Chi Kung – Page 3

The Write Chi

Recently I turned over a new leaf and my doona cover to get out of bed at 5.55am.

Yes, that’s a.m. not p.m.

Why?

Well, I’ve decided to finish my first draft of my screenplay and the early start is the only way I can achieve this.

The early start allows me to complete my 30 minute Chi Kung set, have breakfast and then do one of hour of writing before I start my paid job.

It also takes the pressure of trying to complete my 2-3 sessions of Chi Kung and Tai Chi throughout the day.

The Chi Kung set has been an enormous help for creative thinking and writing as it gets the chi to flow.

I think and feel better at that time of the morning and it also energises me at the same time.

It’s amazing what you can achieve when you practice the ‘write chi’.

Really Small Frame Tai Chi

By Chris Leave a Comment

Several years ago I travelled overseas by plane from Australia to Europe for a holiday.

Every now and again I did some Chi Kung exercises in my seat to stretch out, narrowly avoiding the flight attendant running over my toe or knocking my knee with the drinks trolley.

After several hours I needed to do some Tai Chi so I ventured to the back of the plane to practice and get the Chi to flow.

Well, it was an adventure because I had to manoeuvre my way through a fog of smoke that appeared from the back seats, just below the ‘no smoking’ sign. There was no point in telling the attendants as some of them were smoking as well.

I was probably better off practicing on the wing of the plane but it would have been a bit draughty so I decided to back myself against the wall and adopt a standing posture.

Embrace the tree posture didn’t work as I had passing traffic occassionaly bump into me. I was tempted to do so fajing but that would have been unsociable.

I settled for a standing posture with my arms to the side and visualised the movements from the form. I could feel the Chi flow again and eventually returned to my seat and made sure I tucked my long skinny legs in, to avoid the trolley menace.

I felt energised and was happy I was able to do my ‘really small frame Tai Chi’ in a confined space.

Is Chi Real?

By Chris 2 Comments

I’ve trained with Western doctors who believed in Chi.

And I’ve read about a Tai Chi master who doesn’t believe in Chi.

Is Chi real?

Well, I can’t prove it exist. And it doesn’t matter if Chi exists, technically anyway.

To me the concept of Chi is more valuable rather than proving its existence.

And the way to understand the concept of Chi is to reflect on the philosophy of Tai Chi and practice the movements.

When this is done over a period of time you will then be able to ‘feel’ the Chi ‘regardless of whether it exists or not’.

360 Degree Breathing

By Chris Leave a Comment

One of the Chi Kung techniques I use occassionally to energise my body and calm my mind is what I call ‘360 degree breathing’.

You can do this skill either lying down, sitting or standing.

Here’s how it works;

Take a deep breathe and imagine you are breathing in good Chi inside every cell of your body
Breathe out slowly and imagine you are breathing out negative Chi (toxins or negative thoughts or feelings)
Do at least 8 repetitions to start with and build to whatever is comfortable for you
relax your breathing – make it natural – don’t force it

A very simple technique that with practice will give you a quick way of feeling good and staying focused when you need to.

Inner Smile

By Chris Leave a Comment

The inner smile is an effective way of reducing tension in the body and the face.

I use a simplified version of the ‘inner smile’ technique as part of my training.

It can be done either sitting or standing.

Here’s how to to do it;

align your body correctly
breathe slowly and deeply
slightly raise the corners of your mouth to form a smile
guide the chi (energy) from the smile to any tense areas of the body or face
Feel the chi dissolve any tension

The benefits of the inner smile are;

in training – stops you from grimacing which can lead to tension and poor performance of your skills
in general – makes you feel good and sends out good chi to people you commincate with

So don’t forget, put a smile on your dial with your inner smile!

Source: Tai Chi tip #9