Chi Balancing in Qigong, Bagua & Tai Chi
Balancing Chi Flow Is an Important Aspect of Internal Arts Practice
Balancing Chi Flow Is an Important Aspect of Internal Arts Practice
Balancing Exercises Video Lesson 8
All internal exercise ultimately intends to get chi flowing in your body. In fact, one reason external alignments are a main focus in the beginning is to help optimise fluid (such as blood) and chi flow. So now that you have the basics of balancing your outer casing in your form, we’ll look at two primary flows in the body: ascending and descending chi.
Descending chi is responsible for:
- Relaxing the nerves
- Softening the tissues
- Releasing the stress and tension out of the body and into the ground.
Ascending chi is responsible for holding your body up, primarily from the spine.
Too much downward chi flow will cause the body to compress, especially if standing for long periods. Too much upward chi flow and the energy will go to and can get stuck in the head. When the body rises too much, you can see stress and tension injected into the body.
So you want a gentle rising energy up the spine and the rest of the energy dropping down through your body, the soles of your feet and into the ground. Then, you will notice that your tissues can naturally and more easily elongate. So the gravity pulling your body down with the gentle rising of the spine causes the tissues to separate. The organs can drop down into the pelvis drops, which drops off the spine. Everything can slowly open up inside your body without any force whatsoever.
Initially, you want to practise balancing the ascending and descending chi flows in standing qigong. Later, you can focus on this aspect whilst moving, such as in qigong, bagua or tai chi.
Watch the guided lesson here:
Happy chi balancing,
Paul
Any physical and/or energetic exercise can carry risks. Do not attempt these exercises if you have any physical, emotional or mental conditions that may make you susceptible to injury.
© 2011 Paul Cavel—All rights reserved.
Copying or distributing any portion of this article without written consent is prohibited.
