6 Tips Of Qigong Training For Beginners To Know
Principles of Fitness Qigong Training
1. Relaxation, Harmony, Naturalness
- Relaxation, Harmony, and Naturalness are the basic rules and most fundamental principles of exercising. To practice effectively, it’s important to start with being relaxed, calm, and natural. If you don’t understand or can’t achieve this, you won’t meet the requirements of the exercise. So, mastering relaxation, harmony, and naturalness is crucial for learning and practicing fitness Qigong.
- Relaxation: It means both mental and physical relaxation. Mental relaxation involves relieving tension in your mind and body. Physical relaxation refers to relaxing your joints, muscles, and internal organs. Throughout the exercise, relaxation should be maintained in your posture, breathing, and thoughts.
- Harmony: It means keeping your mind and emotions calm. Both inner calmness (peaceful thoughts and emotions) and outer calmness (quiet surroundings) are important during exercise. Inner calmness is especially crucial. Achieve this by gently adjusting your mindset to clear distracting thoughts and reach a relaxed and peaceful state.
- Naturalness: It means maintaining a relaxed and natural state in your body posture, breathing, and thoughts. Your exercise should feel natural and comfortable. When your posture, breathing, and mental state are natural, your whole body will naturally reach a relaxed and calm state.
2. Mind and Breath in Harmony
In Mind and Breath in Harmony, “mind” refers to mental regulation, and “breath” refers to breathing.
- Focus of Qigong Training:
- Primarily centers on training the mind and breathing, with the mind as the main focus.
- Training the mind involves clearing distracting thoughts and achieving a relaxed and peaceful state.
- Training the breath involves controlling breathing patterns.
- Breath Training Process:
- Begins with natural breathing and progresses to slow, steady, and deep abdominal breathing.
- Emphasizes the importance of gradual transition and progression.
- Harmony between Mind and Breath:
- Qigong training of the mind and breath should be conducted in a relaxed, calm, and natural manner.
- Breath training depends on mental guidance, and mental training requires harmony with the breath.
- Interconnectedness of Mind and Breath:
- Mind and breath rely on each other and cannot be separated in Qigong practice.
- Achieving harmony between the mind and breath necessitates gradual practice, avoiding sole focus on one aspect over the other.
3. Combining Movement and Stillness
To have Qigong training effectively, it’s important to combine movement and stillness. This means integrating dynamic exercises with static ones during practice.
- Benefits of Mind-Breath Combination:
- Stimulates meridians, balances the body’s energy flow, and harmonizes Yin and Yang.
- Improves and strengthens overall health.
- Can have noticeable therapeutic effects.
- Dynamic vs. Static Exercises:
- Solely performing dynamic exercises can be overly taxing and may not effectively cultivate vital energy.
- Focusing solely on static exercises without movement can neglect muscle and bone strength, hindering energy flow and affecting exercise quality and physical recovery.
- Importance of Combination Approach:
- Essential to combine both dynamic and static approaches for optimal results.
- Achieves a balance between cultivating vital energy and maintaining muscle and bone strength.
- Enhances energy flow and promotes quality exercise and physical recovery.
4. Integration of Practice and Nurturing
In Qigong training, it’s crucial to integrate practice with nurturing throughout the entire process.
- Practicing vs. Nurturing:
- Practicing involves physical movements, breathing exercises, and mental adjustments.
- Nurturing refers to achieving a relaxed state during exercise, with comfortable breathing and a serene mind.
- Importance of Integration:
- Seamlessly integrating both aspects enhances the effectiveness of exercises and promotes overall well-being.
- Practice should include nurturing, and nurturing should include practice.
- Benefits of Integration:
- Ensures a holistic approach to exercise, addressing physical, mental, and emotional well-being.
- Enhances the effectiveness of exercises by promoting relaxation and calmness.
- Fosters a deeper connection between mind and body, leading to greater overall health and vitality.
5. Maintaining a Cheerful Spirit
It’s essential to maintain a cheerful spirit while having Qigong training.
- Importance of Positive Attitude:
- Maintaining a positive attitude during exercises, including before and after, is crucial for achieving results.
- Practicing in a relaxed, joyful, and pleasant state of mind is essential.
- Handling Distractions and Challenges:
- Life may bring distractions and unpleasant experiences, but it’s important to handle them positively.
- Gradually eliminating negative thoughts is key to maintaining positivity.
- Impact on Health and Longevity:
- Scientific research has demonstrated that positive mental and emotional states significantly impact human health and longevity.
- Maintaining a positive mindset can boost the body’s immune system and slow down the aging process.
6. Gradual Progress
Learning and Qigong training also require gradual progress. Understanding this principle is crucial for mastering Qigong effectively. Beginners often fall into two common traps:
- Rushing for Results: Some people are too eager to see quick results, so they practice intensely and excessively. However, this approach often leads to disappointment as they don’t achieve the expected results and may even cause harm.
- Lack of Consistency: Others may practice sporadically, lacking commitment and consistency. They may not have clear goals or the determination to practice regularly, leading to ineffective results.
It’s important to avoid these extremes. Instead, individuals should take gradual steps, following the principles and methods of Qigong practice. Specifically, during Qigong exercises, practitioners should carefully follow the requirements of the exercises and their physical condition. Consistent practice, perseverance, and continuous improvement are essential to progress both in skills and physical health.