Sunday, September 29, 2013

Developing Stillness 9.


So What is Qigong?
Although the origins of Qigong has its roots lost in ancient Chinese Shamanistic and Daoist culture the word Qigong can be traced to the Tang dynasty (618-907AD), and comes from the words Qi meaning “breath”, “air”, “energy” and gong meaning “work” or “practice”. Traditionally the practice was past from Master to Student in unbroken lineages, but China’s turbulent 1940’s and 50’s the Chinese government banned all Qigong practice, before reinstating the practice in the 1980’s after the cultural revolution. Different Qigong styles were integrated into a coherent system. The style of Qigong we practice in the west today has grown out of the Post Mao Zedong era when a number of “Masters” came down from the mountain to seek fame and fortune as China opened its doors to the Western world.

In his book “Tao, the Subtle Universal Law and the Integral Way of Life” Hua-Ching NI writes:

Vital energy or chi (qi), as the ancient developed ones1 in the integral way referred to it, is formless, elusive, and without tangible qualities, yet it is the subtle breath of life which permeates and vivifies the entire universe……..”

Everything that exists in the universe is a manifestation or projection of that energy, in grosser or finer states, everything in the universe (including man) has a time to be born, grow, ripen, mature, and finally a time to fall. The heart beats because of Qi energy and it is said that if our Qi becomes stagnant we become ill, if our Qi stops…..

The concept of Qigong and the cultivation of a universal life force or energy, “Qi” has been practiced since the dawning of man, but the maintenance of Qi for good health was first postulated in the Chinese Classic, the “Yellow Emperor's Canon of Internal Medicine”, and is considered to be a reflection of medical accomplishment dating from the Warring States Period (475-221BC) and earlier.

Traditional Chinese Medicine, (TCM), Chinese pharmacology (herbalism), acupuncture, massage and Qigong, has proven effective for a range of conditions, and is used extensively by tens of millions of people daily around the world for preventative medicine and self-healing, (however TCM has not received widespread acceptance by Western medical practitioners). Good health results from a well balanced and free flowing Qi energy, which is encouraged by regular Qigong practice and meditation to relieve tension in the body. When our body relaxes, our mind relaxes as well, and the division between the mind and body dissolves enabling us to create a higher state of consciousness. This expanded awareness leads to greater mental clarity and a healthier physical and emotional state.

Chinese Philosophy suggests there are three basic types of Qi (also known as the three treasures), Heaven Qi - (Tian Qi), the Qi of the Universe, and the largest most powerful form of Qi, Earth Qi - (Di Qi), the Qi that is contained within our planet and Human Qi - (Ren Qi). Human Qi regulates our growth, vitality, spiritual, emotional, mental, and physical balance.

The Sages understood, that everything from the smallest particle to the movement of galaxies through space and time, (including man), is a product of Qi energy in its grosser or finer states. However just as a fish is unaware that it lives in water, so man is unaware that he lives in a vast, inexhaustible sea of energy that supports life and is the subtle essence of all creation. They reasoned that if everything comes from the same subtle origin then everything shares the same true nature, a universal nature of harmony and balance, they called it the Tao.

The Sages reasoned the Tao contained within it all that does not exist, the un-manifest, the “nothingness”, that existed before heaven and earth was born, as well as all that does exist, the manifest, that which is perceptible, that which occurred after heaven and earth were born. This polarization of manifest and un-manifest the Sages called Yin and Yang. The polar aspects of Yin and Yang describe the inter-relationships of everything. We will explore Yin and Yang later, but first let us continue in the realm of Qi……

Today science informs us that air we breathe is made up of 78% Nitrogen, 20% oxygen and 2% of a mixture of gasses of which approximately 0.03% is Carbon dioxide. Every cell in our body requires oxygen in order to generate energy through aerobic respiration, (see the Krebs cycle) in which a molecule of Glucose (C6H12O6), combines with six molecules of Oxygen (6O2) to produce six molecules of Carbon dioxide (6CO2), and six molecules of water (6H2O), plus energy this can be seen in the equation:

C6H12O6 + 6O2 = 6CO2 + 6H2O  Energy.

Conversely, plants produce the oxygen and glucose that we need to survive through the process of photosynthesis this can be shown in the equation:

6H2O + 6CO2 + Light = C6H12O6 + 6O2

So we live in a symbiotic relationship with all plant life and our surroundings, they give us food and the oxygen we need to survive. Is it not better to respect and cherish plants that give us oxygen rather than cut off our supply?

Whilst I am not suggesting the ancient ones knew the chemical processes that are so important to our survival, they were aware of the natural order of things and the importance of harmony and balance. Today our lives are filled 24/7, we have grown accustomed to living in our own stressed filled bubble at the expense of our own health. Tai Chi, Qigong and meditation helps to regain control over our lives and to find balance in our life style. Today living in a mountain top retreat in isolated seclusion is not an option, but we can use the methods of the ancient ones to find stillness, peace and tranquility in our lives.

Leon Edwards
© The Stillness Project


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1The Sage:
The Sage lived in close touch and co-operation with nature and though often solitary or hermit was not necessarily so. Often, like the Hindu forest dwellers’, he had served state, or humanity, in some capacity before retiring to the wild places to live a life of contemplation. His life was not world renouncing, but looking at life and rejecting the artificial and sophisticated in favour of that which is real and of primary importance.

Cooper J (1990) Taoism The Way of the Mystic Crucible page 69


Ni Hua-Ching (1998) Tao - The subtle universal law and the integral way of life (seventh printing), USA, Seven Star Communications.

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