People are fascinated with chi.
We know we have energy inside us,
and that when we die, we don't
have it anymore.
What is this life energy ?
How do we get more ?
What can you do with more ?
What Is Chi ?
At the atomic level, even the hardest
stuff, like titanium, is empty. Atoms
are comprised of a dense nucleus
with electrons FLYING AROUND
it in orbit. Thus, the nature of an atom is
energy, not stuff (matter). We call this
energy "chi."
The space between is empty.
So when you strike a rod of titanium
against an anvil, the two never actually
touch. Their electrons simply repel each
other before they start to mingle.
The nature of the air we breath is
the same; it is full of energy. The space
in our lungs is empty, which allows us
to inhale. The difference with air is that
we can absorb some of the air's energy
into our body. We convert oxygen to
carbon dioxide and utilize the difference.
This, along with the chi of food, is how
you stay alive.
Cultivating More Chi
Most people live their lives with the requisite
amount of chi. That is, they breathe in and
breathe out, eat food, poop, and walk around
like everyone else. Although it would seem
like athletes develop more energy than most
people, they still do not cultivate real chi.
Chi can only be cultivated and increased
through proper postural & breathing practice.
The problem is that teachers for such practice
are extremely uncommon. While many people
teach Tai Chi and Qi Gong (chi = Qi), very
few of these "masters" know very much about
breathing.
When I debate with the greatest of athletic trainers,
I can easily stump them by asking one simple question:
What kind of breathing training do you teach ?
You see, in the world of western science and
athletics, there is still no such thing as a developed
form of breath training. It just doesn't exist.
But the Taoists have been developing breathing
techniques for 7000 years.
"Diaphragmic Breathing" is absurdly manageable
in comparison to the "Reverse Breathing" of the
Taoists.
As my teacher's father, Fu Wing Fay, said long ago,
"(breathing) has puzzled many a colleague
in tai chi, who after exhausting their life energy,
still failed to appreciate its profound principal."
If you would like to begin developing chi for
yourself, I invite you to learn and practice this
very powerful Fu Style Qi Gong (energy practice):
http://www.forgetfitness.com/2010/01/greatest-exercise-in-world.html
What Can You Do With More Chi ?
In 1905, a Swiss inventor named Alfred Buchi
invented the turbo-charger. A "turbo" is a gas
compressor used to increase the density of air
entering an engine to create more power.
With "Taoist Breathing," the human body is just
like a turbo. Proper posture allows for a greater
"emptiness" inside the chest cavity. More air
can be pulled into the lungs than with "regular"
breathing. Upon exhalation, Taoist Breathing
condenses the inhaled oxygen and sends it down
into the Dan Tien--
a analogical organ of the lower abdomen. The
Taoists use the Dan Tien as a storage battery for
the condensed breath energy.
Cultivation and storage of chi allows the practitioner
to expend this high-power energy for endurance,
greater control of the body or explosive power.
Those who possess chi also possess the finest health,
the coolest demeanor, exuberant vitality and many
other abilities of human greatness.
I like video, because it shows a real person in action.
The following video is a seventy-something year
old woman named Master Bow Sim Mark.
Master Mark has chi. If you know of any 70+
person who can do the kinds of things she can,
please leave me a comment.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QeVuFUI132o