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  #23  
Old 15-06-2018, 10:30 PM
Che Lazou
Posts: n/a
 
getting more chi

Water drop, it all depends on what you mean by chi, different sources give different definitions and categorisations. The most common translation is "energy" and even in Western physics there are innumerable forms of energy. One translation that has been suggested with reference to acupuncture is that chi is "essence of air" which could be thought of as meaning "oxygen" so in this case simply breathing more would give you more chi. When it comes to "electrical" and "magnetic" forms of chi things get more complicated, one can even push Western physics to its limits and talk about so called "dark energy" but then one is in the realms of pure speculation as far as analogies go. Concentrating on chi as "oxygen" is a good place to start as practice can certainly make the oxygen flow in the body more efficient and this flow interacts with the nervous system which can also be fine tuned by practice. Different foods can make oxygen flow more efficient too. It sounds so reductionist, but it is a mistake to think T'ai Ji isn't scientific just because it has a different geographical heritage. If you prefer a more poetic word you could think of chi as simply "breath" or as I said earlier on "essence of air". As a final note, according to Einstein, even "matter" is energy, so in that sense almost anything could be considered chi. As you are starting at the beginning think of chi simply as "breath" and you won't go far wrong. It might seem strange to think of concentrating "breath" in the dan tien instead of the lungs, but oxygen does flow there and by focusing one's attention one can become aware of the interaction between the nerves of the dan tien and the oxygen that has been breathed in and strengthen that connection. As I said, matter is energy, and T'ai Ji is a physical art, even Western physics becomes mystical when you try to say what directs energy movement and interactions. Thinking of it in Western physical terms does not detract from the practice if it helps. However, as one of my previous posts might serve as a warning, being unbalanced with regards to head analysis and sensitivity to chi with the rest of the body, could send you crazy. Thank you.
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