Are there any kinds of Qigong that are dangerous?

[chessGMwannabe]

I was wondering if there have been any cases of people getting hurt from qigong. I've done a little bit, but I wanted to know if there's any danger in different kinds before I just go out trying stuff.
thanks

[Ish]

I've read that some types of Qigong are dangerous and you have to take certain medicines when you practice it. I have also heard that practicing two different types of qigong can be bad. I don't know that much about it or what types they are its just what i read somewere

[Repulsive Monkey]

in actual fact no single type of authentic Qi Gong is dangerous if it is practiced correctly. If it is authentic and has be lerant correctly then no Qi Gong will harm you, just the opposite. However there is the potential for every type of Qi Gong, theoretically, to harm you if if it done inncorrectly. It's just like handling a gun on its own it won't do anything when used it has fumction, but if inncorrectly used it can harm you. Qi Gong is a toll and is merely a means to an end. Once accomplishment is met it serves to further purpose, but all the while until accomplishment is met, one has to be dilligent in its application so as to benefit from it and not harm.

[ExitusDeorum]

Yes. QiGong has the 'potential' to harm you. But you would start to feel it's effects long before it does any serious balance. When you feel any ill effects, all you have to do is stop - the energy will rebalance itself within a matter of days.
Then you think about getting a teacher to train you properly... ;)
I don't know about cross-training in QiGing though... I've been asking around about that and some people say that it depends on the styles...

"Cry shamefully and let loose the turnips of war!"

[chessGMwannabe]

so it's basically ok to try stuff out then, because if I go wrong somewhere I should be able to feel the bad effects soon enough that I wouldn't do any serious damage. but from what i understand it may be counterproductive for me to practice different kinds of qigong together. I guess that sounds pretty sound, but I thought that teaching your body to do different stuff with chi might make me more flexible and give me better control. you guys seem to be saying that if I want to get into that, I should find a good teacher; which is probably good advice :)

[GLW]

Not really true.

Qi Gong affects your life energy. From Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), blockages in Qi and imbalances can cause many illnesses and disorders.

If you practice correctly but a bad Qi Gong method or one that is not suited to you, you can screw up the balance in your body, cause blockages, and these things may be noticed...or just like any number of illnesses (like come cancers for example), by the time you notice the problem, the damage has been done.

Then there are those who think that what they are feeling is progress when in reality it is the opposite.

There ARE Qi Gong methods that can be done that are virtually 100% safe. There are also many that require supervision from a good teacher.

Problem is, when you start out, you don't know many times what is good and what isn't or who is teaching correctly and who isn't.

90% of all of the books on Qi Gong are garbage and try to mystify it ...or violate basic TCM principles.

Seek a good teacher and be patient...patience is the first lesson anyway.

[PlasticSquirrel]

yes, there are some. most notibly, ones that aren't meant for you. what do i mean by that? well, say you are full of blockages, but you try to practice a high-level form that involves things like visualization. by opening some areas, and not others, or by bursting open your channels, you could seriously injure yourself, or cause more imbalance in your body! a real system will have a path of forms that you should should take.

wong kiew-kit warned of the dangers of practicing methods not meant for you at your level of practice in a response to a question about zhan zhuang.

"Zhan Zhuang is a powerful exercise, and is best done under supervision. Those who practice wrongly and still persist on, may vomit blood, have deformed bodily structure, or insidiously damaged internal organs. There are usually warning signs for wrong practice, such as discomfort, pain and nervousness."

-wong kiew-kit

notice, however, that if you were to practice zhan zhuang under a good teacher, you would not deviate.

a good rule to remember is in the beginning, don't use intention, and be relaxed and even with the breathing and form.

qigong generally doesn't use intensive stretching as seen in yoga. there are a few out there, though, such as taught by paulie zink.

[chessGMwannabe]

Thanks for clearing some of that up glw and plasticsquirrel. I was originally thinking that you might be able to do damage to yourself without noticing immediately when I did the first post. It definately makes sense that you could get to deep for your body's ability by trying too advanced forms; it'd be like trying to bench 250 lbs on your first try at weightlifting, or learning to drive in a semi on the freeway. If your body wasn't used to channeling chi in a certain way, it definately makes sense that it might be best to have someone there who knows what's going on so you don't hurt yourself by doing it wrong until you get the feel of it. plastic squirrel, I think I gave you the wrong impression. when I said that I thought that it might improve my flexibility by x-training with qigong, I wasn't talking about 'splits' flexibility. I was talking a little more around the lines of being able to use chi with control throughout all of my body, and minimize the effort that it took me to do it. thanks again everyone :)

[unclaimed effort]

If you do it right, you should have no problem.

[JerryLove]

There are problems if you do the qigong wrong.
There are problems if you combine the wrong activity with the wrong qigong (many don't mix well with sex, or alcohol, or at night).
There are problems if you work the wrong combinations of qigong.
There are problems of you overdo some types of qigong (too much time in a given period on it).
There are problems if your body is not yet suited to a qigong.

IWO, get a compitent instructor for most qigongs.

[bearpaw]

These are some basic rules we live by at our school:

Don't drink anything an hour before and after qiqong.

Don't eat anything an hour before and after qiqong.

Try to stay out of the cold after qiqong.

Try to stay away from loud noises after qiqong.


Some problems with this and our school:

1) Our school is on a major traffic thoughway. (loud noise)

2) Our school is across the street from a MAS (loud noise, Marine Air Station)

3) It can get really windy where I live (cold, on a mesa between the ocean and mountians)

[Ima Pseudonym]

give me a call at the your school. this is the toudai who answers the phone.

D

I love the smell of iron palm in the morning, it smells like.... victory

[dnc101]

I don't have access to Quigong instruction where I live, but I am sarting to try it for its health aspects. I bought a book-Quigong for Health and Martial Arts by Dr. Yang, Jwing-Ming- and have just started the external forms. This book seems to be pretty straight forward and his methods are well written and easy to follow. And Dr. Yang is, from what I have gathered, a very respected authority in this field. However, if there is the possibility of ill effects from this I want to use caution. If any of you have had first hand experience with "bad" Quigong, or if you have used Dr. Yangs methods, I would be interested in hearing from you. I'm going ahead slowly with my Quigong training, so any other specifics on what signs to watch for that I may be messing up would also be appreciated. Thanks.

[SevenStar]

"If you practice correctly but a bad Qi Gong method or one that is not suited to you, you can screw up the balance in your body, cause blockages, and these things may be noticed...or just like any number of illnesses (like come cancers for example), by the time you notice the problem, the damage has been done."

This being the case, how do you know if you are getting proper instruction?

"You ain't got enough calcium to have a bone to pick wit me,
like a Gracie, I'll choke a ***** out wit his own gi" - Rass Kass

[GLW]

"This being the case, how do you know if you are getting proper instruction?"

This is a tricky thing. Teaching yourself Qi Gong can be dangerous...

If you have health problems or special concerns, for example, heart problems, problems calming down that go beyond normal limitations, psychoactive drugs such as prozac, etc... you need to have a much more qualified teacher....preferably one who is extremely qualified in Chinese Medicine as well. This means someone who has a DEGREE from one of the major TCM colleges in China and NOT someone who is just a licensed acupunturist or knows herbs...such people can be dangerous.

Then, there needs to be a constant dialog between teacher and student. The student needs to be aware of what is going on and relaying this information to the teacher as accurately as possible. The teacher needs to be looking and listening to the student for telltale signs of problems.

For the student, the results of incorrect practice will not be evident for a long time. For a qualified teacher, there are many early warning signs of problems and then there are things that a student may say that indicate incorrect approaches to practice and incomplete understanding.

A good teacher then picks up on these signs and alters the students training accordingly.

A good teacher for Taijiquan can practice with the student. The student can then see how it is done. This also applies to external kung fu training.

For Qi Gong, it is next to impossible for the teacher to practice with the student. Correct practice involves getting to a state of no thought in most cases. If the teacher REALLY does this, the student ceases to be of concern. So, in Qi Gong, the teacher teaches, the student does...and then the teacher does on his/her own time.

So...to sum up... you have to have a close contact and dialog with a good Qi Gong teacher.