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Diaphragm tightness related to chronic illness

By Archived User | Updated: Dec 31, 2021 | Published: Dec 31, 2021

Hi:
I am chronically ill and have been practicing Spring Forest Qigong for about 6 months (increasing to about 3 hours/day) and had to quit because of the following:
In trying to move yin/yang up and down or do microcosmic orbit, the more chi, the more the diaphragm would tighten. Through communication with a student of Master Lin, she said:

...""It is that area (Diaphragm area) that needs to open. That is the area near the “wang ting” (not sure of the spelling) but once that area opens the body heals very quickly. I too had problems in that area. I continued practicing and during one of my meditations my diaphragm began to spasm. I remembered Master Lin’s words to just stay calm and let it do what it needs to do and when it’s over it will be completely clear. So I did. It went away and many more lingering problems left me.
You see when you have an illness like you do there is a division of your energy right in that area near the diaphragm. It’s sort of like a shelf that’s keeping your yin and yang energy from communicating and flowing. Once that blockage leaves the energy moves freely and your body can heal. ...""

Can you enlighten me further on this, (I'd like to know the correct spelling of that area and if its spinal, organ or central vessel related). I will continue doing Spring Forest but if you know of a way I can open this through qigong I would be very interested. Its been going on a long time and forced be to quit many practices. I finally have a better idea of what this is.
Thanks
Sam laTona

Archived Comments

Comment by Chad J. Dupuis, L.Ac.

As you have posted multiple times, I'm going to answer part of your question here and the rest in your other post.

I'm not certain what point your teacher is talking about, it's probably zhong ting (or CV 16) but you should probably ask him just to be certain. It follows the conception vessel meridian, which is the meridian that is followed to descend the energy from the head down to the dantian. Either way, the majority of problems that arise with qigong practice is forcing the issue through over controlled visualizations and/or over controlled breathing. Either of these is a near certain way to create more problems and ensure that the qigong is not as beneficial as it could be for your health and energy.

Qigong practice has to be done properly, slowly and in a non controlled way. Over time the energy will follow the prescribed paths. They will follow these paths not through force but because it is the natural path of the bodies energies.

You can not hurry the openings of the body through excessive practicing, over visualization, and improper breathing (which usually happens through focusing too hard, or just trying to follow a breathing/movement prescription without it being natural). 3 hours of practice a day seems a little excessive to me personally particularly if you have a chronic illness. I would, however, recommend a walk and some kind of proper closing exercises after the qi gong to release any stuck energy. The closing can be simply to rub the body down from head to toe.

Not to add any more to your plate. But we use a qigong routine called the "Da Peng Gong" which focuses more on opening the body physically with some spinal twists, neck stretches, etc. mixed with various energetic movements. Personally I think it is an excellent practice and useful to remove the physical blockages that lead to poor energy circulation. You can read more about that here -

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