This is an introduction to Qi Gong as taught to me by my dear friend, laotzu. Qi Gong is a very powerful method for centering and increasing the flow of chi/lifeforce within you. It can be used for centering, healing self, others, and the world in which we live.

Here is the first meditation. If I can talk laotzu into teaching me more, I will add it to this page.

Here is the basic standing meditation called 'Hugging the Tree'...it is very good for building your internal energy and breaking up blockages in your body...stand in 'horse stance' - feet shoulder width apart, knees slightly bent, butt tucked in lightly...feel the bottom of your spine reaching towards the earth. It is good to place a little pressure on the outsides of your feet...creating a circular space between your knees...this is all about circles. Now raise your arms as if you are hugging a large tree...chest level...there should be the space about the size of a grapefruit between your hands..keep your fingers open and feel the energy connect between them...the area between your thumb and pointer finger should be circular. Your shoulders should be relaxed and slightly dropped. Your chin slightly tucked in...as if a golden thread is suspending your body from your crown...feel supported. Touch your tongue to the roof of your mouth, connecting your two major channels. Now try to relax into this stance as much as possible...at first it feels uncomfortable because your body is not used to correct posture...this will correct your alignment over time. Place your mind in your lower tan-tien (1 1/2 inches below belly button, 2 inches in...this is your center) and breathe in through your nose..into this center....feel it start to open, relax, and fill with Chi. Breathe out through your mouth...making a hot breath and a haaaaa sound...like the ocean waves breaking...don't force your breath...breathe naturally (my teacher sometimes had us force the breath, which speeds the process, but it not the best way to start)

now you are breathing in and out...eyes gently closed...your belly fills like a balloon on the inbreath, then contracts on the out...in your third eye area, 'see' a gentle white snow falling...silencing your thoughts...on each out breath, send your thoughts, emotional baggage, stagnant energy, down your legs into the earth...FEEL that connection with the earth...feel heavy, pulled downward...let is all go with the outbreath. Breathing in, after a bit, you can bring the chi/breath up to your heart, where it will be amplified and sent throughout your body on the outbreath...let your body shake...it is working out stagnation...feel the heat generated...feel the space outside your body, your 'wu chi'...your shield, fill will good energy. Send the chi with your mind to any part of you which feels tight and stuck...send it all into the earth....if you feel so heavy you need to fall down, let yourself fall..this will break up stagnation as well. Continue to work with this and you will find it easier and easier to hold this stance.....you will enter an alternate reality...when you arise from the meditation, be veeeery gentle...sloooowly open your eyes...just stand and breathe naturally before you move around. You may notice that all colors seem much brighter...you may have strange sweat (although this is really oil released from your pores..part of the cleansing) on your arms and face and legs....you may be shaking with energy...this is all good ;)



The following is the next lesson giving to me by laotzu. It is an extension of the previous excercise and very powerful..I am so blessed to have been given this gift. ;o)

I thought I'd continue the Qi Gong information today with further work to do within the 'Hugging a Tree' standing meditation...since this meditation is the foundation and framework for the Qi Gong I have learned and there is much to do within it. Once you have been standing for a while, and feel that your tan-tien (lower abdomen) is open, relaxed, and energized...you can begin to cleanse and strengthen your kidneys.

The kidneys are where fear is generated...if they are blocked or stagnant, fear will arise within you like a wind. Now place your mind gently on the area of your kidneys...breathe in deeply into your tan-tien and feel the energy flow into your kidneys, both simultaneously. As you exhale, feel them drain down your legs and into the Earth...do this for as long as feels comfortable. If you have much fear in your life, spend special attention on this cleansing.

...once you have cleansed the kidneys, return to your natural tan-tien breathing and picture in your minds-eye that you are a mountain. Your peak is silent and light...straining into the heavens...you are vast and heavy...your roots go so deeply into the earth that no power could move you...feel and become this mountain for a time...feel a gentle snow falling...cleansing your thoughts...just breathe and be....

...now we will enter what Taoists call the 'Microcosmic Orbit'...still standing in this meditation, as you breathe out through your mouth...feel your chi/breath rise up the back of your spine, following a channel all the way to your crown...at the peak of this breath, connect your toungue to the roof of your mouth just behind the teeth, and as you breathe in, feel this chi/breath descend through this connection point, down the throat...through the heart and back into it's original home at the lower tan-tien.

Sometimes it is helpful to lightly contract the perenium (root chakra) several times in order to help 'pump' the chi up your spine. This is one circuit of the Microcosmic Orbit...this praticular practice can be done anytime, anywhere, sitting or standing...when you're working or watching tv...if you activate this flow...clear the channels (called functional channel {up the back} and governing {down the front}) then this energy will begin to circulate on it's own with no conscious effort on your part. This is very beneficial because it tonifies all of your organs...feeds them with the energy they need to function well...removes stagnation from your body...and also helps to develop your higher centers of spiritual awareness. I think this is enough to work with for now....next time we can work with strenghening the heart center and the upper-tantien (3d eye) and learn to breathe through these areas...until then, breathe deep, keep centered, and be true to who you really are!