Now that video has got you in the mood for thinking about numbers, lets explore…
The meaning of different numbers in Chinese culture
If you have been exposed to different schools and traditions of qigong, you may have noticed that in some of them they are very specific about how many times you should do different exercises or movements. They treat the number of repetitions of things almost as if they were a magic formula!
In this blog post we are going to look at some of the numbers that are commonly used, what they mean, and how this may or may not have a magical effect on your qigong practice. From this knowledge I hope that you will gain a better understanding of how you can incorporate the use of numbers into your qigong practice in a practical and meaningful way.
In Chinese philosophy different numbers are associated with different meanings. Some of these meanings come simply from the number sounding, or looking similar to another word in the Chinese language. You can find some examples of this kind of association in this article on Wikipedia here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_numerology Other meanings have a deeper relationship to fundamental forces in nature and understanding of how energy works. It is usually these latter kinds of meanings that are made use of in qigong practice, although sometimes the more superficial meanings come into play as well.
So how can these numbers affect your qigong practice?
Qigong practice usually involves working with the mind and the body together in co-ordination with the breath which is also synonymous with the movement of energy. So it is helpful to look at both the physical and psychological effects different numbers can have on us, and then how these may combine to affect the energy (qi) in our practice.
Physical rep ranges
Doing different numbers of repetitions of movements has different physical effects on our bodies due to the way they will access different chemical energy systems in our body, and also the influence on other tissues. The effect of the different numbers of repetitions usually occur in ranges though rather than for specific numbers.
Some common rep ranges are:
1-3 repetitions: This type of rep range uses the ATP-CP energy system, the ready energy stored in your cells. This type of rep range is ideal for developing maximum speed. Also in this rep range we see effects on flexibility due to the second and third stretch response where the connective tissue loosens and allows you to move further into a movement the second and third time you repeat the movement. After the third time any further increases in range tend to be minimal.
3-12 repetitions: This type of rep range uses the Glycolytic energy system, it burns glycogen (sugar) that is stored in the muscles for use. This energy system does not require oxygen, but does produce some waste products that means we cannot sustain it for too long before the pathway becomes blocked. This type of rep range is used for building muscle mass and strength.
12-40 repetitions: Combination of Glycolytic (anaerobic) and Oxidative (aerobic) energy systems. Both of these are the burning of glycogen, anaerobic means in the absence of oxygen, aerobic means with oxygen. This starts to draw not just on the sugars stored in the cells, but also on the sugar in the blood stream as well, starting to create a constant flow of energy. This rep range is used for developing skill and co-ordination in movements.
Over 40 repetitions: This rep range uses the Oxidative energy system. This is the clean burning of the bodies sugars with oxygen and minimal waste production so that the energy pathway stays open. When this is done efficiently there is a constant flow of energy, and the activity or movement can be continued for long periods of time. Naturally by working with this rep range and this energy system, we develop endurance for those movements.
The rep ranges referred to above relate to common types of exercise, and the usage of the energy systems is more about how long each system lasts for rather than a number of reps. You can get a bit more of an overview of the chemical energy systems in this article here https://experiencelife.com/article/all-about-your-metabolic-energy-systems/ . So qigong practice can be a bit confounding to some of these effects because in some practices we sometimes do movements very very slowly. For example, if you do a single movement that takes a whole minute to complete, you are most likely using the oxidative energy system, but you are training the neurological system in a way that would usually be used with the ATP-CP system… There are some very interesting implications and effects that come from this, but discussing that would take us a bit too far from this articles topic of the use of numbers in qigong practice, so we’ll leave further analysis of this for a future blog post. For now it is helpful to have at least a surface understanding of the different type of physical effects that different rep ranges may have in your practice.
Psychological Associations
How we think and feel as we move leads to quite different effects within our body and energy. For example, if we perform a movement while feeling angry, or thinking angry thoughts, there will be more bracing in the body and greater release of cortisol. This will have clear and direct effects on the liver and gallbladder, but also general effects that go through the whole body and all of its muscles and connective tissues. When we think fearful thoughts, there will be increased release of adrenaline, and stimulation of the kidneys and so on. These are two very simple examples, but of course the nature of our thoughts and emotions can be much more nuanced, and so will their effects be. If we have certain associations with a particular number, that association is going to carry over into subtle differences in the way that our body and energy functions as we perform a movement that number of times.
Conscious vs Unconscious Association
These associations function whether we are aware of them or not. If a meaning is deeply embedded in our culture, even if we are not thinking about it, it is there deep inside our subconscious and will affect how our body and energy responds. And what’s more, even if it is not embedded in our own culture, this meaning can be transmitted to us unconsciously by someone from another culture in which the meaning is embedded.
I’ll explain how this works. Let’s take for example the number 4. This number has a number associated with death in the Chinese culture, and so is often avoided in qigong practice. If you don’t know this and have had no association with anyone who has that embedded cultural association, then using the number four is unlikely to have any particular effect on you outside of the physical effect of practicing in that rep range. But, if you practice with someone, or even around someone who has this embedded belief, and you use this number, they will respond to it on either a conscious or unconscious level, and in turn you will respond to what occurs within their body and energy. The meaning has now been passed to you, even if you have no conscious awareness of it. Now you will also respond to the meaning that they have associated with that number. This could occur with the number four, which of course would have bad effects on you, but equally the same process occurs for other numbers that may be ‘lucky’ or beneficial in some way.
When this happens on an unconscious level, it can start to seem a bit like magic. Practicing things different numbers of times has significantly different effects on you, and you don’t even know why. You just need to remember the special number of times you need to do things to have a good effect, and to avoid the bad numbers of times that can cause a bad effect on you.
Meaningful Instead of Magical
While seeing the effect that this can have on qigong practice can be quite fascinating, it can also be disempowering, until you understand what is going on. When you understand, you can take back control of this process of psychological association, and use it as a way to empower you again, rather than as something which you have little control over.
Lets stay with the number 4 for the moment. When you understand that the effect of this number beyond the physical rep range effect is purely a matter of psychological response, you can choose to not recognise that association, and therefore not let it have any effect on you. Or, even better, you can choose an association that fits better with what you wish to achieve. For example, another aspect of the meaning of the number 4 is change. Death is simply a kind of change. When you recognise this you can use the meaning in your favour. Four then becomes a useful number for changing habits and ending bad patterns in your body and energy, making way for the fresh and new. You don’t need to stay just within the meanings of numbers in Chinese culture either. You can choose meanings from other cultures, or even meanings that have personal significance to you alone, and use these and your psychological and flow on physiological response to them to weave your own magic into your qigong practice.
Making the Numbers More Powerful in your Qigong Practice
The use of numbers in your practice becomes even more powerful when you take them beyond just a psychological association, and direct their effect on your practice in a more tangible way. We will look at some examples of different meanings of numbers that you can do this with.
1 – the number of perfection, unity, wholeness. When using this number, do one repetition with ful focus as perfectly as you can. You know you are only doing it once, so explore and relish every part of the movement straight away on your one repetition without waiting to ‘warm up’ into it. If the movement is imperfect, accept and love the perfection of imperfection.
2 – a useful meaning for this is the division into yin and yang. You can consider this and let it effect the quality of your movements as you repeat them two times. You could make one feel heavy and the other light, one cool and one warm, one slow and one fast etc.
3 – this can represent the three dantien. Jing, Qi, and Shen. Heaven, Earth, and People. You can focus your attention on each of these in turn as you practice a movement three times, and feel the effect first on your lower dantien, then you middle dantien, then your upper dantien. There will be literal physical changes to the way your body and energy responds when you put your awareness in each of these centres.
4 – we already covered this one in the context of death and change. Another way you can use it is as an extension of working with three. Consider each of the three centres, and then consider them together as one whole, harmonising them all. 3 + 1. You could also use this to focus on the energy from the four compass points.
5 – the five elements. You can focus on the quality of each of the five elements, Earth, Metal, Water, Wood, and Fire, as you repeat your movements five times.
6 – perhaps the five elements again and harmonizing them together. 5 + 1
7 – the seven cauldrons or chakras as they are commonly known. You might also include use of the seven colours of the rainbow as you work this way
8 – the eight directions, 7 + 1, the eight trigrams if you are familiar with the Bagua and the I Ching.
9 – this can be used to extend your awareness and focus into some of the energy centres that occur outside of your body
And so on… There are of course many more numbers and meanings that can be used.
Combining Rep Ranges and Psychological Association
You may have noticed that all the numbers I mentioned in the previous section of this article were under ten, so in terms of rep ranges they are going to tend to develop either speed or strength. But what if you want to do movements in a higher rep range for some reason, and you want to continue to utilize the additional benefit of psychological association and intent in your practice at these rep ranges? Well a common way to do this is by using multiples of the lower numbers. For example you might use 18, which is 9 repeated twice. You could focus on 9 centres, once yin, and then again yang. Or 21 would be 7 x 3. 64 is 8×8, and so on.
While there are some numbers that you will see occurring frequently in different qigong practices, in the end when you are empowered it is up to you to assign and use meaning, so you are only limited by your own creativity in selecting and using numbers in your practice.
I hope that this article has given you insight into how numbers have been used traditionally in qigong practice and how you can use them more effectively in your own current practice to direct your energy. We have covered several numbers that you will see used often, and hopefully this will help you to be able to understand and interpret other numbers that you encounter on your journey as well. If you encounter a number that you cannot interpret easily, maybe you can ask whoever you see using it what the significance and purpose is for them. In this way your knowledge can continue to grow and you will become even more skillful in your own use of ‘Magic’ numbers in your qigong practice.
Did you find this article interesting?
If you did you might be interested in our Mysterious Qi online qigong course. In that course we look into this and other interesting aspects of qigong theory and apply it experientially to our practice. The course is designed for those who have already completed several qigong courses so that they have experience with a variety of practices to begin with as they begin this exploration. So you may be interested in some of our other courses as well. You can find an outline of the different courses we offer here.
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