The Taoist foundations of QiGong
What is Ch’i Gung (QiGong)? “Ch’i” is the “vital energy” that courses through the blood and the organ systems. “Gung” is the traditional Chinese word for “work” or “activity.” “Ch’i Gung” is any disciplined activity that sustains the smooth and vigorous movement of this “vital life force” in the body. Such disciplined activity improves balance, calms the mind, relaxes the entire body, and develops proper breathing.
Internal Ch’i Gung refers to so-called “meditative” practices that involve any or all of the following four modes: sitting, standing, lying down or moving. The most complete Internal Ch’i Gung consists of those moving forms known as Tai Ch’i Chuan, Bak Gua, Hsing-Yi and Tuung Bei.
A fifth kind of Ch’i Gung is external in emphasis. External Ch’i Gung enables one to control and direct internal ch’i to either move, hurt or heal. Feng Shui, sometimes considered to be yet another kind of external Ch’i Gung, is the art of controlling and directing the ch’i of the environment outside of the body.
The foundations of QiGong are traceable to that ancient tradition known as Taoism. The consistent practitioner of Taoist disciplines like QiGong eventually develops an intuitive understanding of such fundamental concepts as Tao, the Law of Impermanence, Yin and Yang , the Correspondence of All Things, Suchness, and Wu Wei.
About Me
- Benjamin R. Tong
- I have been an educator for some 40+ years: middle schools, colleges and universities, graduate schools. Taught clinical psychology, Asian American Studies and English. In addition to maintaining a private practice in psychotherapy and consultation, I also sing, write, review movies and other writers' work, teach tai chi, hang out in stimulating caffes, run occasional health & wellness workshops and retreats, and travel. The recovery and relevance of classical Chinese culture and esoteric practices (Confucianism, Taoism, the Heroic Tradition) is an ongoing preoccupation.
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