at the Institute for Internal Transformation
At the IIT, Qigong is seen as a far-reaching topic. Here are the main categories of study that we focus on with our students.
Qigong and Meditation
Once the purification of the previous stage occurs, there's an experience of unification. The energy field is felt as one cohesive piece: if one part moves, the whole moves. Discussions of size become difficult; if we view it as a tiny point, it suddenly becomes infinite, and vice versa. It is infused with positive qualities. The universe is filled with love and support and this container is able to represent that to a lesser or greater degree.Its become a vehicle that can receive and transmit.
Initially, the range of this giving and receiving may be small, perhaps limited to a group of practitioners or the nature in the immediate area. The more one lets go, the more this space embodies the universal qualities, the greater the area of influence. The mind becomes reflective, not acquisitive, and wisdom is born from this reflective quality. The quality, clarity, complexity, and energy of the information received and transmitted depend on the need placed before the practitioner and their skill.
Achieving this stage on one's own is often challenging; a teacher capable of empowerment and transmission can be very helpful in guiding you. Empowerment is a transfer of energetic power, while transmission is more a transfer of information to achieve the desired effect.
During this phase, over time, various universal truths are revealed. Along with personal changes that need to occur to be able to embody this state more fully.
Qigong and the Absolute
As the previous phase deepens, the practitioner learns to rest in the nature of the mind: non-dual, luminous, pure, free, and effortlessly present.
Qigong and Neuro-plasticity
This is a more modern approach to the subject. To act, we often rely on strategies the brain has already learnt. As long as society doesn't reject these strategies, we continue to use them, even if they're highly inefficient or detrimental to our desired outcome. The brain doesn't learn through language, but there is an effective way to communicate with it. In this part of the training, we'll use specific principles to explore and create new strategies to enable use to approach any task in front of us.
Qigong, Tendons, Ligaments, and Fascia
To move without excess effort, skeletal alignment is key. In Qigong practice, we learn to use rotation to engage the tendons and ligaments, which then hold the bone structure. When executed well, there's a sensation of the bones being effortlessly held in place. Momentum flows through the structure without resistance, and the structure itself becomes tensegral in nature, with each component relating to every other. Each part proportionally shares its load, and practitioners experience their joints expanding as the body reaches its maximal length.
Yin and Yang
As the previous stage becomes clearer, two distinct functions of the fascia emerge. Roughly half of the body's fascia begins to draw, pulling towards the bone and then along the bone to the lower belly. The other half, rooted in the lower back, expands from the bone to the skin and projects to the extremities. The first type is often called Yin, and the second, Yang. When balanced, these opposing forces hold the structure and become part of an energetic conveyor belt that travels throughout the body. Understanding this concept will greatly improve the quality of the following phases.
