To start the practice of Chi Gung, one must find a quiet place.
- Sitting in a chair
- feet flat on the ground
- back straight
- hands at rest on your lap or placed together with palms up, left hand in right hand thumbs slightly touching
Normally people use a small portion of their lung capacity, breathing from their chest. In Chi Gung practice, breath should come from the deeper chambers of the lungs. This is achieved by "belly breathing." Belly breathing is just breathing in deeply enough that the belly is filled with air and expands.
Now that one understands the meaning of "belly breathing" the practice of Chi Gung starts by;
- Exhaling, trying to expel all of the air from the lungs
- Breathe in from the stomach (one can place a hand upon one's stomach to feel that one is breathing from the correct place)
- One's stomach shoould expand from that inhalation
- Hold this belly breath for a slow count of 8 expelling all air from the lungs
- Repeat the process for 5 minutes while contemplating the animating factor of our universe
One should start to experience the breath as one and the same shared with all living beings. One should try to concentrate solely on one's breath. Let all other thoughts pass, like clouds passing in the sky. The first week the breathing techniques should be practiced for 5 minutes, once a day. The second week one should try for 10 minutes, once a day. This is a general schedule and will not apply to everyone, since the quality of everyone's life and Chi is different.
The benefits of Chi Gung's breathing techniques can result in:
- Relief of stress
- Better night's sleep
- Improved circulation
- Increased focus
- Increased awareness
- Vitality
- Improved quality of life
Western medicine focuses more on treating symptoms rather than the actual problem, while Eastern culture has focused on preventing health problems. Chi Gung has been a method used to not only relieve stress, but to improve one's overall quality of life. There are many ways of practicing Chi Gung; this is just one way of starting the practice.
The Chinese see Chi Gung as a powerful tool that can be beneficial to all. Chi, the energy better known to Westerners as "Bioelectricity" which surrounds the human body, was studied very carefully. The Chinese feel the link between the Chi in the human body and nature. The Chinese were hopeful that this was a means to escape the unfortunate outcome of sickness and death. Chi is energy and it is found in the universe, earth and in all living things. The more one cultivates the "Chi energy" the healthier one's life becomes.
