I don't have much experience in this area, but I've recently been directed toward several articles involving Qi Gong's benefits for treating medical problems. I'm less inclined to buy into the metaphysical new-age crap and more apt to believe that the health benefits are likened more to the stress alleviation provided by any other form of active meditation; especially in regards to certain neurological dysfunctions that can be exacerbated by increased stress levels. Are there any recommended books or DVD's that could provide a basis for understanding Qi Gong breathing techniques for medicinal purposes, or is that a useless venture? Can it only be learned through study under a teacher? I feel if you can learn yoga by yourself, you shouldn't have a problem learning this, but like I said I don't have any experience. If anyone has any resources that are worth getting I'd be happy to look into them.
In my experience the basic, gentler exercises can more-or-less be learned solo and in relative safety. You won't get the benefit of correction though. PM me for the title of a good DVD, though I must admit I bought it after working with the teacher guy who produced it, so it's more an aide memoir than a learning tool for me. Anything more esoteric carries potential dangers. Anything from getting form wrong and doing yourself a physical injury to (some would say) mental and emotional problems, right up to and including the full-on head explode*. *The full-on head explode is an exaggeration on my part.
Ah so TCM is acceptable. Unfortunately for me most of the legitimate qigong manuals and videos are in chinese. Just one more reason for me to learn it... but I too would be interested in following this if anyone knows of any good resources.
Anything is acceptable if it delivers what it says it does....often a problem with certain aspects of TCM. Qi Gong is as much about breath control and body "feel" as anything else, but that is no bad thing!
Unfortunately the materials do seem to go from 'follow along to loosen your spine and do some deep breathing' to impenetrable TCM manual pretty quickly. Yang, Jwing-Ming's books can be a good source. I had a few when I was younger, iirc the massage one in particular had a lot of TCM theory stuffs going on. Our 'local' Tibetan Buddhist monastery runs a 6-week Medicinal Qigong course, accredited by some org or other, with lots of lectures (in English) on meridians and elements and the like, with a proper theoretical exam at the end and a practical to pass before you can call yourself, um, a Medical Qigonger, or whatever. It might be worth looking into similar organisations near you to see if they offer anything similar.
Hi Hanzo Chi kung can be very dangerous if you don't know what you are doing and how to do it. In particular martial chi kung, and specifically iron body chi kung. I would not attempt to do anything like that without a proper teacher who knows exactly what he is doing. The most importantly what to do when things start going wrong, and they often do, as mind, body spirit and energy are all connected, and you never know what will jump out of the depths. This does not mean that you should not do chi kung, quite the contrary. But you should first start with chi regulating exercises, and healing exercises. Once your body, mind, energy and spirit are more or less regulated, you can start with chi gathering, storing and directing exercises. Only after you have a good command of all these exercises, and also a good control of yourself, you can start with martial chi kung, if you want. I have over 10 years of chi kung practice. I made some bad mistakes, primarily doing too much too soon, which almost cost me my health, but I was lucky to meet people who were able to fix me using acupuncture and who showed me proper way of doing things. If you are interested to start learning chi kung, let me know and I will point you to some resources. And by the way, I am currently in process of publishing on my blog all the regulating, chi gathering and storing chi kung exercises that I know.
