How to get chi energy?

Answer 1

Yes you do. Some skeptics believe that chi is a myth.

Some believe that it is real because numerous scientists were proven wrong in testing to see if chi is real or not. Chi isn't like a religion because chi is physically proven whereas religion is proven spiritually. So for all of you who don't believe it is real, try it for yourselves sincerely and passionately then we will see what your opinion is.

Answer 2

All together, it has been estimated that in China, there are over 100,000 schools of Chi Kung, and well over 1 million methods of gathering Chi. Methods range from the esoteric, namely taking up a monastic lifestyle in a Daoist mountain and meditating all day, to the just plain strange, such as massaging your body so much, and slapping yourself, chi gathers of its own accord. The method that is considered universal though, and probably the only reliable method, in the Zhang Zhuang posture.

http://ejmas.com/pt/ptart_Jones_0601.htm

This man is showing the correct way to hold it, and the way most universally accepted in China as the correct "orthodox" way. This posture, is fundamental to all internal Martial Arts, the same way the horse stance is fundamental to all external ones. In China the schools of martial arts are broadly divided into two; you have the external schools, who seek to achieve spiritual perfection through the harsh training of the body, overall and complete conditioning, with meditation done "on the side." Shaolin Kung Fu, Karate, Judo, Aikido, the various species of Wrestling, Western Boxing even, could all be classified as "external" martial arts. The internal schools seeks spiritual perfection through meditation, with physical training done "on the side." Physicality within the forms themselves is not emphasized, what IS emphasized, is focus. That is why the forms in the variouis styles of Tai Chi, for the most part, move slowly, while in other internal schools, postures may be held for long seconds before transitioning to the next set of movements, or posture. Of the two branches, everything is a trade off. Here's what I mean;

1) The external schools you master faster, but in the long term, because the external schools emphasize the physical side of things, your skill is subject to deterioration with age, regardless of how hard you practice in your youth. Even Shaolin Kung Fu is subject to deterioration; even though Shaolin does posses chi kung training, it is not emphasized completely, and the internal schools hold that the only way to offset the ravages of age, is by devoting oneself completely to the gathering of chi. However.....(always a catch with everything in life isn't there?)

2) Even though for the long term, the internal styles are in fact more powerful than the external ones, to use them competently, requires many, many years of arduous meditation training. Shaolin Kung Fu, if you are not a monk, is such a well made martial art that within only 3 years of hard, dedicated training, every day, 4 hours a day, one hour dedicated to meditation, you can use it competently to defend yourself. Assuming you are young enough, and fit enough, you can begin to use it to defend yourself and others, with only 3 years of training. Althought he recommended training time is 10 years if you live in the temple, 20 if you train outside of it and can't dedicate your whole life to Kung Fu. Regarding internal martial arts, to use them to the fullest extent of their power, the "magic" you can do with Chi, you are looking at 20 to 30 years of hard training. Yang Lu Chan, the respected founder of the Yang style of Tai Chi, did not become an accomplished, "invinsible" martial artist until his 60's. Prior to that, he could not competently use Tai Chi without first receiving 20 years of training. Yang did not become known as "Yang Wudi" until he was approaching his 40's, whereas in the Shaolin temple, men who gained the reputation as good masters, where often much younger. See that is the trade off; a true master of the internal styles, just one of them, IS indeed "undefeatable," however it takes forever to get there, because the human ego, is stubborn. Daoist philosophy, spiritual philosophy holds that chi can only circulate at its very best, when the ego is destroyed. If there is even a HINT of pride anywhere in your mind, it will disrupt the flow of chi, and the gathering of it. Daoist philosophy holds, that chi is everywhere, it is the fundamental energy field of the universe, that holds everything together. It is neither mystical nor physical, just the fundamental building block of all existence, everything that exists in the universe is "built" with chi. However although not mystical, like water, it is a sort of conduit between the physical, material world, and the spirit world. Moreover, a human being possesses the capacity, with enough training, to refine chi into "shen," or divine power. If chi flows everywhere, and it is the fundamental essence of life itself, why do so many people die of old age? Daoist philosophy holds, that the answer is, selfishness. The more selfish you are, the more malicious you are, the faster you age, and this is universal across all races. If east Asian, black, Indian and the mestizo peoples of Latin America generally age better than most Europeans, specially Europeans from the Germanic countries, it has to do with the fact, that they are not malicious folks. You take a German descended American, a "typical" one, and you take a person from India, both aged 40, and, odds are, the man from India will look much younger, and in better condition, despite poverty, than the man from the U.S. By the standards of other countries, many people in the U.S., Germany, the Scandinavian countries and Britain in their 30's, look closer to 60. The way Daoist philosophers would explain this difference in appearance despite the same chronological age, is the fact that the peoples of the Anglo/germanic sphere, are selfish, malicious folks. Selfish, malicious, and arrogant, mind. Why does it seem that some women, seem to defy age, yet they have never gone under the knife? The reason that is, is because being the most powerful force in the universe, the essence of heaven itself, of life itself, of the two genders, women posses a greater capacity for love. If a woman engages in meditation, and channels love the right way, she will remain in good condition, and beautiful, even as old as 60. However if she is malicious and selfish she will start to age well before her time. It all has to do with the contents of the mind; selfishness, cuts the body off from the flow of chi that is in fact, everywhere. For chi to flow freely through, and into the body, for the body to be able to gather nourishment from the chi that in fact exists everywhere in the universe, and for the body to unclog its own chi blockages, a person has to let go of all selfishness and pride, and this is achieved through seeking to "empty the mind" in meditation. Feel nothing, see nothing, hear nothing, be aware of everything; that is the fundamental teaching of Daoist meditation training. If the body and mind, can be visualized to become a complete void, empty, then there will be room in it, to be filled by the love of heaven, what Buddhist's call "turn your soul into heaven's mirror." A mirror, is in fact empty, there is nothing in there, but because it is empty, there is no limit to the amount of light it can receive. The block, is not in fact that its impossible, it is the fact that the human ego, is stubborn, despite our best efforts, the mind desperately clings and clings to this world. Most Daoist masters, and internal martial artists do not achieve high skill until old age, because, by that time, when a man or woman grows tired of living, it is easier to let everything go. However a young man or woman, or even a middle aged adult who feels there is much left to accomplish or do, they will have considerably more trouble. Also the more a person dwells on mastery, the further and further away mastery of martial arts becomes, because dwelling on it, obsessing over it, feeds egotistical pride, thus, obsessive training, obsessive practice, for the end of feeding the ego, in fact further separates a would be martial arts master from the goal of total mastery. A teacher is required, because a teacher, aside from their job of correcting your form, they also have a job of keeping their student's egotism in check.

3) The Zhang Zhuang posture, and the many variations of it, are all refered to collectively as "nei kung," translated it means "internal work." In Daoism there are two methods of dealing with chi, gathering and circulating it; the method used by beginers, emphasized by beginers, is Chi Kung which, translated it means "energy work" or "chi work." Chi Kung, primarily serves to circulate the chi, and unclog any blockages, and, usually it must be paired with "lotus" meditation, that is actively meditating to "empty the mind" because doing chi kung full of egotism accomplishes nothing. Its not dangerous, its just a sad waste of time. If you have a mind full of arrogant pride, and competitiveness for the sake of ego inflation, and you practice chi kung, nothing will happen. You'll be getting a great mild aerobic workout, but no chi will circulate. The Zhang Zhuan posture, and its variations within the world of Nei Kung, circulates and gathers. In other words, Chi Kung serves to circulate the chi you've already got, which is in fact considered an important first step, while Nei Kung, is what you use to gather more. In the begining you do both, but you emphasize chi kung more time wise. Consider the following analogy; say you have a country, with vast river systems, however the rivers are so shallow, its very easy to wade across them, you are barely up to your ankles in water. Potentially the rivers can hold much more water, but they can't, because there are blockages all over the place. If you want to get more water to flow through the rivers, what is the first thing you need to do? Common sense dictates, you need to get the workers to clear whatever stones, mud, debrix, fallen logs whatever, are blocking the water flow. So, all the river systems in a country are completely uncloged, and even though still shallow, the water is flowing more vigorously now. However you still can't use it for irrigation for farming, so, what do you do? You connect the rivers to a lake (the Dantian), a lake, that actively receives water from rainfall. Before the lake is connected to the rivers, before the gathered water is allowed to flow, you must first remove the blockages of the river system. There are three ways to do it; intense Chi Kung Training, Massage, and the fastest way, accupuncture, visiting a Chinese doctor.

In the end though, Nei Kung, Chi Kung, and "cross legged" meditation all have to go together, of those three things, it is Nei Kung which gathers chi. Another method is something called "marrow washing." While doing "cross legged" meditation, you visualize chi being syphoned up, "sucked in" if you will, by your bones. The reason chi is gathered in the bones, according to some Daoist schools, is because from the marrow, it travels to other body systems, and it facilitates the unclogging of chi meridians. This view has been held in China, since ancient times, and modern day science has confirmed, if the bone marrow is damaged in any way, the rest of the body suffers. For one thing the marrow is where red blood cells are made I believe, and those cells are important for oxygenating body tissues to keep everything working. Moreover one of the most lethal forms of cancer is bone marrow cancer; it is widely feared by parents across the western world, because many people who undergo treatment for it, may not survive.

All the same, before gathering chi, you have to look into that "mind emptyness" stuff. If you try to do it, without first emptying your mind, you are only doing aerobics if you do Tai Chi or Chi Kung, or "striking a pose" if you do the Zhang Zhuan posture. Some people are naturally more humble than others, that is why in the western world, whether people "feel" chi or not, tends to vary. Some people swear they feel it, in that they body warms up, others think its nonsense, and although they may do Tai Chi Chuan for many years they get nowhere with their practice. Even if you are naturally humble though, there is room for improvement; according to Daoist spiritual philosophy, you do not become TRULY humble, unless you have become an immortal. Regarding the whole issue of "immortality," don't worry about growing old, and watching friends die like in "Highlander;" if you do achieve such a "legendary" state, and if the stories are all true, from the stuff I have read, whoever it is rules heaven, will inform you that your place is no longer on earth. They won't force you, hold a "gun" to your head and tell you "you have to ascend," but they will warn you that once you have reached spiritual perfection there is no point in continuing to exist in such a sad and corrupt world. Also, here's the kicker; you can't engage in meditation to try to escape from things either. Sorry; you can't have an escapist mentality, the need to escape is rooted in ego, and it means you have not let go of inner demons. You can't do Daoist meditation just because you don't like this planet, if you meditate with that in mind, it just won't work.

Good luck with your practice.

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Answer 3

The best place to get it, is atop a densely forested mountain. No, a jungle won't work, because the air is humid, and it may even be tepid. Ancient Chinese believed that heaven was literally up in the sky, and that mountains were closer to heaven, therefore, the chi on top of a mountain was the best for meditation. Of course later on in ancient China, scholars climbed the mountains and said, there was no heaven there; in the same way the Greeks "scientifically proved" that the "gods" were not atop mount olympus, Chinese scholars did the same BUT.

What was allegedly discovered by Chinese mystics, was that the chi on some mountains was ESPECIALLY strong. There is strong chi anywhere there are trees, its part of the reason why people do Tai Chi Chuan in parks, it is believed places with trees are the best. Daoist mystics who allegedly acquired a sensitivity for chi, who were able to "feel its flow" and all that, often wondered around from mountain to mountain, and "discovered," that not all mountains were created equal. Some, had normal levels of chi as a forested area would have, however in others, the levels were really high.

In China, the location of the Shaolin temple was not randomly chosen; the founder of the monastery, I forgot his name, had acquired a sensitivity for Chi, and he chose the sight of the temple because of its especially strong chi. In China there are seven sacred mountains, Wudang, is the place where chi flows at its strongest. Chi energy, is everywhere, and the body gathers it from air, the fluids we drink including water, basically anything that can feed the body has chi however, not all kinds of chi is good for the body as common sense would dictate. Chinese mystics would hold that even noxious chemicals have chi in it; again its everywhere.

The chi you want though is not the chi that sustains the universe, mundane material things, but chi that sustains life. The strongest, by far the strongest, is chi generated by trees that grow in sacred places. The best chi to acquire, or rather, the most readily and constantly available source of chi is the air itself. The reason the chi kung movements appear so strange, has nothing to do with people wanting to do a dance, or to "look silly," or any such things, the movements of Chi Kung are what they are because moving the body a certain way causes the body to absorb the chi from the air differently, and to circulate it differently.

For instance, some exercises of chi kung, are designed specifically for the muscles and internal organs. Other methods of chi kung believe it or not, are designed to improve intelligence; there are all kinds of breathing methods. Again the way one moves the arms and the legs, has a direct impact on the way one breathes, the reason chi kung does not have vigorous movement, is rooted in the fact that the body needs time to "absorb" the air. How can I put this? If you are huffing and puffing doing Karate for example, yes, you are getting fresh air, if you happen to be doing it outdoors, yes, said fresh air is circulating through your system, or at least the oxygen and nitrogen in it, and the "other side" of the air, the immaterial part, the chi.

Here's the kicker though; you are moving so vigorously, your mind, barely has time enough to relax and concentrate, and you will absorb, maybe, MAYBE, 5% of the chi, and the air you breathe in. If you breathe deeply, and move slowly, you absorb more of the beneficial aspects of the air, chi included. You can also absorb chi, simply by sitting down and breathing deeply, preferably on the floor, in the lotus position. Lotus position meditation, gives you a chance to concentrate more fully, see, body motion, can be distracting.

In Chi Kung, the body is moving slowly enough, to allow the mind to concentrate, and for the air to be absorbed, but "too fast" for the mind to concentrate 100%. The only way the mind can be 100% where it needs to be is if you sit perfectly still, if your body lacks flexibility, it is extremely difficult to do. Chi is absorbed, with every breath you take, from what I read about the Daoist arts, it is absorbed, all the time, even by your skin. Now, what makes things like chi kung or Tai Chi significant, are the facts that while you engage in those exercises again, because you are moving slowly, the movement, creates a slightly higher demand for air, but not so high, there is strain. That higher demand for air, but lower strain on the body, makes it so that more tissues receive oxygen, nitrogen and yes chi. Again if you move quickly, and vigorously, oxygen is absorbed just to keep moving, and prevent damage, however, no real oxygenation takes place. For maximum tissue oxygenation, the body needs to move slowly, that is, fast enough to create a demand for deep breathing, but not so fast, the mind looses focus. Over time, the body absorbs so much chi from the air, as Chinese mystics state, the person's chi becomes enormously strong, so strong for example that, where a Shaolin monk needs to concentrate, and for a long period, to direct chi to a part of their body so that said part of their body will resist damage, a Wudang master, on the other hand, their whole entire body is "resistant," and they don't need to concentrate.

I know this is a boring answer but, you acquire chi simply from deep breathing. The sun is a source of chi also, believe it or not, and a powerful one, and there is a technique in Shaolin known as the "dragon claw" that involves the use of the sun, however the technique is believed to be a myth. My facts are sketchy, but, I believe the exercise involves a person, holding a claw hand, and literally, mentally, attempting to "grasp" the sun. That is you point your "claw hand" at the sun, concentrating intensely on it, feeling the sun's chi flow into your body, and, over time, the chi from that position becomes so powerful supposedly, you can "claw" someone from far away. Personally though don't believe a word of it; main reason, aside from the fact that looking at the late morning sun is extremely dangerous, there is really no point. If a person does any kind of Chi Kung, post standing (Zhang Zhuang), and Tai Chi work for a long enough time, and they keep a humble enough mind, the acquisition of martial arts techniques of any sort, becomes a pointless endeavor. See therein lies the paradox of Kung Fu; you train hard in it, so that you never have to practice ever again. Kung Fu's purpose, is primarilty a pragmatic one; for centuries the people of China have been victims of crime, and corrupt authorities, so they had to rely on themselves for protection. Poor Chinese, could not call the cops, or get a lawyer, if they were assaulted by a brigand or a thief they had better know Kung Fu, or hope that someone who knew Kung Fu and knew it well was around.

Here's the deal; many Chinese believe, people have a right to seek the higher spiritual things, to seek heaven itself. Its going to be a bit difficult to reach heaven, if some thug puts a dagger in your gut don't you think? Kung Fu was taught, to give people a chance at life, a chance to meditate and better themselves, and in time, the martial arts and spiritual pursuit became intertwined, at least, in Kung Fu schools outside the Shaolin temple, the idea of Kung Fu making one more spiritual started with Bodhidharma himself, its inventor. Again, the paradox is, that because Kung Fu requires one do janitorial work, to learn humility, and because the arduous labor exposes a person to their weakness, and their limits as a human being, the paradox is, one does all that training, until the ego is crushed, when the ego is TRULY crushed, destroyed actually, the body's chi flows freely, and from the air, it is absorbed freely, without the need to do Tai Chi, or Chi Kung, whatever.

As all things influenced by Daoism, Kung Fu is full of paradoxes, paradoxes such as "in order to speed up, you must learn to slow down." If you want lightning hands, you need to learn to relax them first; this is a principle of Wing Chung. That is why it is said "in order to speed up, you must learn to slow down." The more relaxed you are, the more efficiently your body works, if you become totally relaxed then faster hand speed is possible. Its not unique to Kung Fu either; boxers of the 1950's, who didn't know anything about Kung Fu, taught that to their fighters. When you spar in boxing one of the first things a coach yells at you for, is not being relaxed enough, if you're tense, they'll yell at you. Another paradox, is that you train hard learning how to hurt people, so that you never have to do it. Let me explain that one; you know how in boxing, the really good fighters can look at someone head to foot, size them up, and be able to tell they can fight? Normally, on boxers, or people who are seasoned in combat sports, veterans of combat sports can just look at somebody and, well, see either real skill there, or potential even. Some people have better "eyes" for that than others, and, this what that has to do with Kung Fu; it is possible for a person to become so skillful, the do not need to be "sized up," ANYBODY, can tell they can fight. They "glow" in a way, that intimidates attackers, or would be attackers. A master of martial arts does not need to glare at someone to intimidate them, to a person with hostile intent, their pressence alone is intimidating. A person with no hostile intent though, won't be intimidated.

Training in martial arts for many years, and combining that with meditation, is believed to have an effect on the soul that given enough time, a person will acquire such an intensity in focus, their very "soul" is put into everything they do. See, human though, and the flow of chi, and the spirit itself, in Chinese mysticism, it is all believed to be connected. ANYTHING that requires focus, affects the soul, the reason many actors, and some actresses are charismatic, why they have a magnetic pressence both onscreen, and off, has to do with the fact that acting requires focus. Some actors can focus with such intensity, they develop, Chinese mystics would say, "powerful spirits." Part of the reason people are drawn to movies, is because people want to be in the pressence of the effects of a powerful spirit. Obviously, a camera can not capture the spirit BUT, it can capture the perfection, the focus, that results from a spirit that has been highly polished part of the reason theater is considered superior to movies, is because the theater going audience "feels" the magnetism of the actors where with movies, all you see is filmed acting, however the stage pressence, the charisma, it just isn't there, okay its seen, a focused actor's skill is evident, but, its not the same as seeing them in person. Part of the reason classical Hollywood, "golden age" Hollywood of the 40's and 50's, is considered superior, is because that generation of adults, their minds were less prone to distraction, additionally because life was harder for many of them, in addition to focus, their spirits had tremendous strength, which they lent to their acting, creating a significantly more powerful screen magnetism than what you would see of modern actors. To achieve the kind of focus, the audience is left transfixed if you stage act, or awed, if you are a film actor is something every actor aims for. That is the kind of acting, that wins Oscars.

Sorry for the length and for getting off topic, but, the point is, if it requires focus, if there is mental activity involved, odds are the chi is being "directed." The only thing that makes chi kung different, as well as Chinese Kung Fu is that one is taught to CONSCIOUSLY try hard, to "feel" the chi BEING directed. The best way to "get" chi, is to stretch really hard until, someday, hopefully quickly, you become as flexible as a female gymnast (sans the backbending that's dangerous), and, while you stretch, you engage in deep breathing, concentrating in the area of the Dantian. Post standing is also helpful; although it looks like a simple "tree hugging" exercise, do not be fooled, it is in fact considered a very powerful method of both gathering and circulating chi, legend has it, that post standing was the method used by the Daoist immortals to attain their immortality. I know it sounds silly, but its true; Chinese mysticism holds that if you train yourself to hold that posture for hours, without strain, without pain, your arms held up solely by your chi, and ONLY by your chi, not muscular strength, in time, the chi flow becomes incredibly potent, you begin to absorb more and more from the air, additionally, your Tai Chi Chuan, gradually becomes cleaner and smoother, and the chi flows more vigorously. If combined with chi kung, given more time it becomes refined into "shen chi," or "divine energy."

To get off the "grandiose talk" soapbox; it all begins with stretching. No joke, proper breathing is very important, but even more important is the ability to relax, which is affected by whether or not you are flexible or not.

Answer 4

A comprehensive stretching program, combined with the use of the Zhan Zhuang posture. The Zhan Zhuang posture looks like silly tree hugging but many people who have done it for a length of time swear it works. In China the posture is known as "the posture that heals all ills."

Answer 5

You stretch, relax, breathe deep, and don't take yourself seriously (destroy the ego), additionally you "empty the mind."