More about Qi and Dan Tian- Experiencing Qi is an extremely important milestone of our Tai Chi training. However, it is not necessarily something we pursue as martial artists, it just happens to be one of those nice by-products we get with daily practice.
After we started to experience Qi, new sensations became a daily occurrence. We now enjoy holding the ball. Not only do we look forward to doing it, but we want to hold it for longer and longer periods of time. The sensations I listed in the previous article missed a very important one. This one however comes quite late, usually months or even years after Qi is acquired. First we will feel heat from the marrow in our spine and then gradually this sensation will spread all over the body. The feeling is similar, but much more intense then if we were lying in a hot tub immediately after eating a bowl of near boiling, hot and spicy chicken soup. Basically we are being warmed up from both the inside out and the outside in.
This is now beyond martial art training and is moving into the art of health. This is where we near the highest stage of Qi Kong training and the greatest dream of ancient Taoist monks and contemporary Qi Kong practitioners. The next and final stage is to bear the Dan. Dan is Chinese for elixir that makes people immortal. I only heard about the Dan Bearing stage from my teacher, who had heard it from his teacher and his teacher from his teacher. My teacher’s teacher never got there and my teacher is not there yet. I don’t know if it is realistic to think I will ever get there or if it is just another Chinese mystery. Fortunately, we are not supposed to pursue any of these sensations, but rather to be grateful if it comes and content if it doesn’t. For us, it is now the right time to begin Jin and other technique training. If learning the forms is where our interest lies then now is the right time to do so. When our bodies are properly conditioned and start moving like the willow in wind.
Next: What we need to do to acquire Qi. |
