Old Man Paints His Wall

We are going to explore the first of the 5 clinical Qi Gong moves used as the common denominator in the clinical trials and therapy sessions at and around Harvard. The first move is:

1: The Old Man Paints His Wall

You may well wonder why these exotic titles for what turn out to be simple movements. There’s a deep, inscrutable Chinese secret lurking here. Tai Chi and Qi Gong are best practiced when your “monkey mind” is distracted, challenged into some false fight, drunk with the illusion of being in control. So, in Qi Gong we tell stories. The monkey mind must play with it, try to pull it apart, become obsessed with understanding it. Meanwhile, the elegantly wired, fully automated body can get the real job done, unnoticed by our monkey friend.

So, here we go.

Once upon a time an old, old man wanted to paint the wall surrounding the little garden behind his little house. In the garden he grew melons, strawberries, ginger, grapes, and his own beautiful tea bush. He knew that monkeys, who liked to raid his garden and get drunk on fermented grapes he left for the birds, were afraid of the color yellow. He decided to paint his garden wall bright yellow.

As he had no children to help him and no tools, he stood before the wall, rolled up his sleeves, and dipped his hands into a beautiful blue bowl filled with honey-thick yellow paint. Then, slowly, lovingly ,quietly (for he had all day to do the job) he raised both arms to shoulder height and painted the wall with the backs of his hands.

At the top of the wall he let his knees sink slightly so that he now could spread the paint from his palms, softly, smoothly, serenely as he let his knees bend ever so slightly and he sank trailing his hands down the wall. Before he knew it, the day was over and the job was done.

That’s it. That’s the exercise. Now go and paint the old man’s wall for him. But, don’t let the monkeys into the garden.