Do you have the right Qigong teacher?

Do you have the right Qigong teacher?

Where is the Qi moving? Do you not know where it should be moving? Have you not been taught this? Do you have the right Qigong teacher?

There is a huge misconception about Qigong, about what Qigong is. Unfortunately, most people who are practicing what they think is Qigong are actually practicing a physical exercise. The emphasis needs to be on the Qi.

Practising physically, with the slow rhythmic movements and the relaxation added to the deep breathing, the abdominal breathing, are beneficial to your health and your well-being. But it doesn’t make these exercises Qigong. When you are practicing at this level, you’re not doing Qigong. You are moving physically, not energetically, not internally.

Imagining that you’re moving Qi does not mean that you’re moving Qi. Imagining colours, or moving Qi, or stagnant Qi away from your heart, etc. doesn’t mean that you’re doing so. To practice Qigong you need to use all of the tools of Qigong. Using them efficiently and effectively.

The tools that we use and Qigong are the stances, the postures, the breathing, the vision, slight tensions, slight stretches, the Yi (the brain) and, finally, the Shen (That’s the consciousness).

All of these tools are used in active Qigong. That is where there is movement of the body to help guide the movement of the Qi. However, when practicing passive Qigong there is no physical movement and there are only two tools used. That is the Yi and the Shen.

Let’s have a look at some of these tools. The stances, the postures, the stretches, the breathing, the vision and any tensions are all governed by the brain. The brain controls all of these. The Yi guides all of these movements, all of these stretches, all of the positions. It also guides the Qi. By doing these exercises in this way, by using all of these tools, it helps the Yi, helps you as a practitioner to focus on what you’re doing. And start to move the Qi. Gradually, we can cut back the number of these tools. We can spend less time working with them and more time with the Yi alone.

The last of the tools is the Shen. This is our consciousness and we use the consciousness to be passively aware of the movement of the Qi. This is impossible if our body and our mind are noisy. That is why we should always start our Qigong journey by practicing active Qigong. By getting the stances and postures correct so that the body can become quiet. Then the mind can become quiet. Once we have attained good posture we can have a quiet body and a quiet mind. Then that whisper of the movement of the Qi can become much more apparent and, once we are aware of that movement, we can use that feedback to assist our guidance of it.

I’m often asked about why the same Qigong looks different between schools, between teachers, in the ways taught and where the emphasis is. There are a couple of reasons for this. The first reason, which is a valid reason, is that over the millennia the Masters have explored these Qigong and developed them further. They have discovered that these Qigong, these movements with a slightly different focus, can be used to work with different meridians. The other reason, which is not valid, is that the people teaching do not understand what they are teaching. They have got no idea about what’s moving, where it’s moving, why is moving, and what the effects are.

A True Qigong teacher explores

A classic example of this development as Masters (my Qigong teacher was a true Master) investigated different Qigong can be seen in the Silk Exercises that developed into the Ba Duan Jin and also the Ten Fundamental Treasures. There are four sets of Silk Exercises with the same names, or very similar names, to those used in the Ba Duan Jin and in the Ten Fundamental Treasures but each of the sets uses the Qi and a different way. It guides Qi in a different way, even though the exercises have similar names and even though the movements look similar. The external movements look similar, the internal are completely different. Developments such as this can also be seen in exercises such as the Change the Sinews exercise from the Ten Fundamental Treasures and from the Eight Exceptional Vessels. In the Ten Fundamental Treasures it is a Five Element exercise. In the Eight Exceptional Vessels it is working with the Extraordinary Meridians. Once again, externally, very, very similar and both with the same name. Internally they are completely different. This is what makes them Qigong. This is what turns faux Qigong into true Qigong.

If you wish to learn real Qigong, Qigong at its truest, you need to find a Qigong teacher who understands this. You need to find a teacher who you can ask questions about this and not be answered with waffle. A Qigong teacher should understand what meridians and points are being stimulated. Where the focus should be at any time in an exercise. Where you should be experiencing movement and any initial changes. Then, as you progress, any further changes in your Qi as you continue with to refine your skill.

As your skills and Qigong continue to develop. You will find that the focus that you once had, for things like Wuji stance, are no longer necessary. There is an awareness of Wuji and you will be alert to any changes, any flaws that occur. Rather than focusing on getting correct, it will be correct. You will immediately notice when that changes. In a similar fashion, the movements that you use, those slight tensions to draw your awareness to particular meridians or particular points become less and less necessary because you understand where those points are.  You understand those meridians. You understand and have experienced those feelings, those sensations. So the Yi guides the Qi. You will also find that you no longer need to focus on the breath to draw, or push, the Qi along meridians. Let’s get one thing clear here, that Qi is already in the meridian. It’s your awareness of it that’s being enhanced so that, with that awareness, you can enhance the quality of the Qi.

As your Qigong becomes more and more internal you require less and less physical stimulation. Now you can practice Passive Qigong. You can move the Qi along the same meridians, activating the same acupuncture points, but without the need to move the body physically. You have refined your skills to the level where the Yi and the Shen are all that are required. The great advantage here is that you can practice your Qigong while standing in a queue, sitting in a café, sitting in your car, etc. There is no longer than need to move the arms and the legs. Everything is done internally.

Does your current Qigong teacher have the answers?

Now you are practicing Qigong at a higher level. Here is my question to all of you. Pick any Qigong that you practice. Where is the Qi moving? Is that where it is supposed to be moving? Do you not know where it should be moving? Have you not been taught this? Do you have the right Qigong teacher?

Already practicing and interested in becoming a Qigong teacher?

At San Bao School we have a number of Qigong teacher training courses on offer . Historically, theses Qigong teacher training courses were held live, in person, here in Scotland. However, since Covid 19 prompted Des to add to his online courses by starting to teach (streamed) classes online it became apparent to him that some of the Qigong teacher training would also be possible online.

Keep an eye open for future courses: –

• Shibashi Instructor course – online Qigong teacher training.
• The Exceptional Vessels Instructor course – a mix of online Qigong teacher training with a live assessment.
• The Ba Duan Jin Instructor course – a mix of online Qigong teacher training with a choice of live, or online, assessment.