Mastering Your Energy with Qigong and Tai Chi (includes two amazing videos)

Posted by Mai-Li _Featured_, Exercise, Healing, Mind-Body Connection Saturday, June 9th, 2012

Qigong literally means cultivating your vital energy (“qi”) over time. It has been practiced for around 4000 years.  Tai Chi is the most well-known and popular moving form of Qigong. It is essentially meditation in motion, as are all moving forms of Qigong.   The primary differences between Tai Chi and Qigong involve how the form is practiced, how the energy is manipulated, the body posture, and whether the practice is done alone.

There are numerous versions of Tai Chi and Qigong that are practiced all around the world.  Each slow moving step has a spiritual and practical meaning.  These steps are what create the flow of energy throughout the body.  The health benefits are magical when the movements are performed with skill and grace.

These movements were created for the use in martial arts, yet true martial arts students are taught to not use this energy to harm nor take advantage of others.   Also, there is to be no monetary gain for acquiring this chi (energy), for it is to be used to help individuals with either health issues or protection of one self.  Honor, respect, dedication and discipline are important qualities to have in order to begin this highly evolved ancient form of exercise.

Tai Chi is a low impact exercise that involves breathing with the movements.  It is a form of exercise and meditation all in one. The continuous and slow movements of Tai Chi create harmony with the mind, body and soul.  Chi energy is produced by balancing the Yin and Yang of the meridians in the body (the acupuncture points) —centering the energy in the area of the solar plexus and having it flow up to the mind.  The energy is then produced from the hands and projected outward.

For the past year, I have been learning a modern Chinese version of Tai Chi called 108 steps Harmony Tai Chi by Dr. Maoshing Ni.  So far, I have only learned the first 42 steps, but I am still refining the movements.  I truly appreciate the amount of time and effort it takes to master this form of exercise. I have been told that 10 years of practice is still not enough time to perfect the movements.

Below is a short video of an elderly Chinese Master living in Beijing who has learned to project his energy into his students.  He is able to control their movements when they try to push or throw him.  His students flail around while he stands perfectly still.

This next video shows a healer that uses his chi to heal his patients.  He is also able to start a fire with the heat of his hands and push chopsticks through a table.