Qigong exercises as a meditation practice

Qigong exercises as a meditation practice

Qigong exercises are both of a general strengthening nature and are directly related to martial practices, and are almost directly related to the martial arts of Wushu and https://www.julianalucky.com/. There is a subbranch of qigong called taijiquan, which translates as ‘Great Limit Fist’. It is in many ways a martial art, but you do not need any special training to start practicing it. Like other martial arts, Taijiquan is primarily about working with energy.

Continuing the topic of comparing qigong practices to yoga exercises, we should note that, just like in ashtanga yoga, qigong has many exercises that are somehow related to meditation practices. But even if we don’t separate these exercises into a separate group, in general the practice of qigong is nothing else but meditation. When a practitioner observes the direction of energy in the body, what is this but the practice of mindful attention?

One can say that at early stages such attention is a manifestation of dharana practice, but as practitioners become more proficient in the techniques, the practice necessarily outgrows the physical or energetic component and reaches a new level of mindfulness practice through meditation.

There is an interesting aspect of the practice of observing the flow of Qi energy: initially it is understood that the student represents the flow of Qi, thereby initiating its advancement through the body, but then the energy itself “leads” the attention after itself. It appears that one should initially allow it to manifest and then, on the contrary, follow it, or rather, with it.

It is a well-known fact that when attention is “bifurcated,” i.e., fixed with equal intensity on two objects or ideas at the same time, the same thought-stopping effect occurs. There is no need to try in vain to stop them by an effort of will. It is enough to resort to this simple practice to learn what the state of thoughtlessness is.

So it is in the exercises of the qigong complex-the observation of qi energy itself becomes a practice of meditation. Attention is focused both on the state of one’s own physical body and on the feeling of qi energy flowing through it. Hence the fact that qigong exercises have a very beneficial effect on the health of the body.