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Hello! My name is Kenneth Cohen or Gao Han in Chinese. I will be sharing with you Qigong, how to cultivate the life energy, the vital breath for healing. Qigong is both ancient wisdom and modern science. It is one of the most powerful and effective self-healing methods in the world today.
As water is to fish and air to birds, so Qi is to humans. We are surrounded by it and lived in a field of Qi, if we are unaware of it, through Qigong training, we learn how to sense this life energy both in ourselves and in the environment. We cleanse, gather and circulate the Qi within our bodies to improve our health and to cultivate a tranquil, aware state of mind. We develop the strength of the stone and the suppleness of flowing water.
Qigong has its roots in Chinese medicine and the ancient philosophy of Taoism. Taoists retreated to high mountain monasteries seeking simplicity, inner peace, and truth in nature. They celebrated the beauty surrounding them in poetry and art, and learned to heal the body by imitating the movements of animals, trees, clouds, and other aspects of nature. They were China’s first Qigong masters.
Qigong, like Taoism, emphasizes the harmony and health of body, mind, and spirit.
A complete Qigong workout has four stages. First, we will learn a warm up, whole body breathing to gently open the body to a stronger flow of Qi. Stage two, is cleansing the body of impure toxic Qi. You will learn two ways of accomplishing these, the bone marrow cleansing and the healing sounds. After cleansing the body of unneeded energies, we can proceed to stage three, gathering and circulating the Qi, so that the body has recharged with a fresh supply of healing energy. In this category, we will learn standing meditation and walking meditation. Finally, we come to stage four, self-massage. We lightly massage or warm the skin to disperse stagnation, tension, and congestion.
Before beginning our Qigong workout, it is important to learn the basic principles of Qigong posture, relaxation, and breathing. Most Qigong exercises begin from a standing position with the feet flat on the ground. The spine is straight, but not stiff. Keep the knees slightly bent. The joints are never locked during Qigong. The whole body is relaxed, relaxed does not mean limp and lifeless, but rather more alert and alive. Use minimum effort to maintain your posture. Imagine that all of your tension is just dropping into the ground.
Qigong emphasizes abdominal respiration. Even though some Qigong exercises include chest breathing, almost all exercises begin with meditative abdominal breathing. As you inhale, the lower abdomen expands gently. As you exhale, it retracts. Let this happen naturally and effortlessly. Your breath will become slow, deep, and easy. Eventually, you will feel both the lower abdomen and the lower back expanding with each inhalation and retracting with each exhalation, this is called Dan Tian breathing. The Chinese were Dan Tian, means the field where you plant the elixir of long life. It is the energy center between the lower abdomen and the lower back.
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