Qi Gong for Longevity

by Bob Flaws 

www.bluepoppy.com

Qi gong means to train or discipline one's qi. According to Ken Cohen, a well known qi gong teacher in the West, this term did not come into use in China until 1934.[1] However, what we today call qi gong has been practiced in China since not less than 400 BC. In the 1970's, a series of tombs were excavated in China at a site called Ma Wang Dui near Changsha. These contained a cache of books written on bamboo slats and silk rolls. A number of these books were on medical subjects. Amongst these books were pictures of various exercises believed to confer health benefits and contribute to longevity. At approximately the same time, the great Daoist philosopher, Zhuang Zi, wrote about such exercises and their healing properties.  During the Han dynasty (25-220 ad), a scholar named Wei Bo-yan wrote a book on what has now come to be known as qi gong. Titled Chan Tong Qi (Three in One), it discusses the relationship between Daoism, the Yi Jing (Classic of Changes), and qi gong. Wei was the first Chinese to write about qi gong from the perspective of the jing essence, qi, and shen spirit. Also during the Han dynasty, Hua Tuo, perhaps the most famous doctor in Chinese created his Five Animal Frolics. This was a series of qi gong exercises based on mimicking the movements and breath patterns of five different animals known either for their strength or longevity. These exercises are still taught and practiced to this day. Hua Tuo lived to be 97 at which time he was executed. He was still married when he died. His two students, Fan Ao and Wu Chin lived to be 100 plus and 90 years old respectively.  

During the next 1,700 years, according to the Dao Shu (Daoist History), 3,600 different kinds of qi gong developed. According to Gan Zhen-yun, "The main features of Qigong development in this stage were: the widespread application of Qigong for health protection and medical care, and its integration with Chinese medicine which promoted the development of traditional medical science."[2] In more modern times, Zhang Zi-yang wrote several books on qi gong and health preservation, including Understand the Truth, 400 Characters on Qi Gong, and Secrets for Keeping One's Youth. In these books, Zhang further developed, enriched, and perfected the theories on the relationship of qi gong to the jing, qi, and shen first advanced by Wei Bo-yan 900 years before.  As mentioned above, there are many different styles of qi gong and literally thousands of different qi gong exercises. However, most qi gong exercises are based on the coordination of three elements: 1) a specific pattern of breathing, 2) a specific posture or movements coordinated with that breath pattern, and 3) a visualization accompanying both breath pattern and movements or posture. As we have seen above, one's qi is manufactured in part from the purest essence of the air we breath. Through qi gong exercises we can manufacture qi more efficiently, store qi more effectively, and circulate our qi more smoothly. In addition, we can circulate our qi to particular places or organs in our body to bath those areas in healing, revitalizing energy.  

In China there are Confucian styles of qi gong, Daoist styles of qi gong, and Buddhist styles of qi gong, each with their own unique theories and techniques. In addition, many qi gong exercises are associated with Chinese martial arts, such as Tai Ji Quan, Ba Gua Zhang, and Xing Yi Quan. Further, there are also types of medical qi gong specifically meant for the healing of disease or increasing one's health. Qi gong has become extremely popular, even faddish, in China in the last dozen years or so, and there are many books available on this subject in both Chinese and English. There are even a number of video tapes available to help one learn qi gong.  Generally, it is best to study qi gong as part of a class under the guidance of a qualified instructor. Qi gong instruction is now available in all large cities and many medium sized cities in the United States. 

It is important to mention a couple of more introductory things about this ancient Oriental exercise art.  First, qi gong emphasizes deep, abdominal breathing. Such deep diaphragmatic breathing rids the lungs of stale air and bathes the organism in fresh air. In addition, this deep breathing has a massaging effect on the internal organs and promotes the flow of blood, lymph, and cerebrospinal fluids. Secondly, the breath associated with most qi gong exercises has four characteristics. It is long, thin, even, and slow. It is not hurried, choppy, coarse, or rough. This relaxed, rhythmic, deep breathing thus helps calm the mind and relieves stress.  And thirdly, qi gong involves concentrating the mind and ridding it of distracting thoughts. In Chinese this is called shou yi. Shou means to concentrate, to attend to, or to look after. Yi means one. Thus shou yi means to concentrate on only one thing. During qi gong, such one-pointed concentration can be on a point within or part of the body, on the breath, or on a visualization or sensation. As Wang Zhi-xing, a qi gong teacher active in England and Europe says:  Shou yi teaches us to rest our mind internally on the oneness instead of restlessly jumping from one idea to the next. Shou yi helps us settle our mind and spirit internally and to focus our senses deeply within instead of looking outward all the time. Shou yi guides us to integrate ourselves with our circumstances and helps us to relax in different situations. Through shou yi, one's mind becomes peaceful and empty; the body, mind, and spirit are harmonized and the shen is therefore pacified and nourished.[3] 

This article is adapted from Imperial Secrets of Health & Longevity (1990) by Bob Flaws, published by Blue Poppy Press. For more information call 1-800-487-9296 or visit their website at www.bluepoppy.com.

A Cure for Leisure Sickness: Exercise and Stretching

Exercise & Stretching

by Bob Flaws

The Nei Jing states, "Prolonged sitting damages the flesh" and "Prolonged lying damages the qi." For not less than 2,000 years Chinese doctors have believed that lack of adequate physical exercise leads to disease. As a modern Chinese acupuncture text says, "Lack of physical exercise can impair the circulation of qi and blood, weaken the function of the spleen and stomach, and sap body resistance." When we exercise, the rhythmic contraction and release of our muscles, the increased pumping of our heart, and the expansion and contraction of our lungs all promote the flow and circulation of qi, blood, and body fluids. This increased circulation of qi results in the upbearing of the clear and downbearing of the turbid. In Chinese medical terms, this implies that digestion is improved. When digestion is improved, qi and blood production also improves. And abundant qi and blood result in increased immunity to disease.

In developed countries, due to sedentary lifestyle and labor-saving devices, many people do not get enough physical exercise. Because many people in such countries also suffer from increased job and lifestyle stress, this lack of adequate exercise is doubly harmful. The manifestations of inadequate exercise are softening of the bones and tendons, lack of energy, poor appetite, lassitude, obesity, and shortness of breath on exertion. Psychologically, lack of exercise also exacerbates anxiety, irritability, and depression. Although much of the Chinese longevity literature seems to emphasize not overworking and overtaxing oneself, Chinese longevity experts have also recommended avoiding excessive comfort. Lu Jiu-zhi of the Qing dynasty, in his Yi Bing Lun (Treatise on Leisure Diseases) pointed out that, "Ordinary people are often told of diseases from overtaxation but have no knowledge of diseases due to excessive leisure; the latter, however, are more harmful." Liu goes on to say, "If ordinary people remain idle and unoccupied, this leads to disease. If minor labor returns one's strength, if their disease improves when occupied by affairs and when busy they can forget their disease, if they feel fatigued after meals or fatigued after sleep, this is leisure disease."

Essentially, humans need regular physical exercise. However, that exercise should be moderate, not too much and not too little. Too much and qi and blood are consumed in excess. Too little and qi and blood are not produced and do not circulate. The famous Han dynasty doctor, Hua Tuo, said, "The human body desires work and movement, but one should not exert themself to the extreme. Movement of the body leads to grain qi being completely dispersed. The blood vessels flow freely. And disease cannot arise. This is like a (leather) door hinge which never becomes rotten."

In the Tang Dynasty, Sun Si-miao reiterated this same teaching, "The body desires labor, but one should never labor to extreme." Because one's strength, energy, and condition vary from day to day, season to season, and from age to age, this means that one should also regulate their exercise to meet their own particular needs. When one is young and in the prime of their life, doing strenuous physical exercises is appropriate. However, as one ages, one's exercise can and should become milder and less strenuous. Exercise which results in a person feeling exhausted afterwards is too much.

For the purposes of this discussion, there are five kinds of exercise:

1. Physical exercise which is a part of living one's life

2. Aerobic exercise

3. Resistance training

4. Stretching

5. Qi gong

Doing Chores by Hand

Physical exercise which is a part of living one's life refers to the walking, moving, and lifting inherent in just moving through one's daily schedule. In undeveloped countries, daily life for most people is made up of a series of physical tasks. One typically must walk everywhere. Stairs need to be climbed. Water needs to be carried or pumped. Wood or brush needs to be carried for fuel. Dishes and clothes need to be washed by hand. The garden needs to turned, planted, weeded, and harvested. One's house needs to be cleaned.

In rich, Western countries, many of these simple physical tasks have been replaced by machines and appliances. In such countries, one of the easiest ways of getting adequate exercise is to forego the use of one's car, elevator, and other mechanical conveniences and chose instead to do these things manually or by one's own body. Instead of driving everywhere, sometimes one should walk or ride their bicycle. Instead of taking the elevator, one should walk up the stairs. This kind of exercise is relatively easy to do since it is purposeful and uncontrived.

Aerobic Exercise

Some people just cannot find the time to walk to work or get their exercise entirely by doing manual chores during their daily schedul . e. In that case, it is necessary to set time aside to deliberately exercise. There are three types of exercise a person should do in order to stay healthy. The first of these is aerobic exercise. This means doing something fast enough and repetitive enough to get one's heart beating 80% faster than normal. This means that if one's normal resting pulse is 72 beats per minute, one's aerobic rate should be at least 128 beats per minute. Once one's rate is up to that point, one then needs to keep it there for a continuous 20 minutes. This can be accomplished by fast walking, jogging, riding a bicycle, swimming, playing basketball, or any of a number of other methods of exertion. The exact method is not that important as long as one's heart beat is raised and one keeps that rate up for 20 minutes to a half hour. The important thing other than that is that whatever method of exercise one chooses should not cause any damage to any part of the body. Since many types of aerobic exercise consist of doing the same movements over and over again repetitively, if those movements are even just a little bit damaging to the joints and tendons, a host of small injuries may accumulate to result in a large problem. Therefore, one should chose an aerobic activity which will not result in cumulative stress injuries, or one should vary the type of aerobic activity so as not to always stress the same body parts.

Aerobic exercise results in circulating the qi, blood, and body fluids. It strengthens the heart and lungs and reduces the negative effects of stress and emotional strain. Young and middle-aged people should do some kind of aerobic activity at least three times per week.

Resistance Training

Resistance training refers to lifting or pushing against something heavy or difficult to move. Resistance training builds physical strength. It also converts fat into muscle. Muscle burns more calories than does adipose or fatty tissue. When one reaches 40 years of age, one's metabolism naturally slows down with the decline of organ functions. Practically speaking, this results in gaining approximately 10 pounds every decade after that age unless one takes preventive steps. After 40, one will gain weight even if one eats the same amounts and kinds of foods and gets the same amount of exercise they did before that age. In other words, in order to counteract this process, one has to do more than they did before.

Lifting weights, doing push-ups, sit-ups, and pull-ups, or using any of the numerous types of resistance training machines on the market can help convert fatty tissue into muscle. Not only will this result in a slimmer, trimmer body, but one will also feel mentally and emotionally good about their renewed physical strength. They will feel strong and robust and young. The old saying goes, "Nothing succeeds like success." If, through resistance training, one becomes pleased by their youthful body in comparison to others their same age who have not taken such good care, this healthy pride and positive self-image can help develop more joie de vivre and with that a longer, healthier life.

When doing resistance training, one should exercise all major muscle groups. One should not try to build huge muscles but rather concentrate on toning and firming what they have. This usually means lighter weights or less resistance and more repetitions. Resistance training can be done three or more times per week but should be done at least twice a week. Besides the benefits mentioned above, resistance training also results in stronger bones and tendons.

Stretching

In the Huai Nan Zi, a compilation of philosophical treatises commissioned by Prince Huai Nan in the 2nd century BC, it says: "A pure spirit, emotions in equilibrium, and relaxation of all the joints are basic for the sustenance of one's essential nature." In Chinese medicine, the joints are seen as areas where there is a special concentration of qi and blood. From the traditional Chinese point of view, this is why movement occurs at the joints. These are the places where the sinews attach to the bones and where the channels and connecting vessels flow close to the skin, sandwiched closely between both. Although the joints are places where the qi and blood should flow most freely, in fact, they are places where the qi and blood can become easily stuck or stagnant.

Stretching exercises help to loosen the joints and promote the free flow of qi and blood over the channels and connecting vessels. They strengthen the tendons and ligaments and also indirectly strengthen the bones. Further, stretching exercises help promote mental and physical relaxation.

Stretching exercises are easiest to do in the late afternoon or early evening and are hardest to do in the early morning when one first wakes up. However, doing stretching exercises in the morning helps to free the flow of qi and blood which has become sluggish overnight. When doing stretching exercises, it is important to relax into each stretch. One should work with their breath, relaxing further with each exhalation. One should not try to stretch by bouncing into a stretch, nor should they force themselves to stretch too far too fast. Rather, one should stretch little by little, day by day, making haste slowly. 

Many systems of Chinese martial arts teach stretching exercises. However, one does not have to take a class at their local kung fu studio to learn how to stretch. The most important stretches are to flex and extend the spine, to adduct the spine, and to rotate the spine. Also, one should stretch out the backs of the legs which tend to be tight. One can also stretch their legs apart as if attempting a split. For more information on stretching, the reader should see Bob Anderson's classic, Stretching. Stretching should be done on a daily basis in order to keep the body supple, the qi and blood flowing freely, and the mind relaxed.

Qi Gong

The following chapter is devoted to the fifth type of exercise described in this book. Qi gong can mean many different things to different people. Many Chinese refer to almost all stretching exercises and calisthenics as qi gong. However, since the word itself means to train or discipline the qi, I differentiate it from stretching, calisthenics, and self-massage. As one ages, one does not need and indeed should not do the heavy exercise one was capable of as a young or middle-aged adult. Qi gong exercises are a way of getting moderate exercise without excessive strain. As middle age gives way to old age, it is probably better for most people to combine qi gong with stretching exercises and then to be sure they stay physically active in their daily routine.

Although one must moderate their exercise with advancing age, it is nonetheless important not to stop exercising. One of the characteristics of qi within the human body is movement. The body stops moving when the qi departs. But if one stops moving, one's qi will depart all the quicker.

This article is excerpted from Imperial Secrets of Health & Longevity by Bob Flaws, published by Blue Poppy Press. 1-800-487-9296 www.bluepoppy.com

Excerpts from 1980 Yoga Journal on Tai Chi Ruler

Bob Flaws. "Tai Chi Ruler: Practice Makes Perfect." 

Yoga Journal, September 1980, page 14

For Full Article Click Here

        Begin by standing with both feet shoulder width apart and parallel. The knees are slightly bent. Hips and shoulders face square to the front and the head is held up on a horizontal plane. Now begin to rock from side to side until you feel your weight fall evenly from the crown of the head directly down the midline of the body, to extend between your legs and out into the ground. Next rock slightly back and forward from toes to heel. Try to find the place where the weight of the body is equally distributed between the heel and ball of the foot. Lean forward slightly from this point as if peering over the edge of a cliff to compensate for the fact that most of us are habituated to carrying our weight back on our heels. Grip the earth with the toes and a hollow should open in the arch of the foot. Take note of that hollow, it is called the Well or Bubbling Spring. Now relax the toes and let the weight of the body fall down through the Well in the center of each foot and visualize it dropping like a stone to the center of the earth.

            Mentally go inside the joints of the body and open them like a key turning a lock. Open the ankles, the knees, the hips, the wrists, elbows, and the shoulders. Allow the joint where the backbone meets the pelvis to open (5^th lumbar), the space between the kidneys, the point where the rib cage ends (lumbodorsal hinge), the space between the shoulders, the seventh cervical, and where the skull meets the spine (Atlas/axis). Moving to the front of the body, mentally relax and open up the abdominal region. Let the belly go and allow it to just hang out like a baby’s. Relax the solar plexus and the heart area. Relax the throat and between the eyes. Next, imagine that the centers of the palms have opened,  just like the center of the soles, and that the center of the crown of the head (Ni-wang Kung or Gate of Nirvana, in Chinese, the Door of Brahma, in Indian yoga) also opens like the aperture of a camera, and that these five openings relate to each other.

            Now imagine that your weight and chi completely drop to and through the feet to make a taproot right into the center of the earth. Let the mind and breath drop to the Lower Tan-tien, the second yogi chakra, approximately three inches below the navel and a third of the way into the center of the body. The Lower Tan-tien should be visualized as a cauldron or pot. The mind and breath should fall like a leaf. Whenever the mind strays from this spot, it should be placed back there like placing a book on a shelf. Next allow your tailbone to drop as if a thousand-pound weight were hanging from it. Along with that, let the chin drop in and down as if a lighter weight were attached to it. Relax the anal sphincters, and the muscles of the mouth and jaw. Let the eyes be softly open and the gaze fall in the direction of the tip of the nose. Let the mind’s eye, however, look back up that slope to the third eye, between the brows, approximately one inch into the head. This is called the Yellow Door or upper Tan-tien.

            Imagine that there is a rough, slate-grey sea at the level of the base of the spine or coccyx. From this sea a dragon rises up with stream and roiling, in a full panoply of dazzling colors. This dragon, which represents one’s spirit, flies up the spine and out the top of the head through the Ni-wang. You should have the feeling of hanging from a gossamer thread from the center of heaven, like some celestial puppet. You should feel your head effortlessly floating up and, at the same time, the full weight of your body falling through your feet right into the earth. You should visualize yourself as a clear channel with the chi flowing unimpeded throughout your body. Now just stand in this position for a moment savoring its full feeling and sensations. Do not try to hold all of the images simultaneously, but go from visualization to visualization. Keep the mind circling from one to the other and stay with your feelings. In trying this out the first few times, you will find it helpful to have a friend read these directions to you as you assume the posture.

            So far we have spent four paragraphs describing how to stand before even doing the first exercise and yet, over and over, I have said what a simple system Tai Chi Ruler is! It is simple. At the beginning it is hard to remember all of these imaginings, but soon they come effortlessly. Remember that from another point of view, you have simply been standing there, and if you have followed the instructions consciously I am sure you have noticed a change in your experience. In our classes at Blue Poppy, we spend up to an hour initially teaching how to stand. We start all of our classes with from five to 15 minutes of just this sort of standing. It is this way of standing which forms the basis of all the rest of the Tai Chi Ruler practice!

            The benefits derived from the regular practice of Tai Chi Ruler are similar to those from any yoga system. Your outward body will become relaxed, soft, and pliable. You will find relese from chronic tension and gain improved structural realignment. You will feel grounded and, at the same time, very up. There will be a spring to your step and strength in your legs, the human foundation. There should be a greater fluidity in your movements, more rhyhtm, balance, smoothness, and poise. Your skin will become very soft and smooth, and your eyes will sparkle. Internally, you will need less sleep, have more energy, be free from disease, feel tranquil and composed, light and buoyant. You may be able to eat and drink large quantities with no ill result or cut down your intake of physical food to almost nothing. In Taoist terms you become very yin on the outside and very yang on the inside. It is said you become like an iron bar wrapped in cotton.

            Master Chao Chung Tao, who lived to be 118 and credited that longevity directly to his practice of Tai Chi Ruler, said that if you practice for just 120 days your whole life will be revolutionized. When my close friend, Sifu Gardner, was studying with Sifu Chan in New York, Master Chan said over and over again: “The benefits of Tai Chi Ruler are so wonderful, so effective, so immediate. The system is so simple. It’s so simple, it’s boring. It’s boring and none of you will do it. What a shame!” To everything there is a season, and it is my prediction that the words Chi Kung will become as well known, in the next ten years, in this country, as pranayama and perhaps yoga itself. 

***

Bob Flaws (born 1946) is a well-known practitioner of and prolific author and translator on Chinese medicine. He began his study and practice of Chinese medicine in 1977 under the late Eric (Xi-yu) Tao of Denver, Colorado and continued his Chinese medical education at the Shanghai College of Traditional Chinese Medicine from 1982 to 1986. In 1982, he and his wife, Honora Lee Wolfe, established Blue Poppy Press which eventually grew into Blue Poppy Enterprises, Inc. of Boulder, Colorado. Some of Bob Flaws' best known titles include:

• The Treatment of Western Diseases with Chinese Medicine
• The Secret of Chinese Pulse Diagnosis
• Statements of Fact in Traditional Chinese Medicine
• Chinese Medical Psychiatry
• The Tao of Healthy Eating
• A Compendium of Menstrual Diseases in Chinese Medicine

Up to 2009, Bob Flaws had written, translated, or edited almost 100 books on all aspects of Chinese medicine. He has also published hundreds of articles in both popular and professional journals all over the world.