Level 2 – Xing Shen Zhuang; the Body & Mind method
December 17 2018:
After 2 years of training, 4 gongs (performing exercises every day for 100 days in a row), an exam preparation day and two exam days, I can proudly call myself a level 2 instructor.
The level 2 exercises focus on the energy flow in the body (the bodily qi). Level 1 practices are more meditative. That does not mean that the mind does not play a role in level 2 exercises; on the contrary. The mind becomes calmer and gets a deeper focus. And that in turn influences the way in which you train and perform level 1 exercises. Teachers say the bodily Qi gets more pure and this refined Qi flows through the brain, making the brain more clear and pure.
Level 2 may be trained while or even before you train level 1. Most people who start training Qigong are looking for peace and focus and start at level 1. But there are also people who are looking for (inner) strength. Level 2 exercises serve them better.
But there is another category of students who benefit from level 2 exercises. I am referring to people with a busy mind that is difficult to calm down. Fact is meditative movements do not immediately relax everyone’s mind. There are people who become irritable from them. In that case, I recommend starting with level 2 exercises. With level 2 exercises you can also achieve peace and stronger focus, but then by means of hard work on a solid training in which you seek out your (pain) limits.
Below is a report of my personal progress in the level 2 exercises:
The state of my training in level 2
Exactly as Pang Ming Laoshi describes, teaching Chi Neng Qigong is the best way to achieve rapid progress. I look forward to the lessons every day, meeting students and listening to their stories about what practicing Qigong does for them.
The interaction between the exercises of level 2 and those of level 1 that arose during my personal training was wonderful to experience. The Lift Chi Up, Pour Chi Down became much more intense under the influence of the body & mind method. Reaching the Qigong state became easier and easier and is now done in an instant.
There are hardly any distracting thoughts anymore. But that only applies when I am in front of the class. During my solo training I take a little longer to reach the calm qigong state and I need more time to let everything slide off me.
I had my first breakthrough in body & mind before I started with the gong. I noticed that when the exercise became (too) heavy, I could let qi flow to my lower dantian down through bai-hue (the crown). That made the exercise less heavy and after some practice really easy.
I was a bit apprehensive about the gong. I practiced the body & mind 3 to 6 times a week for almost a year before I started the gong. But after this discovery, the exercise quickly became so easy that I started to perform it more and more intensely.
The gong had a strong effect on my heart. Especially the exercises for the arms and shoulders. It often felt like a kind of heart massage. In the beginning, that was sometimes scary, but my confidence grew quickly.
I was pointed out by both Harry and Patricia (my teachers at the Chi Neng Institute) that I was working too hard during the body & mind. Now I like a solid workout, but I started to investigate how I could approach the exercises differently. I soon discovered that the exercise becomes much less heavy and at the same time twice as intense if I consciously relax all muscle groups except those that the part of the exercise is specifically aimed at. That was a breakthrough. Relax where possible. That costs you much less energy and the focus is much easier on the meridian that you are training. And yes: intent arrives, qi arrives.
My biggest challenge of this training period came my way about 11 weeks ago. I had the longest period without heart issues that I have ever had. Just before the workshop of Arianne (also an instructor of the Chi Neng Institute) until mid-May I had no problems with heart rhythm disorders until it struck again during the lesson. That was rather disappointing but it was not difficult to remain fairly calm about it and not let the disappointment overwhelm me. The return of the disorder gave me the insight that it originates much more in my mind than it is physical. Stress is a factor that derails my heart, but also euphoria. I am looking for the middle path. Controlling both emotions…
At the time that I was working on the last 10 days of the second gong of the body & mind, I also trained the entire body & mind about 3 times a week. Progress was fast. Yesterday I really got my hands flat on the ground during exercise 5. (bend body, arch back) I also do a chen qi (15 minutes) every day and also regularly do a chen bi of 5 minutes. That exercise is becoming a piece of cake. Mind at zero and breathing slowly. Every 4 breaths a minute passes.
I am steadily losing weight and I feel good. Average resting heart rate has dropped to 58 bpm (for an athlete that is a very nice rhythm).
Haula