Mind-Body Medicine Part 2
Qi Gong is an ancient mind-body practice and another example of “less is more”.
Qi Gong is a very significant part of Chinese Medicine and is traditionally considered to be the foundation for health, alongside diet and lifestyle. Massage and herbs are incorporated as well and finally, only if these practices are not making enough of a positive impact on the patient, acupuncture is added in.
According to Qi Gong philosophy, the body needs to feel happy too; it is not enough to feel happy in our minds only, though it is a good beginning. The energy needs to move in the meridians (= “energy pathways” inside the body), and the blood must flow freely in the vessels and perfuse the organs for us to stay vital and well-functioning. The practice of Qi gong is facilitating the movement of Qi/energy in the meridians.
An interesting fact: We used to think that meridians were imaginary lines, until researchers in recent years found very thin, gray jelly-like structures that correspond to the locations of these meridians.
Qi Gong is commonly practiced while standing in one place but can also be done in motion, much like Tai Chi, or while sitting or lying down. Some translate Qi Gong as “breathing exercises”, others as “energy practices” or “energy cultivation”, since the word “qi” can be translated as “energy”.
There are a multitude of different Qi Gong categories and each of these cover numerous forms. Some of the most common categories are medical Qi Gong and martial arts Qi Gong, and there are other types such as spiritual, intellectual or ‘life-nourishing” Qi Gong. Tai Ji Chuan is a style that elegantly combines both Qi Gong and Tai Chi.
In its simplest form, anybody can practice and benefit from Qi Gong. Even if you are injured or disabled and not able to stand up, you can still do Qi Gong.
Qi Gongs are prescribed for patients as recommended home practices of movement, breathing, chanting and/or mindful intention exercises (much like mindfulness meditation with imagery) in order to actively harness self-healing. Qi Gong can also be performed as a therapy which involves a practitioner balancing a patient’s energy, while moving her or his hands above the patient’s body commonly without touching it, by purposefully guiding qi/energy through (as opposed to from) his or her own body into the patient’s.
Though the Qi Gong concept might be foreign to some, it has as mentioned been practiced for thousands of years. Modern research is showing us that it has great benefits in all areas of health and wellbeing such as reduction in pain and stress, improved physical strength and stability (including aligning spine and skeletal structure), improved respiratory function, improved nervous system function, improved immune function, mood balancing, lowering elevated blood pressure, stabilizing heart rate, and more along those lines.
Here is a very exciting piece of information, an excerpt from the website of the appreciated and recognized New Mexico located Qi Gong Master Mingtong Gu - The Chi Center:
…”In 1997, Master Gu returned to China for Qiqong training under Dr. Pang Ming, a Qigong Grandmaster trained in Western medicine and traditional Chinese medicine, and the founder of the world’s largest Qigong hospital. During his training, Master Gu observed thousands of cases of chronic and “incurable” diseases being healed at this “medicine-less” hospital, which has now treated over 200,000 patients with over 185 different illnesses, with a 95 percent effective improvement rate.
Witnessing these profound healing experiences inspired Master Gu’s dedication to the teaching and practice of Qigong healing, which he now teaches to thousands of people in the United States, China, and Europe through his workshops, books, and education programs.”…
With the practice of Qi Gong, you can transform an “unhappy body” into a “happy body”, as you are reprogramming the mind and the body from a sick model to a healthy model. The body is viewed as a body of energy, not solid as the western world view has us believe. This energy model resonates with the quantum physics model which shows us that: we are a cloud of energy, only becoming solid in the kind of pattern that we “expect it to”.
In other words, Quantum physics and Qi Gong teach us that expectations and what we think can enhance or diminish our state of health. If we repeatedly think that we are ill, then the atoms, electrons and protons or our body will fall into a pattern that satisfies our thoughts. Vice versa, when we visualize/see ourselves healthy our body will follow and create health. This does, however, not mean that if we occasionally worry about our state of health or the severity of our disease that it will prevent us from staying healthy or becoming healthy. It means that with focused attention and disciplined practices such as meditation, imagery, Yoga and Qi Gong, we will be able to direct our body and its functions into a healthier pattern, which with repeated practice will pay off as better health and wellbeing.
Qi Gong is preferably practiced outside in natural surroundings close to a tree, a bush or maybe a creek. You are best off avoiding direct sun, high heat, extreme cold and windy weather. If you are practicing inside, you want to avoid draft from a cold air-conditioning or draft from a fan running on high. Sunrise and sunset are considered very beneficial times, and it is important that you are neither too full nor too hungry.
An example of a simple but powerful Qi Gong exercise, typical for many of the Qi Gong forms, is the “standing tree”:
Stand with your feet parallel and hip-width apart with your knees “softly bent”
“Softly bent” ~ there is a “give” in the knees; avoid “locking the knees”
Depending on thigh strength, you might feel more comfortable bending your knees more
Imagine that you have large strong roots reaching from the bottom of your feet and deeply into the center of Mother Earth, just like a tree
Relax your shoulders away from the ears with a deep breath exhaling through the mouth, relaxing your arms down your side creating a rounded form through the elbows, with soft hands holding an imaginary medium-sized very light beach ball in front of and at the level of your belly button or lower with a few to several inches distance between your middle fingers
Relax your spine and let it elongate and extend toward the Earth, slightly tucking your tail, while stretching the crown of your head toward the sky, paralleling the jaw to the ground with a very slight tuck toward your chest to preserve the natural curvature of your neck
Align your spine and your posture vertically and horizontally, having your shoulders in line with your hips, and your hips in line with your ankles
If you are choosing to bend your knees more than just slightly, make sure that your knees are tracking your parallel feet and not traveling too far forward; ideally, they should not pass your toes
Breathe naturally, slowly and rhythmically in and out through your nose
As you inhale, you feel your belly rise around and below your belly button
As you exhale, you feel your belly fall back in
Sometimes it helps to first place your hands on your lower belly and begin by exhaling, slightly pulling your belly in toward the spine before releasing and exhaling, with a natural expansion of your belly occurring as you invite your next breath in
Settle into this standing exercise, feeling relaxed yet alert
Standing like this for just 2-3 minutes can be helpful, and is a great way of grounding on a busy morning before a busy day
If you are experienced and/or in good shape and you can handle doing “standing tree” for 15-20 minutes, it can be very beneficial for your health and well-being
If you are a beginner, or “out of shape”, it will be necessary to build up to this amount of time very gently and gradually
Sometimes you can feel little adjustments taking place in the form of slight shaking or movement; some people do not experience this at all, while still experiencing the benefits
The research on the newer concept of “Earthing” has done a great job at illustrating the benefits of standing on the ground/earth, which include pain reduction
If you begin to feel tired, you can take a brief break stretching your legs out and then going into the pose again; or you can simply end the exercise and come out of the pose following the directions below
Ending the exercise, we “close the Qi” or “seal in the Qi” – here is one example below; there are many ways of doing this and several different visualizations as well; you could even create your own, if you wish
Inhale slowly as you draw white light energy from deep roots in the center of the Earth up through your body while lifting your arms above and slightly in front of your head, looking up at your hands
Exhale slowly as you lower your arms with your palms facing either toward you at ½-1 foot distance from your body or with your palms facing the ground and fingertips pointing toward each other a few inches apart
Imagine that your palms are like flashlights shining a bright healing light toward and through you, as you slowly move the hands down the body, ending by pointing the palms down toward your feet and the earth – this downward movement is matching the length of your exhalation. If you instead choose to point the palms down toward the earth for the entire movement as you lower your arms, you can simply visualize the light moving from the top of your head, down to your toes and into your roots
Visualize that you are shedding what is no longer needed and allowing Mother Earth to transform and transmute the energy
Repeat a total of 3 times
Optional ending: Gather left foot to meet your right, place right hand in a fist inside your cubbing left palm and bow down slightly in gratitude; you can also add or simply end by placing the palms together in front of your heart in the typical prayer and greeting pose from Yoga (the Anjali mudra)
You hopefully feel more grounded, relaxed and calmer compared to before you began doing this simple Qi Gong practice
Dr. Susanne Macsay | Naturopath