Issue 54 - Tse Qigong Centre

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In those times men could have as many wives as theywanted, but women once they married could not marry again.This was a feudal time and the civilisation was built up aroundthe Emperor and was the most selfish system of government.The Emperor could do whatever he wanted.However, history is often quite fair. If the Emperor wasbad then he would not last long. If he was good and treatedhis citizens like his children then he would rule for longer andbe respected by his people, and even later on in history wouldbe remembered.But back to Chinese superstition, because of the longhistory and written records we have so many customs to tryand make everything perfect. But because of this Chinesepeople are often more scared of creating all these problems.Also Chinese people understand Qi. If the energy is damagedit can become bad Qi and can bring bad luck, whereas goodQi will bring good luck. Therefore Chinese people like to followcustoms that will bring them good luck, and there are so manycustoms and rules. There are even ones where people do notknow why they do it. They just prefer to follow it rather thanrisk causing a problem for themselves. It is like in the West,Friday the 13 th or any number 13 is bad luck. Walking underladders brings bad luck, and “Touching wood “ brings goodluck. If you ask people why they follow these or do them, I donot think many people will know the answer. However, theywill prefer to follow them than ignore them.However,, when we study Qigong we understand theconcept of Yin and Yang, 5 Elements and the Bagua, and all ofnature is based on these principles. So although you might notbe able to see it, you know something is happening.Chinese therefore believe in the principle of balanceand that is the main principle of all Chinese philosophy andculture; not too strong, not too weak, otherwise there will be aproblem.The Yijing, Chinese Astrology and prediction has alwaysfascinated me. I have found there is a lot of knowledge thatgoes beyond the modern day science of today. Only westernscience believes it is better because anything that they cannotprove “scientifically” does not exist, even though some thingmay have been used for many centuries. However, the oldChinese way is also a science, Chinese science. We can provethings following our own theories and some things have beenused for centuries and if you do not follow this way, then it willeffect the harmony of the Qi and nature and eventually youwill have a problem.Fortunately there are a lot of people in the West whobelieve in these things and carry them on even more, likeacupuncture, moxibustion, Feng Shui, Qigong, Taijiquan, etc.Most of the time when I look at somebody’s attitude, face,palms and date of birth I can see their character, health, finance,marriage, children and even their parents. Why can we seethese things in other people? This is because anything thathappens inside a person will show up in their attitude andtheir features. Even that knowledge should make sense as towhy it is like that. Other times I will ask my teacher, until oneday I know more and understand why someone behaves likethat and what will happen in the future.How much we can know is based on the knowledge leftby our ancestors. However, by studying more we can questionthe knowledge to prove it is right. This is the correct attitude tostudy. Eventually when all the knowledge is understood, therewill be no more superstitions, only a science for human beingsand it does not matter whether you are from the East or Westby Wo DoziTse Qigong Centre UKPO Box 59Altrincham WA15 8FS0845 838 2285+44 161 929 4485tse@qimagazine.comQi Magazine 13
How many times have you heard it said that it is better to practiseQigong outside, in a good environment, than inside? I have heard thismany, many times. Whilst I follow this advice, for those just beginningtheir Qigong studies, it may be difficult.What is Fresh Air?Life TrainingPerhaps you feel too shy. Perhapsyou feel too cold in the weatheror perhaps you have nowhereconvenient to practise outside at yourhome. The list can go on and on butmaybe when you understand howenormously the benefits of practisingoutside outweigh those of practisingindoors, you may be convinced to give ita try.Those living in England, or evenSeattle and Canada, know that naturedoes not always provide the most clementof Qigong practice weather. So when it israining or very cold and damp, should westill struggle outside, wrapped in layersof thermals and rain gear? My suggestionis to try and find a pocket of time when itis not raining (or at least very little) orwindy or foggy.Some people ask if it is okay topractise outside during these conditionseven if they do not feel cold. If it is notraining too hard and you do not feel cold,then it may be that it is okay for you.However, rain can cause chills if your bodyis not able to produce enough heat tocounter the wet. So for beginners, it isbest to avoid practising in the rain.What about when it is foggy?Particularly, we should not practiseoutside when it is foggy, no matter whatour Qigong level is. The reason for this isthat the air is heavier and all the pollutionin the atmosphere stays suspended and,thus, is inhaled. This can easily affect thelungs and can cause damp in the body.We should also avoid facing the wind topractise because it too can invade thebody if the Qi is not strong.So far, I have not been veryconvincing have I? However, anything ofvalue is worth working for. The mainreason why we practise outside is to getbenefit from the fresh air. Fresh air canbe measured in units of anions, with thenumber of anions in one cubic millimetreof air for the following conditions asfollows. Near a forest or a beach, theamount of anions is between 2,500 and10,000. In a valley near a waterfall it isnearly 20,000 anions. In a meadow orgrassy area in the countryside, it is 1,000anions. Outdoors in a city, it falls to 200-600 anions. However, indoors, there onlya few dozen anions of fresh air. So wecan see why in the past, people whowanted to cultivate high level Qigong skillwould often go to the mountains, forestsor near a lake to practise and devotethemselves to their Qigong.However, this being said, weshould make sure that when we practiseoutside, that it a good environment. If youlive near a busy road or in a polluted area,this is not good to practise there as youare trying to rid the body of negativeenergy not gather more. Practising in apolluted area is like washing yourclothes in dirty water. Instead, trygoing to a park where youcan practise neartreesor even ina meadow.Trees and other plants help tocreate more oxygen, acting as anenvironmental filter. The negative electriccharge of our bodies, cells mix with theanions of fresh air to enhance thefunctions and metabolism of the body.However, if where we go topractise the plants look sickly or are dead,then this can show you that it is not avery healthy place to practise. I once hada case where some of my houseplantskept dying. The previous year, they werevery healthy in that particular corner, butthen the next year, they just died. I movedanother plant in their place and it too diedand it was my strongest, healthiest plantof all. So, I knew that this meant that theenergy was not very good in this area. Ialso knew that I should move unless Iwanted my health to be affected as well.To say that it is bestto practise Qigong outside iseasy but it is much harder toput into practice. Anyonewho has looked out thewindow early in the morning at a cold,grey sky, or snow for those in Sweden orin northern climes, knows that it is achallenge (some might put it a littlestronger than that!) to get dressed andface the elements. But once you get intoa habit of making yourself gooutside, you may evenfind that youpreferpractising inthe colder weather.Colder weather forces the body to createmore heat and so makes the circulationand bones stronger.Living in a hot climate, you findthat you may sweat very easily and thiscan distract you from wanting to practise.In this case, you will need to find a timeand place when you will not be exhaustedby the heat, usually early morning orevening is best. In China, people willpractise anywhere from 5-9am in themorning as this is a good time whenpollution has not yet gotten too bad fromcars and buses.I remember, one year after I beganpractising Qigong, I went up toQi Magazine 14
Page 2 and 3: Cover: Grandmaster Ip Chun, his fat
Page 4 and 5: POBox POBox POBox...VeryExcitingNew
Page 6 and 7: WORLD TAI CHI &QIGONG DAY7 April 20
Page 8 and 9: to an emotion and the emotion forki
Page 10 and 11: Chen style Taijiquan was developedi
Page 12 and 13: Chinese people are very superstitio
Page 16 and 17: Manchester for a demonstration.Ever
Page 18 and 19: 5. Moving by the Wind.Step forward
Page 20 and 21: The most deep seated wish that all
Page 23 and 24: Simple andA martial art is much mor
Page 25 and 26: quickly. So in Wing Chun, your punc
Page 27 and 28: Important Points for Good Chi Sau1.
Page 29 and 30: Tendon and Peanut SoupThe Chinese b
Page 31 and 32: Today it seems as if everyone has h
Page 33 and 34: “When youpractise, youshould find
Page 35 and 36: The Dragon is a symbol of China, as
Page 37 and 38: defgThis is one of the most powerfu
Page 39 and 40: Qi MattersThe answer to this questi
Page 41: fig. 3The entrance leads to a narro

Issue 54 - Tse Qigong Centre

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