Author: Lee Everlyn Fung
Affiliation: National Taiwan University, Taiwan, China [1]
Conference/Journal: 1st World Conf Acad Exch Med Qigong
Date published: 1988
Other:
Pages: 74 , Word Count: 525
A fairly simple method has been developed to turn on somebody to exercise autonomously by him or her following his or her own flow of qi.
Based on yoga exercises and the modified yoga routine gradual conditioned reflex the trainee would autonomously and subconsciously promote qi flow.
By continuous practicing the autonomous exercise, one feels better either physically or mentally, especially to those with diseases. Some with hemiplegia would gain muscle power to their weaker limbs. Some with arthritis would lessen their pain or even become symptoms free. Some with toxic hyperthyroidism would become less agitated emotionally and symptoms free. Some with cancer still receiving radiotherapy or chemotherapy, would have less complications after each treatment, namely, they would find their leukocyte count lower but less than before and arise again much quicker. They also feel they can tolerate much more to their treatment. To the ones with acute or chronic injury, they would make their own qi flow to the local regions and to the corresponding points.
How can the autonomous exercise come to work and why it has such benefit to one's health? As a medical professional, I can only use my own scientific thinking logic to approach. I think I have come to an assumption very close to the fact.
First of all, you have to find a quiet place, avoid all kinds of external stimuli, and also, prepare your mind to a quiet and relax state, then follow the instruction, do relaxing exercise to warm up the body and relax all the joints, gradually let go of yourself, let your feeling float up, and follow your feeling. If you feel your body wants to move, let it be. It is more tentative to explain why it works.
The human mind is controlled by two aspects, namely, conscious level and subconscious level. Conscious level controls the irritation coming from the outside world, but subconscious level controls the irritation coming from inside of our body. In conscious level, we think and do things accordingly. We think it is logic, and order our body to do so. If the body can tolerate, usually the body would not complain, though it might not be absolutely good to the body. In subconscious level, we feel and let the body express as it desires. It is the true voice of the body.
In the modern way of living, people usually rush their lives, they use more ordering in conscious level, suppressing their feeling, and they think they are taken care of their health, actually, they may do more harm than good.
Autonomous exercise, in the contrary way, allows the body to express its own voice and the exercise is following the body's own demand. Of course it works wonderfully.
Qi seems to be a hidden part of the body structure, waiting to be found. Therefore qi is born with. Qi should be a very active system since birth, but gradually loses its function after one is growing up by not knowing how to use this system. Since it is built in, qi can be arisen by any form of qigong practice, autonomous exercise is only one of them.