Qigong

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marc108
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Joined: Wed Jan 18, 2012 10:10 pm

Qigong

Post by marc108 »

Does anyone here practice Qigong? I've been thinking about taking it up and was wondering if anyone could recommend specific teachers, books, etc?
"It's easy for us to connect with what's wrong with us... and not so easy to feel into, or to allow us, to connect with what's right and what's good in us."
daverupa
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Joined: Mon Jan 31, 2011 6:58 pm

Re: Qigong

Post by daverupa »

I recommend Yang, Jwing-Ming for a solid foundation; he's published prolific amounts on the topic, and it's all of rather high quality.

Keep your tongue up...

:tongue:
  • "And how is it, bhikkhus, that by protecting oneself one protects others? By the pursuit, development, and cultivation of the four establishments of mindfulness. It is in such a way that by protecting oneself one protects others.

    "And how is it, bhikkhus, that by protecting others one protects oneself? By patience, harmlessness, goodwill, and sympathy. It is in such a way that by protecting others one protects oneself.

- Sedaka Sutta [SN 47.19]
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reflection
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Re: Qigong

Post by reflection »

Thanks for asking, I've also started with Qigong recently.

This could be of interest:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yY6L5_5IZlc" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

With metta.
danieLion
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Joined: Wed May 25, 2011 4:49 am

Re: Qigong

Post by danieLion »

daverupa wrote:I recommend Yang, Jwing-Ming for a solid foundation; he's published prolific amounts on the topic, and it's all of rather high quality.

Keep your tongue up...

:tongue:
Hi marc108, daverupa,
I like Jing-Mings books too. Lots of diagrams, pictures, explanations, etc.... I also like Kenneth Cohen's The Way of Qigong: The Art and Science of Chinese Energy Healing. While it's more theory based than Jing-Mings works, it's still got a lot of great exercise advice too. Many acupuncturists are also trained in Qigong (this is where I get most of my instruction and do my fine tuning), so you might think about looking for one as Qigong teachers are kind of rare in most parts (but they do exist and if you find a good one, you're way ahead of the curve).

Are you interested in active Qigong, visualization, or both?

metta
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marc108
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Re: Qigong

Post by marc108 »

thank you all for the recs :)
danieLion wrote: Are you interested in active Qigong, visualization, or both?
whats the difference? I've practice Pranayama for some time, i'm interested in comparing it to the other Asian methods of energy work so I would like to know the real nitty gritty stuff of how, where, why etc.
"It's easy for us to connect with what's wrong with us... and not so easy to feel into, or to allow us, to connect with what's right and what's good in us."
danieLion
Posts: 1947
Joined: Wed May 25, 2011 4:49 am

Re: Qigong

Post by danieLion »

marc108 wrote:thank you all for the recs :)
danieLion wrote: Are you interested in active Qigong, visualization, or both?
whats the difference? I've practice Pranayama for some time, i'm interested in comparing it to the other Asian methods of energy work so I would like to know the real nitty gritty stuff of how, where, why etc.
Hi marc108,
Not an official authority, so don't take this as the Qigong gospel, but the difference basically boils down to movement (active) versus while still/without /(non-active). All Qigong, AKFAIK, involves at least breath visualization at the (lower) dantian. I practiced pranayama for several years when I was younger, but have not tried it with Qigong. The literature referenced above should help with the nitty gritty. If you're interested in details, I could tell you what I do specifically, but don't know of any other way to help you with the nit and grit. I think the good old fashioned trial and error method (or it's fancy version, the experimental method) are you're best bet in figuring out what's going to work for you.

In general I think Qigong is great for samatha, but I'm having trouble seeing if it as directly relevant to vipassana as, say, jhana practice is. I only mention this to allude to the fact that a lot of finding what works also depends on your purposes.

metta
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marc108
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Re: Qigong

Post by marc108 »

sure, i would like to hear specifics about your own practice
"It's easy for us to connect with what's wrong with us... and not so easy to feel into, or to allow us, to connect with what's right and what's good in us."
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