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)
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!
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.
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?
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.
Blending
Currently I am taking a class on Soaring Crane Qi Gong with Peggy Li. A wonderful instructor fluent in the practice and the theory. Wonderful to practice in a group situation where I can be a student again. A group of people practicing Qi Gong always generatesa stronger energy field.
Finding myself struggling at times to take in the material. This past Tuesday as our Five Animal Play Qi Gong class begun, I was able to remind myself of my recent experiences and extend a bit more good will to those students new to the practice.
Offering them the notion of suspending their disbelief. Experiment & work with the movements, your breath and experience what is possible. Practice again and again and note the changes. Better to practice 10 minutes a day every day, than 2 hours once a week.
I’m grateful for all of my teachers and the practices they have offered to me that have changed our lives. One breath at a time. Your health, your energy is in your hands. Your health is in the choices you make, the habits you break. Tasting the energy of the Universe with gratitude, patience and wonder ... one moment at a time.
Photo by Glyn Lowe
Be Irresistible
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.
First Things First
First you build your practice,
then your practice builds you.
In the beginning, especially with solo practice, the results are difficult to notice. During class, an energy field arises from the practice of us all. We are carried along and at the same time contribute to the work of others. Alone we must trust that the Qi will arrive if we gently persist. One day at a time we practice. Below the level of our awareness, our energy system is being built. Then one morning, we notice the arrival of the Qi. Just keep practicing and nourishing your Qi. Slowly, gently one movement at a time the practice builds you.
The Paradox of Qi Gong
The beautiful gentle flowing movements of Qi Gong are incredibility powerful and nourishing. Why is this? The understanding beneath these movements guide and assist the practitioner to open & unblock the meridians or energy pathways of the body. Simple yet profound changes ensue. As one practices over time, these subtle energy shifts continue to foster peace in our body and mind. Practicing Qi Gong allows us to care for both the physical and the psychological aspects of our stressful lives.