Involuntary Movements

I mentioned few posts back about involuntary movements being sometimes experienced during Qigong practice. Some people may occasionally  experience a quivering or jerking sensation while practicing. People receiving acupuncture treatment sometime notice this phenomena as well. These movements are usually quite harmless and disappear as soon as the practice ends. If the involuntary movement does not stop with the cessation of practice however, or if you continue to experience involuntary movements when not practicing, this could be a sign of a Qi deviation. In such cases, you should contact a Qigong instructor or acupuncturist at once.

My first experience with involuntary movements came when I was studying Fomen Jiu Gong Zhang in China in the late ‘80's. The very first posture is a static one. You simply stand still with your hands pressed together in prayer position while mentally reciting a mantra. One day soon after I began studying, a group of about 20 others and I were practicing this posture in the courtyard of the hospital. Since it was the only posture we knew so far, we were supposed to hold it for the entire hour of practice.

After about ten minutes or so, I thought I heard someone nearby clapping. I thought maybe someone had seen me, a foreigner, practicing Qigong with the group and was trying to get my attention. This was not as unusual as it may sound. Foreigners were still pretty rare in China at that time and anything I did in public was sure to command a lot of attention. I decided to ignore it, hoping the person would get bored and move on. However, even after a couple of minutes, the clapping did not stop. If anything, it got louder and faster. It didn’t sound like normal applause either, it was more staccato, like a jackhammer.

This seemed really odd to me so I opened my eyes to see what was going on. Contrary to what I had imagined, there was no zealous spectator on the sidelines cheering us on. Instead, the clapping sound was being made by one of the other students. She was standing with her hands in prayer position banging them together rapidly with her eyes still closed. “This is weird,” I thought,
“Why in the world is she doing that?”.

Just then I saw some movement out of the corner of my eye. Several of the other students were moving also. One was swaying back and forth, while another was making big circles at the waist with her torso. One man was actually taking short steps this way and that while others were moving their arms in jerky motions. Though I would later learn that these types of involuntary movements were not unusual, at the time I thought it was very odd.

During the next practice session, I ignored the clapping and shuffling and really concentrated on my practice. After a while, I began to feel as if I was being pulled backwards. I tried to ignore it but it wouldn’t go away. I began to get a little concerned so I opened my eyes. The sensation went away immediately. I looked behind me. Unlike the poor student I mentioned in a previous entry, there was no one behind me playing a practical joke. There was nothing there that would explain the sensation. I closed my eyes and went back to reciting the mantra. The sensation of being pulled soon returned; stronger this time. Rather than trying to fight it, I decided to relax and accept it. Eventually, the  pulling sensation became so strong that I felt I was going to fall. I was forced to take a step backward in order to keep my balance.

After I stabilized myself, I felt as if there was a string attached to my sternum that was pulling me forward. I resisted for a bit until the sensation grew too strong. I gave in and let it pull me forward, once again taking a step to catch my balance. As soon as I stopped my forward momentum, I could feel myself being pulled backwards again only to be pulled forward yet again as soon as I was still. Soon I was taking several steps forward, catching my balance and then being pulled several steps backward. I had to open my eyes slightly to make sure that I didn’t run into anyone.

The sensation of being pulled by unseen forces was not unpleasant and I was not afraid at all. It was actually kind of fun. I felt that I was in complete control if I chose to be. If I consciously resisted the sensation or opened my eyes, it stopped. Later, I asked Teacher Gong about this and he explained that involuntary movements were not unusual or harmful. It was the vigorous movement of Qi that caused the spontaneous motions. It was actually a positive sign that one’s practice was working, though it did tend to tire one out. Sometime later, I found myself moving in circles during practice. One of the teachers was quite impressed and said that I was moving in a Baqua (Eight Diagram) pattern and that this was a good thing.

Even though involuntary movement is not scary, I’ll admit that it does keep me from practicing that posture as much as I should. It’s just not the kind of thing I’m looking for when I practice Qigong and I find it kind of bothersome. That’s not really a good excuse to keep from practicing, however.  Most involuntary movements resolve themselves over time as the various channels open. The best thing is just to continue to practice and ignore it until it goes away (remembering the cautions at the beginning of this article, of course). In the end, voluntary moments are simply benign manifestations of Qi and something you just need to work through.