The guy above seems to be a little confused. Even back in 17th century China natural laws would not have been confused with "Chi". Also, being considered a mystic or sorcerer back then would more likely get you promoted, not killed. Hence those that could understand the I-Ching were held in high regard. (China is not salem). Anyways, QiGung (Chigong) is just the art of focusing your internal energy into certain areas of your body. It is how the Shaolin perform such amazing feats. In theory it is a pretty simple concept, in practice it is much harder. Before beginning physical practice, it is important to understand what Qigung is on a scientific level. Start with some reading & watch some videos of Qigung in practice. If it still interests you, seek out an instructor. All the best.

By understanding chi energy isn't something you can train.

Chi is a word used to describe elements that people back in the day didn't understand, things like gravity, magnetism, oxygen, the nervous system or electricity.

If I rubbed my feet an a carpet to build static and shocked you with it you'd know exactly how I did it and call me a jerk, if I pulled that kind of stunt back in 17th century China they'd call me a sorcerer using chi. Same thing if I used a magnet to make a coin 'jump' into my hand, you'd want to try and find the magnet, they'd want to hang me.

The simple answer is that your "journey" will be non-productive. "Chi" does not exist. It's mythical. As the others have noted, it's a term the Asians invented to describe things they otherwise had no terms for.

We know better now.

ok first in china Chi or Qi is to described as internal energy... both Chi gong and Tai Chi are away to learn how to use Chi and develop it.... I know yoga is form India and I know not to much about yoga besides their is yoga for the mind and tons for the body.. in Chi gong its about the blood flow and oxygen that help the organs, moves are for help of the body and start your Chi in the morning.... Tai Chi is a internal martial art which helps you learn to develop middle Chi or Chi in your belly... same thing moves are used to help learn and develop Chi while using martial art... mediation is what they call upper Chi and is practiced in formlessness meaning development of a relaxed mind...mediation takes along time of own self and can be showed but only mastered by you... all 3 are development of relaxing the body and the mind.. all use breathing as there main focus to develop good Chi... yes takes many years to develop it but can be developed with practice... Chan Buddhist or Shaolin monks use all to help with the practice of their Buddhism and health... Shaolin monks do forms of yoga for help in injuries .. Now I have never seen my Sifu actually do these forms.. but it is used in eastern medicine.. good luck

'Chi' is a catch all term in Chinese Cosmology for the energetic/life-giving quality of all things and beings. It is not a mysterious force that you can harness and shoot out of your palms, just in case that is what you have in mind. It is only in recent times that chi has been heavily mystified in the West due to lack of / incomplete understanding and cultural schism, to be fair, Chi has also been similarly mystified and blown out of proportion by the popularity of 'Wuxia' (Martial Fantasy) novels in China and South East Asia.

If you want to embark on a Journey to explore 'Chi', you can of course practice Chi-gung (Qi Gong in standard hanyu pinyin) for health purposes, or Tai Chi Chuan (Taijiquan in standard hanyu pinyin) if you are looking for a martial art.

I can't really comment about Chi-gung per se, but I can talk a little about Tai Chi as I am currently learning it.

Firstly, note that the 'Chi' in Tai Chi is not the same as the 'Chi' energy, in fact they are totally different words, (Ji vs. Qi in hanyu pinyin, which is a much better approximation of the actual pronunciation in Mandarin Chinese). When we first start learning Tai Chi, we should simply regard 'chi' as breath. You will be taught to harmonize your breathing with your movements in order to create the body awareness necessary to progress in your learning.

After you are able to harmonize your breathing with your forms and movements, you would probably be taught the finer points in your breathing (Chi) techniques like reverse abdominal breathing that would be correlated to different 'meridien points' on your body. It is at this stage where the more esoteric aspects might start to be introduced, such as the differentiation of breath chi from the internal energy chi, how to cultivate and store chi and how to direct it in your practice.

From my understanding this 'chi' energy is first and foremost a tacit physiological awareness of connectivity in your body structure (and hence the 'internal' in internal arts). I am open to whether there is an actual single energy or force that accounts for chi or whether it is more a set of related phenomenon brought about by acute body awareness. However, in the practice of Tai Chi, I do think it is important to adopt the chi concept as an essential tool for learning and development, whether or not chi can be scientifically explained.

The green bug doesnt know anything and the cyborg doesnt understand his brown belt knowledge.

I've recently become very fascinated with chi energy. I am 14 and understand it's going to take a very long time to be able to master chi energy, but I would like to know where to start. I have a basic understanding of yoga, and meditation and consider myself to be in relatively good shape. Does anyone on here have any advice on how to start my journey? Sorry if I sound stupid, honestly I really don't know much about this "Chi-energy", but I would love to one day understand it.