Glossary

Qi: Qi has so many different meanings, making it difficult to translate. Often it is translated as vital breath, life force, material force. The force characterized by the blending of yin and yang, that animates each living creature and also runs through the inanimate universe; regarded as hybrid or dual in nature, described as neither just matter nor just energy, or rather as matter-energy. Different compositions of Qi, from the most light and rarefied to the most heavy and substantial, make up the myriad things that exist; Qi is the basic constituent of the universe.

Gong: The way I like to translate “gong” is to develop exceptional ability. Sometimes the translation of “gong” is related to practice over time. This is usually appropriate, but it assumes that over time you will develop exceptional ability. So it is possible to practice for a moment and develop great “gong” or thirty years and develop only a little.

Jing: The energy that nourishes the human body, it implies something, highly concentrated, an essential essence, marrow, often related to sexuality.

Shen: From the human point of view it translates to the actualizing spirit in humans, that power or agency which makes possible interactions and relation with nature and with other beings. It is the essence of humans that survives death. It can be nurtured and perfected so as to shed one’s body and become a rarefied being all of spirit. It transcends the categories of Yin and yang.

Jing Qi Shen (the Three Treasures):

When this phrase is used it refers to a central theory in Taoism. This theory creates a separation between Taoism and methods of mental cultivation such as Buddhism. To fully explain this theory would take many books. However a short and inadequate translation would say that the three treasures are interdependent supporting each other and transforming into each other under certain conditions. In Taoism the point to reach the Dao. These three must be in balance, the result is a “field.” The experience of this “field” changes as the cultivation deepens. Moving from intense experience to subtler and subtler experience, resulting in the recognition of the Dao.

Dantien: An area of the body on the mid line of the torso roughly the width or four fingers below the navel and roughly the width of four fingers inside the body from the front. (Depends on how many donuts you eat.) The Dantien is at the root of the Yin tissue and is an expression of the correct organization of the center of gravity and tension base created at the hip and shoulder joints. The Dantien’s basic nature is to draw into itself and rotate in three dimensions.

Ming Men translates to the gate of life. Sometimes it is thought of as a point between the 2nd and 3rd lumbar vertebrae. A more modern understanding is that it is created by the crus of diaphragm and its interaction with the diaphragm and lumbar spine. The Mingmen is better thought of as a function. It appears as a result of the lengthening and reducing of the curve at the lumbar spine. Its basic nature is to expand and project forces throughout the body.

Fascia is a band or sheet of connective tissue, primarily collagen, beneath the skin that attaches, stabilizes, encloses, and separates muscles and other internal organs. Fascia is classified by layer, as superficial fascia, deep fascia, and visceral or parietal fascia, or by its function and anatomical location. It can be felt as a continuous sheet that wraps the whole body.

Yin Yang tissue: When the fascia of the body is evenly tensioned it can take on one of two characteristics, depending on the location. In the Yin areas there will be the sensation of skin and tissue absorbing towards the bone. On reaching the bone, it will draw along the bone back to the Dantien. In the yang areas, one perceives the fascia expanding from the bone out to the skin and from the Mingmen out to the extremities.

Planes: Often in class we will use the terms “sagittal,” “frontal” and “horizontal” planes. This is just a Cartesian way of explaining a shape in 3 dimensions. It is important to understand the planes, as often our own body image is under-developed and although we know we are 3-dimensional, we perceive ourselves as only one or two planes. When we are missing the perception of a plane it can be almost impossible to find the appropriate movement.

Unified body: In the Taiji texts this is often explained by the phrase “when one bone moves all bones move.” Personally I prefer the idea of equal distribution of effort throughout the body. If we look at the body as a tensegral structure we know that when load is placed upon the body it will distribute the load throughout the structure according to a ratio.

Points: There are hundreds of points on the body that act as potent places to influence the flow of “Qi.”

However as they are mainly an access point into the system of body, one does not have to learn them all. Once “inside” a point, one can sense the whole body and hence all the other points. There are many resources in the form of books, apps and websites that go into how to locate the points. I will leave you to find the resource that best suits your degree of anatomical understanding.

In Qigong the points in the midline are often emphasized,

Mid-line points:

Conception vessel 1, 4, 12, 17, 24

Governing vessel 26, 24, 21,16, 15, 14, 13, 10, 4

Other points mentioned in class not on the mid line

Liver 3

Spleen 6

Stomach 36

Lung 1, 5

Large intestine 4

Heart 1, 3

Bladder 7, 40

Kidney 1

Pericardium 7

Gallbladder 21, 31, 32

Spontaneous Movement: There are many different types of spontaneous movement. For this purpose, we can split spontaneous movement into two categories:

Movement that is initiated with thought/stimulus. Here one stimulates the movement using imagination, suggestion, music, forced breathing etc
Movement that is created without the use of mind..Posture is used to activate the Dantien. The mind is encouraged not to influence the experience. the critical difference is that the movement is non-volitional.

The latter is best practiced under the guidance of a qualified teacher that can initiate and stop the reaction. There are different benefits and drawbacks to both methods.

Pulling Silk: During this action the muscles are lengthened but not through the common process of shortening one of the antagonist to lengthen the other. To pull silk both the flexor and extensor are pulled long by engaging the fascia. A common experience people can relate to “pulling silk” is the feeling of a good yawn — the fascial system engages as we yawn, and one can map the sensations and relate it to practice.

Bowing: With the advent of anatomical understanding in science and society, we began to recognize that we hinge at the joints. Some joints are even classified as a hinge. In practice we want to undo this knowledge. We return to an understanding that other animals have not lost — that the joint is part of a bow.

When an archery bow is drawn the middle of the bow moves forwards and the whole body of the bow distributes the potential energy across its length. Any joint can act as a bow.

For example, we could imagine that a knee bends. However we could also see that the knee moves forward and in so doing pulls a tension line between the hip and the ankle. The is where we see the movement but in this case the leg has now become a bow.

As we look into this idea we discover there are many more interesting details worthy of further discussion.

Anatomy

There are many useful resources online. Important areas/bones that are commonly discussed in class are:

Humerus and glenoid fossa, plus gleno-humeral junction

Cavicle and sternum, plus sterno-clavicular junction

Shoulder blade

The numbering system for vertebra in the spine and their locations

Sacrum and sacroiliac joints

Hip joints and femur

Tibia and fibular

Talus and heel

Post and Prenatal Qi

Postnatal Qi refers to energy produced within the body from your own condition, food and air. It is the most common form of training. It can feel powerful and often involves strenuous movement. It uses an inner anatomy that borrows heavily from Chinese medicine and some spiritual traditions.

Prenatal Qi refers to the experience of receiving information/Qi from the space around the practitioner. The inner anatomy of this, as far as I know, is not publicly recorded.

Hua Gong

A Qigong system created by Zhixing Wang. At its heart the system is based upon the idea that the practitioner can discover everything by directly experiencing and unfolding the information contained in the Qi. There are forms but these are secondary to the skill of connecting and unfolding the message.

Taijiwuxigong

A Qigong system created by Dr Shen Hongxun. Using movements taken from Taijichaun to open the channels of the body, lengthen the spine and release the stagnant qi. The practice moves through 8 stages of development. During the 8th stage the spiritual aspect of the practice arises.