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Hello, This is just something I've been wondering for awhile and would like to get some other people's insight on. So one of the most basic exercises people give to be able to feel qi for the first time is creating an energy ball generally by just holding it or doing some back and forth motions to get the hands moving. I hold my hands just a little bit apart like 10 inches or so.. 25cm I think and the sensation starts and it feels like an exchange of information between the two and almost like opposing magnets. You can kinda direct it to spin a bit too like going up one hand down then down the other. This is just me experimenting right now. But the question is is there any benefit to doing this, like just holding it in place for awhile. Does it build Qi. Increase sensitivity? Can you then use that accumulated Qi for a purpose? Does it flow through the rest of your channels up your arms etc? Again I'm wondering if this is something worth practicing rather than just being a repeatable unique feeling?

Hello, I hope this is a forum I’ve been looking to find for a long time to discuss anything regarding true health and with the understanding that not everything is for everyone, even ancient teachings like Ayurveda and Chinese medicine (which I resonate deeply with), as a wellness therapist with over 20 years experience. many thanks! Christiaan

I basically got from a 20kg lateral raise to a 28 kg in a week with barely any training with my self developed technique and I am also more durable while using this technique so I will keep training this technique and see where it goes if it works I feel like this could be a reminder to innovate on qi techniques rather that search for old rare teachings if you want to know about the technique I used just ask and I will reply

Hey all! I have been lurking in the forums for some time now, ever since I first discovered the concept of qi in a real, undeniable way. In short, my journey began when I tried acupuncture to treat chronic pain, was reinforced when I began practicing qi gong daily, and then reached a fever pitch when I heard firsthand accounts of qi healing from my acupuncturist (waving a hand over a pressure point, essentially). Now I'm watching videos purporting to display qi's martial applications. At this point I'm inclined to believe it all may be possible - seeing auras, reading minds, telekinesis, who knows? However, I do find it hard to believe that ONLY the Chinese discovered this phenomenon. Could other practices around the world, religious and otherwise, have used qi in other contexts? For example, the saints of Catholicism all had some sort of miraculous power, accounts of Native American shamans commonly report visions of the future, Indian Brahmins or incarnations' are said to have possession of magical astras, etc. Obviously a lot of this has been embellished and a fair bit surely is bullshit, but I suspect there is a kernel of truth to it all, and that kernel is probably called qi. Or something. Has anyone else had this thought and looked into it further?

Dear Dao Bums, I would like to ask you: 1) What has been the most physically strengthening and stretching qigong form you've experienced? 2) Which qigong forms would you recommend solely based on the physical strengthening and stretching aspect? 3) Which qigong forms would you recommend especially for physically strengthening and stretching the whole hip & groin area, as well the low back and kidneys? I look forward to hear from you guys! All the best

I've tried to understand a clear way into Daoist cultivation, but I can't find even the basics of it. Could someone please explain how to begin (and proceed) my way into cultivation?

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?

Hi, Everyone, This thread has come about because I get asked a lot of questions on various threads. In an effort not to hijack people's threads, I'm just going to ask folks to put any questions you may have here. For those of you who may not have read any of my stuff on here, and for those who have, here's a VERY brief bio. (Dear GOD I hate talking about myself in the third person! But here we are!): Infolad1 is a professional Illustrator, writer, and designer, with 39 years of experience on that end of things. On the esoteric end of life, for the past 27 years, Infolad1 has practiced Theurgy, Neidan, Meditation, Waigong, Qigong, Neigong, Neidan, Shen Gong, Tao Gong (and has been a fan of the original Gong Show for years ), Ancient Egyptian Cultivation, Taoist Cultivation, a dash of Mahayana Buddhism Kabbalah, Yoga, Pranayama, Laya Yoga, Yang Style Tai Chi Quan, Chen Style Tai Chi Quan, Baguazhang aka Bagua Quan, Bagua Zhang, Pakua Chang, Pa-Kua Chang, Pa Kua Chang, Iron Body Nei-Gong, Iron Crotch Nei-Gong, and...Okay, that's enough now. Jeez! I also do extensive research and comment on Information Theory, Simulation Theory, History, Pop Culture, Comics, TV, Film, Anime, Animation, EDM, Science and Technology in general, AI, Health and Wellness, Life Extension, Longevity, Bootstrapping/Startup Culture, The so-called "Paranormal", and other "Weird S#@%". So this thread will be the question depot for all of these things. If it's anything personal, just message me. I'll answer them as soon as I can. My life, like everyone on here, is super busy these days, and getting busier. I'm here to help If I can. Cheers!

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) ?

I am practicing tai ji quan for 4 years, and suddenly can feel what qi is about one-year ago. The major material what I learned is in chinese until I found this forum. I am practicing qigong now, and trying to do some research about what qi is.

Auras? I started perceiving auras and energies in "my minds eye" (after practicing meditation, mindfulness, qigong, mantras etc for now almost 10 years). Meaning that I would perceive these things with my physical eyes closed. Just like when you visualise something in your mind. It's like there's a screen inside your head. When you close your physical eyes, it's dark. Except when this phenomenon start to happen, it's like you see these things where there would normally be only darkness. However, in the past 2 years, it would sometimes happen that I with my physical eyes would see "shimmering / energetic disturbances" around people. Almost like when you look into nature on a very hot day, and you can see the heat creating vapor, which then rises through the air, and somehow waves/shimmers just above the ground. This would only happen sometimes. When outside at night, when it's completely dark, I would see a hint of color around people's silhouettes (which were otherwise dark/black/grey because it was night). Just last week, I read a post on a hindu spiritual blog website, which claimed that everyone can see auras in only 3-5 attempts, no matter if they've ever practiced any meditation, mantras or anything. Even a complete newb can do it. I was quite curious, because the claim sounded a bit too fantastic. However, I did the exercise, and I was shocked! You just sit with your hands pointing towards each other, and you put a white piece of paper behind them. Then you let your eyes "unfocus" or "zone out", "gaze into the empty space" or "use your peripheral vision". I tried it, and after a few minutes, I saw a white outline around my fingers. Because you're "zoned out" with your eyes, it doesn't really feel real. It feels like maybe your eyes are playing a trick on you. However, in the next part of the exercise, when you've seen the white outline, you slowly move the fingers away from each other. It takes a few tries, because as soon as you move, you automatically start looking "normally" with your eyes, instead of the "unfocused" or "peripheral" way. But once you get it, you move your fingers, and the white outline remains all throughout. After I managed to do it a few times, suddenly the white "beam" of light between my fingers got flooded with colors. I was blown away! I made my girlfriend do it, who hasn't really done much spiritually, and after 3 days of spending 2-10 minutes each day, she had the same experience of the beam of white light between the fingers getting flooded with colors as well. I find this very curious, and almost can't believe that it's true everyone can see auras so easily. I always believed that it's a natural byproduct of a genuine and authentic spiritual practice for many years (e.g. qigong, yoga meditation, mantras etc). Not that anyone can just gaze at their fingers and get it in a matter of a week's time. I've been doing the exercise each day for the past 4 days now, and I can see that it becomes easier to "switch into" this unfocused way of looking. Further, I can now see the outline around my whole hand when doing it (instead of just the finger tip). However, if I turn my hands in certain ways, I don't see the colors, but just the white outline. I am continuing the experiment, and trying to add a more difficult "progression" each day. Looking at each finger, then the whole hand, holding them in different manners etc. I hope to be able to progress to see it around every part of my own body (with the white paper background), and then maybe start trying to see it on others who stand against a background of a white wall. And then of course slowly progress to see it no matter the lighting or background, and around all living beings (if the current progression rate continues, it's probably going to take between 2-6 months of daily practice to reach that goal). I just wanted to share this peculiar experience, and see if any one else feels like partaking in this experiment? Can it really be that easy? Let me know how it goes, if you decide to try it PS: Here's the link to the blog where I read about it: https://psychologicallyastrology.com/2019/07/14/seeing-energy-learn-to-see-your-aura/ God bless you

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.

I started reading taoist yoga and i must say all the nei dan information dont look like instructions to me. They look like biographical information of the alchemical changes of the energy body as one cultivates towards samadhi. There are too much steps and processes to be aware of that I believe alchemy infromation was more like sign posts that your on the right track rather than steps to actually follow. I mean there are easier ways like anapanasati and skeleton visualization from the buddha or samatha(concentration) practices in general. Instead of the risky practice that is alchemy. And yes you can not achieve samadhi without alchemical changes happening inside you. Else it would be false samadhi. Nan Hua Chin said that samadhi without change in your body is a false teaching that has infected buddhism especially zen. He encourages people to learn about alchemy only to use it as a referral that they are on the right track rather than an instruction manual. His book Tao & Longevity: Mind-Body Transformation shows how alchemical changes happen in the body using practices like anapanasati from the buddha. He says its based on the rule of the dao that extreme yin gives birth to yang. So the stillness from anapanasati where at some point you slow down to the point of having your breath, pulse and thoughts stop(hsi), gives birth to the yang chi being born. No need for all the alchemical jargon just slow down and become still and the internal alchemy will take place. its like our bodies mimicking creation. Where from wuji came taiji and from taiji came yang chi of heaven. The secret of immortality. It has also been said in yoga that physical immortals are in samadhi 24/7 hence they are constantly in touch with the yang qi of heaven. So if alchemy is just another way to samadhi or wuji why do Daoist treat it like its some super secret when there are even safer and less cumbersome ways of getting to samadhi. After all the emptiness is called nirvikalpa samadhi in other traditions.

Dear Dao Bums, I would like to share some insights about different systems of healing and my own experiences using these. I will go over four systems of healing I've learnt and practiced: 1) Spring Forest Qigong (Chunyi Lin) 2) Talismanic healing (Zhongxian Wu) 3) Islamic healing / sufi healing, 4) "Energy and Chakra healing" (International Academy of Consciousness, IAC) 1) Spring Forest Qigong (Chunyi Lin) I really like the systematic, yet simple method of healing in Spring Forest Qigong. The system is something like this: 1) Preparation 1.1) Prepare the patient 1.2) Prepare yourself 1.3) Detect blockages 2) Healing 2.1) You strengthen the dan tien (open hand) 2.2) You open and circulate the small universe 2.3) You strengthen the dan tien 2.4) You open the blockages (using sword finger mudra) 2.5) You remove the excess/old energy (using an open hand) 2.6) You give healing energy to the places you've unblocked and removed old energy from (using your palm) 3) Closing 3.1) You strengthen the dan tien 3.2) You open and circulate the small universe 3.3) You strengthen the dan tien Mudras are used during the healing for different purposes. This is because mudras generate a certain energy field. This specific energy field is better for different things. Furthermore, you also empower or energize food and water for healing. This could be for yourself or for the patient. I've learnt just one talisman from Chunyi Lin. This talisman is drawn using a specific mudra. Again, it's because the talisman and mudra generate a certain energy. Lastly, Chunyi Lin is very big on massage, cupping and tapping. These are all physical techniques, everyone can use and understand them immediately. 2) Zhongxian Wu The healing I've learnt from Zhongxian Wu is very focused on using your body, breath and visualisation. This is done through posture, breath and visualisation. Posture is your own physical body, as well as the hand mudra you use. Breath is using specific breathing methods, especially mantras are the most important. Visualisation you use your mind to visualise the talismans which connect you to the qi field you need for your healing. The healing I've learnt from him so far is mostly focused on the specific place that's hurt. You use the talismans (one for each of the five elements) with their mantra and mudra to energize the 3 dan tien and/or the 5 organ systems, or the specific place on the body that's in need of healing. Furthermore you give mantras to the patients or exercises accompanied by mantras that they can use every day. Healing water is also used. 3) Islamic / sufi healing Each surah/verse of the Qu'ran has a specific energy. White, blue, black, yellow, golden, green etc. These different colors of energy are good for specific purposes. Some can remove black magic and evil spirits, make a protective circle around yourself and/or your family or your home. Some can energize objects. Some can make people respect you more. Some can give you more charisma, some can improve your aura etc. Some can heal physical diseases, some can help with psychological and emotional issues, and some can help improve relationships etc. You can heal the body, energy, mind or "life". Life understood as money, career, relationships, attract good luck, have more charisma etc. You usually have a system as you do the healing, e.g: 1) Salawaat (this is a way of connecting to either the Prophet Muhammad and/or Sufi Masters) 2) Qur'an (with the help of the prophet or saints you use the particular energy from the Qur'an you need) 3) Du'a (you use a prayer for the healing, or you make your personal prayer) 4) Salawaat (you close with salawaat again) You can then blow on the persons, blow on your hands and touch the persons, blow on water and make them drink it or sprinkle it around the house, energize objects, or blow on your finger and make a circle around yourself or your house. 4) IAC energy and chakra healing There are 3 fundamental energy techniques taught in the IAC, all with the goal of eventually allowing one to have an out of body experience. The techniques are: 1) Absorbing energy 2) Exteriorising energy 3) Circulating energy (called the VELO) For healing, you would firstly absorb a lot of good energy (e.g. from nature, trees, a river etc). Then you would exteriorize energy into the patient (usually using your hands). Geo-energy (from the ground, rocks and stones) they use for the root chakra. Water energy they use for the second chakra. Energy from plants and trees are good for relaxing the mind, as well as the heart chakra. Air energy and fire energy can also be used. The best self healing would be to head to a place that has the energy one needs (e.g. ocean, forest, river, mountains) and absorb as much energy as possible. Then you would VELO for a prolonged time, to circulate the energy as well as clear blockages. EDIT: I wanted to share some of my personal experiences with each system. 1) Chunyi Lin I strongly feel that a very particular qi comes to help when using SFQ to heal. It could be Chunyi Lin's qi, or a "commonly shared" spiritual container of healing energy shared by all SFQ practitioners. Especially I feel my middle dan tien extremely empowered when doing SFQ healing. I've also experienced a strong increase in my energetic perception when doing SFQ healing (especially during the healing). Lastly, the patients I've healed have felt heat, tingling, emotional release, insights about their problem and its cause and especially the taking out of the old/excess energy they feel very strongly. 2) Zhongxian Wu The talisman healing is very strong. I personally feel very, very powerful qi in my system when using the posture, mantra, mudra and talisman. When using it for healing, the patients have felt heat, tingling, electricity, insights about their problem, visions, vibrations and many other positive things. Something very interesting is the use of different healing tools. He is a strong advocate for having your own personal acupuncture needle you use for everything, own personal calligraphy brush, mirror, lamp/light, sword etc. The idea is that by using it everday both for your own cultivation and for healing, the objects themselves slowly get energized more and more. This makes them more powerful over time. Furthermore! You can also send energy using your feet instead of your hands. Feet are more powerful than hands, therefore their healing energy is stronger. 3) Islamic / sufi healing For some reason, I feel this healing is exceptionally strong when it comes to emotions and state of mind. When I've used it on myself or my house, or made others drink blessed water, I've noticed exceptional increase in joy, peace, hope for the future, calm trust in God's plan and the patient gets extremely enthusiastic and energetic. Furthermore, when doing a lot of salawaat, qur'an, du'a and salawaat, people become more friendly, respectful and attracted to you during your everyday life. For depression or other emotional states, this is the strongest I've seen. Especially salawaat. 4) IAC For me personally, going out into nature every single day for 15-60 minutes to absorb and VELO energies was extremely powerful. Once when I was starting to catch a cold, just after I had returned from a seminar (where I learnt the VELO), I did the VELO for 15 minutes straight. It cured my cold! For healing I've done it very little. However, what I experienced was that people could feel the energy going into their body. Furthermore, depending on whether it was geo-energy, phyto-energy or water energy, they could sense how the different energies were different. I.e. phyto-energy felt more peaceful and alive, geo-energy felt more solid, water energy felt more fluid. Conclusion I've seen all these kinds of healing work to a very large extent. However, I haven't experienced miracle-healings. By miracle healings, I mean like Jesus healed people, or some of the stories you hear from Chunyi Lin or Zhongxian Wu, about how people recovered from tumors, cancer etc. In my experience, it simply improves and energizes people, as well as accelerate their healing process. If someone would take 7 days to recover from a very bad flu, with healing it would take just 1-2 days instead. So, because of this, even though people feel energy etc. during the healing, they're not "blown away". Because they usually expect "Jesus-like-healing", with someone laying hands on them, and then everything is immediately healed in one go. However, they can usually tell that the healing has a positive effect and improves their energy. Commonalities All use the body, the breath (including mantras) as well as the mind (visualisation) to heal. Furthermore they use prayer and also healing water. Almost all use mantras and mudras. Even in islamic healing you make the prayers with your hand open (this is also a mudra). Warning What I've noticed in many of the healing workshops I've gone to is that healing is more trouble than healing. This is not to scare people, but simply to make people conscious of it. People simply send their own personal energy into each other, and thereby just mix energies. If the other person has great and pure energy, this is awesome. But mostly, people have their own issues,which also get transmitted with the healing. So, when people at a workshop simply mix their energies with each other, the result is not necessarily good. It's just a mess. Furthermore, with people putting 100% faith in the healer to miraculously cure their issues (which they themselves have caused with bad diet, lifestyle etc), they don't take responsibility for their own life. Therefore the issues (even if truly healed) will simply come back after a number of weeks, months or years (depending on the healing power they got). In my mind the best is always to educate people to take better care of themselves. Diet, lifestyle, good habits, daily qigong and meditation etc. Then, if they of their own free will continue these things, then healing becomes much more valuable. Because then it simply boosts and empowers these people in their own personal healing journey. But I'm still making up my mind about healing. For the past 3 years I've been very sceptical about it (like you can see above). However, recently I'm giving it a go again, to see how it goes. And with the patients being very happy with it, I'm rethinking my attitude. Is it good, is it bad, is it more trouble than healing, or is it to be viewed simply as a boost? I'm experimenting back and forth, and then based on my experiences and observations I'm changing my position Be blessed!

Hi I had a question about something I wanna make it clear cuz there is alot of deffrent opinions about it Before starting cultivation should one train his physical body to a good point first or no ?? I have heared and read from some people u should train you body as it would tighten the medirian and make qi travel harder and block it etc ........ At same time I heared you should train you body well to near limit to your body can handle and store qi and when body reach limit it have enough reserves in Dan Tien to start cultivation and store qi So which opinion is right and thanks

I am a beginner who has been reading lots of books trying to create a scheduled practice. I have looked at Buddhism, Taoism, 8 limbs of yoga, kundalini yoga and more techniques. It seems they all start with creating an energy body by purifying qi channels. And each body is accompanied by a mental state called dhyana/samadhi. Like how monkey mind comes with our physical body. I believe cultivation has two paths. Either u cultivate dhyana by directly manipulating QI channels as they do in esoteric schools like taoism, tibettan buddhism or kundalini yoga or u manipulate consciousness like Buddha who achieved all 8 dhyana before enlightenment. Like taoist have Jing -Qi-Shen-emptiness-tao. Which starts with embryonic breathing then microcosmic circulation then macrocosmic circulation. Then brain marrow washing. Embryonic breathing is like pranayama in yoga. They aim towards achieving breath cessation where d breath stops. That's what pranayama actually means. All the different types of pranayama the main goal is balancing the Ida and pingala so the kundalini can rise through the sushumna channel in the spine. In taoism as u practice embryonic breathing at some point ur breath slows down and the Dan tien and qi point starts breathing. The wind qi then ignites yang chi to rise through the tu mai and start the microcosmic circulation. No different from kundalini yoga. The bliss in dhyana is the kundalini circulating and purifying our qi channels turning jing to qi. In Buddhism specifically those that practice dhyana all this things happen automatically then u enter first dhyana. First and second dhyana jing turns to qi, by third dhyana qi starts turning to Shen which is why u no longer feel raw bliss from jing turning to qi. And 4th dhyana is shen to emptiness which is equanimity and one pointedness.. And emptiness has levels. In Buddhism we have infinite space, consciousness, nothingness and neither perception no perception. Each dhyana comes with an immortal body. In taoism the first and second dhyana is earth immortal then third dhyana is spirit immortal then fourth dhyana is celestial immortal. In buddhism this are called deva bodies Which is why dhyana samadhi can gives powers just like energy cultivators. The powers are a result of our subtle bodies made up of higher realm energy interacting with our lower realm. Which we see in true internal martial arts that can channel the power of their qi body through thier physical body. So siddhis in patanjali sutra and visuddhimagga.hence why they require u get to the 4th dhyana to cultivate powers. So if u look closely all spiritual practices from internal martial arts to yoga asanas to pranayama and qi gong to neigong to Nyasa yoga and chakra visualization to tummo and kundalini yoga or vjaryana or Tibetan Buddhism it tantara or sexual cultivation and so many others are tools to open qi channels and purify the qi and achieve samadhi and build qi bodies or deva bodies. To ignite the kundalini and purify the body. However it seems people took the energy occurences as you cultivate samadhi and turned them into goals in themselves. Like pranayama khumbakka which is embryonic breathing from when breath slows down in dhyana to kundalini rising through the spine and opening chakras as u climb dhyana stages. To micro cosmic circulation which is the first 2 dhyana to macrocosmic which us the last two dhyana or bliss in sexual cultivation which happens in dhyana. So there are two paths to cultivating subtle bodies. The esoteric path of qi manipulation or consciousness path of dhyana-samadhi. My practise is dhyana cultivation using anapana,skeleton visualization and later elemental kasinas I shy away from esoteric practices as it can be dangerous without a true teacher. What do u guys think?

Hi all, hope someone can help me. I have bipolar one disorder, so I'm VERY open to energy and if I don't sleep this can lead to issues. I'm sleeping fine bar one occasion 2 weeks ago - I tried storing my sexual energy for 6 days, sleep got progressively worse as I went on, by day 6 I was getting around 1.5 hrs light sleep. So I gave up, and released the old fashioned way. So, I'm looking to try again. Do I need to move the energy around my body? Should I do qigong before bed? I'd prefer to just do meditation if possible, but nothing from Mantak Chia as he's a bit out of my range energy wise. Any advice would be much appreciated.

Hello everyone, First, I want to say thank you. I have been reading through many forums trying to deepen my understanding and have benefited greatly from the conversations many of you have had within the different topics of the forum. Even though I have benefitted greatly I still have a lot to learn which is why I am now writing this post in order to ask for advice. As a background, I am a 26-year-old male from Ontario, Canada. My lifestyle hasn't always been the healthiest, but of late it has become healthier, though since getting a puppy it does make it difficult for me to leave the home outside of work for prolonged periods of time. At least that is the case for now. This makes it hard for me to pursue the idea of finding a master/teacher to study under. I am not even sure if there is a master from a good lineage near me and honestly I am not exactly sure how to go about finding that out. That being said I don't wish to just be waiting around. I want to start building a foundation now so that, karma willing, when I do find a teacher I will be in a place where they can begin to teach me. Thanks to Earl Grey I was pointed in the direction of Flying Phoenix, which seems like a perfect fit at least for now of a complete chi kung practice to follow in order to start building a foundation. I do have a couple of concerns though. Does it matter that I currently can't feel qi (chi)? Will practicing the methods from percentage breathing to forms allow me, over time, to start to feel qi and cultivate it to the basic level of mastery for Flying Phoenix? My next concern is about flexibility. Honestly, other than my spine, the rest of my body is quite inflexible. What should I do to increase my flexibility? I know that some of the poses in the FP (Flying Phoenix) meditations insist on them being done in half-lotus, however currently as I said my body is quite inflexible. What kind of recommendations would you give in order to increase one's flexibility? Are there certain poses that you have found which really help to release the body? I have a few books on increasing one's flexibility I have been starting to follow. I just wanted to know if any of you had insights gained through experience that you would be willing to share. Thirdly, foundation building is an important aspect of martial arts. So much so that I am told that the internal arts usually aren't given to the students for years until they have built the proper foundations within their bodies for their bodies to be able to endure those arts. My third question is what kind of exercises, forms, weight training should I do in order to get my body into a healthier and more optimal state? Are there certain exercises/forms/poses that I should be practicing? Finally, I have a question about the mind. Only building a foundation within my body will create an imbalance between my body and mind. I also wish to strengthen my mind. As such, I plan on reading 'Secret of the Golden Flower', the first five books by Carlos Castaneda and 'Tibetan Yoga and Secret Doctrines' by W.Y. Evans-Wentz. I am wondering if there are any other resources that you would recommend I read as well. I understand that everyone leads busy lives and perhaps doesn't have much time to sit down and respond to each of my questions, or any of my questions for that matter. However, I would be grateful for any wisdom and insight which you would be willing to impart. Thank you for taking the time to read this and I hope to hear back from you soon.

after seeing this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wKiYOHjli80 is the goal to get yuan shen or yuan jing or yuan qi ? or all of them (make are qi,jing,shen become their respectable yuan versions) ?

What is the advantage in not masturbating and eating good food .... if anyway qi comes and goes with the body ? its it usless like putting buckets into a flowing river ? (also some palces i seen people say there is no point in gathering qi and all that matters is doing stuff like practicing qigong increasing the flow between the body and the world) what are the advantages of gathering more qi in the body (in means of food and celibacy etc) ?

*every info someone wants to add to this subject the better - some questions i have : 1 . The more flow in the body the better ? 2 . Do the meridians expand the more there is more flow or you expand your meridians and than more flow is going through them ? do you need to maintain them by always pumping more qi through them or else they will close ? 3 . Do the meridians expand ( i read recently they expand somewhere so i wonder how big can they get ? do they expand out of the body ? do they push each other ? cause some are pretty close together) .... or the difference is just in the volume of qi flowing thorugh the same size meridians ? do you just release blockages inside the meridians more and more until they are smooth as much as possible ?

What is the effect on microwave on food ? does it destroy all the qi the food has ? does it destroy just some ? If i put some freshely picked broccoli (or any other vegetable) and cook it in the microwave , does all the qi get destroyed ? what if i cook the broccoli on a stove and than re-heat it in the microwave ? what about other cooking methods - what is their effect and which is better qi wise (frying,raw,oven, pot on a fire put on an electric heater etc)

would like to hear opinions of people here about qi accumulation VS qi flowing some question to get talk going : is it about gather as much qi in the body as possible ? is it never about qi accumulation really just about clearing the channel so we have as much qi flowing in us at all times ? the more qi the better ? how much qi flowing in us is too much ? in exercises where you push qi out of body ... do you lose that qi ? if during the day i do a number of "pushing" qi movements slowly with feeling qi in hand - do i lose that chi ? sex ,masturbation effect via the flowing out look ? eating food that is "high in chi" brings more chi into the body ? is that just the view of accumulation and food doesnt matter in the flowing point of view ? does chi from my enviorment enter the body ? than can wind bring a lot of qi into my body which seems like a good thing ? can being in water be a good thing ? maybe actually someone place with huge amounts of chi are in it and you just go there and suck it all up into your body - accumulate it feng shui effect in this two views ? can being in a house with a lot of qi flow be a good thing ? can you make a house with feng shui which has extremely good feng shui which you practice in it for a month and you reach enlightenment ?

What are the stuff a person can do to feel qi better ? (* important later edit (After 2 first replies) : to feel qi better over time) (not talking about putting your hands close to feel some tingling in them but how to feel chi well in the body (maybe even seeing chi with eyes)) what to do and how does it help exactly some examples (im not answering myself this are stuff i wonder about and i am not sure - this are genuine questions -- would be good if you confirm and explain about any point i raise and add stuff i didnt mention as well ) : meditation ? how does it help ? does it help feel the qi better ? more chi in the body ? accumulate as much chi as possible ? does it matter how much chi you accumulate or just how well it flows ? practice qigong ? if so how does it help ? cleaning the blocakges in the body ? in what way ? do you increase the flow of chi in the body ? does it increase exchange of chi from the body to the outer world ?

Hi everyone This is my welcome post and I thought I would initiate a discussion about something I have been interested recently. Do you know any specific schools (UK), or Qigong systems which allows you to do Qi transmission in order to heal others. I have a background in Chinese Medicine, hence in my understanding that is partially whats happening during Acupuncture or massage, etc. However I am looking for a system which is more specialized in using such a healing method. In regards to my experience I mostly practice Yang style TaijiQuan and TaijiJian with some Qigong exercises on the side. Thanks