What Is Chi Gong?
(This is an excerpt from a University Of Metaphysical Sciences course at www.umsonline.org, please feel free to visit the school website)
After the Taoist masters had formulated their understanding of chi and how it functions, they began to cultivate methods by which they could strengthen their internal chi and have it living in harmony with heaven chi and earth chi. These practices became known as Chi Gong. As stated earlier, chi is the energy or activating principle of the universe. In The Way of Qigong (1997), Keneth Cohen loosely translates Gong as work or benefits acquired through perseverance and practice. Chi Gong is, therefore, working with chi over a long period of time to acquire benefits. It is also a holistic system of self-healing that is said to have transformative effects on the body, mind, and spirit.
Today there are many forms of Chi Gong all based on similar principles such as balance, relaxation, breathing techniques, and posture. Among these many forms there are three main types of Chi Gong, which are all applied for their transformative effects. There is martial Chi Gong to become a better fighter, medical Chi Gong to assist in creating health, and religious Chi Gong to become enlightened. All of these practices are based on the presence of chi and its dynamic interaction with a being.
Through Chi Gong practice one can become extremely proficient in the understanding of chi and its processes, and thereby live in an optimal state of health and happiness. Master Yu-Liang describes the process of Chi Gong in his book Qigong Empowerment (1997) as follows: "To return to the Dao (Tao) one first must have an abundance of energy and a strong, healthy body to attain longevity. Daoism values life. They also believe that old age and sickness can be avoided, and immortality can be attained, provided one continually cultivates and engages in learning about living harmoniously with nature. Ignorance and lack of discipline are the reasons for not being able to master one's life and determine one's destiny.” (4)
The fundamental principle of Taoism is that if people align themselves with the natural way of the universe they will live with healthy bodies and clarity of mind. Also, everything will happen in an effortless way, also known as Wu Wei. This principle has been described by many Taoist teachers, and implies that once one knows the way of the universe and of chi, that all actions become perfect and spontaneous, never swerving out of alignment and therefore seeming effortless. Another way to describe this would be that the universe moves you rather than the ego. You have become the way. Taoists preferred the simple life of cultivating the Way and watching nature unfold. Unfortunately, however, the Taoists noticed that most people did not live in harmony with the Tao and therefore needed to be taught how to re-align themselves. People were constantly wasting their chi and consequently getting sick and frustrated and eventually dying. Because of this, it was now necessary for humans to work very hard to come back to their natural state.
Chi Gong became a way to help people learn to live naturally. In today's modern world of constant distractions and never ending desires, chi is constantly being drawn out of the body. The Taoists say that outer desire driven impulses will never be satisfying because ultimately they are depleting people's energy. They also realized that to perform no outer action was impossible, so what was needed was to build up a strong reservoir of chi that would not run out. The cultivation of chi is Chi Gong. Chi Gong is quite simple and can be learned by anyone who is willing to dedicate the needed time to feel the energy and then apply the techniques. For many it is a life long practice with ever-new unfoldments. The transformative qualities that unfold during this practice are due to concentrated self-effort and reliance on the abundance of energy, which is within the reach of every being.