Introduction

Dear Qigong friends, welcome to the Seasonal Qigong Empowerment Series. 

The Seasonal Qigong Empowerment (Seasonal Qigong or Jieqi Qigong) series is an ongoing exploration of an unusual concept that is rarely discussed, organic time. The word "organic" means living, or as I like to think of it, imbued with life force. We tend to think of organic in the context of food, but the Qigong Masters of ancient China realized that singular moments in time are richly imbued with life force, and they developed specific meditation and movement practices to leverage that energy. Those practices, collectively known as Seasonal Qigong, are the ones I share through my bi-monthly newsletters. 

My Qigong Master, Xiao Yao, felt that Seasonal Qigong Empowerment was an extremely valuable practice and throughout the years I spent with him, we practiced it regularly. Since the practice is time sensitive, it is practiced by many people at the same time. And a basic rule of Qigong is that the greater the number of people aligning their energies simultaneously, the more robust the Qi field becomes.

I invite you to join the thousands of practitioners who practice Seasonal Qigong Empowerment twice a month all over the world together with me. And feel free to tell your friends and to help spread the word. The bigger this meditation party is, the merrier the planet! 

Understanding Jieqi - the Mini Season

The Chinese seasonal calendar divides the year into 4 seasons: Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter. Each season is further subdivided into six stages. A total of 24 phases make up the yearly seasonal cycle (4 x 6 = 24). For example, Summer begins with Start of Summer, continues with Grain Full, and the last one is Major Heat. Can you guess what the fourth stage of Summer is called? Look at the pictures below:

Each of these 24 phases is known as a Jieqi (jee-ay-chee) and lasts approximately 15 days. The start of a new Jieqi is determined by the position of the sun. Every time the sun advances 15° on its journey around the ecliptic, a new phase begins.

Qigong Masters were keen observers of the flows of Qi energy. They noticed that during the last two hours of previous Jieqi and the first two hours of a new Jieqi a powerful wave of energy washed over the earth.

Here is a simple way to envision what happens each time a new Jieqi begins: Picture N.Y.C.’s Time Square on December 31st at 11:59 PM, just one minute before the New Year begins. The buildup of energy is palpable. The New Year's Ball hovers above the cheering crowd, about to drop. Then the countdown begins: Ten, nine, eight... three, two, and one!

As the ball hits the ground the crowd lets out a wild roar and a tremendous wave of energy is released. Many of us have experienced this surge of energy, either live or on television. At that moment we are often inspired to make a New Year's resolution, instinctively realizing that we can leverage the groundswell of exuberance to make real changes in our lives.

The last two hours of the previous Jieqi and the first two hours of a new Jieqi(Supreme Time) are like a mini New Year. And long ago, Qigong Masters realized that if they timed their Qigong practice to coincide with this narrow window of time, they would benefit tremendously. Practicing Qigong during these four hours is like raising your sails while a strong wind is blowing—a little effort carries you a long way.

Seasonal Qigong Empowerment (or Jieqi Qigong, or Seasonal Qigong) was taught to me by my Qigong Master, Xiao Yao (shiao-yeeaow). He would consult a yellow book that tracked the position of the planets to determine the precise time the Jieqi began and we would practice the Seasonal Empowerment together.

Every two weeks, I will send you a newsletter to notify the Supreme Time of the new Jieqi and will give you a link to join the practice together live. By joining the thousands of practitioners doing Jieqi Qigong Empowerment worldwide you can join our growing Circle of Cosmic Qi and partake in an ancient tradition.

The Anatomy of the Empowerment

Seasonal Qigong Empowerment is a simple yet effective practice designed to help you leverage the surge of Qi energy during each new jieqi. The basic technique is this: Each time a new jieqi begins, you focus your attention on a specific vertebra and empower it. Why a vertebra? The spine is made up of 24 articulating vertebrae and Qigong Masters established a correspondence between the 24 seasonal phases and the 24 articulating vertebras. Each Seasonal Qigong Empowerment targets a particular vertebra and, over the course of a year, you empower your whole spine, one vertebra at a time.

The Seasonal Qigong Empowerment is made up of two different parts. Let's consider each one separately:

Part 1 is the empowerment meditation. You can practice this meditation every day until the next Jieqi. You begin by concentrating Qi energy into the vertebra associated with the Jieqi and then you radiate the energy that you collected throughout your body to nourish your internal organs. Part 1 can be repeated from as little as a few minutes up to two hours. It's up to you. By the time you finish the empowerment, you feel "supercharged" with high-grade Qi that will significantly boost your sense of well-being.

Part 2 is a movement practice designed to strengthen your spine. The movement pattern changes with each Jieqi and each specific movement targets the area around the vertebra associated with the current empowerment. It takes only 5 to 10 minutes to complete. With regular practice you will notice the muscles and soft tissue along your spine grow significantly stronger and more resilient. Since we feel as old as our spine is young, this practice promotes longevity.

You can practice both Part 1 and Part 2 together or separately. When you practice them together, you can decide at your will to do part 1 first, or part 2 first. It doesn't matter which one goes first. But overall, both can be practiced in the following 3 ways:

1. Supreme Time: The window of 4 hours during the last two hours of the previous Jieqi first two hours of the new Jieqi is you supreme time. Practicing empowerment during supreme time give you supreme benefit.

2. Golden Time: Golden time is all 15 days of each current Jieqi. Practicing empowerment during these days any time gives you great benefit.

3. Good Time: Good time is all year around. Someone feels like to do some other Jieqi empowerment in the current Jieqi and wonders whether it is fine. The answer is YES. Each Jieqi empowerment is good to practice any time during the year.

Every two weeks, I will send you a newsletter to notify the coming of the new Jieqi. Then you can go to the current Jieqi page and practice by following the organic time. Each page includes the theme of the current Jieqi, practice guidelines including a video and written instructions to guide you step-by-step through the Seasonal Empowerment, so remember to check them out.

Sample:

Wishing you Good Qi and enjoy your practice!

Robert Peng