About "Introduction to Qigong Practicing"
1. Master the three elements of practicing Qigong: regulating the breath, regulating the body, and regulating the mind
To practice Qigong, you must first work hard on regulating the breath, regulating the body, and regulating the mind.
(1) Adjusting the mind means consciously controlling consciousness activities. This is the central link of Qigong exercise. The basic requirement is to have a pure mind and few desires, eliminate distracting thoughts, and achieve a state of tranquility. Difficulty entering tranquility is a major obstacle to practicing Qigong for the first time. Since entering tranquility is related to the effect of practice, beginners often seek tranquility eagerly, which in turn causes impatience. The more they practice, the more annoyed they become, making it more difficult to enter tranquility.
To enter tranquility is to change random thoughts into quiet thoughts through mindfulness, and then achieve no thoughts, no thoughts, tranquility, happiness, and leisurely contentment. Mindfulness is to focus on a certain part of the body or a certain activity, or to think about something beneficial to the body. The most commonly used method of mindfulness is to use breathing combined with mindfulness to guard the Dantian.
Dantian refers to the Qihai point one and a half inches below the navel. It is not a point or a surface, but a sphere. The combination of breathing and mind guarding the Dantian is called Qi penetrating the Dantian. The general method for Qi to pass through the Dantian is: perform abdominal breathing, that is, when inhaling, the diaphragm descends and the abdominal pressure increases, causing the lower abdomen to bulge outward, as if the air is inhaled through the lungs; when exhaling, the lower abdomen retracts, as if the air is exhaled from the lower abdomen through the lungs. .
(2) Breath control is to consciously control breathing. Its basic requirements are "fine, quiet, even and long", and gradually achieves silence. Entering and exiting a continuous, life-or-death situation.
When you first practice, it must be natural and not forced. Slowly go from sound to silence, from short to deep. It is best to practice the "Qi Penetration Dantian" method. As for the "Great Zhoutian" and "Little Zhoutian" luck methods, you can gradually learn them after you have a certain level of skill.
Luck refers to using the mind to guide the qi through deep and long breathing and paused breathing, open the meridians, and follow the flow of the qi to move around the sky. In ancient times, this was also called "breathing", "guiding qi", "moving qi", "luck", etc. If the luck attacks the affected area, treating oneself is called "moving qi"; if the luck goes out and sending qi to treat others, it is called "distributing qi".
(3) Adjusting the body means consciously controlling the posture and movements of the body. Adjusting the body is generally divided into "walking, standing, sitting, lying down and doing". These five situations must be carried out in conjunction with mind adjustment and breath adjustment. The general requirement for body adjustment is to loosen your clothes and take off your belt, be comfortable and natural, and be informal.
When walking, you must be straight and unshakable, pay attention to the road, breathe through the Dantian, exhale and lift the anus, and inhale to relax.
Stand with your feet parallel and shoulder-width apart, your knees slightly bent, your torso straight, your chest in your arms and your abdomen in, your arms half-raised forward, your elbows and wrists bent as if holding a ball, your eyes half-closed and staring at your nose. Upright, and then adjust the breath, keeping the Dantian, such as "three-circle stance
Sitting, there are two kinds of free style and cross-legged style
Free style, choose a chair of appropriate height, Sit on a stool or bed with your feet on the ground, legs shoulder-width apart, hands folded together in front of the lower abdomen, eyes half-open, looking at the tip of the nose, or hands together like a Buddha, half-opened eyes looking at the fingertips
Sitting cross-legged, there are single cross-legged, double cross-legged and natural cross-legged. Single cross-legged is to put one calf on top of the other; double cross-legged is to first put the right calf on top of the left calf, and then put the left calf. Lift it up and place it on your right calf, with the two calves crossed and the soles of the two feet facing upwards on the thighs; the natural cross-legged posture means that the two calves are naturally crossed into a figure-eight shape and the two feet are pressed under the thighs. The posture of the upper body is the same as that of the free style. Use soft cushions. When your legs are numb, you can do it while lying down.
It is suitable for those who are weak or have insomnia. It is better to do this exercise on the right side with the head slightly tilted. Move forward. The lower hand naturally bends the elbow and puts it in front of the pillow, with the palm facing upward. The upper hand naturally rests on the thigh, palm downward, or on the Dantian, with the palm of the hand pressing the leg in a naturally stretched position. Straight or slightly bent, bend the upper knee 120° and place it on top of the other leg.
Doing this has two meanings: first, it refers to adopting a reasonable and less fatigued posture according to the nature of the work during daily work. In conjunction with the intention to guard the Dantian and abdominal breathing, the spiritual essence is to practice Qigong with the intention to guard the Dantian at all times and everywhere; the second is the dynamic exercises of various schools such as Guiyin and Tai Chi. There are various postures and movements, and scholars should choose One, practice carefully. In short, adjusting the body means adjusting the body to meet the requirements of practicing posture and form.
2. Essentials of practicing Qigong
(1) Relaxation. Silence complements each other and is in harmony with nature
Song and tranquility are closely related. Relaxation of the whole body can promote tranquility, and relaxation of the whole body will inevitably occur after entering tranquility. Therefore, the two complement each other. On the one hand, relaxation. It is to relax the muscles of the whole body. This relaxation must be in a relaxed and unremitting state. It is easier to relax the whole body in the lying position, but after the posture is established, the whole body should be slightly shaken to achieve the comfort of standing and sitting. To maintain, there must be a certain amount of muscle tension, but it also needs to be relaxed to the maximum extent. Another aspect of relaxation is the relaxation of consciousness. First of all, it must be accompanied by the relaxation of the muscles of the whole body, so that the whole body has a comfortable and relaxed feeling. , that is, focusing on breathing or Dantian should not be too concentrated, to eliminate tension and achieve relaxation of mental consciousness. Quiet refers to being relatively quiet, breathing in and out silently, experiencing leisure and contentment, and emphasizing passage in consciousness. Keep your mind focused, eliminate distracting thoughts, and achieve tranquility.
In short, relaxation and tranquility are naturally the key to Qigong practice. If you master it well, you can get good results quickly. If you master it improperly, you will often go wrong
(2) Practice mind and Qi, and integrate mind and Qi]
The qi of Qigong mainly refers to the true qi (vital energy). At the beginning of Qi training, you must start with Lung Qi (breathing Qi). Lung Qi exercises require different breathing methods due to different exercises. Even so, no matter what the exercises are, most of them require breathing to be: "slow, even, thin, long, and slow." For those who are skilled in the practice, the number of breaths per minute can even reach two or three times, forming slow abdominal breathing. The exercise of exhalation and inhalation must be practiced gradually from shallow to deep, from fast to slow. It cannot be required to form a complete deep and long breath in a short time. When you first practice, you must use your thoughts to induce it. After practicing to a certain level, you can achieve natural and regular breathing. Practicing the mind: firstly, to eliminate distracting thoughts and achieve tranquility; secondly, to keep the mind in the Dantian, so as to bring about more profound changes in the entire body. It is very difficult for new Qigong practitioners to get rid of distracting thoughts quickly. They must practice for a certain period of time to gradually reduce distracting thoughts and achieve the requirements of tranquility
How to combine mind training and Qi training during the Qigong practice Combined? When you start to practice breathing, you should also focus on breathing to help you practice breathing as quickly as possible. Stay long. After even breathing is formed, pay attention to the rise and fall of the abdomen with the breathing. When the breathing exercise is very proficient, even if you don't pay attention to breathing, you can naturally reach the point where Qi penetrates the Dantian. At this time, just focus on guarding the Dantian. By practicing Qi and mind in this way, the two can be closely integrated to achieve the unity of mind and Qi, so as to make the Qi abundant and achieve healing and fitness.
(3) Emotional balance and comfort.
In Qigong treatment, we must emphasize emotional balance and a happy mood, so as to promote health, eliminate diseases, and feel comfortable and euphoric after each exercise.
(4) Take it step by step and don’t rush for success.
Don’t rush for success in the early stages of practice. The effects of practice will gradually appear as the practice time increases. Although the practice method is not very complicated, it requires a certain degree of proficiency and a certain amount of practice to achieve it.
(5) Training and nourishment should be closely combined with each other.
Practice and maintain at the same time, that is, both practicing and proper recuperation are given equal importance. Just practicing without paying attention to proper rest and recuperation will be an obstacle to overcoming the disease, so practice and recuperation must be closely integrated. Reasonable recuperation should include: proper rest, regular life, optimistic mood, moderate diet, moderate physical activity, etc. These contents should be paid attention to throughout the entire practice process and even throughout life
(6) Fixed the exercise method and the appropriate time for the exercise.
There are many exercises circulating in various places. Some exercises have been widely used in clinical practice and have good results; others are only practiced by individual people and have not yet been fully disclosed or used by very few people. It is still difficult to determine how effective they are. Practitioners should, under the guidance of a doctor, choose 1 to 2 suitable exercises based on their condition, physical condition, daily habits, etc., and perform exercises, which are easy to master and easy to obtain results
(7) Summary of experience , to avoid deviation.
Qigong therapy mainly requires patients to master the practice requirements and methods by themselves and continue to exercise. Most of the exercises are not smooth sailing, and serious deviations may occur. The most common reasons for this situation are eagerness for success, failure to proceed step by step, excessive breathing force, blind pursuit of depth and slowness, or too much intensity of mindfulness, or blind pursuit of certain feelings, resulting in poor breathing, chest tightness, and even shortness of breath. Then there will be breathing disorders, headache, dizziness, mental stress, etc. The formation of deviations often starts from subtle to obvious, from light to severe. When it starts to show up, correction is easier and takes less time. If the deviation has already been formed, it is more laborious to correct. Therefore, at the beginning of practicing Qigong, one must experience it deeply and carefully, sum up experience, find shortcomings, and correct them in time to avoid deviations.
3. Precautions for practicing Qigong
First of all, you must choose a suitable place to practice Qigong.
A quiet environment is especially important for beginners. When practicing outdoors, it is best to choose fresh air places such as woods, lawns, flowerbeds, etc.; when practicing indoors, air circulation should also be maintained. The light in the practice place should be dark, which is conducive to falling into tranquility quickly. However, whether indoors or outdoors, it is not advisable to let the wind blow directly on the body, especially the back of the neck, back and other parts.
Secondly, you must get rid of worries and be in a happy mood before doing the work.
Strong physical and mental activities should be stopped 20 minutes before practicing to ensure that the muscles throughout the body are relaxed and the mood is calm during the practice. This is also beneficial to adjusting breathing and keeping the mind calm. Before practicing, you should wear loose clothes and loose belts so that your muscles can relax and your breathing can be smooth. If you use the horizontal position, you should take off your outer clothes and lie down on the bed. Before practicing Qigong, you should also eliminate bowel and bladder.
Finally, pay attention to the number and time of practice
Beginners should practice once a day, and they can practice when they are most awake. The practice time is 15 to 30 minutes; those who are skilled in the practice can increase the practice time several times, extending it to 30 to 60 minutes each time. During the period of practicing, you should live a regular life, increase nutrition in your diet, and get rid of your addiction to tobacco and alcohol. At the same time, you should pay attention to avoid interference from the seven emotions and maintain emotional stability. After practicing, do not stand up in a hurry. You should first wipe your face with both hands and rub your eyes gently, then stand up slowly and move your limbs. However, it should be noted that it is not advisable to practice Qigong when you are hungry or after eating; you should stop practicing Qigong when you have fever, diarrhea, severe cold, or excessive physical fatigue.