It is a Chinese exercise form, although its roots lie in ancient Indian yogic practices. Qigong is often practiced alongside the more well-known Chinese exercise Tai Chi Chuan.
Qigong exercises involve various breath control techniques, meditation and relaxation. It is similar to pranayama. While doing Qigong, the practitioner spends little energy, but at the end of a session there is profuse perspiration, little elevation in blood pressure, but increased levels of energy.
The set of Qigong exercises, if practised regularly, will provide the practitioner with a healthy body, immune to most common illnesses, peace of mind, a strong will and the energy to achieve whatever one sets out to do, says Christopher Fernandes of Sevangi, Mumbai, who has been trained in the field of traditional Chinese martial arts by the late Lama Sevang Migyuar Nobu.
What is Qi or Prana?
Qi is the energy or natural force, which fills the universe. The word Qi can represent the energy itself, and it can also be used to express the manner or state of the energy. It can be generally defined as any type of energy, which is able to demonstrate power and strength. This energy can be correlated to electricity, magnetism, heat or light.
Different types
Medical Qigong: used for health, healing, and illness prevention
Martial Qigong: specifically designed for martial artistes to build up strength, and a heavy conditioned body
Taoist Qigong: designed for building longevity, and reverse the ageing process
Buddhist Qigong: designed for mind expansion and extraordinary potential for spiritual development.
Benefits
* It provides the body with complete cardiovascular workout. It also tends to massage the internal organs, develops internal pressure of 14.7 psi (per square inch), stretches and tones the fascia muscles from the inside out, just by combining breathing with internal isometric exercise and visualisation.
* It forms a protective sheath around our delicate cellular and neural circuitry, like a surge protector that safeguards a computer from shorting out during a thunderstorm.
* Qigong is designed to fine tune our own electromagnetic field, more closely with those of the sun and the moon, stars and planets. This fine tuning helps balance and invigorate the nervous and immune system.
In the initial phase, it will:
Stimulate: It will relax the muscles and stimulate the circulation of the energy, working from head to toe, using a combination of self-massage, stretches and balance exercises with aided visualisation.
Detoxify: When the blood and Qi flow are stimulated, oxygen can easily reach the muscles, and stimulate the meridians -- increasing the circulation and removing all blockages in the pathway of the meridians, which will lead to total detoxification.
Nourish: Once total detoxification is completed, the body will be nourished for mind expansion and finally to connect the body with the energy of the universe and beyond.
How does Qigong help circulate the energy in the body?
The idea of Qigong is to fill the body with energy from the outer surface of the skin to deep within the marrow down to the cells. The energy is like a train the railway lines are the meridians, channels, pathways or nadis, and the stations are the acupuncture points or the marma points. The energy always moves through the meridians and in case if it is excess or depleted, it will be at the acupuncture point. If the energy moves in a smooth path, then one experiences a perfect state of health.
The Qi is collected at the three energy storage centres in the body. They are also called as dan or the cauldron lower dan tien (below the navel or the womb centre), the middle dan tien (solar plexus) and the upper dan tien (third eye). As the energy consolidates, it rises up through the top of the head through these dan tiens. These dan tiens also act as switches, which allow energy to be directed through the many channels (12 + 8).
As we all know magnetism of the earth runs between the North and the South poles, if we align with this energy, with the working of our body, then we can have maximum benefits. The Yin energy flows in front of the body and the Yang energy flows at the back of the body, and when the flow of Yin and Yang is united within the body, one can begin to achieve a greater harmony with the Yin and Yang of the universe called as the microcosmic orbit.
(Inputs by Christopher Fernandes)
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