I was pondering the idea of Wai Dan Qigong; its core principles and different methods that you can perform it with such as massage, Qigong stances and movements, and the use of different tools to stimulate the muscles, tendons, and fascia of the human body. For those of you that don't know, Wai Dan is the physical form of Qigong practice, while the use of your mind is the primary form of Nei Dan qigong. Wai Dan is usually taught first to beginning Qigong students as it is considered to be an easier way to familiarize yourself with Qi, although meditation can be considered Nei Dan and it is definitely beneficial to have a daily regimen of meditation right from the start. I believe that NEW can also be considered Nei Dan Qigong, and is in fact quite an easy method of energy body stimulation with many people sensing their Qi the first time they try it. Getting back to my thoughts on Wai Dan Qigong, the stimulation of the muscles, tendons, and fascia of the human body to generate Qi is the method of Wai Dan Qigong practice. Good warming by stretching beforehand, remaining relaxed as possible, abdominal breathing and a good meditation session afterwards allow the Qi you generate to be efficiently absorbed rather than wasted and dispersed. I was considering weight training as a possible method of Wai Dan Qigong. There is no doubt that the act of weight training generates Qi in the body. However many weight lifters exercise with a scattered mind, always focusing on the size of their muscles and the way they look, and remain quite tense both physically and mentally all throughout their workout. This causes them to burn out and the Qi they generate is lost and dispersed. Rather than taking a moment in between sets to relax and focus on their breathing and/or relaxing the muscles, allowing the Qi in the worked muscles to be guided to the Lower Dan Tian for storage, they stand in front of a mirror flexing their muscles, remaining tense while thinking with the emotional mind in quite the egotistical manner. As a result, the generated Qi is lost; dispensed into the atmosphere. Of course, this is a generalization. Rather than working out in this fashion, you could treat the workout as a Wai Dan Qigong practice. During the lifting movement, you could focus the mind on the muscles being worked, coordinating your breath with the positive and negative parts of the movement. In between sets you could relax your body, feeling the Qi that was generated traveling through your body making it's way to the Dan Tian for storage by way of proper abdominal breathing, a relaxed body and a clear, calm mind. These three things are the focal points of Regulating the Mind, Body, and Breath, all of which are the key to success in all Qigong practice. After the workout is over you could begin a quality sitting mediation session. To me this sounds like an efficient method of Qigong practice, which I'm considering to give a try. I would be most pleased to hear your thoughts and/or critiques of this idea. Thank you!!!
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