Brief History
Ancient Technology - Internal Alchemy, NeiGong and QiGong
We are here on Earth to learn and grow. It is said that the Earth is a school to master energies which can only be done in physical, human form.
There are many ancient life philosophies out there that provide useful teachings. The most systematic and detailed approach I came across is provided by the ancient teachings of Taoism. Their millenia old wisdom provides hands-on practices to get a grip on esoteric fundamentals the Western World has either forgotten about or does not believe in anymore.
I invite you to join us in our Qigong, Neigong and Internal Martial Art practices to help you master your energies and make your life an adventure again.
What is Taoism
“He who knows others is wise, he who knows himself is enlightened” – Laozi
The above concept of Taoism is neatly embedded in the ancient Chinese Symbol for “Tao” (symbol on the left) which is most commonly translated as “The Way”. The beauty about Chinese symbols is that they tell us little stories which cannot be translated into one word.
The character on the left side of the symbol is associated with the “way”– three footsteps evoking a magical dance facing south and then moving towards the eastern rising sun. The character on the right side shows a face with hair on top – the “Origianl Face”. In ancient Taoism the term “Original Face” describes the primordial person, the soul before birth. Hence the full symbol for “Tao” represents the “Original Face” walking the path back to conscious wholeness.
This represents one of the main goals of Taoism – to make the journey back to this natural state of being by shedding all layers of masks and programms you are not. This is the process of awakening and enlightening. This journey back was viewed by many ancient Daoist masters as an act of deliberately evoking something through magic.
Brief History
The origins of Taoism can be traced back thousands of years to the Wu Yi shamans in China – artifacts of up to 7000 years old have been found . Wu Yi shamans have been known to have already understood that everything happens under the influence of the energetic transformation of Qi. According to ancient Chinese belief the founder of esoteric shamanic Taoism was one of the Wu Yi shamans, the Yellow Emperor, Huang Di around 3000 BC, not Laozi (original name Li Er, around 200 BC).
Over thousands of years the Taoist masters developed an incredibly detailed understanding of energies in and around their body and how to work with them. This understanding enabled them to live a long, healthy, fulfilled and happy life.
The details of these highly efficient energetic practices which encompass for instance various martial arts were kept a secret within clans and families for centuries. Only just recently, since the end of the 20th century, this knowledge and wisdom has been made available for the western world to discover.
Types of Taoist Energy Work
Over many centuries thousands of different styles and practices of energy work have been developed. They used to have many different names. Since the 1950s the modern term Qigong is used to group them all together.
Qi is the Chinese word for “life-force energy”. According to Taoists, Qi is the invigorating force that flows through nature and all living things. Gong means “benefits acquired through practice”. Therefore, Qigong is the skillful practice of applying life-force energy. It is a combination of postures, movements, self-massages, breathing techniques, visualisations, mental concentration, sounds and meditations.
Today, Qigong practices are divided into three main schools: martial, spiritual and medical Qigong. They are all based on the same principles and share elements in common, but the focus of each is different.
For some Taoists it is important to distinguish between Neigong and QiGong practices. While Neigong is assoiated with the process of inner alchemical changes and transformational work done inside at the core of our body and then spread to the outside; most Qigong exercises work the other way round, from the outside to the inside.
It is also important at this stage to draw the attention to the 3 Chinese internal martial arts Tai Chi, Bagua and Xing Yi, all of which fall under martial Qigong. These are called internal martial arts as the power comes from internal forces as opposed to from mainly muscle force as seen in external martial arts. Internal martial arts is an art of self-discipline that starts inside, a philosophy of life more than anything else that wraps around the inner and the outer worlds as opposed to sole focus on the external body with empphasis on the training of physical strength and agility as often seen in external martial arts. In internal martial arts Qi travles via the Lower Dan Tian to the point where it is needed via connective tissue to generate “whole body power”.
How Taoist Energy Work can help
Many of the world’s modern health challenges, rooted in overthinking, stress and depression to mention the most common ones have energetic origins. Longer lasting energetic imbalances often result in physical ailments when unaddressed for some period of time. Taoists have long understood this delicate mind-body connection and have been very efficient not only at healing energetic or physical ailment but also to provide a ticket to a much deeper journey in life. The usual scenario goes something like this:
A typical overworked sleepdeprived person’s wake-up call with an outwardly successfully looking career and busy social life usually starts with some type of physical discomfort or health issue that may or may not become chronic or perhaps a series of misfortunes on the physical side. Once this person takes time to examine the situation in detail and start digging deeper there often comes a realisation at some point that the health issue or discomfort was just a way of their body telling them that something needs to change. To put it in alternative words: Perhaps it was the call from the universe communicating to them through the energies of their physical body that they are on the wrong track, that something needs to change to restore harmony and balance. Thereby, they have just opened a door to their inner world and the journey begins…
Taoist practices can help you open a door to your inner world and find your own path back to true self, just like the “Original Face” walking the path back to conscious wholeness. The benefits of Taoist practices can take many shapes and forms and amongst other can help with the following:
- Removal of trauma and other energetic blockages
- Increase of energy level
- Improvement of energy circulation
- Greater Self awareness
- Increase of Energy Frequency
- Removal of Layers of Lower Frequencies
- Awakening on various levels
- Re-activation of dormant energies and knowledge
- Activation of inner knowing/intuition
Classes
Weekly Class – Foundation Work of Taoist Internal Alchemy through Qigong, Neigong, Theory and Q&A
Start: September 2023
The practices are building upon one another