“Epistrophe” - The Turning Point

•epistrophe (n.)

•1640s, from Late Latin epistrophe, from Greek epistrophe "a turning about, twisting, a turning (of affairs), a moving up and down," from epi "upon" (see epi-) + strophe "a turning" (from PIE root *streb(h)- "to wind, turn").

•before vowels reduced to ep-, before aspirated vowels eph-, word-forming element meaning "on, upon, above," also "in addition to; toward, among," from Greek epi "upon, at, close upon (in space or time), on the occasion of, in addition," also "after," from PIE *epi, *opi "near, at, against" (source also of Sanskrit api "also, besides;" Avestan aipi "also, to, toward;" Armenian ev "also, and;" Latin ob "toward, against, in the way of;" Oscan op, Greek opi- "behind;" Hittite appizzis "younger;" Lithuanian ap- "about, near;" Old Church Slavonic ob "on"). A productive prefix in Greek; also used in modern scientific compounds (such as epicenter).

•Proto-Indo-European root meaning "to wind, turn."

Epistrophe is a beautiful word to open up and animate our qigong practice. You will notice there is a lot of emphasis on movement around different centers in the body- the heart center, ming men (the navel or umbilicus), dan tien (lower abdomen), and wu wei this concept of moving from a point of stillness. And then there are these mysterious centers like the “Earthly Door” (perineum), “Heavenly Gate” (top of head), Lao Gong (the center of the palms of each hand) and “Bubbling Spring” (points centered on the pads of our feet.) These are all epistrophic (new word) centers!

If we approach our practice with a rational mind we will only get so far. Eventually there will come a turning point, an epistrophe, and what was once gymnastics becomes symbolic movement. Signs are inanimate. Symbols are alive. Each movement and each breath a symbolic expression of the cosmos, of grasping the stars of the Big Dipper, of crouching like a Tiger, grasping swords, warding off demons, clawing qi back to the source, standing between Heaven and Earth. Stillness, the center, emptiness…

Qigong then becomes Gongfu, a workmanship, a piece of art. A daily turning point that enriches our lives. The Earth, the Sun, the Moon, the planets and stars will turn for eternity in the sky. And so do we when optimally rooted in the microcosm of the body and tethered to the macrocosm of the sky.