An Energetic Interpretation of the Double Palm Change

This post builds on my previous post, “An Energetic Interpretation of the Single Palm Change”. The basic premise of that post was that the single palm change trains moving energy down a single side channel and up the opposite side. You are learning to move the energy down the side channels one, single palm at a time. In the Double Palm Change you’ll start to work with both side channels simultaneously; hence the name, Double or two palms. Since there are two channels involved there are twice as many combinations of up and down, yin and yang. So, by the time you complete the Double Palm Change form you should have moved energy through the side channels in four ways (2 to the power of 2 for the mathematicians). To make this a little clearer, you’ll move energy down one channel and up the other, down both side channels simultaneously, up both side channels simultaneously, and then move up one and down the other. You could express this as yin yang pairs like this (yin yang), (yin yin), (yang yang), (yang yin).

Also notice that the Double Palm Change contains the Single Palm Change: the pairs (yin yang) and (yang yin) are learned in the Single Palm Change. In this interpretation, these represent moving energy down one side channel and up the other. Interestingly, you can go back through the SPC and DPC and use the yin yang relationships to discuss twisting. The SPC basically twists in, then twists out, then twists in, and then twists out. Both sides are twisting into the center or away from the center. You could say that they are doing a single action. When you start performing the DPC, the twisting gets more complex and you get into the opposite but complimentary pairs of twisting where one side twists in while the other twist out. The combinations are the same, (in out), (in in), (out out), (out in) or (yin yang), (yin yin), (yang yang), (yang yin). The whole BaGua system is codified by these symbols. The trigrams just add another level of depth and complexity.

It is too hard in a post like this to describe the whole DPC form in words and unless you are very familiar with the physical movements my description probably won’t make much sense. I’ll work through it if enough interest is expressed, but I think it is more useful to simply discuss a couple of major points in the form that illustrate how BaGua training naturally progresses.

Notice that I haven’t mentioned the central channel yet. In the DPC form there is a point where both elbows drop. This is where you actively move the energy down both side channels simultaneously. But where does it go? I experience it moving up the central channel. I think it is really important to note that I didn’t try to make this happen. I simply noticed it. This is similar to the SPC where the energy rises up the opposite side channel. You don’t make this happen at first. You notice it. This is an important safety mechanism. All of the practices that I’ve learned from Bruce always teach the downward flow first. If energy rises, that’s fine, but you just allow it to rise. You aren’t actively making it rise yet.

Later in the DPC form, both hands will rise simultaneously. They are in a lifting position with both palms up. At this point in the form, the energy is rising up both side channels. I make this happen by driving the energy down the central channel. There is even a point where the hands come together in a sort of “T” position where the energy of the central channel can be felt to move from the periphery to the center. Then the hands seperate and the energy in the central channel moves center to periphery while the energy in the side channels moves up and down simultaneously. This gets really complex fast because more and more is happening at the same time. The only way to manage the complexity is to relax into the heart/mind and allow everything to coexist.

The big take away isn’t how to perform the Double Palm Change. It isn’t even about how to move energy in your side channels. I wanted to illustrate how the training quickly progresses in complexity and builds on each of the previous steps. If you train properly and throughly, each step naturally follows the previous one and you can move through Bruce’s system in a relaxed, stable manner. If your foundation isn’t strong enough, you’ll struggle and add tension to the process. This will slow you down. So, train the hell out of what you are working on until it is easy and fully integrated before moving on.

Keep in mind that I’ve only been talking about one aspect of the SPC and DPC at a time. The SPC contains the whole system. Everything is ultimately happening at once, but you have to isolate specific pieces so you can talk about them.

BaGua gets much more complex. I haven’t discussed the trigrams or how they form axial pairs. These pairs can represent multiple things. They are symbols afterall. They represent how the body can be split in all directions (up/down, left/right, front/back, along the crosses or diagonals, center/periphery). They also represent more esoteric aspects of the spirtual tradition. For example the axial pairs express the spirtual progression of jing, chi, hsin, wu, tao. It goes on and on. The whole system is elegantly codified in these symbols and your body becomes a living metaphor for expressing and understanding the nature of change.