Jeffrey Yuen Qigong

Last year, I had the opportunity to take a qigong meditation course with Daoist Master Jeffrey Yuen. It was held at the classrooms at Daoist Healing Arts in Asheville, North Carolina. Parts of the state had been hit hard by hurricanes but things were pretty much back to normal while I was there. Perhaps, the weather had something to do with the packed class. But, there was space for all and it was a particularly learning time for me. I'm not new to qigong, several of my Asian bodywork teachers have taught me the various styles they have learned. My experience in Asheville was special, and one that I may not forget for a while. I learned about an amazingly simple yet complex method to stay balanced when all about may be confusion.

We often have these ideas about what we think qigong is, based on our practice of yoga, or other disciplines. Jeffrey stated out by telling us what Daoist Meditation was. Here are some things he had to say:

Daoist Meditation is different than other meditations; also involved is healing.

It focus's on the physical body. The body is the vehicle to redeem the spirit.

It is not about achieving a particular state. That becomes an obstacle of itself.

It is not necessarily exhilarating. There is difficulty looking at oneself; pain comes to term.

You relax, concentrate and if you are able to maintain concentration, you meditate.

In meditation you are doing nothing and becoming one with silence.

Anywhere you wait you are given the opportunity to meditate.

Meditation is a form of qigong. Qigong is not necessarily a form of meditation.

It was a day long session and the entire morning was filled with a detailed explanation of the basics: breathing, postures and awareness or the preliminaries in preparation to meditate. One discipline of meditation is perseverance, where if you faithfully practice you will "reach sensation". He says that pain in the body is its way of saying to give it more attention. Meditation is the arousal of yang qi to move obstacles. The best time to practice is the dawn when the suns energy is about to rise. It is a good time to develop psychic energies.

Focusing to the point of exhausting our sense organs we reach pure sound etc., where there is noting left to see, hear or feel. That is called the surrender to nothingness or Wu way or Tai Qi (not the Tai ji you do in the gym). He shared with us special breathing techniques and ways of sealing organs. He says it is important to discover the microcosmic and to relax the points associated with it. You can meditate sitting as it is the most popular but you could stand which strengthens the kidneys or lying down which affects the lungs or you could walk which affects the liver.

The experience of Qigong meditation with Jeffrey Yuen was most enlightening and refreshing. There is a set of preparation excercises that we did to prepare for meditation in the afternoon. I'm was impressed that just doing the preparation I saw immediate improvement in my health. I have a tendency toward lung problems and wheeze at times. but not as I walked the steep walkways of the city when I went to get my lunch. My lungs were as clear as if I'd gotten a shot of something to open them and No wheezing! This was an unexpected benefit which made me look forward to the afternoon session even more. I was not disappointed and would highly recommend Daoist Meditation to anyone who askes me which method I think is best. In terms of which is best depends on what the person is looking for. As complicated as life can be I prefer simplicity in all things. In Daoist Meditation I found a system that is as easy as breathing and sitting down. It can't get any more simple than that.