In Class Today

In class today, we did exercises to help us enter the Qi Gong State as well as doing Five Organ Breathing.

We discussed how Qi Gong is breathing in life affirming and health giving Qi; and how we then breathe out, with the outgoing Qi taking out toxins and impurities. As we practice and become aware of this natural process, our bodies and lives return to a balanced and healthful rhythm.

Awareness is part of the practice: awareness of Qi in ourselves and nature with each breath of Qi we take in and each breath we breathe out, our bodies being nourished and made alive... made more and more vital with each cycle of breath. So we are not aging, we are becoming more alive with every breath we take in every moment of our lives.

We talked about how our brains change with every experience--how we are responsible for what we experience and how we react to it.

We discussed how Qi Gong can be used to mitigate the stress and strain of daily life--how we could check in with our body's state of stress and look at our thoughts and feelings. We talked of how we could offer the reactive part of ourselves comfort and understanding, followed by Qi Gong to correct the discomfort.

We also talked about how we may not be aware of being stressed out during the day... such as a traffic situation. We may, however, be very aware of our stress and anger... and use Qi Gong to dissipate these uncomfortable feelings... perhaps focusing on being grounded ten feet into the earth.

We also talked about how the human body evolved, how it is designed for hunting and gathering and not modern life. We talked about how the fight or flight response helped us survive and how it can be difficult to manage healthily in the modern world.

Above all, we discussed the need to not be overly critical of ourselves, instead being understanding and accepting of our human nature, then doing Qi Gong to build inner strength and personal calm.

Qi Gong Five Organ Breathing

Introduction

Five Organ Breathing is a basic and fundamental exercise that treats the entire body with healthy Qi. If you were to learn only one exercise for life, this might be it.

Five Organ Breathing focuses on the liver, heart, spleen/stomach, lungs, kidneys and body-fluid system. By doing this exercise, we are enlivening all of our body. By focusing our attention and care on each organ system, we were enlivening that organ system and bringing forth the natural health within that system.

Each organ system exercise is done six times, with six cycles of inhaling and exhaling before moving to the next exercise. However, you may focus more exercise and breaths on one organ system if you are having a problem with that particular organ system.

Warm Up

With hands down at sides, bring back of hands close to each other, not touching. Pull them up and out until arms are shoulder height, forming a line horizontal to the ground with palms up. Then reverse the movement with hands and forearms rotating around the elbows and pushing the Qi back down into the ground. In your mind, see yourself pulling the Qi up out of the ground, feel the Qi pushing up against your hands. As your hands and arms reverse the motion, feel the Qi return to the ground.

Liver Breathing

Begin with arms down against sides. With palms down, bring arms out like a bird spreading its wings until arms form a horizontal line at shoulder height. Then bring hands and forearms up rotating around elbows and push down as you exhale with arms returning to sides in the beginning position.

As you breathe out in this exercise, open eyes and make a silent shew sound. Feel and see Qi coming out eyes. If possible, exhale Qi out eyes into an Evergreen tree in your site. If you cannot see an Evergreen tree out you window, imagine one is near that your exhaled Qi is entering. The purpose of the shew sound is that it resonates the kidney system in a productive manner assisting the exercise.

Heart Breathing

With arms at side, bend knees a little, inhale as you bring hands and arms toward knees in a scooping motion. Pull hands up to chest with palms up. At mid chest flip hands outward with palms facing away from you. Bring hands high above head or just to head height if you have high blood-pressure. Flip hands around with palms toward you and begin exhale. Bring hands down body with hands and fingers close but not touching. Feel, see or imagine interplay of Qi from hand to hand, fingers to fingers. Make silent ku sound as exhaling. The ku sound resonates the heart. Repeat six times.