Celebrating Solstice with Qi Gong

Moonlight Qi Gong at the rise of the full moon 9/21

This is such a powerful time and place to absorb extraordinary energy from the universe. Yesterday at 3:21pm (EDT), the sun crossed the Earth’s equator from north to south. Equinox is a word from the Latin meaning “equal night,” so in September and March we come closest to having equal time for day and night all over the earth.

We’ve had a chance to focus on these changes in the planets the last several days, doing Sunlight Qi Gong at sunrise and Moonlight Qi Gong as the full moon rises from the sea. We attracted a new student who watched us practicing and joined us to do Qi Gong on the beach.

We explained to her that the Solstice is a powerful time to absorb and cultivate the energy of sun and moon, to bring it into our own bodies when both are visibly present. We have given ourselves this time to focus on these amazing cycles of the planets. We feel the pull of the moon on the waters of our bodies as the waves of the sea ebb and flow.

Being close to nature always helps me feel part of a great wholeness, less isolated, alone, especially during the pandemic. Our lives can become very small, very concentrated within just one mind, one body, one task, one place. There is a time for that too, but how wonderful to lose the “self” in the vastness of space and time, the movements of planets over which we have no control. It is a time of letting go of attachment to small spaces and responsibilities, to experience our oneness with the infinity of life.

Our next class will focus on the form Moonlight Qi Gong. You may register for free with the Takoma Park Recreation Department here: Moonlight Qi Gong. Class begins Tuesday October 5th from 7:30 - 8 pm Eastern. The class will run for eight weeks.

Now More Than Ever

When is a good time to practice Qi Gong?  Daily, early in the morning, outdoors is our favorite time and place.  But the best answer is ANYTIME, ANYPLACE, every day - especially NOW.  

In these last few months, and increasingly in the last two weeks, our country has experienced intense health, economic, political and social upheaval.  We are all affected by these crises at a physical and psychic level.  If you have been feeling more agitation, anxiety, fear, anger, frustration, isolation or despair, you are not alone.  Each of us, consciously or unconsciously is affected on some level by the pandemic, racism and attacks on democracy.

Qi Gong is a practice that will help us to touch our energy, release negative energy that blocks us from free movement, and nourish positive, healing, hopeful energy in our bodies, minds and spirits.

Join us every Tuesday through March 2, 2021 7:00-7:30pm on zoom to practice Five Animal Play Qi Gong.  Enjoy becoming more rooted on earth, solid and powerful with Bear energy, more peaceful, confident and majestic with Deer energy.  Become an alert, agile, focused Monkey, and a graceful, flexible, concentrated Crane.  Feel the strength, power and courage of the Tiger in your arms, legs and torso.

Join us here.

CHANGING OUR VIEWPOINT WITH QI GONG

When stressed or emotionally upset, I need a change of viewpoint.  I recognize the emotion, name it, calm it in body, mind and spirit.  Yesterday I had the experience of being obsessed about making a decision, so we went outdoors to do our Qi Gong practice by Sligo Creek.  After shaking, scooping, earthly and heavenly circles, we did all of Sunlight Qi Gong, my favorite long form.  Then my husband and I walked in opposite directions.   I found myself walking alone up a steep hill, still pondering my decision.  Suddenly, I turned around, walked backward and found an entirely new perspective!  The view from this height, looking down into a branch of the creek, reminded me of ‘Honey Creek’ in the Shenandoah Mountains, a refuge for me for over 25 years.  My mind, body and emotions were transformed in a second.  The energy in my head moved to my heart.  I felt open, free, flooded with fond memories of walks near my beloved creek near Old Rag Mountain.  The insight came to me that whichever way I decided to go, I had many options.  I was a free woman.

Several exercises we have been teaching in our Zoom Qi Gong classes on Saturdays are very useful for gaining this “change of viewpoint” when we need it.  Inviting the Temple Gong allows the entire body to shift from right to left, to touch the shoulder with one hand and gently tap the kidney with the other, then reverse, setting up a rhythm.  Especially when our eyes shift from far right to far left, we actually see ourselves, our body and our environment from a different perspective.  Yin and Yang become one.

Try walking backwards or Inviting the Temple Gong the next time you need a ‘change of viewpoint’!

Five Study Reminders

FIVE STUDY REMINDERS

[These five terms are originally from the “Zhong Yong” – chapter 31 of the Book of Rites.]

博學。足多功夫
審問。非口問是聽勁
愼思。時時想念
明擺。生生不已
篤行。如天行健
[1] Learn abundantly. (Sufficient learning will lead to a great deal of skill.)
[2] Inquire meticulously. (This does not have to do with querying verbally, but with listening to energy.)
[3] Ponder wholeheartedly. (Think about the material constantly.)
[4] Discriminate clearly. (New things will always continue to come at you [and you should keep yourself from being distracted by things that are not important].)
[5] Practice sincerely. (“Nature acts with vigor. [Likewise a gentleman ceaselessly improves himself.]” – Hexagram 1 of the Book of Changes)

Translation by Paul Brennan.

Happy New You

People do not decide their futures, they decide their habits and their habits decide their futures.

- F.M. Alexander

Happy New Year, New Decade and most importantly Happy NEW YOU!

Health is created one choice at a time. Each choice deepens or lessens a habit. What choice will I make to create a healthier life. Will I use my time to cultivate energy that enriches my being? Move, meditate and make space for nourishing my body, mind and spirit?

One choice at a time Joann & I have built our meditation and Qi Gong practices. Classes and retreats were vital to our initial development and continue to inform our work after decades of practice. Today is the first day of the year, a time when many set resolutions, hopes and aspirations. Please pause right now - enjoy a few mindful breaths. Stand up and quietly move cultivate your energy with Qi Gong. Want to go deeper?

Sign up for Every Day Qi Gong which begins at 7pm on Tuesday January 7th, 2020 in the Dance Studio of the Takoma Park Community Center. Register using this link: Every Day Qi Gong Class

Will I choose the path of well-being by giving myself the gift of Qi Gong? Make the time. You are worth it!

Practicing Together

At the end of our practice on Bethany Beach a couple sunrises ago, a woman came over to ask if we were practicing Tai Chi. We were practicing Sunlight Qi Gong. She was excited when we told her to feel free to join us for the remainder of the week. And she has. While we always enjoy and are energized practicing along the edge of the Ocean at Sunrise, the addition of another person gently intensified the experience.

This is true for us when we come together to practice in class also. How is your health today? How are you nourishing your energy? Need to increase the flow of good energy, feelings and overall being? Join us for our Moonlight Qi Gong class in the Dance Studio of the Takoma Park Community Center beginning Tuesday October 15th at 7pm. Currently enrollment is 50% full. What are you waiting for? The link for registration is:

Moonlight Qi Gong at Takoma Park

Remember Your Health Is In Your Hands.

The Principle of Balance

When practicing Qi Gong any exercise on one side of the body is also performed on the opposite side to achieve balance.  The yin/yang of complimentary balance is one of the basic principles of Qi Gong exercises.  Balance is one of the most important ways to achieve good health, longevity, happiness and creative productivity.

We need balance between:

Mind/Body

Doing/Being

Right brain/Left brain

Action/Rest

Yin/Yang

Alone/Group

Work/Play

If we go to an extreme on one side of the scale in any of these areas, we as individuals, groups and society become imbalanced, and - at worst - create war with ourselves and others.

The Yin/Yang symbol also shows us that we can’t have one side without the other, that we are whole beings, that our mind/body/spirit is really one.  We “inter-are” with ourselves and other living beings.  Thinking dualistically about balance, as if one “side” is better than the other, can exist without the other, is illusion.  There is no yin without yang, no inside without outside, no me without you.  Seeing the two as one is important to being human, being here in the now, being alive, functioning as a mind/body in a world full of energy.

Our meditation teacher gives the example of our right hand accidentally hitting our left hand with a hammer.  The hands don’t start accusing and fighting with one another.  The right hand drops the hammer and soothes the injured left hand.  Our hands are not separate from us, from our whole body.  We are one, not separate parts.

Sometimes when I am fearful, anxious or upset about a mistake I’ve made, I beat up on myself, thus sending a “second arrow” of pain into my heart.  Instead of having compassion for that little girl in me who said something unskillful or interrupted someone, I make her feel worse about herself with added blame and guilt.  I need to remember the example of the right hand dropping the hammer, holding the wounded left hand, comforting myself for the error and doing what I can to make amends quickly, then to let it go.  I’m human.  I will make more mistakes.  But beating up on myself doesn’t help.  It merely adds to my pain and dysfunction.

When we are hurting, let us use the energy of mind, breath, our whole body, to soothe and heal the injured or stressed area of ourselves.  Moving our bodies brings calm to our minds.  Calming emotions with Qi Gong and meditation allows the body to rest.  True balance comes when body/mind/spirit operate as one.

Photo by Ray MacLean

Morning Practice

Happiness is not a matter of intensity but of balance and order and rhythm and harmony. - Thomas Merton

Waking up early to allow myself time to align my body, mind and spirit with my morning practice is the greatest gift that costs nothing. This small amount of time management reinforces my ability to optimize my energies and to approach being how I wish to be in the world. In the words of Robin Sharma it is matter of mind over mattress.

Home and work are connected. My morning practice of journaling, Qi Gong and Mindfulness Meditation is what sets my day up to have balance and order; and ensures my sense of rhythm and harmony. As I have mentioned in class, during my 9-5 work years, I had a morning practice, would leave my home in great shape and then get lost in the challenges of work. The pressure, people, problems and projects would overwhelm my energy. My emotions would surge and lessen my performance, thus compounding both energy and time constraints. Anxiety, impatience and even fear would engage a cycle of less than productive habits energies and day by day the pressure mounted. This is why I had to learn to bring mindfulness into my work space.

Morning practice is where I learn about myself, cultivate calm, insight; and transform my habit energies. The serenity generated provides a balanced lens to reflect on thoughts and actions. Pausing at work allows me glimpses and further opportunities, but without the energy cultivated in morning practice, I may have too little to work with.

During my practice I cultivate groundedness. I work on my balance and flexibility. Then I am as free as possible for the coming hours of work and life. My negative habit energies may overrun me again and again; but each day I devote myself to morning practice those habits are weakened. I water positive seeds in my heart and mind. I awaken my spirit. I establish the possible here and now knowing, that the roots of my ability to be mindful at work is watered by my morning practice.

Photo by amrufm

If Not Now - When?

Now is the time we've been practicing for. - Zenju Earthlyn Manual

Distractions, deadlines and delays drive me throughout my day. How often do I pause to notice where I truly am? When I do pause I become alive, noticing if my body is relaxed, my heart aflutter and the state of my mind. Are my feelings driving my actions? How has this worked out in the past? Is my mind rehashing old tales about individuals and institutions? Does my body need a stretch and release?

Through practice I can gather information about my present state and altar and adapt to the situation at hand tuning body, mind and feelings. Communication clears; creative options arise and connections with others deepen. All of this is possible by pausing throughout the day. How do I remember to pause while moving at full speed ahead?

The big pause is my morning qigong and meditation practice. Practicing while my energy is fresh assures that I leave home with courtesy, kindness and love etched into my being. Over time I have developed nudges related to my professional tasks to invite me to become present. Telephones, hand washing and certain individuals serve as possible reminders to pause and waken to the here and now. My day planner not only guides me to my goals and appointments but helps me attune to this precious moment.

Want to explore the power of pausing and aligning with the present moment in your life? Is taking better care of your health in the New Year when of your resolutions? If so - click here and sign up now for Minding Our Business right here and now!

Photo by Gerd Altman

What Was I Thinking?

You are what you think.

Everything arises in the mind.

With our Thoughts we make the World. - The Dhammapada

I have heard that we have 64,000 thoughts a day! How many of these go unnoticed, repeated and manifested in ways counter to who I want to be? On and on, over and over, day after day I think and think and think. Occasionally I observe my thinking; every morning when I journal and meditate and then throughout the day when I remember to pause. These moments when I pause provide insight, hope and transformation.

Over the years I have developed reminders or nudges to wake me up during the day. Once my attention has been attracted by one of these, I have a choice. Do I plunge forward as I am despite what I may be thinking, feeling and maybe even doing, or do I find my breath and take a few moments to calm and re-calibrate. I align with my intentions and aspirations, attune to where I really am and begin again.

Are you observing your thoughts? Practice mindfulness as if your life depended on it. Because life does depend upon us - with our thoughts we make the World.

Need help practicing and pausing throughout your day? Bring your New Years Intentions into Action with Minding Your Business.

Class begins January 8th at the Takoma Park Community Center- Register Here Now

The Twelve Openings

Photo by Wally Pachoka

Be Flexible

Yesterday we had three different Qi Gong practice sessions.  During our ongoing morning practice we did about 15 minutes of Qi Gong.  This was shorter than usual but we knew we would be sharing Qi Gong twice during the Day of Mindfulness we were offering.  Our morning session was close to 30 invigorating minutes. Coupled with the meditations we were practicing my body, mind and spirit were ready for anything.

Nice to be flexible enough that when an unintended idea was offered I went with the flow.  In doing so we all benefited.  If always I could be this flexible. Progress not perfection is the guiding thought in my life. When we began the afternoon session of Qi Gong I was grateful. The qi was alive in me and I think within the other practitioners. Slowly guiding the qi, playing within the forms and opening up my thinking was vital to the happiness, contentment and peace I was observing.

Such a difference from the rigid man I once was.  Daily practice has slowly changed me.  Nothing is softer or more flexible than water, yet nothing can resist it.  One day may we all be like water.

Photo by www.tai-qi-gong.com

Best Time to Plant

The best time to plant a tree is 20 years ago.  The second best time is now. - Chinese Proverb

The same holds true for our health.  Now is the time we have been waiting for.  Your health is in your hands. With these simple Qi Gong exercises we will improve health, strength, balance and flexibility.  What are you waiting for?  Sign up for Energy Circles Qi Gong today.  Register by clicking on this link.

Photo by Zengame

Enriching Energy With Movements

Can it really be that simple? 

Yes!

We have generations of information, practice and results that illustrate the healing benefits of Qi Gong, Tai Qi, and the Alexander Technique.  How we do what we do cultivates energy flow or blocks our flow. Today we practiced alongside Sligo Creek on this warm beautiful spring morning.  Supported by the Earth we gently moved through our routine.  Seeing the blue skies as my hands gathered Qi, the gentle breeze and flow of the creek reminding me to let go.  One movement at a time, our balance and flexibility blossomed both within and without.  There are many opportunities to learn and deepen your practice this spring.

Is 2018 the year you were going to take positive action regarding your health, creativity and life?
 

Then let us Spring Into Action together!
 

Joann & I are excited to be offering several opportunities regarding Mindfulness and Qi Gong.  Take one positive step and sign-up for one of these opportunities today. After all Your Health is in Your Hands.

1. Energize your Life Qi Gong classes begin April 10 at the Takoma Park Community Center 7-8pm on Tuesdays.  Register TODAY, as there are limited spaces https://apm.activecommunities.com/takomaparkrecreation/Activity_Search/qi-gong-energy-circles/5719

2.Relax and renew at the day of "Opening up to Spring" on Saturday, April 21 at Blueberry Gardens in Ashton, MD http://www.qicircles.com/workshops/2018/4/21/opening-up-to-spring

3. For women, register for "Celebrate Life: Nourishing Happiness in the Present Moment" meditation retreat at Claymont Court, WV the weekend of May 4-6 by emailing Joann at joann.malone@gmail.com.

4. A NEW class will be offered by Patrick  https://apm.activecommunities.com/takomaparkrecreation/Activity_Search/qi-gong-energize-your-work/5725at the Takoma Park Community Center - "Energize your Work" on Wednesdays May 2- May 23. In this class Mindfulness & Qi Gong exercises will be introduced along with strategies to integrate them in to our work day.  Decrease stress while increasing focus, happiness & productivity. https://apm.activecommunities.com/takomaparkrecreation/Activity_Search/qi-gong-energize-your-work/5725

5. Finally a Day of Mindfulness at Rehoboth Beach, DE on Saturday May 19.  After a wonderful workshop in the fall we have been invited back. Register at http://www.qicircles.com/workshops/2017/12/21/water-reflecting

Remember always: Your Health Is In Your Hands.

My Body is a Flowing River of Energy

This is a special day for me, an auspicious day.  A good day to reflect on gratitude for my body, my parents, my life.

Our meditation reading this morning was from Thich Nhat Hanh’s The Other Shore (p. 38): “Today physicists agree that matter is not solid but full of space.  The atoms that make up our body are mostly space, and are not static at all – they have electrons orbiting a nucleus at thousands of kilometers a second.  Looking deeply into our feelings, we see something similar.  Feelings are fields of energy and are constantly changing.  In the same way, our perceptions, mental formations and consciousness are also ever-changing, flowing rivers.”

How true this is!  I can feel the flow of energy in my body, mind and feelings, especially during Qi Gong practice, meditation, dance and deep connections with other people and nature.  It becomes more obvious as we age that our bodies are not static, immobile, unchanging.  We change in every muscle, every cell every moment.  How exciting that quantum physics is able to explain to us today what meditators have experienced in their own bodies for centuries.  Movement, change, space where we see only solid mass.

I can see my body as a flowing river of energy, my feelings as sparks of energy that change so quickly, my life as energy that is being constantly transformed and connected to other forms of energy, other people, experiences and forms of life.  The teaching that we are never born and never die makes sense.

What a joy to experience the flow of life today, to feel gratitude for each precious moment.

Happy New Energy

As the New Year begins, many of us reflect on the state of our lives.  Pondering improvements in our lives, even making resolutions about them is wonderful.   But how do we move forward with these as actions?  Particularly as they pertain to our health.  Our lives are busy, often draining.  Yet we have a renewable source of energy - Qi - available to us.  The problem is we do not always create the time and space to make ourselves available to cultivate our Qi.

Let  2018, be the year you truly cultivate your Qi Gong practice, or yoga or whatever healthy exercise works for you.  Establish what is possible for you to commit to daily.  Or six days a week, even five.  Develop a regular ongoing practice and then expand the practice as you harvest the benefits.  Each day Joann & I practice Qi Gong, generally together.  The rewards have been ample.  You too can have an energized life if you take your health into your hands.

Classes are listed here on the Workshops page, and private lessons are available.  How can we assist you in developing your Qi?

Photo of Joann & I practicing Monkey Playing by Annelise Ratner

Ready to Receive?

How do I induce my Qi flow? Simply by letting go.

As I breathe out, my body is ready to receive oxygen.  As I move gently, tension is released and Qi moves.  Movements that open me as I inhale allow the energy to move and as I continue to move through  my exhalation the Qi follows.  Simple.  Paying attention to my movements and directing the energy flow with the mind enhances my health and well being.

Releasing and receiving, releasing and receiving; no great understanding is needed to do this, yet great understanding may be realized when I pay attention. One breath at a time, one movement at a time we tune our system. Energy blockages that are released enable vital life energy of Qi to flow. After reading this, simply allow your body to sway back and forth while following your breathing.  When you sense your body wants to move in another way, simply allow this spontaneous motion to guide your Qi. Nothing to learn, just release and receive; release and receive the flow.

Energy is everywhere.  Am I open?  Am I willing to release?

 ‘Tis the season - am I ready to release?

Photo by Jeff Rowley

Group Energy Heals

Before our second session of Five Animal Play class this week, I was feeling tired from a day of travel until midnight and experiencing pain from an oncoming bout of cystitis.  I took the necessary medical measures, drank copious amounts of water and heard my husband saying that he could teach the class on his own if necessary.  However, medication relieved the pain by 6:00pm and I wanted to be present in the class, to receive and give whatever energy possible.

What happened is what happens in every class - we benefit as much as the students from an hour of practice together. I also received the added benefit of my body, mind and spirit feeling better, being held by the field of healing Qi energy created by the group.  The lesson I learned yet again - we benefit from gentle practice, even during illness or weakness.  We can benefit from others’ energy when we are not able to generate much at all on our own.  I have witnessed this in many forms over the past month - in meditation circles, Qi Gong classes, spiritual meetings where the intention is strong to heal and help heal others.

In The Healing Promise of Qi by Roger Jahnke (p. 259), a book several Qi Gong teachers are studying together, he says “When you practice with a group there is a distinct awareness that it is easier to do your practice, and the internal effect of your practice tends to be more evident.”

He also teaches that Qi is unlimited and can be applied across great distances.  “In fact, the Qi Chang - healing field - of all who practice Qi Gong is always present because there are always people doing Qi Gong in the world.”  There are also always people praying, meditating, loving, practicing compassion and kindness toward animals, children, neighbors, friends and loved ones.

We have a choice every moment to plug into this energy, to choose life, to choose healing, to choose love.  Why not take a couple minutes to practice Qi Gong right now?  You'll be glad you did.

Renewable Energy Cycles

I woke this morning with an abnormal amount of noise in my head.  Various interactions from past days, still unresolved, perhaps complicated by the general increase of societal pressures.  As I began to journal I was quickly grateful that this is not my normal waking state.  Since journaling was not relieving the noise I decided to move into my morning Qi Gong practice.

Indecision arose to tease me. Should I practice indoors or practice along Sligo Creek.  Where was Joann when I needed her?  She's in Florida co-leading a women's meditation retreat.  The choice was mine alone.  Part of me just wanted to go somewhere and get pancakes - again not my normal morning process.  Definitely I was in need of Qi cultivation, more so than usual and tossing obstacles in my path.

Anyone who has practiced Qi Gong or sitting meditation knows that practicing with others enhances the experience.  Without my favorite practice partner I knew I had to head to Sligo Creek.  The gently flowing water has a resonant effect on my being.  I have read and experienced that practicing near flowing water helps the internal Qi to move through the meridians.  Arriving at the creek, I began my practice.  Indecision, distracting thoughts and the pursuit of pancakes continued to haunt me.

Gathering Qi with Nourishing the Bone Marrow exercise, I began to hold thoughts of gratitude as I gently moved.  Grateful for Takoma Park, for America, for my wife and my teachers.  Still the thoughts drifted beyond my choice.  Continuing with my regular warm-ups I hoped for relief andquiet as silence seemed so far away.  Slowly the discipline developed over decades began to balance the distortion.  Sensing I needed to cultivate my yin energy I began Moon Light Qi Gong, a form developed by Master Nianzu Li.  In the fourth movement, aptly titled Yearning, I noticed my attention was focusing, my mind quieting.  I continued to practice, then took a slow walk along the creek.

I am grateful for the discipline that carries me when present, lost, alone or with others.  Life is very precious. 

Photo by _quitin_

Be Irresistible

Photo by Peter James

Irresistible is rarely easy or rational - Seth Godin

Qi Gong is gentle, subtle and not rational to my mind. At least in the beginning.

Now I can not live without Qi gong.

Energy freely available if and when I am open, that is, nonresistant.

Presence within my body

with mind directing movement & energy

while observing the breath.

Energy flows, pools and is stored.

Resist not Energy.

Be irresistible.

Click here for information on classes & days of mindfulness