Author: sophia

QiGong Mode: Correct Posture for Energy Cultivation

sophia

Sifu Wing Cheung writes: “Think of meridians like garden hoses.  If they are not laid out properly, when you turn on the tap, the water won’t flow smoothly.  That’s why we first adjust the posture so the qi can flow smoothly, just as we properly lay out the garden hoses before turning on the tap.” https://taichi18.com

In Qigong and Taiji, we begin out practice in Wuji stance. It is a specific way of standing that both aligns the skeletal system and relaxes the muscles; it is an “empty stance” that unkinks our energetic knots. The traditional mantra for aligning in wuji stance is:

  • Strong the Bone
  • Hollow the Chest
  • Sink the Qi
  • Relax the Mind

Lao Zi refers to wuji stance in chapter 3 of the Tao Te Ching “… the governance of the Sages [works by] emptying their minds, filling their bellies, weakening their aspirations, strengthening their bones…” *

“Strong the Bone” refers to aligning the body. Absolutely key is to begin with both feet shoulder’s width apart, with toes pointed forward and parallel. My Chen style instructor, Ron Nigro, would then say “Knees over ankles. hips over knees, shoulders over hips, ears over shoulders”, with both sides of the body parallel to each other, like the rungs on a ladder. Your head should feel as if it is being pulled up to the heavens on a string, from a point near the top of the head called the “bai hui” (where the soft spot is on an infant’s head). Bai Hui translates to “hundred meetings”, because so many meridians cross here. Sifu Cheung explains this posture in detail in his Qigong Mode and Tai Chi Posture Requirements Course 1. https://studio.youtube.com/video/T6r5N5UCCEk/edit

“Hollow the chest” refers to relaxing the shoulders and being aware of not sticking your chest out, nor standing with rounded shoulders. I discussed relaxation in my last post, “Getting started: Relaxation” https://wordpress.com/post/sagewise.org/202

“Sink the Qi” is about putting you attention at your lower dan tian, which is deep inside the body just below the navel. In Qigong we say “qi follows yi”, which translates to “intention follows attention”, which is the same as “where mind flows, energy goes”. Because we are channelling energy when we practice Reiki, we want to have a firm connection with the earth. The lower dan tian is the seat of our groundedness; in qi gong and taiji practice it is where we move our bodies from. *Note: There are three dan tians, more on these on another post.

“Relax the mind” or “calm the mind” is to let go of the worries of the day. The best way to accomplish this is to pay attention to your breathing. In taiji and qi gong we breathe through the nose, never the mouth. Long, slow, deep, and silent breathes. The entire lower abdomen should expand on the inhale, not just the stomach, but to the back and sides as well. More on breath in the next post.

Once you are in a relaxed wuji stance the next practice is Zhan zhaung. Zhan zhaung (pronounced “john jong”) can be translated as “stand like a tree”. A tree being alive pulls down celestial qi from the heavens, and pulls up earth qi through its roots. Master Lam Kan Cheun explains the full routine, but the second stance is the only one necessary to practice. https://studio.youtube.com/video/BV3nFof3Ei4/edit

Keep focusing on your breath as you practice zhan zhaung. At first you may only be able to remain in this pose for 5 minutes, but eventually you will be able to extend that time, and add a second practice within it ; the microcosmic orbit, which will increase your ability to feel qi. That’s a topic for another post.

*See Dr Yang, Jwing-Ming’s Dao De Jing: A Qigong Interpretation about how the Tao Te Ching can be read not only as spiritual and moral guidance, but as a treastise on the practice of qi gong.

Getting Started: Relaxation

sophia

The first steps in “un-kinking” our medians is to learn to relax. Many of us are under so many stressors (school, job, children, parents, and now Covid-19) that we don’t know anymore what it physically feels like to be relaxed. We often carry the tension on our shoulders, our backs, and across our foreheads. Below are two exercises that will help you feel the tension, and then feel the difference between that and relaxation.

Squeeze your hands tightly into fists and hold for 20 seconds (3 long, slow, deep breaths is about 20 secs for most people). Feel that? That’s tension. Now release your fists. You can feel the muscles relaxing.

Next go stand in a doorway, lift your hands to shoulder height and press them against the door frame, again for about 20 seconds, as hard as you can press. Now drop your hands. Your arms will try to rise of their own accord as the muscles relax.

Why do we need to relax ? Tension holds back the flow of qi creating stagnation. Hold the tension long enough and you manifest pain. Sifu Cheung reminds us ” The more you can relax, the stronger the universe connection, and the more qi will flow through you”. But you can’t force yourself to relax, that only creates more tension. Relaxation is a process of letting go, and begins in the mind.

Following are three qigong meditations; the first two meditations from Sifu Cheung’s Solar Qigong Course http://taichi18.com/online-video-course/solar/ are a condensed version of the third, so can be useful when your time is limited, or to help you prepare for a Reiki session. The third mediation, from Dr. Bill Douglas, founder of https://www.worldtaichiday.org/ is worth practising on a daily basis.

Opening Meditation: A Beautiful Place

  • Close your eyes.
  • Legs shoulder width apart, slightly bend your knees.
  • Relax your whole body, palms touch each other at Middle Dan Tian (solar plexus).
  • Visualize you are at the beautiful place (from a first person’s perspective)
  • It is a sunny day, the sun is shining all over your body, so you feel warm and relaxed.
  • Smile.
  • Do you hear any sounds from that beautiful place?
  • Feel the energy from the sun vibrate every cell of your body.
  • Visualize yourself immersed in sunlight and then your whole body gradually becomes the sunlight. You are the sunlight, the sunlight is you.

Here is a similar meditation from Sifu Cheung in video format: https://youtu.be/SclPRkS_V84

Bill Douglas’ “Stress Relief Relaxation Calming Sitting Qigong Meditation” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_t7IyZSxe8w&t=66s is about 20 minutes long and worth practising daily.

Next: Correct Posture and Breathing

What is Qi ?

sophia

Qi (or “chi”) is the universal life force common to all energetic healing systems. It is the “ki” in Reiki; in Tae Kown Do it is “gee”. Each of these is translated as “energy”. As Yoda observes, “Life creates it, makes it grow. Its energy surrounds us and binds us. Luminous beings are we, Not this crude matter.” In a very real sense Qi exists all around and through us at all times. It is our focus that brings it to our attention, allows us to be aware of it.

Master Usui posited that the Energy he experienced on Kurama Yama was related to a more ancient healing practice that had been forgotten. Many of those ancient healing techniques have been preserved in Classical Chinese Medicine. As long ago as 2690 – 2590 BCE, the Nei Jing or Book of the Yellow Emperor mentions adjusting people’s qi circulation. Lao Zi mentions certain breathing techniques in his classic Tao De Ching, ca. 1122-934 BCE.

Most people now-a-days know what Tai Chi is (also spelled Taiji). If you don’t know someone who practices Tai Chi, you’ve likely seen videos of older folk doing this slow motion exercise in the park. Qi gong is called “the mother of Tai Chi” and is sometimes referred to as Taoist Yoga. It is a five thousand year old practice that Tai Chi eventually derived from. http://www.shen-nong.com/eng/history/index.html

Qigong is medical, and the forms are often specific to different organs and their energetic channels, called meridians.

Qigong is energy work, or perhaps more accurately, energy cultivation. It is the practice of becoming attuned to this life force to such a degree that we can physically feel it and be able to direct it.

The purpose of the movements in qigong are to clear the energetic pathways – called meridians – in our bodies so that the energy can flow smoothly and unimpeded. Like a clot in a blood vessel, energy can become blocked in a meridian and stagnate, causing discomfort or disease in that meridian and its associated organ. The gentle exercises in qigong help to remove the blocks and clear the meridians, allowing the qi to move more effortlessly. There are thousands of peer reviewed medical papers supporting the healing attributes of qigong and tai chi. https://www.qigonginstitute.org/abstracts

For Reiki healers, the added benefit to our energetic pathways being clear is that the qi can flow more easily through us to our client, facilitating their healing. An understanding of qigong and the related energetic systems can help us as healers to produce more long-lasting results, improving the effectiveness of Reiki healings.

The first steps in preparing ourselves to practice qigong are to align, breathe, and relax.