Chigong, Taichi, yoga – which one?

[Lexi]

First off, let me just say im a noob at this so excuse my ignorance. Basically i understand that all of these eastern system have like some form of exercise which each have their own benefits etc but which one should i choose? Theres like a million forms of yoga, taichi, chigong, different martial arts..
I just dont know where to start:
which is the best?
do i need a teacher, if so, how do i know which?
what is the most useful for general health?
which one is easiest to learn? Ahh! >.<
I heard someone here practices chigong but when i looked that up there were so many forms of those too.

I am not unfit or anything, I go to the gym regularly and have always wanted to get into one these systems properly becuase ive heard so much about it but never took the time to figure out.
Also, I do somewhat understand energetic concepts behind these since im learning acupuncture too.
Any help is appreciateed!! 🙂

[sultan]

Hey Lexi,
There are many variations to all the forms of internal development and it can depends on the teacher and your own efforts.
Although the goal for most of them are similar, each method takes a different route and can be designed for certain people.
For example, you can buy a sports car to get you from A to B; the ride will be fast but require more gas and you can only take one other passenger. But you can also drive a family car, designed for comfort, ease and practicality but it may take a while.

The daoist chigong which you heard one of our members talk about is a very powerful one, comprised of a combination of stances and breathing to develop your all aspects of your body (nervous system, endocrine system, muscle, tendon, bone etc) and mind. But if you refer back to my analogy, there is a trade-off in that it may not be as easy as other forms (by no means impossible) but is more intense and encompassing in its effects.

There may be hundreds of different yoga forms if you went to India to find out, each requiring varying intensity and dedication to the practice but I’m assuming when you refer to yoga, you are talking about what is popularised in the west, most likely hatha yoga and when you say taichi you may be referring to what is common in the park. 😛 To be honest, I think these are just a rip-off of the original forms, and this has a lot to do with who teaches them. Many of these so called masters may just learn from a book, incompetent teachers or just not know what they are doing.

But my point is just this, if you want a nice, easy and comfortable path which doesn’t push you at all, then how can you expect something ‘life-changing’? So you gotta know what you want 🙂
Some of the other members may be able to better guide you with where you can find good teachers etc though 😀

[Z]

there are many ways to the top of the mountain.

What will fit you may not fit another – some people do Yoga, some people take it further and do kundalini yoga – and there are more and more intense practices which are even more powerful, although not widely available to learn (yet) like Daoist Qigong (which is very different from Qigong you know that old people practice).

Try Kundalini Yoga if you’re not sure – and Qigong (in combination it is very powerful).

[Lexi]

Thanks for the replies!
That does make sense and I am looking for something intense cos I know like there may not be authentic teachers wher I am.
I tried googling it but didn’t find a clear ansswer, where can I learn these two forms?

[sultan]

Where abouts do you live Lexi?

[Lexi]

In England, the south-east to be specific 🙂

[sultan]

Hmm well in that case, I am aware of a very respected kundalini yoga Master coming to London on the 20th June. Maybe you could check that out and see if that is the type of thing you were looking for?
Here is the link for his site http://www.siddhanath.org/events/yogiraj-events
He also has a youtube channel if you google Hamsayogi.

[Quie Bian]

Sultan, thats really strange, I’ve also seen his videos before, i think they are very powerful too! I mean some of the ones where he even connects with the online viewers is really cool.

He does not come to my country 🙁

[Lexi]

Thankyou! I’ll take a look nowww

[amina]

this was a really interesting and useful thread for me too! thanks guys! 😀

[James Ali]

i do qigong, which is great for building an immune system and body capacity. its kinda like yoga on steroids.

[karrotcake]

@James Ali …I’ve always wondered how that works, (qigong improving the immune system) – can you elaborate?

[Marina]

This lady has been teaching Kundalini yoga for almost 40 years.
And has taught online since at least the mid-nineties, here

http://www.kundaliniyoga.org/

Her new website is not bilingual as before, but hey… live classes.

http://www.yogatech.com/Guru_Rattana_Online

• This reply was modified 11 years, 3 months ago by Marina.

[Henry]

Wow great! That seems like a good resource! Thanks for sharing! There aren’t many kundalini classes around. It seems they have US connections which is a good sign as I know as a fact that US has many great kundalini yoga teachers.

[Marina]

Where are you based, Hery?

There are many great classes/teachers in the london area, at least.
There is also teacher training available in the UK, if that’s
where you mean by “around”.

[Author]

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