Classical Qi Gong in the Marshwood Vale Or: why does waving your arms about improve your health?
Most people have come across Tai Chi these days, practiced widely now in the UK and I think fair to say, largely associated with the older generation. Qi gong, on the other hand, is not so widely understood, and if practiced often adapted by the New Age movement. Qi Gong has been around for over 2000 years, as an ancient art of movement developed to remove pathogenic influences from the body and mind, based initially in the shamanic practices of the ancient Chinese (Wu people) and developed over the years as Daoism formed itself into a comprehensive philosophy of health (Chinese medicine), martial arts, environmental alignment (Feng Shui), and the meditation aspect of the tradition also influenced by the introduction of Buddhism into China.
Qi Gong will, if practiced in a classical manner, lead the practitioner into increased amounts of energy, strength, mental and emotional resilience to stress and discomfort, and improved health and wellbeing. More bounce, more calm, and increased spontaneity/creativity of expression. This increased efficiency of the body and mind is what led the Daoist arts to become famous for longevity, longevity in this case being understood essentially as efficiency. The more efficient the body and mind the less it wears out! These benefits will come from diligently covering the foundation stages of the training, and putting time into personal practice. A fair few benefits and claims that perhaps first need the term ‘classical’ defining.
Like many eastern philosophies, Daoism has suffered the mixed blessing of popularization; where the teachings of an entire complex philosophical tradition have become reduced to suit the ‘quick fix, reduce our stress’ western mind-set. Memes all over the internet of Lao Tzu said, and many businesses making big money from selling ‘Daoist sexual yoga” to give a couple of nonsenses as examples!
We have yoga to sculpt your beach body, mindfulness to reduce anxiety and make the workforce more ‘resilient’, and Taiji to relax if you’re old. Whilst there is nothing wrong with this, it has helped many people to find the benefit from stretching the body, supported many to reduce their addiction to thinking compulsively, and moving the joints around as we age is a useful thing. But this is only a small thimbleful of the ocean that is true Yoga, the depth and breadth of the Buddhist science of the mind and the comprehensive philosophical art form that is Daoism, covering medicine, health, martial arts, meditation, Feng Shui, as well as Qi Gong and Taiji.
When it comes to classical practice, Qi Gong in my view cannot be practiced correctly without the appropriate level of information and understanding of the tradition from which it emerged. This information is often not taught or even withheld. For example this must include the reasons behind why we flap our arms about in various ways; information that describes in detail the layers of opening we are looking for in these simple movements, and why, ways to utilise the awareness, guidance on how to develop deep inner listening. Without this, it will at best move the joints around a bit and deepen the breath but ultimately the student will hit a glass ceiling. These arts are defined as ‘internal arts’ for a reason. The external forms are relatively simple, but the layers of activity occurring within those forms are where the true artistry lies, and where the fascination with the practice develops. It then becomes up to the individual practitioner how far they want to take the art, stay at the medical health level, or keep going deeper into the stillness practices that lie at the heart of the tradition.
Most of the activity within the forms of Qi Gong are not visible to the untrained eye, but for the practitioner practicing in a classical manner, having taken the time to build the foundations within the body, the complexity that they are engaged with inside the simple movements is huge. This is when the ‘Nei Gong’ aspect of the art unfolds. Nei Gong translates to ‘internal skill’ and refers to the process’ inside the body/mind that unfold with practice. The level of information we have alongside regular practice will dictate how useful the thing is. The qi will not sir correctly and most importantly, efficiently, without this information and a pre requisite to this, is a teacher willing to share it. A classical approach will always unfold in a step by step manner, will not offer any mastery in a weekend(!), and will be taught by teachers who have their own teachers and are accountable to them.
The problem as I see it of this populist mind-set comes when the cherry picking version of a tradition means that people don’t realise or have access to the depth that an art like Qi Gong has. This has maybe a number of causes. The teachers themselves have not had access to the entire system or have had information withheld from them, or worst a largely white, western arrogance that believes that we can extract from an ancient lineage based system the bits that ‘suit’.
Perhaps also this has happened because the classical route is difficult, seems slow and is certainly physically demanding. So much of the foundations built in Qi Gong begin within the body, most of the demanding aspect of the bodywork is not in the usual athletic sports training, its demanding because we have to train the body and mind to let go, to release from the layers of the body habitual stagnations stored as tensions in the muscles and fascia, and gradually build the kind of body that is open and conductive for the later stages of the training. Often Chinese teachers coming to the west have assumed that we are not prepared to do the work, so have come up with a watered down ‘more accessible’ version. Whilst for many people this is not a problem as they are looking for a weekly class to feel a little more relaxed and at ease, not a lifetime study requiring daily practice. For others it is frustrating, not to have access to the depth of the art. To know that there is a laid out path of progression we can follow as far as our commitment and dedication wishes to take us.
Often people seeking a deeper approach are the more analytic sort, are generally deep thinkers and can be put off by the ‘new agey’ tinge now prevalent in the approach to these practices, and this is a sad thing. How many people who would benefit from a body based integrative practice, quite understandably, turn away from it as most of what they see available is flaky and unexamined or only for the over 65’s (although equally welcome) and necessary to possess large amounts of crystalline rock to undertake!
The types of students we tend to get in the school that I run and am a part of, are curious, all ages, we currently regularly train with (25 – 70), adventurous, bright, willing to work hard and encounter their edge and with a high bullshit radar! There are, it turns out, a lot of people like that out there wanting access to some genuine training of body and mind who recognise an authentic approach to internal cultivation when they see it, fascinated to explore where it can go and attracted to the fun of the journey.
After all, 2000 years of a laid out path to the Dao (the unnameable, unthinkable source of all), leading practitioners through a step by step process of cultivation is something to approach with openness and respect – maybe they knew a thing or two these sages, at least its worth finding out, and maybe an ancient tradition should not be broken apart when we don’t understand it from the inside of years of dedicated study. The fact is that if we engage in such a study the idea of a piecemeal approach seems nonsensical and deeply disrespectful.
So if you are interested in a genuine, classically taught approach to the art that is Qi Gong and associated meditative practices, taught in a comprehensive and progressive way come and join us here at Bonhays, you will be very welcome, what ever your age or previous experience. We have a new series of weekly classes starting in September, day events where new people can come for the morning as a taster, and regular 3-6 day immersive retreats. Now I must get back to my training…I seem to have misplaced that crystal somewhere!
Sophie Johnson
Founder/Director of Bonhays Retreat Centre.
Senior Teacher and Student of Damo Mitchell who runs Lotus Nei Gong International.
30 years teaching. She continues to study Nei Gong, Nei Dan and Chinese Medicine.
https://sophieneigong.com/
http://www.bonhays.co.uk/
