o
03-06-2001, 01:53 AM
In a previous post in this forum, someone warned against practicing qigong without a teacher. I definitely agree to this with intermediate and advanced qigong but I'm wondering if it's okay to do beginning qigong techniques without a teacher and instead just follow a good book. (I am relatively new to qigong and am a beginner. Yes, I intend to find a teacher later.) The book I have is "Qigong Empowerment" (by Liang and Wu). It outlines practices for five main qigong types: Medical, Daoist, Buddhist (Tantric), Emitting /Absorbing/Healing, and Wushu/martial arts (i.e. iron shirt). The authors say that you won't get hurt going through the book in order and practicing without rushing and at the beginning forming a solid foundation (for later work) of medical qigong (composed of: first relaxing, then qi permeating technique, then health maintenance with organ work).
Is it okay for me to do the Medical qigong without a teacher? What about the later parts in the book? Do I need a teacher for all qigong work? Is anything safe enough to practice alone? The techniques that I plan to do (from the Medical qigong section) are the following (in order):
For relaxing:
1) "Basic relaxation technique" (Fangsong Gong)
2) "Relaxing the body and calming the mind" (Song Jing Jianshen Gong)
To harmonize the mind, body, and qi:
3) "Qi permeating technique" (Guanqifa)
And for health maintenance:
4) Qigong of the lungs... the kidneys... liver... walking and lying down qigong... heart... stomach and spleen... and triple burner
Right now, I'm doing the first technique (Fangsong Gong) and it works well. In general, if I do qigong, are there any precautions I should take (i.e. eating, ignoring the lights/flashes, visions, hallucinations, breathing, general attachments, etc.)? What pitfalls should I avoid and how do I know if I'm practicing correctly (i.e. any signs such as health, energy and emotional statuses)? Furthermore, in specific, are there any "traps" I should beware of with the introduction techniques I listed above?
Also, I want to practice Zazen (Zen meditation). Are there any qigong techniques that are incompatible with Zazen? Is there a recommended timing if I want to do these together in one night? What about adding exercise (such as jogging) to the program? Is a certain order and timing of these activities most desirable? Can anyone come up with a good, complete, evening-by-evening program for me including intro qigong, Zazen, and possibly jogging? (Keep in mind, I need energy left over for my homework.)
I am willing to follow any good suggestions. Thanks very much for any advice or input to any of the above concerns of mine. Feel free to email me.
go2tom@hotmail.co
Is it okay for me to do the Medical qigong without a teacher? What about the later parts in the book? Do I need a teacher for all qigong work? Is anything safe enough to practice alone? The techniques that I plan to do (from the Medical qigong section) are the following (in order):
For relaxing:
1) "Basic relaxation technique" (Fangsong Gong)
2) "Relaxing the body and calming the mind" (Song Jing Jianshen Gong)
To harmonize the mind, body, and qi:
3) "Qi permeating technique" (Guanqifa)
And for health maintenance:
4) Qigong of the lungs... the kidneys... liver... walking and lying down qigong... heart... stomach and spleen... and triple burner
Right now, I'm doing the first technique (Fangsong Gong) and it works well. In general, if I do qigong, are there any precautions I should take (i.e. eating, ignoring the lights/flashes, visions, hallucinations, breathing, general attachments, etc.)? What pitfalls should I avoid and how do I know if I'm practicing correctly (i.e. any signs such as health, energy and emotional statuses)? Furthermore, in specific, are there any "traps" I should beware of with the introduction techniques I listed above?
Also, I want to practice Zazen (Zen meditation). Are there any qigong techniques that are incompatible with Zazen? Is there a recommended timing if I want to do these together in one night? What about adding exercise (such as jogging) to the program? Is a certain order and timing of these activities most desirable? Can anyone come up with a good, complete, evening-by-evening program for me including intro qigong, Zazen, and possibly jogging? (Keep in mind, I need energy left over for my homework.)
I am willing to follow any good suggestions. Thanks very much for any advice or input to any of the above concerns of mine. Feel free to email me.
go2tom@hotmail.co