Basic Qigong Protocol – Physicality

Calisthenics alone will not keep us healthy and promote longevity. One of the problems of teaching Internal Qigong / Tai Chi is many student’s preconception that therapeutic exercise is all about increasing aerobic endurance and weight resistance training. That is External Qigong. Internal – External (Yinyang) Qigong complement each other and are rather different, not necessarily in terms of the exercises, but how the exercises are practiced to reach their intended objectives.

精 Jing is translated as essence. Prenatally, this is the DNA we receive from our parents that postnatally generates our unique physicality. This energy is finite, but it can be conserved. We must be careful. Injuries acquired in youth will haunt us in older age. Heredity can pass down both positive and negative family traits.

Just as we were originally nourished in the womb by the air, water and food our Mother consumed, the choices we make after our birth is very important to the development of our growing bodies and later in life too. Hence “Dietary” is a very important component to internal training. Dietary is one of the five healing modalities of TCM: Traditional Chinese Medicine. It is based on Tai Chi theory too. Food is considered medicine and categorized to the internal affects it has upon consumption.

Our metabolism is similar to our car’s combustion engine. Water, fuel, and air are required to make it go. Although, our organs convert this intake into the appropriate fuel (glucose) our body needs. Physical movement keeps the body and more importantly the internal organs functional properly. Let a car sit for a while and it may not start too.

As we get older, gaining weight is a common problem. The added fat layer restricts internal movement. Breathing and digestive orders are common. Our metabolism slows, we tend to do less physically, and because food is so wonderfully delicious, we easily overeat. In most cases, we are not suffering from malnutrition, but from poor food choices. Not only is the excessive salt, sugar, and fat totally useless to our bodies, but the extra weight is very hard on aging joints. If you suffer from lower joint pain, really consider losing weight properly to keep it off. Eating better, losing weight and minimizing vises like smoking, drug, and alcohol abuse are probably more beneficial in the long run than any type of forced regimen of calisthenics.

It is easier not to put the calories into our body, than to try to burn them off with physical labor, that can be very hard on a body compromised from neglect; years of little to no exercise.