Qigong: Chinese Medicine or Pseudoscience

[gerard]

Hi guys,

The reason for this thread comes from this source:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/1573922323/ref=sib_dp_pt/102-1196084-7596152#reader-link


I have ordered a copy of this book. Looking forward to read it.

Personally I believe on what I have experienced so far. I know that qigong opens up certain channels and helps to increase our mind potential which is amazingly great. However I have been unable to stop the rain so far (maybe one day :D ).

I remain skeptic at the moment.

What are your beliefs resulting from your daily Qigong practice?

:)

[tbubb1]

Hey, I took a Crane Style Qigong class over the summer and I definately felt some sensations of Ki when doing so (the biggest was, after we had completed our form, 2 ppl stood w/ their palms ~6in away, one person would close their eyes, and the other would draw shapes in the air, and the partner with their eyes closed could feel the shapes being drawn on their hands and identify them, pretty cool) so I can tell you, and anyone here that Qigong does work, and that doing Qigong daily will definately benefit you. After that class, I purched a DVD on the Eight Pieces of Brocade from amazon.com and a few books, but, not seeing DRASTIC results right away (I'm an impatient 15 year old lol), I don't do the exercises daily, though I know I should. I also started doing some Tai Chi, which is a type of Qigong, but find the forms a bit too complicated to learn from a DVD.

Qigong definately works, as I've seen my Grandmaster 'Ki Strike' people many times,...being torn off their feet and passing out from a tap 1 - 2 inches away. Amazing, and to think that it's all done using Biomechanical Energy manipulation. If that's your aim, Qigong can definately get you there, but it takes LOTS of practice. If you are just in it for the health, I would recommend the DVD Eight Simple Qigong Exercises for Health by Dr.Yang Jwing-Ming on amazon.com, they definately work well, but I haven't taken the time to learn them all yet. After doing the first 3 exercises however, you can definately feel a difference (I get a very obvious sensation of heat in my chest and arms).

I'll stop going on about nothing. To sum it all up: My experience with daily Qigong practice, for the short amount of time that I did it daily, was a sense of calm, heat throughout my body and polarity between my hands (when practicing). Hope that helped a bit.

Also, if you are into the healing aspect of Qigong (since that is what it's meant to do...) I would recommend Reiki and Quantum Touch.

[alienlovechild]

I have been doing Qi Gong and Tai-Chi for 13 years now. The sensation I get from Qi Gong/Tai-Chi is like a magnetic energy in the body, so that the hands in Tai-Chi seem to push and pull each other [yes, exactly like magnets]. It also feels liquid, one part of the body fills while another part empties. In the Tai-chi classics they talk of the body being like a bottle halfed filled with water, so that rolling it one way gives it a momentum. As a result of this, in doing the Tai-chi form the body starts to feel like it is moving itself. I don't lift my hands but 'lift' my Qi. This is difficult to explain ... that is, my whole body 'lifts,' my whole body does the movement. Indeed, this is the most basic principle of Tai-chi, though which I see being broken time and time again. No part of the body can move without the whole body moving, not even the tip of the little finger.

This magnetic, liquid feeling is really difficult to explain. I feels like the body is very heavy, and in fact it is because it is completely relaxed. One can also feel the magnetic energy around other bodies. How to get this feeling ....? My advice is heaps of practive in basics. Tai-chi and Qi Gong should be difficult. You need to go through some pain. Though don't be affraid to experiment. When people ask me how the Tai-chi form should be done [the WAY of doing the movements rather than the movements themselves] I always say that you should do the form however it needs to be done to give you the greatest sensation of Qi. This is how I think people should approach these practices. If one is dismissive of the very idea of Qi to begin with then one will most likely never understand these practices, though on the other hand experience and not belief should be the basis of your understanding.