Qigong – Cultivating Inner Harmony

Written by Simon Lau, Master at Simon Lau Centre

I am the founder of The Simon Lau Centre. I was born in China and, from a young age, educated by Buddhist monks. This instilled in me the belief that the minds that coordinate the activities of violence can coordinate the activities of cooperation. Everyone has an equal right to eliminate suffering and seek happiness.

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Qigong is more than movement, it is a pathway to balance, clarity, and inner freedom. By uniting relaxation, posture, breathing, and awareness, this ancient practice harmonises body and mind while reconnecting us with the rhythms of nature. In cultivating presence and intention, Qigong opens the door to vitality, resilience, and a deeper sense of happiness from within.

Relaxation

True relaxation begins with the release of all physical and mental tension. When the body is comfortable, the mind naturally quiets. Muscles soften, arteries and veins ease into flow, and blood and qi circulate more freely. Diastolic pressure lowers, and the entire system enters a state of gentle readiness, laying the groundwork for deeper concentration and inner stillness.

Clear mind

To clear the mind is not to blank it, but to inhabit it with presence. Return home, home to the universe within. Allow sight to remain in seeing, sound in hearing, sensation in feeling, without grasping, without resistance. Pain may arise, but it does not belong to you. It is not personal. When perception is unclaimed, the mind grows still. It settles not in past or future, but in the rich simplicity of now. This kind of clarity requires no belief system, only the commitment to be, to observe, to allow.

Posture

The body mirrors the state of the mind. A straight, relaxed spine and balanced head allow qi to flow effortlessly. Shoulders and torso carry both strength and grace, held without strain. Rest your hands lightly on your knees; this is the posture of comfort and ease. When the mind is scattered, the body tightens. When the mind is inspired, posture becomes effortless. Align the body, align the spirit. In this union, internal energy arises naturally.

Breathing

Breathe as you always do, but with awareness. Inhalation contracts the diaphragm, expands the lungs, and invites qi inward. Exhalation relaxes the body, contracts the abdomen, and releases tension. Let your attention rest gently on the out-breath. With each exhale, let go of grasping, striving, and resistance. In that quiet release, life breathes itself.

The interaction of the human body & nature

In Traditional Chinese philosophy, the human body and nature mirror one another, woven into a grand tapestry of harmony and transformation. Through the Five Elements, Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water, life expresses itself through direction, taste, color, emotion, organ function, and more. These associations are not merely symbolic; they reflect a deep holographic unity between the cosmos and the self.

Holistic correspondences of the five elements

Direction	Season	Taste	Color	Climate	Change	Internal Organ	Companion Organ	Body Tissue	Sense Organ	Emotion
East	Spring	Sour	Green	Wind	Birth	Liver 肝	Gall Bladder 膽	Tendons 筋	Eyes	Anger
South	Summer	Bitter	Red	Heat	Growth	Heart 心	Small Intestine 小腸	Vessels 脈	Tongue	Joy
Centre	Late Summer	Sweet	Yellow	Dampness	Transformation	Spleen 脾	Stomach 胃	Muscle 肌	Mouth	Thought
West	Autumn	Spicy	White	Dryness	Contraction	Lungs 肺	Large Intestine 大腸	Skin 皮毛	Nose	Sadness
North	Winter	Salty	Black	Cold	Storage	Kidneys 腎	Bladd

These relationships reflect the principle of resonance, the idea that what happens in nature also happens within us. We are not separate from the Earth or the cosmos; we are extensions of them. When these relationships are harmonized, vitality and equilibrium flourish. When disrupted, imbalance and illness follow.

The concept of Qigong: Cultivating presence, intention, and inner liberation

Qigong is more than physical movement; it is a conscious return to oneself. Through the harmonization of breath, posture, intention, and awareness, Qigong gently awakens a deeper truth: that personal happiness is not found in external conditions but in the stillness of being.

Rediscovering happiness

Many of us unknowingly create our own suffering, clinging to unmet expectations, replaying past events, resisting the inevitable. But unhappiness is not imposed upon us; it is manufactured within. Qigong invites us to stop resisting what has already happened and begin inhabiting what is, without judgment, without grasping.

“Forget about your life situation for a moment and pay attention to your life.”

We often mistake our life situation, our circumstances, struggles, and roles for life itself. But life, in its purest sense, does not require improvement. It is not made of problems. Problems are mind-made constructs that demand time and interpretation to exist. Qigong leads us beyond those constructs into the unchanging truth of the present moment.

Meditation: Seeing, not suppressing

Meditation is not about silencing the mind or chasing bliss. It is about witnessing reality as it is, allowing what arises to arise, and no longer resisting the flow of experience. As breath deepens and posture aligns, awareness clarifies. We begin to understand, not with words or logic, but with presence. From this space emerges a calm, sensitive clarity that illuminates life, choice, and emotion.

A process of integration

Qigong is a living process. It integrates movement, breathing, relaxation, focus, and the cultivation of the right inner environment. These elements coalesce into what is often called the “Qigong state”: a condition of heightened stillness, vitality, and perceptive depth. No belief system is required, only the willingness to observe and let go.

The non-physical teacher: A guide to inner mastery

The non-physical teacher is not a savior, a fixer, or a force that takes control of your journey. It does not live life for you; it awakens life within you. Its presence is subtle, yet profound: it clarifies experience, empowers choice, and holds space for transformation.

Intention by intention, choice by choice

You are not bound by your past. Old patterns, once protective, may now be obsolete. If they no longer serve joy, clarity, or meaning, they can be changed. Transformation does not happen all at once; it unfolds in the smallest units of time, intention by intention, choice by choice.

“A wish changes nothing. An intention changes everything.”

Each decision carries the potential to reshape reality. You do not stumble into your future, you create it, moment by moment. Intention is the force that moves you from inertia to momentum, from yearning to becoming.

Self-power and the state of grace

Self-power is not borrowed; it is born from the recognition of your own essence. It is the natural result of living in alignment, in presence, in grace. The true beauty of meditation lies not in the method, but in the experience of peace without grasping, clarity without effort, joy without condition.

As the grasping mind loosens its hold, the deeper self awakens. The ego softens. Fear dissolves. And in that space, you do not chase bliss, you become it.

Absence identity and the healing of power

To heal, heal the soul.

To please, please the personality.

The soul does not judge. It does not cling. It does not compare.

Yet society often mistakes power for possession, measured by status, control, or dominance. But external power is fragile, always competing, always threatened. True power resides not in what you own, but in what you embody.

You lose power when you grasp, when you grieve, envy, resent, or cling. All grasping stems from one root: the fear of vulnerability. We fear that without someone, something, or some identity, we will not cope. But when you accept your vulnerability, it transforms. You no longer fear being powerless; you recognize yourself as the source of power.

States of human function: From reactivity to awakening

Human beings operate within a spectrum of functional states, each reflecting our relationship with body, mind, and awareness. Most of these are reactive responses to circumstance, emotion, or survival instinct. But a few transcend ordinary perception. These are not just altered states; they are awakened ones.

Common states (ordinary & reactive)

• Awake State (睡覺功能態)

• Sleeping State (睡眠功能態)

• Sick State (疾病功能態)

• Sick Unto Death State (臨終功能態)

• Alert & Oversensitive State (驚覺功能態)

• Competition State (競技功能態)

These states are shaped by external stimuli and internal conditioning; they reflect how we cope, react, and adapt.

Transcendent states (extraordinary & awakened)

• Inspirational State (靈感功能態)

• Hypnotic State (催眠功能態)

• Idiosyncratic State (特異功能態)

• Qigong Functional State (氣功功能態): clear, wakeful stillness; ultra-quiet awareness merged with vitality and presence.

In Qigong, the goal is not to escape ordinary states, but to integrate them with higher awareness. The body becomes a vessel, the breath a bridge, and intention the key. Through practice, one may enter the 清醒的超靜狀態, the lucid, ultra-calm state of being awake within deep stillness.

To take up Qigong is really no hardship; simple movements are easily learned and coupled with controlled breathing, which presents no difficulty. It requires only a small amount of space and time. It does not call for a complicated system of ideas. It is a tonic for all age groups, a way to alleviate the ills of time, and to extend life and one’s enjoyment of it.

Some basic points to keep in mind

• Posture

• Concentration

• Relaxation

• Breathing

• Mental State (right inner environment of the mind)

One must always practice with understanding, wakefulness, and unshakeable certainty. There is a connection between the posture of the body and the attitude of the mind. Chi arises naturally once your posture and attitude are inspired. If your mind is in a calm, inspired state, it will influence your whole posture, and you can stand or sit much more naturally and effortlessly. It is therefore very important to unite the posture of your body with the confidence that arises from your realization of the nature of the mind.

Through the practice of Qigong, you will enhance all aspects of your life by improving self-awareness of your potential and creating the right inner environment of the mind to defuse negativity, aggression, and turbulent emotions. It also has the ability to promote vitality. With that in mind, developing in Qigong practice inspires your personal happiness.

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Simon Lau, Master at Simon Lau Centre

I trained in martial arts and qigong. The discipline training became an invaluable tool to teach me how I could overcome my fear of violence and allow myself to perform in everyday life in a more spontaneous and constructive way. In keeping with the Warrior tradition, I have focused my life as much on being a healer as being a martial artist. I am a sincere practitioner of qigong, Chinese herbal medicine, and Chinese astrology, believing that physical, emotional, and spiritual health are essential for self-development and inner awareness. Everyone has the potential to improve and change because each new day represents a new life. Every hour of our time is a gift.