Posted in Qigong by Dr. Bruce
Qigong is a funny word to Western ears, and many people have a hard time pronouncing it, but within it are some profound concepts.
In the previous way of spelling Chinese words in English, the word was spelled as two words, “Chi Kung.” This is closer to the actual pronunciation as we usually think about saying words. Phonetically, it sounds like “Chee Gong” regardless of how you spell it.
To have a deeper understanding of this idea, lets look at the Chinese characters for the word:
You can immediately see that it’s not one, but two characters. The top character means “qi” and the bottom one, “gong” (not the kind you hit to make a sound). Lets break it down further…
Qi
The character for qi looks somewhat complicated to those who don’t read Chinese, but it’s really simple. Like many such characters, it is made up of symbols (called ‘radicals’) that express the meaning of the word. Breaking it down further, we have:
This radical refers to steam. Keep in mind that this character was used long before steam power was harnessed in the West. It implies the idea of breath (as in steamy breath) as well activity and movement. By extension, it also means energy.
Let’s look at the other part of the character, which is:
This is the radical for rice. Rice, as you likely know, is a core staple in Oriental diets. Because of this it also represents life, fertility and abundance.
So putting this all together, the symbol for qi expresses the idea of an abundance of life energy. The word I like best for this is vitality.
What about the other character?
This character is “gong”, meaning to cultivate. It also refers to the idea of reward given for work done. In an agrarian culture such as ancient China, the meaning seems very direct – when you cultivate the fields well, you are rewarded with an abundant crop.
Putting it all together
You could summarize all of the above by saying that qigong is the practice of cultivating vitality and energy. And, in fact, the exercises do increase a person’s vital energy in addition to improving overall balance and enjoyment of life.
Does the word make more sense now?
I welcome your thoughts and input on any of these posts. If you want to reach me, the best way is by clicking this link to send me an email.
Be well,
Dr. Bruce
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Posted in Qigong by Dr. Bruce
Ever since Bruce Lee came on the scene, we in the West have had the opportunity to see a lot of martial arts movies and TV shows.
What does this have to do with qigong?
If you do a web search on the term qigong, you’ll run across tons of websites connecting it with martial arts. And it’s not surprising. After all, the ancient roots of the Oriental martial arts (kung fu, tai ji) and of qigong, reach deeply into the old temple system in China.
The monks living in these temples typically spent a great deal of time meditating and practicing exercises to increase their health and vitality. At the same time, the world they lived in was a dangerous place. They needed skills to insure they would survive when they went out into the world. Qigong helped them achieve an inner balance and martial arts helped insure their survival.
And since we were talking about stress in the last post, can you imagine a more stressful situation than one where you would need to call upon your martial arts skills? I can’t. It was (and still is) extremely useful to have mastery over your energy and inner state of mind in any sort of survival situation. Being able to direct your awareness, breathing, movement and focus under such circumstances gives you the maximum edge to survive.
And isn’t that what stress management is all about?
Be well,
Dr. Bruce
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Posted in Qigong by Dr. Bruce
People who know about qigong most commonly understand it as a way to balance energy in the body to improve health and vitality.
Certainly it’s good for that, but there is another worthwhile effect of doing these movements that not everyone talks about, namely its powerful ability to reduce the effects of stress.
There are a number of ways that these exercises help reduce stress. Here is a short list of them:
- The act of gentle, easy movement helps relax your body. Not only do muscles get exercise, but they get stretched as well.
- Every form of qigong involves deep, abdominal breathing. This sort of breathing triggers what is referred to as the ‘relaxation response,’ helping your whole body release tension.
- Most often stress results from spending too much time worrying over a problem or issue. By doing an activity that requires you to place your mind in the immediate moment and focus on other things (movement, breathing, posture, etc.), you get your mind off of your problems. Getting your mind off the things stressing you helps allow your more creative, problem-solving mental processes work on resolving the issue, and they’ll do so much more effectively than you could consciously.
Because stress is such a big factor in modern life, having the ability to manage it easily every day is a huge advantage. There are many qigong exercises that give you this ability in just a few minutes a day.
In future posts I’ll talk about some of the forms of qigong that are particularly good for stress reduction and also share some lesser-known facts about it’s history and evolution.
Stay tuned!
Be well,
Dr. Bruce
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Posted in Qigong by Dr. Bruce
How in the world can a set of movements combined with breathing and focus be like a piece of paper?
Here’s how I like to make the comparison. Each time you practice qigong, it’s like you’re adding a single piece of paper to a pile.
Obviously, by itself a single sheet of 20 pound bond weighs almost nothing. It won’t even fall straight down if you drop it! But pile up enough of them and you have an entire ream. A ream of paper will drop like a rock. And a whole case is too heavy for some people to lift.
Can you see now how after a while daily qigong practice carries substantial weight? Every day when you practice it’s like adding one more sheet to the pile. This way of practicing gives you maximum benefits not only for your physical health, but also for your mental and emotional well-being.
But hey, don’t take my word for it. Make the commitment to practice every day for 6 months and then decide. That would amount to about 180 times. At that point you’ll really know how qigong can help improve your life!
Be well,
Dr. Bruce
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Posted in Qigong by Dr. Bruce
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Posted in Qigong by Dr. Bruce
Thanks for your interest in the Secrets of Qigong community.
The site is just starting out, so please pardon anything that may be lacking. As it develops you’ll have first access to new features, etc.
I welcome any comments or suggestions you may have to improve your experience, and particularly anything you might be especially interested in seeing here.
I’m glad you’re here.
Dr. Bruce
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