Laogong: Exploring the Vital Point at the Heart of Qigong
Lao Gong emerges as a central point, a hidden gem that plays a vital role in conducting vital energy, or Qi.
Let’s unravel the mysteries and importance of Laogong.
Laogong: The Energy Center in the Hands
Laogong is an energy point located in the palm of the hand, in the center of the area where the hand bends when making a fist.
In Qigong theory, this point is considered to be a gateway for the entry and exit of energy (qi).
When consciously activated, Laogong becomes a channel through which the practitioner can direct and balance the flow of Qi.
Laogong Conscious Activation: Technique and Meaning
When performing Qigong exercises, focus your attention on Laogong, imagining a sphere of light forming at this point.
As you breathe deeply, visualize the energy flowing in and out of this center, strengthening the connection between body and Qi.
Laogong is often associated with intention and awareness.
By concentrating on this point, practitioners increase energetic awareness to promote harmony between mind and body.
It is a portal that facilitates the entry of Qi and the release of excess or blocked energy.
Laogong and the Energetic Martial Arts
In Chinese martial arts, the Laogong plays a crucial role.
It is often used to direct and redirect energy during movements, promoting efficiency, strength and intention in practice.
Incorporating Laogong into martial techniques is a way of increasing mastery over vital energy.
By understanding the importance of Laogong, we delve deeper into the fabric of Qigong.
This central point is not just an anatomical part, but a portal to the vital connection between the individual and the energy that permeates the universe.
By consciously incorporating Laogong into our Qigong practice, we open the door to a deeper journey of inner exploration and energetic balance.
Many of us have experienced a pleasant sensation of warmth flowing through the palms of our hands.
Whenever I have a new student in my Qigong classes, one of the first steps I take is to try to see if there is energetic sensitivity in the center of the palm of the hands, which in the Qigong world we call Lao Gong, which directly translated from Chinese is the “Palace of Work”.
This point is known as PC-8 in acupuncture point nomenclature.
Many people intuitively turn their palms towards each other at a distance of 2 to 3 cm to start generating the sensation of energy between the palms, which we call activating the Qi.
Some feel a very gentle warmth, others a slight tingling, still others a slight sensation of having their palms connected by elastic threads.
Each human being feels Qi in their own personal way, you just have to trust what you feel and develop attention.
It can take a long time for some people to start feeling the energy in their palms, i.e. to develop their energy perception.
When the student doesn’t immediately feel the energy in their palms, I teach some exercises to open up the energy center and get the Qi flowing.
It’s always nice to see people’s eyes light up when they realize that they can really feel the Qi.
I remember a student who only began to feel the energy after months of practicing Qigong with me.
Halfway through his practice, he exclaimed ecstatically: “I feel waves of heat coming out of my palms!”
It was a happy day for him, and a fresh start in his life.
It’s very interesting to think that nowadays we all talk about energy: “Everything is energy” is a belief that is already very present in the collective consciousness, largely because of advances in quantum physics.
However, just believing conceptually is totally different from actually feeling the presence and existence of the energy, which in the qigong world we call Qi.
When Qi flows through the hands, it’s halfway to making energy flow freely through the body.
Thus, unblocking, awakening and opening Lao Gong is vitally important for the human being.
Lao Gong is about two unique energy centers in the human body, one in each hand.
Through them we can generate, send and attract enormous amounts of energy from the natural world, and then store it in specific centers in our body.
Lao Gong is also usually the first energy center that the beginner has real contact with. We often think and talk about energy points instead of energy centers of energy.
This greatly limits our perception.
Energy centers are very dynamic, very organic.
They are alive, just like our body, because they are the body, just in a different vibration.
They work like flowers, which can open and close, be healthy or sick, sad or happy and in harmony.
It is no coincidence that the chakras in the Indian tradition are represented with flowers, that the Buddha is seated on a lotus flower, that the hand of Fatima is a symbol of protection, power, strength and blessing, and that the goddess Kali is often represented with an eye in the center of the palm of her many hands.