| I practice a form of qi gong known as soaring crane qi gong. Qi means
air and energy. Gong means cultivation. There's five basic routines that you can learn
which help you to clear your mind, relax your body, ground yourself and let universal
energy flow. The movements are inspired by and partially modelled after the movements of
cranes. They're simple and you can learn them quickly, if you have a good teacher to
correct your posture and help direct your energy and mental focus. Being in a class is a
really good idea, because you enjoy and contribute to communal vitality and learn from and
help teach others as you go along. My physical, mental and emotional balance has improved
significantly since I began taking a weekly class in October. Also, not to give anything
away, but if you practice a lot, you will feel very, very nice during practice and
afterwards. It's fun and it's fascinating. You might start glowing, and you might find
that you have learned how to subtly transfer your own qi to another. Soaring Crane Qi
Gong, after all, is an art form with healing as its main mission. After seven weeks of the five routines, I had developed a sense of qi, knew of its presence and absence, loved it, and worked at cultivating it when it was on the wane. Soon I began 7 weeks of standing meditation. This is a very interesting practice. You do a preliminary grounding routine that leaves you in a rooted standing meditation with your eyes closed and your mind extended into the stratosphere. Qi often surprises the standing meditation by moving you in spontaneous directions and opening up blockages, releasing tension, old or cold qi, and helping you to experience your problems and your interests with an intimacy that I personally haven't known in any other place or time. |
