Qi meditation (put down your pitchforks and torches)

[Ryu]

I want to know about Qi meditation. I don't want flame wars about blowing up chickens, levitating off the ground, death touches, etc. What constitutes legitimate Qi meditation? What do you do? What do you focus on? I've actually done a little in Japanese systems but never Chinese (considering the closest thing I've done to "kung fu" would be JKDC ;) ) I'm guessing its the same? Or no? Please tell me the basics, what you try to accomplish, what you feel if it truly works, etc.

Thanks.

Ryu

[GunnedDownAtrocity]

the first thing you do is sit in a quiet place and clear your mind of all thoughts. after sitting for a little while you start to follow your breath. you feel your exhales go on for miles and your inhale fill your entire body. you try to think nothing and only feel. you can't avoid all thought initially so you simply refuse to remain attached to any thought that does happen to enter your head. the thoughts that do come are labled as chickens and are to be blown up. after being able to prolong the intervals of no thought to several minutes you will begin to feel yourself levitating. this is no trick. you can run a hoolahoop over yourself if you have any doubts. at this level you have attained the ability to kill with a single touch or thought. you are now a ninja master.

[Marshdrifter]

Ok, I'm a little fuzzy on exactly what you're looking for as Qi
meditation, and I'm no expert, but here are my thoughts.

In CMA we usually have some form of qigong. Sometimes, the
regular empty hand sets are used as a qigong (e.g. SLT/SNT in
Wing Chun).

I have, however, heard it said that the best method for
developing Qi is meditating in the lotus position. When I was
taught to sit zazen, we learned to do it using hara breathing,
all the while focusing on counting the breath.

Other than that, I can't really say.

[Justa Man]

qi meditation? :confused: i know qi gung and meditation but not qi meditation. as far as meditation goes, gda said enough for starting out.

quiet place. get comfortable. close eyes. concentrate solely on breath. feel the inhale, feel the exhale. start with 5-10 minutes and work up to 20 minutes a day. you can go for an hour a day if you want to, but 20 minutes a day will give you good benefits. you will no doubt be sidetracked by everyday thoughts. when you realize you have become distracted from focusing on nothing but the breath, just let the thought go and go back to the breath.

giving your mind only one thing to focus on (in this case the breath), helps to quiet it from the barrage of things we think about and are faced with everyday. clarity, more energy, awareness....these are a few benefits that come to mind from doing it.

[fa_jing]

RYU - rather than rely on ignorant scrubs, why not pick up Dr. Yang Jwing-Ming's three part book series on Chi Kung? Then you can come back to us for questions, doubts, and personal anecdotes. It's gonna be hard to give you the low-down from scratch, in other words, if you have some knowledge already, then make your question more specific please.

-FJ

[fa_jing]

I also recommend books by Mantak Chia and the book "The Tao of Tai-chi chuan" by Jou, Tsing-Hwa

-FJ

[GunnedDownAtrocity]

as far as chigung goes i'm at the level where im just trying to keep a clear mind, focus on my connection to the earth and my center, and let everthing else happen on its own. when doing simple movements with the breath . .. if you are relaxed enough and doing the above mentioned .. . the hands will become warm and red and you will occasionally feel giddy and invincible. once in a while my belly will feel hot too, but this has only happened a couple times. felt like the sun was shining on my belly from the inside out. at this point i thought i was able to feel energy moving through my entire body, but the sensation was very feinght and i may have imagined it alltogether.

- ignorant scrub

[Sam Wiley]

Basic Qigong (http://www.taijiworld.com/Articles/reasons.htm)

[Sharky]

Don't fall asleep.

[GunnedDownAtrocity]

i didn't know george carlin did internal. huh.

[Justa Man]

ignorant scrub? i take offense to that darnit! why make the man read mad books, when calming the mind is as easy as gda and i just explained?! you wanna fill the man's next 2 months with reading books that are basically gonna say - find a quiet spot, sit comfortably, empty the thought, etc. and i don't care who wrote the books, anyone telling a beginner to concentrate on more than what was just explained is like giving a baby steak to eat.

i'm coming to chicago to burn your entire martial library! :mad:

[Sam Wiley]

LOL. I guess he does kind of look like Carlin.

[prana]

uh-oh, you knew that I would have invaded your post.

When I first got into Theravada, I asked my great grandmaster a question once. I explained to him that I have been practising Vipasanna and that my emphasis is on placing the attention on different parts of the body. He said two words, "Cheng-khi" (cleanliness) and "bhan" (slow).

It is a form of Qi-Gung. The way I see it, Qi-Gung is NOT about pushing airs or compressing the dan-tien with breath. IMO, holding the breath will however aid in the energies entering from the side channels, decrases mental torpor and noise. Also I have also noticed when practising that many people (myself included) took for granted, the mind is a wind-horse. Where the mind goes, the wind goes but like the horse, without a stable guide, it runs anywhere, everywhere, scattered and useless.

So you will find in Chi-Gung, you guide the winds (Qi, prana, whatever) with your minds intent. You also guide the mind with your physical (postural) intent. It all works together, until you are able to seperate the body and ind, at which case, you will laff at my post.

So really, if you meditate more, you will find, in fact, stilling your mind, is already a form of Chi-Gung. Bringing your mind inwards into your body and placing it noiselessly and peacefully is in fact a Qi-Gung. I am sure you will find many masters always utter the words "Chi-Gung is best done completely relaxed, and with no force". The only force if the force of the mind's intend.

....

[fa_jing]

I apologize for the "ignorant scrubs" remark. I meant collectively we might not be the best source of information. I got a lot of Qi-Gong info out of reading those books, much more than I have from any other source. Ryu has the right to look for info wherever he pleases.

-An ignorant and rude scrub.