Chi Gong Basics
Chi Gong is a form of "moving meditation" that emphasizes body movement, deep breathing and meditation. This art has been practiced in China for 5,000 years and now has many enthusiasts around the world. Practitioners cite the immediate and long-term health benefits of Chi Gong. The basic techniques of Chi Gong are easy to learn.
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Identification
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"Chi" refers to an individual's vital energy or life force, while "Gong" refers to cultivation or harnessing. Chi Gong, then, means the cultivation of a person's life force or vital energy. Practitioners of Chi Gong consider it a great way to relieve stress and benefit the nervous system and vital organs.
History
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A key figure in the history of Chi Gong is the Buddhist monk Bohdidharma, credited with bringing Buddhism and the early forms of martial arts to China more than 2,500 years ago. Bohdidharma came to China's Shaolin Temple and found that the monks there were gifted in meditation, but lacked good health. He introduced them to the principles of Chi Gong to combine the monks' meditation skills with their need for exercise.
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Benefits
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The basic techniques of Chi Gong will help you reduce stress, improve your posture, increase flexibility in your spine, increase energy in your nervous system, and direct your energy. It also will increase awareness of your breathing, increase blood flow, and add strength to the lower back, legs and hips. Basic Chi Gong techniques also give the practitioner a centered, calm and self-assured feeling.
Expert Insight
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Chi Gong is taught in fitness clubs, recreation centers, alternative health centers and martial arts schools. Receiving instruction from an expert in Chi Gong is necessary if you want to master the art, but it is not necessary to do this in order to learn Chi Gong basics. Many instructional videos and books on basic Chi Gong techniques exist, and they are a fine way to learn the basics, according to Tom Rogers, vice president of the California-based Chi Gong Institute.
Misconceptions
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Chi Gong is sometimes considered a Chinese martial art like Tai Chi or Kung Fu. In truth, however, Chi Gong is the foundational skill for these and other Chinese martial arts, both the hard external styles like Kung Fu and the softer internal martial arts such as Tai Chi. Chi Gong helps a person develop balance, strength and focus, all important qualities for everyone. Martial arts such as Kung Fu and Tai Chi, then, are really martial art forms of Chi Gong.
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