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Moving Meditation (Nei Gong)

This exercise comes from graceful movements and powerful visualization that collect and circulate Qi (chi), life energy for wellness and prevention of disease. The daily practice of Qi Gong reduces stress, improves memory, and keeps one young, vital and pain free.

Standing Meditation (Wei Gong)

An ancient modality, which finds its origins in India, improves mental alertness and physical health through static postures and proper breathing. A particular emphasis is placed on flexibility postures.

Sitting Meditation (Zazen)

A Buddhist sitting meditation practice which allows the participant to free the mind. One of the most positive ways to release stress by sitting quietly, freeing the mind of over thinking. This allows the participant to get in touch with the inner self. This process which reveals inner wisdom or knowledge is often called becoming enlightened.

            What is meditation? Meditation is ability to reflect deeply, to contemplate, or the mental intent of entering into deep thought. Therefore when we meditate we do not wish to stop thoughts because if you are alive you have brain activity. We then try to focus and direct thoughts to one healing element.

            There are various or several types of meditation and which have many different names according to different cultures or languages. For instance, prayer, reflection, Zazen, Qi gong, and vipassana to mention a few. All of these practices have one thing in common (universal). They all focus on quieting the busy mind/stress. When the mind is directed to one healing element in this case the breath or breathing, the mind is then centered. When your mind is centered, this balance brings about a calm or inner peace. This on its own promotes the reduction of stress, depression or anxiety. All of this can weaken the immune system. This is why scientific studies have shown that meditation does promote mental and physical health.

            Meditation for healing has been in practice for thousands of years by people all around the world. The Buddhists believe that our ordinary consciousness is both limited and limiting. Through meditation is makes it is possible to live to the full spectrum of our consciousness and unconsciousness possibility. So how is it possible to trap into our unconsciousness with a conscious act?

Breathing

            How important is breathing? We can go weeks without food, days without water but only minutes without air. If we can agree that there is no other most important thing in our life than our health! Then we must agree there is no life without air! The breath or breathing is the bridge between our consciousness and unconsciousness. Therefore, here is the key or our meditation. We all breathe but do we breath properly and does it control our mind.

            The mind controls the body because there is no physical action that does not start first with thought or brain activity. So then what controls the mind? The breath does. Here is a good example, a person who loses his temper, and simultaneously holds his breath and then goes and commits an act they are later sorry for. You will often hear them say I wasn’t thinking! I’m sorry! But if you remember they were red from holding their breath in a fit or rage. How about when you are scared, haven’t you noticed that your breathing is rapid and shallow, almost as if you were hyperventilating?

            We need to mentally monitor or sense our breathing and enter into deep thought or reflection on how we breathe. Is your breathing loud, soft, rapid or slow? And is your breath long or short? In order to be able to maximize the oxygen intake and exchange in the body you must learn to breathe from your diaphragm so your breathing can become soft, quite and long. Your exhalation especially should be approximately twice as long as your inhalation. The longer you exhale you create a vacuum and therefore more air comes in the void created, making the inhalation deeper.

Qi Gong: Taoist Internal Art of Ba Gua

            The three traditional Taoist Arts of Qi gong are Ba Gua, Tai Chi, and Xing Yi. In our moving practice Qi gong we will be focusing on the fundamental postures of Ba Gua. So what is the purpose of moving in these Ba Gua postures or series of acts? The purpose is to mentally and physically gather (chi) vital energy, to direct and circulate the chi in your body via the prescribed exercise.

            The movements and stances of Ba Gua are designed to utilize the smooth/soft movements and circular planes of movement to generate chi. This spiral (circular) movement of the whole body particularly the spine will in time harness chi energy. The concept of spiraling energy comes from the proper spinal alignment and the continuous spinal rotation that changes planes as you move. When performing Ba Gua the hand and foot coordinate with each other. Walking in a circle helps maintain your axis or spine straight while your feet move in a curve turning into a circular pattern.

Essentials of Ba Gua:

1.      Relax your mind and body

2.      Dropping the center of gravity (sink your tan tien)

3.      Erect spinal alignment

4.      Eyes focus on center of palms

5.      Coordinating hands and feet movement

Opening Salutation:

1.      Begin by spinal rotation to the left, then place the back of the hand together, next circle the wrist until palms face up as if you were making an offering.

2.      Turn your spine counter clockwise in a circle, until facing the front. Next place palms together in prayer position.

3.      Next, step with your left foot to your left spreading your feet. You want to open your feet about double the width of your shoulders. Keep your knees slightly bent, drop both arms down at your sides. Circle both wrists around, visualize that your stirring water with your hands.

4.      Now turn your wrist to the left as you rotate your hips, bend the left knee slightly. By pushing the right leg and straightening the knee, you will turn the hips so that you face at a left angle.

5.      Raise your left arm and place your left hand in front of your face as though you are blocking the sun from your eyes. Raise your right arm with the palm face up, as you visualize the right hand holding the sun.

6.      Make a counter clock wise circle with the left arm, and join the left with the right hand. Continue the motion of rotating to the right and have both hands turn your shoulders, as the hips turn the spine clockwise.

7.      Bring the left foot back into the starting position. Raise the left knee so that you are standing on the right leg, supporting your body weight (crane position).

8.      While standing in crane position both hands should move in front of you, and visualize holding a ball of energy. The right palm should be facing the left palm.

9.      Place the left foot down, then step around with the right foot so that you now face the opposite direction. Both feet should face each other (pigeon toed) the knees always slightly bent.

10.  Circle the hands so that they switch positions. The left palm is over the right palm (visualize spinning your energy ball) holding the energy ball in both hands.

11.  Raise your right arm in the air and point the left arm down. Both of the arms should be straight, dividing the body in half.

12.  Step back with the left foot directly behind you. The right knee should bend keeping the left leg in a stretching position. Next, turn your hips and shoulders together to the left.

13.  Raise both arms and visualize holding the sun, in front of your face. Now step up with your right foot, placing your feet together. Raise the right knee in a crane position.

14.  Step down and forward with the right foot, in a natural walking position. Turn arms, shoulders, and body as one unit. Rotating the spine to the left.

15.  Finish by walking in a circle eight steps. Keep your arms up and out, imagining a dance partner. More steps can be added as the student advances, but always in multiples of eight. Conclude by finishing your walking and facing the front. Then lower the arms and exhale.

The movements should be soft and gentle, with a rhythmic sway. As if you were performing a graceful dance.

Walking Meditation

            Most people cover miles in the course of their daily routines. This makes walking a good activity on which to practice one-pointed concentration. The following exercise incorporates walking, breathing, and counting as a focal point.

A.     Stand up and relax your abdomen expand and contract with each breath. As you practice this exercise, try to continue breathing from this dropped stance. Mentally repeat the word in with each inhalation and out with each exhalation.

B.     Without controlling your breathing too much, try to arrange it so that one of your feet touches the ground at the beginning of each in breath and each out breath. Now, see how many steps it seems natural to take during each inhalation and each exhalation.

C.     Count your steps in time with your breathing as you walk. If you are taking three steps during each inhalation and exhalation, mentally say to yourself, “in…two…three…out…two…three…in…two …three…” and so on. Your in breaths may be longer or shorter than your out breaths and therefore may accommodate either more or fewer steps. Or your step count may vary from breath to breath. Just pay attention and readjust your walking to the ins and outs of your breathing as is needed.

D.    As with all meditations, when thoughts or images interrupt your counting, make a mental note of this and then return to your walking and counting and breathing.

E.     A different way of practicing this meditation is, instead of counting steps, to pay attention to the sensations of walking. Concentrate on your feet and lower legs. Notice which muscles contract and which relax as you lift your legs up and down. Which part of your foot touches the ground first? Pay attention to how your weight shifts from one foot to the other. What are the feelings in your knees as they bend and straighten? And, while you’re at it, pay attention to the ground. What is its texture? Is it hard or soft? Notice any cracks or stones. How does the sensation of walking on grass differ from that of walking on a sidewalk? Catch the thoughts, let them go, and notice everything.

 Standing (Wei Gong)

The essence of posture meditation:

            The three levels of meditation are moving, standing, and sitting. Moving meditation is recommended in the early morning. It is a positive way to begin your day and balance/center your mind and body. If you are restricted from doing moving meditation due to limited space or a physical injury, then standing Qi Qong can be accomplished. Standing Qi Qong may be performed in the middle of the day to re-energize the body after a stress full day at work.

I.                   In Eastern philosophy health is maintained by the clear an unobstructed flow of Qi (chi) through the body (meridians/channels). Therefore the body must stay relaxed. How is this accomplished?

Position 1 – All positions are held, beginning with one minute and increasing duration as you improve.

A.               The spine must be kept aligned by placing the top of the head (crown) pointing the sky. Keep your eyes on your hands without tilting your head and elbows. Knees always slightly bent.

B.               The proper mind intent is VERY IMPORTANT. The mind should be focused on the hands, specifically the center of the palm.

Position 2

A.                       Mentally relax and visualize that you are exhaling out of the palms of your hands. When the palms become warm slowly move to the next position. Visualize you are swimming in energy.

1.      Relax your shoulders by keeping the elbows pointing down and arms close to the body.

Position 3

A.                                         In this position, although there is a torque or spine rotation, keep the feet flat on the ground. Also keep your wrist limp and slightly bent. Visualize a light warm drizzle falling in the center of the palms.

1.      Keep the knees slightly bent, as they support the weight of the loose upper body.

Position 4

A.                 Standing on one leg (right), keeping the left knee off the ground. Relax the left ankle so the foot dangles down. Both hands are softly holding the energy ball in front of your center. When you feel a warm sensation between the palms of your hand slowly, place the foot down and drop the arms as you exhale.

Conclusion:

Once you have completed the right side movements, you may then try the left side. Upon completing the movement, stand for a moment and say to yourself “I have finished,” three times. Next take your hands and massage your head, face, chest, shoulder, arms, waist, lower back and hands.

            Try to do your entire Qi Gong outdoors. You are moving/swimming in air (oxygen). When out doors the air is greater, due to free circulation. During moving or standing meditation (Qi Gong) you will use your mind to visualize. The energy in your body is distributed by the breath, led by the eyes, and developed by the mind (visualization). As you practice this position, you will be physically working the muscular system by performing an isometric or static movement. This type of exercise involves every muscle fiber. Mentally you enter a state of self-hypnosis of complete relaxation. At this mental state, deep breathing is possible. It will allow you to circulate oxygen into the internal organs via the respiratory system and nervous system. You are taking an active role in promoting good health.

            Meditation is the practice of uncritically attempting to focus your attention on one thing at a time. Exactly what that thing is, is relatively unimportant and varies from one tradition to the next. Often the meditator repeats, either aloud or silently, a syllable, word, or group of  words. This is known as mantra mediation. Gazing at a fixed object such as a flame or flower can also anchor the attention. Many meditators find that a convenient and relaxing point of focus is the rising and falling of their own breath. But you can use anything as an object of meditation…Aunt Mary’s maiden name; the calendar on your desk, or even the tip of your nose.

            It is important to understand that the heart of meditation lies not simply in focusing on one object to the exclusion of all other thought, but rather in the attempt to achieve this type of thoughts will appear and seemingly interfere with the meditation. A typical meditation might go something like this (the meditator in this case has chosen the task of counting to three repeatedly):

One…two…This isn’t so hard…one…two…three… one…I’m not having many thoughts at all… Oh, oh, I just had a thought… that was another one…two…my nose itches…one…I wonder if it’s okay to scratch it…darn, there was another thought. I’ve got to try harder…one…two…three…one…two…I was judging myself pretty harshly. I’m not supposed to do that…one…two…three…one…I’m hungry…wonder what I’ll cook tonight…one…two…now don’t judge …one…two…three…one…

            Each time this meditator realizes that his mind has drifted to other thoughts, he chooses instead to dwell on the original object of his attention. By repeating this one moment of awareness, a moment which consists of noticing the thought and then refocusing the attention, over time a number of surprising realizations will become apparent:

  It is impossible to worry, fear, or hate when your mind is thinking about something other than the object of these emotions.

  It isn’t necessary to think about everything that pops into your head. You have the ability to choose which thoughts you will think about.

  The seemingly diverse contents of your mind can really fit a few simple categories, such as: grudging thoughts, fearful thoughts, angry thoughts, wanting thoughts, planning thoughts, memories, and so on.

  You act in certain ways because you have certainthoughts which, over your lifetime, have become habitual. Habitual patterns of thoughts and perception will begin to lose their influence over your life once you become aware of them.

  Emotion, aside from the thoughts and pictures in your mind, consists entirely of physical sensations in your body.

  Even the strongest emotion will become manageable if you concentrate on the sensations in your body, and not the content of the thought that produced the emotion.

  Thought and emotion are not permanent. They pass into and out of your body and mind. They need not leave a trace.

  When you are awake to what is happening right now, the extreme highs and extreme lows of your emotional response to life will disapper. You will live life with equanimity.

            Members of many Eastern religions have long realized the benfits of meditation, but most Westerners have approached the practice with skeptical eye. Weren’t the only people who practice meditation members of non-Christian religions? That in itself was reason enough for many to view it with suspicion. And anyone who touted meditation as a sure way to achieve mental and physical well being was seen as a fanatic trying to make quick buck from a totally untested method.

            In 1968, Dr. Herbert Benson and his colleagues at Harvard Medical School decided to put meditation to the test. Volunteer practitioners of Transcendental Meditation were tested to see if meditation really could counter the physiological effects of stress. Benson scientifically proved that 1. Heart beat and breathing rates slow down. 2. Oxygen consumption falls by 20 percent. 3. Blood lactate levels drop. (This level rises with stress and fatigue.) 4. Skin resistance to electrical current, a sign of relaxation, increases fourfold. 5. EEG ratings of brain wave patterns indicate increased alpha activity, another sign of relaxation.

            Because went on to prove that any meditational practice could duplicate these physiological changes as long as four factors were present: 1. a relatively quiet environment, 2. a mental device that provides a constant simulus, 3. a comfortable position, and 4. a passive attitude (this aspect will be discussed in depth later.)

Symptom Effectiveness

Meditation has been used successfully in the treatment and prevention of high blood pressure, heart disease, migraine headaches, and autoimmune diseases such as diabetes and arthritis. It has proved helpful in curtailing obsessive thinking, anxiety, depression, and hostility.

Time for Mastery

You can learn to meditate within a few minutes. Immediately your body will use less oxygen (a sign of deep relaxation) while you are meditating. However, as with most things, the benefits of meditation increase with practice. Levels of relaxation deepen. Attention becomes more steady. You become more adept at living in the present moment. Therefore, it is important to meditate regularly.

Instructions

            Establishing Your Posture

F.      From the following, select a position that is comfortable for you:

·        In a chair with your knees comfortably apart and your hands resting in your lap.

·        Tailor-fashion (cross-legged) on the floor. This position is most comfortable and stable when a cushion is placed under your buttocks so that both knees touch the floor.

·        Japanese fashion on your knees with your big toes touching and your heels pointed outward so that your buttocks rest on the soles of your feet. Again, if you place a cushion between your feet on which your buttocks can rest, you wil be able to hold the position for a much longer period of time.

·        The yoga full lotus position requires so much physical conditioning that it is not recommended for beginners.

G.    Sit with your back straight (but not ramrod rigid) and let the weight of your head fall directly down upon your spinal column. This can be accomplished by pulling your chin slightly. Allow the small of your back to arch.

H.    Rock briefly from side to side, then from front to back and establish the point at which your upper torso feels balanced on your hips.

I.       Close your mouth and breathe through your nose. Place your tongue on the roof of your mouth.

SITTING IN MEDITATION (Zazen)

            To succeed in having a positive sitting meditation session, the mind, body, and breathing (mind) must harmonize into one. This balance of the three is very important. These three things are inseparable and connected to each other. Therefore, if you start the meditation with the body in the correct position, the two other connecting parts (the mind and breathing) will be correct in themselves.

I.                    It is important to wear loose clothes for good circulation, for any type of Qi Qong, moving, standing/sitting.

A.                Use a pillow or cushion and place it toward the rear of your buttocks so that you sit on the edge. The cushion will act as a wedge between you and the ground.

II.                 Assume a half lotus position by placing the left foot over the right.

A)                The hand position: Grasp the tip of the left thumb between the web of the thumb and index finger of the right hand. Form a loose fist. Contain the fist with the left hand.

B)                 Count your exhalations from one to ten, softly and slowly. Once you reach ten, start all over again at one. Do not over strain and gently focus all your concentration on the count of the exhalation. This practice will bring the mind into a state of emptiness. The whole body will feel the circulation of vital energy (Qi). Take your time and be patient you have made the most important step toward health by taking an active role. You have taken the first step, which is the most important one. After sitting you can stand when you wish by finishing the meditation with the bow (salutation).

When you stand be careful and walk slowly because you want to allow the circulation in your legs. It is a good idea to walk in a circle (Pa Kua) until your recover fully from being seated a long time.

C)                 Correct sitting posture: a well-seated and much stabilized body is in the form of a pyramid. Straighten the spine by inclining the upper body forward. Next raise the upper body by gradually pushing the top of the head toward the sky.

1.      Sit at ease, mentally alert, like a mountain soaring into the sky and over looking the Eastern seas.

2.      Place your tongue on the pallet of the mouth with the lips and teeth in contact.

3.      Keeping the head straight, lower the eyes to a fixed position on the floor, approximately 3 feet ahead.

III.               Breathing:

Begin with your eyes closed, take several deep breaths and notice the quality of  your breathing. Is it fast or slow? Deep or shallow? Notice where your breath rests in your body. Is it up high in your chest? In the midsection around your stomach? Down low in your belly? Try moving your breath from one area to the other. Breathe into your upper chest, then into your stomach, then drop your breath into your lower belly. Feel your abdomen expand and contract as the air goes in and out. Notice how the upper chest and stomach areas seem almost still. This “dropped breath” is the most relaxing stance from which to meditate. However, if you have difficulty taking deep belly breaths, pay this no mind. Your breath will drop of its own accord as you become more practiced in meditation. Inhale through the nose and exhale via the mouth. Breath in and out form the lower abdomen. Make the breath soft and long. At the end of the exhalation relax. This will allow you to inhale deeper, due the vacuum in the lungs created. Softly squeeze the anus muscles to allow the exhalation.

Visualization

You can significantly reduce stress with something enormously powerful: your imagination. The practice of positive thinking in the treatment of physical symptoms was popularized by Emil Coue, a French pharmacist, around the turn of this century. He believed that the power of the imagination far exceeds that of the will. It is hard to will yourself into a relaxed state, but you can imagine relaxation spreading through your body, and you can visualize yourself in a safe and beautiful retreat.

Coue asserted that all of your thoughts become reality - you are what you think you are. For example, if you think sad thoughts, you feel unhappy. If you think anxious thoughts, you become tense. In order to overcome the feeling of unhappiness or tension, you can refocus your mind on positive, healing images. When you predict that you are going to be lonely and miserable, it is likely your prediction will come true, because your negative thoughts will be reflected in a social behavior. A women who predicts that she will get a stomach ache when she is yelled at by her boss is likely to have her thoughts take a somatic form. Coue found that organic diseases such as fibrous tumors, tuberculosis, hemorrhages, and constipation are often worsened when you focus on them. He recommended to his patients that they repeat twenty times to themselves on waking, mechanically moving your lips, the now-fames phrase, “Every day in every way I am getting better and better.”

Coue also encouraged his patients to get into a comfortable, relaxed position upon retiring, close their eyes, and practice general relaxation of all their muscles. As they started to doze off in the “stage of semi-consciousness,” he suggested that they introduce into their minds any desired idea, for example, “I am going to be relaxed tomorrow.” This is a way of bridging your conscious and unconscious minds and allowing your unconscious to make a wish come true.

Carl Jung, in his work in the early part of this century, used a technique for healing which he referred to as “active imagination.” He instructed his patients to meditate without having any goal or program in mind. Images would come to consciousness which the patient was to observe and experience without interference. Later, if he or she wanted, the patient could actually communicate with the images by asking them questions or talking to them. Jung used active imagination to help the individual appreciate his or her own rich inner life and learn to draw on its healing power in times of stress. Jungian and Gestalt therapists have since devised several stess-reduction techniques using the intuitive, imaginative part of the mind.

Visualization is practiced and studied in cancer and pain centers throughout the country. Stephanie Matthews and O. Carl Simonton, who pioneered the use of visualization with cancer patients, wrote Getting Well Again in 1980. Two other visualization scientists, therapists, and writers are Jeanne Achterberg, who wrote Imagery in Healing in1985, and Connecticut surgeon and Yale professor Bernie S. Siegle, who wrote Love, Medicine,and miracles in 1986

Shakti Gawain, author of Creative Visualization and living in the light, states that visualization is a form of energy creating life and life’s happenings. Everything is energy and our mind creates our world, much as a movie projector projects a world upon a blank screen.

Symptom Relief

            Visualization is effective in treating many stress-related and physical  illnesses, including headaches, muscle spasms, chronic pain, and general or situation-specific anxiety. Symptom relief can be immediate or take several weeks of practice.

Instructions

Kinds of Visualization

            Everybody visualizes. Daydreams, memories, and inner talk are all types of visualization. You can harness your visualizations and consciously employ them for bettering yourself and your life. Visualizations or mental sense impressions that you create consciously can train your body to relax and ignore stress. There are three types of visualization for change:

1.      Receptive visualization- Here you relax, empty your mind, sketch a vague scene, ask a question, and wait for a response. You might imagine you are on the beach, the breeze is caressing your skin. You can hear and smell the sea. You can ask, “Why can’t I relax?” The response might surface into your consciousness, “Because you can’t say no to people,” or because you can’t detach yourself from your husband’s depression.”

2.      Programmed visualization- create an image, replete with sight, taste, sound, and smell. Imagine a goal that you want to attain or a healing that you want to accelerate. Harriet used programmed visualization when she started to run. For her first race, she not only practiced, but after one run on the course, she daily would visualize her race on that course. She would feel the pressure to run up a hill, the exhaustion after several miles, the sprint to the finish line. When she ran that race she set a state record for 40-49 year-old women.

3.      Guided visualization- Again visualize your scene in detail, but omit crucial elements. Then wait for your subconscious, or your inner guide, to supply the missing pieces in your puzzle. Jane imagines visiting a special place where she likes to relax.. She constructs the smells, tastes, sounds, touch, sights associated with this place, a forest clearing that she used to vist with the Girl Scouts. She sees herself roasting marshmallows over a campfire at twilight. (There are no mosquitoes.) She imagines her Girl Scout leader, someone whom Jane loves, and ask her teacher how she can relax.. Sometimes her leader reminds her of some songs Jane loves and tells her to sing them whenever she feels tense. Sometimes her leader reminds her that she needs to laugh more. Often the leader gives Jane a hug, to remind her that she is loved and that she needs to search for affirmations of that love.

Rules for effective Visualization

1.      Loosen your clothing, lie down in a quiet place, and close your eyes softly.

2.      Scan your body, seeking tension is specific muscles. Relax those muscles as much as you can.

3.      Form mental sense impressions. Involve all your senses: sight, hearing, smell, touch, and taste. For instance, imagine the sights of a green forest with the trees, blue sky, white clouds, and pine needles underfoot. Then add the sounds: wind in the trees, water running, birdcalls, and so on. Include the feel of the ground under your shoes, the smell of pine, and the taste of chewing a grass stem or mountain spring water.

4.      Use affirmations. Repeat short, positive statements that affirm your ability to relax now. Use the present tense and avoid negatives such as “I am not tense” in favor of positive versions such as “I am letting go of tension.” Here are some other examples of affirmations:

Tension flows from my body.

I can relax at will.

I am in harmony with life.

Peace is within me.

5.      Visualize three times a day. Visualization practice is easiest in the morning and night while lying in bed. After some practice, you will be able to visualize while  waiting in the doctor’s office, at the service station, before going into a parent - teacher conference, or during an IRS audit.     

 Attitude

Maintaining a passive attitude during meditation is perhaps the most important element eliciting relaxation. It is important to realize that, especially as a beginner, you will have many thoughts and relatively few moments of clear concentration. This is natural and to be expected. Realize that your thoughts are not really interruptions, but are an integral part of meditation. Without thoughts, you would no be able to develop the ability to let them go.

A passive attitude includes a lack of concern about whether you are doing things correctly, whether you are accomplishing any goals, or whether this meditation is right for you. With the intention of “I’m going to put in my time here, just sitting, and whatever happens is exactly what should happen.

     A Word About Time

            In general, any amount of time spent in meditation is more relaxing than not meditating at all. When you first begin to practice, maintain the meditation for only as is comfortable, then if this is only for five minutes a day. If you feel that you are forcing yourself to sit, you may develop an aversion to practicing meditation at all. As you progress in your practice and meditation becomes easier, you will find yourself wanting to extend your time. In terms of relaxation, twenty to thirty minutes once or twice a day is sufficient.