a generic name for the systems created in China for tempering and improving the capabilities of the psyche and body, treatment and health promotion. They are based on the ability to control, first of all, consciousness, the psyche, and thanks to this, to “command” the physiological processes in the body and sometimes achieve such amazing results from it that cannot always be explained from the standpoint of modern knowledge.

The current broad meaning - a set of psycho-physiological training systems, actions to control the body and relationships with the external environment - the word "Qigong" acquired in our century. It itself appeared in China almost two thousand years ago.

But the phenomena that now fall under the definition of Qigong were known much earlier. Other peoples also knew about such phenomena: about ways of immersing consciousness in states that make it possible to show possibilities that go beyond the scope of the generally available, to get rid of diseases, not to feel pain, fatigue. Usually all this was considered the result of an appeal to deities and spirits. In most cultures, the bulk of such knowledge subsequently did not fit into the prevailing ideological and scientific trends.

The situation was different in a number of Eastern civilizations.

So, in China, the methods of controlling the psyche and body, the formation of appropriate skills were enriched in line with the developed philosophical and religious trends, ritual and mystical practices, martial arts and traditional methods of education.

These provisions, having received a kind of rational interpretation in terms of traditional philosophy and science, formed the foundation of the theory of Chinese health and martial arts, the main part of which are numerous Qigong systems.

Whenever the term "tradition" is used, this means knowledge transmitted by the ancients, which, both in form and in content, is completely different from our today's concepts.

Qigong practice is based on the same postulates as Eastern acupuncture, which has long proved its effectiveness - acupuncture.

One of the foundations of this theory is the idea of ​​a universal energy filler and building material of the universe - qi energy. Its various types, thickening and dispersing, continuously interacting, make up the whole variety of things and phenomena. In the human body, certain types of Qi play the role of a kind of vital energy (“Prana” in the Indian tradition), determine mental and physiological functions. They circulate mainly through a system of internal channels. Violation of the rhythm of this circulation associated with general natural rhythms, disorder of the exchange of Qi with the external environment, the order of interaction of different types of Qi within the body cause diseases. Normalization of such metabolism and the rhythm of internal circulation, replenishment of the body with the necessary types of Qi restore health, guarantee longevity, and can also ensure the acquisition of unusual properties. This requires skills to control Qi in the body and outside it, which is the task of Qigong - “working with Qi”.

The specificity of the theory and practice of Qigong lies in the versatility of the effects of exercises on the body. The therapeutic effect is often strikingly associated with the development of special physical and mental qualities. This determined the two main areas of Qigong art: martial and health.

The exercises of the martial direction, which contribute to the development of the special qualities of those involved and strengthen them, were carefully guarded from strangers for a long time, kept in the strictest confidence and revealed only to the closest relatives and the most zealous students.

Today there are more than 600 types of health and military qigong.

The main goal of health qigong is health promotion, disease prevention, intelligence development, disclosure of human reserve capabilities, etc.

The main goal of military qigong is to strengthen attacking and defensive capabilities, as well as control over the enemy.

In the East, the concept of "martial arts" has a completely different meaning than in the West. Not victory over the enemy is the ultimate goal of studying martial arts, but eating over oneself, overcoming one's own weaknesses and shortcomings.

Since ancient times, Qigong masters have paid special attention to educating their students in ethical standards, summarizing their experience in two positions:

a) "The student, with the help of the stars of the heir to the throne, trains and grows wonderful Qi." The stars of the heir to the throne are called ears, eyes, mouth and nose. The ears listen to disrespectful speeches and do not allow anger, therefore no false fire arises, thereby achieving peace of mind; the eyes see the beautiful, but do not allow the heart to tremble, thus the spirit is tempered; the mouth does not open often, it is silent, without uttering a word, therefore, spiritual energy is not wasted. Eyes, ears and mouth should be "closed", while the nose is working all the time - inhaling air and energy;

b) “in the second stage of training, the student develops character.” The point is that the student comprehends the essence of what is happening and adequately responds to it, acting according to nature, so that deeds and speech correspond to each other.

In general, the main requirements for students are as follows:

one) to cultivate character in oneself, to forge the will. Restrain your seven senses, maintaining peace of mind, affability and goodwill;

2) to remain optimistic in all situations;

3) discard selfishness and self-interest.

For a person living in the era of scientific and technological progress, experiencing all the consequences of the ecological crisis, physical inactivity and constant stress, martial arts at any level can be the right way to spiritual and physical harmony, moral purification, mental balance. Health-improving and military gymnastics of "internal" and "external" styles with Qigong exercises, being part of a branched system improved over the centuries, help awaken the body's energy capabilities, enhance its immune properties, and create real prerequisites for active longevity.

At the same time, wushu combat qigong complexes, using the richest arsenal of various psychotechniques, are an excellent base both for the mass sports movement and for military training of army personnel or law enforcement forces in all countries of the world.

Over the past decades, traditional Wushu Qigong in China, as well as in Korea, Japan, Vietnam and other countries of East Asia, has experienced a period of genuine revival. Having completed their triumphal procession across all continents, they took pride of place among the highest achievements of human civilization. However, this area of ​​knowledge is still fraught with many mysteries.

Knowledge of esoteric systems requires an appeal to ancient sources. But here the student is faced with insurmountable difficulties in resolving the symbolic and conventional language in which these treatises are written.

With the help of familiar images, it is impossible to fully comprehend the world of the ancients; both classical logic and classical language are unsuitable for it.

“Nature, having reached perfection, returns to properties. Properties in the highest limit become identical with the original, those identical with the original become empty, and the empty ones become great, ”says the ancient treatise.

In the East, the basis of the entire Taoist-Buddhist world order is the idea of ​​Emptiness, Non-Being, as opposed to the Greco-Latin, and later the Christian model of the world as Being. Its mathematical symbol is zero, its spatial symbol is a circle, its speculative symbol is emptiness. But это построение несет в себе определенную потенцию: если сумма вещей и произведение всей тьмы вещей в мире равны нулю, то и каждая вещь в отдельности равна нулю, т. е. мнима. But если так, то Вселенная равна нулю, и человек равен Вселенной и может стяжать всю ее мощь, если умеет найти «правильный» способ самореализации, «правильный Путь». Taoist-Buddhist thinking is based on this postulate on the question of man's place in the Universe.

The ancient world of traditions is radically different from the world we are used to. The unity of opposites reigns in it, the phenomenon in it cannot be represented as a single act, this is the realm of universal interconnections.

Discreteness and continuity harmoniously coexist here; energy changes in leaps, but the world we see nevertheless remains a continuum. The void turns out to be “filled”, all events are potentially laid in it, “everything is manifested in everything”, the Universe is already enclosed inside us. Therefore, each symbol, being a whole category-concept, can be explained at several levels of understanding.

In essence, this language is very precise and no more conventional than the language of modern scientific publications, but to understand it, you need to have a key. The bottom line is that esoteric knowledge is transmitted only from a teacher to a student, so a Westerner who wants to penetrate the secrets of Eastern esotericism and explain it according to the laws of modern science is not enough to have the key (to own the key), you must first become a master (kung fu) yourself.

However, the paradox lies in the fact that, becoming him and having mastered the secrets of energy control (i.e. control of himself), he ceases to be a man of a purely Western mentality, but he does not become a true man of the East.

We are all building our own body, whether we are aware of it or not. It is customary to look at the body as something finite in time. This is mistake. The human body has no distinct beginning and end. It continually recreates itself, revives, renews itself. Every second we are born again and every second we die, parting with a small part of our body and receiving a new one in return. This process is endless and continuous like life itself. Replacing old elements with new ones occurs smoothly, painlessly. So why does a person get sick? Perhaps because of something that