Now we go on with preliminary exercises of Wu Chan Zhong Qigong. Perhaps, it might be boring for you to read about the details of exercise practicing if you have not made up your mind yet what the practice is and whether you need it or whether you need WCZ Qigong and so on. Never the less, it would be more useful to study this site in proper order. If you persevere through this chapter and a half of the next, the presentation will go smoother, and be more interesting; however this information will be more useful and easier to understand if you have some basic understanding of definitions and terminology to follow. Besides, in this practice description you might find many new things even if you are already acquainted with some WCZ Qigong System practice. Only this chapter offers you some material from the Manuals of similar type of practice' tutoring workshops on set-up exercises and phenomena that may arise while carrying out the exercise Big Tree. Then,... if you go further, you will see the difference... and it is up to you to accept or to decline principles and philosophy of the approach to Qigong practice suggested on this site...
So then, as it has already been mentioned, the key feature of all the Qigong exercises is the necessity to use thought, imagination and creative thinking. Using these tools we alter the information structure of our Qi and indirectly influence the deeper fundamentals of our physical body.
Although elementary at first glance, physical exercises require mandatory mind and consciousness participation. The technique of meditation, mind work to transform Qi and entering the State of Qigong will be dealt with in greater detail in the example of Yang-Qi (Yang-Qigong) exercise.
Here, the set-up exercise description won’t be very detailed. But you have to keep in mind that all WCZ Qigong exercises follow one principle, the clue is that it is already in the name of the system. That is why the detailed instruction on one exercise ensures the understanding how to meditate and perform all the other system exercises. And please don't forget about in-depth penetration in the practice method through seminars and educational DVDs.
All the exercises of the 1st step are characterized by three notional levels.
The first notional level – the lower one – is just a physical exercise to adjust the body (to work out the joints and open special zones of a spinal area).
The second notional level relates to some definite conceptions intended to develop and intensify sensory skills; at the same time mind regulation is being established.
The third notional level is self-identification with the certain image, entering the State of Qigong and developing new qualities, including the ability to exchange information with flora and fauna.
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Body postures in upright standing Wu Chan Zhong Qigong practice
1. Stand with your feet shoulder width apart; feet must be parallel to each other. Points Yongquan on the foot soles and Zangzing on the shoulders must be on one vertical line. Yongquan points mean a borehole, a well, a pore that is supposed to fill with water. Yongquan points mean a “seething source” or “pulsating fountain”. In the correct foot position these points are joined by a channel and then the ‘well’ is filled with the “fountain” water. Earth Qi flows into Yongquan points and Yongquan points are connected to the Sky.
2. Legs slightly bent so that the knees must not be forward of your toes. This allows free Qi circulation along the leg channels. The body in this position tends to not get tired for a long time.
3. Close your eyes.
4. Head position as if you hung it from the crown with the chin is slightly down. The Baihuei point is on one vertical line with Huei-Yin. This eases one into the vacancy state and helps Qi flow into the cervical spine area.
5. The tongue touches the upper palate. This is called “constructing a bridge” for Qi circulation along Du-Mai and Shen-Mai channels.
6. Keep smiling gently to relax your mind.
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1. Yongquan point is situated about the centre of a sole.
2. ZangZin points are close to the surface of a shoulder where the dimple is felt by touch. Simply speaking - feet are at shoulder width.
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So far we have established that one of the priorities of the 1st WCZ Qigong step is to open energy channels. That is why before starting any exercise, and also every morning after we wake up and at night before going to sleep, it is necessary to open channels along the arms and legs.
Opening channels on the points on fingers and toes
The human body, as we’ve already mentioned, has energy channels and there are among them channels connecting the internal organs with the body surface.
The initial and terminal sections of these channels go along the flank surface of fingers and toes, while the initial and terminal points are in the nail corners.
1. Starting position: stand upright, feet shoulder width apart, feet parallel, body relaxed, eyelids drooped.
2. Bend your arms in front of your chest palms down.
3. Bend the forefinger and the middle finger of the right hand like a scraper.
4. Run these fingers of the right hand slightly pressing along the flank surface of each finger and the thumb on the left hand from the base to the tip, two times each finger.
5. Do the same changing the hands.
6. Slowly relax your arms down.
7. Open the channels on the toes with your fingers.
During the process of the exercise you must envision yourself really opening these channels, purging away the impure areas as if squeezing the toothpaste out of the tube.
Cast the contaminated Qi away into the space or deep into the ground to prevent it from polluting the neighboring area.
While doing it, keep thinking of the free, pure, fresh and positive Qi pouring into the cleansed channels.
There is the following Universal Law: Energy is where the Mind is. Energy obeys the Mind. If you imagine Qi leaving some place and this Qi is of a negative sort, this moment you make it real. According to the Universal Laws, having imagined Qi flowing along the cleaned channel, you immediately make it a reality, for this is how our world goes on.
So, practicing, we train our Mind, our Qi and the ability to impact our Qi by the mental intention. This is what Qigong is. Isn’t it a pure Magic?
One day you might come to just commanding your toothless gum – “Tooth! Grow!” – and then plunging in the State of Qigong, you your orders would make your body obediently carry out the order of its true Master.
Practicing regularly you will feel the effect of exercises and realize the reliability of the said above.
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Let us proceed to the preliminary exersices of the 1st step...
1. A child is praying to Buddha (童子拜佛 TONG ZI BAI FO)
Starting position: stand upright, feet parallel and shoulder width apart, body relaxed. Raise your palms pressed together up to the chest level like a traditional eastern salute (picture 1). Your arms line must form a circle with the chest. Open the palms turning them away from you (picture 2), twist the hands down (picture 3) and toward your chest so that your wrists would touch one another with their backsides (picture 4). Continue twisting gradually turning the palms away from you (picture 5), then closing your palms again come back to the starting position. Repeat 8 times. Twist your hands in the opposite direction, toward yourself, 8 times too. In the East this is a traditional form of saluting, expressing the respect toward the standing in front of you person. This is how they pray to Buddha. The pictures show the movements directed “away” from the body
The first notional level of this exercise: good practical exercise to train wrist joints, shoulder and elbow joints.
The second notional level: establishing Yin-Yang equilibrium in the organism, because our body partially belongs to Yin, and partially to Yang. If you relax and press your palms for some minutes uniting Laogong points, then you may have a feeling of something flowing or spilling over one palm to another. The same feelings, though less expressed, arise while the wrist backsides coming into contact. A kind of analogy may be with the electric current flow, if “+” and “-“ are joint in the condenser.
The third notional level: imagine yourself being Buddha expressing respect toward the same Buddha in front of you. Of course, you may mentally be addressing any God or person respected by you; but you must create this state in you, coming from the bottom of your heart. Relaxing your body completely you may feel everything turning concurrently with the turn of the hands.
2. Palms of Buddha contemplating images (佛手观象 FO SHOU GUAN XIANG)
The same starting position.
Imagine yourself as a huge Cosmic Being, Man-God... imagine your hands becoming enormous as the Universe... your palms growing enormous...
Rise your arms slowly up to the shoulder level, palms down. (pictures 1,2)
Slowly shift your arms stretched in front concentrating the attention on the palms, then again move them back apart. During the arm movements the body is following slightly after the hands (pictures 3,4). Repeat 8 times.
Turn the hands palms up (picture 5). Repeat 8 times (pictures 5,6).
Shifting the arms apart for the last time, turn the hands palms down and let them slowly drop loosely along the body.
The first notional level: first of all, it is a physical exercise which helps open the midpart of the spinal column along the Du-Mai channel. There are three areas where the points open with a more difficulty. Usually they are called the ‘three turnpikes’ or ‘three wickets’.
The first turnpike (counting from bottom up) is called Vailu or, sometimes, Valui. It is situated in the coccyx ad ChanZan point area and translates “coccyx”. The second turnpike is called Zanqi or Lulu (it is translated as “flash-wheel”). It is situated behind the heart in the area of Lintang point (“life gate” or “spiritual bolt”). The third turnpike, YuiZeng (“iron wall”) is the most difficult to pass. It is situated close to NaoXu point (“jade pillow”) in the area of vertebra prominens.
In addition, the points MinMang and Dachzui are considered to be the most difficult. If the upper points are not open it may lead to headaches and high blood pressure. In case the midzone is not open, it may cause difficulty in breathing, as if something prevents you from drawing the deep breath. There is a feeling as if something got stuck around the heart or stomach. The usual examinations are not able to find the cause of such a discomfort state.
During the front slow motion arm stretch the thoracic portion of the Du-Mai channel is opening. Moving the arms sidewise opens the Shen-Mai channel thoracic portion.
The second notional level: with some experience in training and exercise when the body is relaxed you may feel the Earth Qi, Yin energy, and the Cosmic Qi, - Yang energy. The exercise allows you to learn the difference of Yin and Yang.
The third notional level: the hands scan the Earth and the Cosmos, they spread into infinity and learn to sense at any distance.
3. The Sacred Crane drinking water (仙鹤点水 XIAN HE DIAN SHUI)
The same starting position.
Imagine yourself being a crane on the bank of a lake among other cranes.
Bow your head slightly down, turning it left as far as you can similar to what birds do (picture 1), slightly turn up your head and moving it so the chin would make the upper arch come back to the starting position. This arch should be of an oblong oval outline. Repeat 8 times.
Repeat the same exercise 8 times in the opposite direction.(picture 2)
Craning your neck as forward as possible bow your head as though you are drinking the water from a lake with the beak (picture 3). Then, pressing your chin onto the chest, pull the chin up so that it slides along the sternum. During this process the spine is moving wave-like starting from the feet and up. When you raise your head again before the next craning of the neck, the chin comes off from the sternum and goes up as if a bird swallows the water taken into the beak (picture 4). Repeat 8 times.
The first notional level: cervical and thoracic spine training to increase their flexibility. This is especially useful for people over 40 and for those who have a sedentary life-style. This exercise contributes to better circulation of the blood, nourishing the brain and easing any headaches.
The second notional level: it improves Qi circulation along the energy channels, encouraging it to raise up from the feet, along the spinal cord and opening biologically active points along its flow through the body.
The third notional level: you have to imaging yourself as a crane taking water from a lake. Then, being in the DEEP STATE OF QIGONG, after a proper training, you might be able to understand language of birds and animals.
. 4. Magic Dragon Stirs the Sea (神龙搅海SHEN LONG JIAO HAI)
Shen translates as “spirit”. But in combination with the character “dragon” it reads “magic”, “wonderful”, “coming from the other world, but real”.
Imaging yourself being a dragon in the sea. There is nothing but water around and you are in the very depths.
Put your hands on the waistline, thumbs forward and the fingers put onto the kidney area.
Rotate your trunk 8 times to the left, counter-clockwise, then 8 times to the right, clockwise. While rotating do not let the feet come off the ground. Imaging you are rotating in the water, feel its resistance stirred by your motion. (pictures 1-3)
Having completed the rotating movement, abruptly shake yourself, pushing yourself off from the ground similar to a dragon who while still rotating the trunk, jumps out of the sea into the air element (repeat 1-3 times). During the jump your body moves as if somebody suddenly embraced you from behind and you are shaking him off to break free. (picture 4)
The first notional level: good physical exercise working out the lumbosacral spine area and leg joints. There is the Minmang Point in the lower back zone which is hard to open. This area collects bad Qi, and it adversely affects the proper circulation of blood in this zone. There may be stagnation, discomfort or even some pain which may lead to the development of tumors. This exercise contributes to the normal functioning of the above mentioned zones.
The second notional level: This is the kidneys area. According to Qigong system, kidneys belong to the element of water. It means that kidney Qi and water Qi is one and the same. If you were able not only to imagine yourself in the water but also feel being in the water which is turning around and stirring, then your kidneys would be washed by this water. This water Qi would be going though your kidneys cleaning them and removing the negative and stagnated Qi. By the way, Kidneys here are not just a separate organ, but a system, the whole urogenital region. And this exercise helps to balance functioning of the whole system. The third notional level: Imagine yourself as a Dragon, feel yourself as a Dragon. If you get into the STATE OF QIGONG during this exercise you will understand what dragons feel as they are the creatures of the other worlds, real and strong; and here you are laying the foundation of your potential abilities to communicate with the other worlds, other Civilizations, and other Beings.