basic over view

[running]

Can someone give a basic over view Tai chi and chi gong. I don't know anything about it. I just read a thread about feeling energy. Well I'm always feeling energy so perhaps this is something that would resonate with me. To me feeling the energy is beyond all other things. I don't mean better. I mean its what I do and enjoy more than anything else. And I can't not do it. Its who I am. Its me. So I'm curious?

[running]

So many responses about an over view of chi and such im not sure where to start. Lol

[Rah nam]

As an old Daoist Master might tell you, go away and practice Tai Chi for a few years and you will find out.
On the other hand tai chi is an internal martial art and takes almost more then a life time to develop. Mostly used for health reasons. Some suggest it is a meditation in motion. It can be, but then listening to Beethoven's symphony can be used to meditate.
I only have used ion shirt chi gung which is used to strengthen certain layers of you body in order for a fighter to withstand all kind of "punishment". I never used it for fighting, but strengthening the body is always of benefit. The Daoist belief, it takes a strong and health body to develop spiritually.
There are many different Daoist practices to develop your sexual energies, which are important in many ways. And so on and so on. It just depends in which direction you like to develop. Whether you like to develop is as a fighting form, health form, or spiritually.

[running]

Originally Posted by Rah nam

As an old Daoist Master might tell you, go away and practice Tai Chi for a few years and you will find out.
On the other hand tai chi is an internal martial art and takes almost more then a life time to develop. Mostly used for health reasons. Some suggest it is a meditation in motion. It can be, but then listening to Beethoven's symphony can be used to meditate.
I only have used ion shirt chi gung which is used to strengthen certain layers of you body in order for a fighter to withstand all kind of "punishment". I never used it for fighting, but strengthening the body is always of benefit. The Daoist belief, it takes a strong and health body to develop spiritually.
There are many different Daoist practices to develop your sexual energies, which are important in many ways. And so on and so on. It just depends in which direction you like to develop. Whether you like to develop is as a fighting form, health form, or spiritually.

This all makes a lot of sense to me and explains some things. Exercise I have found to be as effective as meditation. The two combined is awesome. Thanks for the information!

The Chinese culture has always placed a strong importance on living a holistic balanced lifestyle. Tai Chi is one of the many outlets that can be used/practiced to restore this natural balance. This notion of finding balance is rooted in Taoist thought which heavily influenced Chinese culture and still does much today.

The Taoist practitioners always look to nature and what is most natural when seeking answers to life's many questions. They do this because it is the closest thing to "perfection" they can conceive. Nature has been around since longer than anyone can remember and it can be assumed that it will forever live on (even if the planet earth one day doesn't). Nature always seeks to restore and maintain this balance, but in accomplishing all of this it really doesn't ever need to "act", in our sense of the word. For everything there exists an opposite and these two opposites dance together in a never ending cycle of life. The extremes that define the cycle are completely opposing yet one is not any better than the other; nature doesn't label things lesser or greater because all things are of equal importance in this beautifully integrated coherent system. Without these opposites (what taoism calls "yin" and "yang") there would be no flow and the cycle (life) would not happen.

Its from this "potential difference" which these codependent opposing counter-parts define that motion and "things" come to be. This is the root of all energy; this is why energy is the root of all things. They are codependent upon one another. When we have an electrical potential difference of + and - we have electrical energy. When we have a gravitational potential difference of relatively higher and relatively lower we have gravitational energy. When we have an atmospheric potential difference of high pressure and low pressure we have wind. This unobstructed cycle: energy, is rooted in codependent polar counter-parts.

The Chinese culture took this understanding and applied it to their lives in every way they could possibly imagine: food, exercise, architecture, music, fashion, politics, medicine, etc.

Tai Chi is a practice of restoring and maintaining this natural balance in our body. When yin and yang are defined in our posture and things are left to be as they are and happen as they do (wu-wei) which is a result of letting go of both physical and emotional stresses (releasing our contrivances and attachments) then will the flow of energy (qi) be optimized and healing, strengthening, and enlightenment will follow.

[running]

Originally Posted by taoistscholar

The Chinese culture has always placed a strong importance on living a holistic balanced lifestyle. Tai Chi is one of the many outlets that can be used/practiced to restore this natural balance. This notion of finding balance is rooted in Taoist thought which heavily influenced Chinese culture and still does much today.

The Taoist practitioners always look to nature and what is most natural when seeking answers to life's many questions. They do this because it is the closest thing to "perfection" they can conceive. Nature has been around since longer than anyone can remember and it can be assumed that it will forever live on (even if the planet earth one day doesn't). Nature always seeks to restore and maintain this balance, but in accomplishing all of this it really doesn't ever need to "act", in our sense of the word. For everything there exists an opposite and these two opposites dance together in a never ending cycle of life. The extremes that define the cycle are completely opposing yet one is not any better than the other; nature doesn't label things lesser or greater because all things are of equal importance in this beautifully integrated coherent system. Without these opposites (what taoism calls "yin" and "yang") there would be no flow and the cycle (life) would not happen.

Its from this "potential difference" which these codependent opposing counter-parts define that motion and "things" come to be. This is the root of all energy; this is why energy is the root of all things. They are codependent upon one another. When we have an electrical potential difference of + and - we have electrical energy. When we have a gravitational potential difference of relatively higher and relatively lower we have gravitational energy. When we have an atmospheric potential difference of high pressure and low pressure we have wind. This unobstructed cycle: energy, is rooted in codependent polar counter-parts.

The Chinese culture took this understanding and applied it to their lives in every way they could possibly imagine: food, exercise, architecture, music, fashion, politics, medicine, etc.

Tai Chi is a practice of restoring and maintaining this natural balance in our body. When yin and yang are defined in our posture and things are left to be as they are and happen as they do (wu-wei) which is a result of letting go of both physical and emotional stresses (releasing our contrivances and attachments) then will the flow of energy (qi) be optimized and healing, strengthening, and enlightenment will follow.

That is incredible and works for me. And thank you for a wonderful explanation!

[Arcturus]

i know, for instance, that the yang cheng fu form actively moves chi through the 12 meridians, in order, 3 times in one carrying out of the form. i would avoid the fighting/self defense part of it and stick to the health side. learning fa-jing (explosive strikes) seems to come with a few problems as masters tend to die young. also it uses/taps spiralling energies, like that which construct the universe, from galaxies to dna etc, hence why it's decptively powerfull. being touted as a cure for some with M.S. and other movement disorders. i would definitely promote it as an aid to spritual development, though no amount of physical health will destroy the ego.

This information was very useful. guess I see what things are talk about in this kind of manner so many details.

[running]

Originally Posted by vecta3

i know, for instance, that the yang cheng fu form actively moves chi through the 12 meridians, in order, 3 times in one carrying out of the form. i would avoid the fighting/self defense part of it and stick to the health side. learning fa-jing (explosive strikes) seems to come with a few problems as masters tend to die young. also it uses/taps spiralling energies, like that which construct the universe, from galaxies to dna etc, hence why it's decptively powerfull. being touted as a cure for some with M.S. and other movement disorders. i would definitely promote it as an aid to spritual development, though no amount of physical health will destroy the ego.

So what does destroying ones ego construct of? And why would someone destroy it?

Do you know anymore about it helping ms. You mean multiple sclerosis right?