Original Chi & Acquired Chi Explained

In the book of Genesis which is the first book in the Bible, it was written that God created man from the dust of the earth in his likeness. I do not know how a figurine made of earth can breathe and move. Lets take some earth and mould it into a shape of man and see whether it can breathe and move. We all know that it definitely wouldn't be able to. God must had done something! What did God do? God introduced his breath into man whence he started to breath and absorbed air from the atmosphere, thus the intake of chi. The breath of God introduced into the first man was the original chi and the air he breathed in was called acquired chi.

According to Chinese folklores, some said it was Pangu who created man and some said it was NuWa. The folktale originated from Hebei was the most acceptable from the rest. It recognised Pangu as the creator of man. Pangu created man in 1 (one) day and impregnated yin and yang into it. Yin cannot operate by itself but must be combined with yang to revolve to start an action. Thus the man being created started to breath and the intake of moving chi from the atmosphere began. The Hebrews called God by the name of Yehyuhwa. Human beings originated from the same source. NuWa and Yehyuhwa sounds quite alike. Is the God of the Hebrews and that of the Chinese the same? So far no reference can be found so let's forget it and leave it to our imagination.

The original chi of a baby starts to develop when the mother is pregnant. Upon being born, the baby after being hit on the buttock gives out a cry and starts to absorb chi from the atmosphere. The original chi and the absorbed chi acquired combine to start the engine within the baby. Thus enters a new living being into the world community.

Every moment human beings are breathing but the breathing is shallow. If we improve our breathing method to cultivate and develop it further with deeper breathing, our bodies will be stronger and healthier. In so doing we are practising chi kung. How about getting yourself started to reap the benefits of practising. It is not for the benefit of others but yourself. The decision is yours.

Chi kung and yoga for a healthy body and mind

As I sit gazing idly at the computer screen thinking of following problems:

(a) setting of an authentication rule

(b) pasting of code to my web page to begin using Google Analytics

a thought comes to my mind.

To some people because of religion consider chi kung and yoga as innovations that cannot be touched even though they are sick. I am puzzled over it. Chi kung and yoga are known to strengthen the body's immune system to combat illnesses. The practice of them can check, prevent, rectify to certain degree and in instances total cure happens. Yes, consulting a medical practitioner is a must but the taking of the prescribed medicine complement with practise of certain chi kung or yoga exercises would'nt it be better.

The creator gives us a body and we have the responsibilty to take care of it. When the forefather of man disobeyed him, we are destined to bear the consequence of facing hardship during our life span on earth. Tell me who on earth does not face hardship. If we do not have a strong body with sound mind, can we walk the destined path on this earth? Please take a moment to think about that!

Even though the ancient venues where chi kung and yoga were taught and the practitioners might be related to a certain religion, it does not mean that chi kung and yoga are related to that religion. As long as when we are practising, we are conscious of ourselves and our minds are concentrating on our bodies, there is no way for a spiritual force to enter our body.

It is known that when developing and circulating of chi wrongly, a person may go bersek. It is the chi that is giving the problem and nothing else. It is advisable that when practising, the calmness of the mind and the relaxation of the body is very important.

It is my hope that this article will not offend anybody in any way and my humble apology if it does.

Chi Kung

When this word is mentioned, the first thought that comes to the mind of readers is Chinese. Yes, no doubt, it is Chinese orientated and it has been practised in the Middle Kingdom ie China for countless centuries. The ancient Chinese discovered how to practise it through accidents and later try and error methods evolved. Soon various methods were invented and systems of chi kung soon followed.

It has been mentioned in many Chinese medical books and notably "The Yellow Emperor's Classic of Internal Medicine". The two great philosophers Lao Zi and Confucius were great chi kung masters. They passed their knowledge to their disciples. The five animals chi kung which was created from movements of the bear, the tiger, the bird, the deer and the ape originated from the famous physician Hua Tuo. Da Mo (Bodhidarma) the founder of Zen Buddhism noticed that the monks at Shaolin Temple were frail and weak. Some dozed off during lesson time. He taught them a set of 18 exercises to strengthen their bodies. Thus evolved Da Mo's Muscle and Tendon changing classics.

There may exist some form of chi practice in other parts of the world besides China in ancient times that a few inhibitants then were doing. But the funny thing is that no major record of that exists. The Mongols, Trojans, Greeks, Persians, Romans, Turks, Cossacks, etc were great warriors at one time or another and surely amongst them some of their famous fighters maybe practising chi in a certain way.

At the present moment there are thousands of chi kung styles. Millions of people all over the world practise it. It is being practised widely in China. Everyday there are new members entering the chi kung community.

During the execution of the exercises, body movements and breathing are involved. Some exercises are passive and are being done laying down, sitting or standing without any bodily movements. The most popular ones are done with bodily movements.

Chi kung has been encouraged to be practised to enhance health, strengthen the body, prevent illnesses, cure various sicknesses, relaxation of body and mind, etc.

Yoga

Yoga has its origin in India. It was widely practised during the Vedic period (about 1900 to 600 BC). The codification of all yoga literature was done by Patanjali.

There are many schools of yoga. The most famous great yoga systems are Hatha Yoga, Raja Yoga, Kundalini Yoga and Mantra Yoga. Besides these four systems, there are various others.

In ancient times ascetics left their homes and wandered to distant places especially in the Himalaya area where they lived alone as hermits or holy men to practise yoga in the hope of liberating themselves from the attachments of the body, mind and soul. After many many years of hard work, some achieved results of various degree and possessed superhuman or occult powers. They were called Yogis and could lie on beds of nails, remain buried underground, withstood very cold weather conditions, etc.

Yoga can help the practitioners to reduce or maybe eradicate stress resulted from modern day life styles. The constant practise of its physical exercises which are called asanas with the combination of breathing exercises called pranayamas will benefit a person in the long run. It not only relaxes one physically but also mentally.

With the advancement in these modern times, the practice of yoga and the objective in learning it are very much different from that of previous years. Commercialisation has taken place. Even its exercises maybe combine with elements from other physical exercises from systems revolutionalised long after the existence of yoga. But anyway modern day practice of yoga will still benefit its practitioners.

Story - Grateful birds buried a corpse

Greetings to all you readers who are visiting my site. I shall not write something factual or textual today but instead contribute a little story which I read and considered to be meaningful during this period of time when everybody including myself are chasing after money and leaving little time to ponder over the cumulating of merits i.e. good deeds. My apology to any western readers who may not like it as it is of an oriental origin.

The title of this story is "Grateful birds buried a corpse". Long time ago in a village in ancient China, there was a man who lived alone by himself. He was not rich but had a heart of gold. He used to accumulate money in order to buy birds which were kept in cages by other villagers. He then set the birds free. He was always happy when he saw the birds flying out of the cages and chirping away merrily. Inspite of being poor, he has freed many, many birds.

He left no money when he died. He also had no friends or relatives. There was no money for his funeral and his body was left on a hill-top. Not long, thousands of birds suddenly appeared. In their beaks were some soil. They then dropped the soil over the corpse of the kind-hearted man. Before the day was over, the corpse was completely covered with soil, giving him a decent burial. These grateful birds came back to repay the kindness which the man had bestalled on them.

Chi

What is chi? It is a Chinese word and means "breath" or "energy". In the body of each human being there is chi but many do not know it. In Europe, America, and those countries of the west the word sounds very much like a stranger. Science cannot explain its concrete existence even though some scientific work has been carried out. The yogis of India called it prana. To the Japanese, especially the practitioners of aikido, it is called ki. The Chinese are aware of it for many many centuries.

The chi is inherited from the parents. This chi is called the original chi. The life span of a person depends very much on the amount of chi inherited. Once this original chi is used up, the person may depart from this world. Every day a person uses a certain amount of chi. Sexual activity consumes a large amount. Many ancient Chinese especially those used to cultivating chi are very careful on their sexual activities.

Chi travels in chi channels situated within the human body. There are branches connected to the chi channels and together they transport chi to various parts of the body. If there is any obstruction in the flow of chi, the person will fall ill.

With practice chi can be used to check and prevent sicknesses. It can also reduces the degree of sicknesses. It has been known that certain sicknesses are healed by diligent and constant practice of chi kung.

Do not know how to start

Hi and thanks to everyone visiting my site. This is my first attempt writing on the net and I really do not know how to begin. After referring to various materials, my initial courage and determination vanished leaving me confused. What bothers me are the choosing of a title, using of niche phrases and the content structure. Procrastination sets in and many a time I deliberated on whether to contribute. It was only this morning (12th August 2008), Singapore time that an inspiration on taking this approach came to my mind. I need help from the internet community to render me some hints on the contents that can attract young, old, etc. readers. May be some kind souls can give me a few tips in regards to choosing of title and the use of niche phrases also. It is my hope that this approach will not offend anyone and my apology if it does. With your help I wish that I can contribute effectively to the internet circle.