Taming the Dragon

Below is a copy of a handout for a recent introduction to Wuwei Qigong.

Wuwei Qigong

(Qi exercise through less-inhibiting action)

Wuwei Qigong is based on the Taoist principle of achieving more optimal, comfortable, and open action through less interfering action (from the Chinese term wei wuwei).

Exercises

In Wuwei Qigong, the underlying principles are more important than the specific exercises that we use. While the exercises that we use have been chosen to help us learn and develop particular things, it is not the same to do the exercises without understanding open-release, wei wuwei, and the other principles that we use. We will try to stick to a relatively small number of exercises in this class so that deeper things can be learned.

Stress Response/Comfort Response

Oftentimes our response to something in life is not generated by the thing itself, but is rather a habit over which we have little or no awareness and over which we have little control. The essence of our practice, in a sense, is bringing awareness to that for which we have little awareness and by seeing things more clearly, have a more open, released, and comfortable response. It is really a very simple concept, but almost no one is very good at putting it into practice. It is important to understand that from a mental perspective, when there is a stimulus we often try to pull it towards us or push it away (the Buddhists call this attachment and aversion). This is especially true when we are trying to do something and we feel a sense of pressure or when we are trying to respond to a situation that we don’t like. The simple exercise of being pushed gently by a partner shows us that our responses to external stimuli are often not ideal. Instead of simply becoming aware of our bodies and our circumstances and choosing the most comfortable response to a given situation, we often struggle and fight. This is called stress response. Not only is it not comfortable, but we are also fighting ourselves, so it is harder for us to deal with things. The principle of Wuwei is that the most comfortable response is also the most ideal response. So what we are really learning with these exercises is to slow down, struggle less, and be more natural and naturally aware of things.

Gravity Line and Support From The Earth

One of the most basic things that we are trying to learn about with the Wuwei Qigong exercises is gravity, which we could also call our continuous physical interaction with the Earth. Gravity is always acting on us, always giving us the weight which helps us stay on the Earth and also the support which allows us to stand up. A large amount of musclar tension comes from resisting the force of gravity, i.e. feeling that one constantly has to support one’s self rather than allowing the upper body to rest on the lower body and the lower body in turn to rest on the Earth.An exercise to feel this is to go into a standing posture with the arms extended out allowing a partner to support the arm from under the elbow. If the partner cannot feel the weight of the arm, then there is some level of unnaturally fighting against gravity. The idea is to allow the weight of the arm to sink naturally and comfortably into the partner’s hand. We say that the arm, when it is more relaxed in this way, is in a more natural gravity line with the Earth. You will see in martial arts exercises and hopefully in your daily life, that being aware of the gravity line can make certain actions easier.

Repression

While we try to emphasize that it will not help us to fight against the Earth by trying to “hold ourselves up”, it will not help us to “push ourselves down” and suppress natural functioning. This can be very dangerous for people doing this type of practice and may sometimes be more difficult to catch than “trying to hold one’s self up”. We sometimes become fixated on the idea of not-doing and then begin to suppress things that are natural which can lead to health problems among other things. It is important to understand that Wuwei does not mean not-doing. This is a common misinterpretation. Wuwei is more accurately - achieving more effective action through doing less inhibiting action. One interpretation is akin to the English/Latin word, repression, whereas the interpretation that we are trying to stress is the opposite of repression. When we are trying to feel gravity, we are simply saying that we are trying to feel more in harmony with the Earth’s natural forces. We are not trying to “push ourselves down”. The balance in between these two poles is one way to think of Yin-Yang harmony - more free, relaxed, supported, and uninhibited action. Exercises that can be used to feel this are yawning, walking freely, dancing, watching our breathing, and, of course, Qi Gong and Tai Chi exercises.

Breathing

In Wuwei Qigong, we simply try to observe our breath and through observing it become aware of (and thus lessen) the blockages which make it less free. This is an essential part of our practice of Qigong. Through observing how breathing becomes less comfortable in stressful situations, how fear can cause tightening of the abdominable muscles, how nervousness can cause shallow constricted breathing, etc. one opens up the pathway towards real, genuine freedom. As always, when we see some sort of emotional response in our breath, we don’t try to change it (i.e. repress it), but we simply allow the space for a more comfortable response. One can practice breathing in this way through standing or sitting meditation, by lying on the floor or by just watching it in everyday life. It may be helpful to place one’s hands on the chest, belly, or lower back to bring awareness to that area, thus quieting the mind and gently providing support for more natural breathng.