The Basics of Qi Gong
March 4th 2007 22:39
Qi gong is a health practised engaged in by huge numbers in China. It may well be the reason why some many Chinese people are able to maintain good health well into old age. And you can do it to.
But first a little background. What does “qi gong” mean? “Qi” roughly speaking means energy, in this case associated with breathing. “gong” roughly speaking means ‘work’. So “qi gong” means breath-work. In qi gong movements (usually slow and gentle) are co-ordinated with our breathing. So a rough western equivalent would be something like “exercise” or even “aerobics” – though the difference between the Chinese and Western approach to fitness shows up very clearly here: while the westerner pursues vigorous activity with little attention required, the Chinese approach is a slow and controlled, ideally serene movement with close attention.
As you can see from something with such a wide meaning “qi gong” is going to be quite diverse. There are thousands of forms, different exercises, all of which are called “qi gong”. And there are many different purposes for pursuing qi gong – maintaining good health, healing specific diseases or medical problems, even spiritual development.
There are three things in common for all these different qi gong practices: breath, body and mind. Breath is having a slow and easy breathing – “like a silk thread”. If you remember as a child unwinding silk from a silk worm coccoon, that is the feeling: you had maintain an even tempo the whole time or the thread broke. That is the type of breathing, easy, gentle and even. The body is to be correctly aligned, thus when standing gravity pushes your feet into the floor (knees above ankles, hips above kness, shoulders above hips) with your shoulders relaxed (if someone lifts your hand it should flop back against your side without resistance). In this easy stance with easy breathing you will find that your mind slows and you feel less hectic.
“Qi gong” can become a lifetime of study and a discovery of improving health. There is much more to it than just these three things. But these are the starting point. And just by noticing these three things (not trying to change them, just noticing them) you will probably find that your body begins adjusting and you start feeling calmer.
My personal best book on qi gong, for those who want more information, is Bruce Kumar Frantzis’ Opening the Energy Gates of Your Body. It is engagingly written and the instructions are clear. How long do you need to do it to feel benefit? Only a minute or two to feel different for a little while. How long to aim for? Probably 20 minutes – this is the amount of time that Herbert Benson (the author of The Relaxation Response) found that it takes for the relaxation response to take effect.
But first a little background. What does “qi gong” mean? “Qi” roughly speaking means energy, in this case associated with breathing. “gong” roughly speaking means ‘work’. So “qi gong” means breath-work. In qi gong movements (usually slow and gentle) are co-ordinated with our breathing. So a rough western equivalent would be something like “exercise” or even “aerobics” – though the difference between the Chinese and Western approach to fitness shows up very clearly here: while the westerner pursues vigorous activity with little attention required, the Chinese approach is a slow and controlled, ideally serene movement with close attention.
As you can see from something with such a wide meaning “qi gong” is going to be quite diverse. There are thousands of forms, different exercises, all of which are called “qi gong”. And there are many different purposes for pursuing qi gong – maintaining good health, healing specific diseases or medical problems, even spiritual development.
There are three things in common for all these different qi gong practices: breath, body and mind. Breath is having a slow and easy breathing – “like a silk thread”. If you remember as a child unwinding silk from a silk worm coccoon, that is the feeling: you had maintain an even tempo the whole time or the thread broke. That is the type of breathing, easy, gentle and even. The body is to be correctly aligned, thus when standing gravity pushes your feet into the floor (knees above ankles, hips above kness, shoulders above hips) with your shoulders relaxed (if someone lifts your hand it should flop back against your side without resistance). In this easy stance with easy breathing you will find that your mind slows and you feel less hectic.
“Qi gong” can become a lifetime of study and a discovery of improving health. There is much more to it than just these three things. But these are the starting point. And just by noticing these three things (not trying to change them, just noticing them) you will probably find that your body begins adjusting and you start feeling calmer.
My personal best book on qi gong, for those who want more information, is Bruce Kumar Frantzis’ Opening the Energy Gates of Your Body. It is engagingly written and the instructions are clear. How long do you need to do it to feel benefit? Only a minute or two to feel different for a little while. How long to aim for? Probably 20 minutes – this is the amount of time that Herbert Benson (the author of The Relaxation Response) found that it takes for the relaxation response to take effect.
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