Course Content
Welcome
Welcome to "An Introduction to Qi Cultivation: The Fundamentals of Qigong and Internal Alchemy"! In this section, I'll share my personal journey into Qi and introduce you to the lineage from which this wisdom originates. We'll also go over the course structure and what you can expect. Let's embark on this journey of internal alchemy together!
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Qigong Warm Ups
Qigong practice has its own unique forms of warm up, including exercises which focus on joint rotations to improve the flow of energy, and the practice of shaking.
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Posture Notes & Balancing Exercises
This section contains preparatory posture guidance and post-practice balancing tools. The posture notes for standing and seated exercises are designed to improve alignment, balance, and energy flow, and the post-practice balancing tools are designed to ensure that any stored tension that may have occurred during practice is alleviated.
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Enlivening the Organs with Energy
In Taoist practice, the internal organs are regarded as particularly important places to focus Qi, because they are places in the body where key internal processes take place, as well as the place where our emotions are stored.
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Earth and Sky Breathing
The following meditations use the mind to extend the energy body beyond the confines of the physical body. As you do this, you open yourself to a whole palate of feelings that go beyond normal experience.
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Generating the Qi Ball
The Qi ball is a foundational concept in energy work: the idea that we can generate a quantum of energy which then is, and has, a force of its own which we can direct as we will.
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Working with the Qi Ball
Once we have generated the feeling of a Qi ball in the body, we open up a series of practices that, utilising the quantum of energy represented by the Qi ball, serve to further enhance the ability of the body to attract, store and command energy.
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The Microcosmic Orbit
This is a foundational Taoist exercise for health and wellbeing, otherwise called “circulating the light”.
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Working with Qi pressure & “Cooking” Qi
This set of exercises involves compressing and refining energy within the lower tan tien, transforming it into a more potent and concentrated form for enhanced vitality, resilience, and internal power.
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Inner Alchemy
By working with light, breath, and focused intention, we engage in the ancient art of inner transformation, taking a step closer toward our highest potential as beings of energy and consciousness.
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Absorbing Qi from Nature
External Qi absorption techniques harness the abundant energy from nature allowing practitioners to replenish, refine, and harmonise their internal Qi for greater vitality and balance.
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“Empty Force”
In this Section, we begin the sacred work of returning to ourselves — drawing our awareness inward, listening to the subtle movements within, and learning to gather and circulate our innate energy.
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Meridian Slapping
I call this practice "Better Than a Coffee", because it provides a full-body energetic stimulation, but without any side effects!
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Seeing the Qi
It is also possible to see the Qi visually!
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An Introduction to Qi Cultivation: The Fundamentals of Qigong and Internal Alchemy
About Lesson

Posture Notes for Seated Exercises

 

Throughout this course, whenever seated exercises are introduced, it is crucial to adopt the most supportive and effective sitting posture possible. Proper posture not only enhances comfort but also plays a vital role in ensuring the smooth flow of energy, promoting relaxation, and allowing you to fully engage with the practice.

 

The following video provides key points to ensure you are seated correctly for optimal comfort, stability, and energy flow.

 

By maintaining correct alignment, you can enhance your breathing, improve circulation, and encourage the smooth flow of energy throughout your body.

 

Important Note: Laying down is not a good idea as a position of meditation, because you are most likely to fall asleep instead of reaching deeper and deeper states of inner awareness.  Our bodies are conditioned to sleep when we are laying down, and so if you lay down to meditate, then it is likely that with the first bit of relaxation that takes place, you will drop into the unconsciousness of sleep. Meditation, on the other hand, is a fully conscious activity. If you meditate with your spine upright then you will be conditioning your body to another mode of relaxation – one which becomes progressively deeper, but without falling into the unconsciousness of sleep.  In this way, you begin to cultivate a state of the conscious mind which is between waking and sleeping – this is a very fruitful state of mind.

 

Practice Guide

 

Please watch the video to see how best to sit for the seated exercises of this Course.

 

[insert video]

 

A written description of the posture is provided at the Exercise Files tab.

 

After you have watched the video, and practiced the seated posture, please write down your experience in the Course Journal.

Exercise Files
Posture Notes for Seated Exercises.pdf
Size: 75.43 KB