Lift Chi Up and Pour Chi Down Method
Objective: Awaken your energy body and unite it with the universal energy
Qigong is an effective training to improve health and heal dis-eases through activating the life energy within the body as well as absorbing energy from the universe.
The main points are:
a. Unite the mind with chi and direct chi with the mind. Through the open-close movements and the mental visualization, release/expand the internal chi from the body and draw in the external primeval energy so as to improve the integration of a person’s energy field with the universal energy. This will improve all functions of the body.
b. It is a very effective method to collect the universal chi. Through this training a person will be able to learn how to administer the external chi to treat patients in a short time.
Mental Visualization
This practice stresses directing chi with the mind. During the exercise, think of the head touching the sky and the feet plunging deeply into the earth. Let yourself integrate with the universe. During the exercise think of the horizon (or ocean of life energy) when you push out and think of the depth inside your body (like the holographic human body or pure energetic body) when you pull in. Collect the chi beneath your feet and bring it up into your Dan tian. Let the chi in the sky and beneath the earth, merge with your body's chi at your navel. Let yourself unite and integrate with the universe.
Opening Posture: Organizing a Chi (life energy) Field.
Adjust posture:
- Feet comfortably together, flat on the ground (keep knees together).
- Lift up BaiHui, opening your heavenly gate, tuck in chin (towards Adam’s apple) [you’re awareness from chin into Adam’s apple, from Adam’s apple up to YuZhen, from YuZhen up again to BaiHui, from inside BaiHui lift up], tip of your tongue touches up to palace (begin with tongue behind your upper teeth);
- Body centered and leaning forward slightly (shift your weight to front part of your sole), feel YongQuan opening, connecting the earth energy beneath you;
- Shoulders, arms, hands, and fingers relax down at sides, (fingers gently together, palms facing the legs, middle fingers towards leg seams), feel empty space under the armpits.
- Relax your chest and back, tuck in stomach, open lower back backwards, shift your hip downwards and at the same time forward, lift your tail bone upward; lift up HuiYing.
- Keep your soft vision looking forward for a few seconds (beyond the view, imagine the horizon in front of you), slowly withdraw your soft vision inwardly in to Yin Tang, gently close your eyelids (during whole practice the eyeballs keep looking forward). Feel the inner smile.
*BaiHui (hundred gathering): draw two lines from the top of ears up to top of the head, about 1 centimetre towards back from that point.
*YuZhen (jade pillow): at the center of the backside of head, right under the tip of the skull, opposite from YinTang, when the BaiHui is facing up.
* YongQuan (bubbling spring): at front center of the soles.
*HuiYing (gathering Ying): perineum.
Opening Sequence
Use your little fingers guiding the rotating of your wrist, arms and shoulders, turning palms facing to the back.
Advanced: The palms should be facing the legs, in the middle of the thighs, perpendicular to the body, not turned in or out. The movement is started with the little fingers coming out, and with a continuous motion the palms come up until the palms are facing the earth. Project light or chi, out from the hands to the earth.
Continually use your middle fingers guiding palms turning facing down, palms and arms at 90 degrees, feel the center of your palms (LaoGong) open and extended (connecting with the earth energy beneath you); arms extended, the movement starts from your shoulder joints, hands push forward 15 degrees (about a hand distance from leg seam), pull back, inward, then back to the side (bottom of your thumb towards leg seam), repeat 3 times.
Advanced: initiate the movement from your shoulders, bringing the hands forward, push the energy out by pushing your palms out and visualize pushing light out of your hands to the earth. Hands come back while pulling the energy back in, cupping the hands, visualizing beams of light coming into the hands, into your body.
Use your little fingers to guide the rotating of your wrist, at the same time arms and shoulders rotating back. Turn palms facing each other to beginning position. Relax your arms. Slowly arms float up diagonally to the front to shoulder width (shoulders guiding arms, arms guiding hands, palms and fingers relaxed, thumb and index finger open, tiger mouth facing up, imagine your hands holding a big Chi ball rising up from earth), hands up to navel level. Turn palms facing your abdomen, tip of your middle finger slightly pointing towards the navel (emitting Chi into your DanTian). Use your little finger to guide hands, turning palms facing down. Arms and hands relaxed and extended. Opening arms and hands, circle around at the waist level to your sides. Continually move to your back (visualize your hands and arms merging into ocean of Chi in the horizon), arms forming a circle, elbows turned outwardly, hands at waist level, turn palms facing your MingMen, (center of your palms slightly hollow, little fingers slightly curved) (emitting ocean of Chi into DanTian).
Lift up your lower arms and hands from back to under your armpits, tips of your middle fingers point to DaBao (emitting Chi into your heart center), palms facing upward, open your chest, relax your shoulders. Draw your elbows backwards, turn your fingers forward, hands and arms extending out to shoulder level and width, keep your palms facing upward. Center of your palms slightly hollow, fingers relaxed. Tips of your middle fingers slightly face YinTang (emitting Chi into the center of your brain).
Rotate your wrists, turn your fingers almost facing each other, turn your elbows outward, arms and hands slowly open to both sides, hands facing forward, form a straight line. At the same time use your little fingers to guide the rotating of your wrists. Turn palms facing down, continually turn palms facing up, at the same time hands and arms slowly floating all the way up to the space above your head (visualize ocean of Chi rising up merging into heavenly Chi), arms straight, put hands together, fingers reach up further, whole body extended.
Bring your hands down together to the top of your head (less than 10 centimetres), move forward and continually down in front of your face, in front of your chest, forming a praying position. Keep lower arms in a straight line, upper arms are 45 degrees to your body, bottom of your thumbs at the ShanZhong level, and 10 centimetres away from ShanZhong, keep fingertips pointing up for the whole movement. Rotate your wrists slowly (arms keep still), tip of middle fingers draw small circles 3 times in each direction (feel the movement inside your chest).
First Sequence (Start from the front and lift Chi up at the sides)
Point your fingers forward, extending your hands slowly all the way out to shoulder level, keep arms straight. Open your hands, start with the little fingers, separate one at a time, keep tips of thumbs and index fingers together, turn your palms facing down, forming a triangle, erect your hands up at your eye level, push center of your palms out, hands and arms at 90 degrees. Open your fingers slowly, hands and arms open to shoulder width and level, keep hands 90 degrees with arms.
Palms slightly push forward, then raise shoulder joints upward and backward (move your shoulder joints as big as you can), elbow’s movement follows shoulder’s movement, wrist’s movement follows elbow’s movement. During the movement keep palms hollow and facing forward (fingers and palms higher than wrists, wrists higher than shoulders), relax fingers (looks like holding a small Chi ball in your hands), elbows keep facing down, hands move less than 1/3 of your arms’ length (as small as you can).
Push out, shoulder joints move downward and forward, (feel the internal force from shoulders passing to wrists). At same time bottom of palms guiding your hands and arms forward, palms extend, keep fingers straight, fingertips point up (and backward if you can) (opening energy out into the space). Repeat 2 more times.
Slowly open your hands and arms outward 15 degrees (as hand distends) at shoulder level, then forward (close) at shoulder width. (Keep arms extended, palms 90 degrees to arms, fingers straight and pointing up) Repeat 2 more times (open, close).
Slowly, evenly circle your hands and arms from shoulder width and level out to both sides, forming a straight line (during the movement keep arms extended, palms 90 degrees to arms, fingers pointing up straight).
Circle your shoulder joints, move upward, inward, downward and outward (a vertical circle), when shoulders move upward and inward, elbow lowers down slightly, palms hollow, fingers relax and close to each other; when shoulders move downward and outward, feel the bottom of your palms push out, center of your palms extended, palms 90 degrees to arms, fingers straight and pointing upward (and backward if you can) to a straight line, repeat 2 more times.
Relax wrists and hands, use you little finger rotating hands facing up and at the same time arms slightly curved and floating upwards from both sides, slowly and evenly all the way to above the center of head, shoulder relax down, wrists at shoulder width, hands diagonally facing to BaiHui (wrist not too bent, palms hollow). Pause for one cycle of breath (Visualize chi pouring into your head and entire body).
Slowly bring hands down toward top of head (hands do not touch head, elbows towards sides), continually hands moving down in front of your face (palms and fingers diagonally towards your face, hands continually turning towards facing down), down to the chest (hands facing down already, fingers tips facing each other, middle fingertips almost touch each other, hands almost touch your body), stomach, naval, tips of your middle fingers press into your naval (only middle fingertips touch the body, rest fingers, hands and relax) (pour chi into DanTian) .
Slowly and evenly circle your hands around the waist to the side, continually to the back. Press MingMen (pour chi into the DanTian).
Move hands down from your back (Tiger Mouth open, your thumbs moving around the outsides of your legs, rest fingers, point to inner legs) to hips (at the same time start to bend your body and the knees). Hands continually move down to the back of your legs, knees, calves, all the way to your heels (by now your chest is on top of your thighs, head relaxes and tuck in chin). Circle your hands around the outsides of your feet, and place the hands on top of the feet. Fingers forward and aligned with toes (hands will be in this position for the entire following movement and keep your knees together to support each other in this whole movement).
Feel your MingMen guiding the movement of your hips forward and then downward, at the same time press down your hands, kneeling down and forward. Shift your body weight forward on your hands (hands on front part of your feet as one, merging down to earth energy), heels stay on the ground.
Feel your MingMen, bring hips backward, continually upward, at the same time your knees backward then upward slightly (knees keep bent and together), shift your body weight back, (bring earth energy to the DanTien). Repeat 2 more times.
Then body slightly moves up, chest away from thighs, at the same time, release your hands, little fingers guiding your hands open to both sides of the front of your feet, facing each other (fingertips towards earth, middle fingertips beside the little toe.) (Gather earthly Chi into your feet), hands holding a Chi ball, palms facing your feet (at the same time hollow your sole), continually open hands facing to the inner ankles, bring hands upward along the inner leg, knees, thighs, to the lower abdomen, (at the same time your body gradually straightens up), tips of your middle fingers press on your navel, pour chi into DanTien. Open hands to the sides, back to the beginning position.
*LaoGong (Labor Palace): in the center of the palm (when holding fist, the middle finger pointing on it).
*MingMen (Gate of life): at the center of low back, between second lumbar vertebra and third lumbar vertebra, backside of navel.
*DaBao (big envelop): the sides of the chest, four fingers’ distance under the armpit, on midaxillary line, under sixth ribs.
*YinTang (impression palace): the middle point between the eyebrows.
*ShanZhong: at center of the front chest, in fourth rib level. Between the nipples on the sternum.
Second Sequence: (Start from the sides, lift Chi up in the front)
Slowly, evenly, bring arms up from the side to shoulder level, forming a straight line (shoulders relax down, palms facing down). Feel your middle fingers, erect your hands upwards to 90 degrees with your wrists. Palms push outward, shoulders and arms extended out.
Circle your shoulder joints, move upward, inward, downward, and outward (a vertical circle), when shoulders move upward and inward, elbows low down slightly, palms hollow, fingers relax close to each other; when shoulders move downward and outward, feel the bottom of your palms push out, center of your palms extended, palms 90 degrees to arms, fingers straight and pointing up. Repeat 2 more times.
Moving arms at shoulder level, forward 15 degrees (from sides), open to a straight line, during the movement keep your palms 90 degrees to arms, fingers straight and pointing up, repeat 2 more times.