Hi Berlian,
Yes, I am not a fanatic of qigong but therapeutic, it has raised my hb and I feel that a little exercise and calmness would be good. Don't you think? I told you before I read and read a lot of western books, went for a lot of checks, bloodtest, gallstone, X-ray, all revealed nothing. So I am actually a bit dissapointed I found "nothing" that tells what's wrong with me. Some people would think I'm getting a bit "crazy" like my husband cos when he saw my supplements, he asked, are you sick or what? What's wrong with you? I cannot answer, I only feel uncomfortable, pain here and there, nothing to describe, BP test tells my blood pressure normal, pulse normal. So who can tell me what's wrong. After learning this qigong, I started reading Chinese medicine(I don't read Chinese by the way, my Chinese is very bad or else I would have grab more books to read). It has answers to my problems, so I "roughly" know what's wrong only don't know how to "cure" because curing needs to find a really good TCM doctor who are able to work with your body. Qigong is another method but deep clearing needs a more efficient method- TCM doctor).
I actually lost all my quotes so I have retype in in Ms Word and transfer it back here. I am quoting this whole text from the book I am reading now(from the library) because I think its best to describe qigong this way. I may describe it wrong. You can get a copy if you can find it in - your local library. Ancient Herbs, Modern Medicine – Improving your health by combining Chinese Herbal Medicine and Western Medicine by Henry Han, O.M.D., Glenn E. Miller, M.D. and Nancy Deville by Bantam Books(Publisher)
“Qigong is a system of deep breathing, with or without slow movements combined with mental focus to control one’s Vital Energy (Qi), which brings the body, mind and spirit into alignment and balance. Qigong is said to have been originated by mountain hermits in ancient China and can be traced to inscriptions on tortoise shells dating to 2,500 B.C. and to silk drawings found in tombs four thousand years old.
Chinese philosophy considers living beings and the environment part of the same whole. The Qi force continually fluctuates in an attempt to harmonise the Yin and Yang Energies of this whole. The air you draw intd into Qi. The air that you draw in will be converted into Qi. The air that becomes the body’s internal Qi is the same Qi of the environment. In fact the Chinese language “air” and “Vital Energy” are the same word: Qi. Air and Vital Energy are merely a different concept of Qi. One is inside and other outside the body. Breathing joins the environment Qi with the internal Qi.
Qi is constantly circulating the Meridians throughout the body. This circulation of Qi weaves every component and function of the body into a harmonised whole. Practicing Qigong taps into this energy flow, engages and invigorates Qi, to dissolve stagnation and break into blockages. In Qigong, movement and stillness are cultivated to create an awareness that guides you through the process of achieving calmness and harmony of your Qi. A calm mind and spirit lead to higher levels of skill and self-knowledge.
Practicing Qigong will loosen your joints, increase flexibility and suppleness and strengthen your sinews and tendons. Qigong has been shown to improve the function of internal organs, delay aging and prolong life.
Qigong is divided into 3 main categories:
• Healing qigong teaches how to cleanse, gather and circulate healing Energy. Qigong for healing promotes general vitality and well-being and teaches techniques to treat specific problems. In addition to practicving healing Qigong for your own benefit, healing qigong can be practised as therapeutic touch. You can learn to project healing qi through your hands into another person to restore his or her balance.
• Spiritual qigong emphasizes meditation to cultivate self-awareness of your place in nature and your surroundings.
• Sports qigong uses dynamic experience to improve strength, endurance, balance and flexibility.”
The qigong I practise is a healing qigong called China Soaring Crane Qigong. For beginners, you will need to learn the 5 routines and once you have learnt, you need to pass a simple test(to know that you understand the 5 routines) to progress into standing meditatation. I have passed the test and tried standing meditation twice. I am not good in standing meditation because I cannot focus my mind into calmness, so I have only done twice. Currently I focus on the 5 routines to gather more qi because I practise in a different training ground that teaches new students 5 routines because I brought my 75 year old mother-in-law to learn the 5 routines.
You can check out this two websites, if you are interested to know more about the qigong I’m practicing .
www.scq.com.mycscq.webs.com
This two websites are from Malaysia and Brunei. It will tell you more about the qigong(which I am practising). You can also watch the soaring crane qigong in youtube, just to have a look whether you think you want to learn or not. Learning qigong is a slow process. It will not promise you immediate effect but long term learning, determination and motivation will help you achieve it in the long run. I have a lot of ache and pain when I start learning, but it does not stop me because I know that I have a lot of “sickness-blockages” inside my body. If old lady/man are learning it, why stop us from learning? In fact, the younger you learn, you have have more youthful look when you as you grow older. I have a teacher who looks in her 40s when she is in fact 58. Another looks like my age, when she told me she is 40+ and have 16 year old child, I was shocked.
The only downside of this qigong, is you must learn it with a certified instructor because if you learn it wrongly(yourself) you will not get the movement right(position) resulting in other side effect, you may blame it on the qigong. Therefore my qigong association always encourages never learn from the books, but a certified instructor. This means all our teachers has passed certain qualifying exams to teach. In the place where I learn, even the non-Chinese speakers can learn this because we have teachers who are also capable to teaching in English. It is not expensive to learn from my association. I only need to pay for a set of training uniforms(t-shirt and pants), entrance fee which includes 3 months of training fee (the whole course actually lasted a year because 6 months to learn the 5 routines, another 6 months to learn standing meditation). There’s also a yearly renewal fee (RM100 per year) to pay. If I am very enthusiastic, I can always practise Mon-Sat morning with the organisation on the training ground. Night practises(Mon, Wed and Fri) are for newcomers as well as regulars(like me). There are no limit on how many times you want to fit in to learn with newcomers as long as I feel that I have not achieved the “standard” I can alway go to the newcomer’s class(though you have not paid any tuition fee). I actually went to newcomers class twice(10 months to achieve the competency for 5 routines exam because i joined very late for the first class(which I am totally lost).
Gracia