This energy can be absorbed from the outside, compressed, stored, and employed in different ways within the body. Some exercises are designed to manipulate chi already inside the body in specialized ways — to heal others, for example, or in the pursuit of enlightenment or in the martial arts.

Other exercises move chi through the many acupuncture channels to clear energy blockages. Promoting the free flow of chi to all internal tissues and organs fosters good health. As we will see, these exercises also have many other interesting effects. Chi Kung Styles There are many distinct styles of chi kung — more than 2,000 in China alone. Some chi kung styles are Buddhist and others are Taoist. One chi kung style is comprised largely of standing postures such as The Horse Stance. Practitioners perform the chi kung exercises from a stationary position with very few, if any, movements of the feet.

These stationary chi kung exercises were originally designed to suit the needs of large numbers of monks confined to close quarters in crowded monasteries, temples, and private, nonreligious centers. Such institutions were usually extremely strict in their daily regimen, and the inhabitants often did not have enough exercise to retain good health. Further, the monks’ diet was not always sufficient. For this reason, chi kung exercises, sometimes called temple exercises, were developed. These proved doubly useful when monks found themselves imprisoned, not an infrequent occurrence during different periods in Chinese history.

One of the most interesting and highly developed chi kung styles is that of tai chi chuan. Unlike the standing forms, this practice consists of a series of connected movements. Often thought of as a dance, tai chi chuan is actually a moving meditation in which all parts of the body, including the internal organs, are exercised and massaged. While beginners require a small room to practice in, those advanced in the discipline need only a few square feet. In addition to being a chi kung practice, tai chi chuan is also a highly effective martial art.

The Origins of Chi Kung Many chi kung practitioners believe it was a wandering monk who brought the revered art to China. In 475 a.d., Bodhidharma, also known as Da Mo, brought not only Buddhist chi kung but also kung fu and an early form of Zen Buddhism, known as Chan, to China from southern India. Buddhist origins of chi kung are generally traced to Da Mo, who in later life founded the famous Shaolin temple, located in East China on Mount Sung in Honan Province. Today it serves primarily as a tourist site for vacationers.

The origins of chi kung may also be found in Taoism, however. Other practitioners believe that a form of chi kung originated with Taoist monks many centuries before in China itself and that two distinct forms of chi kung exist today. Naturally, since two different religions are involved, both schools have distinct ritual traditions, ceremonial observances, and practices for the mind, body, and spirit.

Exactly how these practices differ would be the subject for a lengthy book. Still another closely allied group flourished in Tibet and became the Vajrayana Buddhists. This sect also developed its own special set of chi kung exercises. Each of these schools has many similarities not only in chi kung practice but also on key points of doctrine and philosophy, which clearly indicates at least some common founding principles. On the next page, learn the effects of the Chinese cultural revolution on the practice of chi kung.

re-posted from ‘How Stuff Works’

To Purchase this Tai Chi Instructional DVD
Click here: Short Form Tai Chi

]]> http://chikungsecrets.com/?feed=rss2&p=46 0 http://chikungsecrets.com/?p=31 http://chikungsecrets.com/?p=31#comments Fri, 28 Nov 2008 18:05:25 +0000 admin http://chikungsecrets.com/?p=31 Chi Kung Basics DVD – Preview
for Energy, Joy and Creativity

To purchase this DVD go to ChiKungBasics.com

Produced by Way of the Arrow Media  (A transcript is printed below)

People are more come to a level of self-help, and the Tao system is the one system, one of the system(s), that really give people to empowered to do.  It’s not just philosophy; you can help yourself and heal yourself, but it’s a fact.

So I want people to learn how to handle their emotional, (emotions), and transform them.  I would like the people to learn to heal themselves, and we want the people to, (learn), how to handle their own spiritual, (spirituality), because if you believe in God or you don’t believe in God, we have a spirit to deal with.  So, that is very important, because now we think that somebody have to handle my soul and spirit; if they don’t handle me, I go to hell.  But it’s not true.

So in the Tao, it say people can control your physical, (control you physically), but people cannot control your mind.  That why in America, the first thing they say, we have free speech, okay.  Free speech, because they discover nobody can control their mind.  And they say we have free belief.  Everybody can believe what they want, okay.  And so this is very important.

So, the Tao say people can control your physical, can lock you up, but cannot control your mind.  And the most important thing is the facts and the truth for million and million years, nobody can control your spirit.  If you know, you are free, but if people don’t know that, nobody can control their spirit, they become slave.  And that is the slave forever, okay.  And that’s what my mission, okay.

And one day I sitting there, I say, I working on the microcosmic, (orbit), and  I say, my god, this is great I really feel energy move.  How can I make more and more people make open the microcosmic in my life, in their life?  And I say if one day I have more and more people doing microcosmic or everybody doing microcosmic, you know, and I say that is amazing, my dream come true.  Why?  Because this is the true born again practice, okay.  So that is… Let people free.  Okay.  Let people free, okay.

But the universe is just like, the universe have law and order, and everybody feel free.  The moon spin around the earth; it’s a orbit.  It’s order and, law and order.  It’s continuous spinning around the earth; it’s law and order.  It spin by itself and happy and keep on spinning million and million years and keep on spinning.  The earth spin around the sun and billion and million years in constant orbit and we have the earth, every season; we have everything.  But we have no law and order if the earth want to move out a little bit more or move in a little bit more; we’re finished.  The sun have the law and order.  It take the order from the North Star yet it spinning in this orbit; it in a structure.  It spinning in an orbit in this inner structure.  So they are fixed structure, and they spin.  And the North Star spin around the five element star(s).  It’s fixed.  You must spin in this way; you can be free.  Like the earth spin around everything, every cell , 24-hour, rotating itself, free, spinning, okay.  But it follow(s) the orbit and structure.

If we have no structure we get chaos, just everything crazy, okay.  And right now we see that, that mean all the countries try to get law and order and people can walk around the street(s), okay.  In some places  there(‘s) no law and order, and you can’t even walk on the street.  You cannot do it because there(‘s) no law and order, and there is war and killings out there, okay.

And in the Taoism I learn from my master always say the force, the creator, the force, the creator, the primordial.  The Wu Chi.  So in the Tao say there is one force that govern’(s) the universe, and everybody are working with the same force.  So while the Tao practice we never quarrel with anybody, and when  I understand this, any system can come in and practicing, (practice), it.

And I know more and more people now taking the system apart and put it inside” this my system”, okay.  So, we are working with one force in the universe, but in a different way.  And I believe that the Taoism have the most practice to feel the force in the universe, okay.  The Chi Kung practice, everything, is so, so amazing that you can feel the force, but you don’t you have to worshiping, (worship), you don’t have to be demoting, (demeaned), because it don’t work  that way.  You have to work with the force.  We have to work with God.  Working with God; God within you.  Chi within you.

So I believe that if this system are spread out to the world, and more people understand this we can work with force directly.  You can connecting(connect) with the father  heaven direct.  And this is where Jesus come from.  You don’t need anybody, one or two people pray under my name, you can connect (to) father heaven.  You still need Jesus to pray under the name, but in the Tao say you don’t need to.  You go direct, connecting to the God; that’s it, okay.  And everybody can do that.  So that is the major thing that we want to do.

Just a quick note to let you know that the ‘Chi Kung Basics’ DVD has now been released!  We have a special introductory offer for the first 28 people who order this DVD – a free meditation CD called the ‘Inner Smile.’   There are 13 of these CD’s left so if you would like to receive one for free or give it as a gift to a friend then go on over to the Chi Kung Basics web site right away.

We’ll have more videos posted here soon. We just don’t want to overload you with too much ‘information’ so, return at your leisure, these videos are here to stay!

Look for an upcoming video interview with Master Mantak Chia as he speaks of his ‘Dream For Humanity’ and emotional responsibility.

Take care for now,

Jamee