Cyndi Clark
Mar 9, 20218 min
A friend of mine and I are creating an online basic Qigong course and have tossed around many ideas about this over the last couple of years. This article was influenced by our conversations about the differences between qigong exercise and conventional exercise; why it matters and, maybe most important to us as teachers, how to encourage others to try it as part of a well balanced plan to move for health and well being.
Two fascinating courses I took online last year during our quarantining were amazing additions to my practice: Exercise Science, an online course through the University of Colorado, which explores the biochemical and neurological effects of conventional exercise; and Medical Exercise for Specialists, designed by the American Council on Exercise (ACE), which outlines how to design exercise programs for people with various medical conditions, like diabetes, COPD, high blood pressure, arthritis and many more. These were both centered around conventional exercises (sports, cardio, strength, etc), which motivated me to think about the differences between the regular exercise and Qigong/Tai chi exercises. Both kinds have specific benefits for mind and body, but they are very different approaches- sometimes conflicting. These thoughts are based on my experiences, my studies, and my opinions. I hope they'll be interesting and useful for Qigong and exercise enthusiasts and will convince some to work with both if they are able.
Life is Movement
To paraphrase an old Chinese adage, "A moving hinge doesn't rust. Water that flows will not stagnate." Moving is essential for thriving in life. A few years ago, I added what I'll call conventional exercises to my Qigong routine. A friend of mine and I were discussing which was "better". As always, the true answer is not clear, but all in all
if there is a conflict between the two, I will choose Qigong, or now that I know Tai chi better, that. But I find, I can never completely blow off a good old fashioned workout- working up a sweat, working the heart and lungs, lifting significant weight (okay, above my own significant weight, lol). Sometimes that is the only thing that clears my head or helps to move along stuck energy in my Liver. Mind you, I am not athletic (anymore) and my exercise routine is mild. A true athlete would probably laugh at how much I huff and puff and splutter all the same. Olympics, here I do not come!
What kind of exercise is Qigong? Qigong movement isn’t what I think of as anaerobic, because we are actively using breathing techniques, but the practice doesn’t raise the heart rate, it calms and steadies it. It doesn’t require lifting anything more than yourself onto your feet or a leg up or arms slightly over the head, so isn't really strength training, but people can develop strength in their muscles by steady practice. Of the four types of conventional exercise: endurance, strength, balance, and flexibility, it probably most neatly fits into a type of balance or flexibility form. But some of the postures and stances also seem to have strength benefits like one would get from isometric holds; and, standing, which doesn't seem too strenuous, for an hour at time it isn't as easy as it looks and might help in some kinds of endurance.
Here’s where I think one major difference lies. You learn to pay closer attention while doing Qigong to the energy that constantly flows through your body- i.e., blood circulation, expanding and contracting of lungs in breathing, clarity or scattering in mind. Your body is in contact through gravity with similar energy flows of the earth and celestial movements- you learn to feel for them, too. You are learning to move with all of the those flows and to synchronize your personal flows with them.
When I studied Positive Psychology last year, I learned about "flow"; doing Tai chi or Qigong is an intentional attainment of the state of flow. Flow is also called "being in the zone" in athletics and is known to improve and elevate performance- in sports, in art, music and anything that fully absorbs the doer. Mihály Csíkszentmihályi (pr. Mee-hay Chick-sent-ma-hay), a psychologist and the premier researcher of the flow state, naming it in 1975, is "the mental state in which a person performing some activity is fully immersed in a feeling of energized focus, full involvement, and enjoyment in the process of the activity. In essence, flow is characterized by the complete absorption in what one does, and a resulting transformation in one's sense of time." (Citation) Since his studies began, the work has branched out; researchers have observed that the flow state enhances creativity, engagement, performance and skill development. It also increases happiness, emotional control, and satisfaction in life. Though being in the flow all the time would probably cause imbalances, it seems knowing how to get there once in a while would be useful. Although there are still more studies to be done that provide robust evidence, learning to get into the zone at will seems to be a very good thing. There is even a small study that attempts to show the connection between Qigong/Tai chi practices and achieving "flow". (Polonen, et al.)
So the generalized recommendation for adults to benefit from exercise is two and half hours of moderate to intense activities spread out over a week's time. When I started cardio and strength training I did that- about half an hour a day, 5 days a week and two days rest. It worked well for me to lose weight and to feel more fit; I started to see some muscle tone return and felt strong; but it wasn't long before it began to exhaust me. When I factored in the Qigong practices, including sitting meditations and the new Tai chi practice, it became too much. I had to reckon with my age, as well and the idea of preserving Jing (essence) and quality of life. While the cardio does help with physical fitness, Qigong practice exercises all the layers of a person's humanness and can help develop physical, mental, and emotional strength. The emphasis in athletic training helps in becoming a better competitor- to work against a force, to achieve mental "toughness", which is important to win, or in survival. Qigong mental training helps you to become better at cooperating, which is also important to survival.
But it isn’t about skill building in the way we tend to think of it- doing "good" Qigong is more like how a bird can find the airstream- they don’t “know” where it is, or have a strategy for getting there- they feel for it- there’s an intuitive nature that allows a sort of effortlessness. In Qigong and Tai chi, there is a saying, “if you can’t do it slow, you can’t do it fast”. The slowness helps you study the way you are moving, the microelements of movement and if the way you move is hurting you or helping you. Qigong helps a practitioner become sensitive to the inner messages from the body. If you can listen to this properly, one benefit that comes form this is that you can understand how to nip many physical issues, including premature aging, in the bud (more on that in the next few weeks). This mental awareness in movement training will teach you to recognize when you’ve been sitting in one position too long and that is cutting off proper breathing and freezing your psoas, so it is less flexible; or you become scattered and your mind is restless because your not stimulating the bundle of nerves in the pelvis where the vagus nerve ends through breathing fully. But you have to come out of your normal habits to catch this. It helps you pull yourself together and stay better focused for longer.
Neigong is inner work- this is exercising the forces of Qi inside the body- meaning, the function of organs, tissues, fluids, etc. by using the forces of Qi that come from the mind- thoughts, intentions, emotional states to effect the way the body works and the condition of the body’s tissues. It is the priority in working at higher levels of martial arts and in healing forms of Qigong. In his book on Hun Yuan Qigong, Grandmaster Feng Zhiqiang wrote about the emphasis in Qigong practice on tending to the inner self- nourishing the ligaments, tendons, and micro-muscles that allow us to have flexibility and to keep the larger structures working well. With Qigong, you don’t wear out the muscles or expend energy that results in fatigue. Master Feng says, “In practicing method, it is forbidden to jump and Fa li (issue li= force), to stomp feet or shake aimlessly.” We don’t want to risk injury of tendons, bones, and muscles because it is damaging to the Qi- the working of the mind inside the person. Focusing on only physical strength of force, what Feng calls “The training of Li” can cause damage if over done. “The training of Qi” (perhaps exclusive sitting meditation) by itself “causes stagnation” if used by itself. The solution in Qigong practice is to train the Intent, which “will lead to flow.” Flowing is acting within a natural motion. Effortless effort- exercising not exercising.
It’s great to do conventional exercise- cardio, strength, even walking-whatever- but vigorous exercise raises heat and overdoing it eventually burns more vitality, even in young people. It is like mental and emotional stress- your spirit/ mind gets agitated and when its agitated it becomes restless, and when it doesn’t rest it burns energy that is hard to soothe and hard to recover if you are constantly stirred. You need to replenish by adding an anchor- someplace for your mind to rest or that will compromise your immune system- your health. Qigong movement practices complement raising the heat with teaching you how to cool and flow (as Bruce Lee said, “like water, my friend”). The element of Water (wisdom, willpower) balances the element of Fire (mind) in the philosophy of Qigong and Tai chi. We need both to thrive. The balance between motion/heat and stillness/cool slows aging and can lengthen lifespan. There is some evidence to consider about the mind’s impact on the structures of the body that result in aging.
So, I suppose the long and short of it is that it seems to work well for me to exercise intensely once or twice a week- no more than 30 minutes per low impact session (jumping and I no longer talk often, though dancing and I do) and about 15-20 minutes or more of Qigong movement or Tai chi, with about that long in meditations each day. Would I recommend the exact same formula for everyone? No- but I would say experiment with what works for you; don't put yourself on the same level as an Olympic athlete if you are simply trying to maintain a healthy lifestyle, and above all, listen to what your body is telling you about the kinds of movements that work- but still move. You don't want rust or stagnate, now, do you?
"At the higher stages of energy continuation, one will find his movements are now being governed by the movement of his internal energy. ~Wu Ta-yeh"
I hope you are all well this week and finding time to practice! There is still time to register for Nashville Community Education's Spring session: Qigong will start via Zoom at the end of March
And as always, I'd invite you to join one of our weekly classes at 3Bao- also on Zoom for the moment:
Members can pay a monthly fee and save $5 a week on each class, plus discounts on other services; non-members are perfectly welcome- $15 per class!
Interested in what a Medical Qigong treatment is like? Check it out, here!
This week's Yijing reading: March 7th through March 13th
New Zibu Symbol for March: "Hazu"/ Kindness
Animal Focus for March: There are two focus animals for March: Coyote, the Magician, in honor of Jamie Sams, coauthor of "The Medicine Cards", who recently passed away. I picked up my well worn copy of this book, and opened it to Coyote's page, which seemed a sign to me; and the
Azure Dragon, which is the animal that symbolizes the Spring energies we cultivate in Qigong.
Gratitude to you all,
Cyndi
References not linked in the article:
Feng, Zhiqiang, "Hun Yuan Qigong", Published by: Hunyuantaiji Academy
PO Box 11474 Main Post Office, Edmonton, Alberta Canada; T5J 3K6
Translated by: Chen Zhonghua
Editor/ Jean Wong.
(pages quoted from Introduction, iv &v)