Nourishing Life/ Yang Shen
Qigong (pronounced: “chee goong”) is the modern label applied to a broad category of practices developed in China since ancient times. The name “qigong” appropriately conjures up images of people practicing morning-exercises in parks. However, the full scope of qigong is vast.
“Qi” is often translated as breath/energy. “Gong” implies a skill that takes time and effort to cultivate to maturity. A master pianist, for example, has piano-gong, just as a master carpenter has carpentry-gong. Qigong, therefore, can be discussed as skill development with regards to breathing and the animating life-force. Classically, however, this field of study involved much more than just breathing techniques.
Daoism is the indigenous culture of China, and Daoists have contributed the most to the development of qigong in China. In Daoism, qigong can be thought of as having three branches: longevity techniques, mindfulness techniques, and spiritual “alchemy.”
Longevity qigong techniques encompass the methods to develop and maintain physical function. These include breathing techniques to optimize mechanical ventilation, enabling the lungs to receive abundant air for respiration, and giving the spine and vital organs a massage with the pumping action of each breath. Longevity qigong also includes any and all stretching and muscle toning exercises. Massage therapy techniques also fall under this category, as skilled hands can augment and enhance the other longevity related work. Beyond making the physical body healthy and strong, Longevity qigong may improve quality of life by reducing aches and pains. It is considered an ideal practice for everyone, and especially anyone who wishes to engage further by pursuing mindfulness qigong techniques. By reducing the gross physical static which distracts the mind, the ability to develop awareness of subtle sensation may accelerate more quickly. A healthy physical body provides the foundation and support for the inward journey.
Mindfulness qigong techniques develop continuity of awareness. Very often, practitioners begin by observation of the breath as it enters and exits the body through the nose. Incoming breath is cool, outgoing breath is relatively warmer, and no two breaths are ever the same, presenting an ideal opportunity to develop consciousness of the now-moment. Other techniques include scanning the body for sensations, then relaxing into any found sensation until its energy naturally unwinds, dissolves and reintegrates. The eyes are considered “windows to the spirit” that look out, as well as in. Tension in the eyes changes the way one sees the world as well as the way one is seen by the world. Eye methods include softening the gaze while retaining visual focus and creating neutrality that neither bulges out or draws in. Mindfulness qigong techniques guide one on a path towards emotional maturity, and diligent practice may lead to a profound sense of inner stillness and peace.
Spiritual alchemy is “something different.” Versions exist in many traditions outside of Daoism, including the Indian and Tibetan traditions. In some traditions there is a focus on an active process of transforming something perceived as undesirable, into something perceived as desirable, such as, “escaping the wheel of reincarnation,” for example. Certainly, influences from other traditions, including both Indian and Tibetan, have commingled with lineages of Daoism over the centuries. Nowadays, one can go to almost any bookstore and for $10 purchase in a single manual, scores of esoteric techniques that would formerly have required many years of dedicated practice to receive from a mentor (regardless of the tradition/source). Many such modern books make questionable claims to represent Daoist sources, and may include such topics as energy channels, yin and yang, the Chinese five-elements, circulation of energy through various orbits around the body, cosmology/astrology, and so on. It is worth mentioning here that in classical times the air was cleaner, food was organic, there was no buzz of electrical appliances as one slept at night, and things didn’t change too much over long periods of time. Under such circumstances, with devotion to practice and the guidance of a mentor it might have made sense to engage in certain specialized esoteric practices. For us living today with polluted air, unnatural foods, seemingly endless screentime, and never enough time to keep up with how fast everything is changing all around us, such esoteric practices may be mental-masturbation at best, or a power-tripping, big-trap at the worst. It is good to keep in mind that our situation today is flipped; what we need to improve on is the exoteric, not the esoteric. Classical Daoist spiritual alchemy is characterized by what the Daoists call Wu-Wei, which means “doing, without doing.” Lao Tzu, the legendary patriarch of Daoism and supposed author of its most famous book, the Dao De Jing, is famously quoted as saying: “Those who know do not speak, and those who speak do not know.” In this way, Daoist spiritual alchemy encourages to forget about Daoist spiritual alchemy altogether, and focus instead on cultivating a healthy body and a smooth, steady mind. The rest, whatever that is, if it is even important, will arise naturally/organically as it should!
In some contexts, Daoism scoffs at ritual, labeling it the “husk of faith.” In other ways, Daoism is chock full of ritual. One Daoist ritual is the practice of qigong methods during a full moon. According to old beliefs stemming from ancestor worship (immensely popular in China especially before the rise of communism), we have a more direct access to our lineage of instructors during the full moon. If you are familiar with the old Star Wars movies, think of the incorporeal manifestations of Yoda and Obi-Wan Kenobi returning in spirit to guide the still-corporeal Luke Skywalker, as being a phenomenon available during the full moon. Daoists practice qigong during the full moon in hopes of being inspired and aided by the lineage of those who came before.
I was introduced to Daoist qigong in 1995 at age fourteen. I pursued it intensively, with various teachers and in various parts of the world, for about fifteen years. In my case, I learned a lot about the East, long before I delved deeply into the West. I eventually did start turning Westward in my thirties, and today many who know me do not even know of my background rooted in the East. Although the outer façade has changed, I have always remained wholly devoted to the same core practices: breathing, stretching/toning, massage, nutrition, sleep, etc. These core practices are known by another name in Chinese called Yang Sheng, or the way of “nourishing life.”
I am therefore thrilled to present an ongoing series of Nourishing Life / Yang Shen classes, drawing mainly from the longevity and mindfulness approaches, at the Felek Acupuncture Clinic in Albany, CA. My friend Ozben Felek and I met at the Acupressure Institute in Berkeley, CA in or around 2009. At that time, we were both studying acupressure massage. She went on to earn a master’s degree and then a doctorate in Chinese Medicine, including acupuncture and herbalism, while I explored deeply into western anatomy, physical therapeutics and osteopathic manual therapy. We started working under the same roof in 2021, and in February 2022 she opened up her beautiful new clinic on Solano Avenue in Albany. I am grateful she has welcomed both my massage therapy and my qigong offerings in her space.
My Nourishing Life class is suited for all ages and fitness levels. Specifically the mindfulness techniques, are not appropriate, healthy or helpful for those who are self-aware of having a mental ailment. To put it bluntly, certain techniques may be too powerful, and such individuals are better served by a licensed professional therapist. In classical times, individuals with mental ailments could learn and benefit from qigong under the direct, regular supervision of an expert mentor, or perhaps within the support of a community setting such as at a monastery. I am unavailable to provide either level of support, and therefore it is my responsibility to urge those who may have a mental ailment to seek proper care from a specialist.
Written by Charles Strange
