When people ask me what Qigong is, I generally give them a very simple answer: “Qi means life force energy and Gong means the flow of or practice of; so Qigong means the practice of flowing life force energy. Though this simple definition is accurate it fails to fully capture the essence and mystery of Qigong. To fully understand Qigong one must experience it.
“The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and science.”
- Albert Einstein
Embracing the illusive, the unknown and the unseen “qi” is an essential part of the practice of qigong. In my experience, words inevitably fall short of fully describing what qi is how qigong works. Nonetheless, there is great value in hearing how qigong masters define qi…
“It is our qi that holds us together, animates us and makes us who we really are. It is our true self, the source of consciousness, awareness and life. Without it nothing lives. When our invisible life force signal, qi, is in orderly action, life thrives and well-being abounds.”
“Qi is energy in any and all of its guises and forms. It is the electricity that lights up a room or emblazons the sky. It is the electromagnetism that envelops Earth. It is the crisp vitality you feel after a good night’s sleep on the first day of your vacation. It regulates the unconscious activity of internal and external organs that you never notice until the activity is somehow impeded. It is manifested in the love you feel for the kind and caring, the hatred you feel for the wicked and cruel. Desire, floating, pity, envy, joy...all are expressions of qi.”
“Qi can be most simply understood as your physical breath that exists when you are born and disappears when you die. This breath links the different energies of life and it can be defined as the basic energy of all living things on this planet.”
“Qi is the life energy one senses in nature. When we appreciate the beauty of animals, fish, birds, flowers, trees, mountains, the deep ocean and floating clouds, we are sensing their qi and feeling an intuitive unity with them.”
“Before the advent of quantum physics, the Chinese had formulated that all things are composed of energy particles that are constantly spiralling in space, connecting and influencing each other throughout the Universe. They called this dynamic life force energy, “qi”. ”
“The word qi is a word that seems to transcend definition going beyond words into the realm of experience. Qi is defined as the basis of life. According to Chinese culture, all living things require qi; in Western terms, qi is defined as vital energy. Qi theory is a cosmic theory that states that because human beings and all living things on our planet were produced from the qi in the universe, so each part of the human body is related to the movements in the universe. The Taoist symbol of yin and yang vividly depicts the movement of all things in the universe, from the energy within our own bodies to the expanses of the solar system. Similar theories permeate cultures worldwide.”
“Be totally empty,
embrace the tranquility of peace.
Watch the workings of all creation,
observe how endings become beginnings.
All creatures in the universe
return to the point where they began.
Returning to the source is tranquility
meaning submitting to what is and what is to be.”