The Basic Principles of Qigong Exercise with energy’

‘Exercise with energy’ The term Qigong is a combination of two words. The 'Qi' element (sometimes spelt 'Chi', the Cantonese way, or 'Ki', the Japanese way) is usually translated as 'energy'. I think the best way to understand Qi is to look at how the term came about. In Chinese culture rice is very important; today, as in the past, it is still the main ingredient in every meal. When we cook rice we first put it in the pot, then we add water and heat the pot up. After a while you will see steam rising up out of the rice. When the ancient Chinese people first saw this, they called it Qi. Qi is therefore something you can see, something you can smell and something you can feel, but it has no shape and no form. We use the word Qi to describe anything that is related to feelings. For example the weather, which changes all the time and affects our emotions, we call 'sky-Qi'. The air, which we might smell and feel and which also affects our health, we call 'empty-Qi'. We say that people with good morals have 'bone-Qi'. And when you are tired, we say you have 'No spirit and no Qi'. If after a meal at a Chinese restaurant you want to tell them how good the food was, you can say, 'Very good wok-Qi!' Try it -the manager will be very pleased, and you may not have to pay! So the word Qi is used to describe anything relating to 'feeling' or 'energy'. This is why it is so difficult to explain. In the Dao De ling, Lao Zi wrote that Dao cannot be defined -each time you want to

explain it, it has a different meaning. In order to understand it, you need to experience it. Qi is the same: Qi is not just energy, it is more. If you accept electricity as the embodiment of energy for modern Western society (I call it external energy), you have to accept internal energy -Qi. Qi is the vital energy that maintains our lives; without it we will become tired and ill, and die. External, internal- the principle of Yin and Yang: the one cannot exist without the other to balance it. The 'gong' part in Qigong means work or exercise. When you go to your office or factory, this is 'gong'. Work with your mind or your strength in this sense is the same as exercise. So Qigong becomes 'exercise with your vital energy'. Some people call it 'Breathing Exercise', 'Longevity Method' or 'Internal Training', but all these names mean the same thing.