Hey guys, it's been a long time!
Anyway, I thought of something you could add to your practices that I've had amazing results from. It's not something you find commonly, and it's from an internal martial art that I've been learning. I'm pretty deep into Xingyiquan, and I recently started teaching Dai Shi Xin Yi Liu He. This is where modern Xingyiquan came from. In Dai Style, we have a posture that everyone learns. Traditionally you learned only the posture for 2 years before moving to footwork and learning more advanced variations of the posture. The posture is two fold. It teaches you how to compress and expand, in a manner that allows you to use your spine, reverse breathing, your Dan Tian, and the lower back all at the same time to where you can use the full rotation of your lower Dan Tien in combat. Outside of this being combat orientated, it is extremely quick when it comes to cultivation of Qi in your Dan Tian and starts the process of alchemy to where you begin transmuting the internal energy upward. When this is done, your Yi (Intent) is focused on the Dan Tian and on the movement when you compress and expand, and you roll the Dan Tian forward. It's as a ball, and you roll it and churn it, developing the Elixir at the same time while you train for combat.
My Shifu has developed a physical bulge in the area of the Dan Tien and can rotated it in any direction now and this is some what common in high level Xingyi teachers, though I haven't met anyone else that teaches Dai Shi Xin Yi Liu He.. The entire system of Dai Style is combat orientated, though it is very internal orientated as well, Alchemy is a very important aspect, more important then the combat aspect. Combat is secondary. There are 8 additional ways to train the lower Dan Tian that this, to help develop and train it, and churn the field. It is explained in the system how to transmute the energy upward, it is very Daoist based. One of the forms, the 5 element forms, is based on the 5 elements, a creation and destruction cycle. The elements of the Organs are based upon the 5 external senses, and the 5 major internal organs. When you perform a form, say Pi Chaun, which represents Metal, and it represents an Ax, as it chops like an Ax. When this is done, and you perform the sound that correlates with it,, you are practicing a Nei Gong, as well as a form of combat at the same time. For example, you are regenerating your eye sight, and healing your lungs at the same time while practicing something that seems combat orientated.
Originally it was against the rules to practice the squatting monkey in public at all, the Dai family was extremely secretive about this. If you would like I can post how to do it here, then link a video here to the Grandson of the lineage holder, my Shifu. There is a good demonstration there, though a bit quick. With seeing it and an explanation of it and what to do exactly, it is something you can do without physical instruction in person. I'm not saying this is the be all end all type of thing, but I will say that I've tried multiple different routines of Qi Gong, and this system over all has done more for me then anything else I've ever done.
Thought you might be interested.