How can I feel chi?

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 :)

Originally Posted by 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.

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.

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.

Originally Posted by Rin

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 。

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?

Originally Posted by 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

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

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.

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.

Originally Posted by 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.

I love this story!

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.