Overview
Qigong practice and skill can be used to enrich every aspect of your life, and has a long history of being applied to many different activities. Historically the main applications were divided into three broad categories: health and healing, martial arts and peak performance, and spirituality and wisdom. Each of these applications are just as relevant to us today as they were historically. It goes without saying that health is the foundation of each of our wellbeing, and while we may or may not have a particular interest in the martial arts, the strength, resilience, mental focus and calm that we develop through the associated qigong practices can help us to achieve more and lead richer and more fulfilling lives. Equally understanding a broader view of our place in the world and our interactions with our environment and other people around us can help us to live a happier and more harmonious life.
It should also be noted, that while certain practices may be aligned more with one application than another – there is a great degree of crossover. The healing practices also have great relevance to peak performance, and the insights gained from them also help to support the broader understanding of the wisdom arts. While some of the practices used for peak performance are often more vigorous and physically challenging, they also often have specific healing application, and so on.
Long White Cloud Qigong offers comprehensive training in qigong practices aligned with each of these historic applications. Our practices include:
Small Universe Qigong – The Healers Path
These qigong practices are based on the principle that the energetic patterns we see in the universe are reflected at every level from large to small. The same patterns we see within galaxies and solar systems, we see them on planets, in communities, individual people, single cells, and all the way down to the atomic level. From this understanding we are better able to understand ourselves and the energy flows within us.
Within Small Universe Qigong we practice:
- Twelve Rivers Qigong, which stimulate the organ meridians which flow like rivers through our bodies, balancing the activity of the internal organs, our posture, and our emotions.
- Between Heaven and Earth Qigong, which activates the flow of energy in the extraordinary meridians. These flow like ocean currents, circulating our bodies energy. When they flow freely they make our energetic system stable and resilient. Activating the extraordinary meridians also makes it easier for us to connect to the energy of Heaven and Earth and let these flow through us to refresh and renew our energy reserves.
- Enter The Flow, which is like working with the clouds and the rain, creating a smooth flow of energy to every part of our body, which we can integrate into every area of our life. Even the most simple tasks become a joy and a pleasure when we allow our energy to flow freely through them.
- Qigong Meditation,develops the connection between our mind and our body so that we can be more aware of our energy and how it moves within us. Harnessing this awareness allows us to direct our energy to bring health, harmony, and balance within.
Understanding this universal pattern of energy flow, and harmonizing them within ourselves brings health, vitality, and wellbeing. These practices also form the basis of many healing modalities and are a starting point for those who wish to continue on to develop skills in using qigong as a healing art.
Inner Fire Qigong – The Warriors Path
These practices tend to be more vigorous and physically challenging, they also develop great mental focus and clarity. They work to harness our “inner fire” so that we can channel it towards our purposes and achieve our goals. These practices greatly develop our physical and energetic capacity.
Within Inner Fire Qigong we practice:
- Wild Animal Play Qigong. To move and play like an animal is one of the classic forms of qigong practice. We gain inspiration from watching animals in the wild, and by imitating the animals we challenge ourselves and develop physical attributes and skills to a level that we might not otherwise achieve. For example, by imitating the tiger we develop great physical strength, by imitating the crane we develop balance and so on. When imitating the animals we also adopt some of the psychology of the animal that comes from behaving in the way that they do. Together these factors combine to stimulate our energy in interesting and complex ways that can be very beneficial to our health and wellbeing
- Release the Power of your Breath. Mastery of breath is fundamental to peak performance in every area. Breathing holds the keys to both relaxation and alertness, endurance and strength, and of course, importantly for other areas of qigong practice, the generation and direction of energy in the body. A solid understanding of the principles of breath enhances and empowers not only qigong practice, but every area of life.
- Iron Shirt Qigong develops strength and resilience so that the body can withstand physical impacts. While Iron Shirt skill is clearly useful when applied to martial arts, the methods of storing, packing and distributing energy used to obtain these results are also excellent for overall health and wellbeing. Good Iron Shirt practice is excellent for both building up the level of energy in the body, and also ensuring that energy circulates freely to all parts of the body.
These practices combined lead to greater strength, resilience, focus, and inner mastery.
Elemental Alchemy Qigong
These practices are about understanding and harmonizing with the constantly changing world around us. They truly are the path of the Sage, leading to wisdom in the way we conduct our lives and interact with other people and the environment. Through these practices we can embrace the natural cycles of life and learn to flow gracefully with them.
- Wuji Qigong (Primordial), are about restoring ourselves to the primordial state, without limits or restrictions, brimming with potentiality. Wuji practice helps us to clear and release deep and old patterns so that we can move forwards into the new from a clean and fresh state. They are an excellent way to release habits and patterns of body, mind, and energy that may be holding us in a certain path. With these cleared, we are able to build afresh without restrictions.
- Taiji Qigong (Ying Yang), taiji is the first division of energy, from wuji or an undifferentiated state, into yin and yang, or opposites. When we understand this polarity of opposites we understand that they do not need to be in conflict with each another, but rather that in its natural form this yin and yang polarity drives the activity of life. Taiji Qigong practice helps us to harness this polarity so that we can use it effectively to create health and vitality within us.
- Wuxing Qigong (Five Elements and Five Phases), from the activity of yin and yang comes Wuxing, the Five Elements or Five Phases. This describes the cycles of life, reflected in the cycle of the seasons, the cycles of emotions, functions in the body, and the elements we find in the environment around us (Water, Wood, Fire, Earth, and Metal). Wuxing qigong practice helps us to create balance between these elements, so that we can move through the natural cycles of life with ease and grace.
You can learn these practices in the following ways:
- Free Qigong Practice Videos
- Focused Courses
- Regular Classes
- Qigong Instructor Certification Programmes
- Qigong Healing Certification
- Retreats and Workshops
Free Qigong Practice Videos
You can find a selection of free qigong practice videos from Long White Cloud Qigong here. These are a great way to sample different types of qigong practice and start to experience their benefits.
Focused Courses
Long White Cloud Qigong offers a wide range of courses on different practices that you can choose from. These are a great way to go deep into a set of qigong exercises, to practice them over a period of time, and really understand the theory behind them and experience their benefits. You can find a complete menu of our courses here. Please be aware that we are currently going through a process of re-building our courses, so not all courses are currently available. If there is one that you are interested in that is not available at the moment, you can sign up to go on a waiting list for when the course is next available on the page for that course.
Regular Classes
Long White Cloud Qigong offers a weekly online qigong class. This is an excellent way to have fresh inspiration and motivation for your qigong practice each week. We also run regular live Q&A sessions as part of these classes, which can be so valuable to help guide you, answer questions, and clarify experiences, as you start or continue your qigong journey. This is a way that you can get that regular guidance wherever you are in the world, even if there are no suitable qigong instructors in your area. You can find more information about our regular online qigong classes here.
Long White Cloud Qigong also has an extensive and ever growing directory of certified qigong instructors. You can check that out here to see if there is someone near you who may be offering live classes that you could attend.
Qigong Instructor Certification Program
At some point in your journey, you may also want to take the next step of beginning to teach others as well. There is a great need for more qigong instructors in the community. I regularly hear from people who tell me that there are no qigong instructors near them. By training to become a certified qigong instructor you not only deepen your own understanding, but you can also offer a wonderful service to those around you. Long White Cloud Qigong offers three different paths of Qigong Instructor certification. The Healer’s Path, The Sage’s Path, and the Warrior’s Path. These programs give you the opportunity to be supervised as you go deep into these different paths of practice to get to the essence of the qigong they contain. Many instructors will choose to complete more than one path as a way to broaden and deepen their understanding and practice.
Long White Cloud Qigong offers two different methods of certification.
One is through our online platform, which allows you to work gradually towards your certification in your own time and space. Part of these programs is regular access to a community where you can ask questions and receive answers as you progress in your training, and individualised review and advice on your progress. This method makes qigong certification available to anyone anywhere in the world – so you can develop the skills and confidence you need to bring qigong to your community. You can find more information about Online Qigong Instructor Training here.
The other way to receive Qigong Instructor Certification is through live intensive trainings which we hold periodically in different locations around the world. These are an amazing opportunity to go deep into your practice, without distractions, at beautiful locations where the energy of nature in the environment supports you in your practice. Immersing yourself in qigong in this way can lead to many breakthroughs in your personal development, as well as the opportunity to share special connections with likeminded people which can lead to lifelong friendships. You can find out more about our next Live Intensive Qigong Instructor Certification Program here.
Qigong Healing Certification
Qigong Healing has the special ability to resolve issues that can otherwise be difficult to address. Working with the energy influences both the mind and the body, and can often address issues that cannot be resolved by just working with one or the other separately. In Qigong Healing we learn to direct the energy that each of us has flowing naturally within us to help to create balance and harmony within others and ourselves. The principles used are the same as those found in other aspects of qigong practice, but the method of working with the energy is more direct.
If this is an application of qigong practice that you would like to pursue, then the Small Universe Qigong program is an excellent place to start, as it will help you to develop a foundation of knowledge, awareness, and skill with your energy that will support you in developing the specific skills of qigong healing.
The current world situation has led to a need to rethink how we offer this training. It is not currently available, but we look forward to being able to offer this again in the future soon.
Retreats and Workshops
Long White Cloud Qigong offers a number of live events at different locations around the world from time to time.
Workshops can be a great way to go deep into a specific qigong topic and get live hands on learning when the opportunity arises. They can also be a great way to meet other members of your qigong community in your area.
Retreats give you the wonderful opportunity to immerse yourself in qigong in a beautiful environment. They are a great way to take a holiday focused on your health and wellbeing, and deepen your practice to support you when you return to your regular routine.
You can find details of upcoming Long White Cloud Qigong workshops and Retreats here.
——————————————————–
For any further enquires, please email us at info@longwhitecloudqigong.com