Buddhist Qigong & Body Awareness  

  

Part 1: Movement & Breathing  

Ajahn Kalyano 

 

    

 

 

Table of Contents  

Foreword 3 

Introduction 4 Benefits of Qigong 5 The Healing Breath 6 

Anapanasati Sutta - First Exercise 8 The Long Breath 8 

Standing Exercise 1 9 Standing Exercise 2 9 

Movements 1-3 10 Movement 1 10 Movement 2 12 Movement 3 15 

Anapanasati Sutta - Second Exercise 17 Movement 4 17 

Video 19 

Works Cited 20          

   

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Foreword During the autumn of 2020, Ajahn Kalyano was so kind as to offer qigong lessons to the community living at Lokuttara Vihara in Norway. I had been practicing qigong on my own for a few months, learning it from a book, but as we started with the lessons I was shown yet again the incredible value of having a teacher to guide you along the way. During this period of lessons and occasional discussions the idea arose to gather some of the information and make a publication out of it.   Ajahn Kalyano has been practicing qigong for about 30 years. He was taught qigong in London as part of the training he took in t’ai chi and he used it mainly as a part of his meditation practice. He benefited much from qigong when he injured his back as a junior monk, as it was a gentle form of exercise that he could maintain which helped him increase his body awareness and how to look after his body. It always seemed he had a lot of energy when he did a lot of qigong, and he did not get sick very often.   Even though I have only been practicing for about half a year, I am also experiencing positive effects such as increased stamina and energy levels and an increased awareness of posture and bodily movements, which inspires me to try to share these benefits with others. As qigong is also reported to have potentially positive effects on the immune system and increasing the lung capacity, it is our hope that by creating this paper that we can introduce more people to this interesting practice so that they may increase their resilience in these times of crisis.   May all beings be happy, healthy and well,  The editor       

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Introduction This paper is the first part of a short series on qigong and body awareness. The literal translation of the word qigong is “life energy cultivation”. It is a method of gentle exercise and dynamic meditation which uses bodily movements and postures combined with conscious breathing through which this “life energy” is cultivated. However, the Buddhist understanding of qi or “life energy” is different from the traditional Chinese or Taoist approach.   In the upcoming paper(s) we will go more into the theory and try to get a better understanding of qi and the Buddhist approach towards qigong, and how this practice can be used to deepen our awareness and understanding of the body.   In this first paper we will focus on the practical aspect and are mainly concerned with introducing you to the movements and breathing. We will first have a look at the potential benefits of qigong, followed by instructions on the breathing. Then we introduce you to the movements.  

   

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Benefits of Qigong According to Master Lam Kam Chuen, qigong “builds internal stamina, strengthens immunity, relieves chronic illness, and promotes the natural regeneration of the nervous system.” (1). Qigong practitioners report other benefits such as alleviation of allergies, knee and back pain relief, improvement of chronic illnesses, higher levels of energy and psychological benefits. (Apfel). Moreover, it can help us to keep our full lung capacity open because of the deep breathing, and it also helps to increase circulation which is stimulated by strong attention. With practice, it can become a way to regulate our state of arousal by using the short breath in order to calm down or using the long breath in order to energise ourselves.   In China, qigong is seen as a "standard medical technique" and is sometimes included in the medical curriculum of China’s major universities. (Wengel). Qigong is being applied in hospitals and clinics throughout China, either as a stand-alone treatment for illnesses or in combination with Western and traditional Chinese medicine treatments. However, its application is still based on classical and traditional theory, and modern practitioners indicate that there is a need for a better scientific basis.   Although the history of qigong extends back more than 4000 years, it has not been studied extensively yet. This is because of the fact that it has only been known in the west for a relatively short time, as it only became popular in the 1990’s and was virtually unknown to westerners until the 1970’s. The studies that have been done are often criticized for small sample sizes and questionable research methods, but some effects have been documented. For example, a significant increase of the amount of white blood cells after qigong practice was demonstrated (Lee et. al, Vera et. al). It is also consistently reported to significantly lower blood pressure (Jahnke et. al).          

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The Healing Breath  “Breathing in long, he understands: ‘I breathe in long’; or breathing out long, he understands: ‘I breathe out long.’ Breathing in short, he understands: ‘I breathe in short’; or breathing out short, he understands: ‘I breathe out short.’ He trains thus: ‘I shall breathe in experiencing the whole body of breath’; he trains thus: ‘I shall breathe out experiencing the whole body of breath.’ He trains thus: ‘I shall breathe in tranquillising the bodily formation’; he trains thus: ‘I shall breathe out tranquillising the bodily formation.’ ” - Anapanasati Sutta, MN 118  We will use the “Mindfulness of Breathing” sutta or “Anapanasati Sutta” as a basis for our practice. First of all we experiment with the short breath and the long breath and then we look for an experience of the breath in the whole body as we breathe in and out. The short breath refers to the breathing we do to calm our mind in the sitting or standing posture. The long breath is cultivated in the movements of qigong.          

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The Short Breath 

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Anapanasati Sutta - First Exercise Developing heightened awareness of the long and short breath. 

The Long Breath Every movement exercise is repeated 3 times. When practising the long breath it is important to return to the short breath between each set of three long breaths or qigong movements. When you have made 3 repetitions, return to Standing Exercise 1. Stand for a few moments to calm down the breathing and make it subtle and short again, and then proceed to the next movement.   The long breath should be as slow as possible, slowing down the movements to the pace on the video. With practice it is possible to slow down to about 4 breaths per minute, or roughly 15 seconds per breathing cycle of in- and outbreath.   Until a practitioner can go this slowly it is not advisable to repeat the movements more than three times each or to do the whole set of exercises more than once a day. Otherwise, the practitioner may develop an unhealthy breathing pattern of hyperventilation. Signs of this would be dizziness or tingling or can in extreme cases lead to panic attacks. When you start experiencing these symptoms you should stop the exercise and perhaps try again another day.   Always consult with your doctor before starting an exercise routine if you have heart problems, low blood pressure or other conditions.   

   

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Standing Exercise 1  Stand with the feet shoulder width apart and the knees slightly bent.  Place both hands over the belly and breathe short (shallow) into the belly as when sitting.  Place the tip of your tongue against the roof of the mouth and pull up slightly on the pelvic floor.    

Standing Exercise 2  Starting from Standing Exercise 1, raise your arms in front of you as if you are holding a large ball at chest level.   Relax into this position as much as possible and hold for two minutes.  Increase the time, if you are able, up to five minutes. Then keep standing for a maximum of five minutes for at least a month at least until increasing the length further.   With practice it is possible to stand for up to 30 minutes. 

  

 

 

Movements 1-3  The following instructions contain directions printed in two styles:  There are directions which instruct you how to move your physical body. These are printed in standard text.  There are also directions which instruct you how to direct your awareness. The directions on how to move your awareness are printed in italics.  

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Movement 1 Gentle movement of the spine backwards and forwards.  Look inwardly at the sacrum at the base of the spine at the beginning of the inbreath.      Lean back a little as the chest opens.  Send a wave of movement up the spine as you breathe in.  Follow this movement up the spine to the crown of the head at the end of the in breath.              

 

 

      

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Look inwardly at the tip of the tongue against the roof of the mouth at the beginning of the outbreath.            Feel your way down the front of the chest, melting and softening the chest throughout the outbreath to the belly at the end of the outbreath.        The movement of awareness along with the breathing is the same through movements 2 and 3 below.  

 

 

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Movement 2 Gentle movement of the spine side to side.  Breathe in, transfer your weight to the left foot, turning your waist naturally to the right.       Raise the right hand in front of the body. The right side of the body opens as you breathe in.  Look inwardly at the sacrum at the base of the spine at the beginning of the inbreath.        Follow this movement up the spine to the crown of the head at the end of the inbreath.    Look inwardly at the tip of the tongue against the roof of the mouth at the beginning of the outbreath.          

 

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Keep the hands facing the belly throughout, looking for the connection between the hand and the belly.  Feel your way down the front of the chest, melting and softening the chest throughout the outbreath to the belly at the end of the outbreath.         Return to centre, both hands over the belly.  Repeat to the other side.    

 

 

 

  

   

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Movement 3 Gentle twist of the spine.  Cross your wrists in front of the heart area.  Transfer your weight to the right foot.  Breathing out, step forward with the left foot, push forward with the right hand. Transfer the weight to the left foot.      Twist and reach backward with the left hand.           Breathe in, twisting back to the front. Transfer the weight back to the right foot behind.  Step back and cross hands.  Repeat to the other side.           

 

 

    

 

 

 

 

         

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 Side view, left foot forward             Side view, right foot forward 

 

 

 

Anapanasati Sutta - Second Exercise Developing awareness of the whole body breathing long in and out  

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Movement 4 Spinal extension.  Breathe in, raise both arms in front of you with the wrists relaxed.  Extend your body upward as you breathe in (guided by awareness at the crown) by tilting the pelvis back slightly to straighten the lower curve of the back and consequently also straightening the upper curve.    Draw both hands backward at shoulder level                       

 

    

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Breathe out, press downward towards the feet.  Look inwardly at the tip of the tongue against the roof of the mouth at the beginning of the outbreath.  Holding your awareness at the top of the head, extend your awareness down through your whole body to your feet at the end of the outbreath, so that at the end of the outbreath you have your whole body in mind    Feel your way down the front of the chest, melting and softening the chest throughout the outbreath to the belly at the end of the outbreath.   .   

 

 

Video We have created a video which shows you the movements from the front and side view. Please note that in this video the movements are performed only once. You will repeat each movement three times. Furthermore, the video does not show the required pause between movements.   Remember that after completing three repetitions, you should return to Standing Exercise 1 to calm down the breath and to make it short again. Then you can proceed to the next movement.   The video can be found here: https://youtu.be/Z2Hx8khnZYo   

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Works Cited  Apfel, Sifu Thomas “Why Chi Kung?”. https://chi-kung.org/en/why-chi-kung.html. Accessed 10 February 2020.   Bodhi, Bhikkhu. Translation of the Anapanasati Sutta. https://suttacentral.net/mn118/en/bodhi. Accessed 10 February 2020.   Chuen, Lam Kam. The Way of Energy. Simon & Schuster Inc. November 15, 1991  Jahnke, Roger et al. “A comprehensive review of health benefits of qigong and tai chi.” American journal of health promotion : AJHP vol. 24,6 (2010): e1-e25. doi:10.4278/ajhp.081013-LIT-248 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3085832/ Accessed 10 February 2020.   Lee MS, Huh HJ, Jeong SM, Lee HS, Ryu H, Park JH, Chung HT, Woo WH. “Effects of Qigong on immune cells”. Am J Chin Med. 2003;31(2):327-35. doi: 10.1142/S0192415X03001016. PMID: 12856872. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12856872/#affiliation-1 Accessed 10 February 2020.    Vera FM, Manzaneque JM, Rodríguez FM, Bendayan R, Fernández N, Alonso A. “Acute Effects on the Counts of Innate and Adaptive Immune Response Cells After 1 Month of Taoist Qigong Practice.” Int J Behav Med. 2016 Apr;23(2):198-203. doi: 10.1007/s12529-015-9509-8. PMID: 26370102. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26370102/ Accessed 10 February 2020.   Wengell, Douglas; Nathen Gabriel. Educational Opportunities in Integrative Medicine. The Hunter Press, 2008. p. 34. ISBN 978-0-9776552-4-3.    

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Published in 2021 by:Lokuttara Vihara, Skiptvet, Norway.

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