Qigong Basics: The Basic Poses and Routines you Need to be Healthy and Relaxed

part 1

introduction

I

n order to grasp

the vital necessity of qigong, one must understand qi—the force of life and the storehouse of vitality. Human beings are filled with life by qi. The amount of qi, the balance of qi, and the reservoirs of qi coursing throughout the body determine the amount of vitality, health, and inner well-being of every person. More qi, more vitality. The more balanced qi is, the more endurance and health one has. More qi awareness means more emotional well-being and spiritual development. Qigong’s reason for existence is to give each practitioner a reliable, consistent, and continuously effective tool to create the best possible relationship to qi and all that qi offers.

Gong is the Chinese word used to describe the positive results of perseverance. Qigong, then, means benefiting from developing the continuing life energy, through perseverance. The direct benefit of practicing qigong is improved health and well-being.

The ancient exercises of qigong were crafted to access and optimize qi and the dan tian—the storage vessel in the body for qi. Qigong teaches you how to take the greatest possible advantage of qi and its gifts.

chapter 1

the history of qigong

E

very culture has a name for the energy that animates all life—qi, chi, bio-energy, prana, spirit. Qigong has the rare ability to include everyone in its experience and to adapt to the needs of many different groups without losing its own character in the process. Self-healing disciplines, spiritual renewal groups, martial arts, medicine, Buddhism, and Taoism have all incorporated aspects of qigong and benefited from its gifts. It has been incorporated into virtually every aspect of Chinese life throughout history—medicine, the arts, theater, martial arts, religion, and shamanic rituals.

The qigong practiced in the West is the result of many thousands of years of evolution. Qigong developed as China developed and has been inextricably woven into the history of the Chinese people, their society, and their culture. Qigong’s influence on Chinese philosophy and the Chinese way of life has been unparalleled in its value and significance. Like a golden thread, it has been woven into so many aspects of Chinese culture that any one single beginning is impossible to trace.

Thus, the history of qigong is vague, but it does fall into several developmental phases. This chapter will explore what is known of qigong’s past.

Qigong Emerges

The earliest qigong was known by many typically descriptive phrases, such as draw in the new, dispense with the old, moving qi, nourishing life, and directing or guiding qi.

The Falun Gong Society, which bases much of its training on qigong, believes that qigong’s roots are prehistoric. Early human beings had a natural desire to strengthen their bodies and attune their senses and intuition to the wild natural world around them, in order to heighten their ability to survive. Prehistoric human beings were concerned with carving a life out of the seeming chaos of nature. They sought an order or pattern in nature’s vast and often threatening activity, so as to find their own place in that pattern. Living in harmony with this natural order could make the life of the individual and the community more secure, prosperous, and congenial.

By practicing these principles, with the understanding that they were thus creating a connection to all of nature, these ancient people established certain basic rules and patterns to follow. The life force was perceived to include three qualities:

Heaven — tian

Earth — di

Humanity — ren

The three formed a natural triune and were called San Cai, the Three Natural Powers. Each aspect of this natural triune—heaven, earth, and humanity—is affected by certain rules and cycles. The rules are fixed and never change. For instance, heaven, or the universe, contains the earth, and the earth contains humankind. The cycles are shifts that have a consistent, recurring pattern. For example, the earth moves in relation to the universe in a cycle. That the earth is part of the universe is a rule. As a result, seasons occur on the earth in consistent cycles. Human beings are endlessly engaged in understanding and adapting to the seasons. The cycles alter, but in a predictable pattern. The purpose of life in ancient China became the quest to live in harmony with these rules and cycles. Being successful at this improved one’s ability to survive, first of all, and then improved one’s quality of life. Because qigong deepens one’s connection with self and omnipresent nature, it was the perfect tool for increasing one’s understanding of the rules and cycles and, most essentially, the role of humankind in these unending patterns.

Around 2400

b.c.

, the information gained from qigong and a variety of other wisdoms led to the writing of the Chinese classic The Book of Changes, or the I Ching. The I Ching had a profound cultural significance in the evolution of ancient China, and its enigmatic wisdom still has much to offer any reader. How does the I Ching pertain to qigong? In Chinese philosophy, all things are related. One thing influences another. It is not possible to understand qigong without understanding where it fits within the wholeness of life.

The I Ching explained the rules and cycles of life, offering both practical wisdom and spiritual nourishment. Its wisdom encompassed the natural rhythms of seasons, weather, climate, changes of rain, heat, cold, and drought. It taught that these earth cycles were born from the heavenly cycles of day and night, months and years. Natural rules and cycles, the obvious and the subtle, were arrangements of the San Cai.

Practicing qigong and studying the I Ching confer an understanding of the web that humanity is woven into, of the rules and cycles that govern human life. This understanding facilitates correct timing in action or non-action—and it is this ability to interact harmoniously with the natural order that determines the success of an individual, community, or nation. Hunting, planting, communication, action or non-action, situating and building a home, birth control, the arrangement of ele­ments to enhance vitality (feng shui), political trends, floods, fam­ines, birth, and death are all made easier by ­appropriate timing — or harder by incorrect timing. Qi, or ­energy, is the definer, interpreter, and ­director of events, both in personal life and in nature. Not only do the San Cai, or the Three Natural Powers, influence all of life’s events, but they determine them.

Living deeply embedded in nature, the ancient Chinese had no desire to challenge the San Cai. Their lives worked much better for them if they recognized their place in the San Cai and made every effort to live the dao—the natural way of life.

The Practice of Qigong for Health

The commitment to consistent and daily practice of qigong aligns the practitioner with every cycle of change, according to unalterable rules—an essential tool for interfacing harmoniously with events as they occur. The early Chinese culture achieved greater security through diligent application of dao, and in time the pressure to ensure survival became less intense for some. The knowledge of the San Cai and the commitment to living in the dao expanded. The quest to uncover the body’s own natural rules and cycles began. Through the pursuit of this knowledge, the art of Chinese medicine took its first steps.

What is now the highly skilled and complex art of acupuncture has its roots in this time. The Shang dynasty (1766–1154 b.c.) provided the cultural support for the initial study of qi and its courses through the body. The first tools of acupuncture were probes made from stones. These were inserted into the body at precise points to adjust, balance, and harmonize the qi flows. This adjustment would then create a smoother alignment of the body’s qi with all of nature. What doctors did with probes, qigong accomplished through breath and coordinated movements. As both methods were pursued and practiced, each deepened and expanded the effectiveness of the other.

The Zhou dynasty (1050–256

b.c.

) brought forward the important link of breath, qi, and the cultivation of qi. Breath techniques were recorded and passed throughout the country. This initiated a steady stream of descriptions of breath techniques, discussions of their effectiveness, and elaborations on various qigong methods. The variety proliferated, but the common thread remained—breath and movement coordinated to achieve health and well-being through understanding the San Cai and living the dao.

Qigong in Spiritual Practice

Buddhism made its way into China during the Han dynasty (206

b.c.–a.d.

220). It joined with the San Cai, and the merging created a wonderful and prosperous time for China. China’s Emperor Han converted to Buddhism and incorporated the Buddha’s principles of compassion and equanimity into the duties of rulership. These concepts of leadership translated into fair and just treatment for the people of China. The equanimity demonstrated by the authorities inspired the people to know Buddhism, with the result that Buddhism gained great popularity and grew rapidly into a vast religious movement. Buddhist monasteries sprang up around the country. The monk’s training to walk the path toward enlightenment became a sought-after lifestyle. Qigong’s ability to align with qi, balance qi, and join with all-encompassing nature became a golden tool in the monks’ enlightened quest.

Qigong and meditation techniques had been used in India, where Buddha lived and taught. These Indian versions were later integrated into the ­Chinese-influenced Buddhist rituals and meditations. Each of the temples mushrooming throughout the country during this bountiful era taught intricate qigong/ meditation techniques. As is human, competition to be the most enlightened emerged. A variety of qigong/meditation techniques became essential for the pursuit of enlightenment. Concealment was a way of life in ancient China, and it also permeated the Buddhist monasteries. The practices of self-healing, meditation, and chi sensitivity were honed for effectiveness through the ­dedicated attentiveness of the monks. As qigong practices increased in value and each monastery developed its own rituals, the monks became secretive about them. The hidden practices were taught verbally, in guarded, private ­circumstances.

The qigong of the lay people continued to grow, unaffected by this secret spiritual branch. Qigong as a path to enlightenment disappeared into the enigmatic world of monastic rituals, and the practice of concealing this spiritual aspect of qigong went on for centuries. The gap widened between the spiritually developed Buddhist monks and the lay people, who were seeking only health and harmony. Thus, two different forms of qigong emerged.

As the monks hid their form of qigong, the medical scholars of the day became more and more interested in the medical and philosophical potential of qigong. This exploration of qigong as a medical resource kept the practice alive in the lay culture of China. Buddhism only added intricacy to the forms and practices. The forms studied by medical scholars and practiced by lay people were not only far more accessible, but also easier to learn. Qigong continued to maintain its core basic value as these three different forms were absorbed and developed.

Qigong in the Martial Arts

The monasteries continued in their secret practices but reached a point where the constant repetition of the practices was causing qigong to lose its effectiveness. Enter the Indian Da Mo, who was invited by the emperor Wu of the Liang dynasty (

a.d.

500–557) to teach in the royal court. He did not please the emperor and left to join a monastery. After almost a decade of meditation and reflection on the weakened condition of the monks, he taught them enhanced qigong forms to improve their health and strength. They changed from a weakened group of men, inclined to become lost in meditation, to a vibrant group of physically powerful men. The martial arts became very much a part of monastic life. Qi­gong improved strength and endurance so profoundly that the techniques devised by Da Mo revitalized the martial arts, and monk/ warriors were the outcome—men who sought a balance between the meditative state (yin without and yang within) and the martial state (yin within and yang without).