For those that don't know

QiGong @ wiki

I was wondering where other people get their instruction from. I read that practicing Chi Kung can be therapeutic and have been doing some video exercises I've found for the last 3 weeks. I try to do one new lesson a week, and practice 4-7 days. I don't know though if what I'm doing is enough, so I would like anyone to relate if they go to a master, buy videos, download videos, read books, etc.

Here's the exercises I've been doing so far, I need to re-watch them today to make sure my technique is alright.

Mantak Chai Chi Kung

Mantak exercise 2

mantak 3

I've also been prone to do a Bear dance every once in a while for a few years resources

If you've never tried it before I strongly suggest. Technically easier than yoga, calming, invigorating, and good for the body mind and nerves.

Yes I do.
Having a teacher is really essential, just as in any deep and challenging practice/skill.
Mantak Chia is not my cup of tea... I recommend a chinese martial arts class taught by someone you you like - Taiji, Xingyi, Bagua, and other "internal" styles are qigong as well as fighting systems and form practice.
And remember, kung fu means "hard work" .

Well, I'm definitely exploring interesting states from my practice. I'm very interested in other practices too, but when I saw this, I had been doing the first few moves myself over the past year or two on and off. Just twisting at the hips, arm circles, neck circles, touching the toes daily.

Today though, wow, a surprise. I drank a concoction containing vitamin b, valerian root extract (40mg), melatonin (2mg), rose hip extract (40mg), and some sugar + flavoring. I then went out and took 2-3 hits of kind green. I started my exercises gathered from the videos above. I also take hints from my Jeet Kun Do studies and allow myself to improvise little by little where it feels natural. I started doing that after 2 weeks or so of following the practice step by step.

Ok, so, again, today. At the breathing into the kidney stage, I started getting some heavy CEV. The entire session I was allowing my focus to drift into myself, inner illumination and healing inhalation was the intent. I had caught glimpses of wings/mountain separating bright skies/antlers, but those were faint. All of a sudden I saw an up close image of an eye opening, materialize out of nowhere into a multitude of colors. Perceived to be very large. It seemed very personal and was similar to some art that I have been trying to express.

It was unexpectedly vivid. I also realized that closed eyes + rising too fast after deep slow breaths I can almost guarantee a wave of fast fading consciousness. This sneaks up on me after touching toe/bending at the lumbar.

One other note, through the kidney breathing, after about a week of practice, I feel like I am breathing deeper and longer than I have been able to in a LONG time. I like it.

Hey Lavos

Chi Kung rocks. Done correctly it can certainly be mind blowing, physically empowering, and spiritually grounding... all at the same time!

I studied with a master. My Sifu was an expert in many styles of internal arts and part of a few lineages that are quite old. The benefits of such lineages can not be overstated. When a Kung Fu master accepts you and becomes your Sifu (spiritual father), his Sifu becomes your spiritual grandfather, and so on. Thus you become part of a spiritual family of masters. The combined power of such things can be overwhelming... even if you discount the idea that many such lineages were started by taoist immortals or have ascended beings in their ranks.

I've read Mantak Chia, watched some of his videos, and find him to be decent. His being Thai, and not directly linked to one of the famous lineages often gets him some ridicule. I think this has more to do with people not liking his commercialization of the arts and sharing of secrets. Most of what he teaches jibes pretty well with what I learned.

Having said that, there are notable points where his teachings differ. He has different organ sounds than what I learned, for example. Not just different, but actually mismatched in places. Where he says one sound is for the liver, in my system the same sound is used for the pericardium. (I have to check that example, but the point holds)

Even if what Mantak teaches was perfect, and you could learn it just from a video, you would still want to seek out a master at some point. These arts run very deep. Many of them take decades to be considered a beginner. Having someone who has mastered them around you is beneficial in so many ways that I can not overstate it. Aside from correcting you, it is just an honor to be around someone who is demonstrably superhuman.

Ljosalfar is correct in his assertion that Tai Chi, Pa Kua & Hsing I are among the best of the bunch, though anything taught at your local gym or community center is likely to be heavily watered down. Water boxing, Mok Gar, and dozens of other Kung Fu styles also contain very advanced internal systems for Chi Kung, Nei Kung, Shen Kung and more.

Blessings. Namaste.

i like qigong a great deal
there are many forms of it
taiji is a martial art with qigong built into it

I took a college course on Chen style Tai Chi and QiGong. It's beautiful and I highly recommend it.

Chi Kung is a very beneficial practice. But Yeah, a master helps a lot. I did take a few courses while travelling.