With respect to energy systems that involve choreographed or repeated movements:
They work--though slowly, at least in my experience. A friend of mine has been doing Tai Chi for a year. She finally started to feel warmth and tingling in her palms. Spring Forest Qigong seems to have "prepared" me for NEW. I started feeling energy immediately, and it's my understanding that this isn't the case for everyone.
I should also mention that I felt energy beating off of both my friend's Tai Chi instructor and my Qigong instructor the first time I met both. (This was a distinct sensation that was unnoticeable during subsequent encounters. I became used to their energy?)
I should also mention that I couldn't even begin to conceive of the intensity of energy sensations until I started NEW. A year of Spring Forest Qigong (Remember, one style of Qigong in literally thousands.) just can't compare to the sensations of NEW. To be fair though, I'm only talking about apparent sensations. General health benefits would be too subjective to talk about at this point.
In any case, these are just personal annecdotes. Personally, if was deciding on an energy system, I'd immediately start NEW, but keep an open mind about everything else. I will not disregard 5000 years of tradition.
I'm really curious about how other systems compare to NEW. Has anyone practiced both regularly and can compare?
Mark
No, I dont´t want to disregard 5000 years of tradition either, It´s
rather that I would like to understand it.
The point is this, Qui Gong might have some good effect from the slow
movements, see it as a form af easy gymnastic and streching.. and then thee effect on the mind might be good to. But I have the suspicion that the greater part of the benefits actually come from the meditative state of mind... after all a qui ging session usually lasts some hour.. and an hour of meditation probably dose wonders!
The interesting thing is thet there are so many differnt kinds of movemets, that one starts to think that how you move perhaps is not si importatnt- but rather that you achive the right set of mind.
-- Love is the Law - Love under Will --
I think, but I dont know for sure, that all these esoteric (I dont know if this is the right word) exercises are designed with the accupoints (?) in mind. Like getting the body into certain positions might open up accupressure lines, enabling a clearer flow of energy. Other postures may create pressure at certain points to clear blockages. So I think it's working through the physical to get to the energy body. I think the physical body is a stuborn medium that needs lots of repetition as it gets stuck in it's ways and very dificult to change. That's why I think it takes so long for the benefits. With NEW you are working straight on the energy body. But, the energy still takes time to affect the physical if it's stuck. So using both methods together would be more beneficial than either alone.
And I may be talking a load of codswallop so take with a pinch of salt. But you're right, you cant get any sense out of any of these 'enlightened' teachers - maybe they just want to hang on to the mystery. Maybe if they tell you, they wont be a teacher anymore, or maybe you really do need to experience certain things that cant be easily explained?
I cant remember what form Qi Gung I've been doing (Iron Mantle or something like that) - but it's fast and vigorous, with lots of deep, fast breathing through the mouth.
I did Tai Chi once.
Hi Tia !
Yeah, the idea about the accupoints is the one that usually is used to explan the movements in qi gong.. I would just like to know how the relationship between the accupoints and the physiacal body works. After all if there is a conection between the bodily movements and the accupoints then many movements we do could be benifficial- like stretching, walking etc. etc.
And perhaps it would be possible to create new exersices that are even more effective than the old ones locked in religious ideas.
Felix
-- Love is the Law - Love under Will --
Hi distant bell
I've been working with Qigong for a while, both the internal training (as taught by Mantack Chia) and the external training (Wild Goose Qigong).
With the first, you learn how to move your energy in and around your body and to connect and use outer sources of energy in a way that is not very different from NEW, but, in my opinion, more 'structured'. You work with your internal organs to cleanse them from 'sick' energy, thus achieving a better health. Taoist believe that negative emotions can generate sick energy that is able to negatively affect health. Qi energy is a bit like air: can be clean and pure or polluted. Gettin rid of dirty energy is a healing practice.
The external training, the one using more or less slow movements, uses the same principle: clears energy pathways, cleanses organs of sick energy, removes blockages etc., but this is done with movement. The form I practice is quite short: 64 movements that take only 7-10 minutes to be done. The woman who teaches them in China, Yang Meijung, is 106 years old and she is the heir of a form that goes back 1800 years in the past!
In my opinion, the NEW system is very good as a general 'energy workout': it has healing properties by itself, but can be used with other techniques to enhance them. But only time and the evidence of many people working with it will give a measure of its effectiveness.
The problem with healing practices is that they they have a 'personal' effect. Not all of them has the same healing effect on everybody. Creating a set of exercises to improve health can take many many years, because only 'big numbers' of people practicing and reporting success and failures can be used to improve a certain form. This is why ancient practices are so valuable. The more people have used a healing practice, and reported its benefits, the better.
There seems to be a large group of people who belive that the Qui Ging
practices raises energy, and even cures diseases. I would like to know if anybody has any ideas about how this should be suposed to work. After al moving your body slowley- why on earth should that rais energy? Or is it the "meditative" part of it that raises energy. I have been practicing Qui Gong myselfe, but stoped doing it again because no one could give any good explenation on how it works.
I feel that sitting down in lotus gives me the same feeling as qui gong movements.
If the channels that are opened with Qui Ging are of the etheric body, and not the physicall one- why not open them with mental exercises? (like in the NEW system)
I´m wery eager to hear some opinions on this one!
-- Love is the Law - Love under Will --