Not a question I thought I'd ever ask myself.
Mainly because I used to sneer and laugh at that new age hippy crowd. Throw eggs at those dummies in the park doing that weird slow shit. Funny how the things you avoid, when young. Suddenly turn into something that you wish you had done for ever.
So I'll start, with what I understand to be, the translation from Chinese into English.
Chi is simply the Chinese word for breath. It's just the action we take subconsiously without thought. We all know how important breathing is. When was the last time you sat back and listened to yourself breath. Or even marvelled at the simple fact that your heart was beating. It's rhythm is so natural we hardly ever notice it.
Well that was pretty simple right. A little more thought and the word becomes a concept. What is it we do when we breath in and out. Try not breathing for a few minutes and the importance of breathing becomes obvious.
Our very lifes depend on this action. It revitalizes us and keeps us alive. Our lifes hang by this thin thread everyday of our life and that thread is seemingly just empty air. You can't see it, you can't grasp it. We do however transform it, we mix it with other nutrients and refine it into a different kind of "energy" (Chi is also often referred to as energy as well). One that takes solid form. It becomes our blood, flesh and bones. It never loses it's inner rhythmn. It pulses through each and every cell in our bodies. Our internal organs, heart, liver, kidney and glands further refine this Chi or energy and send it's power to the brain, creating our thoughts, dreams, emotions and the will to live and die. We gain the power to ponder ourselves and our surroundings. As this Chi follows this cycle, most do not even begin to consider the miracle that occurs every few seconds.
Ancient Taoists spent entire lifetimes observing the flow of this Chi, which they recognised, as the breath of the universe that moves through everything. The glue that binds mind, body and spirit. They managed to map in detail the workings of Chi energy within the human body and the world. They even talk of different kinds of Chi. So that today the aires of that knowledge, Acupunturists, herboliogists and even Martial Artists refer to as many as 32 different functions of Chi in the human body.
Mysticle bullshit some would say. How can you prove something that you can't see or touch. You may not be able to see it or touch it, but you can feel it and you don't need to have studied Taoism. How......simple really.
You need to stand up now. Stand with your arms hanging losely at your side with feet about shoulder width apart. Toes pointing straight in front. No Charlie Chaplin poses please.
mouth closed breathing through your nose. Do not force the breath just a natural breath. However when you breathe in your stomach should be forced out. In fact your belly should be moving more than your chest. Your pushing the diaphram to it's limit filling the entire lungs with air. True deep breathing.
Your toungue should be in contact with your upper palate.
Imagine a rope is attached to the top your head, it pulls your head higher, streatching the back of your neck, this should cause your chin to move slightly downward towards your neck like your tucking it away. Try not to let your head lean foward though.
Hold your shoulders back a little but let gravity pull them down naturally.
Allow your knees to bend slightly so that the knees are directly over your big toes. Keep imagining the rope pulling your head up. your back will feel like it's lenthening.
Tuck your pelvis foward. to do this correctly I tell blokes to imagine sticking their dick in. Just in not out ok :P
when you breathe in allow your hands to rise in front of you slowly. As you breathe out they will relax down a little but not all the way. After a few breath cycles your hands should be about diaphram height infront of you. Your elbows slightly bent and your armpits open like your holding an orange in them. You'll feel like your hugging a tree. Fingers spread apart you are now in the first Chi Kung posture which is often called "embrace the tree" funny that.
As you breathe in again, turn your hands to face one another and imagine your holding an invisable ball.
As you breathe in. Imagine the air collecting not in your lungs but about 6 inches below your belly button (your Tan Tien or centre) as you breathe out let that air go to your hands. Just focus now on your breathing and the feel of your centre filling with air and when you breathe out that air going to your hands.
Now it's your turn. I need feedback. Tell me what you feel?
There are those thinking all I've done is translate a taoist text or something. Then told us some weird exercise. He has not told us what he thinks Chi is. Thats true. I can't explain it all here now. I'm hoping to show you. This is the first of a few posts on Chi and how to manifest it/feel it. Later I'l be talking about some of the functions of Chi in the human body. Then I'll come through with the goods on what I feel "it" is.
So tell me what did you feel?
