Qi Gong is 99 percent practice. It is only through practicing Qi Gong that students will be able to glean what their instructors are talking about with regards to the movement of chi. However, being aware of the basic ideas behind Qi Gong, will help students develop their personal practice.
Relaxation in Qi Gong
One of the easiest ways to enhance chi flow is by relaxing. Qi Gong is about allowing the natural energy force within all life to move freely through the body. Qi Gong, in many ways, is a cleaning process. It cleans the mind and body of blockages so that chi or life force can flow.
The easiest way to induce chi flow is to relax the muscles of the body and the tension within the mind. Qi Gong is calming the breath, soothing the nerves and relaxing the muscles.
The Mind in Qi Gong
Energy follows the mind’s awareness. That is, what one thinks about, is where the energy of your body goes. Thus, to easily and simply increase energy or chi, one learns how to bring the mind into present moment awareness.
People spend most of their time doing one thing and thinking about another. This increases splitting of the mind/body and energy wastage. By learning how to draw the mind into the body, and into the breath, students discover an easy way to conserve and develop energy.
Breathing in Qi Gong
The breath in Qi Gong is integral to practice. Just as the mind and body are mirror images, so too the breath mirrors the stress and tension of the mind.
The breath is slow, relaxed and as natural as possible. The breath is encouraged to move down into the abdomen to stimulate the lower Dan Tien in exercises like "stoke the fire." One never holds the breath in Qi Gong practice, unless specifically told to by a Master. Usually the breath is a reflection of the yin and yang aspects of Qi Gong. The breath in is yin and the breath out is yang.
Movement in Qi Gong
Many students feel uncomfortable with the delicate movements of T’ai Chi and Qi Gong, feeling awkward and ungainly instead of peaceful and smooth. The easiest way for a beginner to try to comprehend the softness of the movement involved with Qi Gong is to pretend.
One pretends that they are elegant and graceful. One takes on a cloak or a persona of delicacy to practice the movements. Once the initial embarrassment has gone, practice feeling as though it is not air surrounding the body, but water, or even honey. This forces the moves to slow down and the movements of the joints to become firm yet smooth and simple.
Master Lam Kam Chuen writes in Step by Step Tai Chi, "The interplay of stillness and movement is fundamental to Tai Chi, as it is to life. […] the stillness is essential. It is not empty. Without it, your movements will be without energy."
The movements in Qi Gong are slow and gentle, and they address the chronic build up of tension around the joins. Remember that the chi flows along paths inside of the body, and they all pass through the joints. Thus many exercises in Qi Gong emphasise loosening or relaxing the joints to allow the river of chi to flow.
The fundamental tenets of Qi Gong are relaxation, conscious breathing and mindful movement combined with stillness. A combination of these three things will enhance a new beginner’s practice of Qi Gong.
For more information about the history of Qi Gong, please read The Origins of Qi Gong.
Sources:
Jwing-Ming, Dr. Yang, Chi King Health and Martial Arts YMAA, 1985, 1995. U.S.A.
Master Lam Kam Chuen, Step-By-Step Tai Chi, Gaia Books, 1994, Singapore
Clark, Angus, Secrets of Qigong, 2006, Evergreen, China
Lama Somananda Tantrapa, Qi Dao – Tibetan Shamanic Qigong: The Art of Being in the Flow 2007, Academy of Qi Dao, USA
Tiffany Jones - Born: Black Rock, Melbourne, Australia, 1971 Current Residence: Granollers, Catalonia Work: Yoga, Qigong, Meditation Instructor, ...
