Chi Kung For Magicians Options

Which is the best form or school of Qi Gong, one that works well with a persons development as a magician?

Have been practicing yoga for a while now and its benefits are astounding, wasnt keen on Qi Gong as the slow movements seemed to go against my more firery temperament but after much back and forth regarding the benefits of the two, yoga and qi gong, someone said it... that Qi Gong teaches you how to manipulate energy, yoga dosent, at least not at all in the same way. Sounds glaringly obvious but it swayed my opinion which was one for the marriage of yoga and magick as the perfect matrimony, being able to open physically blocked channels and assume new positions marking the progress of development etc.

Surprised to read just how many variations of Qi Gong there are, some involving elements such as sound into things and so I thought I'd ask and get a better opinion on which form would go well with Magick, am looking into the Alchemy of Baguazhang...

Think this should be in the Eastern section, forum has been sloooooow recently, not even sure if anyone is around (IMG:style_emoticons/default/face08.gif)

Peace
.M.

I don't use any one system or school of Qigong. I do avoid using Qi Packing, but that is my only real rule. There is a lot of overlap between medical, spiritual and martial schools of Qigong. I do a lot of standing stake practice (Zhan Zhuang Gong). Generally this is combined with the macrocosmic orbit or sending the Qi through the right and left channels. I do a thorough clearing exercise. I try to vary it and make it enjoyable because you need to prevent it from becoming a chore when you've been doing it for 20 or 30 years. Motivation is a very important aspect of any sort of regular practice. This is why I practice kungfu with my friends three times a week. They include a more martial arts based type of Qigong. But doing it with friends helps keep me doing it. That is also why I teach. It forces me to get out and do it with those students and forces me to think about Qigong, how to teach it best and how to maintain what I have if not progress further. It is something that I hope to become better at even when I'm an old geezer. I see it as a lifelong study.

I find the books of B.K. Frantzis useful in how to explain it as well as in my private practice. Sometimes he says something that I knew at some level, but hadn't had a clear formation of the concept. Someone mentioned that his methods were too slow for him. I know what he means, but it is slow and steady and healthy. Some of the supposed quicker methods based on forced techniques contain risks. When you are doing Qigong for decades you have to try to avoid or minimize risks. I know that I've had to undo some of the damage done from when I was younger.

I don't know how useful Qigong might be for Ceremonial Magic, but in my British Traditional Wicca style the coven finds me useful. I can raise about three times as much energy for a ritual just be standing there and can direct energy more surely than most. Of course there is a lot more to Wiccan practices than that, but I try to learn more about the other aspects as well.

It is a skill like learning how to build a box as Vagrant mentioned. It is a set of exercises designed to give your energy body a workout similar to going to a gym and working out as fatherjhon says. But it can also be a spiritual path that allows you to contact the divine. A lot more is going on when you do Qigong than is apparent at the surface and at the beginning. Most people just dip their toe in the water, but some of us learn how to swim.