Ma Litang Qigong "Iron Palm"

Practical guide

Introduction

Qigong has a history of about three thousand years. His birth took place at the dawn of human civilization thanks to the labors of people who had special mental abilities and hypersensitivity. They identified special energy channels in the human body, their localization and the movement of Qi energy through the channels. Observation of the functioning of these special channels in conjunction with the work of internal organs made it possible to build special schemes of relations between man and the environment, as well as to form a clear idea of ​​how life processes proceed in the Universe.

In ancient times, Qigong was called the term Neigong ("Internal Art"). With its theory, Neigong is closely connected with traditional Taoist philosophy, which states that inside a person there is some unrevealed prototype of the eternal Tao. It was under the noticeable influence of Taoism that the basic laws of Qigong and "Inner Alchemy" were developed. In search of ways to immortality, the ancient Taoists - magicians, tried to create a medicine that was supposed to contribute to this. Some of them were followers of the so-called "External Alchemy", where the medicine was obtained by mixing certain chemical elements, the other part sought to melt such a medicine, or a pill of immortality inside the body, they were considered followers of the "Internal Alchemy". It was through the efforts of the latter that the art of Qigong was raised to an unprecedented height.

Later, the development of qigong led to its division into several areas: medical qigong, mystical qigong and military qigong.

Medical Qigong is the art of promoting health, preventing and treating disease. Those who practice this type of qigong achieve longevity and stay in a vigorous, active and cheerful state throughout their lives.

Mystical Qigong in its theory is closely connected with Taoist and Buddhist philosophy, the ultimate goal is to achieve the state of immortality. To do this, those who practice inside their bodies “melt out” a special energy medicine, with the help of which one can achieve the state of enlightenment and enter other planes of being. “Melting the Medicine” is a harmonious combination of working with the vital energy Qi and practice of self-regulation and self-improvement.

Martial Qigong is a combination of different methods of working with Qi energy and Wushu techniques.

Its goal is to acquire the ability to withstand strong blows to the body without harmful consequences and to give "hardness" and strength to one's own limbs.

Despite the difference in goals and methods, all these areas of Qigong basically have common roots and philosophical background.

In ancient traditional ideas, the formless and imageless origin Uzzi (Boundless), the symbol of which is an empty circle (Fig. 1),

gave birth to Taiji (Great Ultimate) (Fig. 2).

Tai Chi is the first breath of the Universe. There is no movement yet, but the two first principles of Liangyi have appeared in the world, two opposites that complement and merge into each other. Everything moving, clear, light, warm, active, masculine, etc. is attributed to the original Yang.

The origin of Yin is resting, dark, gloomy, cold, passive, feminine.

Since man was created in accordance with the laws of the origin of the universe, then in him you can see the manifestations of Yin and Yang.

In the human body, Yang refers to everything external, upper, manifested: the back, six “hollow organs”, Qi, the immune system, etc.

Everything internal, lower, hidden belongs to Yin: the stomach, chest, five “dense organs”, blood, semen, etc.

The concept of Yin and Yang in Qigong plays a significant role, for example, determining the alternation of technical elements: lifting and lowering, inhalation and exhalation, “opening” and “closing”, “gathering heavenly Yang”, “gathering earthly Yin”, etc.

The two opposites gave rise to Si Xiang (Four Images), which, together with the center, unfold into a five-valued structure known as Wuxing (Five Elements). The five primary elements: "Wood", "Fire", "Earth" (Center), "Metal" and "Water", correspond to the five types of changes in matter that produce the entire variety of phenomena in space and have two types of interactions with each other: mutual generation and mutual overcoming (Fig. 3).

The "Four Images" (Si Xiang), represented by "Metal", "Wood", "Water" and "Fire", suggest the manifestation of four forces: Big Yang (Tai Yang), Small Yang (Shao Yang), Big Yin (Tai Yin) and Lesser Yin (Shao Yin).

Si Xiang is divided into eight trigrams (Bagua): Qian (Sky), Kun (Earth), Zhen (Thunder), Xun (Wind), Kan (Water), Li (Fire), Gen (Mountain) and Dui (Lake). Each of the trigrams is provided with a visual symbol, in which a continuous line (Yang Yao) represents the Yang phase, and a broken line (Yin Yao) represents the Yin phase (Fig. 4).

Since ancient times, there have been two types of trigram layout schemes: schemes of the pre-celestial trigrams of Fuxi (Fig. 5)

and schemes of the "After Heaven" trigrams of Wen-Wang (Fig. 6).

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The scheme of the "Pre-heavenly" trigrams is a reflection of the World and the laws of motion in the Universe.

The scheme of "Postcelestial" trigrams has an applied value and demonstrates the patterns of changes in phenomena in the nature of our planet.

In the ancient traditional Taoist notions, the formless and imageless Tao gave rise to the original Qi, which subsequently split into light Yang-qi and dark Yi-qi. Heaven, Earth, Man, and an infinite number of things in the Universe were formed from them.

Chapter 1

In China, it is believed that Qi is a very thin substance that cannot be fixed with modern devices. The hieroglyph "Qi" denotes several concepts: life force, vital energy, air, spirit, mood, etc.

However, in the European literature on Chinese medicine, the term "Energy" is used as the closest to the concept of Qi.

Qi is a necessary component of the human body, the beginning and driving force of its functioning. Qi is divided into external, which enters the human body from the outside during breathing, and internal, which circulates inside the human body. When breathing, external Qi enters the human body, partially turning into internal, and when exhaling, it goes out and is again converted into external Qi. Thus, there is a constant circulation of Qi energy.

In the human body, internal Qi circulates through constant channels - meridians (Jing-lo).

People who decide to practice Qigong should have an idea about the routes of the twelve main and two "Wonderful" meridians. "Wonderful" meridians control the work of all channels: Anterior-middle (Rengmai) - the work of Yin channels, posterior-middle (Think) - Yang channels. The twelve major channels through which Qi circulates interconnect internal organs and control their activities. Each of these channels belongs to the corresponding body and has a corresponding name. The name of each channel also contains a brief description of its main characteristics, for example, “great” Yin and Yang (Taiyin and Taiyang), “small” Yin and Yang (Shaoyin and Shaoyang), “light Yang” (Yangming), “Dark Yin” (Jueyin). In addition, the surface of the limb along which the flow of energy occurs is indicated.

Anteromedial (Fig. 1)

and posterior middle (Fig. 2) meridians run along the midline of the body.

These channels are unpaired. The twelve main channels are paired (symmetrical) and look like this:

Meridian of the lungs (Taiyin of the hand, front surface, Fig. 3),

large intestine meridian (Yangming hands, front surface, Fig. 4),

meridian of the stomach (Yangming legs, front surface, Fig. 5),

meridian of the spleen (Taiyin legs, inner surface, Fig. 6),

meridian of the heart (Shaoyin hands, inner surface, Fig. 7),

meridian of the small intestine (Taiyang of the hand, posterior surface, Fig. 8),

meridian of the bladder (Taiyang legs, posterior surface, Fig. 9),

meridian of the kidneys (Shaoyin legs, inner surface, Fig. 10),

meridian of the pericardium (Queyin of the hand, inner surface, Fig. 11),

Meridian of the "Three heaters" (Shaoyang hands, back surface, Fig. 12),

gallbladder meridian (Shaoyang legs, outer surface, Fig. 13),

the liver meridian (Jueyin of the leg, inner surface, Fig. 14).

A significant role in the regulation of Qi energy flows in the human body is played by areas called "cinnabar fields" (Dantian). It is in them that a significant amount of energy is concentrated. Qigong deals with three such areas. The Upper Dan Tian is located in the head, its center is the Yin Tang point, located between the eyebrows (Fig. 15).

The center of the Middle Dan Tian is located in the area of ​​the solar plexus (Fig. 15). The Lower Dan Tian is located about 4 centimeters below the navel center (Qizhong) (Fig. 15).

Chapter 2

For Qigong practitioners, at the initial stages it is difficult to immediately remember the location of the main meridians with localization of all acupuncture points. Therefore, in order to facilitate the process of memorization and assimilation of the material presented in the book, we will single out the most significant and frequently used key points of acupuncture in Qigong.

1. Shenqu (Place of the Spirit) - the navel center (Fig. 1).

Location: in the center of the navel.

Topography: the point corresponds to the center of the umbilicus, where the superficial epigastric artery and the anterior cutaneous branches of the intercostal nerve are distributed.

The navel area is our first connection to the outside world.

During the entire period of intrauterine development, oxygen and all nutrients enter the child's body precisely along this path. As a result, the navel center acquires a special sensitivity, which persists for a long time after cutting the umbilical cord.

The navel is the physical center of the body and belongs to the primary element "Earth". Our center of the body is the center of gravity - the place from where we can most effectively coordinate movements.

In addition, the navel acts as the front door of the Cauldron or Lower Dan Tian, ​​serving as a place where the various energies of the body, mind and spirit are collected, mixed and "boiled" to achieve