How can you sense the Qi or chi in your body and how to become adept at it and have Qi control?

Answer 1

You have to be a calm person, and very flexible. The control of Qi energy is something that just happens on its own if a person trains hard enough for long enough. Flexibility, is of vital importance, as lack of it interferes with the Qi flow. Its also spelled "Chi" but lets use your spelling. Qi flows best when the body is flexible, any Qi related work from various forms of Nei Kung, to Chi Kung, to Tai Chi Chuan among other internal martial arts, anyway any Qi related work works best if its combined with stretching. Different people begin at different levels, and I'm not going to sugar coat the truth, working with Qi exclusively is extremely arduous work. Working with the body's vital energy, because you are dealing with something that sustains your life, the feel of it circulating can be overwhelming. Then there is also the issue of exhaustion due to holding a position for a really long time.

Although there is a "minimum requirement" of 20 minutes, the truth is, the recommended amount of time you want to do Nei Kung is a solid hour. However you need to build up to it, and its not easy. Daoist hermits, spend literally the entire day holding the Zhan Zhuang posture, stretching, eating, and chopping for firewood. If Daoist hermits wear strange outfits, it is because modern clothes are not fit for hermit life, they tear up to easily. Among poor Chinese, most of the clothing they make for themselves is designed to last, hence it does not tear easily and some articles of clothing are even family heirlooms. In days past, peasant Chinese have worn clothing that may have been 100 years old or more, that is how strong the material was.

Its good to take into account such stories, because it is a reminder of how weak you are; I myself I would not be strong enough to live like a poor Chinese, and be happy. I have always admired their strength, how they are able to find contentment in such a simple yet hard life. My own personal "high goal" in meditation, is to make my mind strong enough to live in that kind of poverty, while still staying healthy, and happy. According to Lao Tzu, these are the characteristics of an accomplished meditator;

1) Adaptable, like water; "water ever changes its shape according to its vessel, and it stays in places loathed by all men." What this means is, in the same way water never changes its essence, even if its in, say, a sewer, a sage is able to live, and be content ANYWHERE. They are mentally so strong, it is impossible for them to get depressed, to be mentally affected by their surroundings. A sage feels no different in a Beverly Hills mantion, than they would in a hovel. By all standards that is a supreme mental accomplishment.

2) A sage posesses true wisdom.

3) They acquire a quiet nature; in China, even by the standards of Chinese culture, people engaged in Daoist meditation for a long time are so quiet foreigners often mistake them for mutes. They are not mute; their egos are just so small, they rarely speak. Of course, the opposite extreme is also true; silence, may also be a sign of supreme arrogance. You ever watch "Vampire Hunter D?" One of the characters said there are two types of quiet men in the world, namely, men too busy planning something evil to have much time to speak, and men who feel speaking should not be done unless there's something worth saying. The goal of Daoist meditation is to be the second type. Talking too much is a sign of a large ego, but not an overlarge one, however it is also a sign of inbalance. :-) Balanced people don't talk much, unbalanced people talk a lot.

4) They are charismatic, like royalty, but where royalty have to be trained for their poise, much of the charisma from royalty comes from their mental focus. What I mean by that is, believe it or not charisma and magnetism, is something that can be acquired, the Chinese believe that anything require intensive focus, in fact directs the chi, and even the spirit. Royalty is trained to eat a certain way, to carry themselves a certain way, and because they must always be mindful of every single action, to maintain "proper carriage" demands focus. Years and years of doing that, over time, make the person charismatic. You combine that with supreme self-confidence due to lineage, and, even though they may be arrogant, and not necessarily likeable people, even an unpleasant royal has charisma and magnetism. Lao Tzu says in his Tao Te Ching, that for a Daoist sage, proper carriage and charisma come naturally, due to the power of heaven flowing through them.

5) They literally glow with good health; no skin blemishes anywhere, not nasty wrinkles, no loss of skin color, no eyebags, some have even been known to regrow teeth beneath nasty ones, another gift of extensive meditation is perfect dentation. In fact, its flawless. Absolute perfect health.

6) Here delving into myth, Daoist sages are also invulnerable. You can not kill them; true Daoist immortals, as the name implies, can not be killed, their chi is much too potent. Now, experienced meditators may not have invulnerability, but, they may posses higher than normal coordination, tremendous physical strength, all of which are borderline "comic book character" levels. Part of the reason superhero comics are not popular in China, or elsewhere in East Asia, is rooted in the fact that the Buddhas and Immortals of their religion are in fact far more powerful, plus, in their culture "natural ability" matters less. The Chinese recognize natural talent, but, to most of them, natural talent is not the have all, end all, and be all of acquiring a high degree of skill to them, practice and hard work are more important. In the western world, by and large if you have no talents you're worthless; and don't try to improve yourself because its not possible. You either have ability, or you don't, but no, sorry, you can't better yourself. There is very little compassion in western culture towards those who do not serve the selfish convenience of others; with many it may not even be there. Lack of compassion paired with extreme arrogance, is not a good combination; its why people hate you (westerners). In the end though, increasingly east Asian society is becoming the same way; places like Hong Kong and Tokyo, are especially hellish.

7) Finally, "natural morality." A Daoist sage follows "high morals" on instinct, not fear of punishment from a deity, or fear of Karmic consequences. In short all morality comes from the heart, and a truly purified soul, will be naturally compassionate and good.

Chi circulation, only happens when a person has acquired those 7 characteristics, the most important ones being mental. Also, you can't get away with being like a hypocritical Christian here, claiming to believe something you really don't and be a total and obvious fraud; You need to meet the health and calm requirements, to see that you are truly growing spiritually. If you glow with good health, then you are making progress, if you don't, then you have made no progress at all. If you are particularly messed up emotionally, some of the changes that take place, can be painful. Myself I tearfully apologized to a woman, I have been hurting for a long time; time will tell if she has forgiven me but, I credit in part Daoist meditation, not just a threat to my survival. However glowing good health still elludes me.

And what is "glowing good health?" The body of an 18 year old minus the acne; if you can achieve that, congratulations, your spirit is being purified. Extensive work with Chi, assuming you are under the age of 60, will give you the body of an 18 year old minus the acne, I'm assuming you were a physically fit 18 year old. If you were, you will get that body back, without supplements, and without even, trips to the gym. Of course stretching is so very, very important.

I myself do not know how to circulate it; I am just regurgitating to you, the stuff I've read. It may seem silly, but it makes perfect sense; how many overweight religious fanatics do you know? How many ultra religious types have you met who pray or chant all day and yet "glowing health" is not exactly your picture of them? Although some of the religion is messed up, and I only subscribe to the "Shangdi" sect of Daoism, if I had to subscribe to any of them, they do make a good point; if a person has truly purified their soul, then they should glow with good health, vigor, and youthfulness, they should not be aged, and decrepid, and overweight. You ever notice how the nicest people, with them, time does not seem to affect them? Cruel people on the other hand, do not age well. Well not just cruel but also poor souls deteriorated by sadness. Consider how unhealthy the extremely poor are, or those people, not happy and satisfied with life. The Daoists, make a good and valid point; if you have truly grown spiritually, it should show on your body, there should be physical proof. Again, people of the Abrahamic faiths, I have seen much chanting and many claims, but only among the most sincere among them have I seen good health.

The Christians I've met who chant "Jesus! Jesus! Jesus! Jesus!" all the time, who say "Jesus!" so much, almost as if they are trying to convince themselves to believe something they really don't, very rarely, actually, never have I met one who is actually healthy. By the other end of the spectrum however, sincere Christians, the really kind hearted ones seem to almost glow. I have never felt comfortable with people who say "Allah" or "Jesus" a lot.

Ultimately though now I'm just rambling; I hope this was all helpful and remember the "tests." By "test" I mean, don't convince yourself you have made progress, you have to actually see it, to know it. Believe it or not, according to Lao Tzu, even spiritual pursuits need to yield visible results, even the seeking of spiritual fulfilment, needs to meet with scientific scrutiny, and according to Daoist philosophy and religion, both are in agreement that a person of true spiritual accomplishment, glows with good health, and they age gracefully too. At 50, they look 30, at 60, they look 40, at 80, they look 50, at 90, they look 60, and 120, assuming they have not in fact truly achieved immortality, at 120 they look 70, and die peacefully. That is, a "physically fit old person" 70. That is the ultimate achievement, of Daoist meditation.