Introduction to Qigong

1. Introduction to Qigong Bernard Montoneri 氣 Montoneri

2. Outline • Introduction • Part I. Generating Qi • Part II. The Five Elements • Part III. Electroencephalography • Part IV. Chakras • Part V. Meridians • Conclusion • References

3. Introduction • Qigong refers to a large number of methods aimed at working on our vital energy. 氣 Qi can be translated by "energy flow" or "vital energy". The literal translation is "air," "breath," or "gas". • It can be compared to the original meaning of the Latin term spiritus "breathing" or to the Sanskrit term prana"breath". • Often associated with Chinese martial arts and traditional Chinese medicine. • In traditional Chinese medicine, good health is a result of a free flowing, well-balanced energy system. The art of Qigong consists primarily of meditation, relaxation, physical movement, mind-body integration, and breathing exercises. • Practitioners of Qigong develop an awareness of Qi sensations in their body and use their mind to guide the Qi.

4. Part I. Generating Qi • Diaphragmatic breathing or abdominal breathing: breathing deeply into the lungs by flexing the diaphragm rather than breathing shallowly by flexing the rib cage. • This deep breathing is marked by expansion of the abdomen when breathing. Think that your abdomen is a balloon: when you inhale, it becomes bigger and when you exhale, it becomes smaller. • In 1920, Dr. Otto Warberg (Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1931) experimented with human cells. He removed 35% of the oxygen and cells became non-reversibly cancerous. • A lack of oxygen in the body is provoking a large number of diseases. To be brief, normal cells need oxygen. Cancer cells despise oxygen.

5. Part I. Generating Qi • 吸氣 is often translated by "inspiration" or "air intake". It is a very reductive translation. It should be "energy intake", "breathing" being only a part of the energy that can be taken. • Diaphragmatic breathing or abdominal breathing 呼吸. Before you sleep, relax on your bed and breathe slowly. Count and see how long you can inhale. The best I can do so far is inhale slowly by the nose during 42 seconds. • Block the air for a few seconds in the abdomen. Then, exhale very slowly. The objective is to able to control how much energy you can take and to be able to relax and to focus at the same time.

6. Part I. Generating Qi Chart of optimal time for each organ. Eat well, slowly, and on time (around 7 am, 12, and 7 pm).

7. Part II. The five elements • Most diseases come from bad habits (not eating and sleeping well and enough, smoking, drinking, etc...), character (stress, anger, fear, worries) and behavior (life style, attitude toward others and Nature). • For example, anxiety is associated with the stomach and the spleen. • Notice in the table below that the heart is associated with the tongue, that is why when you see a doctor, he will most of the time ask you to show your tongue. • If your have eyes problem, it could be related to the fact that you are too nervous, tired, therefore it is associated with your liver. • People who loose hair most of the time have lungs and large intestine problems. One simple way to know about your health is to pay attention to your body and observe the warnings.

8. Part II. The Five Elements-Associations

9. Part III. Electroencephalography Montoneri, Lee, Lin, & Huang

10. Electroencephalography (EEG) • Recording of electrical activity along the scalp. Hans Berger (first human EEG in 1924) named the first rhythmic EEG activity he saw as the "alpha wave". • Alpha is the frequency range from 8 Hz to 12 Hz. It emerges with closing of the eyes and with relaxation, and attenuates with eye opening or mental exertion. • Beta is the frequency range from 12 Hz to about 30 Hz. Beta activity is closely linked to motor behavior and is generally attenuated during active movements.

11. Electroencephalography (EEG) • Delta is the frequency range up to 4 Hz. It tends to be the highest in amplitude and the slowest waves. It is seen normally in adults in slow wave sleep. It is also seen normally in babies. • Theta is the frequency range from 4 Hz to 7 Hz. Theta is seen normally in young children. It may be seen in drowsiness or arousal in older children and adults; it can also be seen in meditation. This range has been associated with reports of relaxed, meditative, and creative states. • Gamma is the frequency range approximately 30–100 Hz. Gamma rhythms are thought to represent binding of different populations of neurons together into a network for the purpose of carrying out a certain cognitive or motor function.

12. Part IV. Chakras

13. Chakras • 脉轮（脈輪）[mài lún] • Cakra (Sanskrit: disc, circle, wheel) • One of seven symbolic nodes of the body in spiritual Yoga • There are four levels of healing: physical, mental, emotional and spiritual. • Chakras are centres of Prāṇa, life force, or vital energy. Their name derives from the Sanskrit word for "wheel" or "turning“. • Each Chakra is located at a specific site throughout our body. Each governs particular body parts and organs, particular parts of our personality, as well as your psychological and emotional make-up.

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16. Swadhisthana: The Sacral ChakraPhysically, Swadisthana governs reproduction, mentally it governs creativity, emotionally it governs joy, and spiritually it governs enthusiasm. Montoneri, Lee, Lin, & Huang

17. Part V. Meridians • Qigong also relies on a similar model of the human body as an energy system, except that it involves the circulation of energy. • The Qi, equivalent to the Hindu Prana, flows through the energy channels called meridians, equivalent to the nadis, but two other energies are also important: Jing, or primordial essence, and Shen, or spirit energy. • The navel or lowerdantian (下丹田) is the most well-known "energy centre" (the Hara in Japan), at or below the navel transforms essence, or jing, into qi energy. • The middle dantian (中丹田) in the middle of the chest transforms qi energy into shen, or spirit. • The upperdantian (上丹田) at the level of the forehead (or at the top of the head), transforms Shen into wuji (infinite space of void).

18. Lung meridian Montoneri, Lee, Lin, & Huang

19. Heart meridian

20. Conclusion • There are hundreds of schools of Qigong; two major types: Dynamic Qigong (spontaneous Gong, tapping and massaging, stretching, guiding and stretching, walking, and internal moving postures) and Static Qigong (standing, sitting, and lying postures). • Magnetic fields: The strength of the field at the Earth's surface ranges from 0.3 gauss in an area including most of South America and South Africa to over 0.6 gauss around the magnetic poles in northern Canada and south of Australia, and in part of Siberia. • A Qigong master can generate a magnetic field tens of thousands of times more powerful. A study conducted in Japan: Seto et al (1992) found that extraordinary large biomagnetic field emanates from the hands of practitioners of a variety of healing and martial arts techniques.

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22. References • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chakra • http://www.acumedico.com/lung.htm • http://www.acumedico.com/heart.htm • http://www1.pu.edu.tw/~bmon/Qigong.php • http://www.webmd.com/balance/guide/health-benefits-tai-chi-qigong?page=2 • http://www1.pu.edu.tw/~bmon/QigongandBuddhism.htm • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dantian • http://www.eclecticenergies.com/chinese_traditional/chakras/introduction.php Montoneri, Lee, Lin, & Huang