Dragon & Tiger Qigong: Strengthen & Grow Your Etheric Field
By Paul Cavel
In part 3, we looked at the two primary methods for mobilising and developing qi within Dragon and Tiger Medical Qigong. Now we’ll take a look at the three primary depths of developing qi to strengthen the etheric field and the physical body.
All the practices and milestones presented in my previous three articles are required to move on here. This is how qigong, and for that matter all neigong, build and develop skill, vibrant health and deeper mind-body integration. The first layer becomes the foundation for the second layer; layers one and two become the foundation for layer three; layers one to three become the foundation for layer four; and so on. If one or more of the layers is/are weak or missing, your ability to reach the next level will be neutralised. If you do manage to activate the next layer, you will only gain a fraction of the potential possible with all previous layers active.
Three Layers of Qi
Three layers of qi can be found in:
The skin.
Between the skin and the muscles, known as wei qi.
Everything inside of the whole bag of skin.
Once you can remain very relaxed during practice, generate relatively accurate, fluid movements, and your hands remain in contact with the first layer of your etheric field while brushing and pulling and pushing qi throughout the seven-movement set, three aspects of practice begin to take place simultaneously:
The ability to contact, mobilise and develop the qi of your skin in a powerful way.
The ability to mobilise and strengthen the qi within your etheric field.
The ability to connect and exchange the qi of your etheric field with the qi inside of your body.
This is a very important phase of Dragon and Tiger, as you are truly entering into the realms of qi development, opening the doorway to more profound and subtle mind-body practices.
Developing Wei Qi
Once the qi of the skin has been cleared of stagnancies and developed to a reasonable degree, your mind can tune into grabbing and manipulating your wei qi, which is situated just below the skin, above the muscles. Wei qi is an important and powerful layer of qi, which is directly connected to the etheric field. In fact, within the hierarchy of qi, the wei qi gives birth to the etheric field. For this reason, accessing and manipulating wei qi dramatically increases the quality and strength of the etheric field, as well as the overall health of the practitioner.
Strengthening the Etheric Field
Tapping into and directing the flow of qi between the inside of your body and the qi of your etheric field generates a strong, energetic outer casing that protects you from harmful energies and pathogens in the environment. This level of practice is where Dragon and Tiger Medial Qigong is headed. Once you get there, you spend a lot of time clearing out all the stagnancies from both your wei qi and etheric field, until the entirety of these two layers is clear, vibrant, strong and robust.
You are looking to increase the quantity of qi in circulation and speed up the mobilisation of that qi — in both the wei qi and the etheric field — to the point that your field naturally increases in size. This comes as a direct result of increasing the sheer quantity of qi in play. If you place some dried fruit into a bowl of water, after a little while the fruit will absorb the water and plump up. It’s a similar process as qi, blood and other fluids engorge the body’s joints, cavities, soft tissues and vital organs from practice.
Growing Your Qi
To fully access the entirety of the wei qi of your body, to fully open up the flow between your wei qi and your etheric field, and to maximise the development of both takes time, patience and focus. However, the waking up process brings sublime feelings of being fully alive, of having all the energy you need to do all that you need to in your life. Vibrant health is well worth the price of admission and a sustained effort.
In part 5, we’ll delve into the third layer of qi — the whole bag of skin — and how to evolve your qigong into a neigong practice.
DRAGON & TIGER QIGONG ENERGETICS
Online course now open:
All students welcome — this is an excellent introduction to qigong and qi-based movement arts