Chi Kung class 9: Water Qigong

Beginning with an aside… due to holiday travel and lodging in new places, I went four days without doing my usual 30 – 45 minutes of qigong in the morning, and I am really feeling it. Just doing 20 minutes of it tonight helped to right the ship as it were.

It is interesting, but qigong is becoming my go-to spiritual practice. Yes I still hold Bodhicitta dearly in my heart, but doing Dharma practice (aside from sitting occasionally on my meditation cushion) is challenging for me by myself. Qigong though has become a healthy, life-enhancing habit. I am very grateful for all my teachers – especially Dan Retuta for re-kindling the qigong fire within me.

Last week, I taught qigong again, in the beautiful foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains (literally at the base of mountains that support Wintergreen Ski Resort). The clean crisp mountain air and water are truly a blessing. Just to walk around out there mindfully, slowing down and taking in the clarity and purity was special.

I saved Water Qigong for last because it is the most subtle. Solar (fire) Qigong is quite obvious – you feel the sun’s warmth on you! Tree Qigong is embodying the connection between heaven and earth – which the trees do before our very eyes! Dropping roots down into Mother Earth while reaching for the heavens simultaneously. What better teachers of Heaven and Earth practices?

But Water Qigong? It takes a refined being or someone with the potential to become a refined being (and who isn’t that?) to feel the subtle flow of yin chi energy across the hands. To feel the cool breeze of the water chi as you stand near a mountain stream.

Just like the previous week, the practitioners (students) were hungry to learn. Although I think they were just as surprised as I was that last time Tree Qigong would reveal so many insights!

They were definitely looking forward to the Water Qigong (I may have talked it up a bit). Just standing meditatively near a clean clear mountain stream however is healing, beneficial, prayerful. Then having gratitude in your heart and having a decent lineage of teachings to go with that – makes the process even more profound.

I loved how we each had a different symphony of water / stream / river sounds to listen to. Two people even heard some bass notes playing. I love the land where we practiced. I hope to do my own practice out there soon.

I say that because as I stood near a convergence of two streams, a little water spirit came and stood by my side. It was a little uncanny at first – I could see her (I’m pretty sure it was a she?), but I definitely felt her presence. She was urging me to do more for the environment. I also suspect she was most displeased with the incoming pipeline which is going in a few miles from where we were practicing. Therefore, I’d like to get back out there to see if I can open up those lines of communication again – to hear her more clearly.

After my time in Crestone Colorado, where the water spirits (and wind spirits and more) are much more accessible, perhaps that influenced my connection with them elsewhere. I’m not sure. Not bragging, just noticing. Nothing special, just rare communion with nature spirits. 🙂 Rare for me that is – precious and few-and-far-between.

Thank you for reading!