Tai Chi + Qigong Exercise
Paul Cavel Practises Wu Style Tai chi
Chi is your life-force energy, sometimes called “vital energy.”
The ancient Chinese developed exercises to increase chi to make a weak person strong, an ill person vibrant and increase mental capacities. These exercises are known as qigong (also chi gung/chi kung), which literally translates as “energy work.” Qigong is the practice of directing and developing strong healthy chi.
Qigong exercises stretch the body’s tissues to move fluid (e.g., blood). Contacting and manipulating fluids eventually gives you access to your chi since both are intimately linked. Your mind’s intent moves chi at will. The chi in turn moves your fluids and the fluids move your body, creating a positive and synergistic feedback loop. Each time you practice, your capacity to deeply relax and open increases just that bit more.
Neigong-Infused Qigong Exercise
All of the qigong, bagua walking and tai chi programmes I teach in my relaxation meditation system are powered by internal components called neigong. The full range of neigong is made up of 16 components and forms the basis for the whole Chinese chi-cultivation system.
See the list of the 16 neigong, including: breathing techniques, pulsing (opening-closing) and activating the central channel of energy.
Although the term qigong is used in the West to describe all forms of oriental exercise for health, healing, power and mental clarity, neigong is the “secret” power behind internal martial arts (bagua zhang and tai chi chuan) and qigong tui na “energy healing.”
Qigong exercises work via the outer meridians into your core energy by applying the same principles used in acupuncture for releasing pain and disease, and maintaining health and wellness. Qigong moves use the breath to move chi and thereby activate one or two energy lines at a time.
Qigong exercises are particularly useful for healing whilst neigong is generally used to develop overall vitality, strength and flexibility. Qigong exercises and the 16 neigong system are practised separately from and infused into the Bagua Circle Walking and Single Palm Change techniques I teach.
Watch a video of me demonstrating Heaven & Earth Healing Qigong, a single-movement qigong set that starts with practice of Circling Hands neigong:
16 Neigong:
The Science of Energy Flows for Health & Vitality
Within qigong, bagua and tai chi, each of the 16 components of internal power have different levels and many sub-components that combine to make an exercise set (e.g., Energy Gates Qigong or Wu Style Tai Chi Short Form).
The aim is to fully integrate each neigong component into your body. In this way, you can practice progressively more neigong simultaneously rather than sequentially. This is the method for dramatically improving your health, power and vitality.
Within my relaxation meditation system there are longer and shorter routes to this end. The longest routes are concerned with learning the 16 components through Circle Walking or bagua without any separate training in neigong itself because individual component must be taught through each movement within Circle Walking or bagua.
The shorter routes involve learning neigong exercises to practice the 16 components separately (as qigong exercises) and later integrating them into your Circle Walking or bagua form. You would learn neigong side by side with your bagua or tai chi form for best and fastest results.
© 2010 Paul Cavel—All rights reserved. Links are appreciated, but please check with me before distributing any portion of this article.