Simple Chi Kung_ Exercises for Awakening the Life-Force Energy - Mantak Chia [11]
Transforming. Transformation is about moving energy from one state into another. Transformation of essence into energy and energy into spirit is one of the fundamental formulas in the internal alchemy. It’s the ability to take energy from an unuseful or negative state and change it into something positive or useful to the mind and body. Exercises like the Six Healing Sounds are great ways to transform negative emotions back into positive ones. Energy is always changing, and Chi Kung gives us the techniques for creating change in a positive uplifting way.2
Storing. This refers to the phase of practice in which internal energy is concentrated and stored—either in the lower Elixir Field center below the navel, in other major storage centers, or in a specific organ targeted for tonification. For example, you may wish to store wood energy you have cultivated in your liver or store the essential energy of hormones in your kidneys to boost your vitality.
The human body is considered to be a network of energy and information that mirrors the energy network of the whole universe. “As above, so below” is an ancient maxim that describes this concept. In this way of thinking, the human body is a microcosmic replica of the macrocosmic universe at large—complete with its own “Heaven” and “Earth,” its internal emotional “weather” and organ “ecosystems,” its “rivers” of blood and “mountains” of flesh, its mineral “ores” of bone and its saline “oceans” of cellular fluids.
Chi Kung helps the microcosmic human body to recharge and renew itself by “plugging in to” the macrocosmic energy of the universe. Each cell, tissue, organ, and other part of the body emanates its own specific electromagnetic field, which pulsates at its own particular frequency and regulates its own internal energy currents, while the entire body itself radiates an auric energy field that extends about one meter around the surface.
The Styles and Forms of Chi Kung
There are thousands of styles of Chi Kung, but in general they fall into three major categories: martial, medical, and spiritual. The Universal Tao practice incorporates each of these aspects. Although the goals of this practice are mainly better health, more energy, and greater spiritual awareness, there are many martial styles of Chi Kung that are also very important and have great benefits.
Most styles of Chi Kung involve various kinds of stretches, flowing movements, and standing postures, all quietly harmonized by rhythmic breathing and a calm, unhurried, focused mind. Soft, slow movement of the body prevents the stiffness and stagnation that lead to degeneration. As Lao-tzu states in the classical verse of the Tao Te Ching:
Truly, to be hard and stiff is the way of death;
To be soft and supple is the way of life.
The importance of soft, flowing movement was also noted by Confucius. In the classical text called Spring and Autumn Annals, the sage says:
Flowing water never stagnates, and the hinges of an active door never rust. This is due to movement. The same principle applies to essence and energy. If the body does not move, energy does not flow. When energy does not flow, energy stagnates.
The same is true of our bodies. When we move, stretch, flow, and circulate, our bodies stay healthy. If energy and blood become constrained or constricted, our bodies become stagnant. Stagnation is the cause of pain, sickness, fatigue, and disease.
MARTIAL CHI KUNG
Martial