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Qigong's Five Basic Elements

Learn these five basic elements of Qigong to live a more purposeful life

Qigong should never be seen as a fix-all answer to all that western medicine cannot

fix. Qigong is neither magical nor a cure-all remedy. Although it is a 'littlenew' especially to the western world, Qigong, as an ancient thousand-year-oldChinese practice is based on very basic understanding and practicality.

Some would imagine that Qigong would 'magically' handle their particular problemswhen they perform just a few movements. For Qigong to work, one must

understand that they must use all their faculties - body, mind, and evenspirit. Intensive studies and experimentation on the positive and healing effects of

Qigong in China have shown that five basic elements must be consistentlypresent if one's Qigong is going to work well. If any of these elements ismissing, one's Qigong practice will not have its full effect on one's health aspreventive medicine or for healing. These five elements are movement,breathing, concentration, and relaxation, and attitude.MovementOne must move the body. Large movements or small movements, wide or shallow,it doesn't matter. Just move. Movement and activity is essential for health. Of

course if the movements are small one must do many more repetitions than if themovements are large. Like lifting weights one can do very heavy weights with less

repetitions or light weights with many repetitions. The same concept applies. And itdepends on one's purpose and intent in doing the Qigong. Small movements willcirculate a little energy, so one must do many repetitions to generateenough energy circulation. If the movements are large and vigorouslyopening the joints, ligaments, and muscles, then fewer repetitions may besufficient.When moving, in Qigong, one can use several fundamental approaches. Slow andsteady, extremely slow with feeling, or more rapid yet smooth. What should not be

done is jerky and violent movement. Use smoothness and sensitivity as aguide.

BreathingOne must breathe. Everyone knows this. Without breathing one wouldn't be able to

stay alive very long. But deep breathing is more beneficial and preferablethan surface or shallow breathing. It oxygenates the body and massages theinternal organs. Breathing also sets up a rhythm which helps one to relax moredeeply. When one uses deep breathing in a very focused and slow way making thebreath long, fine, and deep, one can let the whole countenance take a smallvacation. Ones inner being can become calm and centered, and one can let go of all

the outer stress producing agendas which inhibit one's inner spirit.Concentration

Another of the basic four qualities which is necessary for good health isconcentration. One must concentrate the mind - regularly. Concentrating the

mind helps to keep the pathways of mental activity open and viable. Whenone stops using the mind it kind of forgets how to work at its peak level. Itbecomes lethargic and lazy the more the internal synapses and junctures gounused. The mind works exactly the same way as with the body - in fact it is thebody. When one stops exercising the body it doesn't work as well...and is alwaysdifficult to get going again. The same is true with the mind. They are bothconnected. So, naturally, they function in the same way. Doing exercise without aconcentrated mind may produce some results, but it cannot be as beneficial in a

total way as doing exercise while using a concentrated mind.Paying attention to what is being done - implementing one's intent is important.

Without precise, definite, and focused intent one's exercise - one's Qigong will benothing more than generic, non-specific movement; and it will produce exactlythose kinds of results. If one is not paying attention, one will generally become

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bored. If the exercise one does seems uninteresting, this is only a signal that one isnot really inside the exercise deeply - not using one's curiosity and vitality to applyof one's intent.RelaxationRelaxation is the fourth quality which is necessary in order to produce the most

positive effects of preventive health maintenance and healing. Relaxation is of

course important in the reduction of stress and the letting go of negative agendaswhich produce life-strangling, "non-healthy" mind-sets. Naturally, a mind and spiritwhich is constantly urging, constantly doing, constantly pushing, impede yourpractice of Qigong. Relaxation cannot be attained under a driving, pressurefilled attitude. The mind and body doesn't function well under such unrelentingconditions. It needs time to settle down and back to the center of stillness within.It needs to get back in touch with what is really the inner source -calmness and ease. The human being's condition needs a calm inner source towork from or many diseases and calamities will ensue. The body needs time to

repair itself. Sometimes sleep is not enough, especially in today's world, with itsfast pace and insistent lifestyle. One must relax. And just as important as relaxing

the body is relaxing the mind and spirit, in fact, most people get more than enough

relaxation in the body. People sit when they drive to and from work, they sit attheir jobs, and when they get home they sit around reading the paper or watchingtelevision, What they need in their body is movement and invigoration. Relaxationis what they need in their mind and in their spirit.Sometimes one develops stored body tension from trying too hard or worrying toomuch, etc., but generally speaking this stored local body tension can be dealt withthrough active and vigorous exercise, which helps one to let go of such body

anxiety and its inherent blockage. Relaxation is, for most people, more a matter ofrelaxing the spirit.

AttitudeIt should also be understood that the attitude of the person plays a role in the

effectiveness of one's health practice. Attitude is similar to mental concentration,

but not quite the same. It is comparable to relaxing the spirit, but is its owndistinctly different thing. Even if the practitioner does everything else well - themovement, the breathing, the concentration, and the relaxation - if one's attitude isnot well attuned for the purposes of good health and preventive medicine, thebenefits a practitioner gain will still be somewhat less than they would be if theirattitude was more positive.Every attitude one has contributes to either empowerment or dis-empowerment,

truth or illusion, health and recovery, or its opposite discomfort and disease.Usually nothing except one's own attitude can inhibit progress. Yet, the

ability to affect one's own attitude is part of one's personal power. Anyone whobelieves they cannot do something denies their own inner strength andcapability. Each practitioner is responsible for our own attitude and thepath to change.If one's attitude is open and free, one will have the chance to see clearly. If one'sattitude is closed or run by inappropriate agendas, one will cling to suchinappropriate modes and pretexts and see only from those vantage points. One'sinner source is the filter that colors whatever one sees and does. Through it, one

creates one's own heaven or hell. If one adopts an attitude which is unsuitable, onesees through that particular point of view.

It is up to each person, themselves, to overcome any negative conditioning - whatone learned from, what one bought into from others cannot be an excuse.

Inaccessibility cannot be an excuse either, for the truth is all around us. If one canwake up to that constantly available truth, one can change one's own attitude.Knowing reality deeply one can keep things in their proper perspective and, in turn,act from that reality to be more capable in one's life.