8 Reasons you should do Qigong even if you don’t want to
I just got back from a QiGong retreat this weekend. As part of our program at NCNM, we learn Qigong within a specific lineage that we are privileged to access via one of our program founders, Heiner Fruehauf. It’s an amazing addition to our education. We take a practicum each term where once a week we learn from a teacher and are encouraged to have our own practice outside of class. We learn many forms as well as therapeutic applications of various movements that we can teach our patients. But the crown jewel of the Qigong portion of our education is the Qigong retreats. Once a term (so about every 3.5 months) we go to a beautiful natural area for three days with our teacher and our classmates and do Qigong for many hours a day. I’ll go into the retreats in another entry, but this time I’d like to talk about something else. Before you read, you might want to check out my recent entry discussing the nature and practice of Qigong.
The prevailing problem that I have, and I’m sure I’m not alone, is maintaining a regular practice outside of class and retreats. Our program is a challenging one and I have a lot of extra-curricular activity that, along with my family and personal commitments, pushes me to the limits of tolerance. So sometimes doing Qigong can seem like an impossible “extra” that is simply unnecessary. After all, noone is grading me on whether I do Qigong every day! So I thought I would offer my list of reasons why it is important to maintain a rock solid Qigong practice even in the face of intolerable schedule chaos. Many of these reasons will pertain to people who do some other practice, or people who aren’t in the field of Chinese medicine.
1. Personal cultivation is the foundation of authentic Chinese medicine practice.
In numerous Classical sources, personal cultivation is seen as the ground from which great practitioners are grown. We have been told by many professors how important it is to cultivate our own energy to a high level in service of increasing our sensitivity and proclivity as acupuncturists. Even in herbalism, a calm and refined mind will serve us well. Of course, Qigong isn’t the only practice that can help us in this regard - but given that it has both moving and still forms, uses visualization and internal silence for meditation and keeps the channels open and flowing it seems a particularly ideal practice.
2. Qigong helps keep your body healthy.
The forms that I learn combine stretching, isometric work, deep breathing, core strengthening and some cardiovascular elements. All of these elements are balanced quite well and while some forms may leave you quite breathless, you never feel pummeled or exhausted like you might with some more popular forms of exercise. Combine this with the fact that most forms focus on the opening of channels and removal of stagnation from problem areas and you have a program for total physical wellness. Definitely a good thing for Chinese medicine students that are forced to be sedentary much of the time.
3. You can use some forms of Qigong to study, if necessary.
Again for Chinese medicine students, and perhaps for other students, you can use Qigong as an addition to your study techniques. I have already discussed how you can use Qigong to help you study acupuncture points and channels. However, you can use Qigong - especially any repetitive portions of a form - as a way to more deeply integrate knowledge about the human body. If you are studying muscles, for instance, you can focus on each muscle you are using in a particular form as you are using them and try to remember the origin, insertion and action. If you can think of any novel uses of Qigong in studying, please do let us know in the comments.
4. Qigong is an effective stress reducer.
Perhaps a bit redundant, but it’s important to note that I have found Qigong to be a very effective reducer of overwhelming stress. When my practice is regular and fully engaged, I don’t notice little things and I certainly don’t worry about them. I don’t get headaches, I don’t crave so much sugar and caffeine and I think my academic performance improves. You may not notice ALL of these benefits, but I would be surprised if you didn’t experience some of them. This effect may come from the opening and coursing of the channels, it may come from the spiritual benefits of diving deep inside or it may simply be a by-product of taking some time for myself.
5. The more you repeat a form the better able you will be to teach others that form.
One of the goals in learning Qigong in our program is gaining the ability to teach forms and parts of forms to others. Why would we do this? Well, as practitioners we might teach the forms to our patients or to a class in order to help them gain all the benefits I am discussing. We might also teach specific techniques to patients experiencing particular symptoms - such as high blood pressure or headaches. I have heard students discuss offering free Qigong classes in the morning at their clinic as a way to extend or intensify acupuncture and herbal treatment. Many people find that when they practice Qigong in addition to getting regular treatment from a practitioner, they get better faster and the effects are longer lasting. Practicing the forms often will help you to give these benefits to your patients in the future.
6. It’s a great way to wake your body up and ready yourself for the day.
I like to do simple forms in the morning as an alternative to coffee. Some of you coffee-heads are laughing right now, I know, because I used to be one! You may think you can’t live without your coffee, but I bet you can. Just for one week, try doing a 30 minute Qigong session BEFORE your coffee and instead of going directly to brew up a pot just go inside and see if you really need it. I bet 9 times out of 10 you will find that you can forgo the cup of joe. While I don’t demonize coffee consumption like some people do, I think it’s a mistake to allow your body to become dependent on too many substances. We’re already dependent on carbohydrates, protein, minerals, vitamins, water and oxygen - why add yet ANOTHER thing you can’t live without?
7. Failing that, it’s an excellent way to let go of the day and ready yourself for sleep.
Sometimes I don’t manage to get up early enough to do a morning form. Sometimes I can’t find time for it through the day. If this happens, I always always find time to do a simple and non-energizing form in the evening. For my friends on the Qigong retreat this weekend - I think you know what form I’m talking about. *wink wink* Seriously, though, doing one of the sitting forms or simply standing in Universe stance after some brief movement can really help me settle down from the day. If I’m feeling particularly energized, sometimes I do a walking form around the yard and imagine all my cares and thoughts going out of my feet and into the ground. Nearly always this helps me go to sleep and stay asleep.
8. It’s a multi-purpose way to attend to your spiritual health.
Although I try not to find my spirituality in my medicine, Qigong is a great bridge between the two. It can be part of the medical system, is based on the same principles and definitely helps you cultivate your inner awareness of spiritual dimensions of reality. As I’ve said before, it can be a method of meditation and also can be seen as a form of prayer. Sometimes I will do a physically intense form and follow that with a deep meditation session. Because my channels are open and my energy harmonious, I can sit for longer periods and find myself to be much less distracted.
Do you do Qigong? Do you have a regular practice? Tell us how you manage to keep to it in the comments.
Eric
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Tags: Acupuncture, Classical Texts (general), classical-chinese-medicine, deep-breathing, education, habits, Learning, meditation, Personal Development, QiGong, spiritualityRelated posts
What is Qigong?
It occurred to me today that although I have made frequent mention of Qigong in articles, I’ve never really discussed the nature of this important pillar of Chinese medicine practice. I guess it’s one of those situations where you don’t know what others don’t know and so fail to explain things! Qigong has become such a normal part of my life that I forget that many people don’t know about it!
I am in no position to provide an even incomplete history of Qigong, nor am I knowledgeable enough to provide a complete description! The best I can do is offer a brief explanation and my observations - I hope it is useful. I’d be happy to hear about your experiences with Qigong in the comments.
Basic Explanation through Chinese character etymology
Many people start their explanations of Qigong with a comparison to Taiji (also known as Tai Chi). While this comparison is certainly useful, I’d rather start with a little etymology. Qi Gong : 氣功 is made up of two important characters. The first, Qi 氣 is ubiquitous in Chinese medicine texts, but has a wide variety of interpretations that have sometimes been the subject of controversy. Most dictionaries list Qi as having the following set of meanings: air, vapor, energy, vital energy and spirit. The character is composed of two portions, the uppermost 气 a picture of steam rising or simply air moving. The bottom portion of the character, 米 is a picture of rice. So many interpretations suggest that the first understanding of Qi developed from this idea of vapor rising from something cooking. What does this mean? For me it evokes the multiple meanings of Qi. Qi is nourishment, but it also has ethereal qualities - it is vaporous, but not simply air, but air with something IN IT. Palpable air. It is moving and warm. It is in an “in between” state between fully material and fully etheric.
Gong, the other half of the term Qi Gong, is a very simple character but is likewise full of meaning. It is composed of two portions, the leftmost being 工 which is often simply translated as work or labor. Some sources suggest that it is a picture of a tool used to flatten earth. The right portion of the character 力 is usually translated as strength and is a picture of an arm doing something that uses muscle. So Gong as a total character refers to work that involves strength, or work that creates strength. Put together, Qi Gong simply means work using and/or creating strength that involves the Qi. You could think of this as work with Qi, so to manipulate and strengthen the Qi but there are certainly other interpretations possible.
How Qigong is practiced
Just as with other martial arts, Qigong has many many schools. I don’t know the exact number, but one of our professors suggested that there are many thousands of schools of Qigong in China. Some of these may be practiced only by one family, passed along from generation to generation. Others are published in books and DVDs! Originally, as with most martial arts, Qigong knowledge was passed from Master to Student and often involved an element of secrecy. Qigong has been and can be used for a variety of purposes from increasing longevity to dispelling particular elements of disease to simply exercising the body for general health purposes. As with many martial arts, the packaging and distribution for mass consumption almost always removes many elements that make it most effective.
For this reason, if you are interested in Qigong, I suggest you search carefully and find a Master who you can study with in person. Find out from the teacher or other students the nature of the Master’s background and their connection to the lineage they are teaching. Qigong practitioners can vary widely in personality and temperament, but you should feel comfortable with the instructor and the form they are teaching.
There are forms of Qigong that are quite strongly moving and will give you a workout. On the other hand, there are sitting forms of Qigong that focus on internal movement and meditation. The lineage that I am privileged to learn has the full range of sitting, standing and moving forms. Qigong seems to almost always involve the intentional opening and moving of Qi in the acupuncture channels. This may involve stretching, striking of the channels with the hand, shaking or even simply internal focus on the movement of energy through the channels. Qigong is also often a very balanced activity. If you do quite strong motions they will often be followed by something quieter. If you do a lot of activity with the upper body it will often be followed by a lower body focus. You get the idea…
My experience with Qigong has been wonderful. I have done quite a bit of Yoga and Taiji in my life, but didn’t do Qigong until I came to NCNM. While I still enjoy both Yoga and Taiji, nothing has been as wholly positive as Qigong. I find it really helps to keep my energy flowing, boosts my productivity and serves as a convenient vehicle for me to do my daily meditation. I am quite fortunate to have access to the very special form I have access to - but I know that others have had great success with other more widely available forms. I hope this brief introduction will encourage you to seek out a Qigong practitioner in your area. If you have any questions, suggestions or personal stories please do contribute to the conversation in the comments - no registration is necessary.
Edit: If you cannot find a Qigong class near you that you are interested in - you can consider learning from DVD. It’s not ideal, clearly, but I do know of one great product: Master Wu’s 5 Elements Qigong DVD. This incredible man is a true master and used to teach at NCNM. Check it out.
Eric
Tags: Acupuncture, Character, chinese-medicine, classical-chinese-medicine, deep-breathing, erics-habits, etymology, Personal Development, QiGong, stress, studentsRelated posts
Chinese medicine lifehacks - 3 simple tips to defeat insomnia
I’m experimenting with some new content types. I’d like to be comfortable with releasing some less weighty content. Plus, maybe you all are sort of sick of wading through those big ones? Let me know in the comments. Regardless, they’re not going away, so for you theory lovers - the somewhat wordy posts will continue. :D
In the Chinese medicine lifehack series of posts - I’ll try just writing quick things I’ve learned from Chinese medicine to help me with common problems. Today? Insomnia.
As I mentioned in my article about ways to ensure your insomnia continues, I sometimes suffer from a lack of sleep. In Chinese medicine, there are a lot of potential causes for insomnia. But all of them share one simple feature - they self perpetuate. Which is to say that insomnia begets insomnia. Simplistically speaking, the phrase “burning the midnight oil” has some truth to it - when you stay awake too late, you consume Qi and especially Blood, among other negative effects. This, in turn, will make it more difficult for you to sleep - both that night and following nights. It’s self-reinforcing. Because of this, it is of vital importance that you interrupt the cycle as soon as possible.
At this point, when I wake up at some ungodly hour or simply fail to fall asleep, I have three things I do to get back in dreamland quickly. Perhaps they will help you as well. I should also note that if you have serious insomnia, your best bet is to find a good Chinese medicine physician. But these steps should help you when you’re up and need to get back to sleep.
1. Make myself a cup of blood tonifying tea : Often, there is some deficiency of Blood at the root of insomnia. This is especially the case if the insomnia has to do with too much work or general life stress (not stress from deaths in the family or extreme situations). I must say that the below is not a proper formula, but it’s ok in a pinch. I have provided links to sources where available - if you use those links, I do get a small portion of the sale price, all of that money goes to get me through school so I appreciate it very much. Regardless, all of these herbs should be available from your local health food store or Chinese medicinary. Be sure to check for Angelica sinensis - there are North American variants available and I’m not sure
- 2 parts Astragalus (Huang Qi) preferably honey fried (Zhi Huang Qi) - no, it’s not vegan. I sometimes “honey fry” my own with agave nectar, you can fry it up with a little honey in a frying pan until the honey is well absorbed. I haven’t done any testing to see whether agave nectar is a sufficient substitution, but it’s something I plan on investigating. I use local, raw honey when I find it necessary for medicinal purposes.
- 1 part (Dang Gui, Tang Kui) - Available through Chinese Herbs Direct
- 1 part Longnan fruit (Long Yan Rou) - You may need to go to a Chinese herbal medicinary or a Chinese grocery store for these
I put all of these in a Bodum glass teapot (I love this thing)
When I’m having a lot of episodes of insomnia, I’ll drink this tea often. It definitely helps. When it gets really bad, I go and see one of my many excellent doctors.
2. Do deep breathing exercises
After I drink my tea, and even while I’m drinking, I do some simple visualization and deep breathing. I take very slow, intentful breaths either sitting or lying and with my feet contacting the floor. On the inhale, I do two visualizations. First, I imagine that the energy of my body is moving down, contacting my heart, kidneys, lower abdomen and finally down to my feet and out into the floor. Second, I imagine a gentle golden yellow ball of light in my lower abdomen that expands slightly during the breath. On the exhale, I imagine cool, clear energy rising from the ground through my feet and going up to my heart and brain - contacting my lower abdomen and kidneys on the way up. Be very careful to focus equally on inhale and exhale, perhaps even a little more on the exhale. Do this for at least 10 minutes. It may put you to sleep on its own.
3. Make contact with Kidney 1
If I’m still not tired enough to go to sleep at this point, I continue my focused breathing in an inclined position in bed. In this position, I find Kidney-1 (here is a location guide for Kidney 1) and press firmly. While I breath, I make sure to focus strongly here - particularly on the inhale. Kidney 1’s name is Yong Quan or Gushing/rushing spring. This cooling and grounding energy will help to pull the excess activity out of your Heart/head. It is also the wood point on this water channel and as such may nourish the wood Liver which is often deficient or stagnant in cases of insomnia. I sometimes have to hold this point for 90 seconds, sometimes for 5 minutes.
I hope this helps.
Eric
Tags: acupressure, chinese-herb, chinese-herbs, deep-breathing, habits, herbs, Home remedies, insomnia, meditationRelated posts
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