Original Yin Qi Gong
Introduction
Qi Gong and Tai Chi are traditional Chinese exercises that can slow down aging and increase vitality. Yet how these exercises achieve these goals are some what unclear to modern people. This paper attempts to briefly explain the general principles a style of Qi Gong that is developed specifically for long term anti-aging and rejuvenation purposes. It will first explain the difference between female school and male school training. It will then explain this style of Qi Gong in the context of ying and yang as well as the six meridians.
Female School vs Male School Training
Original Yin Qi Gong (OY) is a style of exercise that focuses on activating the female instead of the male energy in order to restore the body back to its youthful state of softness and juiciness. Since the focus is rejuvenation and anti-aging instead of athletic performance, the overall principle of OY exercises is about helping the body to rest and rebuild instead of demanding it to engage in activities beyond its present capacity. While the male school exercises
teach the body to perform certain intentional activities, OY exercises teach the body to let go, to disengage and to float. Because of OY’s specific aim, its exercises are different from male school exercises on the physical, mental and spiritual levels.
At the physical level, in contrast with male school exercises, OY exercises do not require a person to intentionally tense up but instead to let go control of his/her muscles and connective tissues. At the mental level, OY exercises do not require a person to focus and engage while performing certain movements. Instead they require a person to relax the mind so the body can be soft and stay in certain simple yet highly therapeutic poses. At the spiritual level, OY exercises are not done while a person is being fully conscious, but instead while a person is in the state of being ‘half asleep half awake.’
OY teaches the body to let go, disengage and float in stages. The initial stage teaches the body the feeling that comes with letting go, disengaging and being afloat in non-stressful everyday life situations. Once this skill is acquired, OY then trains the body to maintain this feeling while under more stressful situations or when the body engages in more strenuous activities. Once this is achieved, OY then trains the body to maintain this feeling even in emergency situations. OY’s ultimate goal is to train the body to be able to let go, disengage and float under all circumstances no matter the type and level of stress.
Through these basic principles OY exercises is able to train the most useful body parts and tissues by training the body’s natural reactions to various situations and with different levels of stress. The muscles and the connective tissues that are stimulated are the same ones that are most needed in similar situations in real life. For instance, both male schools and OY train a person’s core (abdomen, oblique and lower back). However, OY’s methods strengthen and invigorate the person’s core in a natural way that cannot be duplicated by male school methods.
Principles of yin yang and their relations to health
Since OY female school exercises are based on a deep understanding and modern adaptation of the ancient Chinese concepts of yin and yang, if one wants to better understand the approach and benefits of OY exercises, he must first go through a crash course on the meaning of these two concepts as well as their relation to our spiritual, mental, as well as physical health.
Generally speaking, yang is the male energy and yin is the female energy; while yang activates and actuates, yin facilitates and accommodates. The two energies complement each other and the body needs both in order to function properly. This means both yin and yang energies are present throughout our daily life while we are doing various activities and performing different tasks. For instance, there are yin and yang energies in simple movements such as lifting up our legs to go up stairs or in bending down to pick up a coin or even in stationary postures such as standing, sitting, or lying down.
Take bicycling as an example, since the yang energy activates and actuates, it is this energy that enables us to pedal forward. And since the yin energy facilitates and accommodates, it is this energy that allows us to stabilize and balance the bicycle which makes pedaling possible in the first place.
Similarly, in swimming it is the yang energy that enables us to propel our bodies in the water. However, it is the yin energy that allows us to relax and be afloat which makes purposeful movement in the water possible in the first place.
The spiritual manifestation of yin and yang
Yin and yang energy is closely related to our spiritual, mental and physiological state. In terms of our spiritual state, the spiritual signature (or more simply the feeling that we get) of having adequate yang energy is analogous to the feeling of being in the presence of a morning sunrise with clear blue sky. We feel fresh, clear and energized and are ready to take actions and make decisions. The spiritual signature of having plenty of yin energy is analogous to the feeling of being in the presence of a beautiful sunset. We feel relaxed, calm, half awake half asleep and are ready to allow our subconscious to take over the driver seat.
On the other hand, the spiritual signature of lacking yang energy is very much comparable to be being a rotting apple. We feel tired spiritually and can no longer sense, move or think clearly. If our bodies are in this state for a prolonged period of time, we will in fact look more and more like a rotting apple with water retention accumulated at various parts of our bodies. The spiritual signature of lacking yin energy is very much comparable to being a sundry tomato. We feel anxious, jittery and wired. If our bodies are in this state for a prolonged period of time, we will in fact look more and more like a sundry tomato as our tissues hardens and can no longer hold water.
The appearance of being a rotting apple or sundry tomato can be understood in terms of modern biology. The rotting apple appearance occurs when the cellular walls that previously provide structure and form to the cells’ liquid contents can no longer contain them within the cell. As a result, these liquid contents seep outside and into the intercellular region creating excess water retention. The sundry tomato appearance occurs when the cellular walls can no longer let enough liquid contents into the cells or allows too much to go outside of them. As a result, the cells lack adequate liquid contents and dry up.
It is possible to slow down and even reverse the process of becoming a rotting apple and/or sundry tomato if only one can first detect when the yin or yang energy is being depleted and then replenish them accordingly. However, not only is an effective method of replenishment difficult to find, even the first step of detection requires considerable training. It is quite easy to mistake the spiritual signature of lacking yang energy as having yin energy; as it is easy to misidentify the feeling of being tired as relaxed and calm. It is also quite common to mistake the spiritual signature of lacking yin energy as having yang energy, as it is easy to misidentify the feeling of being jittery and wired as being energized.
The mental manifestation of yin and yang
In terms of our mental state, the yang mental state is closely related to our consciousness and the yin mental state is closely related to our subconsciousness. This means the more purposeful a movement, posture or a thought is, the more related they are to the yang energy. On the other hand, the less intentional a movement, posture or a thought is, the more related they are to the yin energy.
The physical manifestation of yin and yang
In addition to our spiritual and mental states, the concepts of yin and yang also have close connections with the physical body. For instance, they are closely related to our muscles, tissues, nervous systems, breath and even the overall structural integrity of the body.
As in relation to muscle types, yang energy is closely related to the fast twitch (type IIb) muscles and the yin energy is with slow twitch (type I) muscles. The fast twitch muscles use glucose as fuel which makes them more explosive yet more prone to fatigue. The slow twitch muscles use oxygen as fuel which makes them less explosive yet less prone to fatigue.
As to their location, yang related muscles are larger and located at the superficial layers of the body and the yin related muscles are smaller and located deep inside our body such as between spinal discs and inside weight bearing joints. Furthermore, yang related muscles are more concentrated at the upper part of the body especially the upper back, the shoulders and the back of the neck, while yin related muscles are concentrated at the abs, oblique, lower back and the hip or in other words at the core of the body. As a result of these differences, the yang muscles are suitable for purposeful and consciously calculated movements, while the yin muscles are suitable for holding daily postures as well as making micro adjustments, which happens both continuously throughout the day and at the subconscious or semi-subconscious level.
As in relation to our body tissues, in general, the yang energy is closely related to the type of tissues that support and move an individual or a localized body part, such as our forearm for instance, and yin energy is closely related to tissues that connect and coordinate the individual body part with the rest of the body.
As in relation to our nervous system, yang energy is closely related to our sympathetic nervous system. It dominates whenever there is a stressful situation and is responsible for our fight or flight response. Yin energy is closely related to our parasympathetic nervous system. It takes over when we are in a safe environment and is responsible for our rest and healing.
As in relation to our breath, yang energy is closely related to the shallower breath that goes into and out of the chest cavity while yin energy is closely related to the deeper breath that goes into and out of the abdomen.
As in relation to the overall structural integrity of the body, if the neck, shoulders and hip areas are in the correct relation with the spine and the curvature of the spine itself is correct, the body uses and stores yin energy more easily. When these conditions are present, the movement of the head, arms and legs are well connected to the core and the whole body functions harmoniously as a unit. As a result, the movements and postures exhibit grace and beauty.
However, if the connection between neck, shoulders or hip to the spine or the curvature of spine itself is compromised (either resulting from accidents or daily wear and tear), the body becomes less efficient at using yin energy. When this occurs, the body must resort to the yang energy which moves purposefully, superficially and locally. As a result, the movement and postures become harsh and clumsy. The harsh and clumsy movements and postures themselves would further disconnect the head, arms and legs from the core and compromise the overall structural integrity of the body. This downward spiral speeds up the process of aging as well as aging related conditions and illnesses.
Six Meridians
An important source of inspiration for OY comes from a book called Discourse on Cold Induced and Miscellaneous Illnesses, which has long been considered as the masterpiece of Traditional Chinese Medicine. One of the most interesting aspects of the book is that it subdivides yin and yang energies into three types each and maps out the physical routes they travel throughout our bodies into the six meridians. In addition, it explains how illness can progress and deepen from the most superficial yang meridian into the deepest yin meridian, as well as how we can regain health by purging damages from our bodies by taking them out of the deepest yin meridian back to the most superficial yang meridian.
Furthermore, since each meridian is also connected with certain internal organs, by knowing which meridian the illness is located, one can also know which internal organ is being weakened by the illness. For example the first yang meridian is located at the very surface of the body and serves as its first line of defense. As this meridian is connected to small intestine and bladder, when this meridian is being attacked by the illness the small intestine and bladder are also being weakened. The third yin meridian is at the deepest layer of the body and serves as its last line of defense. As this meridian is connected to liver and pericardium when this meridian is being attacked by the illness both these organs are also being weakened.
OY Applications
OY believes that there is no fundamental difference between damages caused by illness or aging. This means we can treat internal organs to repair them from the normal wear and tear even if a person is not considered as ill. And since the health of our internal organs determines the quality of our skin, muscle, bones and the connective tissues, once our internal organs become healthier the qualities of our skin, muscle, bones as well as the connective tissues also improve. As a result, we can retain health as well as youthful appearance and energy longer.
What are the meridians and their relations to our organs
Because the knowledge of the meridians and their connections to our internal organs comes from ancient times, many modern people either do not believe in it or do not know it in enough depth and clarity to apply and benefit from this knowledge in actual practice. In fact, the research and academic debate about what Meridians actually are is still ongoing and considered as one of the hottest topics in TCM.
OY considers meridians as empty spaces in between major muscle groups and their connective tissues. They are naturally channeled like as the muscles connect the extremities all the way to the center or the core of the body. Depending on the types and function of these muscle groups, they connect to different parts of the center and at different depths. Since organs are located in the central cavities of the body and supported by muscles and connective tissues, they can be reached through these channels.
One simple way to understand OY’s view on the meridians is to compare the body to a piece of wet towel. The four corners of the towel represent our hands and feet. The fibers that make up the towel represent the bones, muscles and the connective tissues. If we want to get the water out of the center of the towel, we can simply twist at the four corners of the towel. Similarly, if we want to reach the organs at the center of the body we can do so through twisting our hands and feet. The grooves that appear as we twist the towel are comparable to the meridian channels. These grooves connect the corners to the center of the towel, just like the meridians connect the hands and feet to the center of the body.
As you are reading this you can do a quick experiment with your body. By raising your arms perpendicular to your body and twisting your hands in one direction, you activate the yin meridians that lead to your front shoulder and upper chest. By twisting your hand in the opposite direction, you activate the yang meridians that lead to your back of the shoulder and neck. Depending on the specific angle, the twist to the front chest will correspond to one of the three yin meridians and the twist to the back of the neck will correspond to one of the yang meridians.
Conclusion
I have briefly covered the basic principles of OY Qi Gong, its focus on training female energy, its differences from male school training, its relations to ying and yang as well as its connection to TCM and the six meridians. If you are interested in learning more about OY Qi Gong please visit its website at www.originalyin.ca.
