Hey All,
new in the forum, pleased to meet you.
I’ve been practicing pretty basic Qi Gong for about 3 months now. It’s been extremely beneficial for my well being, health and state of mind. I’m sticking to pretty basic exercises:
Microcosmic orbit.
Bone Breathing
attending and intending, etc.
I’ve heard frequently that unguided Qi Gong eventually leads to trouble; psychological or even physical trouble. Is this legit? Or can I continue with my daily routine?
Just start slow and sometime in the future if you continue to practice seek out a good Sifu. It’s like anything else, like if you’ve been lifting weights incorrectly for a while you may not suffer an injury imediatley but odds are eventually you will.
thanks for the reply 
Just a follow up question, is this damage suddenly going to happen? Or will I feel a build up of pain or discomfort similar to lifting weights improperly in a gym. Because thusfar its been 100% positive for me, I don’t plan on going beyond the exercises I’m already doing until I get a teacher. I just may not be able to find the time to do that for a few months.
Also I’m not of the belief that there is anything Magical about QiGong, so wouldn’t my well being be the best litmus test for improper practice?
wudang qigong
Laozi’s Dao Te Jing in the third chapter says “Empty the mind, fill the belly. Weaken the ambition, strengthen the character.” So then, this is the motto for practicing China’s Wudang Daoist Qigong. To study each method, each method must be understood, as well as the the energy processed. Wudang Qigong has eighteen types of practice exercises and methods. In practicing Wudang Qigong, the first step is to move the inner breath in the small heavenly circle, whitch is also known as the first gate and is called refining the energy and transforming the breath. Together, energy, breath, and spirit become spiritual breath. The second step is to move the inner breath in the large heavenly circle; this is known as the middle gate and is called refining the breath and transforming the spirit. Together spirit and breath become one. The third step is combining ten thousand things into an integral whole; this is known as refining the spirit and returning to the void. Recover and return to emptiness, understand the heart; see the character, make the body stronger, and prolong the years.
Stiff and unbending is the principle of death.
Gentle and yielding is the principle of life.
Thus an army without flexibility never wins a battle.
A tree that is unbending is easily broken.
The hard and strong will fall.
The soft and weak will overcome.
from:http://www.daoistkungfu.com
<a href="http://www.wudangkungfu.de">http://www.wudangkungfu.de</a>
you’re on the right track
Your personal well-being is the best litmus test for how things are going
and there is nothing magical about Chi. You can figure a lot of stuff out using common sense.
If you want to understand martial art, then you should understand where martial art came from.
From the Zen tradition, the monks realized that too much meditation would make the body lethargic. So a simple form of exercise was developed to complement the daily meditation routine. The bone marrow washing exercises incorporated simple movements with breathing techniques. From this simple beginning
Martial art was developed.
You don’t have to worry about getting hurt doing these type of exercises.
Practicing qigong incorrectly can and probably will physically injure you. Same goes for gong fu.
Not because magic qi will melt your brain or something, but because if you don’t understand proper alignment you could grind the joints down, pull tendons, permanently hurt the back etc. Especially in a calm highly concentrated state.
To get the most out of qigong, it is wise to find a mentor. You can learn lots of qigong from books though, and get a lot out of it. I read a book when I was 14, about tai chi and started doing it. I didn’t get into a school where there was any real knowledge on zen untill I was 18. I had gone a very long ways. My teacher, and all of my upper classmates thought I had a significant background in soft martial arts.
[QUOTE=iron_leg_dave;881109]Practicing qigong incorrectly can and probably will physically injure you. Same goes for gong fu.
Not because magic qi will melt your brain or something, but because if you don’t understand proper alignment you could grind the joints down, pull tendons, permanently hurt the back etc. Especially in a calm highly concentrated state.
To get the most out of qigong, it is wise to find a mentor. You can learn lots of qigong from books though, and get a lot out of it. I read a book when I was 14, about tai chi and started doing it. I didn’t get into a school where there was any real knowledge on zen untill I was 18. I had gone a very long ways. My teacher, and all of my upper classmates thought I had a significant background in soft martial arts.[/QUOTE]
I really think it’s the same for any type of exercise; proper form is important, and if you don’t pay attention to it you are likely to hurt yourself. It doesn’t matter whether it’s a form of calisthenics like gongfu or qigong, or heavy resistance training; you could still hurt yourself if you are not careful.
[QUOTE=Fa Xing;881141]I really think it’s the same for any type of exercise; proper form is important, and if you don’t pay attention to it you are likely to hurt yourself. It doesn’t matter whether it’s a form of calisthenics like gongfu or qigong, or heavy resistance training; you could still hurt yourself if you are not careful.[/QUOTE]
I would completely agree. Weight lifting in particular. I’ve seen a lot of older men with bad physical problems from improper form.
As far as qigong goes though, I think it just seems so gentle, that it sometimes might be hard to understand that you could really hurt yourself. And you can. You can also really heal yourself. The Chinese are a brilliant people.
doing qigong wrong will sersiouly mess you up.
if something goes wrong you dont know what things to do to reverse it. sometimes you are just doing things plain wrong. lifting weights wrong messes up your muscles and bones, doing qigong wrong messes up your friggin nervous system. im surprised no one mentioned the saying “playing with fire and inviting demons”. its better if you just sit still and meditate with no thoughts until you find a teacher.
i used to try buddhist golden seal from some old book before i found a teacher, i couldnt flex my fourth finger for days, it keeps trembling. uve been warned
[QUOTE=bawang;883767]doing qigong wrong will sersiouly mess you up.
if something goes wrong you dont know what things to do to reverse it. sometimes you are just doing things plain wrong. lifting weights wrong messes up your muscles and bones, doing qigong wrong messes up your friggin nervous system. im surprised no one mentioned the saying “playing with fire and inviting demons”. its better if you just sit still and meditate with no thoughts until you find a teacher.
i used to try buddhist golden seal from some old book before i found a teacher, i couldnt flex my fourth finger for days, it keeps trembling. uve been warned[/QUOTE]
In for more info about this.
[QUOTE=bawang;883767]doing qigong wrong will sersiouly mess you up.
if something goes wrong you dont know what things to do to reverse it. [/QUOTE]
Hi to all from Italy.
I agree on this.
Doing practices without giudance can lead to problems,in the long run can also be a problem.
I don’t want to do terrorism, here, since I’ve tried long ago in the past,these mistakes on myself.
so I hope this advice is taken for the better, and not as an authority command on anyone.
For what I know,good qi gong path, let’s you to open point after point in a harmonious way,just when the circumstance is ready to it.
Doing the practice oneself, one is liable or stopping too soon or going overrun.
and this is the problem,you get deviations.
Just my two cents.
what do you mean stopping too soon?
[QUOTE=IronFist;890125]what do you mean stopping too soon?[/QUOTE]
Qi configurations need time,to open the point’s space and reaching it’s potential.
like cooking an egg.
[QUOTE=lord po;890251]Qi configurations need time,to open the point’s space and reaching it’s potential.
like cooking an egg.[/QUOTE]
I’m sorry, what?
[QUOTE=IronFist;890484]I’m sorry, what?[/QUOTE]
You have to be instructed on:
hence, how and when these elements create the merging,or the output, the type of Qi you are creating to go on the practice.
if you choose:
someone instructs you how to reach your home from the park.
then he looks if you have the right shoes,he tests your legs,then he gives you the start.
If you start before or after the signal, the instructions are useless since you go out of the game,also if you are a pro runner.
Sounds more clear?
[QUOTE=pleasureexplode;877641]
I’ve heard frequently that unguided Qi Gong eventually leads to trouble; psychological or even physical trouble. Is this legit? Or can I continue with my daily routine?
:D[/QUOTE]
I haven’t heard of anyone developing psychological problems due to meditation… and Qigong, with a few notable exceptions is one of the lowest impact exercise regimens one could embark on; controlled breathing and generally a sequence of non-resistive standing gestures done slowly. Unless your doctor says otherwise I’d say knock yourself out. 
[SIZE=“1”]Um… not literally.[/SIZE]
[QUOTE=SimonM;890661]I haven’t heard of anyone developing psychological problems due to meditation… and Qigong,[SIZE=“1”]Um… not literally.[/SIZE][/QUOTE]
quite the contrary, I have heard of numerous instances of people developing psychological disorders from improper meditation/chi-gung practice.
If you look at it from a practical POV, meditation allows you to calm the mind and listen to your thought processes. If a person is borderline, or predisposed of a mental/psychological condition, this can"awaken" it. If they already are disturbed, it can be increased.
Meditation “opens doors” of perception, whether you belive in opening up of psychic doors,spiritual doors, or simply doors of your own inner thoughts, it increases this awareness manyfold.
“Jow Faw,Yup Moor” running fire, enter demons, or as was said, 'If you play with fire, you invite the devil" this means you create an imbalance and feed it, or feed an already existing imbalance, or in a spiritual sense, you open up your awareness and perception to the spiritual world and are not properly prepared, trained, or balanced to handle it and you are overwhelmed. Spirit possession is one of these dangers.(I am not saying whether or not I personally belivee this, I am just sharing info)
So now you are adding gasoline to the fire.
If you’ve been around long enough, you have encountered the person who suffers from some sort of imbalance. Many times, they go off their meds, as they “feel better”-unfortunately, the reason that they felt better was due to the meds. Try convincing them of this. I have met several who felt that they could instead of using medication, use meditation and noi-gung to control their imbalance. This is the same thought process as before. It not only doesn’t work, it makes matters worse.
I am no expert, and not a Psychologist. I have simply been around these people for a long time. It doesn;t take a degree to recognize certain specific patterns.
The other thing is, people with imbalances don’t always recognize it within themselves. Sometimes it is not so apparant. Sometimes enviornment or trauma, or something else, “triggers” it.
Crazy people don’t think they’re crazy.
Stupid people don’t think they’re stupid.
(I happen to be both, so I got that going for me, I guess…)
Grasping at straws there TenTigers.
Saying that a person who is already psychologically imbalanced may generate a relapse by believing meditation is a substitute for medication is a far cry from saying a psychologically sound person can suffer psychological damage from meditating without a guru.
If you need meds to keep you balanced stay on your meds…
And creative editing of the quoted text works better when the original post isn’t on the same page as your reply… since it’s easy to read what I actually wrote in context.
Simon, as far as creative quoting goes, all I did was keep the word,qigong with meditation, as many forms of qigong are more than physical exercises and breathing. Noi-gung is part of chi-gung and is linked to meditation.
Sure, a psychologically sound person will not develop an imbalance from meditation.
But how many of us are psychologically sound?
Indiscriminately giving out meditation/chi-gung, when you don’t know the person’s mental/emotional stability is like giving out prescription medication.
It’s irresponsible.
“Everyone’s a little crazy.
and if you think you’re not,
you’re crazier than most.”
-George Burns
oh, the “not literally” was an error. It snuck in there when I hit the quote button-my bad.
Some people are just susitable to the wrong types of meditation and visualization training.