Simple Qigong for Health: The Eight Pieces of Brocade (YMAA Qigong Book 1)

When you are finished with the swallowing and the body is warm and full of qi, imagine that the skin and the area around your body is full of fire. This image will bring qi to the skin and build up the shield of guardian qi (wei qi, 衛氣) around the body.

Therefore, when you practice you should try to understand the poetry or the “secret words.”

This exercise will extinguish any fire in your middle dan tian so that you can concentrate and calm your mind.

The general rule in breathing is that when you extend your limbs you exhale and lead the qi to the extremities, and when you withdraw your limbs you inhale and lead the qi to your spine.

When you practice qigong, you must first train to make your qi flow naturally and smoothly.

When your yi (the general) knows how to regulate the body (knows the battlefield), how to regulate the breathing (set up the strategy), and how to effectively regulate the qi (direct your soldiers), you will be able to reach the final goal of qigong training.

In taiji qigong society, it is commonly said that your yi must “listen” to your qi and “understand” it. Listen means to pay careful attention to what you sense and feel.

when the yi is strong, the qi is strong, and when the yi is weak, the qi is weak. Therefore, the first step of qigong training is to develop your yi. The first secret of a strong yi is calmness.

The more your yi communicates with your qi, the more efficiently the qi can be led. For this reason, as a qigong beginner, you must first learn about yi and qi, and also learn how to help them communicate efficiently. Yi is the key in qigong practice. Without this