5 ms·

This year I started practicing Qi Gong. It emphasizes slow conscious movements and soft breathing. You are supposed to do this in yoga as well but it's very eas

This year I started practicing Qi Gong. It emphasizes slow conscious movements and soft breathing. You are supposed to do this in yoga as well but it's very easy to make mistakes, even injuries. Qi Gong has solved all of my lower back problems and the tensions in my shoulders and arms. You loosen and breath rather than pulling and stretching.

abledon 7y ago
check out "Spark in the Machine" if you want the anatomical analysis of how Qi travels through our fascial planes.
nprateem 7y ago
Qi Gong tends to put more emphasis on working with "environmental qi", drawing it in from the outside (Earth, nature, space, your imagination). It can be great for charging yourself up when combined with a practice like 5-point breathing. The kicker is that you can also do it while doing yoga asanas. Yoga pranayama typically only works with prana in the body or uses mechanical breathing techniques (e.g. bhastrika, etc) to draw in prana as a by-product. But it'd be impractical (and probably dangerous) to do a practice like bhastrika while performing yoga asanas. Doing Qi Gong practices while practicing yoga can really supercharge them. On the inhalation draw energy in from deep in the Earth through your feet to your lower dan tien/navel, and on the exhalation send it out your hands wherever they're pointing (probably the sky or Earth). Then on the next round inhale from where your hands are pointing, taking the qi/prana to the lower dan tien and then exhale out the feet or crown. Keep repeating this, always inhaling in through the 'gate' you just exhaled from. Do this for 5-10 minutes at first and build up. It'll really charge you up. You should learn the Macrocosmic Orbit first, but hopefully you already know that if you've been learning Qi Gong. If not, check out Mantak Chia's Awaken Healing Energy through the Tao.
- crucialfelix 7y ago
  At Sivananda in Rishikesh they alternated between Asana and Pranayama. This was quite effective. I have had some good teachers (eg. Dharma Mittra in NYC), but rarely do they get into Pranayama at all. The Mantak Chia book is exactly the kind of text I've been looking for. Thanks!
  - rramadass 7y ago
    Please do not read Mantak Chia books on Qigong. He is considered a fraud by many. Just like authentic Yoga has been corrupted in the West by incompetent teachers and plain charlatans, so is the case with Qigong. You should always go to the original sources i.e. Chinese works where possible. To that end you may find the following helpful; 1) Qigong Essentials for Health Promotion - https://www.amazon.com/Qigong-Essentials-Health-Promotion-Guorui/dp/7507201007/ref=sr_1_2?keywords=qigong+essentials+for+health&qid=1562229876&s=books&sr=1-2 https://www.amazon.com/Qigong-Essentials-Health-Promotion-Gu... 2) Chinese Qigong Therapy - https://www.amazon.com/Chinese-Qigong-Therapy-Zhang-Mingwu/dp/7533103785/ref=sr_1_2?keywords=chinese+qigong+therapy+shandong+technology&qid=1562230053&s=books&sr=1-2 https://www.amazon.com/Chinese-Qigong-Therapy-Zhang-Mingwu/d... Some of them may be expensive because they are hard to get but no need to pay too much for any of them. You can get authentic works from the website "china-guide.com".
    - nprateem 7y ago
      > He is considered a fraud by many. By whom exactly? People who are upset that he's selling books on the practices for less than $10 instead of $300? Apparently some schools' highest teaching is the Macrocosmic Orbit. Of course you'd be annoyed if someone was giving away your highest secrets in a $10 book - you'd struggle to find new students prepared to sit at your feet for several decades while you drip feed it to them (which is what I've heard of). There may be an issue with making sense of the volume of material he's put out and its repetitive nature, but to imply he's incompetent and a charlatan is just spreading FUD.
      - rramadass 7y ago
        He is a business man selling stuff to a gullible public. Because the nature of the stuff is so amorphous you can easily distort and invent it as needed. Note that the price of the book has got nothing whatever to do with it. You are probably referring to my first book recommendation which some enterprising soul is trying to sell for a huge markup (i.e. $300 because it is not easily available) but i just provided the link for reference. You can get it cheap if you search. Or you can read other cheaper equivalent books, one of which i had also provided as my second recommendation. Now you asked me to define "authentic" sources in your other post. For TCM/Qigong you would start with publications from mainland China preferably by doctors/professors from a Medical College/University/Hospital who study both modern and TCM medicine. You would then try to get at the root texts for the subject. With these sources in hand, you can now start your study. So here goes; 1) The root text for TCM is "Huangdi Neijing" aka "The Yellow Emperor's Canon of Medicine". Start here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huangdi_Neijing https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huangdi_Neijing for your research. 2) TCM textbooks have been published from many doctors/institutes in China, two of which (related to Qigong) i had already listed earlier. Here is another recommendation - https://www.amazon.com/Illustration-channels-points-acupuncture-moxibustion/dp/7535710697/ref=sr_1_7?keywords=illustration+of+channels+and+point+for+acupuncture&qid=1562336185&s=books&sr=1-7 https://www.amazon.com/Illustration-channels-points-acupunct... Also check the website "www.china-guide.com" for authentic books on TCM/Qigong. Finally here is a paper named "The Man who Invented Qigong" which explains the origin of the word and its current methodology - https://www.qigonginstitute.org/docs/The%20Man%20Who%20Invented%20Qigong-1.pdf https://www.qigonginstitute.org/docs/The%20Man%20Who%20Inven...
- gingabriska 7y ago
  I only have one correction to make here, Parna is not limited to breathing techniques, it's breath and literally whatever we take from the environment to stay alive.
- rramadass 7y ago
  I am sorry to say this but your post is bunkum. You seem to have been studying some wrong books and listening to possible charlatans. Mantak chia, Yang jwing-ming and their ilk are not authentic. They are making a living by hustling on what little they know about Chinese/Asian arts to a clueless West. There is a lot of nonsense out there on Yoga, Tantra, Qigong etc. and hence one needs to be careful on where one gets their knowledge from. I highly suggest that you look for some authentic sources (see my other posts in this thread) in subjects that interest you and base your studies on them instead.
  - nprateem 7y ago
    What, specifically is "bunkum" here? What's your definition of an "authentic source"? This is just more FUD, easily dispelled. Just try doing 5-point breathing while doing yoga and see for yourself.
    - rramadass 7y ago
      >Just try doing 5-point breathing while doing yoga Why should i try this when i can do 12-point Neigong-Daoyin-Waigong-Shaolin-Micro-Macro with a side of Yoga-Tantra-Chakra-Channels and a topping of Reiki? :-) ...jk... I am just trying to help out people who are interested in esoteric subjects of which i have some knowledge by steering them away from BS and charlatans. I will provide a more serious answer in my response to your other post so that everything is in one place.

abledon 7y ago

check out "Spark in the Machine" if you want the anatomical analysis of how Qi travels through our fascial planes.

nprateem 7y ago

Qi Gong tends to put more emphasis on working with "environmental qi", drawing it in from the outside (Earth, nature, space, your imagination). It can be great for charging yourself up when combined with a practice like 5-point breathing. The kicker is that you can also do it while doing yoga asanas. Yoga pranayama typically only works with prana in the body or uses mechanical breathing techniques (e.g. bhastrika, etc) to draw in prana as a by-product. But it'd be impractical (and probably dangerous) to do a practice like bhastrika while performing yoga asanas. Doing Qi Gong practices while practicing yoga can really supercharge them. On the inhalation draw energy in from deep in the Earth through your feet to your lower dan tien/navel, and on the exhalation send it out your hands wherever they're pointing (probably the sky or Earth). Then on the next round inhale from where your hands are pointing, taking the qi/prana to the lower dan tien and then exhale out the feet or crown. Keep repeating this, always inhaling in through the 'gate' you just exhaled from. Do this for 5-10 minutes at first and build up. It'll really charge you up. You should learn the Macrocosmic Orbit first, but hopefully you already know that if you've been learning Qi Gong. If not, check out Mantak Chia's Awaken Healing Energy through the Tao.

crucialfelix 7y ago
At Sivananda in Rishikesh they alternated between Asana and Pranayama. This was quite effective. I have had some good teachers (eg. Dharma Mittra in NYC), but rarely do they get into Pranayama at all. The Mantak Chia book is exactly the kind of text I've been looking for. Thanks!
- rramadass 7y ago
  Please do not read Mantak Chia books on Qigong. He is considered a fraud by many. Just like authentic Yoga has been corrupted in the West by incompetent teachers and plain charlatans, so is the case with Qigong. You should always go to the original sources i.e. Chinese works where possible. To that end you may find the following helpful; 1) Qigong Essentials for Health Promotion - https://www.amazon.com/Qigong-Essentials-Health-Promotion-Guorui/dp/7507201007/ref=sr_1_2?keywords=qigong+essentials+for+health&qid=1562229876&s=books&sr=1-2 https://www.amazon.com/Qigong-Essentials-Health-Promotion-Gu... 2) Chinese Qigong Therapy - https://www.amazon.com/Chinese-Qigong-Therapy-Zhang-Mingwu/dp/7533103785/ref=sr_1_2?keywords=chinese+qigong+therapy+shandong+technology&qid=1562230053&s=books&sr=1-2 https://www.amazon.com/Chinese-Qigong-Therapy-Zhang-Mingwu/d... Some of them may be expensive because they are hard to get but no need to pay too much for any of them. You can get authentic works from the website "china-guide.com".
  - nprateem 7y ago
    > He is considered a fraud by many. By whom exactly? People who are upset that he's selling books on the practices for less than $10 instead of $300? Apparently some schools' highest teaching is the Macrocosmic Orbit. Of course you'd be annoyed if someone was giving away your highest secrets in a $10 book - you'd struggle to find new students prepared to sit at your feet for several decades while you drip feed it to them (which is what I've heard of). There may be an issue with making sense of the volume of material he's put out and its repetitive nature, but to imply he's incompetent and a charlatan is just spreading FUD.
    - rramadass 7y ago
      He is a business man selling stuff to a gullible public. Because the nature of the stuff is so amorphous you can easily distort and invent it as needed. Note that the price of the book has got nothing whatever to do with it. You are probably referring to my first book recommendation which some enterprising soul is trying to sell for a huge markup (i.e. $300 because it is not easily available) but i just provided the link for reference. You can get it cheap if you search. Or you can read other cheaper equivalent books, one of which i had also provided as my second recommendation. Now you asked me to define "authentic" sources in your other post. For TCM/Qigong you would start with publications from mainland China preferably by doctors/professors from a Medical College/University/Hospital who study both modern and TCM medicine. You would then try to get at the root texts for the subject. With these sources in hand, you can now start your study. So here goes; 1) The root text for TCM is "Huangdi Neijing" aka "The Yellow Emperor's Canon of Medicine". Start here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huangdi_Neijing https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huangdi_Neijing for your research. 2) TCM textbooks have been published from many doctors/institutes in China, two of which (related to Qigong) i had already listed earlier. Here is another recommendation - https://www.amazon.com/Illustration-channels-points-acupuncture-moxibustion/dp/7535710697/ref=sr_1_7?keywords=illustration+of+channels+and+point+for+acupuncture&qid=1562336185&s=books&sr=1-7 https://www.amazon.com/Illustration-channels-points-acupunct... Also check the website "www.china-guide.com" for authentic books on TCM/Qigong. Finally here is a paper named "The Man who Invented Qigong" which explains the origin of the word and its current methodology - https://www.qigonginstitute.org/docs/The%20Man%20Who%20Invented%20Qigong-1.pdf https://www.qigonginstitute.org/docs/The%20Man%20Who%20Inven...
gingabriska 7y ago
I only have one correction to make here, Parna is not limited to breathing techniques, it's breath and literally whatever we take from the environment to stay alive.
rramadass 7y ago
I am sorry to say this but your post is bunkum. You seem to have been studying some wrong books and listening to possible charlatans. Mantak chia, Yang jwing-ming and their ilk are not authentic. They are making a living by hustling on what little they know about Chinese/Asian arts to a clueless West. There is a lot of nonsense out there on Yoga, Tantra, Qigong etc. and hence one needs to be careful on where one gets their knowledge from. I highly suggest that you look for some authentic sources (see my other posts in this thread) in subjects that interest you and base your studies on them instead.
- nprateem 7y ago
  What, specifically is "bunkum" here? What's your definition of an "authentic source"? This is just more FUD, easily dispelled. Just try doing 5-point breathing while doing yoga and see for yourself.
  - rramadass 7y ago
    >Just try doing 5-point breathing while doing yoga Why should i try this when i can do 12-point Neigong-Daoyin-Waigong-Shaolin-Micro-Macro with a side of Yoga-Tantra-Chakra-Channels and a topping of Reiki? :-) ...jk... I am just trying to help out people who are interested in esoteric subjects of which i have some knowledge by steering them away from BS and charlatans. I will provide a more serious answer in my response to your other post so that everything is in one place.