How can I feel chi?

[Kwayde]

Hi everyone. I've been meditating for over a couple years now and have just begun to take my qigong practice a little more seriously. I currently practice Terry Dunn's Flying Phoenix Celestial standing meditations and a few other exercises I've learned from books. I try to keep my mind on my movements and my dan tian when instructed to, but sometimes my mind wanders and I bring it back into focus when I can.

My question to everyone is, how can I feel chi? How long will it take? I practice not only for health, but enlightenment and the ability to heal others as well. It gets a little discouraging sometimes yet I continue to practice. I even have a friend who at one point denied the existence of chi until he felt it while rubbing his hands together one day at work! And he doesn't even practice any kind of energy work. Why is it effortless for some, but not for others?

Thank you for reading and I await your responses :smile:

[Henri77]

Well I cannot advise you but only share my experience.
I also have been doing daily ChiGong about 2 yrs (a different practice-exercise of course)
Learned from a dvd course.

However I had years of experience with energy-healing before that, and that's primarily why I took up chi gong.
Seeing the master doing healing, in a video, & it looked much like what we'd done as energy healers, in the church group I was with.

Also I'd been a dancer, and movement meditation attracted me. as I'd found sitting meditation not that productive.

Combining healing energy, movement & meditation sounded-looked-felt cool so I've stuck with it.

Love doing it in nature whenever possible as it really connects me to earth ,and apparently, earth energy.
I can't say if everyone can feel chi... dunno!

But I'd say when I really surrender to the source, I most feel it. Occasionally I imagine I'm underwater in a sea of energy that surrounds me.
When I'm most relaxed, surrendering, I feel I'm most open , and channeling rather than directing the energy.
Especially if i focus opening my heart and feeling love, the most effective session ensues.

For practice in my apt, I've made a mixtape of chants, sacred Amer Indian & Tibetian flute music, that creates a
sacred healing ambiance, (really useful for creating a mood)

I do ChiGong primarily for health, but feel a sacred ambiance when I do it, and call on angels prior to meditation.

So it works pretty well as a way tuning in, and is a good time for healing prayer and sending healing when I feel so moved. Especially in a longer session.. over 30 min.

(quite often I don't feel much energy BTW, it depends)
I rarely ever miss a day ... as it keeps me connected to mother earth (what with computers, cars, & stuff)

BTW I also do a Merkaba meditation daily, a short one just to keep that connection,
as it has a different connection to the universe.

[Gem]

Hi everyone. I've been meditating for over a couple years now and have just begun to take my qigong practice a little more seriously. I currently practice Terry Dunn's Flying Phoenix Celestial standing meditations and a few other exercises I've learned from books. I try to keep my mind on my movements and my dan tian when instructed to, but sometimes my mind wanders and I bring it back into focus when I can.

My question to everyone is, how can I feel chi? How long will it take? I practice not only for health, but enlightenment and the ability to heal others as well. It gets a little discouraging sometimes yet I continue to practice. I even have a friend who at one point denied the existence of chi until he felt it while rubbing his hands together one day at work! And he doesn't even practice any kind of energy work. Why is it effortless for some, but not for others?

Thank you for reading and I await your responses :smile:

I think it's about feeling the body relax, and after practice the mind developes good concentration and also sharp perceptive ability, and when the solid hard sensations of the physical body begin to disolve into tingles and subtle vibrations, then the flow can be felt a bit more easily.

:smile:

[Gofa]

I was taught qi gong many years ago and in turn taught others as a sign of achievement

Getting it out of books is a tough game

Simple elements to understand is breathing on up elements breath in down out

Go watch you tube find someone doing a set that speaks to you looks cool and pretty simple

replicate as best you can

Should be flowing and balances as in left side right side movements

The Tao is best looked at through a smile as is qi gong

the guy below looks a good place to start Just a random search but better to be lucky than skilled

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bSZq78t4WMg

[Kwayde]

...for your sound advice and knowledge! Henri77, I'll work trying to create more of an immersive experience with music and nature. And Gofa, thanks for that vid. I'll be trying those movements as well.

[Ninoushka]

Another much, much simpler exercise, that I've learned both in Qi Gong and Pranic Healing classes.
- Remove your shoes, and any leather item of leather clothing (belt, panties :D) you're wearing
- Sit down, or stand on your feet with your knees slightly bent. Don't cross your legs
- Connect your tongue to your palate and practice a few abdominal respirations. It is important that you continue breathing with your stomach throughout the whole exercise
- Close your eyes if you want, and place your hands about 1 foot/30 centimeters apart, with your palms facing each other
- Stay relaxed, and try to let go of any excessive expectations
- You should start feeling a sensation of warmth or tingling in your hands. As you continue focusing, you can feel something like an attraction/repulsion feeling, kind of like when you put two magnets together. That's chi !
- If you don't feel anything, you can try visualizing a ball of pure white or golden energy between your hands, and move your hands around it in a circular motion : on the sides, and then on the top and bottom of the ball. You can also try playing with the ball, squeezing it and releasing it.
- While you perform these movements, if you don't feel anything, instead of thinking "nothing is going on", think positive : "I'm in the process of feeling Chi in my hands". Energy follows thought, and it will be very helpful to adopt a positive way of thinking.
Let us know how it works for you. I personally like this method because it's very empirical. It usually works for most people in minutes, and if it doesn't, sensations can be developped over time in a relatively short period.

[peteyzen]

Totally agree with. Ninoushka ( above) but for beginners start with your hands much closer together less than an inch apart. And then 'feel with your mind' in the middle, between the palms, Start to bounce one hand very slightly, with tiny movements and you will start to feel heat and then a feeling like when you push two magnets together and they repel each other. This is the start, then slowly take you hands further apart ( bouncing slowly).

[Ninoushka]

Very true peteyzen! In the beginning, it might be useful depending on your level of energy to bring your hands a little bit closer, but it really depends on people. If you don't feel anything, slowly bring your hands a little bit closer and let the magic work :)

[iolite]

You can also rub your hands together vigorously and then slowly move them apart a bit and then together. You'll feel a repulsion like pushing two magnets together at their like poles. That's the chi. Robert Bruce has a really good book called NEW Energy in which he walks you thru exercises feeling the energy vortexes on our bodies. The tutorial is here (http://astraldynamics.com/home/new-energy-ways.html)

[perfect earth]

The first time I felt energy was during a pulsing movement - moving my hands subtley together and away while focusing on the energy I was cultivating.

[TzuJanLi]

Greetings..

Don't think, 'feel'.. and, when you 'feel' something, don't think about it, just be aware of it, pay attention without 'thinking'.. a useful practice for this 'no thinking', is to extend/point the index finger until you feel a light tension along the palm side of the index finger, then.. relax (maintaining the pointing) and notice the mind's activity, or lack thereof..

Yi leads Qi, mind leads energy, 'empty mind'/Zen is clear, energy is clear..

Be well..

[Sunflower]

I can always tell the chi is flowing when I feel a resistance, it is like a gentle pressure pushing back when I make my moves, almost as if I was in thick water.

Do you practice with your eyes closed? I find that really helps visualise the energy flow too :)

[Rin]

You can also rub your hands together vigorously and then slowly move them apart a bit and then together. You'll feel a repulsion like pushing two magnets together at their like poles. That's the chi.
IMO that is a method to trick people into thinking that they can feel chi. While it may give a feeling similar to feeling chi I believe that whatever is felt is due to the physical manipulation.

As chi is always present no such cheap trickery should be necessary to demonstrate its present.

[Mr. Jadeitestone]

Might I make a suggestion? Try this simple exercise (trust me, it wnorks! My friend is a Wiccan and he is an expert at magic and chi. He felt it and confirmed it too).

1) You must believe it exists. Rather you believe or not, chi exists! You believe so the first one doesn't apply to you.

2) Close your eyes and focus on the chi.

3) Try to visualize and shape it. Form it. Now, color it. If you have yang chi it will must likely be bright glowing yellow and warm. I haven't mastered channeling yin yet so...I can't say. Mine is usually clear.

4) Now, feel it. It should feel like a small orb rolling within your palms.

I hope this exercise works. Good luck to you and may the Tao be with you friend.

[Mr. Jadeitestone]

IMO that is a method to trick people into thinking thatthey can feel chi. While it may give a feeling similar to feeling chi I believe that whatever is felt is due to the physical manipulation.

As chi is always present no such cheap trickery should be necessary to demonstrate its present.

Precisely. Compare that feeling to you hands scraping against rope. That is the "friction" giving off heat. Want to feel real chi? Feel the energy within your hands. You'll feel an orb of heat. THAT'S real chi!

[hope]

I feel qi throughout my body. People see auras but I am able to sense energy by feeling it through my body. Since as a child, I would also get prophetic dreams and sensing in ways that I didn't really understand till my adult years.

I noticed that I got way more sensitive in my adult years when I became a vegetarian . Increase your energy by sitting meditation . I can't meditate on a daily basis as I will become too sensitive and it becomes really bothersome for me. I learned as a child to block a lot when I need to because it was so creepy for me then.

Do more movement arts as tai chi where you learn to move the qi within the meridians of your body. I can direct my qi to certain acupuncture points too . Certain chinese herbs can help raise your qi and the dan tien is where your original source of qi is from birth. Takes years to cultivate but your intent should always be good. Its best to find a qualified master / teacher ... books don't cut it that much.

By the way, of course QI really exists. The Chinese have known about qi for thousands of years . We depend on it as chinese doctors and acupuncturists. This is your life force within your body. People get very sick from Qi stagnation and it starts to affect your organs and meridians.

Also correct pin yin spelling of qi is QI and NOT chi. Chi in pin yin means to eat or to hold or late or red but the correct pin yin is Qi which means air and correct chinese character simplified is 气 。

[MadamStar]

If you are doing the right things.. it should be within a couple weeks of practice *heck I felt the effects right away

I've been practicing for 2.5 years now, and my arms seem to float now.

Perhaps its time to seek a teacher/sensei?

[LadyTerra]

Hi everyone. I've been meditating for over a couple years now and have just begun to take my qigong practice a little more seriously. I currently practice Terry Dunn's Flying Phoenix Celestial standing meditations and a few other exercises I've learned from books. I try to keep my mind on my movements and my dan tian when instructed to, but sometimes my mind wanders and I bring it back into focus when I can.

My question to everyone is, how can I feel chi? How long will it take? I practice not only for health, but enlightenment and the ability to heal others as well. It gets a little discouraging sometimes yet I continue to practice. I even have a friend who at one point denied the existence of chi until he felt it while rubbing his hands together one day at work! And he doesn't even practice any kind of energy work. Why is it effortless for some, but not for others?

Thank you for reading and I await your responses :smile:


I first experienced Chi--while practicing my "Idiot's Guide to Tai Chi & Qi Gong"--no kidding.:wink:

My hands were so hot that I would leave hand prints on every surface I touched. I would feel the heat travel throughout my entire body and begin to perspire profusely.

It was then that I read a book by Diane Stein--"Essential Reiki"--did the 30 day cleansing and received my Attunement.

Stop trying so hard. Practice your Tai Chi and Qi Gong and focus only on the flow of the movements and before you know it--you will tap into the flow of the life force.:hug2:

[WhiteCrane]

I've been practising Taiji for nearly 20 years now, and my teacher NEVER referred to 'Chi'. He is a very practical and grounded person, and chose Taiji Chuan over other disciplines (Yoga, other martial arts, Sufi, Taoism etc) as a spiritual path. He talks of forces that act on the body, and sensations that are real, not imagined. I personally feel that there is a lot of mysticism around the concept of chi, or energy.

The sensations you get when you hold your hands close are the deeper sensations you can access when your mind is quiet - heat, tingling, pressure, which are actual real sensations produced by nerve endings that sense heat, pain and pressure. My teacher refers to them as 'internal 'senses, rather than the 'external' senses of sight, hearing, smell, taste and touch. He warns against using imagination, but he does recommend certain visualisations. Unless you are more spiritually aware, I would hazard a guess that here is where you have to take a leap of faith and trust that your teacher is leading you towards something you are not yet aware of.

So I'm aware of these deeper sensations, but whether I would label them as 'Chi', I'm really not sure. I too am very grounded, and suspect that I have blocked some levels of higher energy due to fear. I'm hoping that I will be able to overcome this in time.

[LadyTerra]

I've been practising Taiji for nearly 20 years now, and my teacher NEVER referred to 'Chi'. He is a very practical and grounded person, and chose Taiji Chuan over other disciplines (Yoga, other martial arts, Sufi, Taoism etc) as a spiritual path. He talks of forces that act on the body, and sensations that are real, not imagined. I personally feel that there is a lot of mysticism around the concept of chi, or energy.

The sensations you get when you hold your hands close are the deeper sensations you can access when your mind is quiet - heat, tingling, pressure, which are actual real sensations produced by nerve endings that sense heat, pain and pressure. My teacher refers to them as 'internal 'senses, rather than the 'external' senses of sight, hearing, smell, taste and touch. He warns against using imagination, but he does recommend certain visualisations. Unless you are more spiritually aware, I would hazard a guess that here is where you have to take a leap of faith and trust that your teacher is leading you towards something you are not yet aware of.

So I'm aware of these deeper sensations, but whether I would label them as 'Chi', I'm really not sure. I too am very grounded, and suspect that I have blocked some levels of higher energy due to fear. I'm hoping that I will be able to overcome this in time.

I love this story!:smile:

In my Natal Chart...I have a predominance of Water--but I am a mixture of Water and Earth with very few Elemental influences other than these.

I think it is good to strive to be well-rounded--but (in the end) we are physical beings (as well) and I think our natal predispositions have a significant bearing upon our individual Gifts and Abilities.

I think you are very unique and have great admiration for the discipline it must take to devote yourself to one path for so long.

You more than likely have a predominance of Earth in you chart and (therefore) your Gift flows from the grounded--solid--strength of Earth.

I can think of nothing more supportive and dependable.:wink:

[Rah nam]

Hi everyone. I've been meditating for over a couple years now and have just begun to take my qigong practice a little more seriously. I currently practice Terry Dunn's Flying Phoenix Celestial standing meditations and a few other exercises I've learned from books. I try to keep my mind on my movements and my dan tian when instructed to, but sometimes my mind wanders and I bring it back into focus when I can.

My question to everyone is, how can I feel chi? How long will it take? I practice not only for health, but enlightenment and the ability to heal others as well. It gets a little discouraging sometimes yet I continue to practice. I even have a friend who at one point denied the existence of chi until he felt it while rubbing his hands together one day at work! And he doesn't even practice any kind of energy work. Why is it effortless for some, but not for others?

Thank you for reading and I await your responses :smile:

The main question seams to be: How can you feel energies?
I started practicing Daoist Yoga in the early 90th, after 10years of Tai Chi.
Looking back, start with the Micro cosmic orbit. Not sure how far you are with that. you are bound to feel your chi after you circle it within the first circle. The micro cosmic orbit is to Daoist Yoga as the first thread going in the needle to making a dress.
Happy practice.

[kayvee]

I don't think it matters whether you feel it or not, if you believe in it why do you need to feel it? In some of the replies they mention the physical sensation after rubbing hands together and that being cheating, but it's not really cheating it's just speeding up that energy so as to feel it more strongly, it's always there just needs some attention paying to it with no expectations and there it is. It's all in how we interpret things differently.

[Rah nam]

If you bring in planetary energy through the top of your head, which is hot,and pull up cool energy from earth through your feet, and blend it in the Dan tian, I can guaranty you , you will feel it.