Steve, Tif and Kathryn,
I explained that what we are doing, what I teach is "Medical Qi Gong" where we focus directly on health enhancing and healing practices as they are done in China by a typical Doctor of Qi Gong or a simple practitioner of Qi Gong at home.
Medical Qi Gong or what I call it, “Therapeutic Qi Gong,” is an internal exercise of yin and done with the eyes closed. Qi Gong can be practiced effectively at all times of day or night, but the “yin” energy we are working with is strongest between 11 PM and 11 AM.
As you get used to working with Qi in these exercises, keep in mind that we are using “yin” energy or “gentle fire.” Never use your personal power to crank up the voltage of these exercises… not a good idea. Always be gentle doing Qi Gong. Think of the qualities of yin: gentle! feminine, quiet, running water, night, dark, shadow, ease. Yang is afternoon sun, POWER! Action! Getting things done NOW! An exclamation point--!!!--is Yang. A kick in the butt is Yang.
Before every Qi Gong exercise, as we begin to learn and do them, we first go into the Qi Gong State. It is the starting point.
As we were going into the Qi Gong State today, I suggested we take a look at repressed, restrained or withheld positive emotions like love, compassion, forgiveness, joy and happiness. Withholding these emotions and not letting them express creates an energetic "slow down" or stagnation of Qi. Holding in pain or grief, not expressing it or acknowledging it can do the same.
Psychotherapy has focused on processing difficult feelings... using the medical model where the focus in on the disease. That's o.k. and important; there are some great treatments. However, I predominately teach the practice of engaging positive thoughts and feelings of the body and connecting theses pleasing impulses to the world we live in. This is a combination of Health Psychology/Behavioral Medicine and Qi Gong, or Mind/Body Science. It is all really the same: what can you do to improve your well being outside of the medical allopathic, "we're at war" model of treatment.
To begin, it can be as simple as practicing positive feelings. The more you practice them, the more you have them and the better you feel, operate and function. Life begins to form around you in a favorable and effortless manner as you live. Needs are met with greater ease and spontaneity becomes the norm.
In a contrary way, the more we think disease, look for disease and treat disease--the more we give rise to disease, ad infinitum. The more we think of happiness, compassion and appreciation--the more our body and all of life responds with these good qualities.
Our bodies are designed to feel good, to existed in comfort and health; but the body needs a little attention and permission from us to enjoy and exists in happiness and health. So give your body permission to relax, to exist in optimum happiness and health. Give thanks to your bodies for being wonderful, for doing such a good job. Sheppard your organ systems. Encourage them and thank them.
The cells of our bodies respond to our attention much the way a puppies eyes gleam at its owner's arival or a toddler runs with outstretched arms of happiness toward a good parent. Your bodies cells and organ systems need that type of attention and affection from our consciousness--they will respond. You will get good results.
Think of how you respond if you bump your elbow in a hard and painful manner. You instinctively hold and touch your elbow. You begin to rub it giving it your attention and care. This assists and initiates the healing process. If you learn to do that to your entire body on a regular basis, when there is no crisis, you enhance and maximize your health and biological state of happiness. In a culture or tribe where everyone is doing this all day--responding with love, compassion and sensitivity to their own needs and the needs of others, where this culture holds this behavior and teaches it from birth--healing and health happen quickly.
Thankfulness is a biological state of optimum health and functioning. Be thankful regardless of circumstances. You can always find something: being with the mundane, "I am thankful for my left little finger." Giving thanks, issuing forth thankfulness from the core of who you are works to build good health and good life consequences--your body responds and life responds. Look for the thankfulness inside you and thankfulness will break out all around you in the life you are living.
Our bodies naturally want to exist in all these wonderful states of being, feeling and thinking... but a little attention on our part needs to be made for this to build in an ever increasing manner. We are the captains of the ship, of out bodies, and we need to take command a bit, in a gentle manner, to allow wellness to grow... infinitely.
I mentioned that focusing on the good feelings we have inside can reduce stress and anxiety... repressing our good feelings we may be creating stress and discomfort. So allow the joy, happiness, forgiveness and love in you to flow out of your body, flow throughout your entire physical being. All these wonderful feelings, emotions and thoughts are biological states under our control and command. We can use that control and command to give every cell in our bodies permission to feel happy, well and in love... if we are doing our part in meeting our other needs--food, shelter, socialization, meaning etc.
Towards the end of class I did a quick demonstration of a technique I use to help clients move through blockages of Qi... of thought and emotion that has not been fully released or allowed to express in a natural way. The idea is to get the client actively involved in their own wellness recovery process. The client always has the best position of power and perspective for finding what he or she needs to be well and whole.
No one else in the world who has ever existed can know you better that you can know yourself! No one knows what is best for you better that you do! So work at knowing you, in a gentle and forgiving manner.
Forgiveness is the letting go of stagnant Qi--forgiveness is the letting go of life that has been stopped or "held up" in the process of living.
Qi Gong is a self-empowering practice where the practitioners are activating their full energetic spectrum of health and potential.
I talked a bit about the concept of perpetual health: of the body and life being designed to give us perfect health and perfect life in an ever developing manner of wellness--without calamity, illness and death.
I also discussed the idea of life giving back to us what we give forth... like a boomerang: We are all creators in a collective workshop, giving rise to our lives and the world we live in.
We are limited only by our dreams. Dream big; dream simple; dream happiness, but be sure to dream of what you want, of how and who you want to be. Choose your life. Choose your dreams!
What you pursue becomes what is given to you:
- The pursuit of wisdom gives forth wisdom.
- The pursuit of happiness gives forth happiness.
- The pursuit of Self gives forth the Universe.
Peace be with you.
