your qi gong development

[Sorcerer]

greetings,

i have been trying to find a serious qigong program for a while now but theres nothing much in my city. recently i came across a qigong teachers certification program in my city. i am a bit scheptical about this, espcially since its expensive, but it is a course consisting of a number of months of homework, lectures, meditation practice etc. i feel this would be good to really delve into a qigong practice again, especially since my old teacher who taught me small circulation has left the city and theres no one really else. i have tried learning from books and it doesnt really work.

in order to make the decision of whether or not to go for this, i wanted those of you reading this forum what your qigong exploration consisted of. what worked for you? when did your meditation peak? what do you find difficult and distracting? some people find teaching a useful commitment for their own practice, has this been true for you? what dont you like about doing qigong? etc.

best,
s.

[wpgtaiji]

i have been trying to find a serious qigong program for a while now but theres nothing much in my city. recently i came across a qigong teachers certification program in my city. i am a bit scheptical about this, espcially since its expensive, but it is a course consisting of a number of months of homework, lectures, meditation practice etc. i feel this would be good to really delve into a qigong practice again, especially since my old teacher who taught me small circulation has left the city and theres no one really else. i have tried learning from books and it doesnt really work.

The sad fact is, any monkey can start a class and call it qigong, no matter what "credentials" they have. Your best bet is to purchase the Understanding Qigong series of DVD's from YMAA. It will give you all you need to know.

{quote]in order to make the decision of whether or not to go for this, i wanted those of you reading this forum what your qigong exploration consisted of. what worked for you? when did your meditation peak? what do you find difficult and distracting? some people find teaching a useful commitment for their own practice, has this been true for you? what dont you like about doing qigong? etc.
[/quote]
mate, that is a tremendously subjective question! What worked for one may not work IN THE SAME WAY for another (body chemistry's are different). That said, the long standing root methods that seem to have the best chance are Standing methods. Make sure you follow them to the letter, as best as you can.

In general, most legit qigong teachers will FIRST start you off in a stationary type of qigong because they are the easiest to integrate all the body, mind, etc components. If the qigong class you attend skips over this part and goes directly to moving qigong, it may be best that you look for another class. Why? Because they are only teaching you a bunch of external movements and not the internal connections necessary for qigong. Basically, you are throwing your money away on this sort of thing (and unfortunately, there are lots of them).

good luck

[Sanfung]

I found that eating better was an important aspect of getting healthier, both from the standpoint of my Qigong development and from the standpoint of western medicine. You might want to follow some sort of meridian food chart like this extremely abbreviated one. Do note that while tobacco is mentioned on it as an activator of the lung meridian, I do not smoke and find it hazardous and extremely objectionable.

http://tcmhealthbc.com/table2.htm

An appropriate diet will help keep everything moving appropriately from my experience. I've found that since I no longer feel as sluggish as I once did, I'm more prepared and apt to actually go through the physical process of Qigong exercises. Of course, making the choice to jump into the practice and persevere in it is also really important.

Naturally, you don't want to start such a program without quality expert advice and such. That's like what wpgtaiji was saying. There's a lot of people out there who think they know what they're doing. I've found that the most dangerous frauds are the ones that truly believe they're doing the right thing and sound like they are. They're certainly a good deal more convincing then some of the hacks, but every bit as bad.

I hope that my two cents helps you a little bit.

[joeblast]

greetings,

i have been trying to find a serious qigong program for a while now but theres nothing much in my city. recently i came across a qigong teachers certification program in my city. i am a bit scheptical about this, espcially since its expensive, but it is a course consisting of a number of months of homework, lectures, meditation practice etc. i feel this would be good to really delve into a qigong practice again, especially since my old teacher who taught me small circulation has left the city and theres no one really else. i have tried learning from books and it doesnt really work.

in order to make the decision of whether or not to go for this, i wanted those of you reading this forum what your qigong exploration consisted of. what worked for you? when did your meditation peak? what do you find difficult and distracting? some people find teaching a useful commitment for their own practice, has this been true for you? what dont you like about doing qigong? etc.

best,
s.

What is it that you feel you are missing? You have received training, is there something lacking from it that it doesnt seem like "enough?" Are we differentiating qigong and meditation at all here? I'm assuming if you were taught small circulation, you were taught the prerequisites of breathwork, yes? What does a teaching certification have to do with your own progress?

[sub_human]

Sorcerer...

Well met. It seems (to me) U r asking the wrong people(?). When i find myself wondering/waivering.. i often find myself not focused, or breathing. It takes incredible perception to soon the body.

Start with everytime u have a unkown question, find some place to site (lotus style) and begine to clear ur mind and suck in the birds & bugs and footsteps around U.

Just breathe.. slow & steady. (Regulate & be the general). All strat starts with Ur breath & the wondering mind will be tamed.



Start there^..

Regiment Urself w/sumt'n like Dr Yang's The Eight Pieces of Brocade, etc (Or Dr Yang's "Understanding Qigong" video series 1~6) & notice Ur body will tell you what comes next. The inate wisdom of learning Urself is invaluable.... just breathe, just listen...


Also.. always have many taoist quotes around to wisdom the mind...

[yeniseri]

I f you are truly serious, you can check on this programme or anything similar in training and scope. Look at the depth of the curriculum!

http://www.medicalqigong.org/training_MQP.htm

[Sorcerer]

I have tried very very very often do qigong on my own and it simply doesnt work for me at the moment. i need a teacher. ideally a school. that is what i guess i am looking for. something serious, in depth, scientific, spiritual, informative etc. it really is hard to come by. what made me think this program is serious is that this person performed healing qigong on me and i felt completely different afterwards.

[joeblast]

healing requires gung

[Sorcerer]

otherwise it would just be Fu.

[wpgtaiji]

I have tried very very very often do qigong on my own and it simply doesnt work for me at the moment.

What doesn't work? What are you expecting?

Qigong methods are NOT equal! The vast majority of them simply work because they are more active than a purely sedentary life! In other words, you get the grey haired people moving, so they feel better! Sad but true!

What do you know about qigong? I ask because your statement is puzzling to me. The very best qigong for "seeing results" is a standing qigong. There are many methods to stand, and some have more benefit than others (due to very physical reasons). Like i said previous, if you are learning a qigong method and they have you moving your arms and legs in the air, find another. that said, Bruce Frantzis has a fairly good CORE qigong program in his Open the Gates book/video. It is a good solid one. I know Dr Yang has many qigongs (and that huge series), but i havent invested a lot of time with his methods in the recent past, so maybe there are others that can help with his material.

Good luck mate.

[joeblast]

good emphasis on core

[wpgtaiji]

Thanks joe! I mean it is a good base for which to jump off of. It doesnt work your Core muscles! LOL Not sure what you were meaning.

[joeblast]

when you actuate the hip, you are engaging the core - I had the psoas in mind

[wpgtaiji]

when you actuate the hip, you are engaging the core - I had the psoas in mind

That works too! Thanks!

[Dvivid]

Sorcerer - to address your initial question, I think that you're describing a common experience.

When I first started reading about qigong in the 90s, I became more and more confused. Without a reliable source of info and a follow-along program that you can understand clearly, qigong can be very unsatisfying.

I do recommend the Understanding Qigong DVD series, as a way to get all the basic theory needed to answer most questions. Then, you can follow along to a qigong exercise DVD and get much more out of it. Understanding the theory is crucial for your personal practice - and frankly, it is hard to find a qigong teacher in most communities who has this understanding. Without it, qigong may as well be calisthenics.

So, if you can't find a teacher with some experience nearby, a DVD is the next best thing, so you can make the most of your training time.