Qigong

HEALTH • RELAXATION • VITALITY

What is Qigong?

Qigong (Chi Kung) is a traditional Chinese skill developed to improve health, relaxation and vitality. The word Qigong literally means “energy work” and it is practiced by millions of people worldwide as a way to keep flexible, fit and healthy. The gentle movements are designed to open the acupuncture channels and meridians and rid the body of toxins. Using relaxation and breathing along with these special movements, we have Qigong.

There are many styles of Qigong and the style which you will learn is called the Kunlun Dayan – Wild Goose Qigong System.

Dayan Qigong

Dayan Qigong is a Daoist skill and its forms and techniques have been shown to have profound effects on many illnesses.

There are several forms in the Kunlun Dayan Qigong system, not just Wild Goose Qigong, and each form has its own special emphasis.  For instance, Dayan (Wild Goose) Qigong is good for overall health and flexibility of the body.  Balancing Gong is good for beginners, helping them to learn the correct posture and relaxation.  Kunlun Swimming Dragon Qigong is for making the kidneys strong and healthy.  Also included in the system are meditation and healing methods that are used to cultivate the body and mind.  

Qigong is suitable for all ages.

History 

Nearly two thousand years ago in the Kunlun Shan mountain range lived many Daoist monks who spent their time studying Daoist teachings, hoping to achieve enlightenment and immortality. The mountains were also inhabited by many wild geese called Da Yan (Big Wild Goose). They were not normal geese as these geese, believed to the be the Bar-Headed Goose, live twice as long and fly higher than any other geese in the world.  These geese became a symbol of longevity to the monks who observed these special birds.  They began to imitate their movements and, combined with Chinese medicine knowledge, eventually formed sets of health exercises known as Dayan Qigong. 

Lineage

Master Tse and Grandmaster Yang Meijun

The Kunlun Dayan Qigong system is available to us now because of an incredible woman: Grandmaster Yang Meijun who was the 27th generation inheritor of the skill.  She was taught Dayan Qigong secretly by her grandfather Yang De Shan from the age of thirteen and promised him that she would not teach until she reached seventy years old as he had promised the Daoist monk who was his own teacher. Although she was supposed to pass on the skill to one other person, she had survived the Japan War and Cultural Revolution where many others did not and, therefore, did not want to see the skill lost so she decided to slowly open the skill to the public after the end of the Cultural Revolution.

Master Michael Tse

Master Tse

Master Michael Tse is one of the few people who was accepted as a close student by Grandmaster Yang Meijun and given permission by her to teach her skill.  It is due to Master Tse’s efforts over the past two decades that Wild Goose Qigong and Qigong as a whole are now widely known in the West.

WHAT WILL I LEARN?

First of all we do a warm-up to prepare our bodies.  We then go through a series of Qigong movements that we all do together, everyone following along, seniors and beginners.  Then everyone is taught individually the next stage of the syllabus and practices on their own.

Balancing Gong

These movements form the foundation of our learning, helping us to find the right posture, breathing and relaxation.  Balancing Gong is good for circulation, flexibility and balance as well as helping arthritis, backache, joint problems and co-ordination.  These movements are based upon the principles of Dayan Qigong and were created by Master Tse to help beginners.

Healthy Living Gong Parts I, II, III

Healthy Living Gong is a set of exercises also created by Master Michael Tse, based upon all his years of Qigong and martial art experience. Each of the three sets of movements strengthen the body and increase vital energy, which we call Qi.  Part I focuses on relaxation, Part II works on improving fitness and co-ordination and Part III cultivates power and physical strength.

Wild Goose (Dayan) Qigong

Unlike the previous stand alone movements, Wild Goose Qigong is a series of connected movements which make up a form.  There are two parts, the first 64 movements and the second 64 movements.  The 1st 64 works on post natal illnesses and can clear up old injuries as well. The 2nd 64 works on prenatal illnesses or weaknesses in the body with which we were born.  In these forms, there are a variety of fluttering, shaking and jerking movements which rid the body of toxins.

Meditation

We need meditation to balance movement as movement is Yang and meditation in Yin.  When we practice forms, we open our acupuncture points and channels, clearing blockages and releasing the negative Qi.  This means our Qi can flow smoothly.  Meditation allows us to gather and store the fresh Qi that we have gathered during our practice.  As we reach higher levels then meditation also helps to develop wisdom and our Sky Eye potential so that we can sense more.