Qigong Flow for Health and Happiness

Description

In traditional Chinese medicine, anxiety is understood as a disturbance of the heart spirit, or “Shen.” In essence, it’s an intense level of stress described as “embodied fear.” So how do we transform that fear into love?

While stress, in its own way, can help us become better at life, chronic stress is an entirely different matter. When left untreated, it can have a profound impact on the health of our bodies, from our heart to our kidneys to our nervous system, leading to a host of serious issues, including insomnia, nervous disorders, digestive issues, and panic attacks.

One route for optimal health and vitality, stemming from thousands of years of spiritual tradition, is qigong, or meditation in motion that helps you tap into your vitality and life-force energy, or qi. Combine it with the techniques of yoga, and you get what trained qigong and yoga teacher Marisa Cranfill calls YoQi. Think of YoQi as a way to cultivate your energy, primarily through a continuous stream of body-based awareness and movement punctuated by moments of stillness and meditation. When practiced with dedication and intention, YoQi routines can help fortify the various parts of the body commonly under attack from chronic stress.

And these routines can be easily learned and put into practice by anyone with an interest in managing and reducing stress and the very real effects it can have on the body. Join Marisa herself for Qigong Flow for Health and Happiness, an 11-episode series in which you’ll follow along as she guides you through the simple movements and techniques at the heart of this ancient tradition. Throughout this series, you’ll learn how to use YoQi to:

• Release stress, pent-up tension, fear, and anxiety;
• Gain awareness of the state of your stress level (and how to change it);
• Use flowing movements and healing sounds to feel stress relief;
• Clear negative beliefs and thoughts to tap into the present moment; and
• Calm your emotions so you can make more balanced, rational decisions.

Move More Mindfully

Marisa’s teaching is rooted in more than 15 years of experience, acquired while spending time in China and Thailand to learn from qigong masters, nuns, and healers. It is their teachings (and their blessings) that led her to begin developing the same YoQi methods you’ll practice in this series.

Various parts of the body have long been the focus of ancient Chinese medicine, and many of the episodes in Qigong Flow for Health and Happiness focus on an entire YoQi routine designed to address many of the issues with those body parts and systems often impacted by stress.

• Heart: The heart (and small intestine) resonates with the fire element and the virtue of eternal happiness. Its state of balance allows us to connect meaningfully to the world and follow our most accurate inner guidance. A happy, healthy heart is a calm heart, and it expresses itself through laughter, enjoyment, and love.
• Kidneys: The kidneys resonate with the water element and the spirt of willpower. Happy kidneys are the key to energetic stamina, sexual potency, and longevity. They not only regulate the body fluids and filter the blood, but they are also considered the energy batteries of our body. When the kidneys are strong, we have reserves of potent energy to draw upon throughout our lives.
• Liver: The liver is the largest digestive organ in the body, performing hundreds of different jobs to filter the blood and keep the body free from toxins. In traditional Chinese medicine, the vibration of the liver resonates with the wood element, the season of spring, and the capacity for growth. Energetically, the liver oversees the smooth flow of qi through the blood, muscles, and tendons.
• Lungs: In traditional Chinese medicine, the vibration of the lungs resonates with the metal element and the virtues of courage and righteousness. The lungs take in “pure” qi from oxygen in the air and exhale “toxic” qi back into the atmosphere. The lungs govern our ability to live life in the present moment. They are affected by sadness and grief.
• Spleen, Pancreas, and Stomach: In traditional Chinese medicine, the spleen, pancreas, and stomach resonate with the earth element and our capacity to trust life. The spleen especially is an important organ—and is often underrated. Not only does it play a role in our immune system, blood filtration, and digestion, but energetically, it is also the center of stability that supports mental clarity and confidence.
• Immune System: Your immune system protects your body against pathogens like viruses, bacteria, and mold, as well as “external pathogens” (as defined in traditional Chinese medicine), such as heat, cold, and dampness. The strength of your immune system depends on your qi. Three basic ways to keep the immune system strong are balanced digestion, balanced hormones, and balanced emotions.

Qigong Flow for Health and Happiness also includes episodes that focus on YoQi techniques such as body patting (an ancient form of self-massage) and a form of standing meditation known as Embrace Tree. Each episode includes guided instructions from Marisa, as well as calming music to put you in the right mood and mindset for your YoQi practice.

Go with the Flow

Given its accessibility, YoQi can be practiced anywhere imaginable: your living room, your local gym, or even a public park. Marisa herself delivers these routines in a host of breathtaking (and quite calming) environments, including California’s Redwood National Park and Joshua Tree National Park, as well as a beach and a natural reserve in Thailand.

What’s more, this series includes a bonus collection of shorter versions of each YoQi routine, so that you don’t have to pass on your practice when time is a constraint. (The idea, after all, is to create less stress for you, not more.)

So, get ready to start moving in a more meaningful way that helps you take better care of your body—and your mind. Qigong Flow for Health and Happiness is here to help reduce the effects of stress on your body and, yes, teach you how to go with the flow.

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