I was surprised to see this thread hasn't been done yet. Who all out there does some form of chi kung? I have just started and it seems to help with energy levels. My forms also feel stronger every time I do them.
A discussion of chi, and a discussion on Chi Kung are not neccesarily the same thing Ive been doing chi kung somewhat daily for about 6 months. I havent noticed any real difference in my forms, but I have noticed I feel a bit more alert afterwards.
I have to agree that the the ki thread did not turn out to be the friendliest place for a chi gung practitioner. I practice a taoist water method gung that consists of a standing nei gung meditation, followed by cloud hands. I try to do it daily, and it has taken about a year to clear the major blockages I can feel as of right now (I'm sure that there are plenty more.) My body allignment has improved immensely, and I am just now becoming significantly more sensitive during push hands.
My teacher gave me some excellent advice: "qigong is excellent for your health and you should always do it whenever you practice your form. But make sure you do a grounding qigong just before you finish, otherwise you'll be spaced out and you'll end up walking in front of a bus." I know it's a good health exercise, but there should be a warning on the label for 'recreational qigong users'
It's standing still, or moving very slowly, for extended lengths of time, in strange positions. Good for the chi.
nzric: That's good advice. It can be hard to convince folks something can be dangerous when so many people refute its existence period, but it is true-- horror stories abound. Paratus: There are a lot of different types of chi gung, but really really basically, it consists of different types of exercises, moving or stationary, that cultivate chi.
hwardo - I wasn't saying I think it's dangerous... I really disagree with the horror stories about qigong (see the falun gong thread from a while ago), but this shouldn't turn into another thread about Chinese political policy. Qigong is a physical exercise and although it's slow/stationary, it does place a lot of strain on the body (with the breathing methods and sustained postures). It's always good to think about any medical conditions you have before doing a new exercise (especially since much of these exercises are taught to old, frail, unhealthy folk as a wonder cure). Also - it's all about balance. Doing the wrong qigong can be harmful as each is meant to cultivate a different part of your body/energy in a certain way. Again, whether or not you believe in chi or energy flows, everyone would agree it's dangerous to teach certain deep breathing exercises to someone with high blood pressure, or one legged standing qigong to someone with a hip problem. Qigong just takes that much, much further to isolate areas of the body, and therefore you should get professional guidance before choosing a regular regime.
Qigong is basically "energy work". Some of its early origins include dances performed by shaman priests and tribes, done out of belief that their performance would bring about good health, in ancient China, dating back even before the Shang dynasty. Other early sources include the Yellow Emperor's Classic of Internal Medicine, the Dao Yin, the Five Animal Frolics (created by the physician Hua To). The Eight Pieces of Brocades is another set of qigong exercises. There are a ton, to be sure. I have found Daniel Reid's "A Complete Guide to Chi Kung" as well as Ken Cohen's "The Way of Qigong" to be indispensable resources for me in my own training. As for me, in addition to internal martial arts which are forms of martial qigong, I currently practice Zhan Zhuang, a type of stationary qigong, as well as the Eight Brocades from time to time. Xuesheng
ta , i was looking for a book on it, The art of chi kung by wong kiew kit but amazon was sold out of copies
Can I just ask if anyone has come across qigong exercises that look a lot like a cross between dance and aerobics? There are some chinese women who regularly practice qigong and taiji near my house and often they do syncronised qigong exercises that look almost like cheerleading routines. Is it a rare form of qigong or are they just trying out for a talent show?
Nzric There are quite literally hundreds of different types of Qigong.You could quite rightly call them callisthenics(ofcause you would lose that mystery that so many of you cling too when using a forigen language)some are stretches, some massages,some as simple as walking or running backwards,some long sequences with typical poetic names. Have a chat to them,you could even market it as a Yet to be seen ancient health revitalising method
There are so many books on chi kung these days. Sod it, I'm gonna write one I mainly do a hard style of chi kung (much like 8 pieces of brocade), a soft style and also sitting/still chi kung. About 45 mins to an hour a day.
