The Five Pillars of Qi Gong – Embodied Sensation and Thought

In the ancient texts of Traditional Chinese medicine and Daoist practice, it is said that Qi exists between Yin and Yang (Land and Sky) and is expressed through the Five Elements. I will discuss these Universal properties in detail in a future article called The Qi Gong Universe.

The concept and ‘substance’ of Qi can be understood in many ways. In the most practical and practicable ways, focusing on the many subtle qualities of Aliveness that you experience every day, as well as focusing on the most predictable and tangible interactions of your Qi Gong practice have always been the most effective and enjoyable.

The classic Five Elements are Wood, Fire, Earth, Water, and Metal. Each ‘element,’ or Phase of Transformation, makes up one-fifth of the Universe’s phenomena, which is obviously a very big subject. For Human Beings, each Phase, or Quality of Aliveness, relates to certain internal organs, tissues, senses, functions, emotions, and other qualities of experience.

One of my favourite ways to introduce people to both the Five Phases and to Qi Gong is to put the theoretical aspects into practice – right away.

Each of the following aspects of Qi Gong practice can be seen as expressions and investigations into the Five Phases. They include:

Earth ~ Embodied Sensation

The energy (Qi) of Earth, or Soil, does not have a dynamic phase or a specific movement of energy. Soil is considered to be the medium through which the four dynamic energies interact and can be observed.

For example, you cannot see the Wind, but you can see the movement of the grass and the leaves.

Without Soil, Wood has no place to root itself, and Water would sink into the center of the planet without any more lakes, rivers, or shores. In a way, Soil is a counterpoint, or a frame of reference, which allows the qualities and influences of the other elements to be perceivable. In your body, this is your Somatic experience. All of the places you feel all of your feelings.

The attitude or mood of Earth is listening and reciprocity; the feeling of giving and receiving in balance. This often feels like being both your experience and the space your experience moves through.

In your Qi Gong practice, you will often notice how certain thoughts, worries, and memories come with consistent embodied sensations. We all know how nervousness can wake up the butterflies in your stomach. The opposite is also true. If you listen to, and work with, your embodied experience, you can gradually remember how to choose where your attention goes, releasing any ‘thought- forms’ from your Somatic State of Being.

A Qi Gong principle that relates to Soil is Ting Jin – or Listening with your Whole Body and Being. (Article coming soon!)

Earth ~ Embodied Release Qi Gong Exercise