The power of chi for self-defence
The Taoists developed a slew of martial arts based on channelling chi, the kinetic power of the universe, through your body’s energy passageways, the most well-known of which are tai chi, hsing i, and pa kua. These all rely on softening your muscles and sinews and relaxing your body, maintaining a fully expanded, lengthened and broadened skeletal frame, while breathing slowly and freely, and using the mind to direct the breath, which in turn shunts the chi in the direction you wish it to go and as any martial artist will tell you, a punch or kick packed with chi has at least ten times the impact of one delivered solely from muscular force.
However, though everyone would benefit immeasurably from martial arts training and the whole world would be a lot more peaceful as a result, you don’t actually need to train in martial arts to be able to effectively channel and use chi for self-defence.
Merely using the mind and breath you can generate a powerful, effective protective force field around you. It takes practice to make it strong but does start working immediately and it goes like this.
Imagine a hole in your navel. Imagine you’re breathing in and out through that hole. After a few breaths if your pay attention, you’ll notice a pleasant energy stirring occurring there.
Now imagine a hole in your lower back at the level of your navel, between the vertebrae of your spine and imagine you’re breathing in and out directly through that.
After a few breaths you’ll feel the tingling there too.
Now breathe in through the navel and out through the back.
As you breathe out, visualize the breath streaming out of your back like a brilliant white light, spreading up over your head, down the front and all the way round until your entire body, mind and soul is enveloped in this brilliant white light.
Keep breathing and you’ll feel your whole body tingling with chi.
Activate this every day before leaving home and a few times during the day at various key points – arriving at work, leaving work, arriving back home and so on.
This will serve as an energy buffer to allay all harmful energy and those with harmful intent.
© Stephen Russell