I’ve just been called a drug dealer and I’m too tickled to not mention it.
After a nice mellow class, with plenty of Qi moving (in this case finishing with the Celestial Tiger), it is not uncommon to feel…well, high. Hence the comment mentioned above. This is something I felt on many occasions, including once after a long and deep practice focused on moving energy. I felt giddy, happy and energized, and the feeling lasted for hours. I was high as a kite on Qi.
This is one of the reasons that, despite what Western science might say, I do believe Qi exists. This is not a runners high, which is caused by deep oxygenation, since there is very little difference in movement between a run-of-the-mill Tai Chi session and one which is focused on Qi circulation. What IS different is the mental focus and, of course, Qi.
So what might cause this “high”? Well, Western medicine might talk of a surplus of oxygen, of the release of various hormones, etc.. None of that jives with the experience of the “Qi high”.
One possible answer, on the more Western end of the spectrum, is that Qi is what we feel when the body communicates with itself at a very high efficiency; when the mind-map of the body in the brain matches the body, with no emotions, habits, distractions or physical impediments interfering with the communication. The mind-body unit becomes highly coherent, and the various components of the system are integrated with each other, with an accompanied lowering of the inhibiting functions of the brain (since they are unnecessary in an integrated system). And that, my friends, is what drugs – especially psychedelics – do. They allow for greater integration of brain regions by lowering the inhibitions between them. That integration gives rise to the “high”.
Another answer, one which requires a leap of faith, is to take the Taoist notion of Qi at face value, and accept the more esoteric implication of its existence. Because Qi is not just an energy flowing through the body, but through the Universe itself. It has different qualities as it expresses the nature of its container, while connecting everything through its universal quality, shared by all of creation.
When
we do some Qigong exercises, we move our Qi around the body. Done
correctly, we also exchange our Qi with the surrounding environment. In
Taoist terms, we connect to Heavenly and Earthly Qi. And the Heavens and
the Earth are much, much more potent than we are. By tapping into their
nature, we supercharge ourselves, replacing old, turbid Qi with pure,
potent Qi from the Great Battery in The Sky, as well as the Deep Well of
the Earth.
And that is pretty mind-blowing. There are lots of Taoist inner practices that connect to various constellations of stars, reaching further than just the Heavenly energy of our solar system. They connect us to the Universe itself, and not in a vague metaphorical way. There is a calendar of propitious times to meditate and do Qi cultivation based on star positions. It is an explicit acknowledgement that we are sitting on a great round spaceship moving through a living Universe, and that we can tap into the forces that animate it.
You pick the answer that gets you a better high.