I received this great comment during the Qigong survey I ran a while back:
“How about showing a clip or two of you or your students when you ‘let go’. One possible reason why the west is so unaware of what Qigong can do is because not many can really ‘visualize’ what you mean when you say ‘let go’.”
This is a great comment. I’ve wondered about sharing an Energy Flow (the 2nd ‘E’ in the PERFECT Qigong System), Flowing Breeze Swaying Willows, Qi Flow, video clip for quite a while now. But didn’t really think that anyone would be interested.
One matter I have become aware of over the year of writing for Qigong15 is that if a few people ask the same question, then you can be certain many more are thinking about it too.
So, for those of you who have no idea what Energy Flow, or ‘letting go’ during Qigong/Chi Kung practice ‘looks’ like, you’ll find the clip below of interest.
This clip was taken from my Qigong Secrets Home Study Course, hence the instructions you can hear, but what you can see is pretty typical of an Energy Flow for me.
One of the things to bear in mind is that your Qi Flow, letting go, will be unique to you, it will also be influenced by which Qigong exercises you practice. I’d class myself as being a very gentle ‘Qi flow-er’. If you’ve ever been to one of my teacher’s classes, then you’ll be aware that ‘letting go‘ comes in a great many different flavours.
From not moving at all, to running, jumping, crying, laughing and everything in between.
The key though is to remember to let go and ‘DO NOTHING‘. Apart from some ‘Qi Flow Superstars’ as I politely call them, the vast majority of students are not making themselves roll on the floor, are not making themselves cry, are not making their bodies gently sway backwards and forwards. And most certainly have not lost control of their bodies.
No, they are letting go, doing nothing – AND LETTING EVERYTHING BE DONE FOR THEM. They are letting their energy, or Qi flow to where it needs to go, they are letting the healing, the energizing, the removal of blockages be done for them.
It’s as simple and as complicated as that!
Another aspect to keep in mind is that when you first practice Qigong, it is likely that you will not move at all.
Why?
Energy flow, Qi flow, ‘letting go’ is the 2nd of the Three Core Skills of Qigong. It is a skill and like all skills it takes time to become proficient with it. The diagram below will help:
This diagram demonstrates that the amount of ‘movement’ in Qi flow GENERALLY increases over time, before settling down again. But I must point out that this is a general guide only and that you may be completely different.
I have observed from 7 years of teaching Qigong that beginners hardly move, if at all during Energy flow. Gradually as they learn to let go, their movements increase – and this movement continues to increase depending on how many ‘blockages’ to harmonious Energy flow through the meridians of the body they may have.
Then, as the student continues their practice, their external, physical movements gradually slow down again. Until, as I observed in my teachers practice, Energy flow is a gentle swaying, similar (but only in appearance!) to that of a new Qigong student.
Hope that helps, but as always it would be careless of me to finish this post without stating that skills like Energy Flow, ‘letting go’, Flowing Breeze Swaying Willows are best learned directly from a teacher who has this skill.
Bye for now
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Marcus James Santer
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
Hey Marcus,
I really like your blog!
Reading this post made me think of a question
And it would be good to hear your thoughts:–
If you get to the letting go stage and you’re finding it hard to let go for whatever reason, do you think it’s ok to physically sway around or do some movement consciously in the hope of triggering the unconcious chi flow??
Hope all is well and keep up the good work!
Rupert
Hi Rupert,
Glad you like the blog =)
With regards to physically/consciously swaying to trigger chi flow, the answer is yes and no.
Yes if we have been practicing Self Manifested Chi Flow (SMCF) exercises (3 or more chi kung/qigong exercises performed in the same session, but at a much faster speed and not co-ordinated with the breathing) – in SMCF we are using the external movements of the qigong exercises to generate energy flow.
No, if we’ve been practicing dynamic chi kung (where our practice focuses on 1 qigong exercise, usually co-ordinated with the breathing), we use the form (the qigong exercise), the energy (our breathing) and the Mind to generate energy flow.
It is normal when you begin to practice chi kung to not have any/much chi flow – externally/visible movements. I must point out that your chi is flowing all the time, if it stops death quickly follows! Generally a new student will start to notice a ‘prickly’ feeling in the hands, a feeling of well being, and as the student continues to practice, gentle swaying swaying happens naturally. And over the course of a few, to many months, depending on the student – more vigerous chi flow may be experienced.
Hope that answers your question Rupert, if not, let me know and I’ll try again. Thank you for your kind words, they are very much appreciated.
Bye for now
Marcus
Dear Marcus,
I have been following your website and am interested in learning the patterns. Are you based in London and how much do you charge?
Thank you
Paul
Hello Paul,
I am based in Devon, not London. However, you’re in luck because I can definately recommend a brilliant qigong teacher to you. How do I know she’s brilliant? Because I was once luck enough to have her as my assistant (when I travelled up to London weekly to teach), until she became a qigong instructor in her own right. So I know she’s good =)
I’m not sure what classes she is teaching at the moment, but you should send her an e-mail at fleur@shaolinchikung.co.uk to find out!
Hope that helps
Marcus
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