jingshen) and allows for whole-brain coherence and body-mind-spirit integration. It is located at the...
by Rick Barrett | Jun 27, 2019 | Jade Pillow Gate, Taiji
About twenty-five years ago I made a personal discovery that made a big change in not just my gongfu, but in every part of my life. Back then, I would occasionally get “tension headaches,” where my neck and shoulders would get quite tight. One time I was...