Gods Playing In The Clouds Qigong – Bruce Frantzis

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Gods Playing In The Clouds Qigong
February 2, 2020
The Nature of Change and the Principle of Integration
Posted by Paul Cavel

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I first began learning Gods Playing in the Clouds Qigong back in 1995, when I lived and studied with my teacher Bruce Frantzis in Fairfax, California. I remember those early classes focused on structural connections and alignments that drove movements deeper into my body than any other qigong form I had learned previously. This deep penetration into my core grabbed my attention because, from the perspective of neigong, we were basically only working superficially—on alignments and bending-and-stretching techniques—yet the effects felt profound. Later, I came to understand that the container (form movements) are as important as the content (neigong). If the form is weak, the internal content will not fuse with your body. If the form is highly developed—both throughout time via a lineage, and by the practitioner himself/herself, then amazing results are possible.

Creating Neigong Weaves
As my journey has continued over the last 25 years, I’ve learned many variations of the movements within Gods, each expressing specific qualities by focusing on particular neigong weaves. A neigong weave is where the various threads of some or all of the 16 neigong are knitted together in a way that emphasises a particular quality in body, qi and mind. This is why all the different qigong sets and internal martial arts within the Water Tradition produce different effects, yet they are all made from the same components.

In the beginning, I found it confusing that each time I studied Gods with my teacher, there were some structural differences within the moves and the focus on the specific content of each move also shifted. After some years, I finally began to understand why.

If you only learn one way to practise a movement, in both structure and content, you will get into a groove. Once the groove is deep enough via long-term practice, it is quite difficult and, for some, impossible to shift into another method. Taoism generally and the neigong system in particular are all about change: changing from one move to another, from one mind set or paradigm to another and so on.

Change is the only known constant as everything in the manifest realm changes in time. This is why early Taoists focused so deeply on and aligned their realities with the principle of change. Constant and fluid change teaches an individual how to become free: free from the restraints of their own mind, free from imposed rules, free from the influence of others. The process within Gods encapsulates this principle more so than the other qigong sets because it is the most advanced within the Water Tradition, having the capacity to hold more (even all for adepts) of the 16 neigong.

Of course, you can only do one specific technique in any one neigong thread at any point in time and, therefore, as your skill improves and you move on up the hierarchy of more sophisticated neigong, you drop the previous technique. This progression puts you on a path of continual change and development, which is the process that I have observed my teacher Bruce unfold over time, through many classes. It is also that which keeps the body and mind flexible and the spirit alive. I am convinced that this is one of the threads responsible for generating longevity as studies on human beings show a correlation between being more open minded and continuing to learn new skills throughout their lifespan with being healthier, more positive and living longer.

Gods Qigong and the Earth Element
Gods Playing in the Clouds is attributed to the Earth Element for various reasons and sits in the middle of the Chinese compass, balancing the two pairs of opposites: Water (north) with Fire (south), and Wood (east) with Metal (west). The phrase “All is in the Earth” is relevant here as all the other four elements are folded into and are combined within the Earth Element.

The first four elements are charged polarities, either yin or yang, whereas the Earth Element contains both and therefore creates balance within itself.

The crust of the planet is condensing and shrinking—yin, which generates the cohesive and grounding nature of the Earth.

The core energy of the planet is rising and expanding—yang, which prevents the Earth from collapsing in on itself and charges all that inhabits the Earth.

These two forces generate a delicate balance and integrates yin and yang within a smooth continuum. Gods Qigong takes these principles and balances and integrates the eight yin and eight yang threads of neigong into one seamless whole. Once learned, the whole package can be skilfully inserted into any hsing-i, tai chi or bagua form, or applied in meditation as well as healing others.

Gods is the original qigong of the early Taoists and predates the other qigong sets by at least one-thousand years. Gods Qigong is literally a gift from the gods, creating a path to self-discovery and understanding that cannot be imagined or understood by looking from the outside in. The only way you can truly experience the depth, breadth, quality and potential of this traditional and ancient art is to take steps along the journey yourself, that is to practise.a