Most people who have heard of Eckhart Tolle will immediately relate any statement like ‘coming into the present moment’ with his acclaimed and significant book “The Power of Now”. What follows though is not a precis of his ideas, since the book was published long ago, around 2000, and whatever ideas landed then have long since been integrated in new ways. I believe however, that it would have been one of his intentions: to sow seeds for other’s consciousness to grow golden fields of realisation and, therefore it’s important to credit him with that before I continue…

Increasingly, in my REN XUE Heart cultivation practice (Tong Yuan), an extraordinarily simple and effective habit has been developing. Like all habits, the ones that immediately feel good are the ones that gain traction very quickly ~ and this one undoubtedly falls into that category. As described in both the Blog pieces ‘Exploring Unconditional Trust’ and ‘Love is my Practice’, the wrestling and wrangling of the mind to access both unconditional Love and unconditional Trust, as primordial, unchanging, eternal states of my Original Nature, or True Self, have sometimes felt futile and endless. And so, after all this time, this recent, elegant, realisation…

Backtracking a bit: sometimes I recall those visual puzzles (also called reversal images, optical illusions, perceptual rivalry) where one is asked to see the silhouetted old lady or the young girl, the vase or two faces in profile, etc. When first exposed to these illusions, it can be tough to see anything, let alone even one of the two options. Seeing both possibilities can feel completely impossible. However, if one relaxes and persists, there’s generally a spontaneous, Eureka moment of ‘seeing’ one. Relaxing again even deeper and allowing the eyes to soften, sometimes allows the other ‘rival’ image to pop into view, as spontaneously, out of the tangle of competing black and white.

Once one has been blessed enough to see BOTH, a new challenge arises: the pondering about how to flip-flop seamlessly from one to the other, after just a few seconds ago seeing them. Eventually, once this even greater challenge has been met, the fact emerges that somehow one’s mind latches onto one critical feature for each image, allowing the whole to instantaneously reveal itself. That one feature has unconsciously become a reference point for the construction of the whole image. Knowing what the anchoring reference point is, one will never be foxed again! You just look for the anchoring point and voila, you immediately see the whole image ~ and more astonishingly, you can change perspective quickly and smoothly between the two! It’s so simple in hindsight!

So, exploring this a little further. Can any of us deny that who we think we are, is at least vested in, rooted in, confirmed, and validated in, things that happened in the past? People and events over the broad span of time, sometimes easily recalled from memory, other times not, have profoundly imprinted our identity ~ who we think we are. What was said, not said, done, not done, by others and me, keeps the ‘character’ we know ourselves to be, and its story line, alive and well in this present moment. Our future projections can do the same.

And to point to something different: maybe you have had the experience of waking up in the morning after a long and particularly deep, undisturbed sleep and feeling completely still inside, peaceful even. There’s no thought, just a delicious feeling of being free and vibrantly alive. The breath is smooth and light, the body feels languorous and relaxed. Then, a memory of a conversation or event from last night or yesterday, last week or whenever, comes barrelling in. Immediately, we default to the mental activities of engaging. Planning, arguing, negotiating, defending, attacking, or any number of other responses ~ regarding another person or a situation. All these mental activities require a clear sense of ‘I’ as a personality, to have any kind of traction. All the thoughts, concepts, beliefs, and ideas about who ‘I’ am are highly activated to respond to those past events. And it was those past events that activated the ‘I’.  A few seconds before, there was no ‘personality’. Yet, I was still clearly ‘here’, in my body, breathing, and feeling a soft and profound joy in the pure presence of ‘this moment’; the in-and-out-of-being-alive.

That activation of the ‘personality’ brought all the tension and urgency to do ‘something’, or flee from doing anything, the sense of dissatisfaction, frustration, sadness, grief, loneliness, apathy, desire to avoid life, or maybe to pursue, grasp, oversee, ‘create’. A far cry from that “soft animal of my body, doing what it loves” – the beautiful words from Wild Geese, the poem by the late Mary Oliver and which point to a state of natural being, closely akin to our True Self.

These two aspects of me, are as perceptually fickle as the silhouetted reversal images that taunt with their patterned attractors, those anchoring points that without any doubt will bring each aspect into clear view when we focus on them.

And so, rather accidentally, in Tong Yuan Heart practice meditations, I spontaneously fell into what has become one of the anchoring points for the True Self; a ‘point’ of attention which allows the whole internal experience of the True Self to effortlessly arise. No wrestling, jostling internal dialogue or complicated techniques. The simple portal of being right in this present moment. Bringing my full attention to the body, relaxing deeply into its pure, alive existence right now. Bringing all the awareness inside and fading out into ever further distance, any idea or thought about another time, past, or future. Just this full internal experience, now. What is so unexpected, is the extraordinary ability to connect directly with unconditional Love and Trust in my Heart. No trying. No effort. They are simply Here, Present, Now, as they have always been.

Within the REN XUE Yuan Qigong system, we are introduced to nine Methods of Qigong practice. Yuan Tze designed each to build upon the previous one, to progressively develop the conditions needed for Realisation and Wisdom (the focal point of the system). Every area of human life required for this outcome is addressed and nothing essential is omitted. Hence, it is advised (though not essential) to learn the system from the beginning and progress through each Method in sequence. Doing this, we find that upon arriving at Methods 5 & 6, which equal the highest forms of internal Qigong we can practice, it may be that what commonly takes decades to develop, is likely to occur in less than one! 

The exception to this linear progression in Yuan Gong lies in the last three Methods of the system. Because we cannot start soon enough on cultivating the Heart, the Consciousness, and the True Self, which these Methods cover, they can be learned early in our training. These are unavoidable areas of cultivation on the path to Realisation and Wisdom and no amount of Qi practice that focuses on Qi and the Body alone will ever replace consciously addressing their transformation. In any event, these last three Methods offer processes and theories which add deeper support for the work on our Qi and Body condition, so we only gain. These three Methods immediately shift our perceptual mind and the information it habitually relies on to navigate the world. Inasmuch as we are always the ones at the steering wheel in these practices, we are then efficiently empowered to uplift our lives while having clear stepping stones and steady guard rails to ensure a good outcome.

The aspects of our inner Life that the last three methods address are:

• Method 7, Tong Yuan: our Heart (we can think of this as the spiritual Heart as opposed to exclusively the organ of the heart).
• Method 8, Ling Yuan: our Consciousness.
• Method 9, Ming Yuan: the Awareness that arises from our True Self.

In the seventh method which cultivates what may be called ‘the spiritual Heart’, we learn about five fundamental, unconditional qualities of a human heart: Trust, Openness, Love, Gratitude, and Gongjing (True Respect, Reverence, Humility). These qualities are deeply underdeveloped in most humans for a variety of reasons, and some question if they are even present at all.

It was in my exploration and practice of these five fundamental Heart qualities, called the Wu Xin, that some clarity arose around the often problematic one of unconditional Trust. I mean, who truthfully in this modern world can wrap their head around the idea of walking around with unconditional Trust effulging from their heart? It seems daft. And so, three adjectives arose that could be placed before the noun “Trust” to tease out a better understanding. There are many more, but these provided some helpful insights for me:

1. Naïve Trust: this kind of trust is what we would see in a baby or small child. It is founded on insufficient information available to what we will call the ‘reference system’ and/or, an as yet undeveloped ability to process incoming information in a way that leads to an accurate, objective, clear assessment of a positive way forward. Anything that appears to the senses to be good, is taken to be such. Sometimes more than once, despite evidence to the contrary. We see this kind of trust in ourselves too, and in some adults, it is especially dominant.

2. Simple Trust: in this context, the word ‘simple’ comes with the connotations of ‘simplistic’ and ‘simpleton’. In other words, when Simple Trust is operating, then despite sufficient information being clearly available to the ‘reference system’, objective entry and evaluation is prevented by blocks in the consciousness like beliefs, identity, attachment to ideas and ideologies, and many other habituated, easy, go-to patterns. These subjective filters are a high speed, impenetrable shield deployed unconsciously, leading to little or no accurate, objective, clear assessment of a situation – and very often, merely a short-term positive way forward, with longer-term poorer consequences. This type of trust is often supported by the orientation of human nature to “minimise loss, maximise gain; minimise complexity, maximise simplicity” (Yuan Tze) – we could say, ‘survive’ as an organism in a highly complex environment. When viewed objectively, living according to this type of Trust can be seen as ‘simplistic’ at best and most likely lacking in true wisdom. Wisdom would instead allow in a broad range of information, to be evaluated for its potential place in a truly ecological decision that considers more layers than the immediate existential survival of a single human individual or their preferred state!

3. Unconditional Trust: we are taught in REN XUE to explore the possibility that deep inside our Heart is an unshakeable, eternal quality of Unconditional Trust. This Trust exists independent of and prior to, any thought about another – even our sense of self. It simply is.

In this sense it is part of the primordial terroir of our human existence.

It is a fundamental frame of reference for our being in relationship with The Great Mystery (a term used by Bill Plotkin, PhD), God, Cosmic Intelligence, The Dao.

This Trust allows information to enter unimpeded and enables a different intelligence from our usual knee-jerk, patterned consciousness, to navigate an accurate, objective, clear way forward. This way forward may ironically appear to others, looking inward from their ‘idea-riddled consciousness’, to be foolish or simple! However, it will almost certainly retain the inner states of Relaxed, Calm, Natural, Integrated, Unified and Harmonious and will most likely maximise the potential for these states to be extended outwards to all around – human and other. The power of retaining these six states is that they are the portal for the presence of the far more adept, all-encompassing intelligence we all carry inside: the intelligence of our eternal True Self. When we are being directed by this intelligence, we are most closely aligned with The Way, The Dao, the great, eternal Law of Life, and by definition, our Life will then be supported in the most beneficial way possible with no harm done to any other in the process.

Clearly, from a state of Unconditional Trust, our Life and that of others is well supported. It does not blindly walk us into clear and present danger. However, it may well simply no longer see the ‘danger’ that the perceptual mind was insistent upon. There is a scope to the information and the processing ability of the True Self, that simplifies what needs to be done in this moment to best support a long-term evolution aligned with the Totality of Existence.

We need to deepen our capacity to live again in our True Nature, our True Terroir, in order for our True Self to be present. And Unconditional Trust is a good training ground.

 Louise Pannell ~ December 2021

My life has been rather mundane if seen on paper. No great war nor genocide survived, nor terminal disease, nor horrific abuses, nor famine, nor earthquake. These grand traumas may have explained or justified the closed state of my heart which I first noticed in my early teens. But the fact is less clearly and more invidiously rooted, it turned out.

I remember starting a self-reflection practice at day’s end when I was 11 years old. At that tender age, the reflection was rather innocently on what I’d said in the day that may have hurt another, or ways in which I had crossed various lines of external control in my life, with the ensuing fervent declaration that tomorrow ‘I’d be better’. It was another four years before I lay one night in the stillness and determined something more profound: that my heart was stone. Full stop.

This was on account of a sense of not being able to offer a consistent, unconditional love and, that though I witnessed those around acting in loving ways, it did not penetrate beyond an intellectual recognition. This was a devastating realisation, because love is quite a high priority for any teenager yearning for romantic connection of the Rupert Holmes ‘pina colada’ kind, let alone a child whose internal narrative should include the sense of family being a nest of warm acceptance and nurture. I was too young to understand about projection, attachment theory and other complicated psycho-spiritual concepts, but it was clear that by that stage in my life, the problem was in me, mine and only mine to rectify. And so began a decades-long journey.

In my forties, something significant happened amid the general chaos my stone-heart had predictably created. I was sitting in a deeply quiet state while co-facilitating a neuro-linguistic programming (NLP), intensive practitioners training. Daily meditation was at that point well-established, and though I no longer participated in the conventions and traditions of Christian spirituality which I’d been raised in, the catechisms, sermons and personal Bible study had grounded a handful of significant phrases in me.

‘God is Love’. This one.

‘Man is created in the image of God’. This one.

And then, the various inexplicable and unforgettable states, either spontaneously gifted or meditation-induced, where I was held fixed, in a beam of Love-infused Light from above, unable to move or think, until eventually they passed. These too.

And so, though unbidden, an unconscious extrapolation of the above arose in that NLP training session: the thought, “I am Love”. It came with a sense of unarguable knowing that left the words echoing in the quiet.

I sat in bewilderment for a while, not able to get any kind of grasp on what they meant.

My trusty intellect quickly stepped in to deal with the Great Threat of Confusion, by asking a few curious questions:

• If I am Love, not the one loving nor being loved, what does that mean?
• Who am I when I am Love? In everyday life; each role, each function…?
• What do I think when I am Love?
• What do I say when I am Love? And of course, how do I behave, when I am Love?
• What must change if I am to live the Love I am? And so on.

It had all been easy before when Love was a verb or a state. But when Love is my identity? It was an unfathomable concept. Yet it would not depart.

The significance of these questions in the NLP context is that NLP proposes a model of hierarchical thinking which we are all subject to; a way our brains and neurology organise incoming information to determine the best way to navigate life. One’s identity is at the higher end of this hierarchy and all our most recognisable actions in the world arise from it and its progeny, which are: beliefs and values, competencies/skills, behaviour and even the environments we choose to position ourselves in. It is a big deal who you think you are. It is in fact a major determinant of where you end up in life, what you prioritise, your pervasive states, capabilities, and growth.

I had patently not held a very high view of myself when casting an eye across the plains and prairies of my life.

It was soon after that another recognition arose: that the person I (and everyone else) thinks they are, is only an operating system ~ a set of habituated thoughts about self; ideas and concepts that have been planted into the incessant internal narrative, by self and others. This leads to actions that are high-speed reactive programmes and words that arise from fleeting emotions and not wisdom; actions and thoughts that are more repetitive, predictable – and destructive – than anyone might like to admit.

It followed that how much I chose to focus on only that identity, would be the extent to which I would be limited in every area of life. It may sound self-evident in this age of consciousness exploration. But then, it was revelatory. To me anyway.

The musings continued: what if I changed the focus of identity to any one of the higher order possibilities, like “I am Love”, “I am Peace”, “I am that I Am”. It was clear I would become aligned with a set of laws and possibilities the old, limited identity could never access. These laws and possibilities are whispered through all mystical texts across all religions. But it was clear the moon could not be scooped from the lake of those texts.

Mysticism is not logical nor entertains a delineated path, process and outcome that can be articulated, let alone controlled, sequenced, or measured. Rather it consistently asks of one to trust, to surrender, to open, to receive, to live without clarity and to instead know through experience, not anticipation and meaning. There are indeed processes, techniques, and technologies passed down through the eons to facilitate such experience, but they are often not presented with a clear outcome nor purpose and their coherence, efficacy and safety have often not been established. It’s a wild ride into the unknown of one’s own Mind and Heart, far beyond the bounds of what is spoken of in common society; far beyond the common understanding of what a human life is all about.

Why would I even consider pursuing this? It was clear that my life was no evidence of living it well. And I wasn’t seeing too much evidence around me of the kind of successful living I sensed was possible. All the advice seemed more of the rinse and repeat formulae every generation had followed. And, what’s more, the intensity of love I had felt when emotionally and psychologically suffering, terribly alone, and in a profoundly open and relational state with God, En Sof, All that is More than Me, was totally compelling even though I had no understanding of what it inferred.

How to embark on this, when my operating system was clearly guarded, defensive, mistrustful, strategizing, and controlling ~ and all of these were upheld as wise and intelligent.

There needed to be three things:

• A complete break from the taught logic of how to be in the world.
• Radical courage to go against the conventional, habituated ‘wisdom’ of society (the word ‘courage’ I had already learned has as its root in the French word ‘coeur’ – heart)
• A recognition that as Einstein said: this problem was not going to be solved with the same mind that created it. It could not be solved at all, it turned out, with my resourceful and competent, analytical mind.

I reinforced my commitment to the Indian meditation technology I had been given in my mid-thirties, spending two or more hours a day on the practice, while the rest of each day included ‘watching my mind’, rerouting it, and trying to embed the persistently mysterious identity “I am Love”. Error was followed by try-again. On and on. My life was still spinning in self-generated chaos but amid it all there were ‘miracles’. Moments of immense Grace, unfathomable, just as miracles should be! And so I continued.

The meditation technology I was using worked with my deep, core, energetic structures, which by their nature influence every level of our internal life (our mind, our heart, our body, our ‘soul’) but provided little to no information about how to recognise nor correct mental obstacles to progress. It also did not address the stone heart issue. The practice obliquely addressed it, without doubt. But there was no information around the huge cost to life itself, now and far into the future, of mental and emotional addictions, identifications, and a world view rooted in the need for attack and defend. And for one who had deified the intellect, information was going to be necessary for any further progress. The analytical mind wasn’t going to let go even a bit, without compelling reasons. And what’s more, there was no clear structure provided in the context of this technology, for sifting out what reference content in my mind was serving me and what was sabotaging every forward step. It was increasingly like souping up an engine in a car without a competent or seeing driver. In many respects, I was driving blind.

Nonetheless, in an imperceptible way, relational Love (aka between me and others, whether human or not) increasingly changed into something independent of moods or reactive inclinations to pick n choose when and whom to direct it toward. I could no longer describe it qualitatively nor quantitatively. I certainly did not find myself in some rainbow space of effulgent bliss. Instead, it became a kind of flat land of steady emotion in all relationships. Neither specifically high nor low. I don’t think this is any achievement. It is just where I am now. I can say for certain that the old co-dependent, roller coaster form of love is largely unravelled. But that is not my endpoint. My heart may not be stone now, but it isn’t fully open.

In my early fifties, that technology I had faithfully applied with unrelenting discipline for nearly two decades waned in compulsion. Two days of no practice eventually stretched to a week and there seemed to be a growing vacuum in my Life cultivation. REN XUE and the Yuan Gong teachings arrived on the shores of my lake at that time and there was no hesitation in jumping onto the refined, masterfully designed boat. I had been longing for the clear guidance it offered. For the simplicity that never compromised profundity. I soaked up the wisdom teachings distilled and presented by Yuan Tze, its founder. Answers to many years of questions helped make sense of past experiences.  The teachings provided clear guidelines for what to pay attention to and what to ignore, and a trustworthy, credible process with a clear outcome, closely aligned with my own.

And the structure of identity ~ essentially what I choose to identify with both internally and externally ~ was unpacked in such a way that “I am Love” can now increasingly exist rationally and congruently with my worldly name, roles, and functions. There is less bewilderment and a growing clarity that every day this statement of fact needs to be nourished, practiced. For it is this no-mind, but rather heart practice, which will help to shift the likelihood of living a meaningless merry-go-round Life/Lives of desperate iteration.

Although there is a myriad of what are termed ‘spiritual technologies’ for uplifting health and the Consciousness, both ancient and modern, there is much diversity in their underpinning beliefs and approaches. Many have demonstrated relative efficacy over decades of existence and the experience of their practitioners. This discussion respects that and intends to only offer a helpful viewpoint on what sets Qigong apart from the many methods across traditions, all of which seek to uplift human life in one aspect or another.

Qi and the physical body:

The first point to be made, is that from the REN XUE Yuan Qigong perspective, our bodies, and every single structure down to the DNA, is made up of Qi. So, not only does Qi (or energy) flow through the Qi channels, collect in the Qi storage centres, and activate everything we would consider to be our physical life, but it is also the basic building block of every structure of the body. If there were no Qi gathered into an individual called ‘me’, I would not have atoms that form the DNA in my cells, let alone any of the proteins it encodes for my physical form. In addition, I would not breathe, digest, move, show signs of ‘life’…

I would therefore not ‘exist’ as human being in a human body.

It follows that the quality and quantity of the Qi gathered into ‘me’ at any point in time determines the quality of my life force and physical well-being. Less Qi, less health. More Qi, more vitality and overall well-being.

This gathering of Qi initially happens at conception, when Super-Information of The Dao and my Original True Self cause a gathering of primordial Yuan Qi of the Universe into a unique, embodied ‘me’. This Yuan Qi is imbued with the information of my individual Law of Life and tends in the childhood years, to be abundant and of a relatively high quality. Hence most humans are healthy and energetic when young.

At this stage of life, the activities of the Consciousness are generally well-unified with the fundamental qualities of a human heart, being Trust, Openness, Love, Gratitude and a natural humility and respect for other beings. We almost always see the bright-eyed aliveness, open playfulness, unconditional generosity, and one-kindness in young children. The True Self is still relatively unimpeded and able to follow the Laws of the Universe and Nature, keeping physical Qi of the body in a good state. Later, as humans mature, the activities of their Consciousness for various reasons, begin to settle into habituated patterns that are not in line with the Laws of the Universe and Nature. The quality and quantity of their physical Qi becomes depleted, and tiredness and disease begin to creep in.

Qi and the mind/Consciousness:

The second point to be made, is that our Qi does not only fuel the health and well-being of our physical bodies. It also fuels the brightness, alertness, and overall capabilities of our Consciousness. We have all noticed that when we are sick, our minds are not focused or able to think in clear, positive, uplifting ways. It may take a monumental effort to give attention to the things we know would serve us better. We simply lie in a state of weariness and maybe even hopelessness, waiting for ‘the medicine’ to work or some other external factor to shift things towards what we would be happy to call ‘health’. This cycle plays out over and over in our lifetime, even lending credibility to the West’s deep reliance on health insurance and chronic medication, especially for the later years of life.

Different practices, different approaches:

Of course, many seated meditative practices can bring benefit to health. Depending on the teachings, they may focus on positive thoughts and the deeper, spacious nature of Consciousness. This will cascade down into the physical body in a beneficial way, since as we described above regarding early childhood, a better state of Consciousness naturally uplifts the quality and flow of Qi in the body.

However, in the circular nature of these things, the ability to be committed and diligent enough to sit everyday and bring focus to these meditative Consciousness practices, requires a good quality and quantity of Qi in the body in the first place! If Qi is low, the inclination to sit will be low, the body will have aches and pains in various postures affecting the ability to focus the mind, and the Consciousness itself will be under-fuelled to work well. As a result. the barrier to entry for these technologies is quite high for most people whose Qi condition is already depleted. And in these times, even young people are sadly already in this depleted state.

There are some ancient, seated, meditative practices which work directly on Qi in the channels, not only the mind and Consciousness (being the common association for meditative practices). Although these systems can be highly effective, they depend on clear, accurate teachings, a high level of practitioner diligence and an accomplished teacher’s guidance to ensure safety. These methods generally take many years, even decades, and high levels of determination to deliver their benefits. Almost always, it is advised to be under the close supervision of a highly experienced and credible teacher.

Tai Chi, a practice which uses elements of Qigong, its historical predecessor, works by moving the body in ways that open and unblock Qi channels. It has been shown in countless credible research papers to benefit the body in many ways. However, it does not have specific practices for uplifting the Consciousness and one might receive training from an accomplished teacher for many years before being informed, if ever, of the deeper intentions and possibilities of the form.

Yoga, which originally formed part of a whole integrated way of living became split off from its roots when taken up enthusiastically in the West. There are some schools of yoga which still integrate all the levels of a human life into their practice, however for the most part yoga has become focused on the cultivation of strength, flexibility, and health in the body. As mentioned earlier, this naturally benefits the Consciousness, but this will mostly be limited by the knowledge and intention of the practitioner. In addition, few schools remain robustly focused on the quality of Consciousness in all areas of the practitioners’ lives and though the original guidance around upright living may be shared, it is not what brings people onto the mat.

Qigong and its premises and benefits:

Qigong in contrast, works in a simple and direct way from the very foundation, being the basic building block of an intelligent universe – Qi.

It is based on the following premises:

• By increasing the amount of Qi flow through the channels and learning how to store Qi in the Qi storage centres (the Dantians and Miraculous Vessels) of the body, health is improved. This can be extended to building extraordinary strength and physical abilities as seen in the Shaolin Monks.
• By increasing the quality and quantity of Qi in the body, Consciousness is also strengthened. This is because so much of our Consciousness is inextricably entwined with the physical structures of our brain and neurology.
• Since ‘Qi flows where the Mind goes’, when the Consciousness is strong, the first premise can be enhanced, and a supportive cycle is immediately set up. Both body and Consciousness are uplifted by the increased flow and quantity of Qi.
• Because the connections between Body, Qi, Consciousness, and breath are taught from the outset and built into the practices, all aspects of our Being are mobilised to increase the efficacy of the practice.

In addition, Qigong has the following benefits:

Carefully designed, uncomplicated, fluid and deeply relaxing movements reflect the natural movements of Qi in the Universe and the body. This makes the practice potentially very efficient (little effort, maximum gain). The exception to this description is for the hard Qigong styles used in the martial arts, where practitioners need more focus and endurance to hold challenging stances over long periods of time.

The easy, rhythmic movements in most Qigong styles can be adapted for practitioners of any age or health condition meaning improvement to Qi and Consciousness is accessible to anyone.

Some significant ways REN XUE Yuan Qigong has brought growth to the field of Qigong:

Yuan Qigong takes all the above and further develops the accessibility, efficiency, safety, and effectiveness by:

• recognising that there are different levels of Qi in the Universe and focusing the practitioner’s attention on gathering undifferentiated, primordia Qi, called Yuan Qi. By its ancient definition, Yuan Qi of the Universe holds all potential and information for wellbeing, Realisation and Wisdom.
• Yuan Gong also pays great attention to the fact that yes, a greater flow and quality of Qi in the body fuels the Consciousness powerfully – potentially a good thing. However, if the patterns of the Consciousness are not evaluated for alignment with the Law of the Universe and Nature (which are taught), one almost inevitably ends up a powerful human with misaligned, unecological, harmful ways of living. This is a highly significant progression in the development of Qigong with specific seated meditative methods designed to address this area.
• The principles, theories and methods are grounded in the original, pure teachings of the Great Qi masters dating back thousands of years.
• Modern science and accumulated wisdom from modern Qi masters have been incorporated into the design of the methods.
• There is a high commitment to retaining the purity of the methods and not being swayed by popular preferences and notions to make it anything more or less than it is. REN XUE teachers around the world are committed to this.

To deepen your experience of the above knowledge we invite you to join a Qigong class with a REN XUE Africa Yuan Qigong teacher. Click on the button below to find out more about class times and our teachers.

As Qigong becomes more and more popular in the West, it is valid to ask: why would I choose Yuan Qigong, when there are so many different credible Qigong systems available?

Firstly, Yuan Qigong (the name given to the body of 9 Methods of Qigong within REN XUE Life Cultivation) is taught by a global network of highly qualified teachers, required to abide by norms, ethics and safety codes of conduct, overseen by a robust organisation, REN XUE International.

REN XUE International was founded in 2002 by Yuan Tze, a Master Qigong practitioner, and Life Cultivator of high attainment. The term ‘Life Cultivation’ is not within common Western parlance and it is therefore helpful to know that what is inferred, is a lifetime’s focus on refining, developing, expanding one’s health on all the levels of Spirit, Body, Mind, Qi and Heart. It is considered in the traditional East, to be one of the highest purposes of one’s life. This is oftentimes the polar opposite of what has evolved to be the highest purpose of life in the West, where the focus is predominantly on external, material attainments, often to the detriment of one or all of Spirit, Body, Mind, Qi and Heart.

Secondly, Yuan Qigong, arose out of the true intention of Yuan Tze to provide a progressive (ie. sequentially structured), safe, efficient qigong system to the world, founded on respected principles of the ancient Qi masters, modern science and decades of personal experience (under the guidance of esteemed teachers in many relevant fields). It is easy to gloss over the words ‘progressive, safe and efficient’ however know that they are chosen with much consideration and it is important to take into account that not all qigong systems have a methodology that easily embraces these essential requirements, respectable and effective as they can be.

Yuan Tze’s intention has been achieved partly by the sequence of methods in Yuan Qigong: Firstly, Methods 1 – 3 work on external transformation of the Body and Qi, then Methods 4 – 6 progress to working on internal transformation leading to the highest level of work on Qi. Finally Methods 7 – 9 progress to working on the heart, consciousness and a ‘state of deep integration’, of the Soul/Spirit and Heart. Although this appears to be a linear process, it becomes over time, a constant series of virtuous cycles supporting each level of transformation. There is no endpoint, yet the clear objective is to uplift one’s internal well-being and cultivate ever increasing levels of peace and harmony within and without. As this continues, Higher Realisation and Wisdom, two jewels of Life Cultivation, naturally arise.

Each of these methods contributes to an unimpeded, sure-footed trajectory on this latter aspect of the Life Cultivation Path. It is this thoroughness, without superfluousness, that makes Yuan Qigong distinguished, though maybe not unique.

Thirdly, yet no less important than the above, is that Yuan Qigong works mainly with the original, undifferentiated Qi of the universe ~ Yuan Qi. This is primordial Qi before it divides into Yin and Yang and as such has all potential for positive transformation readily available, when we draw it into our bodies with intent.

And lastly for the purposes of this article, whereas many of the traditional qigong systems focus on only the enhancement of one’s physical wellbeing, Yuan Qigong systematically and safely enables positive transformation of the root causes of all imbalances in our lives. To that end, it guides one respectfully and compassionately through the required changes of Consciousness, always leaving the evaluation of what needs to be changed, up to the practitioner. Easy to implement principles which the practitioner can observe operating in pure or less than pure forms in daily life, provide self-referenced guidance on what to address, when.

The journey is always one’s own. But the right tools can make all the difference to the quality and the destination.

WHY PRACTISE YUAN QIGONG?

It is not easy to sift through all the ways to improve physical health and maintain it, in the 21^st Century! It takes more than the average person’s knowledge of the five basic food groups, 8 hours of sleep and a regular, carefully selected exercise routine.

Science is unearthing ever finer distinctions in each of these categories, from the necessity for micro-nutrients to the benefits of intermittent fasting, while non-scientific, but influential outliers claim we only need 4 hours of sleep given certain cultivated states of mind.  The full spectrum of exercise advice from aerobic, anaerobic, weight training, HIIT, Pilates, yoga etc adds to the buffet of choices (or is that confusion) and so on and on we go!

In the same vein, when our health takes a bad turn, there are as many healing modalities – outside of mainstream Western medicine – to turn to.

It is easy therefore, to simply see Qigong in general, as another quirky, fringe, placebo practice, which may or may not make one feel good, but for the rest, who knows and why bother?

Without a doubt, it appeals to some without too much research, as surely as yoga, jogging or swimming do, but it is worth bearing in mind that according to Encycolpedia.com:

• Upwards of 60 million Chinese people practice Qigong daily and it was the mainstay of Chinese traditional health practice for thousands of years, long before Western scientific medicine arrived there.
• It is still commonly prescribed as part of traditional Chinese medicine for various conditions.
• It was initially a secretive practice by monks and spiritual adepts in China and Japan between 5 000 – 7 000 years ago, but spread throughout their nations in more recent times.
• It was only recently brought to the West (only in 1990 did Berkeley, California host the First International Congress of Qigong). Acupuncture was only ‘discovered’ by Western doctors in the 1970s and by way of comparison, the Pilates studio on nearly every street corner today, comes from the now highly regarded movement discipline created by Joseph Pilates in the 1920s ~ 100 years ago. It takes time for good things to grow. And to say that another way: just because it is not yet well known in our neighbourhood, does not mean it should be shrugged off!

Claims around Physical Health Benefits of Qigong

Having said all that, what are the claims around the physical health benefits of this ancient practice:

• It is suitable for people of all ages and physical conditions: mindful, carefully executed movements means the body is exercised in a low impact, safe way and all practices can be modified for more unusual physical limitations.
• It is easy to learn, costs nothing once the methods are familiar and can be practised anywhere and anytime.
• It naturally develops greater mobility and strength: flowing movements and synchronised breathing increase oxygen and blood in all organs, joints and tissues, which brings obvious benefits to every part of the body, including regeneration and healthier function.
• The following article: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3085832/ reports on research articles covering more than 6 400 participants from 13 countries. It synthesises the information in these articles, to analyse the benefits achieved in regard to bone density, cardiopulmonary conditions, fall rate and balance, quality of life, self-efficacy, patient reported outcomes (a broad category of ailments where patients subjectively described themselves as feeling better), the cluster of psychological conditions incorporating anxiety, stress and depression, immune function and inflammation. In all these categories, there were overall improvements.

This article does combine research in both Tai Chi and Qigong, however critically states:

“As noted earlier, it is not unusual for the intervention used in a study or trial to be named Tai Chi, but to actually apply a set of activities which is more a form of Qigong, that is, easy-to-learn movements that are simple and repeatable rather than the long complex sequences of traditional Tai Chi movements that can take a long time to learn. For example, many of the studies examining Tai Chi effects on balance use a modified, repetitive form of Tai Chi which is more like Qigong. Thus, while it appears that fewer studies have been conducted to test what is called Qigong, it is also clear that when a practice called Tai Chi is modified to focus, especially on balance enhancement, for example, it actually may be Tai Chi in name only.”

• No research has shown it to cause harm and more specifically, Yuan Qigong, was especially created with safety in mind, with highly trained teachers prioritising the well-being of their students in every class. This relates to physical limitations and the careful stacking of competencies throughout the nine methods.
• Being a movement meditative practice, it trains the body-mind system to cultivate deeply calm and relaxed states while moving. Many people who meditate routinely declare with frustration that they feel wonderful while seated in the stillness of their meditation practice, only to be yanked into all their stress patterns as soon as their eyes open and they begin their usual daily activities. Yuan Gong goes a step further in addressing this, with clearly designed methods that focus on integrating this deep calm into everyday life. One is training from the first class one attends, how to operate in a calmer, more relaxed and centred way, in all areas of one’s life.
• This has all the benefits of reducing stress throughout our waking hours and contributing to deeper, more restful sleep at night.

Yuan Qigong will not be all some people wish to practice regarding exercise, but there is sufficient evidence anecdotally and research-wise, to show that just a 20-minute daily practice, will benefit everyone, especially as life gets busier and more demanding. The extent to which the cracks have begun to show in all manner of physical ailments, is the extent to which Yuan Qigong will slow down and reverse the decline of vital force in a way that only exercise may not accomplish.

For many reasons related to the integration of the mind, body and breath while practising Yuan Qigong, to exclude it while only doing some form of physical exercise, is likely in time, to prove limiting.

An Open Invitation

We invite you to book a free, introductory class (using the booking section of the main website), to experience how readily the body benefits from even one session. Utilise the coupon code ‘freeqi’ when you get to the checkout option of the booking process.