Qigong Practice and Cultivation
By Lauri Amidon
September 2009
When I first started practicing Qigong I was extremely
arthritic. This was very distressing to me because I teach dance and various
movement forms. After practicing Qigong for a short period my arthritis
vanished. I do not mean that is gradually went away—I mean it
vanished within a few minutes. I dedicated my life to teaching Qigong and to
spreading the news of its power because it made such a profound difference
in my life.
The relief from physical pain alone made me much happier, but that was
just the beginning of the Qigong experience. It starts with the physical
and then goes deeper, and it must start with the physical because how can you focus
on other thoughts when you hurt!
After several Qigong classes with Dr. Sun, I quit my job to focus on Qigong.
I recognized its power and I was so intrigued. Also, I felt ill after
every session, usually for three days, but I realized that my body was healing so I managed
with the discomfort. The arthritis vanished and I overcame a bout with Lupus.
As my body healed, it also began to have sensations it did not recognize, but
the sensations were repeated often. One particular sensation was extremely
bothersome and annoying. After a couple of months I recognized that if I were about
to eat a food I was sensitive to, my body would send me a message to perhaps reconsider! I
found this to be quite extraordinary. I had no idea the body performed in such
a way! I learned to pay attention to the signals.
While recuperating from the condition Western Medicine calls Lupus, my body
sent signals regarding the best foods, but also I learned that “energy truly
goes to the thoughts.” One evening, I thought the word “harmony.” I
do not know why this word came into my thoughts, but it did. As I thought “harmony” a
powerful energy surge rose from my foot up my leg! I repeated this regularly to make sure I
was not dreaming, imagining, or hallucinating. I learned the power of words and thoughts
and the direct correlation to the body.
As I became healthier, I became more sensitive to internal messages and external
communication with other people, plants and the environment in general. I
also learned that external communication takes place without regard to distance. Not
only am I designed to communicate this way, but so is everybody else. Dr. Sun’s
instruction guides our understanding. Notice I used the word “guides” because
I have found that continual practice is necessary for the cultivation of the body/mind/universe connection.
Qigong is about experiencing. Reading about Qigong and attending lectures about
Qigong can be helpful in learning about the experience of others, but our practice is about the individual’s
unique experience. In order to teach, we must have the experience and then we
have the “knowing” to guide our students.
I believe the experiences continually unfold with our practice. I have
a new awareness of myself and world around me. The appreciation of the integration, interconnectedness
and oneness of everything awes me. We give and receive continually and
simultaneously.
That is joy at the core level. There are no boundaries between anything. Everything
gives.
Therefore, everything receives.
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