AboutJonathan Gaines Expertise T`ai Chi and meditation. I am a 30+ year student and teacher of T`ai Chi Ch`uan. My teacher was the late Grand Master Cheng Man-ching with whom I studied for seven years. I am knowledgeable about the principals, practices and the applications of Tai Chi as well as the many benefits and some of the pit falls of practice. I am also knowledgeable about Chi Kung and have developed my own `simple and easy` method. The benefits of T`ai chi Ch`uan and Chi Kung include health and wellness as well as self defense based on principles of yielding rather than resisting. Fascinating! As a life long spiritual seeker I am also knowledgeable about meditation and contemplation. My principle practice is Dzog Chen which I am learning from Chogyal Namkhai Norbu Rinpoche. The benefits of Dzog Chen are the potential to discover your own mind stream and master it. The point is to enter into the non dualistic state of `no thought` and then learn to be aware of this state while entering into thought. Self liberation from samara and for the sake of all sentient beings is the purpose of Dzog Chen practice.
Expert: Jonathan Gaines Date: 5/21/2008 Subject: Raising Chi
Question Greetings-
I was hoping to study Tai Chi, but career induced scheduling constraints have made that impossible, and so I have opted for an external form coupled with Kundalini meditation.
I want to ask whether the practice of Kundalini meditation would enable me to raise and harness Chi of the type that a practice of Tai Chi would enable? As pertaining to the benefits in health, longevity, and applications to an external martial arts form such as judo or Brasilian nin-jitsu?
Thank you for your consideration.
Answer Aloha.
I replied to you a few days ago...perhaps you did not receive it. Please let me know if you did as I need to let the AllExperts website know.
Regarding your question;
Kundilini Yoga is a spiritual practice and Tai Chi Chuan is a internal style martial art. As for raising chi, Chi Kung can be useful. However everything depends first on having the qualified teacher who has the knowledge and also knows how to teach. In effect the teacher ideally is a serious practitioner and even a true master of the art they preport to teach. No so easy to find in the west.
This goes for any martial art, meditation or yoga.
Then everything depends on you the student and your daily practice. If you have real interest and put in the time to learn and accomplish the goals of the practice then all will be fine. Again, easy to say, not so easy to do.
