Five types of Qigong

[Blue]

Medical: curing illness and promoting health

Martial: enhancing vitality and developing internal force

Sexual: promoting youthfulness and longevity

Intellectual: expanding the mind and the intellect

Spiritual: spiritual cultivation

 

Does it correspond to five elements or five channels (fingers?)?

Edited December 15, 2011 by Blue

[Fu_dog]

Sexual corresponds to all 5 fingers.

[Aetherous]

Only for you, Fudog.

 

...just kidding. For me, too.

[ChiDragon]

Medical: curing illness and promoting health

Martial: enhancing vitality and developing internal force

Sexual: promoting youthfulness and longevity

Intellectual: expanding the mind and the intellect

Spiritual: spiritual cultivation

 

Does it correspond to five elements or five channels (fingers?)?

QiGong will accomplish all of the above. It is all-in-one. It doesn't correspond to five elements or five channels. However, QiGong does effect the five channels.

 

QiGong will cure any illnesses in the body only if there are illnesses inside the body. If not, it will enhance the vitality and develop the internal force, promoting vitality and longevity. It also does help your mind. Finally, the spiritual part depends on your religious belief. Another word, all these will take place inside your body if you practice QiGong. You will not get only one of the benefits but all. Regardless whether you like it or not, you will get the whole package all in one....!!!

Edited December 16, 2011 by ChiDragon

[Vmarco]

 

Sexual: promoting youthfulness and longevity

 

Who can explain this? Is it suggesting that sexuality (post-puberty copulation)promotes youthfulness and longevity? Because physiologically that's not so. Youthfulness and longevity are related to the thymus gland,...the butterfly like endocrine gland associated with the Heart chakra. The thymus gland begins to atrophy, thus diminishing its particular hormone excretions, at puberty,...and the more sexual a person, the quicker seems the atrophy.

 

Certain herbs, like He Shou wu have been shown to rejuvenate the thymus (which some endocrinologists consider the "fountain of Youth."

 

The thymus is actually a huge subject,...but with very little unbiased information.

 

V

[ChiDragon]

Who can explain this? Is it suggesting that sexuality (post-puberty copulation)promotes youthfulness and longevity? Because physiologically that's not so. Youthfulness and longevity are related to the thymus gland,...the butterfly like endocrine gland associated with the Heart chakra. The thymus gland begins to atrophy, thus diminishing its particular hormone excretions, at puberty,...and the more sexual a person, the quicker seems the atrophy.

 

Certain herbs, like He Shou wu have been shown to rejuvenate the thymus (which some endocrinologists consider the "fountain of Youth."

 

The thymus is actually a huge subject,...but with very little unbiased information.

 

V

 

What QiGong does is to enhance the body cells to be more active and speed up the metabolism process to replace the dead cells. If the dead skin cells do not replace quick enough that will make one look much older. If the dead skin cells are replaced a lot quicker, that will make the skin look softer and healthier which will make one look younger. The sexuality part has the same effect. What QiGong does is to speed up the hormone excretions more efficient due to the increase in the metabolism rate. Indeed, the body behaves more active and efficient than normal with the QiGong practitioners because the extra energy boost acquired from the practice.

[Blue]

Thank you! Yes, it does seem to boost immune system, and works on different levels at the same time, but there seem to be focus on one aspect or another of those five general categories of practice, not just general application. It would be fitting to have it divided by five elements, more likely corresponding to I Ching cycle of five energy dynamics. Just curious, how it might be structured.

Edited December 17, 2011 by Blue

[Blue]

My guess, if in classic Tai Chi every posture corresponds to one or another of the 64 hexagrams of I Ching in accordance to 5 element theory, there should be something similar in Qigong practice. Tai Chi is a moving form of Qigong, as I understand.

Edited December 17, 2011 by Blue

[Sahaj Nath]

...there should be something similar in Qigong practice. Tai Chi is a moving form of Qigong, as I understand.

 

 

Tai Chi Chuan is often taught as a form of qigong, but that doesn't make qigong a form of Tai Chi Chuan. qigong is a MUCH broader term and encompasses everything from the highly ordered and regimented forms, such as tai chi chuan or wild goose, to crazier spontaneous practices, and everything in between.

 

 

 

also, there are actually 6 channels in the fingers. the pinky houses both the heart and the small intestine channel. just a heads up.

[Fu_dog]

Right on Scotty!

 

So when I'm not practicing sexual qigong...

 

From my own experience I classify qigong into two types:

 

(1) "Building Qi" qigong practices and

 

(2) "Circulating Qi" qigong practices

 

 

A building qi qigong, for example, is lower dan tien breathing. One can feel a tangible building of qi when doing deep abdominal breathing, and one hour of it is very refreshing.

 

A circulating qi gigong, for example, is the "Moving of Yin and Yang" exercise from Spring Forest Qigong. This moves qi along the center line, balancing the yin energy in the huiyin and lower abdomen area and the yang energy in the heart and head area.

 

I have obtained really excellent results from doing at least 30 minutes of "building qi" immediately before doing "circulating qi exercises".

 

Note these classifications are my own, and I am only a practitioner. Also, I will readily admit that these categories are not absolute, because "building qi" exercises also to some degree circulate qi and "circulating qi" exercises will to some degree build qi. But for me these are useful classifications. Also, there are some types of qigong (sexual qigong being one of them) that are powerful to both build and circulate qi.

 

When I get run down, I will focus more on "building qi" for recovery. And when I am recovered and feeling good energy I focus more on "circulating qi" to balance my system.

 

My .02

[dawei]

What is the source for those 5 types?

 

If one looks at Yang, Jwing-Ming's books, he lists 3 (Medical, Martial, Spiritual; the last as a further breakout); the medical qigong program I started uses the same.

 

I have a chinese medical qigong book which lists it out differently.

 

I think it depends partly on what angle one is taking your list may be more "energy" based than specifically Qigong based. Let's not believe that Qigong is the final word on the field of "energy" practices.

[ChiDragon]

Medical: curing illness and promoting health

Martial: enhancing vitality and developing internal force

Sexual: promoting youthfulness and longevity

Intellectual: expanding the mind and the intellect

Spiritual: spiritual cultivation

 

Does it correspond to five elements or five channels (fingers?)?

 

Sorry, I did not address directly to the question in your original post. My answer to your question is no. It was because Chi Kung by itself as a whole rather than distinguished separately as an individual element. However, the five channels are working holistically inside the body. Thus the body cannot function by itself without the combined functions of the five channels working together.

 

Thank you! Yes, it does seem to boost immune system, and works on different levels at the same time, but there seem to be focus on one aspect or another of those five general categories of practice, not just general application. It would be fitting to have it divided by five elements, more likely corresponding to I Ching cycle of five energy dynamics. Just curious, how it might be structured.

 

I see why the question was brought up. It was because there is no such thing as the I Ching cycle of five energy dynamics. FYI the five elements in the YiJing(I Ching) was discovered by the ancients but later was used as categories in the TCM to classify each organ to each category. e.g. The liver was categorized as "wood", the heart as "fire", the spleen as "earth", the lung as "metal" and the kidney as "water".

 

There are a lot to the five elements or categories. IMO They should be discussed in a new thread.

 

My guess, if in classic Tai Chi every posture corresponds to one or another of the 64 hexagrams of I Ching in accordance to 5 element theory, there should be something similar in Qigong practice. Tai Chi is a moving form of Qigong, as I understand.

 

The Tai Ji postures has nothing to do with the 64 hexagrams of YiJing. The reason we see the BaGua symbol all the time was because the diagram symbolize the Yin-Yang attributes. Indeed, Tai Ji was base on the Yin-Yang concept rather than the hexagrams.

 

Tai Chi is a moving form of Qigong is totally correct.

 

 

PS....

I am speaking strictly from a Chinese point of view relating to all my posts. It may not be correspond to the western thinking. May I beg for your tolerance and forgiveness if they don't fit the best to your understanding.

Edited December 18, 2011 by ChiDragon

[LaughingNumbSkull]

Intellectual: expanding the mind and the intellect

 

They should prescribe that to stupid people.

[Blue]

Apparently, the practice of 'Neigong', the grandfather of Qigong, was based on the 64 hexagrams of the I-Ching. Three variations of three types of energies (Yin, Yang, Dao) corresponded to three basic techniques with three variations for a total of nine, keyed to main meridians in the body.

Edited December 28, 2011 by Blue

[Aetherous]

Does it correspond to five elements or five channels (fingers?)?

 

Everyone disagrees about the truth of this, so I will just present this as another possibility...

 

Pinky = Water

Ring = Wood

Middle = Fire

Index = Metal

Thumb = Earth

 

This is how Zhongxian Wu presents it in Chinese Shamanic Cosmic Orbit Qigong.

 

It obviously doesn't correspond with the meridians, and is supposed to relate to a much deeper level of the 5 elements.

 

There are different reasons for using correspondences within different systems, and I don't know the reasons for this version, but it's one of the only times that I've seen the 5 elements matching the 5 fingers exactly, and it comes from a fairly trustworthy source.

[Jeramiah Zeitigeist]

Apparently, the practice of 'Neigong', the grandfather of Qigong, was based on the 64 hexagrams of the I-Ching. Three variations of three types of energies (Yin, Yang, Dao) corresponded to three basic techniques with three variations for a total of nine, keyed to main meridians in the body.

 

 

Correct !