Why is my body/mind able to do Tai Chi but not Qigong?

[searcher7977]

Hi all,

 

My question is, what is so different about taijiquan and qigong, such that I struggle to do even 3 minutes of Spring Forest Qigong or zhan zhuang (or even Flying Phoenix Chi Kung), but I can do 5-10min of the tai chi? Not only that, but tai chi is the only practice that has actually given me a sort of buzz. It seems to me the active opening and closing movements, along with feet movements, are helpful, but I lack knowledge of the inner workings to understand this. The form of taijiquan I'm doing is Bruce Frantzis wu style.  

 

As a follow up question, given that my body/mind seems to have an affinity for tai chi, should I focus less (if at all) on qigong and practice tai chi almost exclusively? Or does this mean I need to endure it and keep practicing qigong? My goals are health and "spiritual progress." 

 

Recently I've been struggling with health, in particular movement, and some (diagnosed) zen sickness. I can only manage one 20-30min walk per day for example. Although I'm making lots of progress, one thing that eludes me is a consistent practice right now. In that past, before my zen sickness, I was able to do anapanasati or open-awareness type meditations for an hour or two everyday, in addition to being very phyiscally active. My background is almost two decades of inconsistent (self-taught) buddhist meditation and (self-taught) hatha yoga. 

 

Thank you in advance.

 

 

 

 

Edited October 1, 2022 by searcher7977

[Cobie]

1 hour ago, searcher7977 said:

… (diagnosed) zen sickness …

“diagnosed” by whom? And what is “zen sickness”?

 

 

Edited October 1, 2022 by Cobie

[searcher7977]

4 minutes ago, Cobie said:

“diagnosed” by whom? And what is “zen sickness”?

 

 

 

A senior student of Rinzai teacher Roshi Meido Moore, later confirmed by the Roshi himself. Unfortunately I am no longer in that state, so I cannot rely on them for guidance. 

 

As far as the definition, I suspected it after reading Hakuin's description. This is similar to what I experienced (5th paragraph in): https://buddhismnow.com/2015/09/12/zen-sickness-by-zen-master-hakuin/

 

Edited October 1, 2022 by searcher7977

[Cobie]

Thanks for the reply. I have no knowledge to answer your questions. Wishing you a speedy recovery and good health. 

[Lairg]

3 hours ago, searcher7977 said:

I struggle to do even 3 minutes of Spring Forest Qigong or zhan zhuang (or even Flying Phoenix Chi Kung), but I can do 5-10min of the tai chi?

 

Many years ago I used to do a Hindu breathing exercise - through alternate nostrils, timed by heart beats.  I was pretty good at it until one day my body refused to do it.  So I stopped trying.

 

A couple of weeks later an old lady came over to me and told me that I had damaged my body.

 

I never used that sort exercise again.

 

 

Edited October 1, 2022 by Lairg

[Eduardo]

6 hours ago, searcher7977 said:

Hi all,

 

My question is, what is so different about taijiquan and qigong, such that I struggle to do even 3 minutes of Spring Forest Qigong or zhan zhuang (or even Flying Phoenix Chi Kung), but I can do 5-10min of the tai chi? Not only that, but tai chi is the only practice that has actually given me a sort of buzz. It seems to me the active opening and closing movements, along with feet movements, are helpful, but I lack knowledge of the inner workings to understand this. The form of taijiquan I'm doing is Bruce Frantzis wu style.  

 

As a follow up question, given that my body/mind seems to have an affinity for tai chi, should I focus less (if at all) on qigong and practice tai chi almost exclusively? Or does this mean I need to endure it and keep practicing qigong? My goals are health and "spiritual progress." 

 

Recently I've been struggling with health, in particular movement, and some (diagnosed) zen sickness. I can only manage one 20-30min walk per day for example. Although I'm making lots of progress, one thing that eludes me is a consistent practice right now. In that past, before my zen sickness, I was able to do anapanasati or open-awareness type meditations for an hour or two everyday, in addition to being very phyiscally active. My background is almost two decades of inconsistent (self-taught) buddhist meditation and (self-taught) hatha yoga. 

 

Thank you in advance.

 

 

 

 

 

You would have to try Tai Chi Qigong, before being so categorical with your conclusions. For example, Master Lin Hou Sheng's Shibashi this is his site https://www.linhousheng.com/

[mcoolio]

On 10/1/2022 at 11:16 PM, Lairg said:

Many years ago I used to do a Hindu breathing exercise - through alternate nostrils, timed by heart beats.  I was pretty good at it until one day my body refused to do it.  So I stopped trying.

 

A couple of weeks later an old lady came over to me and told me that I had damaged my body.

 

I never used that sort exercise again.

 

Breathing synchronized with heart beat rhythm is by itself already a pretty powerful exercise.

 

Not surprised you could damage something in doing it (plus the nostril alternation). Especially if body is not sufficiently trained.

 

But can also be very useful exercise if used correctly.