Pressures of various kinds are constantly coming at us from outside: emotional pressures, deadlines, physical stressors, world events. Left unchecked, it could get pretty overwhelming.
In the ancient martial arts systems it all starts with stances. Practitioners learn to receive pressure down into their "roots" by having a partner push into them and learning to adjust the structure so they aren't knocked over.
Eventually this rootedness gives rise to a feeling that you are filled up from below by the power of the earth. There arises a palpable sense that you are a like a rubber ball - inflated so that incoming forces just bounce right off you.
At this point, the qigong incorporates striking the body with palms, loose fists, or even specialized sticks or wire beaters. This helps to deeply accustom one to the sense of buoyant, inflated resilience - stressors bounce right off.
For martial artists, this results in the enhanced ability to withstand blows or takedowns during training. For spiritual practitioners, its is thought that this buoyancy eventually extends out into the "Wei Qi" - the energetic field surrounding your body (the "Aura"). This enhanced Wei Qi gives one more resistance to illness and even other people's emotions and agendas!
