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| Taoist Temple Seated QiGong |
Q:
I want to thank you for
sharing your exercises under Taoist Temple Seated QiGong. I have been
practicing QiGong for several years, and found your series wonderful and so
complete.
I have some questions:
Can I introduce some
other movements and do they have to be so slow?
I have done a different
form of QiGong and the teacher in that school says that one should not do so
many different QiGongs at the same time. Somehow I feel that that has some
logic in it.
In my other form they
have a movement which is static, you stay seven minutes still with the Hands on
the area of the third eye, then seven minutes on the area of the dantian, then
on top of the head and at last on the sides.
My question here is, why
is this posture not found in any other qigong? And why does he say one cannot
do this if one does not belong to this school?
Somehow this form works
wonderfully and I would like to continue doing These and then continue with
yours? (I would not hold each Position for 7 minutes, only three.)
Could you give me advise
to unburden my Feeling of guilt if I do this?
Thank you so much in
advance. I wish you all the best,
SW, Mexico
A:
I'm happy you enjoy the Taoist
Temple Seated QiGong. I'll try to answer your questions.
In most cases the pace of
QiGong should match your breath, so the movements can be as slow or fast
as you are breathing. There are, however, some QiGong forms that
disregard the breath and you move according to the feel of Qi which can
sometimes be fast or slow.
Many QiGong forms have a specific
purpose or Energy Flow they are creating. Because of this, if you introduce
different movements or change the order, you can change the meaning of the form.
This is only awareness though, it doesn't mean it's forbidden to do, but many
teachers advise against changing the form in any way because of the energy flow
and purpose it has – they know it works as it is and expect that to be
respected.
My personal feeling is that it’s a
good idea to practice a form as it is taught, and really work with it
consistently and with sincerity for a period of time, minimum 100 days. After that, if there are certain movements you
want to add in the form that feel really good to do, then there is an
intelligence in your body that knows they are beneficial to you in some way so
do them if it makes you happy.
However, I will caution that
sometimes people try to do too much, thinking that they will heal faster or
obtain faster results by doing more, and this is not necessarily true.
Taoist philosophy is "Everything in moderation", even QiGong.
From your description of the other
QiGong form I think it would be fine to do first, then follow with the seated
temple form, as long as you feel clear, vibrant, and energized
afterwards. If you feel hurried, stressed out, or tired at the end then
it's too much.
I hope it works very well for you.
Best Wishes,
Cynthia McMullen, Anchorage Alaska
QiGong Instructor, Medical QiGong Therapist
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