How to understand the Qi mentioned during the practice of Tai Chi ?
The qi mentioned in Tai Chi depends on where to say and where to use it. There are several situations to be different: Sometimes Qi refers to breathing ; sometimes it refers to movement or intensive mentioned in Tai Chi; sometimes it refers to the innate qi and vital energy mentioned in traditional Chinese medicine, which is what we usually call " The "qi" in "high qi" is very strong", or "tall qi" is weak; sometimes it refers to temperament, for example, this person has a good temperament and full of spirit, or the person is depressed, this kind of qi Although it cannot be touched, it does exist in humans.
Breathing and vital energy are two different qi. The boxing guide says, "Qi should be swelling, and spirit should be restrained." Here, "qi" refers to breathing, which is what we are talking about now, reverse breathing or abdominal breathing.
Tai Chi usually uses reverse breathing. Why is it called reverse breathing? Because from the appearance it looks the opposite of our usual breathing. Usually when we breathe, it is manifested in the bulge and deflation of the chest cavity. Because the lungs are on the chest, the chest will bulge as soon as we inhale, and the chest will bulge as soon as we exhale. This is normal breathing, or smooth breathing. Reverse breathing is manifested in the bulge and deflation of the stomach. When inhaling, the stomach bulges and when exhaling, the stomach bulges. This is exactly the opposite of normal breathing, so it is called abdominal breathing, or reverse breathing. Whether it is sequential or reverse breathing, it is used for breathing, but the depth and amplitude of breathing are different from the intake amount.
According to some experts, when inhaling chest, only about one-fifth of the upper half of the lungs are used, and the remaining four-fifths of the lungs are idle and unused, so the ventilation volume of chest breathing is very Small, and when the abdominal breathing is inhaled, the abdomen is compressed and bulged due to the decrease of the diaphragm below the lungs. At this time, the chest cavity is empty, and the outside air comes in large quantities, and the entire lung is filled with qi, which greatly increases and deepens. Qi volume; conversely, when exhaling, the diaphragm rises, pushing the air in the lungs out, and then the abdomen will be deflated again. This is the abdominal breathing we must pursue in the end when practicing Tai Chi. Due to the increase and deepening of the lungs' breathing, a large amount of oxygen can be inhaled, and a large amount of carbon dioxide can be exhaled.
In addition, due to the up and down movement of the diaphragm, it will play a massage role in the internal organs, so this deep breathing benefits a lot. When learning boxing to a certain extent, breathing will inevitably change into abdominal breathing with movements. For example, when "open", you should exhale. At this time, the whole body will expand and the stomach will fade; when "close", You have to inhale, your stomach will bulge. I have developed the habit of abdominal breathing now, but when I first learned boxing, we did not require deep breathing early because this would affect our grasp of other key points.
fist says "qi flows all over the body like water". The qi mentioned here is not the breathing qi, but refers to the vital energy and innate energy in a person's body. What exactly is this qi? Some people say it is bioelectricity. This is just an explanation. There is no clear conclusion on this at present; but this qi does exist, it is a material thing. Although it cannot be seen or touched, But it can be measured with scientific instruments, and you can also clearly feel when boxing. When your hands stretch out, your hands will feel like they are swelling, hot, numb, etc. When your hands are loose, you can feel your breath moving back. .
If you practice Tai Chi according to the instructions and reach a certain level of practice, this sense of qi will naturally come out. If you walk out of a spiral when you are moving around and twist your hand and walk forward with a twist, your sense of energy will definitely increase immediately. This kind of qi is the qi required by Tai Chi. At this time, if you put your hands on someone else's body, the other person will also feel it.
The above talks about breathing and vital energy. There are also some places in the boxing guide that Qi refers to shape and movement. The boxing book says: "Qi is a flag, and the waist is a ring", and it also says: "Qi is like a wheel, and the waist is like an axle."Here, "qi" refers to movement, which means that the relationship between waist and movement is like the relationship between flagpole (the flagpole raised by the army in the past) and flag, axle and wheels. This description makes the relationship between shape and waist very appropriate.
There are some places where Qi refers to the spirit, which cannot be measured with instruments, but people who practice boxing have their own feelings and others can see it. For example, the boxing book says, "If you can lift your spirit, there is no risk of being too late." When you are boxing, your head is raised up, and your temperament will appear; when you move, your expression will appear. The so-called "central and peaceful" means that this kind of energy is also called "the person has energy and spirit."
