Beginners Class: Transcript of San Gee leading the class.
Topics: Kidney Chi; Internal/External Energy; Optimizing Your Energy; Diet; Acupuncture Chi Kung; Optimal Position; Purity/Pollution; Macrobiotics; Moving in Tai Chi & opening the energy; Learning About Energy; Focus; The benefit of sharing good things: tell your friends about Tai Chi!;

Kidney Chi: the kidneys is where the energy is generating from. Your basic vitality, or Jing, is closely connected to your kidney energy, this feeds the other organs in the system.

Anyone who's been to acupuncture will know that they almost always tell you 'your kidney energy is low.' How do you get your kidney energy high? With rest, avoidance of stress, a good diet, Chinese herbs, acupuncture; and all the time maintain your energy with Tai Chi and Chi Kung.

All your energy naturally runs down as you get older. You have internal intrinsic energy (the energy you were born with) and that is stored in your organs. That determines your potential. Things like heart attacks are a result of unnaturally exhausting that system. All the time we take in energy and combine it with our internal energy. You can't increase your potential energy but you can OPTIMISE it, and you can take in more external energy.

Most people are not at their optimum potential. Most people are operating far below their potential. So it would appear that people are improving their intrinsic energy - it would look like you are dramatically improving! One of the things you can use for this is Tai Chi and Chi Kung. You can't improve your nutrition if you cant even lose weight! You've got to know what to eat and when. In fact, there's a restaurant in Hong Kong where you get a prescription and they cook up a delicious meal for you [instead of medicine]! This really works and balances your energy. Recently I read somewhere they were studying music composers. They realized that particular composers tonified or sedated one particular organ system.

One thing which will function thru all that imbalance is Tai Chi and Chi Kung. Diet is good if you can work it out, or someone tells you [what to eat]. It's hard to come by that good advice. Tonic herbs are also good but not everyone can take them.

Tai Chi and Chi Kung are the most reliable thing generally. Ideally, the best way to rejuvenate yourself is regular practice of Tai Chi and Chi Kung. Also regular acupuncture, and gradually find out about the diet.

...(the class does some standing)...

Why shift back in standing? It's alignment. You wouldn't think there's much in it, but I stood for 3 or 4 years before I started Tai Chi. It took 8 years before I understood what it did. During 30 years it changed everything in my body from the ground up.

At this point you want your bones to carry all your weight to be aligned with the gravitational field. When you align correctly, you feel sinking down and pushing up at the same time. Your body is an energy generating, biological machine, not just a bag of stuff to stick stuff in or on!

I knew a woman who lived on water and light (Bhagwan's main assistant) - nothing more than a crust of bread. Another lady lived for 4 years on just water and light: documented. We talk about purity - what really is purity? I've seen for decades people acting out their ideas of purity - that looked more like piety. Purity means don't pollute your faculties'. First of all, don't pollute your mind. Notice when you're producing something impure or inappropriate with your mind. Like when you watch TV, you notice you'll act that stuff out - eating potato chips, drinking coke, etc - that's pollution. You have to see what is it you pay attention to, or think which will diminish or have a negative effect on your existence. There is no system for purity. I've seen people make up a system - like macrobiotics. All those things must be helpful, you must be personally responsible though. Also you can misuse Tai Chi and Chi Kung. And you can assist yourself and heal yourself. So most people need to work on their energy. Kidney energy is run down by interacting about negative and pointless things. Don't be stingy [with your energy], just notice where you are wasting your energy. You have to notice for yourself where [you are wasting it].

As you practice Tai Chi, establish a space. At least in that time you have a space for those thoughts, insights, and feelings to grow. No-one can be too pure. If you are too pure you'll burn up too quickly. Like when I came back from India - I nearly burned up - I was too sensitive. ADAPTABILITY?AND?INTELLIGENCE are the goal, not being pure in that [rarified] sense. The one thing I found [useful] all that time...Tai Chi and Chi Kung have kept me in balance all thru that.

...(The class practices the form)...

Two points to think of in the [Tai Chi] movements: BLOCKING?and?WASTING CHI. If you reach too far or too close [the result is] wasting & blocking. So let your arms be [relaxed]. There's an optimal point where your chi balances. So, if you have a lot of chi you may be able to stand more open as your chi supports that.

You want to practice OPENING your chi and guiding your energy. Also, if you look down - you know like in acting - it means your spirit is down. Keep your eyes open; stay awake; open your movement; have like a floating feeling. The positions and movements will teach you about energy themselves. And later, I will teach you the internal, when we've developed the external.

So people want to know about energy. I've found that people are really thirsty for that, and that's fine. But you still have to do the work for it. You cant just learn ABOUT it. All these things take a lot of continuous development. Often the calling in any endeavor is to take it on and develop it further. That's a natural fact: intelligence evolves. The only way you can do it is to do the work! What you get in class is the result of thousands of people spending thousands of hours developing Tai Chi. That's the legacy that we are benefiting from and that we can add to. You can plug into that. There's a whole lot more to it than just something entertaining to do.

All these indications I'm making (simple instructions like open up in cross hands) help the energy circulation and, in time, you'll feel them. Even when you're not sure, just fake the bit where you're unsure. There's nothing else in your experience which is similar. The main thing is to get in tune with the energy. The real teacher is the energy. When you practice anything you recognize something when it comes along. We learn nothing linearly: our learning is multi-dimensional. Tai Chi requires PATIENCE and COMMITMENT - that's enough. Extraordinary patience and commitment is NOT required! Patience and commitment is enough. You'll be really very pleasantly surprised in a few years that you did it. I don't know how I accidentally wandered into Tai Chi but there must have been some good angels looking after me!

Recently we had a training and a couple of people came into the room. So I had all 17 instructors give 4 people a demo! They loved it so much because it was especially for them. Tell your friends about Tai Chi, tell them about everything that's worthwhile! When you talk about and share things with your friends, it keeps you focused on the things that serve you and support you. FOCUS. If you look at what you're really getting benefit from, it grows for you as you share it. Instead of talking about how bad the world is, or insignificant things, and you may even give someone their life back. I've seen several occasions when a simple off the cuff remark has turned someone's life around.