06/07/2023
Qi flow and alignment
FORM IS ENERGY, ENERGY IS FORM
The teachers speak of the primary importance of form: xíng, 形. It means: “form; shape; appearance; look. The ideogram combines bristle, 彡, to convey the meaning, with the glyph, 幵, to suggest pronunciation (happens to mean flat, level). But let us not think that we have an empty body into which energy flows. Form, energy, mind, and movement are one.
To make a movement in itself takes a mental command and energy just to start qi flowing. Having done that, the questions are how easily the energy flows, how much there is, and what it powers.
The first Taoist imperative is to have all channels open. That requires alignment. Just as the best drains are vertical, the greatest openness is what is naturally aligned. The amount of energy is cumulative; we have to build it up through practice. Finally, if we align our body correctly, then the psychic centers can be activated. That releases spiritual abilities.
This question of alignment is inherent in meditation—everyone says to straighten the back. Why? It has to be because the right alignment is the prelude to the proper flow of energy.
Our muscles are set up in antagonistic systems. For one set of muscles to move, a corresponding set must relax. Both sets consume energy. So if we learn to move well, then this necessary antagonism is minimized and less energy is wasted. More importantly, when this system is clumsy, then we not only waste energy, but we are working against ourselves.
Qigong and martial arts make use of locks (hand or body positions which temporarily inhibit flow of energy) to direct energy into meridians and organs. Each form has a specific set of effects it's supposed to achieve.
Finally, there's flow. In Taijiquan and other internal styles, we try to move gracefully from one posture to another. That means that we're not just trying to achieve effects posture by posture but that we're also trying to achieve continuity and the ability to command energy while we are active.
Form, energy, mind, and movement are one. That’s why qigong and the internal systems are so effective.
