The energy thing I’ve just been talking about isn’t much good as a theory. In fact, it’s much worse as a theory than the other theories most of us live quite happily with every day. And most of what we ‘know’ about anything is a theory, if you think about it. A theory is an explanation of something that is correct until a better theory comes along to replace it. The current theory that most of us subscribe to is that we’re solid, separate beings made up of bones, flesh, organs, and pumping blood, interacting with a mainly solid and separate reality, all pinned to the ground by a force called ‘gravity,’ on a planet called Earth that’s spinning at about 1,000 mph (depending on where you’re standing) on an orbit around a hot thing called the sun, in a universe that is just one of billions of universes, and probably connected to infinite parallel universes via worm holes. Okay, so I’ve wandered off at the end from what most of us subscribe to, but it’s what many cosmologists and astrophysicists subscribe to. Despite all that: the picture we have of what we are; of what we are in relation to everything around us; what this planet and universe are… it’s all a theory.
It’s a theory to me (and probably you, too) that your bones are alive inside, that you have hormones pumping out from various points in your body controlling various functions, that you have a network of nerves sending information back to the brain. It’s a theory, because I personally have no evidence that any of this is true. I’ve only seen dead bones that look solid and inanimate to me. I’ve never seen, touched, or tasted a drop of hormone (not human to my knowledge, anyway, I suppose I’m tasting hormones all the time in the meat I eat). As for nerves, I’ve never seen a nerve. Who knows if that’s why I ‘feel’ stuff. Ah, John, but that’s simply because you’re ignorant in those areas. If you’d had medical training you would ‘know’ these things to be true. Sure, I may well have apparent evidence for my theories. But even then, they would still be theories until new evidence came along. It’s just more difficult to be open to new evidence if your understanding of a theory is very solid.
For now, it’s worth getting a little sense of the fact that you’re living with many (for you, at least) unproven theories. And even those theories that you can prove personally (‘I am solid and separate and what I’m holding in my hands here is solid and separate’) are still only theories waiting for new evidence to come along.
But we accept most of the theories because illustrious (usually Western) scientists give them to us. And the idea of energy flowing around the body is not part of that illustrious body of Western science. So it’s more difficult to accept this idea as a theory (until more Western scientists manage to get their brainy heads around it and then tell us how it works). But it’s not just that. It’s not just that the concept of energy is literally a foreign concept to those of us brought up in a post-Newtonian world of the physical sciences. The concept of energy is, by definition, difficult to grasp, because it is invisible, all-pervasive, and constantly changing. It’s hard to pin down in many ways. And thus it defies most attempts to pin it down. Like God, really. And maybe it and Him are the same thing after all.
So let’s jump out of the land of theory and concepts, and just experience.
I’ll tell you my journey into the experience of energy. As a young man, having left university and working in my first job, I was not a well man. I had a number of allergies that manifested in a variety of symptoms. At times I was very sick and had trouble just getting everyday things done. I felt ill most of the time and was tired all the time. I recognized that stress was making me worse because when I was happy and relaxed, I was relatively better, and when I was unhappy and stressed, I was sicker.
So I set out to learn how to relax. I bought a relaxation tape: a double cassette set, in fact (‘tape’ and ‘cassette’ here refer to an antique audio playback system). And I would lie on the bed and press ‘play.’ And the exercise I was taken through was the one I took you through in Relax It: a ‘progressive relaxation.’ (I know other relaxation exercises but, after more than 20 years of doing this stuff, including training as a hypnotherapist, there’s nothing quite like exaggerating the difference between ‘tension’ and ‘relaxation’ to teach you how to relax.)
I would lie there then, being taken through the different parts of my body, tensing and then relaxing. After a while, my whole body would have been tensed and relaxed, and I would then feel totally relaxed. And it really worked for me. I did move from a general state of tension (mainly because of my illness) to a relaxed state. And I could then carry that relaxed state out into the world with me.
After a few days of doing this, I started to notice that the feeling of relaxation (after the exaggerated tension) had a particular, peculiar quality to it: it was, for want of a better word, a ‘tingling’ sensation. And the word ‘tingling’ doesn’t do what I was feeling complete justice, but let’s leave it at that for now. So, as I tensed, then relaxed, I’d know I was relaxed when I could feel that tingling.
After a couple more days, I didn’t have to play the tape: I would lie down and, even without tensing a muscle now, I would imagine, progressively, each part of my body relaxing and starting to tingle. I would relax my hand and feel it tingling, then my arm, etc.
A couple of days later, I could just lie down and imagine ‘scanning’ my body, almost like a laser and, as I did so, this tingling sensation would appear. After just a few minutes, my whole body would be soft, deeply relaxed, and tingling.
After another few days I realized I didn’t have to be lying down to do this. So I’d be sitting at work, or on a bus, or eating at home, and I’d do a quick ‘scan’ of my body, and begin to feel the tingling all over. I’m doing it now.
I loved the tingling feeling. The feeling amazed me. I couldn’t believe I’d never consciously felt it before (it must have always been there, I’d just never noticed it). I would go back to trying to experience the feeling whenever I could. I loved the feeling AND I would feel better (i.e., my symptoms would diminish).
A couple of months later I was invited to a Tai Chi class. I went and was most surprised to hear someone talking about this qi or ‘energy’ thing that you could feel in your body as a kind of tingling sensation. I was amazed that there were exercises you could do (in Tai Chi and the related discipline Qigong) to help this energy spread and flow. And I’ve been fascinated by energy and all the associated arts ever since. I’ve practiced Tai Chi and Qigong (and other energy arts) over the years, but it never really departs, for me, from my initial experience and love of this feeling of energy in my body. I’m relaxing now, sitting here early in the morning in a hotel lobby in Milan, and I relax and I feel this energy everywhere. I LOVE it. I never seem to become tired of this particular lover, even though she’s with me always. She’s all over me, in a good sense, and I spend a lot of intimate time with her, but I never grow tired of her. I never feel I fully understand her, actually, and maybe that’s part of it… if I ever feel like I’m beginning to understand her, she shows me another side of herself that defies my original understanding.
So, would you like to experience some of this energy, too?
Yes, of course you would. We’ll teach you some very simple and very powerful exercises. So powerful, in fact, that they still make up a significant part of my practice more than 20 years after I first learned them.
PLAYING MY ENERGY ACCORDION
So, working around the fact that you’re reading a book (probably) rather than listening to this, I’ll tell you what to do, then you can do it.
Stand and shake every part of your body. Shake for five minutes (sounds like a cocktail recipe). Then stand completely still (just like when the music stops in one of those childhood party games). As you stand completely still (after shaking) notice any sensations in your body. Put a name to those sensations. Stand for five minutes. Try to relax as you stand. Anytime tension comes up, relax. Move a little if you need to. Then bring your hands together so that your palms are facing each other, about one foot apart.
Pretend you’re holding an accordion. You don’t have to pretend you’re French or anything, just pretend you’re holding an accordion. Then start to play your imaginary accordion, very slowly, like a romantic French accordion player. Bring your hands together very slowly, until they are very close together (but don’t let them touch, there’s an accordion in between, after all), and then start to open them again. And continue this action, closing and opening your hands. Keep the rest of your body, especially your arms and shoulders, as relaxed as you can.
And notice what you feel. Put a name to those feelings and sensations if you can. If you’re not feeling anything, fine. Try it again later. And after a few times, you certainly will start to feel something – unless you’re dead. Zombies don’t do this exercise so often. They tend to do the other exercise where they have their arms up in the air in front of them and walk forward very slowly. Now, I’m not going to tell you what you feel just yet, because that would spoil the surprise. So, please do this exercise, and experience it (whatever ‘it’ is) yourself.
Once you’ve done Exercise 1 and felt something, you can move on to Exercise 2.
Shake for five minutes (and you can put on some music if you want; you can also do it for longer if you want). Then stand still again. This time, stand still in a very particular (and easy) way:
HOW TO STAND FOR IMPROVED ENERGY FLOW
A. Imagine a cord is attached to the crown of your head and is lifting your head gently.
B. Let the tip of your tongue touch the roof of your mouth, just behind your teeth. Keep your knees slightly bent.
C. Tuck in your chin slightly to lengthen the back of your neck.
D. Let your arms dangle relaxed, and then let them hold an imaginary (or real, if you have one) huge belly: imagine holding a Buddha belly.
E. Try to keep your spine straight by tucking your coccyx in (to do this just stick your butt out, then do the opposite, and you’re there – it’s called ‘tucking your tail under’).
F. Keep your knees slightly bent.
G. Keep your feet apart.
Weird? Well, there’s not so much to it. But do try to follow all those points. After a little while of doing it, you’ll remember all the points very easily. And each point helps the energy to flow more, so it’s worth doing.
Once everything is in line, RELAX. At first, it might feel difficult to relax. Your legs might start to ache. Or the straight back won’t feel natural. Or your buttocks will be clenched because of the tail-tucking-under thing. But soften and relax. That’s actually the most important thing.
And stand. And notice how you’re feeling. Again, put names to those feelings and sensations.
This is called ‘Zhan Zhuang Qigong’ or ‘Standing Stake Qigong.’ It is the foundation of all energy training. It is what the best (internal) martial arts masters do for hours on end to build up their (internal) power. It’s as good after decades of practice as it is after a week of practice (nay, even better).
Just to stand like this for ten minutes a day will change things for you. Just standing like this will significantly change your levels of relaxation (for the better). Just standing like this can heal you of illness or help prevent illnesses that would otherwise afflict you.
It’s simple. But it’s the most effective thing you can do. If your brain prefers the complicated stuff, that you have to go on courses and spend years learning, as it probably will, then go off and do those things. But don’t forget this. In fact, if you want to go away and learn something complicated, go and sign up for a Tai Chi class. Tai Chi works a treat alongside this. And, after a while of doing Tai Chi (anywhere between 40 days and 40 years, in fact), you’ll realize it’s the same thing anyway.
If you instantly understand the power and sufficiency of this standing Qigong, or you just love it as it is, or you’re just lazy-dog (lazy isn’t a bad thing my friend), then do just this. I have spent years of my life, years of daily practice, just doing this. Nothing else. At other times, I’ve diligently practiced Tai Chi and Hsing I (Google It, it’s also gorgeous).
If you want a little variation, here are some alternate hand positions:
HAND POSITIONS: AIM TO HOLD EACH ONE FOR 10 MINUTES
But do go slowly. Only move to another hand position once you’re able to stand for at least 10 minutes in your chosen position. And you might just want to stick with the original position. That’s fine. That’s more than fine, that’s awesome. And that will do.
So what will happen for you if you practice this regularly? Well, as usual, I don’t really want to tell you. It’s great just to do it and see what unfolds for you naturally. But I know that some of you really, really, really want to know… and it might even motivate you to practice more. So…
This is a genuine magic art. Read any of the great books on Qigong and you can discover the magic that ensues from regular practice: magic that has been talked about in relation to Qigong for thousands of years. Take your pick, really: spontaneous healing; the ability to heal others with touch; the ability to heal others with thoughts; psychic powers such as telepathy (hearing others’ thoughts); prescience (predicting future events); distant viewing (being able to see things in other places without ever having been there), and so on.
This isn’t the world of Harry Potter, it’s better. There’s no school, no classes. Just standing, relaxing, feeling, and letting the magic happen.
You might even learn how to walk through walls. Literally.
Having done energy work (and that’s what ‘Qigong’ means, by the way: ‘work’ or ‘practice’ with ‘energy’) for more than 20 years, and having taught F**k It Therapy for more than seven years, I can say that Qigong is the most F**k It of all the arts (therapeutic, martial, magic, etc.,). It is, essentially, F**k It in form: when you let go and relax, things start to flow, and your life works (a treat).
It is Qigong that we teach (in depth) on our F**k It Retreats. So if you want to come to an amazing place (in a luxurious setting in Italy) and stand around with people experiencing the first shoots of magic in your life, come and join us.
In our courses we teach this form of Qigong (the Chinese energy art), which is taught by very few people, simply because it has nothing to it. Most people prefer doing ‘something,’ so most Qigong teachers teach a more complicated form.
So, going back to nothing: There is something quite amazing about energy, which you can’t trick – if you try too hard, it doesn’t flow. The less you try, the more the qi flows. In this form of Qigong, you just do nothing and that’s it.
Boring? Not at all. So much actually happens when you do nothing. But it all happens by itself.
You do nothing and then the energy gets the space and permission to take over, and it all kicks in. This is why it is called Spontaneous Qigong. It happens spontaneously, without any doing. So how do you teach this nothing?
As soon as you say something, people try to ‘do it’…
For example, in the Spontaneous Qigong, one of the ways to set the qi moving is through simple standing. But just by telling people to stand, everyone’s heads say: ‘I will stand now.’ And the whole body gets tight.
I find this amazing – it just shows me how even a simple instruction (such as standing or sitting) turns us into little soldiers. So how do you tell people to stand without them ‘doing standing’?
What I do with the groups is this. First, I get them to lie down and relax, and only then do I get them to stand up – as if they were still lying down on a vertically placed bed. So in this way, we avoid the idea of standing up locking into our brains.
So then, when people lie down vertically, this concept of ‘doing standing up’ disappears, and they are able to do nothing. Their bodies and minds aren’t locked. And then the spontaneous energy can move. When there is no doer, the qi does it.
Bodies start swaying and rocking – very soon all sorts of things start moving on their own, both internally and externally resulting in warmth, pulsation, tingling.
If people are happy to carry on doing nothing, the energy does things itself. All sorts of things can happen, such as arms rising by themselves, spontaneous walking, and internal adjustment in the body. This carries on as long as the person feels no need to take control again. Clearly an initial reaction to all these unexpected experiences can create judgment and surprise. But as people realize that this is simply the energy doing its job (they feel better afterward), they are progressively happier to get out of the way and let the experience unfold without judging what is happening.
Sometimes, in some people, you can see that the movement is totally ready to happen, but an unconscious idea of ‘who they are and how they function’ is holding the energy back.
Then, all I need to do is to point this out and give permission. A lovely guy in a group recently, after being given this ‘permission,’ started walking backward with his eyes closed just moved by the energy. And he could tell it wasn’t him doing the walking. He found himself at the other end of the garden. Another guy got thrown on the floor by his qi, and some internal movement was rebalancing the right and left of his digestive system. All he did to kick this off was open up and not intervene (i.e., do nothing). The energy takes over.
So, simply, energy stops when you concentrate, when you judge what is happening, and when you want to understand too much.
Energy moves when you don’t try hard, when you forget what you know, and when you hang out in the experience without judging too much what’s going on.
Still wondering why you feel stuck so often?
