Al could you tell me how should one continue practicing what he/she learned after finishing the complete course? Also, what has been the drop out ratio (meaning those that asked for refunds) since you offered this course? Jim

Good questions, Jim Keep in mind here, what you are getting is not just a bunch of movements, but a set of skills. So as a result of learning "skills" instead of "movements", you have several options after you finish the Complete Course. First of all, in Level 4, you'll get two practice that encapsulate all the skills you've learned through the entire program. You could perform those two practices every day for the rest of your life to continue to maintain your health and Chi development skills. That would be all you would need. Beyond that, you have two options. I like to call them "going deep" and "going wide" Going deep: A small number of students go on to study with us in our private coaching program. That's where we work with you on the skills you learned in the ChiFusion program to make sure they are at their highest level, and work on customizations specific to you. This is also the program where you can work on instructor certification if that's your interest as well. Going wide: You can take all the skills you learned in the program and apply them to any current or future styles of Tai Chi or Qigong you practice. Many of our students go on to learn other styles, but combine what they learn with their ChiFusion skills to improve the Chi Development they get from these styles. You can of course choose to go both deep and wide. As far as refunds, since 2003 when we first made this course available, only 112 people either asked for refunds, or were given refunds because it was clear to us they didn't belong in the program. (Yes, we do ask people to leave if there isn't a good fit.) That means as of today, 3257 students and instructors have joined us and kept the program after their purchase.

Your lessons are so detailed and thorough. Is there any special advice in the Opening the Spine Exercise for a person with scoliosis? Thank you.

Quite a few of our students have some form of scoliosis. That's the reason why they are here. I myself have it, along with several other genetically-inherited spinal problems, which is why I became quite focused on spinal qigong. If your scoliosis is severe, you should definitely check with your health care professional before practicing. But if you are of good general health and your scoliosis isn't severe, you shouldn't have any problems. What's most important here though is that you work within your limitations. Pay special attention to the details in our program, and start at about the 40% or less level for this exercise and work up to the 70% level. (We discussed the "70% rule" and the "40% or less rule" at the beginning of Level 1 of our advanced training.)

Hi Al, I want to thank you for these wonderful lessons. I'm trying to do them correctly. I feel a little foolish to say this but, I did open the spine exercise. It felt very good but when I took a step afterwards, I expelled an enormous amount of gas. Have you ever heard of this? Did I open something I shouldn't have or ??? I only did it once as you suggested. Thank you again. I'm looking forward to going forward with these lessons.

Yes, that can happen. Keep in mind that even though we are focused on the spine in this exercise, this isn't *just* a spinal exercise. It's also designed to affect internal organs and chi meridians. So as your body/mind/energy system changes through these exercises, you might find the occasional "detox" reaction like this.

I inadvertantly erased lesson two-is it possible to have it sent to me again?

Yes, but for privacy reasons, I can't see your email address here. You need to email me directly at info@cloudwater.com and I can resend it.

My name is umi and i am practicing Tai Chi regularly from past 3 days (including today). Today, i got my lesson number 3 on my mail of opening the spine. I want to know one thing, how many times each exercise i.e. first one, second one and today the third have to be practised. What clothing i have to wear. can we practice on bare foot. Please help me on all these things. I am very glad i am benifitting from you people. Thanks a lot. thank you very much

In these sample lessons, we don't specify exactly how much to practice these exercises, because they are really just isolated excerpts from the Complete Course. But in the Complete Course, we give you detailed instructions on how much to practice each exercise. Usually, these instructions are organized around a 10 minute practice routine. The idea is that 10 minutes a day of practice, as long as your practice is focused and directed on continuing to improve your skills, is more than enough for the average person. No special clothing is needed, and you can practice barefeet, in socks, or in shoes, whichever you prefer.