Volunteer Police

Posted on April 20, 2010 by admin

The volunteer police on the Northshore have contacted me to see if anyone from the centre would be interested in joining them.

The volunteer police have been in operation for about 30 years.  They assist general duities sworn officers in the local communities.  This can involve anything from speeding cars to stakeouts and everything in between.

Requirements:

Over 18 years old

Good physical health

New Zealand resident

Clean full driver’s licence

Able to pass a police background check.

If you are interested in joining the volunteer police and helping out in our community, get in touch with me and I can tell you what you need to do to take the next step.

John@developyourqi.com

Posted in Announcements | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Volunteer Police

Sweet Bean Pie

Posted on April 19, 2010 by admin

This sweet bean pie tastes a bit like a pumpkin pie – YUMMY.  High in protein and fibre too.  This recipe is purposefully not very sweet, it combines well with ice-cream or frozen yoghurt.  If you want to make it sweeter all you need to do is add some more molasses or sugar.

Ingredients:

3 cups of cooked Cannelini beans

3 eggs

2/3 cup milk powder

1/3 cup mollasses

1 tsp nutmeg

1 tsp cinnamon

2 tsp allspice

Wholemeal pie crusts for filling

Directions:

Combine all ingredients together (apart from the pie crusts) mix to a smooth puree with a food processor or a stick blender.  Fill the pie crusts with this mixture and bake in an oven preheated to 180 degrees celcius for 30 – 40 minutes.  You can test whether it is done by inserting a knife, if it comes out clean it is cooked.

For more direction watch the video:

Posted in Recipes | Tagged | Comments Off on Sweet Bean Pie

How to find a good Qigong teacher

Posted on April 19, 2010 by admin

It is important when you are beginning any new activity that requires instruction that you find a teacher with whom you are comfortable, and who can competently help you achieve your goals. Often this will take a little effort, but it is worth it in the end as it is better to find the right teacher in the first place than to spend months or years pursuing study in a way which is not leading you to your desired aim.

This is particularly important with Qigong teachers, as much of what you will learn will not only come from what the teacher SAYS and DEMONSTRATES but who the teacher IS. In books on qigong you may have read about ‘direct transmission’ from teacher to student. How exactly this occurs is not clear, but a large part of it is due to deep rapport effects. In essence the student will copy the teacher, not only in gross physical movements but also in subtle movements of energy. The student will usually be quite unaware of this but over time will unconsciously develop skills and habits of energy movement and generation based on what their teacher does.

With this in mind there are several points you may like to consider in your search for a qigong teacher.

What are the personal traits of the teacher?

Physically how does your teacher appear to you? How do you feel when you are around them? Are the serious? Lighthearted?

What is the teachers purpose in teaching qigong?

Is it just a job? or is it a passion? What would the teacher like you to achieve from your qigong practice? People see qigong in quite different ways, some people follow it as a quasi-spiritual path, others see it as a form or stress relief, still others as a cultural activity. To look into this further it may be helpful to find out about the history of the style of qigong being taught. For example the qigong I teach comes from an ancient family tradition. The Wah family were reknowned for both their kung fu and healing abilities. So their qigong has the aim of developing 1. a strong resilient body, 2. enhancing fighting abilities, and 3. developing healing skills. It is a practical style which focuses on tangible outcomes.

What are your teacher’s qualifications?

Many styles of qigong have traditionally been taught within families, or by a teacher to only a small select group of students. As such your teacher may not necessarily have an official degree or diploma, but you can find out about their history, who they have trained with and for how long. What were their reasons for learning qigong in the first place.

Does the teaching style suit you?

You may need to attend a class or two to ascertain this. You can also look at the teachers students who have been there awhile, how do they interact? It is important to remember that whoever your teacher is, they will not be perfect physically or in any other way. What is of most importance is whether they can help their other students, and thus hopefully you, reach their goals.

Does the teacher belong to any associations or professional bodies?

This indicates that the teacher keeps in touch with others in their profession and is in good standing with them. It will generally show that they are not close-minded to other peoples opinions and ways of doing things. They will have colleagues who they can turn to in order to help with difficult situations or questions. Until recently there have only been tangential associations between qigong instructing and various professional bodies, often qigong teachers may be acupuncturists, herbalists or health practitioners of some sort, or may have an association with a particular martial art such as Tai Chi. As such you would expect them to maintain membership with the appropriate association – but this does not directly reflect on their qigong. The implementation of a Qigong Instructor certification program by the New Zealand Chi Kung and Traditional Chinese Medicine Association has changed this. With time this will become the place to look to find a qualified qigong instructor in your area, whatever their background.

There is growing call for qigong instructors in the community. It is not necessarily a lucrative path to follow, but those who have a passion for health and helping others can find it very fulfilling teaching classes in their community. If you know anyone who may already meet the requirements to be certified as a qigong instructor, or who would like to pursue study towards certification, please have them contact me at John@developyourqi.com

Posted in Articles, Qigong | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Qigong Finger Bending Exercises

Posted on April 19, 2010 by admin

‘Qi’, or energy, flows throughout our bodies bringing health and vitality whereever it circulates freely. The major pathways for this flow are called meridians and they extend from the top of our heads to the tips of our toes.There are twelve major meridians in the body, each associated with an internal organ. Each of these meridians either starts or ends on or near a toe or finger tip.

The flow of energy in these meridians respond to many different factors including substances in our beyond diet, the time of day, the weather, and so on. When we do qigong we influence the flow by use of movement, breath and mental awareness. The movements need not be large, the key is to harness all three of these factors together to obtain the result. Even movements as small as the slight bend of a finger is sufficient when combined with breath and mental awareness to create a significant flow of energy in the related meridians.

This is an excellent form of qigong to do when you are in a busy environment and do not want to distract others, when you have limited space to move around such as when you are sitting on a bus or at a desk, or when you are physically too tired to do other more vigorous exercises.

To perform finger bending qigong, begin by bringing your awareness to your breath. Spend a few moments inhaling and exhaling with awareness of your lower dantien (a point about three or so inches below your belly button, in the centre of your body), feeling the expansion and contraction of your whole body around this point with each inhalation and exhalation. Now bring your awareness to the energy in your hands. You may want to clap or rub your hands together vigorously for a few seconds to stimulate the energy flow. Read more about law of attraction love .

Bring your hands in front of you, palms facing each other, maybe about 15 to 20 centimetres apart. Be aware of the energy between your hands. Exhale bending a pair of fingers towards each other so that the fingertips face each other, then inhale as the fingers return to the start position. With time the sensation of energy between each pair of fingers will become quite strong and you will stimulate the flow of energy through the entire meridian up the arm and even into the connected meridians in the rest of the body. It will feel a bit like each finger is squeezing in against an inflated balloon as you bend it in and pushed back by the balloon as you relax it backwards. Remember that is very important to quit smoking and have a good diet and instead of cigars you can look up for some deals starter vaporizer pen kits.

The meridians ending in each finger are as follows:

Thumb: Lung Meridian

Index finger: Large Intestine Meridian

Middle finger: Pericardium Meridian

Ring finger: Triple Warmer Meridian

Little finger: Heart and Small Intestine Meridian

You don’t have to follow any particular routine when practicing qigong finger bending, but a nice simple balancing sequence is:

Feel the energy between your hands.

Bend thumbs once.

Bend index fingers once.

Bend little fingers twice.

Bend middle fingers once.

Bend ring fingers once.

Next time you find yourself waiting with a few moments to spare, perhaps try out some qigong finger bending as feel the difference it makes to your state of mind and energy!

Contact Dr. Hyun J. Park for more info on the new vape pen released.

Posted in Articles, Qigong | Tagged , | Comments Off on Qigong Finger Bending Exercises

The Power of Thought

Posted on April 19, 2010 by admin

I read an interesting newspaper article in the herald a little while ago (image included below). It got me thinking about Qigong and how it works in different contexts and applications. The article talks about researchers commercializing a device that uses the human electric field to communicate data for applications such as unlocking doors, with the ability to do things as complex as transferring the data for a movie with a simple handshake. The work is groundbreaking in that it uses the human electric field without sending electricity into the body.

It is interesting to me that often people will readily accept a piece of electronic technology with these sorts of capabilities but have difficulty understanding and accepting our own bodies ability to perform similar functions.

Healing via qigong relies not only on the transmission of energy from person to person, but also the transmission of data or information. Re-establishing lines of communication between different parts of the body via the human electric field, sending messages which tell the body to heal itself. Of course this is most effectively done by someone with extensive practice who has developed their abilities in this area, but it can also be done by the inexperienced to good effect.

If you have somewhere on your body which is sore or aches at the moment, become aware of that area. Breathe in drawing energy into your lower dantien and then breath out, sending the energy out through the area that is sore. Repeat this several times. If the area is cold, imagine warm energy flowing out and through it. If the area is hot, imagine cool energy like fresh water flowing out and through it. This can often completely resolve minor aches and pains quite quickly and may provide relief for even more serious complaints.

This is a very simple example of this principle. The information sent can be far more complex when required, much like the entire movie being passed from person to person via a handshake.

This principle affects us all on a day to day basis whether we like it or not. When we think positive thoughts it is not just our posture and actions that change, but our very subtle energies as well. We also communicate via these energies to the people around us all the time. You have probably noticed that some people you just feel good to be around and others you don’t, and you just can’t put your finger on why?

One of the benefits of practicing Qigong together in groups is that you can all benefit from the positive thoughts and energy generated by the people around you. Most people coming to Qigong classes have a positive mental attitude, even if their circumstances or health is not great – they are doing something about it. This positivity carries over into their subtle energies and benefits not only themselves but those around them as well.

I hope to see you all at a Qigong class soon!

Posted in Articles, Qigong | Tagged , , | Comments Off on The Power of Thought

Giving it 110% (Why you may be trying too hard)

Posted on April 19, 2010 by admin

How often do you hear the phrase ‘Give it 100%’, or even ‘110%’?

Our culture places a lot of emphasis on effort.  We often go about our lives trying very very hard to achieve all manner of goals and objectives.  We put great expectations on ourselves to succeed and achieve and yet for many of us all this effort adds up to very little actual progress.  Is it possible that all this effort is actually holding us back?

Lets look a little closer at the statement ‘give 100%’.  Giving 100% is a good thing isn’t it?  It means we have given our all to something, held nothing back, achieved the best possible results… or does it?

When an executive gives ‘100%’ to his job, working long hours, not taking breaks, what happens?  They may succeed in their career in the short term, but their personal and family relationships will deteriorate.  If they keep this up they will have a much shorter career than they otherwise might have as their health will also suffer.  Have they really succeeded?

When an athlete gives ‘100%’ at all their training sessions, what happens?  They may initially make some impressive gains in performance and then… often they will have injuries or suffer recurring illness due to overtraining.  They find that their progress is hampered and rather than succeeding at their sport they may eventually be forced to give it up.

Physically whenever we exert ourselves to 100% of our capacity we actually put ourselves in real danger. At 100% of our capacity it only takes the slightest unexpected occurrence to throw things completely out of kilter. A rubber band stretched to 100% of its possible length will snap with the slightest bump. The same goes for muscles at 100% of load and nerves at 100% stimulation.  Unconsciously we know this and so we develop safety mechanisms to protect ourselves from being damaged by overexertion.  If our ligaments are not strong enough to support our limbs in an extended position, the muscles will tighten up to restrict the range of motion and prevent dislocation of the joint.  If we attempt to lift a load which our body thinks is too heavy and may tear the muscles involved, the nerves activating the muscles will actually just switch off, causing us to drop the load.  

These are a couple of physical examples of safety mechanisms.  We also develop these safety mechanisms in other areas of our lives.  If we are making ourselves too busy we will often get a cold or other minor illness so that we HAVE to take some time out.

Whenever we begin to exert ourselves too hard we start to run into these safety mechanisms.  If we do not pay attention to the message the safety mechanisms are sending us, we will keep on running into them, and eventually the mechanisms will start kicking in earlier and earlier.  Our muscles will get tighter and tighter, we will get sick more often and easily.  In the end it may seem like we are getting nowhere, or worse, going backwards.

So is it not good to exert ourselves, to put effort into accomplishing the things we want in life?  Of course it is good, but the idea of giving 100% all the time is simply counterproductive. For more info please read the paintball gun reviews

A better way

The Taoists (Taoism is an ancient branch of Chinese philosophy) have a maxim which states that we should only ever exert ourselves 60%.  Our modern understanding of human physiology has some striking parallels. Muscles put out the most force at about… 60% of their maximum speed of contraction. Muscles are also strongest at about 60% of maximum length.

Have you ever watched an elite athlete at the top of their game?  Their movements seem almost effortless, even while they are doing things no-one else on the planet can do.  They have mastered relaxed exertion whereby putting out just the right amount of effort, they actually accomplish the most.  They make it look effortless, and in a sense it is, mentally and physically they are relaxed and focused on their goal, they call this being in ‘The Zone’.  But they have not got to this point without effort.  They have normally put in many years of effort, slowly and steadily developing their skills and abilities, keeping their exertion levels such that they can progress without running into too many internal safety mechanisms or receiving too many injuries.  In this way their overall capacity is gradually developed until they can achieve relaxed far more than they previously could giving ‘100%’.

Just like the story of the tortoise and the hare, to succeed in life we generally find that we get further in the long run by putting in a sustained maintainable effort than by short fits and starts of extreme exertion.  We need to consider our overall goals and how they fit together in the bigger picture of our life.  In this way we can make sure that our steady efforts take us where we want to go rather than rushing around expending a lot of energy on things that actually slow down our progress.  Our slow and steady efforts will yield great success when they are pointed in the right direction and sustained over a period of time.

So should we never give ‘100%’?

There are times when we need to give ‘100%’.  We’ve all heard of mother’s who have lifted cars that were trapping their children underneath and other stories of human capabilities under extreme circumstances.  At times like this our bodies naturally turn off all the safety mechanisms because the importance of the outcome outweighs the dangers of ‘100%’ exertion.  These situations should be rare though, the rest of the time we will achieve the most by exerting ourselves in a relaxed way.

So how does this apply to our qigong practice?

Qigong is something that has the potential to greatly enhance your health and wellbeing throughout your entire life.  In terms of life goals, it is well worthwhile to begin putting effort in now for the rewards you will reap in years to come.  Abilities in qigong take time to develop, forcing and pushing yourself will not help you to ‘get their faster’.  Steady sustained effort will be rewarded with surprising benefits over years of practice.

Practicing qigong is a great example or ‘slow and steady wins the race’.

  • If you are learning the exercises, do not worry about learning them all at once, learn one or two, then another one or two, and so on.  It will surprise you how quickly you remember them if you take it in small chunks.
  • Perform the exercises in a way that is comfortable but challenging to you.  Make your stance high enough that the exercises are comfortable, but low enough that your legs gradually strengthen and your posture improves.  Extend your movements so that you feel a slight stretch at the end of each movement.
  • Perform the exercises at a pace that suits YOUR breathing. In class we all go at the same pace most of the time. Hopefully it is a pace you are comfortable with. If not let me know so that I can adjust it. When you are practicing by yourself you can suit the pace to your own breathing capacity. Never get to the stage that you feel like you should be gasping for breath. Keep it comfortable and gradually your breathing will naturally slow down and deepen.
  • In developing your awareness of energy, do not try to force it.  Accept that you feel what you feel, or don’t feel what you don’t feel.  When you do feel something, accept this and work with it, in time it will grow.
  • Don’t compare yourself to others, except to learn from them. Accept that you are at the level you are at, work from there towards improving.
  • Have realistic expectations about your qigong practice. Progress tends to come little by little, with the occasional breakthrough now and then.
  • Be consistent. Schedule time into your day to regularly practice your qigong. It may only be 10 minutes at a time, but a little done regularly will yield great results over time.

I look forward to seeing you at a class soon!

More info at www.detikbet.com.

Posted in Articles, Qigong | 1 Comment

Hard Qigong – What Is It?

Posted on April 19, 2010 by admin

In a previous article I mentioned hard qigong and its ability to transform the shape and function of our bodies, and also the importance of having a balance between hard and soft in our qigong development.

This month we will look a little more closely at what exactly hard qigong is.

In order to understand hard or ‘yang’ qigong, it is necessary to also understand soft or ‘yin’ qigong and discuss them in relationship to one another. Yin and Yang are relative in their nature in that what one describes as yin and another describes as yang will depend on their starting reference point. Also, everything contains aspects of both yin and yang so similar practices may be yin or yang alternately depending on which aspect is emphasized.

Yin and Yang

The concept of yin and yang flows through much of Chinese philosophy and describes opposite and complementary states of which all things are made up. Yin is passive, heavy, cold, dark, moist, soft, internal and so on. Yang is active, light, hot, dry, hard, external and so on. Objects and situations are described according to how much of each of these principles they embody. For example: Summer, when the heat of the sun is at a maximum, it is very light, animals and plants are active… is Yang. Winter, when it is cold, darker, many animals and plants are in a rest phase… is Yin. Autumn and Spring come somewhere in between, Autumn is descending Yang as activity levels fall, and Spring is ascending Yang as activity levels increase. Yin and Yang follow one another as the seasons follow each other, the one season preparing the way for the next. A land of constant winter ‘Yin’ (think Antarctic) or a land of constant summer ‘Yang’ (think Sahara) may support life, but not the abundance of life found in places with a cycle of seasons, or a more balanced mix of yin and yang year round.

So in terms of qigong, soft qigong practices will be those practices which focus on the development of the internal or organ energy and involve less active (more passive and relaxed) movements. Hard qigong will focus on the development of the external energy or energy of the muscles, tendons and bones, and will involve more active movements. There will always be a combination of both Yin and Yang, but one will usually predominate.

We will gain greatest benefit by doing at least a little of each. As we develop our Yin or internal energy, this will allow our organs to provide sustenance to our external structures – our muscles, bones and tendons. As we develop our Yang or external energy, the greater strength and stability of our external structures – our muscles, tendons and bones, will take pressure off nerves and blood supply to the inner organs and allow them to function efficiently bringing health to the whole body.

So if hard qigong is about developing the muscles and tendons of the body how does it differ from going to the gym or other western forms of exercise?

Excellent question. Many western forms of exercise focus strongly on the development of the external body, and as such can properly be done with a form of hard or yang exercise. Some hard qigong may even look quite similar to common western types of exercise. Where hard qigong differs from these types of abd exercise is in the important role of the mind AND body, and the awareness of energy this creates. Hard qigong also focuses more on developing ‘skill’ (remember ‘gong’ means skill) rather than simply developing bigger muscles (bigger is not always better). This means that the exercises use mental focus to help achieve good posture, stability, balance and steady contraction of the muscles. This in turn allows the Yin aspects of the body to continue to function freely even when under strain. The blood will continue to circulate, the nerves are not impinged and the overall effect is greater relaxation and free flow of energy to and from the internal organs.

What does hard qigong look like?

In many traditional qigong systems the hard or yang work is accomplished through practicing fighting kung fu forms, these tend to naturally involve intense activity in the form of fast movements, muscle tension and bracing for impact and striking. These forms are often technically demanding and very strenous and the focus on martial movements may not appeal to some people. Other systems have specific simplified non-martial hard qigong forms for health which may be easier for some people to learn. Others use the same forms and exercises they perform slowly and gently (yin) and simply perform them quickly and with force (yang). The reality is that any movement can be yin or yang, hard or soft depending on the focus and intent put into it.

Where can I learn more?

The opening of the North Shore Kung Fu and Qigong Health Centre has made it possible to offer a much wider range of classes to students. There are now classes available at a range of times that focus specifically on hard qigong. In these classes you will go through a range of the simplest exercises that embody the principles of hard qigong including tension, rapid movement, supporting load and using impact. While we perform these exercises with a sole focus on increasing our health and well being these exercises create a good foundation for later applying these same principles to martial arts or other activities. Qigong students are also welcome to come and learn the hard fighting forms of the Chi Kune Jow Do Kung Fu system in evening classes. Click here to view the class timetable and read more about the released lately.

Posted in Articles, Qigong | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Hard Qigong – What Is It?

Using the Twelve Health Exercises

Posted on April 19, 2010 by admin

By now many of you have the book Qigong: Foundation Practices – Twelve Health Exercises from the Wah Family System, or have attended classes and learned the exercises contained in the book psychologist los angeles . I sometimes get questions about how exactly to best use the exercises in different situations.

Of course your first priority is to simply learn the exercises so that you can perform the movements easily and comfortably, gradually improving till your breath is well synchronized with the movement and you become aware of energy flow along the meridians. After this there are many options of how you can use them for example in cure for plantar fasciitis.

Each exercise has a specific effect on one of the twelve main meridians and organs from the Chinese medical system, this structure lends itself to using the exercises in many different ways.

My personal preference most of the time is to perform all of the exercises together in one session, starting with the exercise that relates to the organ that is at peak activity levels at the time of day I am doing the exercises. This gives a good overall stimulus of the body’s energy system. In 5-10 minutes you can go through all twelve exercises, performing each once, and get a real energy boost.

In performing the exercises in this way you may find that there are one or two you find particularly difficult at that point in time, or you may feel quite stiff in some of them. If this is the case you can spend some extra time repeating those exercises several times. In this way you can improve the energy flow in the related organ and meridian before it becomes too much of a problem for your health. Alternatively, if you know you are having challenges with a particular organ at the moment you can spend additional time working on the related exercises to help you resolve the problem.

You can really do the exercises as many times as you like in a session, 3, 4, 20, 100. The key is to relax into the exercise and gently encourage your body to move more freely through it. Do not force yourself to bend further or stretch further, this will be counter productive. Also do not continue beyond your point of fatigue. When you’ve had enough, stop. You can always do more later.

The exercises can also be a great aid for learning if you have an interest in Traditional Chinese medicine. Tieing each meridian and organ to a movement is great for kinesthetic learners (people who learn via the sense of touch or movement) and can also help to develop greater insight into the nature of the meridians and the interelationships between the various organs, our external physical structure, posture and so on. Once you have developed your awareness of the meridians, you will be constantly reminding yourself of their location, direction of flow, sequence and time of peak activity – every time you do the exercises.

If you already have basic knowledge of Traditional Chinese Medical theory you can begin to use the exercises in more sophisticated ways. You can use the exercises in much the same way you would use other therapies, using mother and child theory, command and control cycles between the elements and so on. The system really is very flexible.

I hope this has given you a few ideas of ways you can deepen your understanding and practice of qigong. However you choose to use the exercises, the main thing is that you enjoy it!

Posted in Articles, Qigong | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Using the Twelve Health Exercises

Horse Stance – 10 reasons you should do it!

Posted on April 18, 2010 by admin

Horsestance training – 10 reasons why you should do it.

We’ve been spending more time in horse stance recently in fitness and kung fu classes at the North Shore Kung Fu and Qigong Health Centre, and some of you may have been wondering why.  Horse stance training has long been a tradition of Chinese martial arts training.  Some masters would require that their students were able to stand in a horse stance for up to four hours at a time before they would teach them anything else.  It was common in many styles for students to be required to spend at least twenty minutes in horse stance every day.

Horse stance training is strenuous and it takes time to develop the ability to stay in a horse stance for long periods of time.  It requires dedication and perseverance on the part of the student to achieve a good horse stance.  Nowadays most teachers are more relaxed and don’t require the same standards from their students, allowing them to quickly go on to learning other skills.  This is understandable as most students do not have as much time to train now as they might have in years gone by, however by skimping on horse stance training there a many benefits which are missed.  Below is a summary of just a few of them (there are more, but 10 sounded like a good number for a list).  Even just a few minutes a day spent on horse stance training will go a long way towards helping you obtain these benefits.

1. Improved posture

In the horse stance you weight is distributed evenly on both feet, you learn not to lean either to the left or right, forwards or backwards (this is quite difficult to begin with).  Over time this allows all the muscles of the upper body to balance out and relax.  Shoulders will be less hunched up and the body will not slouch).  People with better posture are considered to be more attractive and having a balanced posture will mean that muscles are less prone to the aches and pains that come from overuse.

2. Better balance

Developing the strength of your legs in this low upright posture improves balance remarkably.  This means you are less likely to fall over and hurt yourself, and for martial artists it is harder for someone else to knock you over.

3. Faster on your feet

Improved posture and balance mean that you are able to transfer your weight more easily and quickly.  You will be able to move your feet more quickly and with more grace.

4. Tone pelvic floor

The tucked under position of the pelvis in the horse stance means that load is placed on the muscle of the pelvic floor, causing the muscles to contract and increase in tone and strength.  This helps to remedy issues such as poor bladder control and also contributes to the health of the prostate gland in males, leading to increased sexual vitality.

5. Strengthens the transverses abdominus muscle

The transverses abdominus (TVA) muscle is the deepest layer of abdominal muscle.  It is the layer that holds the abdominal organs in place and determines whether your tummy sticks out or remains flat.  In the horse stance the load of the body sits down through the centre of the body in front of the spine.  In order for the body to remain upright the TVA must contract to support this postion.  This leads to a flatter stomach.

6. Stronger more relaxed back

With the TVA muscle more toned and holding the abdominal organs in, the spinal column is supported from the front.  This allows the muscle of the back, particularly the lower back to relax and become stronger.  This will lead to a more upright posture and a stronger back.  This in turn will make your back less prone to injury and may help to relieve aches and pains that have developed through poor posture, tension and weakness.  For the martial artist this will also allow stronger and faster punches and kicks.

7. Strengthen Kidney energy

When the lower back muscles relax this takes pressure off the kidneys and the nerves that supply them.  This allows the kidneys to function more effectively and strengthens the whole kidney energy system which is also responsible for the strength of the spine and hormonal functions in the body (see numbers 6 and 8).

8. Improved hormonal function

This posture strengthens the entire hormonal system including the sexual organs, adrenals, and thyroid.  This leads to more energy, healthier hair, skin and nails and generally a more vital and resilient body.

9. Develop Yang energy

The strenuous nature of the maintaining a low horse stance develops the yang energy in the body.  This will help you to be more assertive, more energetic, stay warmer etc.

10. Finally, with enough practice… you’ll never have to worry about finding a seat again more if you combine this with a yoga!

Read more about the SOURCE Terra ceramic donut here.

Posted in Articles, Qigong | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Horse Stance – 10 reasons you should do it!

Shape up for Summer with Qigong?

Posted on April 18, 2010 by admin

I read an article in the New York Times awhile ago about Qigong. It was wonderful to see qigong receiving such exposure as the article was positive and I’m sure many people who had never heard of qigong before probably read the article. There was one comment in the article that kind of bugged me though, it occurred in the last paragraph and went like this “Qigong probably won’t be as popular as yoga because you can’t really get a beautiful body – it’s such an internal practice.” This comment displays a fundamental lack of understanding of qigong.

Unfortunately such misconceptions about qigong are quite commonplace. Perhaps it is because people frequently see the elderly practicing qigong that they think this way. Also many people are only familiar with a very limited range of qigong practices.

People seem to think that because old people do qigong, doing qigong will give you the body of an old person. The truth of course is quite the opposite, often it is qigong that has allowed the practitioner to become old in the first place. The rigors of life have their effects on bodies over time, but qigong can help to mitigate these. Many of the old chinese people you see doing qigong have led tough lives but qigong has kept them healthy into their old age. Unfortunately due to changing political and social circumstances for many years people were not allowed to practice qigong openly in China, and then with modernization young people became skeptical about the benefits of this ancient practice and so have been slow to pick it up once more. This is why we see more older people than younger people practicing qigong today.

Of course it was not always this way. Qigong was used historically as a way to develop the health and strength of the body as well as extraordinary abilities, most notably in the area of healing and martial arts. People would commence qigong practice at a young age in order to protect their health and to begin to develop these abilities. Qigong is about energy, in large part this energy is generated by or within the physical structures of our bodies. In order for the practitioner to generate more energy or gain more skill with using that energy the structures of the body need to become healthy, this often means changing shape – as form follows function. Particularly for martial artists this generally means developing a lean and ‘beautiful’ body.

So how can qigong help us to develop these ‘beautiful’ bodies? Well it starts with the health of our internal organs. The twelve health exercises we practice in class are designed to stimulate the flow of energy through all the major meridians in the body, providing each of our internal organs with a good supply of vital energy. This of course will radiate outwards into the rest of our body and provide a solid foundation for health. Without this foundation it is difficult to develop a ‘beautiful’ body.

The other aspect of qigong that can help with developing a ‘beautiful’ body is Yang or hard qigong. Many qigong practitioners are not aware of this side of qigong. They said no to cigars and most of them use the vaporizer pen.

The principle of Yin and Yang pervades all of Chinese philosophy. Yin is soft, wet, dark, solid, cold, passive etc; Yang is hard, dry, bright, empty, hot, active and so on. Chinese philosophy states that there is no Yin without Yang, and in an ideal state of health we will have a balance of both.

The qigong practices that most people are familiar with are Yin in nature. They are slow moving and gentle with as little tension in the body as possible. They are very good for resting and healing the body. In the past most people led very physically active lives which often involved strenuous work. Under these conditions, what they needed to balance their energies was yin work to help their bodies recover and recuperate. Now days we have quite the opposite situation, where most of us lead very sedentary lives with little or no physical activity and certainly not much that is strenuous. The soft yin qigong is still helpful for us in that it helps us to calm our busy minds and develop awareness of our breath and body, but we also really desperately need some yang hard qigong to give our bodies the activity and strenuous yang effort and energy we need to be healthy.

Most of you will be familiar with at least some hard qigong from coming to classes. If not you can simply do the soft yin exercises you know in a hard yang way. These means that instead of doing them with the minimum of tension in your body, you do them with the maximum tension you can possibly muster. Be sure to make sure this tension is evenly distributed throughout your body.

If you regularly do at least a little hard qigong along with your soft qigong, you will be surprised at how your body begins to change shape. You will also find that you are able to practice your soft qigong with even less tension in your body than you could previously as you become adept at balancing tension throughout your body. This will mean their will be less pressure on nerves and bloodflow, your posture will improve, and so will your flow of energy. You will definitely in time develop a ‘beautiful’ body.

Posted in Articles, Qigong | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on Shape up for Summer with Qigong?