Three Vital Elements of Qigong Exercise

by Master Chunyi Lin

 

1)      Breathing technique

Deep and long breathing has always been vital in all forms of Qigong. Medical science shows that people with fewer breaths per minute are on the whole healthier than those who breathe more rapidly.

One of the most important systems in our bodies is the nervous system, which controls the messages and information traveling in the body. Blockages in the nervous system prevent messages from being delivered, creating problems.

The nervous system is formed from two parts–the parasympathetic nervous system and the sympathetic nervous system. When we inhale, energy goes to the sympathetic nervous system; when we exhale, energy reaches to the parasympathetic nervous system. When we take longer breaths, we get more energy into both nervous systems. That is why people who practice Tai Chi, Qigong, Yoga, or meditation usually enjoy a good long life, and why people with chronic sicknesses often find relief through deep, gentle breaths.

2)      Postures of the body

Posture and movements are important when practicing Qigong because they help open the body’s energy channels. Simply opening the hands, for example, opens six main channels that begin in the hands. These include lung and large intestine channels, which begin in the thumb, and heart channels, which begin in the middle and little fingers.

Some postures can give immediate and noticeable benefit. When you have a headache, cough, or stuffy nose, for example, hold both hands above your head for five minutes. Or, when you have a bloody nose in your right nostril, raise your left hand above the head for a minute. Those postures work because raising your hands opens the lung channels, heart channels, and stomach channels, many of which run through the nose area. Replenish energy in these channels and symptoms disappear.

3)      The mind

Our brain is very powerful, yet we use only a very small portion–some say 10 percent; others say 2 percent. If we can apply one or two additional percent to the health of our bodies, we will see miracles.

Here is a game you can play that demonstrates the power of your brain. You will grow the length of one of your fingers right before your eyes. Do not worry, because everything will go back to normal when you are finished.

• Find the bottom lines in both of your hands where the wrists and the hands join.

• Put these two lines together and compare your fingers to see which hand has the longer fingers.

• Put the hand with the longer fingers down and raise the other hand with your fingers gently stretched open. (If the fingers in both hands are the same size, just put either of your hands up and put the other one down.)

• Close your eyes.

• Concentrate your mind on the fingers of the hand you have raised and repeat in your mind for one to two minutes, “My fingers are growing longer, longer, longer.”

• Open your eyes and compare your fingers by lining up the bottom of your hands just as when you started the game.

Amazingly, the fingers have become longer! The fingers will go back to their original length when you talk to your mind, “My fingers go back to normal.”

Now let’s try the reverse. Put up the hand with the longer fingers. And talk in your mind, “My fingers are becoming shorter, shorter, shorter,” for one minute. Compare. Look to see that the fingers really have become shorter! Talk in your mind once, “My fingers go back to normal. Then compare and find they are back to their original length!

This game works because we simply put energy into our fingers causing finger joints to open and the fingers to become longer. And now, do you see a hint here for healing yourself?

We get sick because our channels are not completely open. Energy cannot flow easily to reach the organs that need the energy. Part of the functioning of these organs has shut down. That’s why we feel sick.

Since we can use our mind to make our fingers grow in only a couple of minutes, we can use our mind to open up energy channels, especially when combined with breathing and postures of the body. Once the channels open, enough energy flows to the organs that need the energy, and all the functions of the organs come back. The sickness will disappear. That is why you can often expect an overnight miracle.

 

For more information visit the Spring Forest Qigong website.

 

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