Please watch the Spring Festival short video 春節動画

Happy Chinese New Year! 

January 31 2014 is Lunar new year.  The year of the horse.   

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Chinese new year is also known as Spring Festival.  Chinese characters in this video says  春節好 Chinese new year is also known as Spring Festival.   春 節 means spring festival.  It is the beginning of the new year and also the beginning of spring.  The weather usually becomes warmer around this time of the year.   

恭賀發財 Kung Hei Fat Choi!。 新年好 Xin nian hao 。 春節好 Chun jie hao。

 All these phrases are New Year’s greeting words in Chinese.  

People in Hawaii also celebrate Chinese new year as there are large number of Asian immigrants and visitors.  They have special events in China town every year. China town Parade, Narcissus Queen Pageant, Lion Dances, martial arts demonstration, and others.  

 In this video, the martial artist in Hawaii is practicing Xing Yi Long Spear 形意大槍.  His spear is 3.3m(10.8ft) long.  It’s very heavy and hard to keep the balance.  Taichi mark means Yin and Yang 陰陽.   Yin is earth地 energy and Yang is sky天 energy.  They are balanced.  Man is in the center (in between earth and heaven) Tian Di Ren 天地人.  

See the explanation of the phrases in the horse picture from HERE.

Qi Gong ( Maintaining Healthy State of Mind and Body)

Laozi Teaching Qi Cultivation for Health, Ant-aging, and Longivity

This is a phrase from Dao De Jing (Laozi) 道徳経 chapter 3:

虛其心, 實其腹, 弱其志, 強其骨  

It can be applied for way of health and longevity 養生之道. The phrase is expressing an ideal state of mind and body.

虛其心 ...   your mind is clear and have no worries

實其腹 ...   you have eaten enough and you are not starving 

弱其志 ...   you have no craving because you are content with what you have    

強其骨 ...   your body is strong and healthy

If a ruler of a country is governing the country well, people of the country will have these physical and mental states.

This ideal state of mind and body is required to do Qi cultivation.

When your mind is clear and you have no worries, you can focus your mind on the Qi training(Qi Gong 気功).

If you are focused,  your lower belly Dan Tian 下丹田will be filled with Qi (life energy).

When you are not craving, your mind can stay peaceful and focus on Qi cultivation.

The Qi cultivation will strengthen your body (helps anti-aging, strengthen immunity and stay healthy).

Without strong body, one cannot continue Qi cultivation.

The wild horse is on the narcissus field with blue sky and mountains.  There are plenty of food for him. His belly is very big.  He is fulfilled and happy without any stresses.

Martial Arts for Health

Health is essential to happiness

Happy New Year! 　

2014甲午  is a year of the horse.  

Wishing everyone healthy and prosperous year 2014.

They are the violent scary demons called Namahage.  They come down from the mountain to visit every home to scare bad people.  They will bring good fortune and prosper.  It's a ritual in Oga Peninsula, Akita Prefecture(Northern area of Japan with heavy snow in the winter) on New Year's Eve.  

Health and well-being is important to our lives.  Exercise is essential to the health.  In this video, Namahages are training the Chinese martial art called Bagua 八卦掌 (Eight Trigram Fists) for health.  The famous Baguazhang masters lived healthy long life.  The training may help maintain the health to become active seniors. 

More story is on YouTube.  

Happy Thanksgiving !（感謝祭）

 Thanksgiving Day

I made a motion graphics with Apple Motion and Logic Pro.  Please enjoy my "Turkeys Parade".

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We teach Qigong（養生気功) and martial arts exercises（武術基本功),  Traditional Yang Style Taichi(伝統楊式太極拳), and Taijiyuangong(太極元功) for health, beauty, and longevity.

Visit Hawaiian Relaxation Qigong and Taichi Class in Tokyo.

Anti-aging Health Qigong 12,13

Eight Direction Qigong 陰陽八方功

Movement 12 &13

12.  Turning Ankles (for better Qi circulation and helps preventing ankle injury)

Place hands on knees.  Rotate them in a circular motion, first in, then forward, than out, finally returning to the original position.  Rotate the knees in the reverse direction.  Return to fully standing position. 

13.  Lower Back Massage (helps preventing back pain)

Place hands on lower back, thumbs on side, with four fingers on lower back.  Inhale,  rotate the hips to the left, placing pressure on the left lower back with the fingers; rotate hips forward, pushing forward with the hands; Exhale, rotate hips to the right, pushing on the right lower back with the fingers; rotate hips backward, returning to the original position. Revere the direction of motion.

Qigong for Anti-aging and Health 10, 11

Eight Direction Exercise

Movement 10 & 11

10.  Exercise for Preventing and Improving Hemorrhoid

 Inhale Interlace fingers in front of the chest.  ExhaleBend down to the floor, lowering the hands as far as possible.  Bend knees and bring them together, sitting down as far as possible.  Inhale Stand up, extending legs, still bending forward at the waist.  Inhale Contract glutes and Exhale relax 3 times. 

11.  Hip joint and knee Exercise
Place hands on knees.  Rotate them in a circular motion, first in, then forward, than out, finally returning to the original position.  Rotate the knees in the reverse direction.  Return to fully standing position. 

Qigong for Anti-aging and Health 9

Eight Direction Exercise 

Movement 9

9.  Stretching the back

Bring hands in front of the chest with fingers interlaced and palms facing down.  Bend down at waist, getting down as close as possible to the floor, stretching the lower back and legs.  Inhale, lifting torso parallel to the ground, rotate at the waist in the direction of the left foot.  Exhale, lowering the hands down to the left foot. Perform on the right side. Place hands behind the ankle, relaxing the knee joints.  Inhale, stand up, hands tracing up the back of the legs, and up to the Ming Men (lower back area). Rotate palms outward on Ming Men.  Raise hands up along the back as high as possible, and trace the hands through the under arms, and up to the eye level, palms facing inward.  Think of chi flowing through the arms into the hands. Exhale, relaxing knees, and lowering hands to the waist, Chi flowing down to the Dantian, palms facing upwards. Inhale, palms facing down, raise the arms up parallel to the body. Exhale, bringing hands in front of the chest, interlacing the fingers.  Bend down to the floor, extending arms to the ground.

Qigong for Anti-aging and Health 7, 8

Eight Direction Exercise 阴阳八方功

Movement 7 and 8

7.  Energy come in from Danzhong　膻中穴
Bring forearms together in front of the chest, palms, facing the chest, hands in a fist, elbows and forearms tight to the body.  Inhale, rotate arms outwards, keeping elbows pinned to the ribcage and rotating the fists outwards towards the shoulders, stretching the muscles around the scapula.  Exhale, 

8.  Open the window

Returning to the original position in a reverse motion.
Place hands together in a praying posture in front of the chest. Push hands out from the body in a horizontal circular motion until they are parallel to the body.  Fully extend the arms as much as possible to stretch the chest and arm muscles.  Return arms to original position. 

Qigong for Anti-aging and Health : 5 and 6

Eight Direction Exercise Part 2 

Movement 5 and 6

5. Earth Energy and Sky Energy Flowing inside the Body

Return feet to shoulder width apart.  Inhale, imagining opening your body to new chi気, and raise your arms up to the sky.  Imagine a beautiful natural scenery; ocean, mountains, and sky.

As the hands reach the sky, exhale, imagining bai hui百會 (crown of the head) receiving chi energy天気 from the sky and going down from head to the chest to the abdomen and then to the legs.

Press the hands down while exhaling, bending forward at the waist and reaching the hands down to the feet.  When fully bent forward, draw circles on the ground with the hands, imagining earth energy地氣 inside the ground.

Inhale, stading up, imagining earth energy rising up through the legs into the dantian丹田.

Standing erect, draw arms in front of the abdomen in a horizontal circular motion; imagining chi氣 circling through the internal organs and returning to the belly button.  Exhale, placing  the backs of the hands together in front of the chest, then rotating hands inwards towards the chest in a vertical circle.  

Continue to rotate the hands down pointing towards the ground while simultaneously lowering them toward the ground; imaging chi going down through the body.  With the arms fully extended, inhale, rotating the arms upwards at the shoulder until the arms are pointing the sky.  

Look up at the fingers with the chin pointing up as well  Exhale, lowering the hands to the side of the body, imagining chi氣 going down to the dantian丹田

. 

6.  Pushing the Wall Behind

Standing with feet at shoulder width on the balls of the toes, bend wrists back as far as they can.  Inhaling, tighten the glutes, standing up on the balls of the toes, and rotating arms backwards at the shoulder.  Exhale, lowering the heels, relax wrists and returning arms to original position.