Tao Articles

Introduction (Origins and History)

Qigong (or “chi kung”, pronounced chee kung) literally means “skill in managing the Breath of Life”. It’s an ancient healing art utilizing meditation, movement exercises, self-massage, and special healing techniques to regulate internal functions of the human body. Qigong is a Branche of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) along with acupuncture & moxibustion, herbology, and tuina (massage). Its practice can promote, preserve, circulate, balance and store Qi (or”chi”, vital energy) within the body to achieve health and longevity.

Archeological finds in China depict Qigong movements at least three thousand years ago, and some believe it goes back 8,000. years. The 3500 year old Internal Medicine Classic refers to “ancient ones” who understood Qi thousands of years earlier. Other old texts suggest Qigong is the “grandfather” of basic theories of Chinese medicine and other healing modalities in Asia that employ the concepts of Qi and its circular pulsation of Yin and Yang in the body’s meridians. (Examples: ki is the Japanese word for Qi, Do is the word for Tao: Ai-ki-do, Rei-ki, Jin Shin-do are all derivative schools.)

The major schools of Qigong are Taoist, Buddhist, and Confucian. The three major types are martial, medical, and spiritual, with Taoism being famous for its medical styles. Although there are literally hundreds, if not thousands, of different styles of Qigong, most have the common purpose of relaxing and strengthening the body, improving mental capacity, nurturing innate potential, promoting longevity, and preventing or treating disease.

For these reasons, Qigong is called the “Chinese Miracle Exercise.” The better known Tai Chi Chuan is actually a series of short qigong movements strung together to create a longer “form”. An estimated 100 million people around the world today practice Qigong on a daily basis for its many benefits, making it possibly the world’s most popular health exercise.

Mechanism of Action According To Its Own Theory

What is Qi? It is the Life Force (bio-force, or matrix of primal energy) that underlies all existence, from subatomic particles to galaxies to empty space itself. Within humans it is the very substance of our aliveness that pulsates at varying rates within our vital organs and cells. Different qualities of qi define and regulate different biological functions, just as a stem cell differentiates into specialized functions.

Qi is NOT mechanical energy, it is the intelligent mind substance that crystallizes into our thoughts, feelings, sensations, desires, and cells. It’s the motive force of DNA replication and immune system function. Qi is the functional level of the body’s innate intelligence.

Qigong shares the same philosophical foundation as Traditional Chinese Medicine (which is actually modern) with its theories of Qi and Blood, Yin/Yang, Meridians & Zang-Fu Organs, Five Elements, and the pathogenesis of disease. It also embodies the older Classical Chinese Medicine which focuses on the alchemical transformations between Shen (mind), Qi (energy), and Jing (body essence) and the shamanic concept of the Five Jing Shen (“vital organ souls”) that govern one’s health. Beyond the overlap of theory, the methods of Qigong differ from those of acupuncture, herbology, and massage.

When Qi becomes deficient or excessive, stagnant or blocked in different parts of the body, or unable to ward off pathogenic factors, a pattern of imbalance is set up that can lead to disease. Imbalances in Qi can occur as a result of improper diet, over strain, stress, lack of physical exercise, traumatic injury, toxins, environmental factors (wind, cold, summer heat, dampness, dryness), or the seven emotions (anger, worry, sadness, grief, fear, fright, joy). When the body?s natural equilibrium is overcome by any of these factors, disease can occur.

One type of qigong therapy employs “external qi emission”.
The qigong healer may tap into either his personal or universal energy which is then focused and radiated into the patient’s body lying on a table or while sitting. This alters the energetic matrix of the patient’s meridians, and causes their physical body to be regenerated. The patient may feel a gentle warmth or tingling begin to flow in different parts of the body. Depending on the skill of the healer, it can be used with great success on anything from mild headache to broken bones to sexual dysfunction as well as chronic illnesses such as cancer and aids. Some healers can work at a distance, even hundreds of miles away.

The second type is for a patient to self-practice qigong. The patient is taught how to do qigong movements and meditations that will benefit their particular condition. Some are specifically designed for different illnesses, i.e. asthma, a special anti-cancer walk or for joint disease, and others are meant to balance the qi of summer, winter, or the heart or lung meridian, etc. All are easily performed even by the elderly or by people in a weak condition. The patient usually feels improvement immediately and a general sense of well-being.

The powerful Qi meditation methods known as “neigong” create “internal qi movements” using the mind to flow qi in the meridians. Most famous is the “microcosmic orbit”, which circulates qi up the spine and down the front of the body. Others might use sub-vocal sound frequencies focused on the vital organs (the “six healing sounds”), or by evoking postive feeling states (the “inner smile”). There is even a sexual qigong for redirecting sexual qi to alleviate impotence, PMS, and stimulate the production of hormonal pre-cursors in the bone marrow.

The self-practice approach requires self-discipline on the part of the patient, but because the patient is taught how to take responsibility for their own healing it generally produces the most effective and lasting results. Once the patient learns to generate “qi” within themselves, the results are not limited to self-healing. You may continue to practice the qigong to achieve ever higher levels of wellness and spiritual awareness. Qigong is so simple yet powerful that many healers use qigong to repair themselves from “healer burnout”.

Biologic Mechanism of Action

The physiological effects of Qigong have been extensively scientifically studied in the past twenty years. The Computerized Qigong Database (Qigong Institute) has over 1300 studies. Qigong has been shown to decrease blood pressure, decrease oxygen consumption, increase respiratory efficiency, improve cardiovacular functioning, alter and integrate brain wave patterns, decrease stress hormone levels, and improve cellular and humoral immunity .
These changes are characteristic of effects on central and autonomic nervous systems, hormones, and neurotransmitters. The overall relaxation response is believed to play a significant role in the mitigation of the devastating effects of stress, and the prevention and treatment of illness.

There are seven aspects of emitted qi that have been quantified scientifically. Qi emission resulted in significant changes in infrasound, electromagnetic, static electricity, infrared radiation, gamma rays, particle and wave flows , organic ion flows, and light. Most dramatic were human infrasonic frequencies that leaped from 60 MHz to 400,000. MHz during qi emission.

In experiments on externally emitted qi from Qigong masters on various biological substrates and chemical compounds, emitted Qi was found to affect DNA
synthesis and structure, protein synthesis, artificial cell membranes, chemical reactions, and polarized light beams. In similar experiments involving long-distance Qi emission and its effects on molecular structures, evidence was found to suggest the existence of such a phenomenon.

Research into emitted Qi is still in its infancy, but it is rapidly expanding our knowledge of human biomagnetic energy. Study of emitted Qi on biological systems has the potential to unsettle the foundation of modern science and thinking. Qigong does not appear to behave entirely according to the laws of linear physics, but rather to the advanced concepts of quantum and chaos theories.

Demographics

Qigong exercises and meditations are practiced on a daily basis by an estimated 100 million people in China and in growing numbers throughtout the world. The profile of those utilizing Qi healing ouside of China is not well known. In the authors’ experience, the typical profile of a client seeking Qi healing is: woman, professional, higher education, between age of 30 and 50.

Qigong teachers and self-practitioners are now relatively easy to find in North America, especially in large cities with Asian communities. Contact national Qigong associations, Qigong (Chi Kung) or Tai Chi Schools, acupuncture schools, Chinese associations, herbal pharmacies, health food and martial arts stores, alternative health publications.

Forms of Therapy

internal (self-practice) and external (qi emission) qigong are the two broad divisions.

Internal Qigong consists of meditation and movement exercises which are practiced by individuals to regulate their own Qi. External Qigong is performed by a trained Qigong practitioner to detect and correct imbalances in the circulation of Qi in another person.

Indications and Reasons for Referral

Most older children and adults can learn to practice simple Qigong to increase their sense of well being, decrease stress, improve health, prevent illness, and especially to treat chronic and difficult conditions. Qigong is a valuable adjunct to Western medicine in that it supports a pro-active, preventative approach to health.

Qigong therapy alone is not appropriate for acute or emergency situations unless the Qigong therapist is
highly skilled and experienced.

Common reasons for referring someone to Qigong instruction or therapy:

• Management of chronic illness
• Wellness promotion/preventative medicine
• Stress management
• Inability of Western medicine to clearly diagnose an illness or condition i.e. strange or bizarre symptoms that don?t conform to any known Western pattern of disease.
• Patient requests ?holistic or natural? treatment options
• Unacceptable risk (to patient or physician) of proposed medical interventions
• Terminal illness: palliative or therapeutic stages

Research Base:

Most of the research on Qigong in the past 30 years are in abstracts in proceedings from international scientific meetings or published in Chinese. Many are now available through the Qigong Institute research database.

Evidence Based

Several studies suggest Qigong can reduce both systolic and diastolic high blood pressure, decrease the amount of medication required to stabilize hypertension. It reduces excessive responses to stress and improves the function of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis.

In an impressive twenty-two year controlled study of 244 hypertensive patients, Qigong practice was shown to decrease overall mortality (19.3% Qigong vs. 41.7% controls), decrease the incidence (18 % Qigong vs. 41 % control) and mortality for stroke (13.9 % Qigong vs. 24.7 % controls), improve control of systolic and diastolic blood pressure, and help reduce antihypertensive medication dosages (47.7 % of the Qigong group in contrast with an increased dosage requirement in 30.85 % of the control group). Qigong also helps offset cardiovascular lesions such as progressive retinopathy and abnormal ECG findings.

Studies suggest Qigong affects hormonal balance, decreasing estradiol levels in hypertensive men and increasing estradiol and testosterone levels in post-menopausal women. It improves left ventricular function, increases cardiac output, and decreases peripheral vascular resistance in patients with essential hypertension and coronary heart disease.

Hemodialysis patients reported subjective improvements in appetite, increased frequency of bowel movements, increase in general well-being and physical strength, improved sexual activity, and sleep quality.

Basic Science

The existence and measurement of Qi has been the object of many studies. Seto et al. measured an extraordinarily large magnetic field (10-3 gauss) emanating from the palms of three individuals emitting Qi. This is one thousand times stronger than the known, naturally occurring human bio-magnetic field (10-6 gauss). The frequency of this unusual magnetic wave was 4 to 10 Hz (29).

Chien et al. documented the effects of emitted Qi on human fibroblast cell growth, DNA synthesis, protein synthesis and boar sperm respiration.

Studies suggest several possible mechanisms for the physiological effects of Qigong. Emitted Qi is able to affect RNA and DNA UV absorption , change artificial phospholipid membranes , and alter molecular compositions of non-living substances similar to those found in the body. Similar results at long distances defy our current understanding of physical laws.

The effects of Qigong on the nervous system have been well studied. The Qigong state is different from the waking state, resting with eyes closed, drowsiness, sleep, or any state in between. EEG studies show slowing of alpha peak frequency and increase in alpha-1 (8-10 Hz) components in the anterior-frontal regions (7, 12) .

Qigong meditation with active abdominal breathing is a method common to many schools. In one study, this was found to improve ventilatory efficiency for O2 and CO2 by about 20%.

Risk and Safety

Qigong enjoys an enviable and remarkable safety profile, but is not without possible side effects. Side effects are infrequent and are usually not due to the techniques themselves, but rather to incorrect practice. Patients with acute infections should avoid vigorous types of qigong which may circulate the infected blood. Some White Crane styles with rapid fluttering of limbs have been reported to overstimulate frail individuals, causing nervous breakdown.

Qigong “deviation syndrome” — dizziness, headache, nausea, palpitation, feeling hot or cold, dissociative feeling — is easily corrected by the practitioner with relaxation and correct mind set, body posture, or breathing. Qigong induced psychosis has been described in rare cases with auditory hallucinations and delusions. This is usually self-limited and resolves soon after stopping Qigong. When this fails, an experienced Qigong practitioner or master can help.

Efficacy

The percentage of patients who respond to Qigong vary according to the level of experience and skill of the practitioner. Common estimates of benefits run from 80 to 90 %. With greater length of practice and experience, the benefits appear to increase.

Efficacy is enhanced if people fully commit to practice on a daily basis. In a study of hypertensive patients, the overall mortality rate of people who practiced>3/4 of the timewas 11.2 % compared with 29.3 % in the inconsistent group.

Future Research Opportunities and Priorities

Further research will likely be directed toward demonstrating effectiveness rather than
understanding why and how Qigong works.

Office Applications

Qigong can infuse Qi into everything that acupuncture needles can, and reach even deeper into the mind-body relationship. This makes it a premier treatment choice for most chronic conditions:

Hypertension: benefits include improved blood pressure control (systolic and diastolic), decreased medication use, decreased mortality, decreased incidence and mortality of stroke, offset of the progression of cardiovascular lesions and retinopathy .

Asthma: disorders which are affected by emotional components or stress are very amenable to Qigong,which improves respiratory efficiency.

Allergies: Studies show Qigong can affect the immune system and stabilize the effects of stress and emotions.

Stress and stress-related disorders: (e.g. fatigue, tension headaches, poor concentration, difficulty sleeping, problems with appetite, vague aches and pains, etc.) Sitting and moving Qigong are excellent tools to mitigate the devastating effects of stress on the mind, body and spirit.

Cancer: with experimental data about the effects of Qi on DNA, protein synthesis , chemical reactions, cell growth, the immune system, emotional well-being, and improved
quality of life, Qigong should be an integral part of all
programs dealing with cancer. Many studies have been presented at scientific meetings about the beneficial effects of Qigong on cancer cells and tumors.

AIDS: Same reasons as for cancer.

Gastro-intestinal: Irritable bowel, peptic ulcer disease, poor appetite, constipation, hemorrhoids, etc.
The effects of Qigong on the functional aspects of digestion are well recognized by research.

Chronic fatigue/fibromyalgia: These syndromes can be frustrating to treat with Western medicine. Qigong can help these patients rebuild their stores of Qi and balance their energy circulation.

Diabetes: There is evidence that Qigong can alter hormonal levels in the body. Specific Qigong techniques exist for diabetes mellitus.

Arthritis: Qigong is often used for arthritis. It appears to benefit rheumatoid as well as osteoarthritis. The exercises are gentle and generally easy to learn.

Musculoskeletal pains and sports injuries: Acute or chronic musculoskeletal injuries. Best used under the guidance of a trained Qigong practitioner to avoid further injury.

Low energy states: If Western medical investigations reveal no clear cause for fatigue or low energy states, it is likely due to Qi deficiency.

Hepatitis: Anecdotal reports of benefits. Some schools have specific Qigong techniques for hepatitis/liver problems.

Practical Applications

Most Qigong schools or instructors in the United States teach Qigong self-practice, which include meditation and/or gentle, movement exercises. For patients who practical methods to promote well being, deal with stress, ?recharge their batteries?, balance their mind-body-spirit, or handle functional complaints or disorders, Qigong is a great tool.

As for Qigong therapy (external Qi emission), most physician initiated referrals (author?s personal practice) tend to be for conditions that do not respond to standard medical treatment, for strange symptoms that do not fit into the Western model, or because of requests from patients for more ?natural or holistic? approaches. A Qigong practitioner should be used as any other consultant when a physician needs a fresh look from a different theoretical healing model, and his/her patient is open to it.

Drug-Like Information

Qigong works very well with Western medicine and does not interfere with medications. Numerous studies in China show patients on chemotherapy and radiation recover faster and survive longer when qigong is practiced.

Self-Help vs. Professional

Basic Qigong meditation or movement exercises can be learned through books or videos, but it is preferrable to learn from a trained instructor. External Qi healing requires a therapist with experience.

Visiting a Professional

If a patient is passively receiving “qi” from the therapist, the key requirement is that they simply relax, keep an open receptive attitude, and do not interfere with the process. Qigong therapists will ask the client some questions to determine what is going on and then go on to their form of assessment and treatment. This varies significantly from tradition to tradition. Clients remain clothed during the session, and may be sitting or lying down.

The healer may read the pulses on the wrist or neck, to diagnose the condition of all the meridians and internal organs. They will look at the appearance and demeanor of the patient. The healer may be able to feel inside their own body the exact problem in the patient’s body. The healer can do this by resonating the qi in his body like a tuning fork that is ringing at the same frequency as the patient. The healer often scans for Qi imbalances by passing their hands over different meridians, points, or vital organs at a distance of 3 to 12 inches from the body. They may or may not touch the body during treatment.

Some healers may utter certain sounds to vibrate the internal organs or expel the “sick” or “perverse” qi that is causing the illness or psychosomatic symptoms. Some may stamp their foot to activate earth chi or move their hands over the client’s body to stimulate or sedate the flow of qi.

Other healers utilize “spontaneous” qigong. They emit a certain frequency of qi that helps activate the qi of the patient to begin moving. The patient’s body, usually in a relaxed standing position with eyes closed, may begin to undulate or begin to dance or sing, rhythmically releasing physical, mental, or emotional tension that has been locked in the body for years. This is not hypnotic suggestion, as the client may choose to stop the releasing movement at any time.

Group lessons may be given in an office, school, home, or e park, or customized for a specific condition privately. Some Qigong movements use the walking, sitting, or lying positions, but most are performed standing. All share the same underlying principles. The visible physical movements of the arms and waist are usually very gentle and circular in nature, and are often accompanied by rhythmic breathing methods and subtle shifts in body weight between the left and right foot or between the toe and heel.

Most clients report a wonderful sense of relaxation, warmth, and lightness after a session. Chronic onditions, severe or life threatening illness require more work. The interval between visits is usually lengthened as Qi imbalances improve and the system remains balanced.

Many people experience significant changes after one session. Clients with significant challenges may feel some kind of shift in their symptoms or improvement in their quality of life within 10 visits. Others may take months or years to heal. It may depend on whether they practice at home or make lifestyle changes to support their Qi cultivation process.

As with any other healing modality, Qigong may not work all the time. It is not meant as a ?quick fix?. However, it can lead to long-term healing, greater insight, self-discovery, and improvement in quality of life.

Credentialing and Training

Currently there is no official credentialing or licensing of Qigong instructors in the USA, or guideline for what is required to be called a Master or Qigong therapist. There is a National Qigong (Chi Kung) Association ? USA working to establish reccommended minimum curriculum, hours of training and ethical guidelines for both general qigong and medical qigong therapy.

Curriculum is difficult because schools have different roots and the mastery of Qigong is a lifetime process. Currently each school has its own internal regulations and credentials. Some people train in Qigong schools in China and receive official credentials. So it’s not always easy to determine the quality, level, and experience of a Qigong practitioner.

Many qigong teachers in the west are only skilled in martial arts and not as Qi therapists. They often use Qigong as warmups for Tai Chi, and many of the same health benefits will accrue. But if Qi training is done mostly with the intention to fight, the health results may not be the same if the Qi is tied up in anger or defensive boundary setting.

One difficulty of credentialing Qigong is that in many schools there is a spiritual aspect to learning Qigong. Many practitioners go through long apprenticeship periods with masters to learn advanced techniques and well-guarded secrets. The degree of spiritual development of a student or practitioner is difficult to measure using written and laboratory-like practical tests. To study only the intellectual theory of Qigong would be to separate mind, body, and spirit, and miss the essence of this art.

What to Look For in a Provider

Look for someone who practices and teaches full-time, and who has many years of experience. Ask for references, the names and phone numbers of their teacher(s), or check their school to confirm their training. How good is their personal health?

Beware of those who make exaggerated claims of vast experience, incredible ability to cure everything, being the only lineage holder, or tries to impress you with circus tricks, etc. Look for someone with a strong, moral character who appears calm, caring, warm, and compassionate. Healing Qigong is practiced from the heart for the benefit of all beings.

Barriers and Key Issues

There is a wide theoretical gap between the healing models of Qigong and Western medicine. The apparently contradictory paradigms may be reaon for integrating them. Some problems are best addressed with Western medicine, some with Chinese medicine, and others with both. In China, many hospitals have qigong departments working along side western trained doctors.

The concept of Qi, vital energy, appears to be a large stumbling block. Energy medicine incorporates the concepts of mind, body and spirit into a whole inseparable from the Universe we live in. It incorporates the meaning of life and death, and champions quality of life through natural connectedness. Its healing power is experiential rather than purely intellectual or mechanical. To overcome this barrier, we need to accept the importance of personal experience in our daily lives. This requires openness, suspension of judgment, and expansion of our field of vision to include different systems of science. Qigong must be experienced first before it can be understood.

To further scientific and mainstream acceptance, the meticulousness of the experimental designs and statistical analyses must increase. Future research will have to be clearer about which Qigong techniques and styles are used in studies, and the level of experience/training of the Master or practitioner. It is easy to discount the results of experiments that defy conventional theories, especially when we do not understand or believe a phenomenon. Science must remain objective and examine all phenomena, believable or not.

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Associations

Healing Tao University
 POB 20028, NYC, 10014
 888-432-5826
 www.HealingTaoUSA.com

A large western Qigong organization with focus on healing.
Largest Qigong & neigong training program in west –
up to 36 week long events or training trips to China.
750 instructors worldwide, over 100 in USA,
qigong retreats with academic credits, how-to books/videos.

National Qigong (Chi Kung) Association of USA
 POB 20218, Boulder, CO 80308
 Fax: (415) 389-9465
 (888) 218-7788       www.nqa.org

Annual National Qigong Conference, maintains National Qigong Directory of teachers,
healers, organizations and practitioners, setting national standards.

Qigong Institute
 561 Berkeley Ave, Menlo Park, CA 94025
 www.healthy.net/qigonginstitute

Maintains Computerized Qigong Database with over 1300 studies, supports & monitors qigong research.

World Academic Society of Medical Qigong
 No. 11, Bei San Huan Dong Lu,  Beijing, 100029, China.
 Fax: 0086 10 6421 1591.

Qigong training courses, international conferences.

Suggested Reading

The Way of Qigong: The Art and Science of Chinese Energy Healing.
Kenneth S. Cohen.  Ballantine Books, NY. 1997.

Scholarly, yet readable book on Qigong. Great overview of the subject and introduces basic theories, meditations, and exercises.

References

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2. Qi Gong Therapy: The Chinese Art of Healing with Energy. Tzu Kuo Shih. Station Hill Press, Barrytown , NY. 1994.
3. The Way of Qigong: The Art and Science of Chinese Energy Healing. Kenneth S. Cohen. Ballantine Books, NY. 1997. Page 7.
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17. Chien CH, Tsuei JJ, Lee SC, et al. Effects of emitted bioenergy on biochemical functions of cells. American Journal of Chinese Medicine. 19(3-4): 285-292, 1991.
18. Yan X, Zheng C, Zhou G, Lu Z. Observations of the effects of external Qi of Qigong on the ultraviolet absorption of nucleic acids [translated]. Http://www.interlog.com/~yuan/yanuv.html originally published in Ziran Zazhi (Nature Journal) [Chinese]. Vol.11, 647- 649, 1988.
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24. Li S, Meng G, Sun MY, et al. An experimental study on ultra-long distance (2,000 km) effects of the external Qi of Qigong on the molecular structure of matter. [translated] http://www.interlog.com/~yuan/yanmol.html originally published in Ziran Zazhi (Nature Journal) [Chinese]. Vol.11, 770- 775, 1988.
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Medicine in the west is undergoing a sea change, as millions of people begin to explore energetic based approaches to healing. Acupuncture has been in the vanguard of this revolution, but acupuncture itself is about to undergo “a second revolution” of its own as it begins to integrate the wave of powerful qigong healing technologies that are rapidly becoming understood and used in the west.

The practice of qigong is essentially oriental medicine without needles. The qigong craze is spreading like wildfire in the west because it is easy to learn, easy to do, and produces fast results, whether you need healing or are just a bliss junkie. It may be the greatest blessing ever for Oriental Medicine. If tens of millions of Americans graduate from jogging and muscle-building to the more subtle practice of qigong, they will become educated about qi flow. That means millions of more people who will feel comfortable seeing an acupuncturist /herbalist to diagnose and help balance their qi. This is the real grassroots foundation of the revolution in energy medicine occuring in the west today.

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1. What is Qigong/Chi Kung therapy?

Qigong, or “chi kung”, is the ancient Chinese art that means “mastering subtle energy”. When applied to healing, there are two basic modalities. One is called “qi emission”, in which a medical qigong therapist often employs TCM style diagnosis to assess the energetic patterns in the patient. Qigong diagnosis may use pulses or off the body methods of scanning the patient’s qi field. Then the qigong healer may tap into either his personal or a universal energy field, which is then focused and radiated into the patient’s body lying on a table or while sitting. This alters the energetic matrix of the patient’s meridians, and causes their physical body to be reorganized or regenerated to be free of the original injury or illness.
The patient may feel a gentle warmth or tingling begin to flow in different parts of the body. Depending on the skill of the healer, it can be used with great success on anything from mild headache to broken bones to sexual dysfunction as well as chronic illnesses such as cancer and aids. Some healers can work at a distance, even hundreds of miles away. When combined with acupuncture, qi is sent thru the needles to regulate meridian flow, allowing for much faster and deeper healing than using needles without qi emission.
This type of qigong therapy is already part of standard TCM curriculum in mainland China. You simply have to choose: which 3 or 4 year program do you want, qigong, tui-na/moxa, or acupuncture? TCM theory overlaps neatly, the techniques and training are different for each. In China, you might be tested for your qi emission skill before getting a license. All the major hospitals in Beijing have separate Qigong departments that often take on and heal the most difficult cases that have not been cured by either drugs (western) or acupuncture/herbs (TCM) protocols. (For a description of a National Qigong Associagtion trip I helped lead o these hospitals, see Winter 2000 issue of Qi Journal, article by Damaris Jarboux).
A second approach is called “qigong prescriptions” or “self-practice qigong”. The patient is taught how to do certain qigong movements that will benefit their particular condition. There are many hundreds of different qigong systems of movement. Some are specifically designed for different illnesses, i.e. a special anti-cancer walk or for joint disease, and others are meant for summer, winter, or the heart or lung meridian, etc. All are easily performed even by the elderly or by people in a weak condition. The patient usually feels improvement immediately and a general sense of well-being.
The more powerful methods known as “nei kung” create “internal movements” of subtle energy by training the patient to use visualization of meridians (i.e. the “microcosmic orbit”), sub-vocal sound frequencies focused on the vital organs (the “six healing sounds”), or by evoking emotional states (the “inner smile”) or even by redirecting sexual energy from the genital area to stimulate the endocrine gland system, kidneys and the production of blood in the bone marrow.
This second approach using qigong prescriptions requires some self-discipline on the part of the patient, but because the patient is taught how to take responsibility for their own healing it generally produces the most effective and lasting results. Once the patient learns to generate “chi” or “qi” within themselves, the results are not limited to self-healing. You may continue to practice the qigong to achieve ever higher levels of wellness and spiritual awareness.

The Taoists are famous in China for their medical qigong. They claim to use neigong to tap into the universal pool of pre-natal jing. Medically, this means you can replace the “acquired jing’ from your parents that is gradually spent, the depletion of which causes one to age. A high level practitioner of neigong is considered an “immortal”, since death now becomes a voluntary event, not an unconscious process that forces us out of our body. There are many cases of people claiming to regrow hair, teeth, repair diseased organs, or recover from near death conditions.
This focus on tapping into the universal pool of pre-natal jing defines one of the differences between “classical qigong” (largely suppressed by the Communists as being too spiritual) and “modern TCM qigong”. Classical qigong might also focus more heavily on the Eight Extra Meridians and the role of the five vital organ shen (zhang fu spirits, or intelligences) that regulate the flow of qi in the five elements cycle. In Taoist neigong,these practices include the famous “Microcosmic Orbit” and the more secret “Fusion of the Five Elements” . The five types of qi are fused into a “pearl” of concentrated or purified consciousness that has the power to dissolve deep physical or emotional trauma.
This type of healing method is known as “nei dan”. Dr. Cai Jung, the head of the qigong dept. at Shi Yuan (western and TCM) Hospital in Beijing told me that “out of the 50 or so systems of qigong I have studied, Taoist nei dan is the best foundation for qigong healing I have yet found”. The higher steps in nei dan training are often referred to as “Kan and Li” (Water and Fire) practices, a kind of internal sexual coupling of the body’s yin-yang elements. This alchemical process, formerly kept very secret, was described allegorically in many of he 1160 volumes of the Tao Canon, the bible of collected writings on qigong and neigong. The Kan and Li practices open the Sea of Qi in the dan tien to a deeper dimension of pre-natal qi and jing and thus vastly speed up healing.
On a more basic level, all qigong is so simple yet powerful that many energy healers use qigong to repair themselves from “healer burnout”.

2. What a typical qigong healing session is like.

If a patient is passively receiving “qi” from the healer, the key requirement is that they simply sit or lie down and relax , keep an open receptive attitude, and do not interfere with the process. Often the healer will first read the pulses on the wrist or neck, which reveal the condition of all the meridians and internal organs, not just the heart. Some healers may utter certain sounds to vibrate the internal organs or expel the “sick” or “perverse” qi that is causing the illness or psychosomatic symptoms. The healer will typically be able to feel inside their own body the exact problem in the patient’s body. The healer can do this by resonating the qi in his body like a tuning fork that is ringing at the same frequency as the patient.
The healer usually passes their hands over different meridians, points, or vital organs and may or may not touch the body. Some may stamp their foot to activate earth chi or move their hands over the client’s body to stimulate or sedate the flow of qi. Some healers utilize “wu si gong”, or spontaneous qigong. They emit a certain frequency of qi that activates the qi of the patient to begin moving. The patient’s body, usually in a relaxed standing position with eyes closed, may begin to undulate or seem to involuntarily dance or sing, rhythmically releasing physical, mental, or emotional tension that has been locked in the body for years (or from past lives). This is not hypnotic suggestion, as the client may choose to stop the releasing movement at any time.
If the client is learning to heal themselves with qigong exercises, they may learn the movements either in a class or have them customized for their specific condition privately. Some Qigong movements use the walking, sitting, or lying positions, but most are performed standing. All share the same underlying principles. The visible physical movements of the arms and waist are usually very gentle and circular in nature, and are often accompanied by rhythmic breathing methods and subtle shifts in body weight between the left and right foot or between the toe and heel. These rhythmical movements cause qi to flow thru different movements and in western terms, stimulate the lymphatic and immune system.
Many qigong teachers in the west are only skilled in martial arts and are not trained in the therapeutic uses of qigong. They use them as a warm up or training for tai chi or other arts, and many of the some health benefits will accrue. But if your intention is to use the qi for fighting, it will not have the same benefits as doing the qigong for healing. Qigong private healing sessions range from $40 to $100., depending on a variety of factors. Classes may range from $7 to $15. per hour class.

3. History

Drawings depicting qigong movements have been found in Chinese tombs at least 3500 years old, with other references going back 5000 years or more. This makes it the grandparent of many eastern energy-based healing modalities such as acupuncture and acupressure, tui-na (meridian) massage, chi nei tsang (deep organ massage). It probably guided the development of the internal martial arts such as Tai Chi Chuan and Ba Gua Chuan, and the many derivative Japanese/Korean healing arts such as shiatsu, Do-in, as well as the numerous martial spinoffs of Aikido, Judo, etc. Some historians speculate that qigong even travelled into India where it became part of the repetoire of yoga and sacred temple dance training.
There are hundreds of different styles of qigong, which can seem overwhelming to the beginner.

4. Qigong Theory

The basic premise of qigong is that everything is made out of qi, or life force, and that we can influence the movement of this qi in ourselves or in others in a myriad of ways. Modern visualization techniques for healing (“I see white tigers eating up my diseased cancer cells”) only partially tap into the qi at the core of the mind-body interaction. Properly taught qigong gives the practitioner an internal map of the energy pathways inside the body. These are activated to aligns the physical, emotional, mental, sexual, and spiritual aspects of qi so that all levels move together to create an entirely new alignment of energy flow in the body that can alter even the genetic unfoldment of a person.
“Nei Gong”, the more internal aspect of qigong, may be the original and most powerful method of internal visualization and energy manipulation ever invented to cure illness. It is closely linked with the development of internal alchemy methods in China for achieving longevity and immortality, which involve setting up an internal laboratory inside the body. The most advanced method uses the “fire” or heat and emotional energy of the heart and the “water” or sexual energy of the kidneys to interact and thereby “cook” the physical body into a blissful state of harmony.
Nei Gong differs radically from most eastern systems of meditation, which are focusing on emptiness or transcendental states of awareness. Nei Gong brings the subtle qi of the universe down into the physical body to transform it into radiant health. There is no desire to escape the physical plane as a kind of hell realm of suffering; our body is seen as the “Later Heaven” physical manifestation of the Tao. This philosophy makes Earth (our physical body) as potentially equally divine as Heaven (our formless spirit) within the all embracing Tao — once we allow our qi to circulate freely beteween the two.

5. Benefits & Limitations of Qigong

In China, patients are often divided into two categories: acute and chronic diseases. The acute are sent for western treatment, the chronic for qigong therapy. There have been thousands of studies done in China that verify the efficacy of using qigong for virtually every type of chornic illness, from arthritis to cancer. 20 year studies in China show definitive reductions in mortality of 50% for hi blood pressure, stroke, and related coronary diseases that are epidemic in the west. Qigong can also be used for treatment of pain therapy, often with faster results than acupuncture. This suggests that there are certain types of acute conditions that can be treated with qigong, depending on the skill level of the practitioner.
The main limitation of qigong is the skill of the healer or the willingness of the patient to practice. Acupuncturists are in the best position to introduce this healing modality into the west, and they can gradually increase their qi skills to complement their needle/herbal practice and TCM diagnostic knowledge. Learning to do so is both fun and rewarding for the acupuncturist.
The current educational pattern in most acupuncture schools is much as it was in Tai Chi Schools 20 years ago: a little qigong warmup or elective course, and you’re covered. But now qigong/neigong is unfolding its wings as
both the Mother/Father of the later branches of oriental medicine and as a pillar of TCM. Several acupuncture schools are offering Qigong degree training programs.
We are just now waking up to the fact that qigong science is a vast network of arts and sciences that we’ve barely begun to understand and apply. Classical medical qigong therapy is neat, rigorous, elegant, has well defined terminology. If you blend Classical and modern TCM styles, you can have the experience of perfect mirroring between your inner spiritual practice and your outer healing practice.
Michael Winn is President of the National Qigong (Chi Kung) Association, Professor of Tao Arts/Sciences and the founding Dean of Healing Tao University in Big Indian, N.Y., the largest qigong program in the USA with a faculty of 20 teachers and offering academic credits for B.A. completion or graduate degrees. Courses may be eligible for CEU’s. Winn has co-authored or written with Tao Master Mantak Chia seven books on neigong and qigong over the last 20 years. He lives in Asheville, NC. Email is winn.tao@att.net. He is leading a Medical Qigong Training in China trip that offers clinical experience in major Beijing hospitals, Sept. 23 – Oct. 7, 2000.

Note by Michael Winn:

I was not totally surprised when Eve called me shortly after taking the Greatest Kan and Li 1999 summer retreat at Big Indian to tell me she had stopped eating and was a little concerned. That retreat had been a virtual meltdown experience for everyone present. I felt I was witnessing in the group deep genetic and karmic mutation within the space of that week, in which we go beyond being earth centered to living from the True Heart/Solar Logos/Stellar Mind/Great Shen.

Teaching the “Water and Fire”alchemy retreats has initiated short periods of stopping eating for me in the past. After one retreat, just as I was about to put a fork full of food in my mouth, a voice suddenly commanded me: “Don’t put that food in your mouth!”. I obeyed, and never got hungry for three days. Currently I am eating because I enjoy it, but I am more actively considering the phase of giving equal enjoyment to not eating.

I also shared with Eve the experience of Barbara Peter, a Swiss Healing Tao Senior Instructor, who stopped eating for four months as a result of her Kan and Li practice. Barbara finally started eating only because her family was too freaked out by it. Other people’s fear of death by starvation seems to be the main obstacle to shifting the thought form from eating solid food to eating chi.

Bernie Bayard, another Healing Tao Instructor from Portland, Ore., also stopped eating for a period of some months. He was inititated into a process taught in Australia whereby you simply stayed in a room for 21 days without food or water, but held the strong intention that your genetic/biological system would shift over into living off divine lifeforce. He says many other people had used this method in a remote village in Australia to jump start this shift, even without having developed a high level spiritual practice. He also noted that becoming breatharian didn’t cure their ego issues, so you still need the spiritual practice!

If anyone in the Healing Tao community have other experiences or information about “bigu”, Chinese for breatharianism, please send it to me for future issues of the Immortal Child Instructor’s Newsletter or for posting on the website.

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What Bigu Means to Me

by Eve Adesso

(formerly Eve 2000)

drlovesong@mindspring.com



HUANG T’ING CHING (The Yellow Court Canon) states: “The grains of hundreds of cereals are the spirits of the earth. Though the five flavours are beautiful on the outside, they (actually) are an evil foul-smelling demon. The foul smell corrupts the soul and the Embryonic breath is annililated. How can you attain the return of infancy? Why not eat breath which is the supreme harmonious essence, so as to be able not to die and enter the HUANG NING (The Yellow Repose). (1)


I had always thought of breatharianism as something esoteric and attainable only by mountain dwelling hermits, and most certainly highly unlikely for a New York City resident like myself. I was wrong!

It’s been over three months now that I’ve been in the bigu, loosely translated as the breatharian state. Michael Winn asked me to share my experience with you through the newsletter. I want to emphasize that this is about my personal journey, yours may be very different.

SOME BACKGROUND

In 1996, despite my active Tao practice, my immune system crashed and I became so tired I could barely walk up the stairs to my loft. This put me on a path of learning about nutrition, and I began exploring many new things. I went to the Ann Wigmore Institute in Puerto Rico to teach and participate in their program. I arrived in an open minded yet skeptical state about the “Living Foods Lifestyle” that they teach there. The only thing I was sure of was that 2 weeks in the Carribean in the winter would do me a lot of good. Little did I know that this would lead to my first bigu-like experience.
I was teaching qigong in the morning on the beach and the Healing Tao in the evening and following their program of eating 100% Living Foods (raw fruits and vegetables, prepared in special ways to make them more easily digestable) while participating in their classes about relaxation, meal preparation, the digestive system, colon care, etc. I learned that cooking food kills it’s enzymes, that are equivalent to the chi or life force of the food. The first few days of the diet I experienced detoxification. I felt generally sleepy, with aching joints, then hyper in other moments.
As the detoxing subsided I began to feel a light, indescribable state of consciousness that I had never achieved while eating cooked foods. At times I felt blissful and caught glimpses of eternal vision. I had not yet felt this level of clarity and harmony so, in spite of the fact that Chinese medicine often discourages the eating of raw foods, upon my return home I made a concerted effort to change my eating habits. I grew sprouts and greens in my loft, soaked nuts and seeds and prepared these new foods. I was by no means a living foods poster child but I did my best and my health improved.

ABSTENTION FROM GRAIN

By Sun Bu-er

Once you can feed on the living energy,

Your lungs will be in an extroardinary state of clear coolness.

Forget the spirit, and there are no appearances to cling to;

Merge with the ultimate, and the existent emptiness is gone.

For breakfast look for wild taro roots;

When hungry at night, pick wetland mushrooms.

If you mix in smoke and fire,

Your body will not walk on the jewel pond.

This poem by Taoist Immortal Sun Bu-er, one of the most beloved figures of Chinese folklore, speaks of the practice of abstention from cooked food. It is possible to do this because the living energy, the spiritual breath fills our bodies, so that we naturally do not think of eating. It does not mean starving oneself or enduring hunger.
“If you mix in smoke and fire, your body will not walk on the Jewel Pond.” The immortal body should be pure clear spirit. If you do not abstain from cooked food, then ordinary murky energy will mix into the body, so you cannot hope to transend it.
The Jewel Pond is the abode of the female Immortals. Legends of the Immortals say that the palace of the Immortal Queen Mother of the West has a jewel pond on it’s left. (2)

SUMMER 1999

Years passed and I regained my health and vitality. Even so, in recent years I began to feel like my qigong practice was stalled and I didn’t know why. It seemed like I was spinning my wheels and going nowhere. I study astrology and was very intrigued at the prospective of the dramatic Aug 11th total eclipse of the sun that was to be coupled with a powerful grand cross astrological lineup. Many astrologers were predicting that August 11, 1999 would be a crucial turning point where the material would lose importance and the spiritual would come to the forefront. I was searching for a place where I could be receptive to the shifting energy with a good group of people.


The Greatest Kan and Li Retreat in Big Indian taught by Michael Winn seemed like the best choice. In retrospect I see that, for me, it was ideal. I feel that his teaching and being open to the energy around the eclipse were instrumental in strengthening my chi field and nudging me into bigu. Big Indian is located in a protected park area of upstate New York where nature is still wild and powerful. The grounds and buildings are filled with statues and art from India and China. The marriage of nature, sacred art and meditation create a beautiful and highly charged environment that nourishes deep transformation.


Michael Winn taught the internal alchemical practice of Greatest Kan and Li in a clear way and I was able to get it. I felt myself making a deep alchemical connection between the incandescent sun and lush, fertile earth. I was able to internalize the essence of each and hold them within my energy body. Hang-ups and blockages that had stymied me, some since childhood, were being cremated from within and dissolving into blissful, chi-filled insights as they transformed.

BIGU BEGINS

I had no clue as to what was about to happen. I had been back from Big Indian for about two weeks. One Friday night, after a relaxing day of saunas at the local Russian baths, I went with my significant other and a friend out to eat at a Ukrainian restaurant that featured dancing and live music. Carried away by the moment, I ate a much heavier meal than I was used to. The next day I felt awful and decided that my system was due for a cleanse and I would begin a two week regime of eating strictly Living Foods.


I went out and bought a large supply of sprouts, organic fresh fruits and vegetables, bagged wheatgrass, etc. The next day I began my familiar routine of preparing the mainstay of Ann Wigmore’s approach to Living Foods; “Energy Soup”, made of sprouts, greens, seaweed and avocado. Later I ate fruit or salad. On the second day, I knew from past experience that I would experience symptoms of detoxification such as fatigue, achy joints, and sluggishness and sure enough, I felt tired.


On the third day, though, to my surprise I felt fine and I was beginning to notice that I wasn’t hungry. What I was feeling was very different from past cleansing diets and fasts. Usually the detox symptoms would last for days and I would be plagued by hunger, dizziness and weakness. I was puzzled because none of this was happening. This is when the thought, “Could I be in bigu?” first crossed my mind. The forth day was when the truth started to reveal itself.


I was finishing up work on my CD and had a recording session scheduled for the afternoon. In the morning I was busy vocalizing and preparing and didn’t have time to eat. It was a beautiful September afternoon when I emerged from the subway and began my eight block walk across Manhattan to the recording studio. As I walked through the busy streets and into the Gramercy Park area my attention was drawn by the scattered trees and autumn leaves. I was feeling a calm centeredness that bordered on ecstatic. Even so, I felt grounded and was experiencing no hunger, dizziness, or any of the things I normally would have felt if I hadn’t eaten all day.


Feeling this level of blissful serenity, in the midst of the frenetic energy of Manhattan was a new experience for me. At this point I realized that something was up since I felt significantly better after NOT eating. Right then a sign advertizing fresh papaya juice caught my eye, I went into the cafe and ordered one. It tasted great, but after drinking it I noticed that my energy and blissful state went down a few notches. This was the beginning. I realized I might be in bigu and declared that, from that point on, that my eating or not eating would be an experiment.


Subsequently I noticed that the less I ate, the better I felt. So, I stopped eating.


The first week was disorienting to say the least. The lifelong habit of eating is a strange thing to revolutionize. Anxiety about being different would alternate with the feeling that something miraculous was happening. I recieved insight after insight on the priorities of my life. I couldn’t treat myself like a “feed me and I work” machine anymore. I figured out how to cut back on working and still have what I need. My qigong practice became my daily bread, my food, my life. I took the subway to the beach a couple of times a week and did a long practice session, drinking in the sea air. Eventually I began doing a long practice session starting at midnight. The chi at this time of night feels tremendously nourishing. The Tao Canon and many masters recommend practicing at this hour.


In addition to practicing I began buying many books on qigong and reading something every day. I’ve been finding the translations from the Tao Canon, the ancient texts to be especially helpful and inspiring. A lot of the metaphorical language is becoming clearer to me. I also have become very sensitive, feeling my own and other peoples emotions more clearly and powerfully than ever.


When fears would arise I would meditate and consult my inner guidance on whether to continue. During the first few weeks at times I felt tired and weak, but in my quiet state I realized that it was due to detoxing. As time passes and more and more toxins are eliminated I feel stronger and stronger and and at the same time more vunerable, due to the heightened sensitivity. I do a weight lifting workout 2-3 times a week and have maintained a normal work schedule.


I have decided that, if my hunger reasserts itself or I notice any decline in health or eccessive weight loss I will return to eating, but so far the opposite is taking place. In the first month and a half I lost 18 pounds. Now my weight has stabilized and I am at my ideal weight. I visited a doctor that has knowledge of qigong to monitor my physical condition. I continue to take blue green algae and tonic herb teas such as reishi mushroom and ginseng.

What is Bigu?

The term bigu denotes an advanced qigong state during which the practitioner is able to maintain his or her normal activities without eating or drinking (and sometimes sleeping) for long periods, in some cases for several months and years at a time. A characteristic of the bigu state is that one’s overall condition improves rather than weakens, contrary to ordinary techniques of prolonged fasting. In addition , bigu encompasses other elements which exceed or transcend the beneficial effects of therapeutic fasting. These extraordinary aspects of the bigu state have been occasionally observed by medical and scientific practitioners; for example, archeological evidence includes an oracle -bone scripture found in a 1000 year old tomb in Hunan, China, which contains a detailed written account with pictures denoting the bigu phenomenon.


Yan Xin stresses that bigu should be seen as a “signpost” or an adjunct to one’s practice, but not as an ultimate goal. He once said “The bigu state should not be advocated or overemphasized.” The potential of qi gong far surpasses these phenomena. (3)


My first real exposure to the bigu concept was while studying with Dr. Yan Xin and his organization. In some of his books (see footnotes), bigu is mentioned and scientific studies done in China are cited. In one of his speeches he talks about a Chinese woman in bigu, living in the US that gave birth to a healthy baby subsisting on just water.


What I am doing would be called “non-standard bigu” i.e. drinking liquids and occasionally eating small amounts of fruit or vegetables as opposed to “standard bigu” which involves no eating or drinking, except for water. It’s hard for me to know for sure what is happening physiologically. It feels as though most of my nourishment is being absorbed directly from the surrounding chi through the breath with more intense absorption taking place during practice.


Scientific research studies in China have shown that practicing qigong can improve absorption of nutrients from food. I believe that the small amount of food and liquids I am ingesting is being utilized to the maximum. I have no doubt that the mystery of bigu is something that will eventually be understood through scientific research and monitoring.

THE GOLDEN RULE OF BIGU

This is a good place to emphasize some things I’ve learned from my friends at Yan Xin Qigong. Bigu is an effect or gift of advanced and/or prolonged qi gong practice. IF YOU’RE HUNGRY YOU’RE NOT IN BIGU. As we all know, if you’re not in bigu, going without food can be hazardous to your health.


If you want to become breatharian I believe that it’s essential to develop a very close rapport with your body and be able to distinguish between physical hunger and mental cravings. Eating disorders are rampant in our culture. Be careful. If you’re hungry, eat, in a healthy and balanced way. Keep practicing. Do good deeds. This will bring you closer.


My understanding of bigu is that it is not “not eating”. It is practicing to a level where all your meridians merge and you and feel the chi continuously buoying you up. Your hunger dissapears. You feel full, bright and mildly ecstatic.

TEA

Lu T’ung, a Tang poet, wrote of tea: “The first cup moistens my lips and throat, the second cup breaks my loneliness, the third cup searches my barren entrails but to find therein some five thousand volumes of odd ideographs. The forth cup raises a slight perspiration,-all the wrong of life passes away through my pores. At the fifth cup I am purified; the sixth cup calls me to the realms of the immortals. The seventh cup, – ah, but I could take no more! I only feel the breath of cool wind that rises in my sleeves. Where is Horaisan? (mythical islands in the Eastern sea, commonly associated with immortality). Let me ride on this sweet breeze and waft away thither.” (4)


The Zen idea of stopping everthing to be in the moment while drinking tea has helped me. It gives me something to focus on when everyone else is eating. If I feel comfortable enough with the people I’m with I sometimes sit at or away from the table and practice while they are eating……we are all taking in nourishment, just in different ways.

Initially, when my partner would make his dinner I would feel afraid that the connection we had around food would dissapear and put distance between us. Sometimes I make tea, or we make a soup, then we sit down at the table together and I drink tea or some of the broth of the soup.We may have lost some of our food connection but we practice together much more often. He’s much more interested in qigong now and I’ve come home several times to find him re-reading Mantak Chia’s and other books about the Tao. He’s been in the martial arts since he was a teenager and has been hearing stories about of breatharians for a long time. He’s excited for me and has been quite encouraging. At times he has felt a transference of energy and his appetite has lessened or dissappeared and he has become extremely sensitive.

HAVING BIG GOALS TOWARDS THE BENEFIT OF HUMANITY

In addition to broadening my knowledge on the subject of bigu, I feel I have benefited from Dr. Yan Xin’s emphasis on having a big goal towards the benefit of humanity. Big contributions are sustained on a foundation of smaller contributions and having “put one’s house in order”.


“We should extend our view of life as ordinary work and contribution to include great contributions. Body and soul should be directed towards making great contributions to the entire human race, society and the universe. We should always view our life as part of the the whole-part of the life of the entire universe.” (5)

Dr Yan Xin

Dr Yan Xin often says that cultivation; i.e. aligning yourself with and accumulating virtue in your everyday life should constitute 70%, and is by far the most important element in qigong while physical and meditation practices should constitute 30%. Virtue can be seen as the predominant benevolent force that is omnipresent in the universe.


This aspect cannot be underestimated. Food and eating are powerful, hypnotic, gratifying and satisfying. Meals are social, ritualistic and imbued with love and creativity. What can take their place? What can feed us more than physical food? A breatharian goes straight to the source, cuts out the middleman, so to speak and absorbs the nutrient of all nutrients, the supreme substance complete with everything nessessary to sustain life, directly.


Technically that energy may be accessed through the breath and the saliva but spiritually it rides on virtue. In my case, it felt as though my excitement and commitment to my music and working on the book I am writing “launched” me into bigu. And, although my art benefits me, personally, my overriding drive and enthusiasm are with the impact I believe it can have towards freeing the human race.


Bigu often feels like a precious gift. It’s great to finally have enough time in my life for the things I consider most important. Eliminating cooking, eating and shopping frees up 2-5 hours per day. Much money is saved and can be reallocated. My mind feels clear and unclouded by the burdensome digestive process.
At some point this may run it’s course but I know that I will never go back to the excessive and unconscious eating that I used to consider normal. I am so grateful to have made the Healing Tao and qigong a part of my life. I feel I am deeply changed forever.


In respect for yin and yang, I want to mention some of the dark, fearful moments I’ve encountered in my “bigu beginning”.


Over the past ten years I had, one by one, eliminated addictive behaviors and substances from my life. The only one left was food. At times I ate heavy foods to supress unpleasant feelings. It’s much harder now to run from bad feelings whether induced by present day events or arising from within. I have to sit down and deal with things. I know that in the long run this is the best option, but in the short run…… it hurts!


In these painful moments sometimes I break down and eat something but mainly I deal with it by stopping to practice Fusion and explore and transform the cause of my anguish. I’m also working on slowing down my life and pulling myself further away from that version of modern day existence that is nothing more than a whirlwind of earning and spending, held in place by various addictions.


The practice of breatharianism is far from being known or accepted. Apart from my qigong and spiritually minded friends, I don’t always tell people that I’m in bigu and not eating. If I’m around at meal times I often say that I’ve already eaten or that I’m fasting. If the subject of food comes up I talk as if I were eating. Otherwise it can sometimes become an exasperating conversation that results in incomprehension and possible condemnation (of me!).


Some can’t fathom what I’m doing and have not been supportive. The world is crawling with experts who are certain of one thing: to live you must eat. Some of them have medical degrees. At times the feeling of being at odds with a large part of society has been formidable. Specters of starvation loomed and many fears arose;


In my meditation I asked for insight and was answered……….. with a cosmic symphony of blooming harmonics. The sound entered every pore and massaged every cell, whispering, singing, shouting “You are loved, you are loved, you are loved”. It took my hand and led me into the infinite void, into an emptyness that is so full, so vibrant and so teeming with life as to satisfy all hunger for eternity. There I bathed in a mystic dew charged with serene passion and sublime sexuality. O paradise! How can I do you justice? Your splendor eludes capture even by the otherworldly art of poetry.


I’d also like to mention another important issue; finding a way to maintain a bigu state and yet not be totally out of kilter with society. Many intimate and beneficial social moments are centered around eating with other people. Eating small amounts of food in these situations often feels balanced to me now. Not eating and getting into a converstion about me being in bigu can create disharmony. At parties I’m finding it enjoyable to sample vegetarian delicacies, dance and make merry with everyone else. After a joyful social event the food passes out my body easily, with no ill effects. The trick is not exceeding a certain amount of solid food. Tales of the 8 Taoist immortals emphazise the parties and good times that punctuate their lives lived in service of the poor and sick.


My experiment continues. I will keep you posted. I would also love to read about the experiences of others. Best wishes and abundant chi to all of you who are reading this and to all my fellow Healing Tao instructors, students and friends. Thank you for being a source of support and inspiration to me over the years.


In closing I’d like to express my sincere gratitude to Mantak and Maneewan Chia for their pioneering spirit and their teachings that enabled me to lay down a solid foundation.


Another pioneer that I’d like to thank is the late Ann Wigmore and everyone at the Ann Wigmore Institute in Puerto Rico for their practical and valuble teachings on Living Foods……….
I’d also like to thank Dr. Yan Xin and his New York students for introducing me to Yan Xin Qigong and the idea of bigu.


And many thanks to Michael Winn for his committment and clear alchemical teachings and for asking me to write this article.


If you’d like to order “Journey to Eden” a CD of Eve’s original songs please call (718) 333-1116. Eve will be teaching at the Ann Wigmore Institute, call her for dates.
1) excerpted from

THE PRIMORDIAL BREATH Volume II

Original Books, Inc

PO Box 2948

Torrance, Ca. 90509

2)excerped from

 IMMORTAL SISTERS  Secret teachings of Taoist Women, Translated and edited by Thomas Cleary

3) excerpted from

Volume 9 Chapter 7,

“Bigu – An Advanced Qigong State for Healing and Self Developement”

YAN XIN QIGONG COLLECTION

1997 International Yan Xin Qigong Association

order from:

Ms. Lihe Zhang

82 Cameo Dr.

Willimantic, CT. 06226

Tel & Fax: (860) 456-0732

E-Mail: zhanglihe@hotmail.com 

4)

The BOOK of TEA by Kakuzo Okakura

5) excerpted from

Chapter 6, Cultivation of Virtue.

“SECRETS and BENEFITS of INTERNAL QIGONG CULTIVATION” by Dr. Yan Xin,

Amber Leaf Press

2 Pennsylvania Ave.

Malvern, Pennsylvania 19355

E-mail; alp@op.net

 Yan Xin Qigong website:  www.qigong.net

Medicine in the west is undergoing a millennial sea change. Millions of people are exploring energetic healing. Doctors dismiss most of these New Age therapies as placebo effect or unscientific. I believe the most effective method of healing chronic disease to emerge will not be New Age, but rather an 5,000 year old method from China known today as Chi Kung therapy. Also spelled “qigong”, this ancient art and science means literally “skill in managing your energy flow”. One of its greatest uses may prove to be in healing cancer, which has defied western medical approaches despite billions of dollars in research for a “magic bullet”.

The ancient Chinese found the magic bullet. It is hidden in the flow of the life force within our body. They called it “chi”. Chi is also the energetic matrix of our mind and of all existence. Chi is what links our body, our mind, and our spirit and the natural world into a unified whole. Once you learn how to mange your chi, or go to a chi kung master who helps your chi to heal you, you can literally dissolve cancerous tumors and areas of blockage.

While chi kung’s medical effectiveness has been well documented in China by scientists for a wide variety of chronic illnesses, the stories of recovery from cancer are among the most frequent and most dramatic. Many patients have been told to go home and die, that not even chemo or radiation (widely used in China today) can help. They go home, and out of final desperation begin doing chi kung movements and meditations. Twenty years later, they are leading classes and writing books on how chi kung saved their life.

I have been working with chi kung for twenty years and seen many so called “miraculous” healings. According to chi kung theory, these are not miracles, they are fully understandable scientific effects. Most disease is caused by emotional trauma and lack of sexual energy flow. This constricts the free flow of chi in the body. The type of emotion will usually determine where the tumor will appear. In the weakened areas, tissue begins to form around the stagnant chi, and then a virus, seeing an area of unconsciousness with nobody “living” in that part of the body, decides to take up residence and grow itself.

This process is occuring in everybody, including healthy people not diagnosed with cancer, but it usually dissolves itself before a tumor grows. So according to Chinese medicine, nearly everybody has cancer, but it simply is not fatal or noticeable. If you understand that your “energy body”, the sum total of your energy channels (used in acupuncture) and the quality of your overall “field” of awareness is constantly in flux, then it is easier to accept that you can dissolve your tumor without drugs or surgery. The physical body is not a “thing”, it is a living process, only more dense than your emotions or thoughts. But the matrix of all three of these is the same — the life force, or chi.

Last year I co-led a National Qigong/Chi Kung Association delegation to China to view first hand the qigong doctors working in the main hospitals in Beijing, which all have qigong departments. The qigong doctors have studied both western medicine and Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), but have chosen instead to practice a different branch of this medicine, qigong therapy. They took a four year course in it at Medical school instead of acupuncture or herbology.

They wear white coats, just like all the other doctors, and they get sent the most difficult cases that nobody else can heal. They have a very high success rate, although not everyone responds to chi healing. Cancer is considered to be one of the toughest blockages to dissolve, so it requires specialists and best results come with patients who truly want to live — enough to practice at least 3-4 hours of chi kung a day.

I met with Feng Lida, a 74 year old woman scientist who has devoted the last 20 years to the scientific study of qigong. She showed me slides of cancer cells, taken with an electron microscope, before and after chi emission by a chi kung therapist. “The cells get zapped by chi, and they dramatically slow down their rate of reproduction and become more susceptible to immune cells gobbling them up’, she told me. She points at a disintegrating cancer cell with jagged edges. “The best thing is not to try to kill the cancer cells, because we have observed experimentally that they fight back even harder. The chi kung therapist simply focuses on weakening the cancer cells, and on strengthening the healthy cells.” Numerous scientific studies in China have shown that cancer patients who have undergone chemo or radiation and afterwards practice chi kung live twice as long on average as those who don’t. They require less medication, experience less nausea, and recover the health more quickly after the debilitating treatment. Patients often get up early and practice in the parks daily with others who have the same type of cancer. The support group seems to increase their statisical improvement even more, an effect seen in western cancer support groups also. The Chinese say the group sharing opens the heart, and thus improves chi flow. Western medicine has no clear model for the connections between psychology and physical healing, but in Chinese medicine this is clearly mapped out.

How realistic is chi kung therapy for the average western cancer patient?
This depends on how advanced the cancer is, how strong the willpower and constitution of the cancer patient is, and whether they are willing to practice chi kung daily. Chi kung does not rely on belief to work, but is more effective if you are not resisting it. Many cancer patients do not really want to live, they are tired of life or don’t understand the alternative healing solutions available to them. So in my own sessions, that is the first question I ask: Do you really want to live? If I don’t sense an authentic committment to the healing process I refuse to proceed on the spot. My own chi is too precious to waste fighting someone else’s inner death wish.

This is not being cold-hearted; it is simply accepting each person’s free will, and going with their flow. Besides, there is nothing wrong with “dying”, since no one really dies — they just shift to a different energy state. The ancient Taoists understood this clearly. There is no struggle between Life and Death, only an apparent struggle between yin and yang, life in form (body) and life in the formless (spirit).

Death doesn’t really exist, it merely defines a transitional state between two experiences of life. But the cancer industry apparently thrives on the Fear of Death, so much so that the thought form “Cancer ” has nearly become synonymous with the thought form of “Death”. Buying into this is actually what kills most people, not the cancer itself. I’m sure many of you have heard stories of people who were first diagnosed with a cancer that they may have had for years, and die shortly afterward.

I have developed a special chi kung form that I call Medical Chi Kung. It is based on a movement chi kung method used in chinese hospitals successfully for healing tens of thousands of patients suffering from chronic illness, including cancer. I have recently made the form more powerful by adding more”internal” chi kung methods which include special healing sounds and colors, facing in certain directions to get greater balance, and connecting your inner being to the Sun and the Earth as powerful centers of cosmic healing chi. It can be done even by the wheelchair bound or the bedridden, but is most powerful standing.

The secret is to purify the clogged up energy channels in the body and embrace your love of life. The energy channels used in this chi kung form are deeper than the ones used in acupuncture, altho that is certainly an important support for many people. I consider the ultimate test of successful chi kung practice to be whether the person is now feeling in harmony with themself, not whether their tumor has disappeared.

One of my clients, a 69 year old women named Molly from Asheville, came to me several years ago for chronic depression. I was not surprised when she was diagnosed shortly afterwards with lung cancer, because she was literally afraid to breathe. Molly intensified her chi kung practice, even though she had trouble practicing or holding concentration. Today the tumor is not gone, but Molly is now a happy person. “I am blissfully sick”, Molly exclaimed. “Now I always feel happy, because I have connected with my chi flow. I’ve had to give up kayaking and bicycling, but I’ve got something much more profound. Sometimes I feel a glowing chi ball moving around inside me. What a delight! I couldn’t have gotten through my cancer without chi kung. I can breathe better, I can get to sleep at night. My soul is healing, and I’ve lost my fear of death. My body is still trying to catch up, and nothing makes it feel better than chi kung.”

Michael Winn is President of the National Qigong (Chi Kung) Association of USA, Professor of Tao Arts/Sciences and the founder of Healing Tao University in Big Indian, N.Y., the largest chi kung program in the USA with a faculty of 24 teachers. He also lead a Medical Qigong Training in China trip that gave healers clinical experience in major Beijing hospitals in September 2000.


Winn has co-authored or written with Tao Master Mantak Chia seven books on chi kung over the last 20 years. For a free copy of his 12 page Chi Newsletter and summer course curriculum: call 888-432-5826, or visit www.HealingTaoUSA.com/retreats.
In the spring and fall Winn lives in Asheville, NC. Email is winn.tao@att.net. For local Asheville chi kung workshops and classes, call 828-236-2200.

Sexuality is a universal way for people to quickly access their chi flow. The ancient Taoists developed many different methods to tap the enormous power of sexual energy in order to direct it towards creating better physical health, a greater sense of vitaliity and zest for life, and to refine the sexual impulse into a steady state of spiritual bliss. Sexual chi kung can heal sexual dysfunction and impotence, improve sexual relationships, relieve PMS and menstrual difficulty.

At the core of all chi kung is the cosmic yin-yang pulsation of polarized energy around a neutral pole. Think of creation as a continuous cosmic orgasm, and the human orgasm as an exquisite echo of that pulsation. When you get them in rhythm and harmony, your personal “energy gates” open to the cosmic flow of light and love.

There are two major paths: Single Cultivation, in which you harmonize your male-female pulsation as ” internal love-making”, which is possible only because every person has both yin (female) and yang (male) chi within their own body, regardless of their sex. The other is Dual Cultivation, in which you exchange yin & yang chi with a lover/partner.
Taoist Theory:

Sexual chi is said to originate in the kidneys and bone marrow, which includes in the Chinese view the penis and vagina/uterus, prostate & ovary glands, the bladder and kidney organs and their meridians, and in women their mammary glands/breasts. All are part of the “water element” that regulates the body’s “jing”, or sexual body-essence.
How is sexual chi different from other kinds of chi?

Sexual chi is 1) very “sticky”, acting as the stabilizing or bonding energy between opposing male-female or yin-yang forces. Think of it as super-glue; 2) it has the power to amplifiy or multiply whatever it bonds to. It intensifies emotions, it multiplies cell and glandular reproduction rates, either in your body or by birthing children. It can also multiply your creative energy in the world of play or career.
The major ways that sexual chi is lost or exhausted.

Men: by excessive sex and ejaculation. “Excessive” varies by body type, age and climate, but be especially careful during the winter, when chi is normally going in deep, not out. There are methods of slowing down ejaculation during sex so that men can “draw” out the essence from their spern and recycle it around the body and nourish other centers. It is not necessary to become celibate. These practices include “Testicle Breathing” and “Drawing Up the Golden Nectar”.

The goal is to shift from a limited “genital orgasm” to a “whole body orgasm”. Slowing or stopping “ejaculation” doesn’t prevent a man from having “orgasm” or being “multi-orgasmic”. Ejaculation is physical, orgasm is your chi pulsating. But don’t get obsesssed with “stopping” ejaculation, focus rather on opening up your chi channels and recycling sexual/orgasmic chi until you finally ejaculate. Then this physical ejaculation does not cause major loss of chi. It also slows the man down to stay in closer harmony with the woman’s slower cycle of arousal.

Women: Excessive bleeding during the menstrual cycle causes loss of “jing”. By energetically detoxifying the body with sexual chi kung before the cycle begins, the need for bleeding as a means of detoxing is vastly reduced. The menstrual cycle can even be voluntarily stopped at a higher level of practice. This practice is called, “Slaying the Red Dragon”. Women also train to re-direct their orgasmic chi flow up to the higher energy centers in the heart and brain.

Both sexes: poor diet, shallow breathing, and negative emotions or mental attitudes will exhaust your sexual vitality. Improving these plus a regular moving chi kung practice of at least 20 minutes daily are the mainstay of preventing low sexual energy and many associated dysfunctions.

Another key in sexual kung-fu is understanding the relation between the fire element in the heart and the water element in the kidneys. These fire and water essences stimulate each other and keep the other in check. So you need to keep proper exchange between them, so they get into a steady state. This can be done by gently breathing between the middle and lower dan tiens, through visualization, and by guiding chi in the right channels. By simply keeping a very open heart you protect against blind lust, which ultimately injures the kidneys because it can never be satisfied by physical sex alone. The kidney shen (“spirit, or intelligence”) needs touch and sexual stimulation, but it is also always seeking the love of the heart shen.

A word of Caution: Sexual chi is much more powerful than most people realize. Note how long it takes people to recover from broken love or divorce. Thus it is essential that you prepare your energy field properly with chi kung practice for several months before attempting “ovarian or seminal kung-fu”. If sexual chi is mis-directed into the wrong energy channels, the result may range from mild discomfort to severe impairment of physical health. Any method that is powerful can be mis-used.

What is the proper way to prepare for sexual chi kung?

1. Learn the Six Healing Sounds and Five Animals Chi Kung to release trapped negative emotional chi. These are simple, and can be learned from books or tapes. They release the chi trapped in each of the five vital organs. You don’t want to unconsciously amplify these old trapped feelings with supercharged sex chi. So don’t practice while in any extreme emotional state.

2. Practice the Inner Smile. This insures a calm and balanced mind when you do the sexual practice.

3. Learn the Microcosmic Orbit. This gives the sexual chi a safe pathway up the spine and down the front of the body, with automatic “safety overflow” valves into other major meridians. If you don’t learn this, there is a danger of some people getting “kundalini psychosis”, too much chi in the brain leading to delusional states. Any chi practice that opens the lower dantien will also prepare you and ground you.

Once the Microcosmic Orbit is open, it is much easier to balance the chi flow to the endocrine glands along its path: adrenals, pineal and pituitary, thymus, heart and spleen, and gonads. These glands regulate the body metabolism during sexual arousal, and their healthy functioning is essential to get the benefits of the sexual practice.

4. Get a live teacher to help you train. Sexual kung-fu is not an end in itself, it is merely a vital step in the larger process of cultivating and refining your chi. You should simultaneously train in standing/rooting chi kung to ground the volatile sexual chi. The higher level of sexual chi kung practice is known as “inner sexual alchemy”, in which you become aware of the role of “shen”, the vital organ spirits, in regulating your inner yin-yang balance.

————

Michael Winn co-authored with Mantak Chia the classic Taoist Secrets of Love: Cultivating Male Sexual Energy and wrote six other books with Chia.
If you cannot get a teacher, Tao Home Study Audio courses on Taoist Sexual Cultivation are available from Michael Winn on HealingTaoUSA.com/bookstore or email bookstore@michaelwinn.qlogictechnologies.com. Note: before ordering the Taoist Sexual Course, the prerequisite course is Chi Kung Fundamentals covering the Inner Smile, Six Healing Sounds, Microcosmic Orbit.