1 Single Palm Change Warm-Up and Transition

BAGUA MASTERY PROGRAM
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MODULES
Single Palm Change
Warm-up and Transition
BRUCE FRANTZIS
Copyright 2011 Bruce Frantzis

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Table of Contents
Section 1: Introduction 9
Overview ..................................................................... 9
Section 2: Single Palm Change

Warm-up 15
Overview ................................................................... 15
Goals ........................................................................... 16
Relationship of the SPC Warm-up
to Energy Postures ..................................................... 18
Phase 1 Instructions:
Arms Are Not In Sync with the Legs ..................... 19
Upward Movement ................................................... 21
Points to Remember ................................................. 22
Downward Movement ............................................. 24
Descent: Option 1 ..................................................... 25
Descent: Option 2 .................................................... 26
Transition to Upward Movement .......................... 27
Repeat Upward and
Downward Movements ............................................ 28
Concluding the SPC Warm-up Practice
when Circle Walking ................................................. 29
Integrating Arm Motions with
Three- and Four-part Stepping ............................. 30
Coordinating Movements ....................................... 30

Walking Speeds ..........................................................31
Four-part Stepping ................................................... 32
Three-part Stepping ................................................. 32
First Level of Chi Development ............................. 33
Gain a Sense of Energy Rising
and Falling ................................................................. 33
Section 3: Single Palm Change

Warm-up (Intermediates) ..................... 35
Movement Instructions .......................................... 35
Downward Arm Movement: Key Points ................ 38
Transition to Upward Movement:
Key Points ....................................................................41
Transition from Down to Up: Method 1................ 42
Transition from Down to Up: Method 2 ............... 44
Integrating Arm Motions with Four-,
Three- and Two-part Stepping .............................. 46
Walking Speeds ......................................................... 47
Four- and Three-part Stepping .............................. 48

Two-part Stepping .................................................... 48
Nine Energetic Levels of the
Single Palm Change Warm-up .............................. 49
Overview .................................................................... 49
Learning Progression ............................................... 50

Level 1: Gain a Sense of Energy
Rising and Falling ...................................................... 50

Level 2: Engage the Energies of the
General Acupuncture Meridian Surfaces ............ 51
Level 3: Engage and Refine
the Heavenly Orbits of Energy .............................. 52
Level 4: Work on Energy Channels
Deep within the Body ............................................. 53
Level 5: Engage and Balance the
Left and Right Energy Channels ............................. 57
Level 6: Engage the Central Channel's Chi
within Your Physical Body to the
Boundaries of Your Skin .......................................... 58
Level 7: Use the Central Channel to
Engage All Other Energy Channels
within the Physical Body ......................................... 60
Level 8: Pulse the Energy Moving
between the Central Channel and
Etheric Body"s Boundary .........................................61
Level 9: Engage the Central Channel with the
Chi beyond the Etheric Body Boundary ............... 64
Section 4: Transition from the

Single Palm Change Warm-up
to the SPC Palm Posture ....................... 65
Overview ................................................................... 65
Instructions ............................................................... 66
Step 1 .......................................................................... 68
Step 2 .......................................................................... 69
Step 3 .......................................................................... 70
Step4 .......................................................................... 71
Step 5 ......................................................................... 72
Step 6 ...........................................................................74
Continuous Practice of the

SPC Warm-up, Transition
and Palm Posture ..................................................... 75
Gazing and Breathing Practices
while Holding the SPC Palm Posture .................... 76
Gazing ......................................................................... 76
Breathing .................................................................... 77
Section 5: Transition and Single Palm

Change Palm Posture Practices
(Intermediates) ..................................... 79
Instructions ............................................................... 80
Transition Part 1: Arms Rise Upward ..................... 83

Phase 1: Step Forward and Raise Hands to Chest83
Phase 2:
Footbrake and Raise the Hands
above the Head ......................................................... 84
Part 2: Arms Reverse Position ................................. 86
Phase 1: Shift Weight, Turn Waist
toward the Circle"s Center,
Begin Arm Reversal .................................................. 86
Phase 2: Bring Feet Side by Side,
Turn Waist away from the Circle's
Center, Continue Arm Reversal .............................. 87
Phase 3: Step Out and Footbrake,
Turn Waist Forward, Finish Arm Reversal ............. 88
Transition Part 3: Arms Descend ............................ 89
Phase 1: Transition from Upward to
Downward Arm Movement .................................... 89
Phase 2: Arms Start to Descend ............................ 90
Phase 3: Arms Finish Descending ......................... 91

Transition Part 4:
Palms Turn to Face into Your Circle ....................... 92
Section 6: Holding the SPC

Palm Posture ......................................... 95
Overview ................................................................... 95
Options for Twisting the Arms

to Absorb and Project Chi ....................................... 95
Breathing and Gazing Practices ............................. 98
Breathing .................................................................... 98
Combine Breathing and Gazing ............................. 99
Dragon Body Turning into the Circle .................. 102
Review of Single Palm Change Footwork ......... 103

Straight Step ............................................................ 103
Toe-in Step ............................................................... 103
Toe-out Step ............................................................ 104
Appendix: Martial Arts Applications .. 105

Single Palm Change Warm-up ............................. 105
Four Primary Focuses for
Fighting Applications ............................................. 1OS
Easily Transition from Inward
to Outward Twisting ............................................... 105
Create Peng Jin ....................................................... 106
Activate Sinking or Pushing

Down Internal Power ............................................. 108
Stop an Attack and
Open Up a Hole in Your
Opponent's Defenses .............................................. 110
Transition from the SPC Warm-up to

the Single Palm Change ........................................ 112
Beginning of Transition: Arms Rise ....................... 112
Middle and End of Transition:
Arms Descend and Palms Twist Out ..................... 115
Inward and Outward Twisting .............................. 117

Offense ...................................................................... 118
Defense ...................................................................... 119
Section 1
Introduction
Overview
In previous modules, you learned bagua warm-up and unification exercises, Circle
Walking with various energy postures and direction changes with complete footwork. The next phase of learning bagua presents a whole new level of challenges:
moving your arms in combination with Circle Walking and changing direction.
The primary challenge is not that you are walking and moving your arms, since
most of us do that every day. The challenge is in learning to move your arms
continuously and fluidly in complex patterns while being totally unifiedphysically and energetically-with the movements of your legs, spine and torso.
The learning process begins with the Single Palm Change (SPC) Warm-up (Figure
8.1.1 ), which will be presented in Sections 2 and 3.
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2011 Bruce Frantzis-AII Rights Reserved.
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Bagua Mastery Program
8
Figure 8.1.1

Figure continues on the next page.
Module 8: Single Palm Change Warm-up and Transition
11
Figure 8.1.1 (continued)

Next, you learn how to transition from the warm-up into Circle Walking while
holding the SPC Palm Posture (Figure 8.1.2). This series of movements (of which
there are numerous variations) is called the"transition"to the SPC. Sections 4 and
5 will detail the learning progression for the transition.
12

Transition from the Warm-up to the Single Palm Change
13

Transition from the Warm-up to the Single Palm Change
Then, you learn various practices for how to Walk the Circle while holding the SPC
Palm Posture, including gazing, breathing, and projecting and absorbing energy.
Section 5 presents these instructions.
Finally, you learn how to change direction using the Heaven and Water versions
of the Single Palm Change, which is covered in Modules 9 and 10.
Section 2
Single Palm Change
Warm-up
Overview
Technically, this Single Palm Change (SPC) Warm-up is comprised of a single
movement. In terms of learning it, however, the composition includes two
distinct upward and downward parts with each being executed differently.
We'll start by learning the basic physical movements while standing still before
moving on to the more complex task of doing them while Walking the Circle.
Although the instructions below are separated into building blocks, it is essential
that you eventually practice arm movements as a single, fluid movement when
Walking the Circle and reversing direction.
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Figure 8.2.1
Goals
The SPC Warm-up achieves these primary goals:
Teaches you how to make large, continuous and complete
circles with your arms while Walking the Circle and changing
direction. This prepares you for doing the smaller and much
more complex and intricate continuous circles of the SPC itself.
Connects your body's chi, so it can circulate very rapidly.
Enables your arms to move in a fluid manner while connected
to and integrated with your steps. The trick is getting your
arms, waist and footwork to move in exact coordination with
each other. Throughout the entire movement, when your foot
moves any given percent, your waist, arms and hands should
simultaneously move the exact same percent.

Provides a concrete method for realizing the full potential of

twisting your arms. This is the mandatory foundation that you
need to learn the more advanced technique of spiraling the
body's tissues. What you learn about twisting the arms in this
exercise may be done while bending or stretching the arms
in any and all positions of other Taoist energy arts, including
bagua, tai chi and qigong.
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Relationship of the SPC Warm-up

to Energy Postures
Figure 8.2.2
Relationship of Energy Postures to the SPC Warm-Up
What is the relationship between energy postures (e.g., Figure 8.2.2) and the Single
Palm Change (SPC) Warm-up?
When you connect or flow from posture to posture (i.e., move your arms through
the spaces between these energy postures like connecting dots on a graph),
you create and make fully functional the SPC warm-up movement with all of its
related chi flows and internal power connections.
Remember that each energy posture is designed to help clear and strengthen
certain energy flows within your body. When you have sufficiently practiced
enough energy postures, then all of the major flows within your body will have
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become full and strong. Then, you are ready to move your arms in a pattern such
as the warm-up or the SPC itself, and no matter what position you move your
arms through, your energy flows will be strong and connected.
Conversely, if you haven't developed your energy flows through sufficient
practice of energy postures, then when you begin to move your arms, the energy
flows in your body can fluctuate greatly-from strong in some positions to very
weak in others. This causes your chi to circulate through your body in erratic and
unbalanced patterns, rather than smoothly and fully.
The warm-up arm positions you will learn and move through next are very similar
to postures you've learned and practiced in previous modules since they were
chosen in part to prepare you to do the warm-up, transition and the SPC.
In turn, the warm-up is designed to soften and make flexible the internal power developed from practice of bagua energy postures. This process is often
compared to the process of turning pig iron into flexible steel. Energy postures
develop particular energetic flows in a raw manner. The warm-up, transition and
SPC refine, comingle and integrate those raw flows into a balanced, fluid, flexible
and complete system.
Phase 1 Instructions: Arms Are

Not In Sync with the Legs
The easiest ways to learn the arm movements of the Single Palm Change (SPC)
Warm-up are either to:
Stand still and only move your arms.
Walk and move your arms, but not be concerned about
coordinating the movement with stepping. Later, you will sync
the arms and legs. At this phase of learning, however, it's not
the primary concern.
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Figures 8.2.3 and 8.2.4 show the warm-up as practiced by individuals with
clearly different body types (e.g., small and large) and of different genders. In the
beginning, focus on learning the arm movements and not on coordinating the
arms and legs which will come later in your practice.
Figure 8.2.3
SPC Warm-up (Arms Are Not In Sync with the Legs):
Small Body Type
Figure 8.2.4
SPC Warm-up (Arms Not In Sync with the Legs):
Large Body Type
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Upward Movement
Figure 8.2.5
Upward Movement
Figure 8.2.6
Two Options for the Beginning Position
A) Fingers Relaxed and Point Down or B) Palms Press the Earth Posture (Ideal)
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Beginning Position: Hands are either at the sides of your hips with
your fingers relaxed and pointing toward the ground, or in the
Palms Press the Earth posture. You may either stand still or Walk the
Circle.
Following Figure 8.2.5 on p. 21 and your seventy percent:

1. Rotate and circle your arms outward and upward (A) to raise your hands
toward your shoulders (B). Next, move your arms up toward your ears (C).
Then, rotate your arms, so that your elbow tips drop and point toward the
ground as your palms face upward. Very gradually stretch your arms, but
not so far that they straighten or lock.
2. Sink your shoulders and shoulder blades, continue to circle, rotate and
stretch your arms upward, and let your hands rise and go over your head
(D). Again, don't lock your elbows.
Points to Remember
Your arms gradually stretch and rotate in continuous increments until your arms and palms reach
their maximum height. Figure 8.2.7 shows the
maximum height that your arms might rise. Follow
the 70 percent rule to determine how high your
arms should rise.
The downward dropping and rotating of the
shoulders and elbows causes your elbow tips to
face the ground and your palms to rotate upward.
Figure 8.2.7
During this action, your arms gradually twist outward.

Your shoulders should stay down and relaxed. They should
not tense or rise and scrunch your neck, which is what usually
happens when tension rears its ugly head.
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The ideal is to have your arms and palms directly on the sides
(flanks) of your torso, until the apex of your upward movement
(Figure 8.2.1 on pp. 16-17) when your palm come to directly
facing your four points.
If you are naturally less flexible or have a shoulder or neck
injury (like many practitioners), it usually takes many months
or even years to achieve the ideal level of flexibility. So until
this time arrives, it is acceptable to have your hands be slightly
in front of your torso. Over time, gradually, comfortably and
smoothly move into the ideal position.
The higher your hands go, the more your shoulder blades
should descend (Figure 8.2.8). This will enable your arm to pivot
upward from your shoulder joint, which should also stay down
and not rise. Otherwise, your shoulder's deltoid muscle will rise
up and scrunch your neck.
Figure 8.2.8
Correct Movement of the Shoulder

The higher your hand goes, the more your shoulder blade should descend.
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Downward Movement
Figure 8.2.9
Downward Movement for Practitioners of Average Flexibility
Following Figure 8.2.9 and your seventy percent, your hands descend in stages
from above your head along your body's centerline to below your hips in one
seamless, circular movement.
1. Figure 8.2.9 A: At the apex of the arms and hands rising, they begin to
bend very gradually and circle back toward your centerline.
2. Figu-re 8.2.9 B-C: As the downward movement progresses, twist inward so
that the centers of both palms arrive on your centerline. This should occur
about the same time as your hands reach the middle of your face, and
most definitely by the time they reach your throat or the top of your chest.
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3. Figure 8.2.9 C-D: Continue to very gradually bend your arms and twist
inward, so that by the time the downward movement finishes below your
hips, your arms are fully bent. At this point, the arms are ready to begin the
upward movement.
Your palms may descend using two optional variations. Option 1 (Figure 8.2.1 0)
requires less coordination and Option 2 (Figure 8.2.11) more.
Descent: Option 1
From your head down to your lower tantien, twist your arms inward. Your palms
face downward throughout the movement, including at your lower tantien.
Figure 8.2.1 0
Descent: Option 1
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Descent: Option 2
While your arms descend toward your lower tantien, the palms change the
direction of their rotation at the midway point.
Figure 8.2.11
Descent: Option 2
1. Figure 8.2.11 A: In the first half of the downward movement, from your
head to your heart or just above your heart, your palms rotate to face
down. Use thumb-side inward twisting of your arms and hands to cause
the palms to face down.
For an explanation of thumb-side and little-finger-side twisting methods, see
Module 4 on Energy Postures.
2. Figure 8.2.11 B: As your palms reach your heart or diaphragm, the direction
of the rotation of the palms reverses direction and both palms rotate to
2011
Bruce Frantzis-AII Rights Reserved.
27
face your torso with your thumbs pointing upward. To accomplish this
rotation, switch from thumb-side inward twisting to little-finger-side
inward twisting.
3. Figure 8.2.11 C: Continue to let your hands descend, and rotate and twist
inward until you reach your lower tantien with your palms facing up.
Transition to Upward Movement

Once your hands reach your lower tantien (whether you have used Descent Option 1 or 2), begin twisting your arms outward using thumb-side outward twisting. Move your arms sideways and outward (Figure
8.2.12), and then begin the upward movement.
Be sure not to let your arms collapse at the bottom
of the movement. Keep them moving and circling in
such a manner that they smoothly raise outward and
upward. You don't want to have any sense that you are
lifting or picking up your arms through the transition,
but rather that the twisting of the arms is powering
the upward arm movement.
Figure 8.2.12
Transition to
Upward Movement
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Repeat Upward and

Downward Movements
(jj
~~~
Upward
Downward
Sideways
Figure 8.2.13
Continuously Repeat SPC Warm-up Movements
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Continuously repeat in an endless loop the upward and downward movements,

either while standing still or Walking the Circle.
For either approach, maintain a spring in your legs and practice the movements
until you can do them in a clean, smooth and continuous manner. Your arms
should feel full during the entire cycle of ascending, descending and rising again.
Your arms should move and rotate at a steady speed, and neither slow down nor
speed up.
If you are walking, for now don't worry about coordinating your arm movements
with your leg movements. Just keep walking smoothly and evenly, keeping your
arms moving steadily in the desired pattern.
Before going onto the next phase of learning, practice the warm-up while Walking the Circle-counterclockwise, clockwise and while changing directionuntil your arms seamlessly move together regardless of how your footwork syncs
with them. Practice a lot of repetitions of the exercise to acquire this skill, always
circling your arms in a very slow, steady and stable manner. Do so for as many
days, weeks or months as it takes.
Concluding the SPC Warm-up Practice

when Circle Walking
1. When practicing the SPC Warm-up, continuously repeat the up and down
arm motions while Walking the Circle and changing direction.
2. After enough revolutions in each direction around the circle, you will feel
your body-and perhaps your chi-become warm and open up, at which
point you can conclude your practice of the warm-up.
3. Complete a final upward and then downward motion and let your hands
end at your sides.
3. With your arms at your sides, take as many steps as you need around the
circle until you can feel your mind (i.e., your feeling awareness), come to
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rest in your belly. Encourage your breath to become very smooth until
eventually your chi begins to collect in your lower tantien.
4. You can either move onto other practices, such as the Single Palm Change,
or stop, turn toward the center of your circle and stand for a minute or
so to allow your chi to finish collecting in your lower tantien. The chi will
collect there whether you feel it or not, so just focus on your mind's intent
and breathing to further settle.
Three- and Four-part Stepping
In this phase of learning, you will progressively integrate and coordinate the arm
movements of the warm-up with slow and medium-speed three- and four-part
stepping.
You may choose whichever stepping method is best for you. The recommended
sequence is to wire in and integrate the arm movements into four-part stepping
and then three-part stepping.
This coordination of hand and leg movements should not be practiced until you
can do both Circle Walking stepping procedures relatively easily-without strain
or having to think about physical mechanics.
Coordinating Movements
By now, you have probably realized that coordinating many movement sequences can be difficult. As you add more details, it pays to go slow to integrate
that which you have already learned and not lose any of the details.
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As you walk using the stepping method of your choice, pay attention to these
primary considerations:
Your arms should never stop lengthening during Circle Walking
or turning.
Your arms should never go slack or very stiff as both scenarios
will disconnect your arms from your torso. Walking too quickly
before your arm and leg movements are coordinated often
causes the arms to tense, tighten and become excessively stiff.
If you notice this happening to you, adjust your walking speed
until your arms regain their connected alignments.
Walking Speeds
At first, you should only practice the warm-ups at slow walking speeds until the
physical and energetic movements are well-coordinated. This allows your body
the time needed to absorb and coordinate walking and arm motions with basic
energetics without useless frustration.
The recommended sequence is to:
1. Walk at a slow-ish speed using four-part stepping.

2. Follow the same procedure using three-part stepping.
3. When you can walk smoothly at slow speeds and incorporate all the physical
and energetic principles learned up to this point, then gradually increase
your walking speed over time, until you arrive at a medium walking speed
using three- and four-part stepping methods.
Go through multiple cycles of four- and three-stepping. Each time, you will move
faster and faster until you become comfortable Walking the Circle with both stepping methods at the slowest and fastest speeds of which you are capable (and
every speed in between). Your goal is to be able to dial up or down your walking
speeds with your hand movements seamlessly coordinated with the footwork.
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Ideally, you should only engage in faster walking speeds under the guidance of
an experienced, well-trained instructor. At faster walking speeds, small problems
that might otherwise go unnoticed can result in serious injury.
Four-part Stepping
This stepping method uses a four-part rhythmic process of bend-stretch, bendstretch of the arms.
1. Stretch and raise your arms to your head as you do a step forward and
footbrake.
2. Bend your arms and bring your hands all the way down as you shift your
weight halfway forward and bend your rear leg.
3. Stretch and raise your arms to your head as your straighten your rear leg
and shift your leg completely forward onto the front foot.
4. Bend your arms and bring your hands all the way down as you bring your
feet parallel to each other.
As always, it's a good idea to first practice new techniques while walking in a
straight line, and then incorporate what you have learned into Walking the Circle
and changing direction.
After you have practiced four-part stepping and your bending-stretching actions
are relatively online at a slow walking speed, move on to three-part stepping.
Three-part Stepping
The number three is an odd rather than even number. So the hand-foot
coordination pattern is based on a rhythmic six-part movement rather than
three-part movement.
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1. Step forward, footbrake and raise your arms.

2. Shift your weight to the front leg and lower your arms.
3. Bring your feet to parallel and raise your arms.
4. Step forward, footbrake and lower your arms.

5. Shift your weight to the front leg and raise your arms.
6. Bring your feet to parallel and lower your arms.
Although three-part stepping can ultimately be done faster than four-part stepping, it can also be done just as slowly.
First Level of Chi Development
There are nine levels of energetic development within the practice of the Single
Palm Change (SPC) Warm-up. All ofthese levels are explained in the next section,
which covers intermediate physical and energetic practices.
The first level of chi development can be explored after you have integrated the
movements of your arms with four- and three-part stepping at slow and medium
walking speeds.
Gain a Sense of Energy Rising

and Falling
As your chi and hands move upward, have a general sense of energy rising from
below the ground and up the back of your body, from each foot to the top of
your head. As your chi and hands move down, have the general sense of energy
descending down the front of your body, from the top of your head to the bottom of each foot.
Section 3
Single Palm Change
Warm-up (Intermediates)
Movement Instructions
The intermediate warm-up method incorporates many finer details. It includes
the ideal ways of practicing the downward motion and the transition to the
upper motion. These especially include:
Twisting your tissues with more energetic strength by adding
more subtle inward and outward twisting techniques.
Enabling the inward and outward twisting from the thumband little-finger side of your arms (previously learned in
Module 4 on bagua energy postures) to become much faster
and significantly more fluid.
Using twisting to more deeply affect the physical tissues and
chi flows between your chest and upper spine, and the crown
of your head and fingertips.
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Figure 8.3.1
For smooth twisting, you must remove all glitches within your shoulder blades
and between them and your upper spine, heart, lungs, diaphragm and neck. All
of these moving parts must strongly connect and smoothly flow between each
other.

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Downward Arm Movement: Key Points
Figure 8.3.2
Downward Movement
Following the positions of Figure 8.3.2:
1. As your palms finish rising, they should have the sense of lifting chi upward;
until ideally they raise the upper boundary of your etheric body (Figure
8.3.2 A).
2. As your palms move toward your centerline, they should have the sense
of converging the chi from the centers of your palms into the boundary of
your etheric body, directly above the bai hui point on the crown of your
head.
The bai hui point can be located by the intersection of two lines: a line going from
the tip of your nose vertically over your head to your spine, and a line going over
the top of your head from ear to ear.
3. As soon as your arms begin to descend, sink your elbows, close your joints
and cavities, and twist inward from the thumb-side of the arms (Figure
8.3.2 A). This action draws chi down from heaven above into the top of
your etheric body, and further down to the bai hui point on the crown of
your head.
4. As your elbows and hands descend slightly more, your palms turn
downward and your fingertips point across your centerline toward each
other. This will occur at either the height of the crown of your head or your
third eye, depending on the speed at which you coordinate your physical
and energetic movements.
5. As the downward motion continues, your palms begin to cross each other.
Continue twisting inwardly from the thumb-side of your arm.
6. Continue this crossing of your palms until your fingers are at or slightly
above the height of your throat notch, i.e. the bottom of your throat (Figure
8.3.2 B). At this height your palms continue to turn downward, and the
fingers of each of your hands should point at the opposite side's shoulder.
Initially, only cross your arms a little, and over time cross more. The most
you want to cross is to the point where each wrist is a few inches on the
opposite side of your centerline (right hand toward the left shoulder and
vice-versa).
Only cross more when you can lengthen rather than contract
your soft tissues.
If your body is really tight or injured, progress extremely slowly
toward the opposite shoulders in gradual, gentle increments
of an inch or so. Practice at each increment for many weeks or
months, until your body can remain loose and open without
crunching up at that level of lengthening. The circular movement of your arms should continue to be smooth and not
compromised.
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As you cross your arms in the initial stages of your practice,

they should lightly touch each other. This will facilitate the best
possible stretching of your body's soft tissues, especially the
shoulders, neck and back.
Later, your arms may remain separated by a few inches to best
achieve maximum movement within your internal organs and
fully open your energy channels.
7. As your hands cross, energetically extend chi out of all your fingertips
toward the opposite side's shoulder, and thereby connect the chi of the
right and left sides of your body to each other.
8. Continue to lower your arms and move both hands back toward your
body's centerline. Use the closing action of everything you can (e.g., kwa,
other cavities, joints and spine) to pull your palms toward your centerline,
until they arrive there approximately at the height of the heart or below.
Rotating and pulling inward brings your palms to a fully downward-facing
position and vertically on top of each other.
9. Your palms move down your centerline to your lower tantien. Switch from
twisting inward from the thumb-side of your arms to the little-finger side
and rotate your arms so that your palms face upward (Figure 8.3.2 C-D).
The exact timing and positions of the rotation of your palms
from down to up can vary.
The accompanying video will shed light on this procedure.
However, live instruction is best, especially given human
variation. Seeking a well-trained and experienced bagua
instructor to help you get you on the road is highly
recommended.
Instructions about the exact timing of the palms turning over are meant to be the
ideal. However, don't fuss over the exact location of your palms.
41
Transition to Upward Movement:

Key Points
Method 1
Method 2
Figure 8.3.3
Transition to Upward Movement: Methods 1 and 2
The transition from the downward movement to the upward movement can be
practiced through two methods. Both allow your body to create a rebound force
from down to up, enabling you to smoothly move into the upward cycle with
your arms rising, extending and twisting outward.
Method 1 uses the same physical movement as the version presented in Section
2, but with additional energetic and twisting considerations.
Method 2 adds additional physical movements and twisting techniques. Twisting is also done much more strongly to develop your capacity to fluidly change
between inward and outward twisting, from the thumb and little-finger sides
of your arms. The main purpose is to make your twisting actions more fluid,
seamless, powerful and instantaneous, so there is no stop-and-start quality to
the transition-not even for a microsecond.
42
Transition from Down to Up: Method 1

The transition consists of two parts that are done seamlessly: the final descent
and the rebound upward.
Final Descent
1. From the position of your hands cupping your lower tantien, your arms
and the backs of your hands will stretch and spread to the final downwardfacing position.
8
Figure 8.3.4
Movement of Final Descent: Method 1 Transition

As your arms descend:
Stretch and spread sideways your arms and the backs of your
hands sideways.
Close every part you can-joints, kwa, cavities, spine and lower
tantien.
Twist inward from the little-finger side of your arms. Twist in

such a way that you feel like you are winding up a rubber band
that will begin to unwind in the opposite direction when
released.
Separate your palms as far from your thighs as your 70 percent
will allow.
Keep your elbows bent without straightening or locking them.
Let your elbows go from facing slightly outward to turning
downward toward the ground. Your palms and fingertips do
not lift appreciably, but instead go sideways yet more before
beginning to rise.
Exert peng jin outward from the entire outsides of your thighs,
calves and feet as well as the back (yang side) of your hands,
arms and shoulders.
Bring your chi to or below your feet.
If you can, move and spread chi as far as the boundary of your
etheric body, both below the ground and to the outsides of
your legs, torso, head and arms.
At the endpoint, both palms face your thighs and are slightly
curved with your fingers facing the ground.
Rebound Upward
2. By the time the elbow tips have descended to their lowest point, your
inward twisting soft tissues (most especially your ligaments) should be
ready to unwind like a rubber band. At this point, let go of the strong
twist inward and find a way to just let your arms reverse their twisting to
outward with the thumb-sides of your arms.
You want to feel a rebound effect, so that your arms very
smoothly transition into the upward twisting-outward
movement.
Let your closings smoothly flow into becoming openings.
43
44
3. As your arms begin to rise, let the upward movement be generated by

the twisting out of your shoulder blades. As your arms continue to rise,
accentuate the twisting further and further out your arms to your fingers.
Transition from Down to Up: Method 2
Figure 8.3.5
Second Half of the Final Descent: Method 2 Transition
In Method 2, the sideways expansion of your hands to the final downward
position occurs in two separate parts, which then are followed by the movement
upward. These parts fluidly connect to become one seamless movement.
First Half of Final Descent
1. Move the backs of your hands sideways in a condensed version of Method

1, going halfway to the final downward facing position.
Close your joints, kwa, armpits, other cavities, abdomen and
lower tantien a bit more.
Continue to twist inward yet a little more from the little-finger

side of your arms. Your palms still face each other, but your
fingers now point to the ground.
Extend your chi from the backs of your hands to the halfway
point of the outer edge of your etheric boundary at the level of
your hips and thighs.
Second Half of Final Descent
2. Your arms fully descend and move sideways and outward, and your
forearms and palms rotate outward to face sideways, away from your
body's centerline.
To cause this rotation, quickly and smoothly transit to
twisting inward from the thumb-side of your arms. You must
transit from twisting inward from the little-finger-side of each
arm to twisting inward with the thumb-side of each arm without missing a heartbeat.
lower tantien even a bit more.
Extend your chi from the backs and insides of your hands and
your legs, torso, head and arms to the bottom and outward
edges of your etheric body.
How far to the side of your body your hands go is a question of
how open your body is given its 70 percent limitations at any
point in time.
Transit to Upward Movement
3. To generate the upward movement:

Sink your elbows, so they go from facing clearly outward to
turning inward and downward to face perpendicular to the
ground.
45
46
Rotate your palms to the position where your thumbs face

upward rather than to the side while your fingers go yet further
sideways.
Switch back to twisting your arm inward from the little-finger
side of your arm.
lower tantien even a bit more.
These actions should cause your elbow tips to descend a few
inches in a peak-to-valley circular manner.
4. By the time the elbow tips have descended to their lowest point, your
inward twisting soft tissues (most especially your ligaments) should be
ready to unwind like a rubber band. At this point, let go of the strong
twist inward and find a way to just let your arms reverse their twisting to
outward with the thumb-sides of your arms.
You want to feel a rebound effect, so that your arms very
smoothly transition into the upward twisting-outward
movement.
Let your closings smoothly flow into becoming openings.
Your shoulder blades, upper arms, forearms, palms and fingers
will then twist and rotate upward as your arms rise.

Four-, Three- and Two-part
Stepping
As you integrate the more complex methods of moving your arms just described,
take care not to let your chi 'fizzle out' when moving. You must pay careful attention not to break the energetic connections between your legs, torso, neck, head
47
and arms at any point within the warm-up movements. This happens if you:
Do not properly engage the arms.
Let the arms go slack or stiff.
Properly engage the arms for a moment and then let them go
slack like an on-off switch.
Speed up and slow down either while walking or turning
around.
Walking Speeds
The recommended sequence is to:
1. Walk at a slow-ish speed, doing three-part stepping.
2. Do the same with four-part stepping.
3. When you can smoothly walk at slow speeds and incorporate all the
physical and energetic principles learned up to this point, then walk faster
until you arrive at a medium walking speed using three- and four-part
stepping methods.
4. Only then should you progress to two-part stepping.
Go through multiple cycles of four-, three- and two-part stepping. Each time, you
will move faster and faster until you become comfortable Walking the Circle with
all three steps-and between the slowest and fastest speeds of which you are
capable. Your goal is to be able to instantaneously dial up or down your walking speed while maintaining your hand movements seamlessly coordinated with
your footwork.
Ideally, you should only engage in fast walking speeds under the guidance of
an experienced, well-trained instructor. Small problems that might otherwise go
unnoticed are much less likely to result in injury.
48
Four- and Three-part Stepping

You should integrate the more complex intermediate versions of arm movements
with four- and three-part stepping following the same procedures presented in
Section 2.
Two-part Stepping
Initially, two-part walking must be done at faster walking speeds than either fouror three-part walking due to its intrinsic nature. Also, the ultimate top speed of
two-part walking is significantly faster than either three- or four-part stepping
methods.
With two-part stepping, the marker for raising and lowering your hands is the
interval between finishing one feet-parallel position and stepping forward and
arriving at the next feet-parallel position.
If stepping and hand motions are well-coordinated, you will:
Ideally, raise your hands with one step and lower them with the
next, with no break in your physical or energetic connections
If the ideal is not possible, raise your hands with a maximum of
one to three complete two-part steps, and lower your hands
with the same number of steps.
In the beginning, if you need more than one to three steps to
complete the job, that's okay. However, know that getting it
down to a maximum of three steps and ideally one step is
definitely the goal.
49
Nine Energetic Levels of the

Overview
There are nine levels of chi development in the Single Palm Change (SPC) Warmup:
1. Gaining a sense of energy rising and falling.
2. Engaging the energies of the general acupuncture meridian surfaces.
3. Engaging and refining the heavenly orbits of energy.
4. Working on energy channels deep within the body.
5. Engaging and balancing the left and right energy channels.
6. Engaging the central energy channel to link generally with the chi within
the physical body.
7. Using the central channel to engage all other energy channels within the
physical body.
8. Pulsing (opening-closing) the energy moving between the central channel
and the etheric body's boundary.
9. Engaging the central channel with the chi beyond the etheric body
boundary.
As your capacity at each level becomes more advanced and complete, your
practice at that level can become significantly more challenging.
50
The first four levels are important to learn and practice, whether your interest in
bagua is for health, martial arts or meditation. The first level is appropriate for all
practitioners. The following three are only for intermediates.
The final five energetic levels become increasingly more challenging and are
especially recommended for those interested in Taoist meditation-that is
becoming spiritually clear, healthy, strong, open-hearted and wise.
Learning Progression
In the following levels, sometimes instructions are given for moving chi up and
down your body. Energetic instructions parallel the physical movements, so that
you:
Practice upward energetic movements when bringing your
hands from the bottom position up to your head
Practice downward energetic movements as your hands
descend from their highest to lowest points
As you successively take on the practices at each level, progressively incorporate
those practices into the four-, three and two-part stepping methods. Your goal
is to smoothly integrate each level into all of your stepping practices before attempting the next level.
So at each new energetic level, again begin the training cycle with a four-part
step, then on to a three-part step and only finally to a two-part step. Eventually,
using any step that you choose, you can equally and smoothly perform the energetics involved before attempting the next energetic level of practice.
Level 1: Gain a Sense of Energy

Rising and Falling
As your chi and hands move upward, have a general sense of energy rising from
below the ground, up the back of your body, from each foot to the top of your
51
head. As your chi and hands move downward, have the general sense of energy
descending down the front of your body, from the top of your head to the bottom of each foot.
Level 2: Engage the Energies of the

General Acupuncture Meridian Surfaces
Figure 8.3.6
Yin and Yang Meridians

The dark surfaces are the body's yin and the white are the body's
yang acupuncture meridian surfaces.
1. As your arms rise, progressively move your chi up along the following
surfaces:
From the ground to the bottom of each foot
To the inside of each foot and inner thigh to your perineum
Up the sides and back of the body to the buttocks, sides of the
hips, torso, midriff and ribs, back muscles and spine, back and
sides of the neck, and the back and sides of the head to the
crown of the head.
52
2. As you lower you arms, progressively move your chi down:

Starting at the crown of the head, continue down the front of
the body (i.e., face, neck and torso) to the lower tantien
From the lower tantien, outward and downward across the dai
mai (the great meridian), to the outside of the hips and the hip
sockets
Simultaneously, through the pelvis and pubic area to the
perineum, to the backs and outsides of the hips
To the outsides of the thighs, knees, lower legs and ankles
To the outside of each foot and finally to below the ground.
Level 3: Engage and Refine

the Heavenly Orbits of Energy
The microcosmic and macrocosmic energy orbits follow the governing and
conception vessels of acupuncture. The key to understanding heavenly orbits is
you are moving energy at depths near the surface of the body: for example, between the skin and the spine on the way up and between the sternum and outer
belly on the way down. Often practiced in qigong, the heavenly orbits also apply
to bagua practice.
1. As your arms rise, bring energy up from the ground and, if you can, from
the boundary of your etheric body (below) to the sole of each foot.
2. Move chi to the inside of the feet and up the inside of the legs.
3. At the perineum, move chi upward along the tailbone and spine, behind
the heart and further upward to the bottom vertebra of the neck (C7).
4. From there, the flow of your chi bifurcates and continues along three tracks
simultaneously:
Up along the neck and the centerline at the back of the head to
the crown and to the boundary of your etheric body above it.
From the vertebra C-7 at the base of your neck sideways along
to your shoulder to the outside surface of each arm to the
fingertips and, if possible, the boundary of your etheric body.
From the heart to the armpits.
5. As your arms descend, beginning from the crown of your head and
fingertips (or the edges of your etheric body above your head and beyond
your fingertips if you could go that far), move chi progressively:
Down the front of the head and torso's centerline to the
bottom of the throat notch
From the fingers, along the inside of the arm to the armpits,
across the collar bones and inside the body to the level of the
heart at the sternum
Then the energy of heart meets the descending chi from the
throat notch and the combined energy of both descends down
your centerline to the lower tantein.
6. At the lower tantien, your chi again bifurcates as it continues to move:
Outward and downward along the dai mai (great meridian) to
the fleshy side of the hips and hip sockets and then down the
outsides of the legs
Down through the centerline of the pelvis and pubic area to
the perineum, out the back of the upper legs and down the
outsides of the legs
To the outside of each foot and, if you can, below the ground to
the boundary of your etheric body below each foot.
Level 4: Work on Energy Channels

Deep within the Body
1. Progressively move your chi up:
From the boundary of the etheric body below each foot, to
inside both feet and inside both legs to the perineum
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54
Through the tailbone and spine to the vertebrae behind the

heart.
2. From the heart vertebra, your chi divides and moves through interior
channels of the body:
Diagonally to the centers of your armpits, and through your
shoulders, arms, hands and fingertips to the boundary of your
etheric body beyond your fingertips.
Up the spine, to the crown of the head and above it to the
boundary of your etheric body.
4. Progressively move your chi down by simply reversing the upward flow in
all instructions with one exception: to return to the heart, the chi travels to
the fingertips along the inside of the arm to the armpits, then diagonally
through the interior of the body to the front of the body at the center of
the sternum in front of the heart.
THE HIGHER THE LEVEL OF ENERGY WORK, THE

GREATER THE NEED FOR SPIRITUAL COURAGE
I once asked my teacher Liu why he did not often teach Taoist
meditation or the Taoist monastic bagua tradition based on the
spiritual principles of the I Ching. His terse answer was, "Not many
want to Jearn." An hour later he added, "Or have the spiritual
courage, willingness and perseverance necessary for the journey."
Several months later Liu explained in more detail: "If someone
asks a Taoist immortal to teach meditation, there is an underlying
implied agreement. Regardless of future obstacles and challenges
that may come up, the student will continue to the end-whether
it takes years or lifetimes."
The journey to which Liu referred involves clearing the first seven
energy bodies and finding out who you are at your essence. The
student then continues on until he understands and remains consciously connected to the entire universe at all times. At this point,
55
he becomes what the Taoists call a "spiritual immortal." In Buddhism, the equivalent would be a fully realized Buddha.
Liu then discussed why spiritual courage was so necessary. An old
Chinese proverb states: A journey of a thousand miles begins with
a single step (willingness to commit). Committing to learn meditation takes great spiritual patience and courage, especially if you are
aware enough to comprehend or intuitively glimpse the potential
entirety of difficulties the journey may have in store for you.
The unpredictable challenges of meditation are utterly unique to
each individual. Forget about the life stories of great meditation
masters; each individual's personal road may not have anything
to do with what happens to anyone else. Each of us has our own
destiny. No one can ever know in advance what will happen on the
meditation road (Tao) they travel. Buddhists say there are "84,000
paths to the Buddha," and Taoists say there are "36 million paths to
the Tao."
Thousands of individual steps are uneventful. Although not necessarily easy, they simply require steady effort, the spiritual equivalent
of cleaning that which is dirty. This is regardless of whether what is
dirty is of past or deep origins, or is just the daily grime that ordinary life continuously generates-what the Taoists call"red dust."
Some steps can and do include drama. The wise man will recognize
the drama and do his best not to get dragged into or be possessed
by it. Other experiences can have surreal qualities, which take you
to the heights of clarity, bliss and other worldly perceptions. Others
can drag you into the deepest pains and tortures the human ego
can throw up in endless peek-a-boo cycles within your conscious
and unconscious awareness.
Everyone's internal and external world constantly creates
experiences that mimic changing weather patterns. The stronger
the experiences, the more dramatic individual steps of your
meditation journey might be. These are natural events that are best
engaged with minimal fuss, exaggeration and drama. They are not
profound statements regarding who or what you are essentially.
i
I
56
If the outside weather is sunny and bright, it doesn't make you a

saint. Nor does stormy weather make you a monster. You have
internal feelings-some are extremely high while others are very
low-and they are all quite ordinary. None of them make you
special or spiritual, just human.
Do your best to avoid the drama and don't fall into the trap of
being deluded by your perceptions or telling yourself endless stories.
Stay as mentally and energetically smooth as you can-regardless
of whether your mind is soaring like a celestial dragon or crashing
and breaking on the rocks.
As your mind opens with each new step, experiences will naturally
cease to control or define you. Simply recognize that most of the
meditation experiences you pass through, along with the
accompanying more advanced energy work, are simply showing
you how your chi has become bound and stuck. All you must do is
free it-there is no advancing to some new miraculous level of
consciousness like you see on television or the silver screen.
Patience and courage are required to face your own karma and the
subtle forces of the universe. Many of these are dramatically more
powerful and awe-inspiring than any "thing" the ordinary human
can imagine in its wildest dreams or fantasies. These will challenge
your ego, pride and all the accumulated ignorance your karma has
hard wired into your depths.
Most intelligent people must find out how at their core they are
foolish, even stupid and most definitely ignorant. The least
intelligent must find the source of the gleaming intelligence and
wisdom that is beyond the natural capacities of even the most
gifted brain. You will need spiritual courage.
The ultimate test is to flow within the needs of the universe without
resistance. Often for even an excellent practitioner, only the beginning, middle and end of a single change can be perceived. But
what about the long-term effect of changing energy? How does it
catalyze other changes downstream in endless cycles? How can the
energy change in all the subtle realms to which you are currently
57
connected? Understanding and continuing your spiritual practice

with these questions in mind requires genuine spiritual humility.
'
As each of the next thousands of steps along the spiritual journey

emerge, people often alternate between many different sideshows.
These include being internally ripped apart, becoming elevated and
pumped up to the heights of ecstasy and having a sense of being
more or distinctly less than human. Only at the end, as spiritual maturity emerges, will you let go of the hope or fear of either success or
failure.
Viewed from the spiritual reality of the empty, unifying spiritual
center of the I Ching, all changes are equal. (~lj~
'~~~/
Level 5: Engage and Balance the Left

and Right Energy Channels
Different ways of working with the body's left and right energy channels balance, engage and activate the first six energy bodies (physical, chi, emotional,
mental, psychic and causal). Until the energies of the left and right channels are
fully opened, cleared of blockages and developed, the methods of fully opening
the central channel of energy have no foundation to rest upon, grow or succeed.
Within the arms and legs of the physical body, the left and right channels run
through the bone matrix within the bones. In the torso, these channels run deep
in the body-midway between the skin of the back and the front of the bellyalong the vertical lines between the shoulders' nests and the sides of the kwa at
the hips (four points). Through the neck and head, the left and right channels
follow several pathways, each of which primarily influences and activates the
psychic, karmic or essence (body of individuality) energy bodies.
The many ways of working with the left and right channels require the direct
instruction and supervision of a master for several reasons. Relatively speaking,
it is much easier to open these channels than to keep them balanced. In terms
2011
58
of the individual student's ability to accommodate and modulate the spikes of

chi that can occur within their internal energy grid, if the left and right channels are inappropriately balanced, there can be problems that result in physical,
energetic, emotional, mental and spiritual dysfunctions. All of this can be avoided in a true master's presence.
Which energetic methods and techniques of balancing the right and left
channels are appropriate for a particular student are determined by several
factors, including:
The ways in which that person's energies are already opened
or blocked and balanced and imbalanced. This will determine
the specific combination and order of the methods used to
activate the channels. For example, there are several ways to
open the left and right channels in the skull and inside the
brain. There are also ways to incorporate specific nuances in
activating the left and right channels to affect each of a
person's first seven energy bodies.
How the student's energetic system morphs (correctly or
incorrectly) to accommodate the increased energy flow at
each stage of the energetic-awakening process
None of the methods for opening and balancing the left and right channels are
amenable to cookbook explanations.
Level 6: Engage the Central Channel's

Chi within Your Physical Body to the
Boundaries of Your Skin
According to Taoist, Buddhist, Hindu and Yogic philosophy, the central energy channel is the center through which humans can connect to the totality of
functioning chi within their own physical bodies or the entirety of the universe.
The central channel is the main switchboard that unifies, strengthens and balances all and everything.
59
THE CENTRAL CHANNEL OF ENERGY

Physically, the central channel in the limbs flows through the bone
marrow inside the bones. In the torso, it begins in the center of the
perineum at the very bottom of the pelvis, and then moves vertically up through the torso, neck and center of the brain to the crown of
the head (bai hui in Chinese).
Spiritually, the central channel then moves outward in all directions
as far as the external universe extends, receiving influences from all
it encounters. These forces can be dissolved, balanced and resolved
within the central channel. However, the central channel can also be
disturbed by these forces, which in turn disrupts the flow in all other
energy channels of your body.
~~~~
'~~,
Practice at this energetic level of the Single Palm Change (SPC) Warm-up includes
nine progressive phases that facilitate the engaging and joining of the first
thirteen components ofthe sixteen-part neigong system.
1. Clear any blockages that inhibit chi flows between the left and right
channels and the central channel, and guide those flows into the central
channel for a continuous connection that will eventually awaken your
central channel.
2. Pulse the energy within the central channel until it begins to move out
into and through the flesh of your body and brain toward your skin.
3. Open the smooth flow of chi between your skin and central channel by
dissolving any blocked energy between your central channel and skin in
both directions.
4. After the blockages in your chi are sufficiently released, use your HeartMind's intentto circulate the chi ofyourcentral channel seamlesslythrough
your physical body in both directions between your central channel and
skin. Alternate between smoothly:
60
Opening (sending your chi from) your central channel through

all the channels within your physical body to the skin that
encapsulates your physical body, and
Closing (pulling back the chi) from your entire body's skin
through the entire insides of your body into your central
channel, where it is to be fully dissolved and absorbed.
7. Continue this pulsing as long as necessary until it becomes smooth and all
energetic freezes or glitches during either the in or out movements cease.
Keep practicing until this experience becomes a living, vibrant and strong
feeling that is effortlessly maintained.
8. Next, continue to practice opening and closing until the flow of the
opening-closing merges and both actions occur simultaneously. At first
this will take great effort.
9. With time and practice, the opening-closing flows will clear out your more
subtle energetic blockages and the flows will grow ever more clean and
smooth, and a great calm and stillness should settle and penetrate deep
into the chi within your physical body.
Level 7: Use the Central Channel to

Engage All Other Energy Channels
within the Physical Body
The body has between four and five thousand energy channels. The acupuncture
meridians comprise only a small fraction of the total number. Each channel is
responsible for and controls specific functions within each of the first seven
energy bodies.
In this seventh stage of practice, many methods are used to activate, connect and
create a smooth energetic flow in both directions between the central channel
and these energy channels. This may sound like an overwhelming task. However,
the reality is that all you must do is engage those channels with which you are
61
comfortable at any given moment. Let go of any expectations that you must or
should go further.
The more energy channels within you that become activated and connected to
the central channel, the more complete your energetic makeup and spiritual life
becomes.
Level 8: Pulse the Energy Moving

between the Central Channel and
Etheric Body's Boundary
Next, you engage the spherical nature of the central channel as it extends out
in all directions equally to all the boundaries of your entire etheric body (i.e.,
up-down, forward-back, left-right). The purpose is to open up the entire energetic grid inside your etheric body with the same conscious clarity and awareness
that you previously achieved by using the central channel to open up the interior
energetic grid within the physical body.
To do this, you will consciously and gradually extend the central channel's energy
through your physical body to the boundary of your etheric body. Over time, you
will pulse further and further past your skin out into your etheric body, dissolve
any blockages within your etheric field and fill in any holes or gaps in your field.
Pulsing will start from the central channel and move through the physical body
to the boundary of your entire ethic body in all directions.
Just as there is a subtle interconnected grid of chi channels within the boundary
of your physical body, so too is there a corresponding energetic grid within your
etheric field. Every energy channel, point and configuration pattern of energy
within your physical body's four to five thousand energy lines has parallels within
the even more subtle energetic structure within your etheric body. In time, you
can learn to consciously feel the parallel energetic points and flows within the
etheric body.
62
The fields of your physical and etheric bodies interconnect in various ways.
Chi within your central channel and physical body directly creates the energy
structure with in your etheric field. This means that the chi of the physical body and
etheric field (in both directions) influence each other. For example, blocked chi
within the physical body blocks the chi in your etheric field and vice-versa. So
the source of either a well-functioning or dysfunctional, unbalanced energetic
system could primarily center in the physical body, etheric field or some of both.
Opening up the etheric field without having first stabilized the energies within
the physical body is a big mistake. You could experience emotional or psychic
overstrain, which most people do not handle well. The ideal scenario is opening
the inside of the physical body's energy to the skin before opening and balancing
the physical body and etheric field in tandem.
Pulsing always begins by opening outward from your central channel. It moves
through your physical body and skin and eventually extends to simultaneously
end at all ofthe edges of the boundary of your etheric body. From there, your chi
closes and moves inward to your skin, through your physical body and ends in
your central channel. The cycle repeats.
You must input and stabilize within your energetic field these open-close
energetic movements in discrete increments. For example, initially you might
only open-close from your central channel about one inch into your etheric field.
Then, you would go through the following procedure inch by inch until you could
pulse your entire etheric field.
1. Initially, as you pulse you dissolve any blocked energy in the inch-thick
layer of your etheric field with which you are working.
2. In time, you start consciously recognizing the specific energetic qualities
you can feel within that inch space being pulsed.
3. Then, over more time, you can tell if the field is clear or requires more
dissolving. You continue dissolving until the entire space becomes
unblocked.
63
4. At this point, you simply use your Heart-Mind's intent to pulse the chi from
the central channel through to the outer edge of that inch of your etheric
field and back to the central channel.
5. After
sufficient
practice,
the
opening-closing
actions
happen
simultaneously. At this stage, that inch-thick layer of your etheric field will
feel as solid as your physical flesh.
6. An even greater and more all pervasive sense of energetic or emotional
calm and stillness can then arise inside you.
This practice method would repeat itself inch by inch until your central
channel makes contact with and reaches the boundary of your entire etheric
body. Along the way, you naturally integrate any energy the pulsing encounters,
activate channels within the etheric field and link them to the central channel.
These etheric field energies typically remain dormant or only semi-alive in most
people.
This level of practice of the SPC Warm-up continues until your entire etheric field
stably opens to your conscious awareness.
Keep in mind that if an energetic practice method is intermittent, this is not the
same thing as doing it well, so you must practice a lot.
You are ready to move on to the ninth level when:
The opening-closing out to the boundary of the etheric sphere
is energetically stable.
You no longer have any recognizable blocks or holes in chi flow
between your central channel and etheric boundary.
Your mind does not involuntarily gap out or otherwise become
unaware within the pulsing flow between the central channel
and the sphere of the etheric body.
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Level 9: Engage the Central Channel

with the Chi beyond the Etheric Body
Boundary
According to the Taoist perspective, the inside of a human body (via the
mechanism of the central channel) cannot only connect to the entire universe,
but can also allow the entire universe to connect to the consciousness residing
inside of that human body.
The etheric field's boundary is the bridge or link to the emotional (third)
energy body, which extends a distance of many, many stars in all directions from
a human's physical body.
It is from the etheric boundary that humans can connect to all and everything of
the universe at the macro-physical level of stars, planets and more.
All the methods of this level of SPC Warm-up practice are about preparations
and methods for extending the central channel's energy to the edges of the third
energy body and beyond.
From a Taoist perspective, this is where the genuine spiritual process begins.
Practices related to exploring and integrating the eight energy bodies were and
are central to the Taoist bagua monastic tradition, study of the I Ching, sexual
meditation practices and the inner teachings of Lao Tse-all of which are a part
of the inner gate of the Taoist Water tradition.
Section 4
Transition from the Single
Palm Change Warm-up to
the SPC Palm Posture
Overview
In the last sections, you learned to coordinate arm and foot movements in
connection with Circle Walking stepping patterns within the Single Palm Change
(SPC) Warm-up. In this section, you will learn more about such arm-leg and handfoot coordination. You'll do so within the precise sequences for waist turning and
arm-hand movements used to transition from the warm-up to holding the SPC
Palm Posture in preparation for changing direction with the SPC.
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Figure 8.4.1
Transition to the Single Palm Change Palm Posture
from the Single Palm Change Warm-up
Instructions
Wang Shu Jin, my first bagua teacher, commonly taught this initial transition to
some beginners. At first, you will usually find your movements are fairly choppy
and uncoordinated. However, with practice and patience, your goal is to refine
this sequence into a smooth, seamless flow.

Transition to the Single Palm Change Palm Posture
from the Single Palm Change Warm-up
Beginning Position: When walking a clockwise circle and

completing your practice of the SPC Warm-up, your feet are in
the side-by-side and parallel position as your hands transit through
being at your lower tantien (Figure 8.48). (Conversely, when walking
a counterclockwise circle, the beginning position would be the
same, but the rights and lefts in the following instructions would
be reversed.)
You could also perform this transition when Circle Walking with
your arms in the Palms Press the Earth or other similar energy
posture.
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Figure 8.4.2
Transition from Warm-up: Beginning Position
Step 1
Figure 8.4.3
Transition from Warm-up: Step 1
The backs of your hands move sideways and split apart.
Step 2
Figure 8.4.4
1. Step forward with your left foot as your arms and hands rise and fall in a
coordinated action.
2 The bottom (right) palm presses down toward the ground and becomes
parallel to the ground.
o
The fingers point in the same direction as your lower tantien.
Twist the right arm and palm inward.
The lower hand anchors the rising hand and finishes facing the
ground by the time the rising hand is near the center of your
torso.
From there, until the end of your rising hand reaching its apex,
the bottom hand remains still and projects chi downward
toward the ground in direct proportion to the degree energy
rises upward from your rising hand.
This creates an energetic counterbalance that stabilizes your

rising palm and your fobtwork.
When pressing your palm down, be sure to keep your wrist
joint open.
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2. The rising palm and fingers go through two seamlessly connected parts.
First:
As your arm and palm begin to circle forward and upward,
twist inward.
The palm arrives at your torso's centerline by the time it arrives
at the height of your solar plexus (diaphragm).
3. From there, your arm and palm begin to twist outward as they rise upward
and forward, staying on your body's centerline. Your elbow and forearm
also move toward and ideally arrive on your centerline.
At a minimum, your fingers should reach the top of your head
or ideally well above, but keep within your 70 percent (Figure
8.4.4).
At the end of the twist, your palm will either directly face you
or, if your waist twisting is very good, face slightly outward
toward your left shoulder.
4. The left foot stepping forward should cause your left palm and fingers to
rise in the manner of the Drill Warm-up exercise in Module 3. Do not move
your hand independently of your foot movement.
Step 3
Figure 8.4.5
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As you shift your weight forward and bring your feet side by side again, your
lower arm and palm circles forward and upward.
1. The goal is to coordinate your hand and foot motions with each other
as smoothly as possible without strain. You want to feel as if your leg
movements generate your arm movements.
2. The bottom palm circles toward and up your body's centerline. When your
bottom palm reaches your upper elbow, the fingers go just outside and
underneath the elbow, and the back of the palm faces upward.
3. Both arms twist inward.
4. The upper forearm and elbow, as they twist inward, stay on your centerline.
They simultaneously move slightly backward and down toward your torso.
Step 4
Figure 8.4.6
You step out with your right foot and your arms should lightly rub against each
other as they reverse positions.
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1. Your lower (right) arm and hand rotate, twist outward and rise, so your
rising forearm moves up and forward along the outside of your descending
upper arm. Ideally, the hand rises to a position above your head.
2. Your upper (left) arm rotates and twists inward, gradually bends and moves
down to finish with the back of the hand on the crook of the rising arm's
elbow.
As it drops and bends, the forearm first rubs against the back
and outside of the rising forearm;
Then, midway it switches to rubbing against the inside of the
rising arm in coordination with the rising arm moving forward
and the palm rotating and twisting outward.
3. Ideally, both hands finish with their fingers pointing upward.
Step 5
B
Figure 8.4.7
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Continue to Walk the Circle, gradually turn your waist toward the center of the
circle (as far as you can within your seventy percent) and lower your arms to
begin to assume the SPC Palm Posture.
1. Take as many full steps as you like and try to let your arms move downward
in unison with your leg movements. Each part of a step should cause the
arms to move a portion of the way toward the final position.
2. Rotate your palms toward each other and twist inward as your waist turns.
3. The upper elbow and wrist descend and bend slightly.
The elbow tip should drop vertically and not move to the side.
Your wrist bends and the edge of your hand moves forward to
face away from you on your centerline and into your circle.
4. As your lower arm descends:
Your elbow bends.
Your wrist bends, so your thumb comes toward your body.
The bottom edge of your palm descends vertically in a downward chopping motion. At the motion's end, the edge (not the
palm) of your hand faces away from you on your centerline and
into your circle, with your fingers ideally facing vertically upward.
11. The lower hand may descend to either of two heights as described in
Module 5 on the SPC Palm Posture:
At the lower tantien with fingers facing either forward or
upward, or
Just below your upper elbow, so your lower fingers face the tip
of your upper elbow. To assume this position, your body must
be significantly more stretched and internally open.
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Step 6
Figure 8.4.8
As you continue to step, rotate your palms outward. If your waist was turned
ninety degrees to the side, your upper palm would directly face the center of
the circle, as shown in Figure 8.4.8. However, until your Dragon Body turning has
developed that far, your upper palm will face away from you on your centerline
in the direction you have turned.
1. Both arms and palms twist outward.
2. Your upper arm's elbow and armpit stretch slightly forward.
3. Your lower palm will do different things depending upon whether it
finishes in a higher or lower palm position.
If in the higher position just below your elbow, your fingers

face upward, but without your lower hand crossing your
centerline. Your index finger should either point at the tip of
your upper elbow or go as far as touching it. This touching is
mostly done only by very thin people. The center of your lower
palm should point to the outside of your upper elbow.
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If in a lower position, your thumb and center of your palm is

directly in front of your lower tantien. Ideally, your index finger
points to the tip of your upper elbow, your palm faces away
from you and your fingers are more or less vertical.
If you are less flexible, however, your thumb ideally points to
your lower tantien, but the palm of your hand may face sideways across your body. Your arm rounds and opens to enable
your palm edge to horizontally project slightly forward from
your lower tantien.
Continuous Practice of the

SPC Warm-up, Transition
and Palm Posture
At this stage of learning bagua, your typical practice will likely consist of a
progression, such as:
Bagua Warm-ups
Body Unification Exercises
Circle Walking holding the energy postures of your choice
Circle Walking and the SPC Warm-up, and
Transitioning from the warm-up into Circle Walking holding the
SPC Palm Posture.
Once you have completed Module 9 and learned the Heaven version of the
Single Palm Change, you will perform that palm change every time that you
subsequently change direction and then resume holding the Palm Posture.
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Since you have not yet learned the palm change, a substitute practice after the
transition is to:
1. Hold the SPC Palm Posture for as many circles as you like.
2. When you change direction, resume the warm-up for a rotation or two
around your circle.
3. Perform the transition in this new direction.
4. Repeat steps 1, 2 and 3 again and again for the remainder of your practice.
Gazing and Breathing Practices while

Holding the SPC Palm Posture
While you walk and hold the SPC Palm Posture, your first priority is to stabilize the
posture inside your body. The following practices will help you accomplish this
goal.
Gazing
The first step in gazing is to maintain a continuous focus of your eyes on the tip of
your index finger (or the space between your index finger and thumb) while you
Walk the Circle-without spacing out.
During the change of direction and when doing the warm-up and transition,
focus your gaze on what is in front of you rather than intently looking at your
hands. With practice, you must be visually clear about what is in the space
you are moving through and what is directly in front of you. In the beginning,
the tendency to look at your hand movements and get stuck in some internal
visualization is likely. So be mindful of seeing what is in front of you. If you look at
the steering wheel instead of the road when driving, you won't get far!
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Distraction
In the beginning, distraction is probably the most common obstacle to deepening your gazing practice. So while walking or reversing direction, change your
focus from talking to yourself to gazing; look straight ahead and feel your feet
making contact with the ground. Don't think about it, physically feel and register
the experience without allowing your mind to wander. This will ground you (literally) and help shift your focus from seeing images in your mind to feeling your
body.
As you gaze, if you cannot stop thoughts or words from coming into your head,
repeat the vowels of the alphabet (A, E, I, 0, U). It doesn't matter which ones you
use or in what sequence as long as the repetition absorbs and neutralizes the
language in your head. Do this until your mind becomes relatively quiet and the
distractions of internal dialogue diminish or cease entirely.
Initially, you may want to say the vowels out loud. However, over time and with
practice, you should endeavor to say them silently, so they simultaneously
concentrate your external vision, internal mental focus and the ability to clearly
feel your body.
When you recognize you made a mistake, rather than chastising and training
yourself to punish imperfection, just continue forward and start afresh wherever
you are in the movement. Then, when you approach the error point again, simply
slow down a little and be more careful. Repetition will clear errors in the fastest
time possible, and more importantly, help you to maintain your flow even when
you don't perform perfectly.
Breathing
Your breathing must become steady and smooth, and you should not hold your
breath or gulp air regardless of your walking speed or how long/short your
individual inhales/exhales may be.
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Allowing your breath to become steady, slow and smooth accomplishes two
goals.
Energetically, it enables your energy channels to completely
open and become more balanced.
For meditation, it enables the slowing down of the mind,
increases awareness and prods the mind into dropping the
erratic jumpy movements of the monkey mind.
Both aspects are especially important when changing direction. When your
breathing rhythm becomes disturbed by new variables-eyes constantly
refocusing, or different ways you move your hands and feet, and turn your waistit can cause internal pressures within your abdomen to change, and thereby
potentially negatively affect the smoothness or depth of your breath.
For the first several months, focus on generating your breath strongly from
your diaphragm and the relaxed movement of your internal organs within your
abdomen. Then, for another year, include regular breathing from the sides of
your abdomen, kidneys and lower back. Stabilize your mind through gazing at
your index finger or the space in front of you during the change of direction.
Dizziness
Rapidly going round and round can make anyone dizzy, so it's a common
problem when people begin Circle Walking. If you start to become dizzy, slow
down your walking speed and synchronize it with your breath. Use your breath
to center you and bring you back to normal. Stabilize your gaze as oscillating eye
movements contribute to disorientation.
Section 5
Transition and Single Palm
Change Palm Posture
Practices (Intermediates)
Figure 8.5.1
Intermediate Transition: End Position
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Figure 8.5.2
Intermediate Transition: The Entire Movement as a Flow
Instructions
Every instruction that follows presupposes that you are continuing to Walk the
Circle and coordinating the hand movements of the transition in a seamless
manner with each step.
These instructions follow the sequence and timing illustrated by Figure 8.5.2 for
how the arms should coordinate with four-part stepping.
As always, this method can be done with other coordinated arm and leg movements for three-, four- and two-part stepping. The steps shown and described
here are for ease of instruction and to help you more easily assimilate the material.
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Intermediate Transition: The Entire Movement as a Flow
You may find it easier to coordinate transitions of the arms and legs in a different
way than is shown, which is fine. What is most important is to make sure that you
feel stable in each oft he weight shift positions. Your goal is to combine in a seamless flow the hand movements and gentle hip and waist turning without losing
your physical balance. Keep your mind relaxed as becoming anxious will have the
effect of subliminally destabilizing your balance.
This movement sequence will twist and open up the inside of your abdominal
cavity and all its anatomy and chi flows. You know you have completed this version when you only need one rising of the hands to achieve the same internal
effect as two risings and failings of the hands.
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Beginning Position: Feet are parallel and the foot on the outside of
the circle is weightless.
You should begin from whichever of the following three initial
positions feels most appropriate for your current practice level.
Initially, the closer your hands are to your body's centerline, the
faster your hands should rise and the greater the internal pressure
the movements should generate within your abdominal cavity.
Option 7, Easiest: Begin from Walking the Circle with

your hands at your sides and fingers or palms pointing
downward to the ground (Figure 8.5.3).
Figure 8.5.3
Option 2, More Difficult: Begin from finishing the SPC
Warm-up with the backs of your arms facing outward
below your hips (Figure 8.5.4).
Figure 8.5.4
Option 3, Most Difficult: Begin from finishing the SPC

Warm-up with your hands palm up in front of your lower
tantien (Figure 8.5.5).
Figure 8.5.5
Transition Part 1: Arms Rise Upward

Part 1 of the transition occurs in two phases.
Phase 1: Step Forward and Raise Hands to Chest

Figure 8.5.6 A-8: Step forward with your outside foot and simultaneously:
In one continuous elliptical movement, your hands move from
the sides or front of your body and go upward to converge on
your centerline. Both hands should rise in a fluid and seamless
manner without stops and starts, or any muscular contraction
throughout the whole movement.
The hand that is on the same side of your body as your outside foot should rise slightly faster and higher than the other
hand. If necessary, you may take up to several steps before your
hands arrive at your centerline, but the ideal is to only step
forward from the feet side-by-side position.
Figure 8.5.6
Arms Rise Upward: Phase 1
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Both hands twist inward from the little finger

sides of your palms and turn to face palm
upward.
Your body completely closes-including
your belly, joints, kwa and other cavities,
spine and lower tantien. This closing
action squeezes your armpits to drive your
hands upward like toothpaste rising up a
tube.
Figure 8.5.7
Raise Hands
The upper arm's fingers ascend to the height
to Chest
of the middle of your chest.

As your lower hand reaches the height of
your solar plexus (diaphragm), its fingers
cradle in the crook of your upper arm's
elbow.
Phase 2:
Footbrake and Raise the Hands
above the Head
Figure 8.5.8: Footbrake and simultaneously:
The back side of the lower hand stays cradled
in the crook of your upper arm as both raise
upward, until ideally the fingertips of your
upper hand rise above your head.
Both elbows move toward your centerline
until your upper arm from your elbow to your
fingertips is on your body's centerline.
Figure 8.5.8
Hands Rise
above Head
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As your arm moves from the height of your throat upward, your
upper arm switches from twisting inward to twisting outward
from the thumb-side of the arm. Your fingers point vertically
upward toward the sky as they rise. Ideally, as your twisting
ability increases, your hand will twist progressively more
until your little finger faces upward and toward your face. Your
thumb will face outward and forward, away from your body.
Your lower arm continues to twist inward from the little-finger
side of the arm, which continues to create the toothpastesqueezing force that causes the arms to rise. Ideally, you
continue the twisting until your lower palm lies on the flat of
your upper arm's forearm, fingertips pointing upward.
Your body completely opens-including the belly, joints, kwa,
armpits and other cavities, and spine and tantien.
Please note the following points:
The final height of your palms depends on your flexibility.
Ideally, the upper elbow tip should arrive at and stay on your
centerline.
The higher your hands go, the lower your shoulder blades
should sink.
Your shoulders must not scrunch your neck.
The shoulder joint must not rise, although your shoulder's
deltoid muscle can. This is only possible if your shoulder joint
acts as a pivot point.
The lower hand remains in the crook ofyour elbow. If someone is facing you, your
lower hand (or least the fingers) will be hidden from view.
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Part 2: Arms Reverse Position

Part 2 of the transition occurs in three phases.
Figures 8.5.9
Arms Reverse Positions
Phase 1: Shift Weight, Turn Waist

toward the Circle's Center, Begin Arm Reversal
Figure 8.5.9 A-B: As you shift your weight forward in space (parts two and three of
four-part stepping) simultaneously:
Your hips and waist gradually and slightly turn toward the
inside of your circle.
Your upper elbow tip rises a bit (A), adhering to the 70 percent
rule, and circles up and back and down a bit (B) toward your
centerline.
Your lower palm and fingers circle under (A) and around (B)
your upper elbow to the outside of your upper elbow and then
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the base of your upper forearm. As your lower fingertips

move, they should maintain contact with your upper elbow
and forearm.
Your upper arm twists inward from the little-finger side of your
arm.
Your lower arm twists inward from the thumb-side of the arm.
Your entire body closes and then opens as you shift your
weight forward (parts two and three of four-part stepping).
Phase 2: Bring Feet Side by Side, Turn Waist away

from the Circle's Center, Continue Arm Reversal
Figure 8.5.9 C: Bring your feet side by side (part four of four-part stepping) and
simultaneously:
Your hips and waist gradually turn to face slightly away from
the center of your circle (to its outside).
Your upper arm descends and your
lower arm rises until the two arrive at
about the same height. It is acceptable
for your rising arm to still be slightly
lower than the descending arm. The
ideal would be for your arms to be
at the same height that your wrists
crossed-the height of your upper
chest or throat as seen in Figure 8.5.1 0.
Your body closes as the descending
arm bends and the ascending arm
stretches.
Figure 8.5.1 0
Your rising lower arm twists outward

from the thumb-side of the arm.
Your descending upper arm twists inward from the little-finger
side.
201 1 Bruce Frantzis-AII Rights Reserved.
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Your arms will move like a pulley, where the upper arm
descending causes the lower arm to rise.
Your forearms rub and twist against each other. With time and
practice and as your movements become more spherical, your
arms will energetically but not physically touch. This will open
up your insides (guts) more dramatically by creating
significantly more internal movement within your
abdominal cavity.
Phase 3: Step Out and Footbrake,

Turn Waist Forward, Finish Arm Reversal
Figure 8.5.9 D: Step forward and footbrake (part one of four-part stepping) and
simultaneously:
Remember that although ideally you will finish with a forward footbrake, initially
you may need additional leg movements to complete the arm movements.
Your hips and waist turn back toward your circle so you face
toward the direction that your feet are walking.
Both arms continue to rise and fall like a pulley. The descending
arm and hand causes the ascending arm and hand to rise until
the hand positions completely reverse.
After your wrists cross, the rising (and now upper) arm
continues to twist outward from the thumb-side of the arm to
cause your fingers to point vertically upward toward the sky as
they rise. As your twisting ability increases, your hand will twist
more until your little finger faces upward and toward your face.
Your thumb twists and faces outward and forward, away from
your body.
The descending (and now lower) arm continues to twist inward
from the little finger side of the arm. This continues the
squeezing-the-toothpaste force that causes both arms to rise.
Both forearms continue to rub against each other.

Your body completely opens.
The rising arm's palm center, forearm and elbow tip finish on
your body's centerline as high as possible while adhering to
your 70 percent.
The descending hand finishes in the crook of the rising hand's
elbow, palm facing toward you. Ideally, the fingers of your
lower hand will be nestled in the crook of your arm, so that
someone looking directly at you could not see them.
Transition Part 3: Arms Descend

Part 3 of the transition occurs in three phases.
Phase 1: Transition from Upward

to Downward Arm Movement
Figure 8.5.11 A: Continue to Walk the Circle and simultaneously:
Your hips and waist continue to turn gradually toward the
center of the circle.
Your upper arm continues upward to the apex of its rise. The
fingers face 90 degrees upward toward the sky as the lower
hands drops from the crook of the upper arm's elbow to just
below its tip, or perhaps as low as the height of your upper
arm's armpit.
Your body begins to close.
Both arms twist inward from the little-finger side of the arm.
Both of your elbows begin to bend.
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Figure 8.5.11
Arms Descend
Phase 2: Arms Start to Descend

Figure 8.5.11 B: As you continue to walk, continue to gradually turn your hips and
waist toward the center of your circle and simultaneously:
Both arms rotate, bend and move downward just a bit, so that
your elbows spread toward the sides of your ribs. Both hands
remain on your centerline.
Your upper hand remains at least as high as the crown of your
head (if possible within your 70 percent) or, ideally, well above
it.
Your lower hand remains just below the upper arm's elbow.
Your whole body continues to close.
Both arms twist inward from their thumb sides
The bottoms of your palms rotate and drop under your fingertips until the edges of both of your hands turn to face directly
away from you on your centerline and into the circle.
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The bottom edges of your palms only drop as much as your

armpits close. Your elbows bend and drop no more than your
armpits close.
Your fingertips continue to point upward, perpendicular to
the sky, as much as the bending of your elbows and wrists will
allow.
Phase 3: Arms Finish Descending

Figure 8.5.11 C: As your hips and waist continue to turn toward the center of your
circle, both hands drop vertically neither moving forward, back, left nor right
relative to your centerline. Simultaneously:
Both elbows bend, which causes both wrists to bend sideways,
so your thumbs move backward toward your torso. Bending
the upper elbow brings your upper wrist downward just a bit.
Bending your lower elbow may drop your lower wrist just a few
inches or as low as the height of your lower tantien.
As you bend your elbows, close everything in your body,
especially your altissimo dorsi muscles in your mid-back, as
well as your elbow, wrist, palm and finger joints, tantien,
abdomen, kwa, armpit cavity and spine.
As you bend your elbows more, it is important to balance this
arm and spine closing with projecting chi upward from the
crown of your head. This prevents untoward pressure on your
spine and back muscles, which could otherwise result in strain.
Both arms continue to twist inward from their thumb-sides.
The fingertips of both of your hands continue to project
upward as the bottom of each palm edge projects forward,
until ideally for each hand the edge of your palm and the tip
of your little finger are on a straight line perpendicular to the
ground.
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At the end of the movement, your upper hand's index finger's tip is more or less
even with either your nose (if you are more stretched) or your shoulder (if you
are less stretched). The lower hand drops so that its index fingertip points toward
the upper arm's elbow tip. Your lower palm's position can range from being at a
height in front of your lower tantien (easiest) to a height where your index finger
touches the elbow tip of your upper arm (more difficult).
This downward descent of your arms and turning of your hips and waist is
designed to cause downward power to flow into your hands and forearms, and to
powerfully stretch the soft tissues of your arms, shoulders, back and chest.
Transition Part 4:
Palms Turn to Face into Your Circle
Figure 8.5.2: You now fully assume the Single Palm Change (SPC) Palm Posture,
which you will hold as you Walk the Circle. Simultaneously:
Your hips finish turning toward the center of your circle as far
as your Dragon Body turning (and 70 percent) will allow.
The centers of your palms rotate until both are facing away
from you on your centerline and into your circle.
Please note: Figure B.S. 1. and B.S. 12 show bruce coiling his body, so that his
hands move past his centerline to face the center of his circle. This is an advanced
Dragon Body technique. Until you learn Dragon Body coiling, your hands should
remain on your centerline and face into your circle only as far as your Dragon
Body turning carries them.
Each arm twists outward from its little-finger-side.

You open everything in your body.
Your index fingers, and eventually all of your fingers, extend
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upward and backward, and move toward your shoulder as you

take care not to close down your wrist joints.
You have now learned the intermediate transition. It is recommended that
you practice it while Walking the Circle in both directions, doing a continuous
repeated practice of the SPC Warm-up, transition and holding the SPC Palm
Posture as presented in Section 4.
Figure 8.5.12
Palms Turn to Face into Circle
(intermediate)
Section 6
Holding the
SPC Palm Posture
Overview
As you are learning the Single Palm Change (SPC) Warm-up and Transition, and
once you have learned the SPC itself, you should spend a significant amount of
time holding the SPC Palm Posture as you Walk the Circle. This section provides
some key practices to help you progress.
Options for Twisting the Arms

to Absorb and Project Chi
After doing the intermediate transition, take a few steps and choose one of the
following four options for twisting your arms as you Walk the Circle and hold the
SPC Palm Posture.
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The author and his teacher, Liu Hung Chieh, with wrists joined
in the Single Change Palm Posture
Each of these twisting options opens up the energy flows within your body in
a different way. Your goal is to gradually become able to do all four variations
equally well and comfortably as you Walk the Circle.
Option 7: Both arms twist inward as you close your joints. This
increases your ability to absorb chi from the air, which ideally
you can directly feel or less ideally indirectly visualize (as a
precursor to the ideal).
Option 2: Both palms twist outward as you open your joints.
This projects chi from both palms outward and increases your
ability to discharge chi.
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Option 3:The upper arm closes and twists inward, absorbing
energy from the air as your palm faces outward. The lower arm
opens and twists outward, projecting energy from its palm out
to the side of your upper elbow.
Option 4:The forward upper arm twists outward and projects
chi outward while your bottom hand twists inward, absorbing

energy from the air.
By twisting in and closing the joints, you absorb chi into your body and store it
for health and well ness. The desired route the chi follows in each arm is into your
fingers and lao gung point (center of the palm); then to the middle of your wrist
to the elbow, shoulder joint, shoulder's nest, armpit, heart and down the body's
centerline to the lower tantien. Simultaneously, absorb chi from the top of your
head down to your throat notch, heart, and lower tantien.
To project energy, move chi (through all the energy gates) from the lower
tantien backward through the body to the mingmen energy gate on the lower
spine; and up the spine to the top of the head as you simultaneously branch off
the spine at the vertebra between the shoulder blades to the shoulder blades,
shoulder joint and armpits and then through the arms to the center of the palms
and the fingertips.
If you are sufficiently skilled in moving energy, it is possible to simultaneously
absorb and project energy in and out of different sections of the arms in addition
to the hands.
In the beginning, your primary objective is to feel chi move from your hands to
your armpits and from your head to your throat notch when absorbing and back
out when discharging chi. (At this stage, also let chi naturally link from your armpits and throat notch into and back out of your upper spine.) Next, move energy
all way into and out of your lower tantien as described in the previous paragraph.
Finish by completing the circuits from above your head to below your feet.
98
Spiraling Energy Body Qigong trains you to work with the upward
and downward major and minor flows of chi in the body on which
bagua 's two hundred energy postures are based.
Breathing and Gazing Practices

Breathing
If you cannot do abdominal breathing comfortably, you are not ready for
intermediate breathing instructions. However, if you can, as an intermediate
practitioner your goal should be to become able to do the entire range of regular
and reverse Taoist breathing with ease.
Guidelines for practitioners who practice regularly are as follows. Due to
individual variations in physical and energetic capacities and frequency of
practice, you may take less/more time to complete the progression than that
indicated.
Month 1 to 6: Abdominal, kidney (back) and liver/spleen (side)
breathing.
Month 6 to 12: Upper back breathing.
Month 12 to 18: Upper lung breathing.
Month 19 to 30: Spinal breathing.
Month 30 to 36: By three years, the up and down movements
of chi through your central channel should become effortless
and simultaneously integrate with each inhale and exhale. Both
should be incredibly stable.
After three years: Begin vertical or center-to-periphery reverse
breathing while incorporating all the internal elements of
regular breathing.
After 10 years: Practice regular or reverse breathing as your
body-mind feels is appropriate without analyzing it to death!
99
Combine Breathing and Gazing

The next phase of practice seamlessly combines and coordinates breath and chi
movement with gazing at your index finger. Remember that breath is not chi and
vice-versa, although in Circle Walking practice they can and should efficiently
link, co-mingle and reinforce each other.
This practice includes ten stages, and completion and full integration of each
stage with the previous stages will make it easier to do the next. The final stage
encompasses the complete technique.
Ideally, you will progress through the stages as described in the previous
section on breathing methods with the stages described below simultaneously.
Completion of the thirty- to thirty-six-month stage described above would coincide with completion of the fourth stage described below.
Relax your eyes and look directly at your index finger or past it into the open
space in front of your finger while breathing.
1. Inhale and breathe from your index finger to your nose. Exhale and breathe
from your nose to your index finger or beyond. Feel continuously through
the space between the two, and notice any and all sensations that you
feel.
2. Continue and let the movement of your breath in and out gradually infuse
into your feeling awareness a tangible sense of the space between your
finger and nose becoming "solid:' Over time, the feeling of your breath
moving in, out of and through the space should feel completely solid.
3. Next, allow your breath to flow from your index finger into and out of
your nose. Let your breath gradually move inward and upward higher
and higher, until it connects and fuses with all parts of your nose. Then
gradually combine into one the sense of your nose and third eye. Your third
eye is located slightly above your eyebrows on the centerline of your head,
at a point about halfway between the skin and the center of your brain.
Your third eye is the gateway to your upper tantien. Your upper tantien
100
is located in the center of your brain on your central channel. Inhale from
your index finger to your nose, then continue up your third eye and exhale
back out along your nose to your index finger. You want to have a steady
stream of energy moving from your index finger to your third eye on the
inhale and from third eye to your index finger on the exhale. Later, when
this becomes stable, breathe up your nose to your third eye and back into
your upper tantien on your central channel and back out.
4. Once your breath reaches your central channel, move down your central
channel and then back up and out to your index finger in several discrete
stages of development, working with:
The bottom of your throat notch, then
The heart center (middle tantien), then
The navel, then
The lower tantien.
5. Simultaneously, while using central channel breathing (index finger to
lower tantien), relax and dissolve your eyes and optic nerve to the center of
your brain. Continue on until the tension in your vision radically diminishes
or leaves entirely. This process serves two purposes:
Relaxes the center of the brain. From the perspective of Taoism,
it is absolutely necessary to energetically manage stress, which
can center inside the brain. Those who perform intellectual or
visual work are especially prone to brain-centered tension.
Increases your visual capacity. We see from our brain, not our
eyes. Although vision can sometimes be corrected solely by
strengthening the eye muscles, relaxing the brain and
increasing its neurological crossovers is a more effective
method. Some bagua practitioners have even put away their
glasses and reduced their prescriptions while others have
increased their night and peripheral vision.
6. While looking at your index finger, focus on increasing your peripheral
101
vision until your brain, eyeballs and optic nerve relax fully. Human vision
works much like the rings of a bull's eye target. When very tense, your
vision narrows so you only see clearly what's in the tiny circle at the center.
The other"rings;'-upward, sideward or downward to your feet-become
fuzzy or outright invisible. Begin to relax your vision so you can be better
aware of all of the rings.
7. Your goal now is to relax your optic nerve and brain, so you can
progressively see clearly everything from the center to the outer rings of
your visual bull's eye target, (i.e. to the outer edges of your field of vision).
Gradually progress through the rings from the innermost to the outermost
until your vision is clear in all of them. Your goal is to be able to maintain
continuous focus on the tip of your index finger and also be able to see
clearly everything within your field of vision.
For example, if walking around a tree or pole, although your gaze would
not leave your finger, the focus of your eyes should also allow you to
clearly see the tree or pole-regardless in which direction you are looking.
It can take some time to get your eyes to relax and focus in this way, so be
patient with yourself.
8. While gazing at your fingertip, move your mind backward through your
hand and arm, and into your body. Bit by bit, feel the inside of your body
from head to toe.
9. Recognize the energy blockages inside your body. Then, use the Taoist Inner
or Outer Dissolving methods (as appropriate) to release the blockages and
allow you to feel further through your body-up, down and backward.
10. When you can consciously feel the entire inside of your physical body, go
to the next subtle level and do the same beyond your skin in a spherical
manner, to the boundaries of your etheric body.
102
Be sure to review material from Module 4 on bagua energy posture practices.
Dragon Body Turning into the Circle

As you practice holding the SPC Palm Posture return time and time again to
being aware of your Dragon Body turning. Remember that a major goal of bagua
and tai chi is to coordinate and integrate the chi and physical structure of the
body. Anything that breaks the chi linkages or physical integrity within the body
is considered a no-no! The degree to which you turn your waist as you transition
into holding the SPC Palm Posture or other bagua techniques may either affirm
or violate this prime directive.
In part, these basic connections come under the category of the six external
combinations (wai /iu he in Chinese), which are:
Hand and foot, which include the fingertips-toes, palm-sole of
the foot and the wrists-ankles.
Elbows and knees, which include the forearm and upper arm as
well as the thigh and calf.
Shoulder and hip, which include the kwa-shoulder's nest,
shoulder blades-hip bones and ribs-midriff.
As you perform the transition from the warm-up into holding the Palm
Posture, pay careful attention to maintaining a sense of physical and energetic
connection among each of these combinations.
Moreover, these six combinations must also integrate into the internal twisting
through the central channel and internal organs. Because this twisting of the internal organs and central channel is easily misinterpreted and a very delicate process, I highly recommend that you observe and feel it on an adept teacher's body
to fully understand the concept.
103
Review of
Single Palm Change Footwork
The next modules will present the Single Palm Change. Now is a good time for
you to review all the previous material relating to Walking the Circle, including:
footwork, body twisting, chi movement and general principles. What follows
below is a brief review of the footwork that you will need to know very well before
attempting to learn the SPC.
The Single Palm Change (SPC) is the primary training ground for developing the
most fundamental aspect of bagua: footwork. As previously described, the three
basic mud-walking steps (straight, toe-in and toe-out) are fundamental to the art
of bagua.
Straight Step
Following the outside circumference of your circle requires either a straight
curving step or, in the smallest circles, a toe-in step. The degree of the inward
curve may be slight, as when you walk a very large circle, or very radical, as in a
small four- to six- step circle. Regardless, your straight step must be very solid and
stable. The straight step especially projects energy and power from the lead step
out to the footbrake.
Toe-in Step
The degree of a toe-in step can be slight to radical. The smaller and tighter a toein, the more vulnerable are your knees. You must pay special attention to your
alignments, twisting and opening-closing.
104
The turning of your feet in a toe-in is achieved primarily by closing the kwa ofthe
rear leg, which primarily bears your weight, and opening the forward, curving-in
leg. Do not think of the toe-in footwork as only turning the feet. The entire body
internally coils inward with a solid connection from head to toe.
Toe-out Step
The degree to which a toe-out step can move your body can also be slight to
radical. The final extension of a toe-out step functions like a straight step in its
ability to project power through the feet, causing chi to rise up the body. The
larger and more distance a toe-out covers, the more vulnerable the supporting
knee, especially if it collapses to the inside-beyond the capacity of your knee
ligaments and cartilage to bear. So again, you must pay special attention to your
alignments, twisting and opening-closing.
The turning of the feet in a toe-out step is best achieved by closing the kwa of
the rear leg that primarily bears your weight and opening the forward-moving,
outward-curving hip and leg.
Do not think of toe-out footwork as only turning the feet. Your entire body
internally coils and spirals outward with a solid connection from head to toe.
Appendix
Martial Arts Applications
The primary purpose ofthe Single Palm Change (SPC) Warm-up is to charge your
body up with internal power and work out the kinks in your chi flow. This allows
the power from your legs to your hands to flow smoothly and continuously, so
that it doesn't get bottled up during the palm change.
Four Primary Focuses for

Fighting Applications
The SPC Warm-up has four primary focuses for fighting applications.
Easily Transition from Inward to Outward Twisting

A key training goal of the entire movement is upon contact with your opponent's
body to be capable of fluidly, rapidly and powerfully changing over from inward
to outward twisting-or the reverse-without getting stuck. This ability lies at
the heart of virtually all bagua defensive techniques.
105
106
Figure 8.A.l
Single Palm Change Warm-up Trains You to Simultaneously and
Finely Coordinate Your Hands for Martial Applications
In the warm-up form movement, both hands move together equally. However,
in martial training, the SPC Warm-up develops the capacity (which is required
in all palm changes) to make inward/outward twisting changes independently
with each hand in high, medium or low positions. The warm-up also trains you
to simultaneously and finely coordinate both hands, where each reinforces and
enhances the independent fighting functions of the other-regardless if used
offensively or defensively.
Create Peng Jin

All upward motions revolve around developing peng jin (expansive chi power) in
all parts of your body, especially your arms. In terms of fighting technique, this
enables you to lift your opponent's arm upward and to the side on contact. The
upward action is used to create an open space (hole) near your opponent's body,
which either of your hands can then move through (fill) with an attack.
107
Figure 8.A.2
Upward Motions Develop Peng Jin
For example, while the lower hand has trapped and rooted your opponent from
moving, the upper hand uses peng jin to raise his upper arm.
Figure 8.A.3
Lower Hand Traps and Roots an Opponent
while the Upper Hand Raises the Upper Arm
A gap has been opened, ready to be filled with a strike.

108
This in turn creates a gap between the controlled upper hand and the opponent's neck and head. You then turn your waist (or step to an available and
useful angle) and reverse the direction of your twist to palm strike, slap or cut to
either the neck or head.
Figure 8.A.4
Create a Gap to Strike, Slap or Cut
Activate Sinking or Pushing Down Internal Power

The downward motion of the palms is used to activate sinking or pushing down
internal power while the twisting of the arms may either vertically drop or
deflect sideways the opponent's arms or legs. This sinking or pushing down of
chi performs essentially the same fighting functions as the fourth of the primary
fighting techniques in tai chi chuan called an in Chinese or "Push" (downward) in
English.
109
Martially, you can use Push defensively or offensively to:

Cause an attacker's arm, foot or body to descend, so they can't
begin to hit or kick you or have the leverage for a throw or joint
lock.
Root the opponent to the ground and freeze his body's motion
to make your counterattack either easier or more devastating,
as for example with a kick.
Press his hand down, so he can't launch or complete a kick
already launched.
Crush, break or hemorrhage that which your hand hits.
The four primary fighting techniques in tai chi chuan are Ward Off, Roll Back,
Press (forward) and Push (downward).
Figure 8.A.5
Downward Motion Activates Sinking
or Pushing Down Internal Power
110
Figure 8.A.6
Push as Used Defensively
Stop an Attack and

Open Up a Hole in Your Opponent's Defenses
The sideways and downward motion of the palms is commonly used to stop an
attack to your lower body and then open up a hole in the opponent's defenses.
Then, you can counterattack with a strike to the groin, the nerves surrounding
the kwa or the lower spine.
Figure 8.A.7
Sideways and Downward Motion Can Stop an Attack
Figure 8.A.8
Sideways and Downward Motion Can Be Followed
by Various Counterattacks
111
112
Transition from the SPC Warm-up

to the Single Palm Change
Figure 8.A.9
Three Parts of the Single Palm Change Transition
A) Raise your hands.
B) Turn your waist, arm and palm toward the center of the circle.
Drop your cutting palm, so your fingers face upwards.
C) Twist your palms forward to finish in the
Single Palm Change Palm Posture.
Beginning of Transition: Arms Rise

At the beginning of the transition, there are three basic simple applications.
1. Similar to the Ward Off technique oftai chi chuan, the first major application
is to buffer your arms as they contact your opponent and prevent your
opponent from hitting you. It seeks to manifest peng jin in the arms. Upon
contacting the opponent, you will therefore not only deflect their attack,
but also slightly uproot him or otherwise destabilize his balance. This
action is a preset for a counterattack (Figure 8.A.1 0).
You may also pull his root upward and with it, stretch his arm and body out
so he loses strength and balance.
A
Figure 8.A.l 0
Emit Peng Jin to Deflect and Uproot Your Opponent

2. You can adjust the angle and point at which your arms contact each other
and that of your opponent, emit peng jin and twist your arms to cause his
arm to be repelled from yours. Then, in the gap between his arm beginning
and ending its induced movement, you may also continue forward on your
original trajectory to hit him with your fingers, palm or closed fist.
113
114
Figure 8.A.ll
Emit Peng Jin to Deflect and Counterattack Simultaneously
3. Your lower arm can trap and extend their hand while your upper arm either
breaks or dislocates their elbow or shoulder.
Figure 8.A.12
The Lower Arm Can Trap and Extend an Opponent's Arm
115
Middle and End of Transition:

Arms Descend and Palms Twist Out
8
Figure 8.A.13
Continuation of the Initial Peng Jin Contact

The middle and end of the transition is a continuation of the initial peng jin
contact.
Sticking to the opponent's arm, you turn your hips and twist your arms and drop
your elbow and hand. Then, sink your arms to drop his body and arm down and
forward.
116
8
Figure 8.A.14
Stick to an Opponents Arm and Sink Your Arms

Before their drop finishes, your arm twists and stretches toward your opponent
as your palm strikes them. In Figure 8.A.1 5, the strike lands on the opponent's
head, but depending on the angle, it could be anywhere along their torso.
117
Figure 8.A.15
Arm Twists and Stretches toward an Opponent
as Your Palm Strikes
Inward and Outward Twisting

Practice of the SPC Warm-up and transition especially develop your capacities for
inward and outward twisting, which are key elements in most-if not all-bagua
martial applications.
Inward and outward twisting are used for different effects. Generally, if only a
single hand is used, then an inward twist is followed by an outward twist. If both
hands are involved in an application, where one hand defends and the other
counters, the arms may twist either in the same or opposite directions.
118
8
Figure 8A.16
Outward (A) and Inward (8) Twisting
Offense
Each type of twisting produces different kinds of power, just as a sword cut
or club swing cuts or crushes differently depending on whether its arc is toward or away from the opponent's body. There are so many specific kinds of
internal power that they truly have to be felt or at least the effects must be seen
up close for most practitioners to appreciate the artistry and lethal nature.
For more information on cultivating internal power, including in-depth coverage of eight specific kinds and coverage of at least a dozen more forms of
internal power, see the author's book, The Power of Internal Martial Arts and
Chi, Chapter 4.
119
Defense
Outward twists move the opponent's body outwardly, away from his body's center. The idea is to break his root while twisting his body in knots. So during the
time it takes to deliver a counterattack, he has minimal physical structural integrity, which greatly increases the odds of your counter working.
Inward twists collapse an opponent's limbs and torso inwardly into his center
or feet, after which an outward twisting counter is usually applied. So the opponent's arms effectively pin his own torso into immobility.
In bagua, you can use inward twists when your arms are moving forward, away
from you or backward toward you. While moving forward (away from you), they
can have effects that are counterintuitive by nature. In non-projectile martial arts,
the intuitive norm is if a hand moves forward, it should be emanating a force that
pushes the opponent backwards-or at least makes him feel like that is what is
happening. Consequently, training in external martial arts seeks to focus upon
strategies to counter this forward-projecting force.
So the moving-forward-inward-twisting techniques of bagua offer counterintuitive and unexpected attacks. When you extend and stretch your hand
forward to meet the opponent and twist inward, the forward motion doesn't
have to push him away. Rather it can suck him in and draw him forward and
toward you. This method is also comrryonly used in Tai Chi Push Hands where by
moving toward an opponent with arm contact, you draw his torso and center of
gravity toward you. This has several obvious advantages in fighting applications.
Due to the unusual sensation of being pulled in rather than pushed out, your opponent may not feel vulnerable or may feel confused momentarily. This inhibits
the tendency to reflexively retreat to avoid your counterattack, thereby holding
your opponent in place long enough for you to step in, close the gap and deliver
a devastating blow.
120
If his reach is much greater than yours, an inward twisting defense can draw them
within your range to effectively launch a counter. Otherwise, they might be that
little bit too far away.
Your opponent may feel as though he has got you, until your counter
unpredictably appears seemingly out of nowhere!

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BAGUA MASTERY PROGRAM

Copyright 2011 Bruce Frantzis

Section 2: Single Palm Change

when Circle Walking ................................................. 29

Coordinating Movements ....................................... 30

Section 3: Single Palm Change

Four- and Three-part Stepping .............................. 48

Learning Progression ............................................... 50

Rising and Falling ...................................................... 50

Section 4: Transition from the

Continuous Practice of the

Section 5: Transition and Single Palm

Transition Part 1: Arms Rise Upward ..................... 83

Phase 3: Arms Finish Descending ......................... 91

Section 6: Holding the SPC

Options for Twisting the Arms

Review of Single Palm Change Footwork ......... 103

Appendix: Martial Arts Applications .. 105

Activate Sinking or Pushing

Transition from the SPC Warm-up to

Inward and Outward Twisting .............................. 117

Bagua Mastery Program

Single Palm Change Warm-up

2011 Bruce Frantzis-AII Rights Reserved.

Module 8: Single Palm Change Warm-up and Transition

Figure 8.1.1 (continued)

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Bagua Mastery Program

Figure 8.1.2 (continued)

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Module 8: Single Palm Change Warm-up and Transition

Figure 8.1.2 (continued)

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Bagua Mastery Program

2011 Bruce Frantzis-AII Rights Reserved.

Module 8: Single Palm Change Warm-up and Transition

Figure 8.2.1 (continued)

Provides a concrete method for realizing the full potential of

2011 Bruce Frantzis-AII Rights Reserved.

Bagua Mastery Program

Relationship of the SPC Warm-up

2011 Bruce Frantzis-AII Rights Reserved.

Module 8: Single Palm Change Warm-up and Transition

Phase 1 Instructions: Arms Are

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Bagua Mastery Program

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Module 8: Single Palm Change Warm-up and Transition

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Bagua Mastery Program

Following Figure 8.2.5 on p. 21 and your seventy percent:

During this action, your arms gradually twist outward.

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Module 8: Single Palm Change Warm-up and Transition

Correct Movement of the Shoulder

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Bagua Mastery Program

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Module 8: Single Palm Change Warm-up and Transition

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Bagua Mastery Program

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