By Pál Cavel
The many strands and layers of neigong that can be activated and integrated into the marriage of Heaven and Earth in Qigong give practitioners a taste of what is possible with continued study of the Taoist arts—without the complex choreography associated with other qigong sets, tai chi, or bagua. Heaven and Earth Qigong bridges the advanced levels of water tradition training and provides much more than a powerful form of exercise for health, healing and relaxation. It is a journey into the systems, substructures and layers of your body, energy and mind.
Expanding the range and depth of Neigong
Take a look at the wide range of inner energetic layers of Heaven and Earth:
- Bio-mechanical adjustments
- Bending and stretching the soft tissues of the body
- Taoist breathing
- Twisting of soft tissues
- Open-close techniques (also known as pulsing)
- Bending and straightening the spine as one, integrated whole
- Elongation (yin-yang energy flows)
- Soft tissue wrapping (ie collateral qi flows)
- To feel, move and transform internal energies
- Techniques of working with the etheric field
- Activation of the macro- and microcosmic energy pathways
- External solution
- Techniques for working with left and right energy channels
- Techniques of working with the central energy channel
- Techniques of working with internal organs
- Techniques for working with the lower tantien.
Each of these layers contains an incredible amount of depth. The real effort is not necessarily in mastering all the relevant inner layers, but in developing your ability to integrate the above exceptionally well. While doing so, you can practice Heavenly and Earthly Qigong to support healing, increase physical and mental performance, develop martial power, and more.
Qigong is Chinese medicine
The purpose of learning Taoist Qigong is not necessarily to move your body better, but to move and balance your qi according to the principles of Chinese medicine. Qigong/Neigong, like acupuncture, is one of the eight wheels of Chinese medicine. The primary function of an ongoing qigong practice is to exercise your body and mind in a way that allows you to relax and build up qi for health, physical healing, general well-being, and possibly spiritual pursuits if you so choose.
With most qigong systems, the goal is to develop one aspect, layer, or strand of neigong in one movement, then focus on different and/or deeper aspects in the next step. In this way, the qi generated in the previous step is transferred to the next (if and only if it is performed correctly). Many internal exercises aim to enhance the circulation of qi through a series of coordinated movements that together form a sequence. Most of the other qigong in the Energy Arts System (except Bend the Bow), tai chi, and bagua essentially work in this way to generate qi and nurture flexibility and vitality—albeit with caveats specific to their unique composition and primary mode of operation.
Heaven and Earth Qigong are different
With a single continuous movement, the emphasis in Heaven and Earth Qigong is to build up the internal qi content layer by layer, with many repetitions instead of alternating movement sequences. As the depth, content and quality of the movement develops in each stage, the production of energy naturally follows.
It is energetically efficient
The special technology of Heaven and Earth Qigong is designed to engage everything in the human body and its energy, from the skin to the internal organs and from the ether field to the central channel—including all the layers in between.
- The etheric field the layer of energy that exists immediately outside the physical body, sometimes called the ‘aura’. Starting from the skin and extending outward in all directions, the ether field can be very shallow, for example, several inches from the surface of the skin in an unhealthy person, several feet from the surface of the skin in a vigorous individual. The size, density, and quality of etheric energy correlate strongly with vitality, as the etheric field is connected to and emanates from the wei qi.
- Wei Qi the layer of energy between the skin and muscles that flows at the level of the fascia and protects the body from disease and potential invaders from the external environment. Acupuncture meridians, which originate from the left and right channels, run through the wei qi.
- The left and right channels the two fundamental channels of the body that direct and feed qi to all the more superficial channels, including the meridians. Clearing stagnation and blockages in the left and right channels dramatically increases the overall functioning of the body and results in a strong and resilient individual.
- THE central channel it gives birth to left and right channels and contains the deepest aspects of the human being, including their essence.
Why should you learn Heaven and Earth Qigong?
In the hierarchy of the Five Elements neigong system, Heaven and Earth are the first to work at this depth, developing much of the physical and inner content found in tai chi, hsing-i, and bagua, as well as the raw materials for training advanced qigong systems such as Bend the Spine and Neigong Gods in the Clouds.
Heaven and Earth is an incredible self-healing tool, a true inner energy practice designed by the ancients and honed over thousands of years. Practicing is about discovering what you are made of and the potential that lies deep within you—that most human beings never make the effort to discover.
From a much broader perspective, the practice of the Taoist arts—such as those within the water tradition, which have a rich history and a living representative with whom to study the inner teachings—serve as an antidote to materialism and the erasure of ancient knowledge.
Join us in 2025
Because new studentsLearning Heaven and Earth Qigong will help you use the many letters of the neigong alphabet. Whether you are building your form for the first time or the long term practitioneryou can systematically and gradually refine and develop your practice by unraveling and continuously weaving new and deeper aspects of neigong into the simple physical framework provided by Heaven and Earth Qigong.
I look forward to training with you… this summer at the center!
Preparatory courses:
Seminars with Paul Cavell in Yucaipa, California
Classes with Craig Barnes in Longmont, Colorado
