Qigong (ch'i kung) Articles write an article

Qigong, Tai Chi Ch'uan, Bagua, Hsing-I and Yichuan are all facets of the Internal Arts and are known for their health enhancing effects.  Though they are all related and have similar effects, for simplicities sake we will refer to them as qigong for the remainder of this article.For some time western medicine has dismissed the notion of Qigong as a clinically effective tool for maintaining personal health. It is easy to understand why this has been the case.  The benefits practitioners associate with Qigong are widely varied and in many cases extraordinary.  In addition, Qigong was “grandfathered-in” to the modern era.  It has been an accepted part of life for literally thousands of years; utilized for the cultivation of personal health, enhancing one's mental state and developing remarkable strength or martial ability. (The earliest documented evidence of qigong goes as far back as 500 B.C.).  Seen from outside, without a history and culture that confirms them, these statements appear beyond believability.   However, in recent years studies have been carried out and evidence is stacking...

There are many, many different forms of Qigong. Writing an article with hard, fast rules to be followed in all forms would be misguided. However, there are some general guidelines you can use to start a new practice or deepen your current practice.
 
Step one: Settle into a full, relaxed rhythm of breath before your begin your practice. The quality of your breath is directly related to the quality of your practice. For the vast majority of people their breath is bound by habitual patterns and stored tension. Your goal is a state where the breath rolls in and out smoothly, like calm waves. No rushed exhales, no gasped inhales. This is your goal but if you force it you are just generating a new form of tension and distracting yourself from the practice.
 
It is beneficial to stretch the breath before you begin your practice but then forget about it while you practice. To stretch the breath start with a simple inhale for a slow count of six, hold for three, exhale for six, hold for two, repeat. Anytime you become short of breath or tense let the pattern go...

 
What is Qigong/Chi Kung?
Chi Kung is a Chinese form of movement and meditation that helps you to increase your energy levels and to improve your mastery over your own...

What is Qigong?
Qigong is a Chinese form of movement and meditation that helps you to increase your energy levels and to improve your mastery over your own energy or...

Turning the corner to enter grounds of the Coffee Creek Correctional Facility in Wilsonville, Oregon (CCCF), I had the most intense urge to sob, tears came up and I had to pull over and stop the car wondering what on earth was going on. I was happy to be going to an interview with the chaplain at CCCF to discuss starting a qigong class in Oregon’s prison for women. CCCF houses approximately 900 inmates and has several areas: temporary men’s quarters and the women’s prison which is divided into medium and minimum security. After a moment I realized my empathetic nature had kicked in and the feelings were coming from the prison.
After five years of thinking about teaching qigong there, I had an opportunity to teach qigong to a group of people whom I felt could benefit from the the healing powers of qigong. As I went through security, met the chaplain who immediately gave me a tour of Medium Security, and heard the cell doors opening and slamming shut on a one-hour schedule, the feelings of depression, sadness and the urge to start sobbing kept recurring. He and I were both excited about starting the class.
Driving out of the parking lot after the interview, I didn’t know if I could teach and deal with the feelings I’d be surrounded with. After a couple of weeks with no word from the chaplain, I inquired about class and was told that CCCF was reorganizing how they did their programs. More months went by until I inquired again in November 2006. By December 4th I was scheduled for an introductory class in the Minimum Security, Treatment Section. My class was scheduled for every other week in Minimum Treatment and alternating weeks with the Minimum,General Population. Several of the original 23 who attended the first session in Treatment returned and reported what they’d experienced practicing the Tibetan Three Palms Rising Qigong form I’d taught.
 "...it is very relaxing..."
 "...there is less pain in my lower back..."
 "I'm drinking less coffee!"
 “I’m using my inhaler once in awhile instead of all the time.”
 “I’m able to sleep better.” [visualize 50 women to a room in bunkbeds]
The months that went by prior to actually teaching at CCCF gave me an opportunity to study and practice another ancient spiritual system known as shamanism—connecting with spirit and your incarnate spiritual teachers (guardian angels, etc) via a specific type of meditation. That training prepared me to teach at CCCF. People would ask me if I was afraid of teaching in a prison. That surprised me, because the only hesitation I had in the beginning was being able to deal with my empathetic abilities and to deal with the prison bureaucracy.
The real challenge was teaching to a class where there were a variety of new students, curiosity seekers, regular students, and those who wanted to advance in their qigong practice. It’s comparable to teaching to several grades in the old one-room schoolhouse. My lesson plans were very quickly tossed out leaving my classes almost entirely spirit and student driven. I do come in with an idea of what I want to share with the class; but often their own spirit-driven feedback dictates what happens.
Did I ever learn to include singing in a qigong class? NO, but after the first time I shared a couple of dittys from the anthropology class I’d been taking, singing is now part of the qigong class. A couple of students have even shared the songs they’ve channeled from spirit with the class. We’ve done Tibetan qigong forms, Essence...

for more like this see my blog at http:/chifully.blogspirit.com
I was asked to write something for The Vital Force, the journal of the T'ai Chi Chih community about why I go inside.  Other blog posts from earlier years have sought to answer this same question. There is a piece of the mystery happening here that seems reluctant to be pinned down with words.  Is this difficulty, an indicator the authenticity of this call?  Perhaps, nevertheless it seems to serve me and others to keep trying.  Here is the latest attempt:
Often I am asked “Why do you go inside? Why is this so important to you?” I have answered many ways over the 10 years I have been answering this call. Silly or serious answers seem to scratch only the surface. A few weeks ago a student inside, of considerable integrity, asked, and the answer that stumbled out felt closer than I have come yet to putting words around this call and response, this “pull” and “push” that drives and sustains me as I offer 4-7 programs 2-3 days a week. The men (or probably better said, the men’s souls) “pulled” me in. Jim Hecker (original inmate teacher) had been visualizing a class while...

Qigong is a practice.  By definition, a practice is something that you do over and over again to fully understand and master it.  Qigong is certainly a practice, in that the more you do it, the more you get in touch with the subtle aspects of your existence.
There are some common misunderstandings.  Some people think that it should be easy from the start, and if it’s not, they are not interested. In fact, when Qigong is not easy to do when you first start, it means you actually really need the practice.
See, Qigong is all about relaxing and learning to...

I had many chronic diseases when I was young. I suffered from Neurosis; Migraine Headache; Arthritis: Insomnia; Daily Stomach Ache, Etc. In 1982, I was diagnosed of a terminal cancer. It started from breast cancer and spread into my lymph system. The doctor gave me two months to live. After 7 hour-long surgery, I suffered a lot of pain.  I was so weak that I could not stand the chemotherapy or the radiation therapy. My hair dropped. I looked into the mirror and I saw a 90- year-old woman even though I was only 49 years old. I could not eat; I hardly drank anything. I had no energy at all. I felt I was dying.  One day while I was waiting for radiation treatment. A fellow patient asked me about my disease, and I told him my story in tears. I told him that what I worried most was my two daughters. They were too young to loose their mother. But, he was listening to me with a smile. I thought, “This man has no heart.”...

Just as we can
cultivate and nourish a garden we can also cultivate and nourish qualities
within ourselves.  The practice of qigong is a tool for this purpose. 
The term "qigong" (pronounced chee-gong) is the modern term for a
grouping of practices that were originally known as “yang shen.”  Yang
Shen translates to, “the art of nourishing life.”  The phrase
"nourishing life" is a concise way to describe what we are doing when
we practice qigong.   

Qigong originated in
a culture that was very closely tied to the land through agriculture.  The
ancient Chinese studied nature and through their study developed systems to
live in...