Acupuncture and Related Therapies
QI GONG AND TAI CHI
Tai Chi is one form of Qi Gong (“energy exercise”). Many of the gentler
exercises can be done by almost everyone. The focus is on learning correct posture,
regulating the breath, and calming the mind. Qi Gong can restore vitality, store
physical energy, and massage internal organs. It can help to increase resistance to
disease and often leads to a longer life. The expected results of practicing
include improved digestion and increased metabolic activity. Skin, hair, and nail
conditions also improve. (From “Qigong for Health” by Masaru Takahashi and Stephen
Brown.)
"In the human body, Chi is the fundamental energy that sustains life and is present
in the vibrating biological processes of every single one of the millions and millions of
cells. It drives all the activities throughout the organism. This energy is not uniquely
human. Every being shares in and is a natural manifestation of the vast Chi or
fundamental energy of the universe. Just as modern science has demonstrated the
elegant unity and constant inter-relationship of all matter and energy in the
elemental structures and processes of our planet and the known cosmos, so too
has the cumulative Chinese understanding of Chi been based on minute observation
of a correspondingly delicate and interdependent web of energy patterns flowing
through and forming the basis of all that exists.
Most common ailments are related to tension. Zhan Zhuang standing
exercises relax both the nervous and muscular systems. You can rediscover and
release powerful energy that is dormant and blocked within you. Many western
exercises concentrate on developing physical strength. "Long before your muscles
are worked to their full capacity, the demand on your heart and particularly on
your lungs is so intense that sooner or later you become fatigued and must stop”.
The result is not only temporary exhaustion, but limited development of your muscle
power. The Zhan Zhuan exercises in this book will enable you to exert the full
capacity of your muscle networks over long periods without exhausting your lungs.
Your breathing will become even deeper and slower, generating a generous supply of
oxygen to your heart.” (From “The Way of Energy”, by Master Lam-Kam Chuen.)