Feeding off the Universe

An introduction to the healing practice of qigong

Image generated by Bing Image Creator

Our bodies are made of energy. Scientists worldwide have proven this fact countless times through experiments with particles, atoms, and electromagnetic fields. But did you know that we didn’t need scientists to prove this? An entire culture of people understood this principle thousands of years ago and then dedicated their lives to practicing the art of cultivating their energy. The art of self-cultivation has many names, types, and forms, but I’d like to discuss the form I practice: Qigong.

My Taoist teacher, George Thompson, introduced me to qigong five years ago. He described it as a series of movements that cause two things to happen if performed correctly. One, your body will circulate your energy through your internal energy “highway,” which helps to strengthen and heal. Two, you can draw upon the universe's energy to restore your own, thereby causing the circulation of new energy.

That might sound a little far-fetched if you’ve never heard of it before, so let’s break down what’s happening in more detail so you can better understand this unique and helpful practice.

Taoists believe your body is an energy factory. The core of this factory is named the Dantien 丹田. This core is located three finger widths below your belly button. All of your body’s energy originates from this source and is spread throughout your body in order to provide you the energy you need to move, think, and live. Like a car factory, however, movement needs to occur for cars to come out the other side.

For example, in this imaginary car factory, workers arrive daily, walk up and down the factory floor, and perform different tasks. No cars can be produced if no one is at the factory to move. The dantien is the same. Your movement and meditation practices are required in order to circulate your energy. In other words, your qi.

Directly translated from Mandarin as breath or air, qi is the vital energy or life force that animates the body and the universe, and gong means practice or work. Therefore, qigong is literally an energy practice.

Through meditation and movements (and often both simultaneously), practitioners can cultivate the energy of the universe, of life itself, and make it flow through them—absorbing the positive new energy and pushing away negative, spent energy.

One benefit of qigong over a different but similarly named practice, tai chi, is that the movements are easier and less stressful. About a year ago, my teacher was visiting Scotland and recorded a tremendously helpful video teaching a 20-minute qigong exercise. You can watch it below. I recommend standing wherever you might be and following along.

I also want to share George’s teacher, Master Gu, explaining qigong and how he practices.

I hope to write more about my qigong practice in a later article, but I wanted to start with this simple explanation of what qigong is. If you decide to practice these movements, note that they should be done outside, if possible, and barefoot. Connecting your body back to the ground from whence it came, feeling the air on your skin, and absorbing the energy from the sun is incredibly different and more beneficial than standing in your living room or garage.

If you have any questions about the movements, George’s practice, or me, I’ll gladly answer them in my subscriber chat, or you can leave a comment.

---

Thank you so much for reading today. This article was completely free because I feel it’s important for everyone to know about the benefits of energy cultivation through qigong.

If you want to support me, please consider becoming a paid subscriber. I’m running a special 40% holiday discount on all of my subscriptions. You can find it below!