Qigong (Chi Gong) is the skill of using your internal energy at will.
Your Internal Energy can be used to heal and maintain yours or even another’s well-being, to aid your Martial Art Skills or to help unlock and focus your artistic skills, such as, painting and music.
Performed properly, Taijiquan (Tai Chi) and the circle walking of Bagua practice are moving Qigong.
Therefore, the primary focus of our Qigong are the standing, sitting and lying down postures; and, their focus is on Energy Retention, Cultivation and Healing. These are also complimentary to our moving Qigong Disciplines.
Regular Qigong (Chi Gong) practice has been shown to:
- Improve balance
- Lower high blood pressure.
- Strengthen the immune system.
- Improve the function of the respiratory system.
- Strengthen our muscles and sinews.
- Increase the flexibility of our muscles and the range of motion of our joints.
Most people who say they practice Qigong, refer to their performing certain actions at a specific time. While this means they practiced a specific form of Qigong at a certain time; I believe that we are always doing Qigong. Everything we do is Qigong.
The difference is that most of it is low level Qigong. Much of it is even performed at the subconscious level without the use of Yi (mind intent). Therefore, I stress the fact that Everything we do is Qigong and Everything else I teach: Taijiquan, Ninpo, Jujutsu, Weapons, An Mor and Yoga, even the Personal Training for Western Sports and General Fitness.
For example, breathing: Most people do not think about how and when they breathe. Consequentially, due to the stress and imbalances in our lives, most of us do not breath correctly. We must relearn our instinctive knowledge; and from that base we must examine, expand and improve our breathing skills in order to provide ourselves with the necessary Qi (Chi), calmness and control of our emotions which is required to facilitate our evolving to higher states of being. Once we consciously acquire this skill, we should not let it pass back into our unconscious. We must let it remain a conscious skill.
Some of the Qigong Techniques I teach are part of the basics commonly taught in most schools. Others are more advanced and require the student to be more advanced.
A few of the Breathing Techniques I teach are:
- Buddhist Breathing, also known as, Belly or Diaphragmatic Breathing
- Daoist breathing, also known as, Reverse Breathing
- Interval breathing: 1 (inhalation) to 1 (exhalation), 1 to 2, etc., in-stop-out, in-in-stop-out, etc. Breathing with long controlled inhalations and exhalations
- Skin Breathing, Kidney Breathing and Bone Breathing
Our breath and our emotions are inexorably linked. One of the cornerstones of most Zen/Ch’an traditions is the emphasis on watching your breath all the time. This will always keep us mindful of our internal state.
Most of us know that anger can control our breathing pattern. However, the reverse is also true. Our breathing pattern can control our anger.
For example, let’s consider an angry tirade: How many of us actually make a conscious decision to become angry and then proceed with full mindful intent to voluntarily become angry? Not many of us, I am sure.
It is our Qi (Chi) that has enabled us to generate so much emotional energy. We have let it rise up without giving any thought to the process. If we could consciously slow, divert or stop this energy flow, our anger would begin to fade away. This process will enable another, less energy consuming emotion to emerge.
This is the basis of “counting to ten” when angry. While you are counting out loud, your mind concentrates on the next number. This pushes your unconscious mind into the background and deprives your anger of its energy source. In addition to this, if you count slowly and out loud, your exhales will be at least as long as it takes you to say the word. The duration of your inhales will then tends to slow down to match that of your exhales.
Your anger then automatically calms down in sync with your breathing. As your breathing sifts from your chest to your lower abdomen, your energy sinks. As your energy sinks, your emotions recede. When the veil of your emotions lowers, you can see things more clearly. You are then in a position to make a mindful decision.
All of our actions should be within the realm of our mindfulness all of the time. Then you will be performing Qigong all of the time.
As you can see, purifying your heart’s desires is an important part of the process of learning Qigong. Qigong has much in common with what most people call meditation.
You may be able to become skilled at meditation without doing Qigong; but it is very hard to become skilled at Qigong without becoming proficient in at least some meditative techniques.
All of this is not as impossible as it may seem. Difficult–maybe. Impossible–Absolutely not!
Medical Qigong is more specific than other forms of Qigong. Here, you will learn the specific Qi Meridians and reservoirs and how to balance them by removing blockages, deficiencies and excesses of Qi throughout your whole Body, Mind and Spirit.
You can even learn how to project your Qi into another to help them resolve the same kind of Energy related issues. In China, these kinds of Qigong are used to treat All forms of medical conditions.
I can show you how to begin and how to continue on this journey.