Key Points to Remember
1. Mind - Qi - Body
When practicing Qi Gong we are moving the body in a very specific way that may feel counter intuitive at first. Generally in everyday life we move the body without much thought, we want to open a door and automatically our hand moves out and turns the handle. With Qi Gong our movement needs to be full of awareness. As an example one of my teachers in The UK once held out her hand and asked me to observe it. As I stood intensely watching she said “look my hand is dead” then a few seconds later she said “look my hand is alive”. I felt confused as no there was no external difference. She then explained that the second time the hand was full of awareness. Most of the time our bodies are dead, they are still walking around, eating, driving, watching TV but essentially we’d say they are dead. Once we become conscious of the body it becomes alive, this is because of the old Taoist saying “where the mind goes the Qi will follow” By bringing awareness into the body the Qi begins to physically nourish us.
The key to this process is eventually feeling the Qi, at this stage we can begin to move in a true Qi Gong way. To accomplish this the mind or awareness and the Qi should integrate, in basic terms we feel the Qi with our awareness. This is then used to move the body, hence the Taoist saying “The mind moves the Qi and the Qi moves the body” Overtime the feeling of this will increase until you literally feel the Qi move the body around. This process may take a little time but if we relax and consistently use awareness to move the body we will reach the gateway of experiencing true Qi Gong.
2. Tongue on the roof of the mouth
Throughout the Qi Gong form the tongue is placed on the roof of the mouth, to achieve this just say the letter N, this will naturally place the tongue in the correct position. The reason we do this is to connect the Du and Ren channels. The Du or governing vessel runs up the spine and the Ren of Conception vessel runs down the front of the body along the midline. During Qi Gong practice overtime the Qi will begin to flow up the Du channel and down the Ren channel creating an circle that is often referred to as the microcosmic orbit. However there is a gap in this circuit at the mouth. To ensure the Qi runs smoothly from one channel to the next the tongue is used as a bridge.
When we first begin our Qi Gong practice the circulation of Qi within these channels may not be present, however over time as more Qi is able to gather at the lower Dan Tian the microcosmic orbit will begin to open. At this point you may notice the spine getting a little warmer, you may feel as if somebody is tickling the top of the head and also saliva may build up in the mouth. These are all signs that the Qi is flowing, these sensations should not be grasped but merely noted and let go. Remember they are not the end result rather they are just a signpost on the way.