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Hello everyone, A friend of mine introduce me to this system called Heavenly Essence Qigong and Master Li Tianhua. I followed some of their free presentations on Zoom. There are 5 levels on this practice, most of them costing extraordinary sums of money (up to 5000 euros for level 5) and working for Yang Shen emergence on level 5. You can see the method here (https://heqigong.com/courses/) I tried to do more research and I found this is based on Zhong Gong (中功) a spiritual movement based on qigong founded in 1987 by Zhang Hongbao, but with another name. Their teacher died in relatively young age (60 or so) in an accident. Does anyone have experience on this path? And do you think the claims mentioned in the different levels are legit? Thank you, Andreas

Hi everyone, Please recommend good books about the technique of forming the Immortal Fetus. Aside from Mantak Chia's books, I can't find other resources. Thank you.

I just had this shower-thought! Before our birth, we do not exist. After our birth, we exist. Once we are dead, we cease to exist once more. These things are known to all of us, therefore many of us believes in reincarnation, since the next step would likely be "to exist once more". This is the circle of life and reincarnation that most follow by their own free will, but those who seek to cultivate the three treasures does not follow this circle out of their own free will. My thought is; Those who practice neigong or chigong are like Sisyphus, endlessly pushing a boulder up the hill. Not because what we do isn't real but because we are like a bucket full of holes, what we build up leaks out fast. My hypothesis is that we start with nothing, no meridians or dantians, but we (our soul/consciousness) are a seed. We must use inaction (wuwei) to grow our meridians and then later grow our dantians (similar to how potatoes grow). (We refine our meridians and dantians with Shen, Qi and Jing after storing enough of it). (Shen is spiritual force/energy, Qi is life force/longevity and Jing is vitality/youth.) (Qigong and other exercises could be used to refine the body). To use Wuwei: Get comfortable (meditate). Focus with your sense of touch/feeling (not only your mind) on the acupressure point between your eyebrows (slightly above the nasal bone a.k.a the glabella). Do not actually move (hence to inaction). Though involuntary movements are fine and sometimes putting your focus on those movements, trying to feel it again, is good. Focus on the acupressure points of your temporal bones. Go back and forth between those points. Your goal would be to feel a light buzzing of energy in those areas. Later you must try to spread this feeling down to other acupressure points which would later allow you to feel strings of energy taking the shape of meridians. To spread the energy, you must simply focus with inaction on the next acupressure points. Trust yourself and try to find the right buzzing feeling, as well as, acupressure points for you (a feeling of; that this is the right one to focus on). Good luck and happy cultivation. - Sleepy Bluejay

Hey everyone, I’m looking into martial cultivation systems. If anyone has anything on some and willing to trade that would be great! Or just discussing as well I’m all for anything!

If I meditate on the Real Lower Dan Tian during regular sitting meditation, will that build up and store Qi there? Is that an effective approach to filling the Real Lower Dan Tian?

How legit are youtube qigong videos ? how beneficial are they ? can they do harm in some way (even small one) ? are they beneficial qi wise ? energetically wise ? are they just good low intensity exercise and that is it (not "Real qigong") nothing more ? in short - how beneficial are they really ? how far can you take it with them ? Just so what im trying to understand is more clear : I am thinking this all in comparison to damo mitchell teaching for example , or stuff written in this forum ... for example on how you cant store qi in the lower dantian before you "build" it first .... yet in many of this videos they talk about drawing qi to the dantian and storing it in the dantian , which according to other teachings its usless and by that view point this youtube videos are misleading examples : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CCicH-iz1oU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nmmNWj9YtAw&t=24s And also wondering about known sets stuff like 8 brocades and shibashi etc (that are also on youtube) ... and how beneficial are they (cause they say the same things and claimed benifits as the videos above - stuff like storing qi in lower dantian and stuff like improve eyesight or improve liver and kidney functions etc) ?

Hello everyone! is there anyone here who is or has practiced with Max and can train me online? I am already a member of primordial alchemist but I would like to learn more from other students who have been studying with him. I'll pay you for your time if you'd like as well. Thank you!

In qigong, connection to earth and heaven is clearly important. I believe that much initial work is setting up alignment and body conditioning so that we can experience support from the ground beneath our feet; that is my experience. I work on establishing a benevolent connection to the earth both through gardening (caring for the soil) and in qigong (where I like the subtle rising support that seems to give me access to an inner elastic quality, even in a simple arm swing). Any comments welcome! But I would also be grateful for information on how we 'experience' the energy of heaven. And is cosmic energy the same as heaven? Or does cosmic include both heaven and earth energy?

Hi everyone Happy 2023 and it's nice to meet everyone. I began my gigong journey in mid 2022 through stumbling upon spring forest qigong (SFQ) on youtube. Since then I have discovered books and youtube materials by Damo Mitchell and have been practising fairly diligently (i.e. about an hour a day). My search for qigong has been driven mainly by health reasons. I have developed symptoms of yang deficiency such as cold hands and feet and tiredness last year, and I thought medical qigong might be a good place to start. Re my experience, I found the SFQ stuffs quite able to generate some noticeable effects soon after I started. specifically, I have been able to feel a lot of tingly sensation throughout my body and some relief after a short while. However it wasnt until I read Damo Mitchell's A comprehensive guide to Daoist Neigong did i realise how much fundamental practice I must go on with if I were to develop systematically. At present, I am working primarily on 'stilling and consolidating the Jing' in the Wuji posture. After about practising for 2 weeks - for about an hour a day, I started to feel my lower abdomen heating up, just as Damo described in Chapter 7 of the said book. At the beginning the heat only came on while I exhaled and was concentrated in one spot. This slowly spread through to the back and now occasionally occurred even at inhalation and would become consistent for 2-3 mins, before they disperse again. I have started to also complement this with some sitting practice (also to still the Jing and stablise the mind). I also do 10-15 mins of jing ben qigong (like the 5 elements qigong taught in SFQ when the lower ab is heating up, it brings a nice, warm sensation up and down my torso). To support the practice, I have cut out most unskillful sexual behaviours, including cutting down porn consumption to minimal /necessary level. Just wanted to ask anyone who know this here, 1) if this sounds about right? 2) Does anyone have any similar experience? 3) If so, have they experienced any health benefit? 4) How did your experience progress from here? I am 39/M based in London, UK. I dont really have many friends I can talk to about this (maybe 1), so if you are in the UK, specifically London. I am very keen to link up! Jason

I came across this link I belive here in the bum's but I would like to hear your opinions on weather paying for it is worth it and is it authentic https://ancientmasters.org/

Endless debates over what is correct and what is not correct. Endless debates over what is better and what is worse. Every day fare in the kingdom of the ego. Up and down, east and west, hot and cold. Which is correct? Which is not correct? Which is better? Which is worse? Which all-knowing and all-seeing being can answer these questions with absolute authority? Who here on this Earth can say what immortality is? If anyone can live forever, they must be very rare. No, it's about spiritual immortality, you say? What is spirit? What is spiritual immortality? This person says this. That person says that. Which all-knowing and all-seeing being can answer these questions with absolute authority? What use is self-cultivation if it is not practical? If what a person practices has value and benefit for them, is it not good? If what a person practices improves their health and state of mind, is it not good? What does it matter what this person or that person says about some particular cultivation method? If what a person practices has value and benefit for them, is it not good? If what a person practices improves their health and state of mind, is it not good? I am just a human standing on a vast Earth, surrounded by a vast universe. I do not know anything about spiritual embryos and immortality. Nebulous clouds which no one can seem to agree upon. Beautiful images for the ego to picture and behold. In this world we must be practical. Will it help us through our work day? Will it give us better health? Will it give us a better state of mind? Will it help us to interact with others in a more positive way? Will it help ease the aches and pains as we grow older? What is ultimately real, and what is ultimately not real? What is ultimately of value, and what is ultimately not of value? I do not know. Which all-knowing and all-seeing being can answer these questions with absolute authority?

This is an interesting clip from a series on the History Channel "The Proof is Out There" I cannot vouch for the practitioner, but I was wondering if anyone else has seen the whole episode and if so, what was the title of the episode? Notes in the video indicate this is a bonus clip from Season 2, "Ancient Alien Carvings and Bigfoot 'Shrooms" but I would have thought this would have been a stand alone episode. Has anyone run into this practitioner or know which school he is associated with?

Hi everyone! I study with a Taoist Master who created an online video course covering the entire Nei-Gong System he inherited, including meditation, breath and energy practices. It's quite extensive and covers everything in a really easy to follow step-by-step manner from the beginning to the most advanced practices that would not normally be taught in public, and I have found it incredibly transformative for my own practice, so I wanted to share it with all of you in case anyone else could benefit from this kind of thing right now in the way I have. In addition to the daily practice videos, you will also have access to group practice sessions on Zoom five days a week, and the opportunity to ask a senior instructor questions about your meditation practice and spiritual path. Here is the link to try the course for free for a month! I hope this may benefit someone! Wishing you all a happy new year

So I came across qing gong from read martial arts mangas and manhwas. Amongst all the martial arts I saw in fiction I always found qinggong to be somewhat realistic even on a scientific level. With more research I came across shaolin qinggong training in the book "72 arts of shaolin". But most of the training was waigong. It seems the neigong aspect which uses internal qi is nowhere to be found and has been kept secret. However based on the descriptions I have seen I have guessed what it might be. So qinggong is the art of light body gong fu. Basically u make ur body light in weight making it easier for u to jump high horizontally or move faster vertically. Now the training most people who know qing gong are exposed to are things like walking round a basket with stones inside and as training progress the stones are removed making it more difficult. An another one being jumping out of ditch and running accross a plank and making it more horizontal as you improve. But all are external methods. I believe that by looking at the external methods one can intuit what the internal method would be trying to achieve. So basically how I came to my conclusion was I imagined myself using qinggong to stand on water. I imagined myself weightless like a feather floating on water. I imagined this picture of myself for a long time. I thought it would be possible to reverse engineer how the skill works by imagining myself doing it. And weirdly I felt qi go to my feet. But at the same time I also felt the qi at my feet trying to generate some upward force that equals or negates my weight and I instinctively understood how it worked. It seems the first step is getting a large amount of qi to ur feet particularly your ankles and ur toes cuz thats where the qi really concentrated. The next part is the hard part. That qi u gather at ur feet is then used to generate upward thrust from ur ankles upward. That upward thrust is then used to counter ur weight or negate it. The more qi u have the more lighter u can become. So u use qi like a thruster on a rocket. The upward force generated counters ur weight making ur body feel lighter almost hovering a millimeter above ground. This technique is an internal technique that requires all eight extraordinary meridians to be opened. Even in mangas and manhwas students are required to open all eight extraordinary meridians before u can begin learning martial art skills. In fact in mangas they are so strict about this stuff that they consider it a basic requirement. In real life the microcosmic orbit is already a miracle for most of us.

Hello lovely Community I am glad to found you. I am looking for real Nei Gong there are so many teachers out there, that are not teaching the real thing. And for me it is really difficult to see who is which. I hope I can find help here. Best wishes

Hi guys, I haven't been on here for a long time but thought i would pop in and get some opinions. Many of you know that I have been in china for a long time, searching out authentic practices and schools and learning all i can from these masters/places. Many of them not known in the west and all of them only speaking chinese. I am considering teaching some authentic practices for the first time. The real methods for activating the dantian and cultivating qi that is tangible and in my opinion the fuel source for all higher qigong/neigong/neidan practices. All the time i have been here the one thing that bothered me was the secrecy and costs involved to learn these practices. I have always wanted to do things in a way that made them accessible to everyone without gimmicks, without secrecy and without worrying that you are wasting your time with someone who isn't intending on ever teaching you all the way. This unfortunately happens way too often with a basic outdoor practice being taught for years while milking people for cash. This happens most of the time. So, i was thinking of doing a zoom meeting, teaching 4-6 hours over 2 days and teaching the actual practices that I myself did and still do to this day. They are real, authentic practices for developing the dantian and filling it with highly refined qi. The next stage of teaching will cost the same, I won't be increasing prices over time as you get to the higher practices. I also want to create a monthly subscription for those who wish to keep practicing with me with easy access to ask questions. Only those who attended either a zoom meeting/in person meeting and are part of the monthly payment group will be allowed to come for the second, third and fourth level practices, but I think this would make sense as you cannot skip the first practice. It will take a good 5-10 years of practice to develop the dantian and qi to the level where you can start to emit it by yourself so please do not expect a new practice and level every few weeks of having finished the first stage in a few weeks ready to move onto the next. What you will learn i still practice every day and is the main method for replenishing dantian qi if you have been emitting it all day (mostly for treatment, I am a TCM doctor). There will also come a time when meeting in person will be required to adjust and open channels for students who made good progress but these meetings will also be reasonably priced. For the zoom meeting and teaching I was thinking $300 a person and those who wish to keep practicing with me and have access to a group I was thinking $50 a month (something like a wattsapp group). This means the following stages will also cost $300 and if we are meeting in person once corona is finished will keep prices as close to $300 as possible with increases only to cover expenses. """"" After some consideration and feedback I think it would be better to just charge $500 per seminar, no monthly fee but the wechat group will be made and kept for a while to allow questions and review and will be completely optional. This way people can learn to whichever level they want without any long term commitement. """"" I am only offering to teach up to the level where you develop the ability to emit qi (the wonderful electric qi everyone either wants or thinks is fake). I can also comfortably say that most won't get there because lets be honest, how many non chinese/asian in the whole world do you know who can do it? Then again, no one who could do it ever offered to teach it in this way so who knows. So, there are 4 stages of practice that will be taught, 1-3 within the first 2 years and the last one when you dantian is brimming with qi and you are ready to learn to emit it out of your body. Health will be the deciding factor in how well you develop, however, I don't plan on offering any treatment because this is the main complaint about how Dr Jiang Feng did things. I really wanted to ask peoples opinion on here because many here have practiced with many different schools, different teachers and I want to do things differently, do them right. PS. I would discourage people who do reiki or similar practices from doing neigong like this, they aren't compatible. If you do wish to learn neigong, you have to stick to it and leave reiki/similar practices behind. I injured myself really badly because this wasn't ever explained.

Hi, I'm introducing myself, as I'm a new member of this site. I found it after searching for more information on Qi gong. Have been practising Stillness Movement through Michael Lomax's teachings for the last month or so. Thank you for such an informative and helpful forum!

Hello Bums, with my most recent discoveries about the focus of Mao Shan energy practices, I have thought about the idea of any teaching or practice being either a water or a fire path. I know that some practices are labeled as a "water path" or a "fire path." I, myself have used the designation of my practice being a "water" path for years. And I still like the characterisation of it being a water path. It gives the feeling of cool, peaceful, natural, flowing, feminine, etc... My thoughts about this designation have changed lately based on my most recent discoveries about the path I practice. I read on this forum a comment that I agree with which is that the whole idea of "water vs fire path" is a modern distinction. I think this is probably true. I think the most relevant practice would be in regards to the direction of energy flow of the Microcosmic orbit meditation. Fire path- being up the back and down the front and water path- being up the front and down the back. But even with that difference, I think designating one path water and the other fire is just a way to explain the different flow of energy not really about the nature of the energy itself. I would say that, in my opinion, based on my experience and based on what I know now about the goal of Mao Shan energy practices, that Mao Shan practices are definitely FIRE. But that does not take away from its distinction from other, more traditional Taoist energy practices. As I recently posted in my latest thread, I discovered after 30 years of practice in a Mao Shan internal martial art, that the techniques of the Mao Shan martial arts as well as the meditations, qigong and neigong were specifically designed to stimulate the pericardium meridian. And it did so in ways that you do not find in other, more well known Taoist energy practices. The pericardium meridian is actually an energy center in its own right. It is referred to in TCM as "The Emperor's Bodyguard." In fact, the Emperors' Bodyguard is considered to be an entity in and of itself. It is designated as being FIRE element, Lightning energy and feminine. It would be accurate to classify the pericardium meridian energy as a goddess. She is the lightning power that encases the Shen ( soul) and protects it from the harshness of 3 dimensional reality. It is the pericardium meridian that acts as an energetic shield to protect the heart from emotional and spiritual attack. I read about a very accomplished TCM professional who could tell just by feeling the pulse if someone had gone through a divorce. He said he could feel it as a wound in the pericardium meridian's energy shield around the heart. So, in that sense, the Mao Shan energy can be said to be different from other "traditional" Taoist energy as being more associated with the Feminine whereas more traditional Taoist energy could be referred to as Masculine. So I would say that since we are dealing with Qi energy, we are talking about Fire. But is the Fire Masculine or Feminine? Since we associate Water with feminine and Fire as masculine, it is understandable that anyone who is familiar with both Mao Shan and other Taoist traditions would feel inclined to associate one with Fire and the other with Water. So, for me, I will no longer call the Mao Shan practices a Water path. I will call it a Feminine path. Similar to the Vedic idea of a "Shakti" path. Shakti is the feminine path of energy practice and worship in Yogic traditions. Shakti is another term for the Kundalini energy. Kundalini is an energy and she is also a goddess and she is also FIRE. I believe this way of describing Shakti energy is a more accurate way of describing the Mao Shan energy practices. But I feel the need to be clear and make the distinction between Kundalini and Mao Shan energy. The energy of the pericardium is NOT Kundalini even though they both are Feminine Fire energies... But the actual nature of Kundalini vs Qi is whole other kettle of fish better saved for another discussion. If I may continue on the comparison of Kundalini Shakti and the Lightning Power of the Pericardium.... It is well known in Vedic/Hindu practices that if one wants real power, one should worship Mother Shakti. But one should also be very respectful of the power She holds. She can be very unpredictable and dangerous. The goddess Kali is a good example. She is the Mother, the complete embodiment of the Feminine. But she is also sometimes (inaccurately) referred to as the goddess of death. She is radical transformation. In paintings of her, one can find Kali dancing on the corpse of Shiva. If one has the idea that masculine is active and the feminine is passive, the representations of Kali and Shiva are powerful reminders of the opposite being true. One might wonder how it is that I practice a martial art that is known for its speed and devastating power and yet it is also closely associated with the feminine. ( my teacher's teacher became known for his martial prowess as a result of worshipping Kwan Yin. He credited his power to her alone).. The Mao Shan practices are also in alignment with the general description of Shakti by the Vedics. The Lightning Goddess, the Bodyguard of the Soul, in my experience, is powerful, quick, merciless and potentially dangerous, but also undoubtedly feminine and healing in nature. If I may continue a bit further... I have discovered that what makes the Mao Shan distinct as a spiritual path is that it is strongly associated with shamanic channeling. Every practice that I have found that is associated with Mao Shan ( whether that is through the sect I learned from or other Mao Shan practices from other lineages), is strongly focused on having the practitioner channel powers and energies. This is what makes Mao Shan a path of magic. There is not so much emphasis on intellectual understanding of the techniques as an instinctual and intuitive connection to the powers associated with them. The Mao Shan pracitioner is taught and encouraged to use shamanic channeling techniques to learn even more meditations and practices. The practitioner is encouraged to deepen their shamanic connections to the deities and spirits to teach them and further understand the practices. In my experience, every person who has learned the Mao Shan martial tradition who showed any promise started to create their own forms, practices and meditations. Every person with any natural inclination also started discovering their own "supernatural powers" such as healing, divination, magic, etc... I have never seen this to the same degree in any other art I have researched. One day a Tai Chi master came to visit our Mao Shan martial arts class. My teacher was showing him the Water form. The visitor paused and closed his eyes and swayed back and forth and my teacher asked him, "What are you doing?" He replied, "I'm searching for the water so I can better understand what you are showing me." My teacher said, "Don't waste your time searching for the water, just BECOME water." And then he delivered a palm strike to his chest. "Feel that?" "Yes."... "That's water. I didn't have to summon it. I just became water... Now try again. This time, just become water and don't think about it." The great grandmaster was a Mao Shan sorcerer who also was a well respected martial artist. And after my 30 years of practicing this art, I found the likely method of how he created these "Mao Shan Kung Fu Forms" that I had taken for granted. As a young man he, like many other young men from Southern China in the early 20th century learned Hakka Style Shao Lin Kung Fu. After learning Mao Shan magic, ritual and nei gong, he then learned how to channel energy from the ascended masters. The Kung Fu Forms he developed looked very similar to other Hakka style Shan Lin forms, but there was an extremely powerful energy to them that set his forms and martial arts apart from the rest of the Shao Lin Kung Fu of his time.... His forms LOOKED like other Shan Lin forms but the energy came from the Mao Shan focus on the pericardium meridian and had a very different feel and devastating effect. The way it was described to me by someone who knew the grandmaster, was that, "The Forms were Shao Lin, but the Magic was Mao Shan." After reverse engineering the Mao Shan Kung Fu forms for 30 years, I now see that what makes the Mao Shan Kung Fu different is that the techniques are solely focused on stimulating and releasing the energy in the pericardium meridian. But these techniques are hidden within what looks like traditional Hakka style Shao Lin Kung Fu forms. I believe that it is possible that the great grandmaster may not have had any intellectual understanding of the technique of the forms. But being the proficient Mao Shan sorcerer that he was, he simply channeled the ascended Kung Fu masters who taught him forms that stimulated the Lightning energy of the pericardium meridian and released the power of the Feminine. The powerful, devastating energy similar to the Shakti of Kali Ma... There are other things about the magic of the forms but I will keep those secret for the time being Thanks for letting me ramble. I think about this stuff a lot and it helps me to unpack this info somewhere where it might be understood and appreciated... Let me know what you guys think...

Hello, I am new here, I have a strong interest in cultivation and neigong. Have anyone here tried Mopai - John Chang cultivation method? What are the possible + and - ? Would you recommend it, or some other cultivation system, and why?

I've been practicing martial arts for about 30 years off and on and recently decided to put everything else on hold and focus on energy -- namely, cultivation, storing and utilizing qi. When I heard about this forum, I thought it would be a great place to find out what has worked for others. It's a long, lonely road and I figured that perhaps others may have stumbled upon ways to expedite the journey or somehow get more "bang for your qigong buck!" Through this forum, I'm hoping to get some new ideas and perspectives on energy work, make new friends and perhaps meet a few masters!

After reading through Nathan Brine's wonderful book (The Taoist Alchemy of Wang Liping, vol. 1) depicting the practices and overall line of development within the Dragon Gate sect, Nathan puts out a wonderful reminder. To truly build the foundation for neidan, one needs to learn how to relax and in particular learn the art of Song 鬆 . In WLP's lineage the art of Song is explored through methods such as pore breathing, body squeeze and the nine basic foundational techniques. From Nathan, I can understand there is a big difference between Song and flexibility. One can be completely flexible, yet not be Song 鬆. This is important to remember, I feel. I personally have been exploring Song through the practice of "anchoring the breath" as described by Damo Mitchell in his online Microcosmic Orbit course along with some of the practical teachings (pore breathing, from Wang Liping (viz. Nathan Brine). I also try to incorporate the principles into my standing work, though this is proving more difficult than I thought as it usually ends up with me spiralling into sponteanous postures rather than sinking the Qi and rooting and anchoring more deeply. I thought this would be a nice topic to explore together. I am sure it has been mentioned before, but it could be nice to have a thread directly dedicated to this aspect of internal training. So, what methods or ways have or are you working on Song or sinking in your practice? What does it feel like when it's working for you -- how about when it's not? What is important to keep in mind when learning this process?

Enjoy

I was very grateful for this video, thanks goes to Damo Mitchell (video above). I think this would benefit a lot of people here and clear up lots of doubts and mistaken notions. I really enjoyed it, I hope you guys do too

Hi all, I have been studying/practicing qigong/taiji/yoga for 20+ years, reading everything I can find. I also have professional training in TCM, with qigong/taiji training from multiple teachers, but I feel like it is time to take my practice to the next level. For now, I have only found Lotus Neigong and Ba Men Da Xuan online training systems. I know people say that this is something that we need a teacher for, but I don't live in an area where there are live teachers. For this reason, I am looking for a system that I can learn from books and videos. I would be able to travel from time to time, but really am looking for a complete system that I can learn mostly online. Is there anyone here that can vouch for either of the above systems or is there a better one that you could recommend? I am open to suggestions. TIA

Mo Pai is Bullshit