ChiDragon

Thank you! I wish you are the same.

Yes, that will work for your own preference. I am not suggesting to figure out every practice but just the one you are practicing and has significant result.

Yes, that is what the trend of all the practitioners. Who cares how it works as long it works. It is fine if people don't need to know, just don't bother with it. However, there is no reason to reject or deny others who want to to do so. For some practical person like me, as a retired engineer, it is my nature to find out why things do work that way. Besides, I have all the resources available for me to grab. Thank you for your response.

Firstly, one must learn and understand the concept before anything else. It is not beneficial to go into something blindly. One must start something use it as guideline. That is why ChiDumbass, very modest nickname, asking questions for help here! Whoever can help him, please help him but not to give him bunch of go-around.

Thank you for your interest in my thoughts. Like in the case of Chidumbass, he have the tingle feeling in his arms and chest that shows a sign of biological activities in his body. Even though, he doesn't know but he can still find the answer by asking someone that might know. I have the same situation before. Something that cannot be explained by traditional beliefs, I go some where else for answer. Like modern science. Since the body was changing biologically, from the practice, I would go look into how the body function and the internal activities. That will explain why the external practicing method works to improve the health of the body. Since I had done that knowing the reason, I pay more attention to the new discovery that I had learned. I appreciated more and more in my practice and benefited in accomplishment. Since I realized that breathing is the key to all practices, I have concentrated and emphasized on my breathing and my body health and strength had improved drastically. When I practiced Taiji since twenty five years old, after twenty years I still get a cold or flue once awhile. Especially during the coldest days around Thanksgiving Day, I couldn't even go to the my mother's Thanksgiving dinner few years in the roll. Since I had found out breathing is very important to our health, and confirmed with physiology knowledge, I haven't got sick for many many years up to now. I could resist the cold weather much better.

I don't know what your definition is. Are you using that definition as your main reference or guideline to compare with others explanations? If that is my definition, then, I would stick with it and use it as baseline until I found something else to overturn it. We must keep a baseline to maintain balance in the mind to avoid confusion.

CD I think you are on the right track. This welcome forum is not for long discussions. Why don't you start a new thread in the General Discussion Section. Would you please do that? I have a lot to tell you from my own experience. It might be a helpful guide for a enthusiastic beginner. Thanks!

Is that the definition you like to use or because it is the way you think it should be.

Hello, everybody. Surprise! I am back again as myself, not as dragon fruit as someone might thought it would be. I was exiled for many years. I knew there is justice in TDB system allow me to return. It is only a matter of time. After all, the revelation of Dao is always taken it course and prevail. I will continue to cultivate the principles of Tao in the controversial environment. It would be more beneficial to face the people with difference in opinions and attitudes in my cultivation. So, here i am for another adventure in this friendly environment. Nice to be back.

This is what I had done before in 2013.

I was hoping you would ask me what the definition of Nei Dan is before any further questions.

The basic part is to understand what it is first before the pursuit.

There are so many just want to make some bucks and make up some fictional stories to attract the people. That is why it is so confusing, people don't know what to read but just took it for granted.

Exactly!

My understanding comes first from the original Chinese definition or explanation articles, other than just the characters. The translation was done for the non-native speakers.

If the person who wrote the dictionary doesn't understand what nei dan is, the dictionary will never have the complete definition of the term nei dan. I can only give the Chinese translation of the nei dan definition.

I had glanced through the 19 pages of this thread. So far, I have seen the definition of nei dan, described here, is not even close to the Chinese definition(內丹). I had tried to explain many times in different sites. Unfortunately, people just treated as misinformation. Even asked for me to be banned.

Pardon me! Was that a good judgement to evaluate the book by its volume instead of its content. I wouldn't think the original concept requires that many pages have it patented.

Please keep in mind, the online seminars are for the conductor to make money from the innocents. FYI To accomplish the effect of Nei Kung requires lots of practice, day by day, on one's own. Those so-called one day seminar will lead one nowhere. If I am greedy, then, I would have had being a so-call master long time ago.

The answer is do whatever makes your comfortable. It is secondary, but breathing is primary.

Bull's eyes, that is what make Qigong work for you. Your energy built up was from your breathing. It is not necessary to have a teacher to learn Qigong. Perhaps, a teacher could tell you how to breathe more properly. Like "sink chi to the dantien(氣沈丹田)." That is the ultimate goal of breathing in Qigong. It is to breathe deeply as possibly as one can but slowly and softly. If you continue to practice on your breathing, then your breath will go down deeper and deeper. Eventually, your breath will reach deep down to the dantien. Indeed, you have accomplished the highest realm of Qigong.

Hi CD Welcome to TDB. Whatever it might be. If this is the case, the sensation is increasing in strength, then, you must have been doing something right. Can you tell us what is your developed ability to move the "chi" around your body? Take it from me. Nothing that can be dangerous doing on your own and gone this far.

From my point of view, objectively, people said all these postures work in their practice. Why do they work for all to accomplish the purpose of Qigong ? There must be a common denominator that no one have ever mentioned here. Have you ever asked why you are sitting in the half or full lotus position on the floor or a chair or whatever but still works? To meditate is like having a dream or just concentrate on the sitting postures or to concentrate on the breathing? Which one of that you think it will help to accomplish the purpose of Qigong?

Yes, whenever possible, I practice Tai Chi Quan, Tai Chi sword and Sabre at least once a day.

Now, we all know what Tai Ji means the "supreme ultimate"; "Ultimate extreme"; "Yin-Yang". In Tai Ji Quan, the are two things that one wants to go to the ultimate extreme. They are the breathing and the physical body. Breathing is soft with the Yin attribute, the body is hard or solid with the Yang attribute. The goal in Tai Ji was to fine tune the respiratory system to its ultimate extreme(the most Yang state) and transform the body to a tip-top shape. We always hear the common phrase in Tai Ji, 以柔克刚, "the softness dominates the hardness." In this case with Tai Ji, it is the breath dominates the body. We know breathing controls the body, otherwise, without breathing the body will die. Hence, we want to dominate the breathing by fine tuning it to its ultimate extreme. In the same fashion, we want the body to have the ultimate strength. Fortunately, the ancients had found an ultimate method to accomplish the two. This method is called Tai Ji Quan. Tai Ji Quan involves slow movements and slow breathing. The slow Tai Ji movements will force the body to go through all different positions as it normally should be capable of. While, doing the movement, the breath was going down deeper and deeper into the Dan Tian while breathing. Thus having the breath to reach the Dan Tian was the ultimate goal in Tai Ji or Chi Kung. The ultimate breathing method is, now, known as the "abdominal breathing" method. It was because the Dan Tian was located below the navel at the abdomen. For simplicity, let's say that there two levels in Tai Ji, the primary and secondary. The primary level is for those who had not been exercising or with chronic illnesses, especially with a breathing problem. Without exercising, the muscles are stiff and may not be able to move at any position. The reason that Tai Ji practice begins with the slow movements was to adjust the muscles gradually for getting use to the different stresses which was being applied. The improvement of the breathing was being done spontaneously while performing the slow movements. After a prolong practice continuously day-by-day, the muscle were fine tuned to have better tones. The breath are going down deeper and deeper. Finally, the breath had reached down to the Dan Tian. This breathing state has being called 氣沉丹田, "Sunken the breath to the Dan Tian", throughout the last two centuries. Many people are mistakenly interpret this character 氣(Chi) as energy; and mistranslated the phrase as "move the energy to the Dan Tian". With the notion of "move the energy to the Dan Tian", most people were misled that breathing has nothing to Chi Kung. That was why some people advanced quicker and some was not improving at all. At the secondary level, all the muscles were transformed to fast twitch type and they are ready for action. The breathing has been able to do abdominal breathing. Hence, the practitioner at this level was capable to control the breathing to assist all the muscles to Fa Jin(發勁). It is very important that one can control the breathing. How deep the breath was will determine the amount of Jin or body strength that can be exerted to the muscles. Another word, if one wants to exert 25% of the Jin, one will control the breath to go down 25% inside the body, so to speak. In order to Fa Jin, the muscle must be contracted and the breathing has to be controlled by the depth. An experienced Tai Ji practitioner will never hold the breath but always breathe smoothly in and out without a pause. Thus that will keep the lungs to exchange gas at a constantly rate. PS.... Your comments are welcome....!!!