When you set out to develop your internal energy using standing postures, there are two main ways you can go about it: by feel or by form. Now, there will be a lot of overlap in these two broad approaches, like aligning your body with gravity without collapsing internally and progressively releasing and relaxing as you stand, but when it comes to the role of the mind, form and feel can be very different. ...
Next month, we’ll be starting a new Energy Gates course at Brookline Tai Chi, focused on Outer Dissolving and working through the Gates of the body. When you work on dissolving the gates, you will inevitably be fighting the urge to: visualize instead of feel “chase” energetic releases, untethered from the physical body wonder if you are really feeling anything at all In this episode of Qigong Radio, I’ll give my recommendations for avoiding these pitfalls and for setting up the conditions for actual energetic resolution. ...
We tend to think about our energy level like the money we have in the bank. You wake up in the morning, look in your energetic wallet and say, “I’ve got a lot of energy today” or “Man, I need 7 cups of coffee.” Or, to put it another way, thanks to this New Yorker cartoon: In qigong, we think about “having energy” a little bit differently. Often, it’s not just how much or how little, but how well is your energy circulating? ...
When you set out to learn Taoist Energy Arts like Tai Chi, qigong, or meditation, you come across the lore of masters with supernatural abilities or techniques too deadly to teach openly. Or more insidious, we grasp after images of unattainable perfection, always slightly beyond reach, unless we just find the right technique or are initiated into a secret practice. And even if we’ve given up silly kung fu fantasies of flying through the bamboo reeds, on a subtle level we still chase ideas and dreams that only live in the mental realm. ...
One of the most satisfying things about running this site is when you guys reach out and ask questions about Qigong and Tai Chi. Today, I wanted to share with you 3 of the most common ones I get about starting up a qigong practice (and if you have a different one, something I’ve missed, let me hear about it!). Hopefully, these questions will line up with something you’ve been thinking about in your practice too (again, let me know in the comments!). ...
The name “tai chi” has become fairly well known in the United States and the ar t is being used by the western medical community for the treatment of a number of different conditions. The fact is however that the art of tai chi was developed from an older art called qigong. While there are a number of different styles of qigong the focus of all of them is to focus the body’s natural energies. Unfortunately many people confuse the tai chi term “chi” with the qigong term “qi”, thinking that they both mean energy. The fact is however that it is qi that means energy: Chi means “ultimate” not energy. Qigong is the parent of tai chi and it is from qigong that we learn to regulate and control our body’s natural energies for healing and strength. ...
I was thrilled to receive such a positive response to my last post on Standing Qigong. And it wasn’t just support, even though I confessed that now I have to climb back up the mountain on the way to 2-hour sessions again. You guys asked really great questions about standing qigong. Instead of answering them in the comments of the last post, I decided to turn the questions into a post of their own. So here we go! ...
Update: After you read this post, check out my answers to some great questions that were asked in the comments,here. Last spring, I set out to enter “the 2-Hour Gate” in standing qigong. And I got there. In fact, it was easier to get there than I thought it would be. Before you think I’m bragging about my practice, though, there’s something else I have to confess. As soon as I missed a couple weeks of practice, going through the gate became impossible for me. That’s right, holding a standing posture for two hours went from feeling completely inevitable to pretty much impossible. ...
When you go to the gym and hit the weights or take laps at the community park the exercise that you get does a great deal of good for your body. The problem with exercise programs like this is that they are entirely focused on external development. The muscles are developed, excess fat is shed and joints are strengthened, but at a cost. These high impact exercises put stress on the joints that will eventually develop into injury and the increased circulation will wane soon after the session is complete. ...
The biggest question people ask me about standing qigong, especially when they hear about the 2-hour project, is “what do you do, just stand there?” There is actually a really delicate balance between “doing” and “feeling” when you stand. You learn lots of different techniques, like breathing, sinking, dissolving, and pulsing, but how you apply them internally when you are holding a static posture is a tricky topic. ...