Here on the Treasure Coast of Florida, in beautiful Vero Beach we are blessed with a number of practitioners and teachers of Qigong and Tai Chi Chuan.
This is regrettably not the case in every community and I am frequently asked by nonresident clients about how they too can enjoy the benefits of Chinese Internal Arts if there are no teachers nearby.
The first thing that comes to most people is to go online and find instruction on You Tube or other internet resources but there are some inherent problems with learning Qigong in this way.
The nature of Qigong in general is to raise the Yang Qi. Yang Qi is the motive or metabolic aspects of one’s “bio-energy”. Yang Qi is brought up in the body either by increasing the actual amount of Yang Qi with herbal medicines or by guiding Qi from the lower part of the body to the upper part.
This can lead to an overabundance of Yang Qi and the problem with an overabundance of Yang in the body is that Yang Qi is hot in nature and an excess of heat in the body can lead to headaches, dizziness, high blood pressure and a propensity to anger and aggression. This is especially problematic with the continued use of martial Qigongs.
A drawback to Qigong as a vehicle to spiritual cultivation is similar, the novice tends to become so enamored of the art that too much time is spent in practice and again an overabundance of Yang Qi causes the same excess heat symptoms of headache, dizziness and visual distortion.
The other problem with this type of practice is that it usually demands strict control of the breath. Whenever the natural breathing pattern is changed, the body’s entire physiology and psychology changes. Unless those changes are monitored closely by someone experienced in what changes can and should be expected and unless that person is able to intervene if the changes become pathological, there is the very real potential for permanent mental and physical damage.
The aforementioned problems can be greatly reduced or eliminated if the student is under the expert and watchful eye of a very experienced teacher.
Jade Dragon is the one system of Qi Going that I, as a physician and practitioner, can endorse for just about anybody regardless of his or her medical model. The system is so balanced that in the decades that I have been prescribing it to patients, I have never once had any negative feedback associated with it. It is also so easy to learn, that it is one of the few Qi Gong systems that can be taught via DVD. One to one instruction is best, and that goes for the Jade Dragon Qi Gong as well. But, the Jade Dragon DVD was developed by a doctor for his patients, and as such is quite unique in the realm Qi Gong DVD instruction.
The same is true of Jade Dragon Tai Chi, another component of the Jade Dragon family of internal martial arts. Both the Tai Chi and Qigong forms are available on the same DVD and were written and produced by myself. I make myself available for questions and critiques of your form via email or video and have had wide success with this manner of teaching.
The DVD and written manual are available for $40.00 which includes shipping and handling. I highly urge you to take advantage of this beautiful Qigong and Tai Chi system and I look forward to assisting in your learning experience.
Yours in Health,
Robert Kienitz, DTCM