Dr Bingkun Hu Articles

• What is Wild Goose Qigong? by Dr Bingkun Hu
• Basic Principles of Practise by Dr Bingkun Hu Ph.D
• Movement induced microcosmic orbit by Dr Bingkun Hu Ph.D
• How to learn Wild Goose Qigong by Dr. Bingkun Hu Ph.D
• WG1 How to practice Wild Goose by Dr. Bingkun Hu Ph.D
• WG1 and WG2 Finger training by Dr. Bingkun Hu Ph.D
• WG5 How to train agility by Dr. Bingkun Hu Ph.D
• WG8 What is Five Elements Bagua Qigong by Dr Bingkun Hu Ph.D
• WG8 Why Do We Learn Wild Goose 8? by Dr. Bingkun Hu Ph.D
• WG8 How to practice Wild Goose 8 qigong more effectively by Dr. Bingkun Hu Ph.D
• WG 11 How to practice WG 11 by Dr. Bingkun Hu Ph.D
• Bone Marrow Washing by Dr. bingkun Hu Ph.D
• Breath and the Emotions by Dr. Bingkun Hu Ph.D
• How to practice Wild Goose Meditation by Dr Bingkun Hu Ph.D
• How to nourish qi by Dr. Bingkun Hu Ph.D
• Chinese Kegal Breathing by Dr. Bingkun Hu Ph.D
• How to practice the 'Six healing sounds' Qigong by Dr. Bngkun Hu Ph.D

Other Articles

• The Kunlun Mountain School of Taoism
• How to remember the movements.
• Developing a style.
• Channels
• Five Elements Chart
• Shoulder Breathing

Wild Goose Qigong belongs to the Kunlun Mountain School of Taoism.   Yang, Mei-jun often mentioned Lao Tze, (the founder of Taoism), and his important works "Dao De Jing". You may want to read this Masterpiece, it's very short, and is often quoted in Qigong books and TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine) books.

a variety of translations are available here:-

http://www.religiousworlds.com/taoism/ttc-list.html

Two translations I like are by Thomas Cleary and Richard Wilhelm.

The Wild Goose Qigong Practices are a complete healing system. It is one of the most famous and widely practiced qigong in China today. It is well known for its lovely and graceful movements and suggests the image of an innocent carefree wild goose. These special birds have been observed for centuries by the Kunlun Mountain School practitioners who sensed the beauty and harmony of freely flowing energy (Qi or Chi) in these soaring geese.

Contrary to the Western belief of "no pain, no gain," the circular and spiral movements of Wild Goose Qigong are designed to be played effortlessly and with fluidity. As for the use of awareness, Wild Goose Qigong claims that there is no intentional movements without awareness. Therefore, using too strong an intentionality in one's awareness can only inhibit the gentle moving of Qi. Wild Goose Qigong advocates "wu-wei" (or "non-doing") and "tuo-yi" ("minimizing thought").

As a movement oriented qigong, Wild Goose movements are meant to activate various acupoints and allow energy to flow in the major channels in the front and back of the torso. Wild Goose qigong can increase inner strength and flexibility, improve immune function and circulation, develop breath and movement, and help develop sensitivity to our inner energy flow.

Perhaps the most wonderful thing about the Wild Goose qigong is that it is completely enjoyable. The movements are dance-like and feel light and joyful while the meditations are peaceful and relaxing.

For beginners

Remembering the movements can be difficult at the beginning if you have not done much body movement in the past. Many of the movements are unique and are not how we normally choose to move. The WG1 movements are designed to rotate or bend every joint in the body, and to extend every muscle group.  We aim to extend our bodies to create space for the organs to relax and work efficiently. Remembering these principles will help you decide which movements feel correct.

All the movements are gentle and relaxed, so you can feel into your body for any tension and let go. Only move within your own capacity, never force anything or make yourself feel uncomfortable.

When you get home, go over the movements and see how much you remember. Practice up to this point – don’t worry about what you don’t know – it will come, there is no hurry.  If you tell your mind that it does not remember then most likely it won’t! Always say to yourself ‘I can remember up to here’. Keep your thoughts positive. You can always spend time just moving your limbs and feeling free, releasing tension, bending your knees freely and walking very slowly to feel what is happening inside. Practising one movement over and over is also recommended- don’t use your mind – use your feelings to feel inside – ask yourself, ‘what is happening inside when I do this?’

Research shows that the first 3 days after learning something new are the most important, I don’t know the exact figures, but if you do no work at all after you’ve learnt something new then your memory retains the new information for a short time only- it’s something like, after 1 hour you retain 80%, after 1 day, 50%, after 2 days 30% after 3 days 10% after 3 days it's into single figures. So, I practise new things as soon as I get home, before I get into bed, first thing in the morning, that evening and the same next day.  If you do this you develop a good foundation.

Research also shows that if you go over the movements in your mind before sleeping, it helps the mind to process what the body is doing. This was tested on a group of ballet dancers, split into 3 groups, all of them learnt new complicated movements, all groups were told not to practise, one group was told nothing, the second group was told to go out and enjoy themselves, but don’t go over anything they have learnt and the last group was told to only go over the movements in their heads before they slept. This group remembered the movements and practised with ease, whereas the other groups were awkward and kept forgetting the steps. Visualise in your mind you doing the movements as you have learnt them.

Writing is a bit like knitting – when you have learnt something new, writing it down is like connecting your body and your mind together and it ‘knits’ it into your being, when you get home and after you have practised, then write down what you can remember. Using your own words to describe a position or movement makes it easier for your brain to access when you read it again. Buy an A5 notebook and write on one side (the other side can be used for adding more details or corrections later. Use footsteps to show the position of feet and stick drawings with arrows to show movements.

It’s similar to driving a car, at the beginning it seems too much to do all at the same time, but after a while it becomes automatic. There are books you can buy, but they are hard to follow if you have not remembered well. They are generally useful after you have learnt the form as a reminder. Better still, you could get a DVD. If you have not got a DVD player, then you can pick a small one up (Argos etc) for under £50. Watching a DVD is still a slow way to go through the form – again it is more useful for jogging your memory after you have learnt the form.

When we go through the whole form in class, relax your mind, don’t try to remember it all, just feel into the movements relax and enjoy. Getting the ‘feeling’ right is more important than getting the movements right at this stage of learning. The more you can let go the easier it will become.

 Summary of main points:-

·        Practise as soon as you get home, first thing next morning and again before you go to bed for 3 days.

·        Write down the new movements you have learnt.

·        Think about the movement and picture yourself doing it as clearly as you can before you fall asleep.

·        Use the DVD to recall what you have learnt.

 16/09/2007

Sheila Waddington www.sevenstarswildgooseqigong.com

What is Microcosmic Orbit (MCO)?

MCO is one of the most natural and effective qi pattern trainings used in Wild Goose Qigong and other Daoist qigong, as well as in many kinds of meditation practices.

The Daoist philosophy behind the concept of MCO was that human beings could create an “elixir” inside their own body and live to eternity, if they cultivated their own “jing-qi-shen”  in the right way - the way the sun, the moon, and the earth exist.  In other words, the Macro-Cosmic Orbit is the best model for human beings to follow.  Just like the moon orbits around the earth, and the earth orbits around the sun, human qi should always orbit around our crown and our perineum.  Thus, the coined term:  Micro-cosmic Orbit.

Technically speaking, to learn the practice of MCO, one should first learn how to gather and circulate the qi in the “ren” and “du” channels, (or the conception and governing channels)  and then gradually learn how to purify the “jing”, “qi”, and “shen”, so that eventually they can be condensed and forged into “elixir”.  In this short article, however, whenever I mention MCO, I am only referring to the first stage of this practice, which is the stage of circulating qi in the “ren” and “du” channels.

Medical benefits of practicing MCO

When we practise the First and Second 64 Movements of Wild Goose Qigong, we immediately feel our hands turn warm and our whole body feel energized.  This is the effect of the MCO. Since our blood circulation has a close relationship with the qi circulation, MCO can increase our blood flow to the peripheral blood vessels, and make our hands warm.  In the same way, when we feel our mind is clearer and sharper after practising the Wild Goose Qigong, it is because MCO has brought more oxygen to our brain cells.

After  practising Wild Goose Qigong for a longer period of time, we may even notice that our immune system has been strengthened. As you know, our pineal, pituitary, thyroid, thymus, adrenal , and gonad glands are all located in close proximity to the conception and governing channels .  So, while MCO causes qi to circulate within the conception and governing channels, it also stimulates all the glands, thus giving our immune system a needed boast.

Aside from its great health benefits, MCO practice is technically indispensable in the training of the following qigong attributes:

1) Deepening one’s relaxation through enjoying the natural rhythm of the MCO and also through shifting our body weight for relaxation.

2) Heightening one’s sensory-motor awareness  through feeling again and again the moving up and down of qi  in the “ren” and “du” channels.

3) Developing one’s reverse abdominal breathing while trying to make one’s MCO

movements smaller and smoother.

Movement-induced  MCO

MCO has long been a Daoist secret to health and longevity for over a thousand years.  Before the late Grandmaster Yang, Mei-jun decided to make public the Wild Goose Qigong, people who wanted to learn MCO could only learn it through long years of meditation. It took quite a while for qigong masters to realise that all kinds of MCO can be learned much faster through the movement-induced approach.  And, to many people’s surprise, all the relevant forms of movements, or sets of movements, which can induce the MCO are already included in the 11 sets of Wild Goose Qigong.

Different forms of MCO

To conclude this short article, let me list the eight often used forms of MCO which are used in Wild Goose Qigong.

1) The Small MCO - Qi circulates within one’s “ren” and “du” channels, as in the ending of  WG-1.

2) The Reverse Small MCO - Qi  also circulates within one’s “ren” and “du” channels,  but in the reverse direction, as in movement 44 of  WG-1.

3) The Mini-MCO - Qi circulates from the “dan-tian”, perineum, “ming-men”, navel to “dan-tian”, as in movement 6 of  WG-2.

4) The Reverse Mini-MCO - Qi circulates from “ming-men”, perineum, “dan-tian” to navel.

5) The Big MCO - Qi circulates not only within one’s “ren” and “du” channels, but also through the 12 meridian lines, as in movement 51 of WG-2.

6) The Reverse Big MCO - Same as the Big MCO, but qi circulates in the reverse direction;

7) The  Big MCO with a figure “8”  - as in the ending of WG-4.

8) “Ti-wai-zhou-tian” - Qi circulates not only within one’s own body but also includes an object (i.e., a tree) or your patient, as in WG meditation-1.      

Wild Goose Qigong is the fastest way to make your body stronger, your mind sharper and your mood happier.

Movement-Oriented Qigong

Wild Goose Qigong is a movement-oriented Qigong, which means: when you start to learn Wild Goose Qigong, you just concentrate on its movements. Be relaxed and in a playful mood. Don’t think about having any kind of awareness. Just enjoy practicing the lovely movements. Let the movement itself influence the flowing of your Qi.

The first sign for a beginner to feel the sensation of Qi may be just a little warming up of your hands, or the tingling sensation in your palms. Keep practicing the movements. You will feel the loosening up of your body. First, a little bit. Then, you will feel certain joints of your body become noticeably more relaxed. You can bend more. You can stretch more. And you can breathe much easier. That is the sign that the Wild Goose movements have opened up some of your 12 main meridian lines.

At that time, if you have an experienced Wild Goose Qigong instructor, she or he will be able to select several specific Wild Goose movements for you to practice over and over again. And with the guidance and help of your instructor, you should be able to practice the movement-induced Micro-cosmic Orbit.

Movement-Induced Micro-Cosmic Orbit

First, what is MCO (Micro-cosmic Orbit)? MCO refers to the circulation of Qi within your Conception and Governing Vessels. In other words, when you are able to practice MCO, you are able to circulate your Qi from the top of your head down through the mid line of the front of your body (or the Conception Vessel), have it pass through the perineum, then bring it back up through the mid line of your back (or the Governing Vessel), till it reaches your crown. The whole process is then repeated again and again.

Almost all Taoist Qigong practitioners use MCO as a means to open up the 12 main meridians. But the training of MCO in most Taoist tradition is through the practice of meditation. It takes quite a long time. Wild Goose Qigong, on the other hand, uses specific movements to induce the MCO.

The movement-induced Micro-cosmic Orbit training can greatly facilitate the process of opening all your 12 main meridians, together with your Conception and Governing Vessels. At the same time, it can cultivate your sensitivity to sense or feel the flowing of Qi inside your body. Once you can correctly practice the MCO by yourself, it’s the right time for you to go on to the next stage of your Wild Goose learning.

 
Wild Goose-I Qigong is one of the most important and comprehensive qigong in the Wild Goose system. No matter how advanced your Wild Goose level is, please keep practicing the First 64 Movements everyday. Don't expect to know everything about this qigong after attending one or two workshops. Quite often it happens that after you practice several other sets of WG Qigong, your understanding of the First 64 Movements deepens. Therefore, depending on your level, the emphasis on how to practice WG-I may be different.

Suppose you are a beginning learner in WG-I, I would advise you to first relax and enjoy the lovely circular and round movements in WG-I. You can even imagine that you are mimicking the lovely movements of an innocent and care-free wild goose.

Technically speaking, learning how to shift our body weight while playing the movements of WG-I is the key to relaxation. Please observe that lots of the postures and movements in WG-I are designed so that we can support our body weight mainly on one foot, not two; the standing postures in "void steps" are some examples. Also, the sequence of the movements in WG-I is arranged in such a way that we can always sense the sifting of body weight. We know by basic physics that "gravity" pulls us down toward the earth all the time. But if we are standing on "void steps", we can move much more freely the side of the body which doesn't support much of the weight.

For learners of intermediate level, please also pay attention to the balance of our body's yin-yang aspect. For example, if we examine the beginning part of WG-I Qigong, we'll find that there are many movements arranged in "oppositional pairs". It starts with "Spread the wings and close them"; "Lift the arms and push out"; "Draw wings to the back and jerk them", etc.

All these and many other movements are not only suggestive of the lovely and graceful movements of the Wild Goose, but also subtly creating a rhythmic flow of two beats, such as "open and close", "up and down", "left and right", etc. The purpose of which is to regulate the breathing and to balance the "yin and yang" aspect of our body.

If you have practiced WG-I for a while, and you have also practiced other WG Qigong, including WG-IV (Tripod & Spiral Qigong), then I would advise you to pay more attention to making your WG-I movements as gentle and soft as you can. As Grandmaster Yang pointed out,

‘Wild Goose movements should start from the circular and then develop into spiral movements. Only when our movements are circular and spiral, can we develop a "closed" qi- field, which usually holds the strongest energy. Also, only when our movements turned gentle and soft, can qi pass through our whole body, including all the main meridians and all the tiny meridians which circulates all over our body from the surface of the skin to the deepest part of our body. And that is the ultimate goal of how to train our qi, and how to disperse our dirty qi, and take in fresh qi.’

Chasing the channels

Lung channel

Large intestine channel

Stomach channel 

Spleen channel

Heart channel

Small intestine channel

Urinary bladder channel

Kidney channel

Pericardium channel

Triple burner channel 

Gall bladder channel

Liver channel 

Agility embodies youthfulness, optimism, and cheerfulness. Regardless of age, everyone likes to be more agile. Agility is also associated with the alertness of the mind, the quick response, and the witty humor.

Is agility a born physical asset, or is it a physical quality that can be trained? Like flexibility, Dr. Hu believes that agility can be acquired through proper qigong training - especially through practicing Wild Goose Qigong.

Actually you can find enough practicing materials for training one’s agility in Wild Goose-III (Kunlun Bagua), Wild Goose-V (Soft Palm), Wild Goose-VI (Patting Along the Meridians), Wild Goose-VII (Back Stretching Qigong), Wild Goose-VIII (Five Elements & Bagua), and Wild Goose-X (Wild Goose Palms).

In this short article, we limit our discussion of agility training to what we are going to teach in our coming workshop on March 11, 2006. During this workshop, we are going to learn the first half of WG-III (Kunlun Bagua) and WG-V (Soft Palm).

I. Kunlun Bagua Qigong - Training of body parts coordination

Please observe how this qigong uses the simple turning over of the palms, and the natural left and right turn of the body to train our upper and lower body coordination. So long as you can shift your body weight in an effortless way, you’ll feel that the turning of your body becomes smooth and easy. That is what we usually call: “Your body is getting more agile”.

Now let me explain this point from a little different perspective. Please pay close attention to the coordination of the body movements. Whenever we move one arm, always balance it with the movement of the other arm or with the movement of one leg. Never forget the center-periphery relationship. We need to have two arms moving simultaneously, or one arm and one leg moving together, in order to form a periphery. Otherwise, we won’t feel the centers. And this is our first step in agility training.

II. Soft Palm Qigong -Training of the relaxed and soft palms

Soft palms are required if we want to relax our whole body deeply inside and out. Why? Soft palms help to open up the “Inner Pass” acu-point above the wrist (PC-6), which in turn, can bring our energy into our center (lower dan-tian) through our arm and our Conception Vessel. At the same time, soft palms opens the 12 meridians through letting more qi go through all the tips of our fingers and even to our toes, which are the extremities of all the 12 meridians. And once we have more awareness of the fingers and toes, it will be easier for us to locate the body centers.

In other words, through the simple relaxing and softening training of our palms, we can achieve our goal of letting all parts of our body be more connected, and our body movements be more agile.

To be specific, we train our palms to be relaxed and soft while practicing the following 3 kinds of movements:

1) Walking forward in circular steps, and also in Tai Chi Symbol Bagua Steps, ( as in Movements 10-13; 19-22).

2) Walking backward (as in Movements 8-9; 14-18).

3) Gradually build up the tension in one’s palms and suddenly release it (as in Movements 23-28).

If you like to train your body and mind agility in a delightful and fun-filled way, you would like our Wild Goose way of training through body coordination and through the training of making your palms relaxed and soft.

Seven Stars Wild Goose Qigong

The Exact Meaning of the Title

We know that the phrase "Five Elements" refers to wood, fire, earth, metal, and water in nature. But the Chinese Taoists also believe that human beings are part of nature. Therefore, each of the Five Elements “corresponds” to the five important internal organs of our body - i.e., liver, heart, spleen, lungs, and kidneys. Here in this title, Five Elements simply refers to the five internal organs they correspond to. As for the word “Bagua” in the title, it refers to Bagua “walking the circle steps” with clenched fists. Thus, the exact meaning of “Five Elements & Bagua Qigong” would be:

“A Qigong, which through walking the circle in Bagua steps, and through other movements with clenched fists, can have an influence on one’s internal organs.”

Characteristics of “Five Elements & Bagua Qigong”

Wild Goose Qigong VIII showcases how certain martial arts movements could be incorporated into the gentle and roundish Qigong movements to enhance the Qigong effects. Quick and linear movements are used for the training of emitting Qi and stimulate your Qi to the surface of your body, while soft and gentle movements are used for the training of returning and absorbing of Qi. The key to the mastery of this qigong is relaxation. When you are able to relax immediately after a kick or a punch, the Qi will return deeply into your body, nourishing your internal organs, and eventually collecting to the centers of your body.

Health Benefits of “Five Elements & Bagua Qigong”

Try to learn and practice this Qigong often. It can provide us with many health benefits:

1. It strengthens our spine, back, and the Governing vessel.
2. It builds up our physical strength and stamina.
3. It detoxifies our large and small intestines and thus purifies ourselves.
4. It can even sharpen our sensory organs, i.e., brighten up our eyesight, improve our sense of hearing and smell.

But most importantly, this Qigong can provide us with the wonderful agility training needed for self-healing a spectrum of neurologically related problems, from the common leg cramping to the “neurological movement disorders”, such as Tremor, Distonia, and Parkinson’s.

If you compare the movements of Wild Goose-8 with Wild Goose-1 or 4, you may find there are many differences. First, there are a lot of linear movements in WG-8, whereas in WG-1 or 4, there are mostly circular movements. 2) WG-8 uses arrow steps and horse-riding steps, while in WG-1 or 4, empty steps are preferred. Actually, these differences serve as clues. They suggest that we are now entering into the second stage of Wild Goose training.

When we practice Wild Goose- 1 or 4, we emphasize the body and mind relaxation through circular movements, shifting of body weight and movement-breathing coordination. Only when our body is relaxed, can our qi naturally flow freely in our meridians and all over our body. The Wild Goose system advocates movements first, especially for beginners. It argues that if we can move certain parts of our body in a circular way, qi will move accordingly, at least in that part of the body. The easiest way to achieve that goal is to shift our body weight left and right so that the half of our body we don’t have to put much weight on can be relaxed. When the alternate relaxation of weight shifting is combined with circular movements, the two allow our qi to easily flow through our meridians.

Shifting the body weight is not always as simple as it seems. For example, shifting front and back is not as easy as shifting left and right. In order to achieve the best results we need to divide our training of front and back into two stages. During the first stage, our focus is on how to shift our body weight toward the back. With our weight back, our chest and belly can be constantly relaxed, and easy breathing can be naturally achieved. That’s why when we practice Wild Goose Qigong sets 1-7, empty steps are pre-dominantly used and arrow steps and horse-riding steps are only used occasionally.

Once we have acquired fluidity in our movements and can stretch the front side of our body and limbs with ease, we should go on to the second stage of our Wild Goose training, and start to learn how to relax our lower back (the “gate of life”), training our spine to become more flexible. Only when we are moving our lower back with ease, can we expand our “breathing space” comfortably. At that time, we are ready to learn how to detoxify our dirty or sickly qi through the bottom of our feet (K-1, or the “Bubbling Spring” acu-point). Opening the lower back is also a prerequisite for learning how to absorb Earth energy from the ground through the feet and how to absorb Heaven’s energy from the sky through the crown of our head.

To recapitulate, WG-8 begins this training of relaxing the lower back so that we can more effectively connect with Heaven and Earth. Through the practice of WG-8 we learn how to detoxify dirty qi and how to get rid of negative emotions. By learning WG-8 we begin to experience the wonderful healing power of Wild Goose Qigong in a more profound way.

The second reason for learning WG-8 is to build up our inner strength. The movements of WG-8 are a sophisticated blending of linear martial arts punches and kicks with the gentle circular movements of soft qigong. The powerful result is the wonderful “center-peripheral” qigong effect. Quick and linear movements stimulate qi to permeate to the body surface, moistening our skin, while soft and gentle movements bring back qi to our body centers, nourishing our internal organs. Practicing WG-8 strengthens our spine, back and governing vessel. At the same time, it provides wonderful agility training.

When I talked about the characteristics of “Five Elements & Bagua Qigong (WG-8), I mentioned how this Qigong has incorporated some punch and kick movements from the martial arts into its own system to enhance the Qigong effects. To be specific, quick and linear movements are used for the training of emitting Qi and for stimulating our Qi to go to the surface of our body, while soft and gentle movements are used for the training of returning and absorbing of Qi.

In practicing WG-8, if you can always have this above-mentioned goal in mind, your practice will be more effective. But you may still encounter some problems: When you make a forceful punch or kick, your Qi naturally goes to your hand or foot, but you may also feel that it is not so easy to bring the Qi back to the body centre after a punch or kick movement. In this sense, to practice WG-8 effectively, is to learn the techniques of how to bring back one’s Qi after a punch or a kick.

There are three ways to recover your Qi after a punch or a kick. They are listed here according to their degree of difficulty for the learner. The first is the easiest way, and you may start trying this technique right now.

1. Relaxation -- Generally speaking, the more you can immediately relax your whole body after a punch or kick, the greater amount of Qi will return to your body automatically.
2. Using awareness -- There is a well-known traditional Chinese Qigong maxim: -“shen hui Qi hui”, which means: “When shen returns (to your body), Qi will return (to your body)”. What is “shen”? It is a polysemy, or, a word that has many meanings. Here it simply means: “awareness”. Thus, this maxim could be interpreted as: “Qi follows one’s awareness”, or, “awareness leads the Qi”.
3. Since Qi always follows your awareness, during the quick and linear movements of punching or kicking, your awareness should be on your own fist or the outside of your heel. If your awareness is on the imaginary enemy in front of you, your Qi will dissipate more. Always bear in mind that you are now learning a medical Qigong and not martial arts. It doesn’t matter how high you kick or how forcefully you punch. There’s no imaginary enemy in front of you, and you are not interested in any kind of street fighting. Therefore, relax and keep your awareness on yourself -- from your body centre to your body extremities. In this way, Qi will return to your body centre.
4. “Phrase” your movements -- I borrowed the word “phrase” from the vocabulary of playing music and singing songs. When we sing a lyrical song, we usually “phrase” several words together within one breath. In the same way, when we play a set of Qigong movements, we can “phrase” several movements together within a breath. If we can consider a punch or kick movement in WG-8 a process within a “phrase of movements”, and not the end of a “phrase of movements”, the Qi will naturally return to the centre of our body, especially when accompanying a centering movement.

Of course, learning “phrasing” in Qigong movements may take some practice. But the immediate rewards of making your movements more agile, your breathing gentler, and your sensation of Qi moving inside of you stronger, will surprise you.

What Is Wild Goose-11 Qigong?

It is an advanced qigong in the Wild Goose system. Combining mudras, mantras, and Bagua steps with easy-flowing movements, this qigong is designed to have a calming down effect. With proper guidance, this qigong can induce the qi to circulate not only inside our body, but also go beyond our body to be connected with the heaven and earth energy.

Since human qi consists of both energy and information, this mixing of the human qi with the universe energy and consciousness make it possible for this qigong to not only promote our physical and mental health, but also unravel and cultivate our human potential.

In other words, this Self-Cultivation Qigong is designed to self-cultivate a variety of “functions” we human beings are supposed to posses. They include:

1. To develop a healthy immune system in our body, which helps prevent certain diseases as well as self-heal. These diseases include brain tumor, sensory organs (i.e. eyes, ears, and nose, etc) problems, and joints problems.
2. To train an active and alert mind - which includes improving one’s memory and increasing one’s neuron synapses - so that one’s mental ability to process, analyse, and synthesize data and information will be sharper and quicker.
3. To unravel human potentiality. To cultivate qigong special abilities, such as: to be connected with the energy of the universe. To be able to interprete the information we received from far, far away ( tian-yan-kai -“to be able to “see” through one’s third eye), etc.

Why Do We Learn WG-XI?

This qigong can be learned from different perspectives and for different levels. The purpose of our teaching at this time is geared for the broad Wild Goose Qigong lovers. Anyone who has learned one or two Wild Goose qigong is welcome to learn WG-XI.

We are not going to teach you how to cultivate qigong special abilities through this qigong. We will only be teaching you how to practice its easy flowing movements, how to relax the body and mind, and how to get into the coveted qigong state of mind.

The main purpose of introducing this advanced qigong at such an early stage is that we intend to help the learners understand the characteristics of WG Qigong, such as:

1. What is a mudra (or, fingers positioning)? Why do we use them? How do they affect the qi-flow in our body?
2. What is a mantra? What are those mantras used in WG-XI? What functions do they play?
3. What is “meditation in motion”? Why is it “process-orientated” and not “goal-orientated? How does it affect our mind, our postures, and our qi-flow?
4. Why are there so many circular movements in WG Qigong? How do they influence the direction of the qi-flow in our meridians?

One of our expectations in teaching WG-XI is: Once you have learned this qigong, you’ll have a much better understanding of the First and Second 64 Movements of WG Qigong, and we hope you’ll appreciate them more.

How to Practice Self-Cultivation Qigong?

Relaxation is the key
When you practice Self-Cultivation Qigong, always remind yourself that you are doing “meditation in motion”. Be relaxed, be quiet, and be natural! The more you are relaxed, the more you can reap the benefits from this advanced qigong.

Cultivate your qi sensitivity
First calm yourself down by concentrating on the mudras. Then, start to practice each movement slowly and deliberately, trying to gradually feel the qi-flow in your body. Don’t feel frustrated if you feel nothing in the beginning. Please keep on exploring each single movement by yourself. What I can assure you is that each single movement in WG-XI has its own significance in influencing the qi-flow of your whole body. And, so far as I know, practicing WG-XI over and over again is one of the best ways to cultivate your qi sensitivity.

“Process-orientated” is OK!
American culture is “goal-orientated”. But when you do “meditation in motion”, you train yourself to be “process-orientated”. Yes, you are concerned about the exactness of the beginning and the end of a movement. But you should pay equal attention to how the beginning posture gradually evolves into the ending posture. As a matter of fact, this evolving process is an important part of your learning in its own right. For example: all the movements throughout the “meditation in motion” parts should be played roughly at the same speed, with the same smoothness and evenness, and without any jerkiness.

A small “chunk” at a time
Simply speaking, the movements in WG-XI are all seamlessly strung together, culminating into a big structure. Or, figuratively speaking, WG-XI is like an essay. All its movements are grouped into phrases, sentences, paragraphs, and chapters. Instead of practicing this qigong from beginning to end, I would suggest that you practice one paragraph at a time over and over again. You can also enjoy practicing one or two sentences for a while till you really feel some sensation in your body before you go on to another sentence.

What is Bone Marrow Washing?

This Qigong combines meditation with moving Qigong. It is one of the popular Qigong forms therapists like to practice for detoxifying and purifying themselves.

Being able to cleanse one’s body and mind at the deepest level, this practice is well known for its efficiency to purge the stagnant Qi, dirty and sickly Qi, as well as all kinds of negative emotions.

Traditionally, this Qigong is also widely practiced for building up one’s stamina and inner strength, and for promoting one’s perseverance and peak performances both physically and mentally.

Health Benefits of Bone Marrow Washing Qigong

1. Stimulate and activate the adult stem cells in our bone marrow for ultimate health.
2. Gently elongate the spine and keep it flexible. Alleviate and cure many spinal problems, such as: herniated disk, stiff neck and shoulder, lower back pain, etc.
3. Help cure RSI (repeated stress injury) and TOS (thoracic Outlet Syndrome).
4. Cleanse and de-toxify oneself through purging the stagnant, dirty, and sickly Qi.
5. Get rid of one’s negative emotions.
6. Brighten up one’s spirits and help cure depression.
7. Build up one’s stamina and inner strength.
8. Improve one’s eyesight and clear one’s mind.

How to Practice Bone Marrow Washing Qigong?

1. Coordinate your breath with your movements.
2. Stretch out comfortably through awareness. Reach out to the sky in a leisurely and carefree way.
3. Enjoy the sensation when you open up your body. Experience how your torso feels when it is being “expanded”
4. Whenever you move one part of your body, the whole body follows. Cultivate your center-periphery awareness.
5. Using mantras to help move your Qi.

What are the benefits of shoulder breathing? 

Practicing shoulder breathing has many health benefits:
• It relaxes one's neck and shoulder
• It alleviates the neck stiffness and shoulder pain
• It deepens one's breath by expanding "breathing space"
• It prevents and helps heal thoracic outlet syndrome
• It prevents and helps heal tennis elbow
• Improves Qi circulation by strengthening Qi connection between arms and torso

Shoulder breathing is one of the trade marks of Wild Goose Qigong.

by Dr Bingkun Hu

Training of Qi vs. Nourishing of Qi

The Wild Goose system includes both qigong and meditation. Both their functions are for moving the qi inside our body. When we practice Wild Goose Qigong, we are using our physical movements, and especially those circular movements, to influence the direction of our qi-flow. That’s why we say qigong is for the training of our qi. When we practice Wild Goose meditation, we are using awareness, posture, mudra, and mantra to consolidate and refine the qi-flow pattern we’ve learned in Wild Goose Qigong. That’s why we say meditation is for the nourishing of our qi.

“Movement First” Approach

According to the Wild Goose tradition, beginners usually start with practicing qigong. After they’ve practiced several sets of Wild Goose Qigong, they start to learn Wild Goose meditation. The reason for this kind of arrangement is mainly for safety and also for effectiveness. When we start to practice Wild Goose Qigong, we just relax and move our body, mimicking the delightful and playful movements of an innocent bird. We are not using our awareness. We are not even thinking of our breathing. Gradually, our hands feel warmer; our body becomes more flexible. Those are some of the signs which show that our qi-flow has already been influenced by the movements. Keep on practicing the movements.

Awareness and Meditation

After you’ve practiced several sets of Wild Goose Qigong, you may already feel some connection between the movement and the direction of your qi-flow inside your body. That’s the time you should start practicing some Wild Goose meditation. Try to consolidate and refine the qi-flow pattern you’ve learned in Wild Goose Qigong.

Here’s an example. Suppose you’ve practiced Wild Goose-I Qigong well. You feel energized and your mind is much clearer. And if you pause at a certain point while you are practicing, you may feel certain involuntary movements. Your instructor might tell you what you’ve felt is the movement-induced Micro-Cosmic Orbit. This rough contour of the Micro-cosmic Orbit occurs when you are doing qigong. But it will come right away to your awareness during your meditation. Your body will become more relaxed, your mind quieter, and your breathing smoother after you’ve practiced Wild Goose meditation-I (Five Elements Meditation). But what may surprise you is that your Micro-Cosmic Orbit has been improved and refined during the meditating process without any particular efforts.

Awareness Through Mantras

Let me repeat what I’ve mentioned before. Wild Goose meditation is using awareness, posture, mudra, and mantra to consolidate and refine the qi-flow we’ve learned in Wild Goose qigong. But the most important awareness we’re using comes through the mantras. We are saying something silently to ourselves. And we listen carefully to the mantras. In most cases, these mantras convey specific meanings.

For example, in Part One of Wild Goose meditation-I, we have the mantras: “My breath is sinking. It’s sinking to my feet. It’s sinking to the floor.” Instead of visualizing how bright light ( which symbolizes qi ) is going straight down to the floor, we use the “gentle reminder” of words to influence our breath to gradually sink. When we feel our qi is already sinking to the bottom of our feet, we can soften our intentionality by saying quietly and casually to ourselves: “There’s no awareness”. “There’s nothing”. In this way, we can further reduce the intensity of our awareness of inducing the qi to sink evenly and gently. That’s how we allow the quietude to deepen. That’s how we eventually induce the earth energy to come up from the feet and the heaven energy to come down from above, and then enjoy the big micro-cosmic Orbit in Wild Goose meditation-I.

There is no medical Qigong which does not pay attention to the training of how to nourish our qi. In the Wild Goose system, we nourish our qi through practicing both qigong movements and meditation (including zhan zhuang gong, or “standing stake”).

Since learning meditation effectively is much more difficult than learning moving qigong, we recommend that beginners learn several sets of WG Qigong first and then start to learn WG meditation.

WG-XI (Self-Cultivation Qigong), on the one hand, is an advanced qigong, but on the other hand, with all the movements slow and not complicated, it can be considered a “meditation in motion”. Under proper guidance, I think this qigong can be learned at an earlier stage as an introduction to those who are interested in experiencing and learning how to circulate their qi from the crown to the bottom of their feet, and vice versa. At the same time, we learn how to absorb the Heaven’s energy and the Earth energy in order to cleanse and nourish ourselves.

For this workshop, we are going to learn the beginning three sections of Self-Cultivation Qigong. Our emphasis will be on analyzing the two approaches this qigong uses, which made WG-XI well known as one of the best qigong for nourishing our qi. (Other characteristics of WG-XI will be discussed in another article.) These two approaches are as follows:

1) The “standing stakes with movements” approach
Standing stake (zhan zhuang gong) usually is stationary. Together with meditation, they are often utilized for nourishing our qi. But WG-XI is well known for its deliberately adding certain simple and gentle movements into a standing stake. The wonderful effect is that the practitioner’s awareness is not only fixed at the body qi-field, but they are also gently responding to the qi movements which are generated through the soft movements while meditating. At the same time, this is the surest way to build up our inner strength without losing our flexibility. (Examples: mov.7, “Collecting the Qi 3 Times”; mov. 15, “Qi Returns to Its Source, After Traveling in Meridians”)

2) “Entering into a quietude state through the use of special mudras” approach
To be in a quiet state of mind is most important when we practice any kind of meditation or “standing stake” for nourishing our qi. But it is usually very difficult for everyone to quiet down, especially when someone is in a squatting position for long. However, when we practice WG-XI, when those easy flowing movements are combined with specific mudras, we always feel relaxed in both our mind and our body. Very likely, we will enter into an inner blissfulness, and sink into a quietude state of mind. ( Mudras used: “The Big Dipper” mudra; “Guan-yin’s Palms; “Buddha’s Hand” mudra; “Blooming Lotus Flower” mudra, etc.)

I. What is Chinese Kegel Breathing?

Breathe deeply and slowly. While you are exhaling, see if you can squeeze and lift up the perineal muscles. If you can, then you are doing the Chinese Kegel Breathing.

II. Kegel Breathing vs. Chinese Kegel Breathing

1) The term Kegel Breathing or Kegel exercise is named after the US sexologist Dr. Kegel, A. H.. Dr. Kegel found that our perineal muscles, and especially the two muscle groups of the pubo-coccygeous and the levator ani, can be trained to move through a special kind of breathing. Dr. Kegel taught this kind of breathing to his female patients as an exercise for treating various sexual disfunctions and for enhancing sexual performance. Nowadays Kegel Breathing is also used in aiding the childbirth process, and in self-healing certain urinary problems.

2) Since several traditional Taoist “secret” practices all involve the squeezing and lifting up of one’s perineal muscles, I think it would be easier for Western learners of qigong to identify those breathings as “Kegel Breathing”.

3) Of all those Chinese qigong breathings which involve squeezing and lifting up the perineal muscles in different ways, the most commonly used one is the kind of Kegel breathing in which we squeeze and lift up the perineal muscles while we are in the process of exhaling, but not while we are inhaling. I singled this one out and called it the “Chinese Kegel Breathing”.

III. How to practice Chinese Kegel Breathing?

Chinese Kegel Breathing is easy and safe to learn. We don’t even need the pre-requisite training of Reverse Abdominal Breathing. However, the learning of Kegel Breathing takes time, and it is better to follow a step-by-step approach.

1) Basic training for Chinese Kegel Breathing:

Practice (1): “Gateway to Natural Breathing” Qigong
Practice (2): “The Airplane” sitting qigong.

2) Taoist “secret” in training the perineal muscles:

According to the Taoist tradition, the perineal muscles can be trained through the swallowing movement. The practice is surprisingly simple, effective, and safe.

Practice (3): “Swallowing the Saliva” Kegel Breathing.
Practice (4): “Swallowing the Sun’s Energy”, and the last 3 movements of WG-7.

3) Advanced training for Kegel Breathing:

The Wild Goose Qigong series provide us with a systematic training of Kegel Breathing. In this workshop, we have chosen the ending of Wild Goose-1, and Part 4 of Wild Goose-9 (Chest-Opening Aromatic qigong) as two examples of how to practice Kegel Breathing safely and effectively.

Practice (5): “Wild Goose Goes to Sleep” (Micro-cosmic Orbit) (M. 64, WG-1)
Practice (6): “Picking up the Medicine from the Earth” (Selected from Part 4 of WG-9).

IV. Physical Benefits in Practicing the Chinese Kegel Breathing

1) For creating an extra breathing space:

a) Just as reverse abdominal breathing can create an extra breathing space in our “Gate of Life”area, the Chinese Kegel breathing creates an extra breathing space in our perinea, pelvis, and groin area.

b) To be more specific: This breathing involves resisting increased abdominal pressure during forced expiration. By squeezing and lifting up the pubo-coccygeous and the levator ani muscle groups while exhaling, more space is provided for qi to better circulate in our reproductive organs, urinary organs, and to a certain degree, it will affect the peristaltic movements of the colon.

2) For easy stretching of our body:

Whenever we use Chinese Kegel Breathing
in exhaling, it naturally stretches our body, i.e., both our limbs and our torso.

3) For building up inner strength:

a) The training of this breathing can stop the qi leaking from our perineum area.
b) It strengthens and develops our lower dantian.

4) Making our Micro-Cosmic Orbit smoother:

By squeezing and lifting up the perineum muscles while we breathe out, we connect the Conception Vessel with the Governing Vessel at the perineum area. Thus, it makes the qi-flow smoother in the lower loop of the Orbit.

5) Easier to absorb the earth energy:

If we inhale while gripping our toes, the earth energy will be absorbed into our legs through the K-1 point (“Bubbling Spring” point). But if we can squeeze our perineum muscles at the same time, the earth energy can be further absorbed into our torso.

V. Watch out for the pitfalls in learning Kegel Breathing

1) Using Kegel breathing in practicing Chinese qigong is usually more strenuous than using normal abdominal breathing, reverse abdominal breathing, or Chinese Kegel breathing. Kegel breathing should be used for a specific reason and never be over-used.

2) Don’t use Kegel breathing continuously. Try to alternate it with other kinds of breathing.

3) When you experience a “stuffy” or “oppressive” chest, you should stop practicing Kegel Breathing right away. Do some agile wild Goose Qigong instead.

4) For people with high blood pressure or any heart problem, don’t practice Kegel Breathing. But it is fine to practice “Swallowing the Saliva”, and “Gateway to Natural Breathing” qigong.

In the coming workshop on 4/23, we are going to introduce the concept of “breathing space”, and discuss the medical benefits of being mindful of our breathing space. We are also going to learn a traditional Qigong called “Six Healing Sounds”, and use this Qigong as an example to further explain the self-healing principles we discussed at our last workshop.

1) “Six Healing Sounds” Qigong uses appropriate sound waves to subtly vibrate our five internal organs ( the liver, heart, spleen, lungs, and kidneys), and the Triple Warmer areas. In so doing, our internal organs can be mildly stimulated and rejuvenated, and thus promoting our health.

2) In addition to sound vibrations, body movements are also used in this Qigong. These movements help open up our “breathing space”. And if we are trained to become aware of the specific finger tips or toe tips, we can then easily open up the related meridian lines. In this way, we can feel an even stronger shifting of the breathing space.

3) “Six Healing Sounds” Qigong is an excellent “textbook” for training the coordination between our body and our breathing. When we are pronouncing a healing sound, we are always exhaling. The ensuing body movement, no matter in what direction, will be done while inhaling. This natural coordination between breathing and body movements, makes the otherwise difficult shifting of breathing space from our fingers through the whole body and legs, down to the toes (or vice versa), as easy as a breeze.

To recapitulate: How should we practice “Six Healing Sounds” Qigong?

First, learn to pronounce each of the healing sounds correctly, so that the sound waves could strike a resounding vibration to each of the internal organs.

Secondly, while doing the movements, pay attention to the opening up of the related meridians by having some awareness on the specific finger tips or toe tips.

And thirdly, pay attention to the smooth shifting of our breathing space vertically through mindful breathing.