Focus: Releasing Stagnant Qi

In Roger Jahnke's book 'The Healing Promise of Qi,' he discusses the three states of Qi - deficient, stagnant, and harmonious.  It is believed that much pain and many illnesses are caused by stagnant Qi.   Some of the signs of stagnant Qi are:

• stress, tension
• pain - joints, back neck, head
• digestive and bowel problems
• sickness and disease
• lung disorders
• allergies
• frustration and violence
• sexual and menstrual difficulties

So how can we release stagnant Qi in our practice?

Let us begin with a great way to start our practice - Spontaneous Qigong, just listen into the body and move, shake, dance and then stop and listen.  What is tense, what needs to be released? Then repeat. When, we stop, let's notice the sensation of the Qi moving in our bodies.

Another practice to release stagnant Qi is ocean breathing.  As we inhale, feeling the breath expand into every cell of the body; as we exhale allowing stagnant qi to release from our entire body. We can let our arms open to the sides as we inhale and let them come back to our sides as we exhale.  Experiencing the sensation of expansion and contraction (or release) with each breath.  Then, we can carry this focus of expansion and release throughout our entire practice.

If we have areas of tension that we find in our practice, we can focus on expansion of that area and then relaxing that area with each breath.  Always staying within our comfortable range of motion with our movements, giving our body permission to release tension and stagnation when it is ready to.

Another Qigong movement that focuses on releasing is Gather and Release, part of the Seven Precious Gestures.  This spiritual  movement involves gathering from one side of our body (as we are inhaling); looking at what precious thing we have gathered as is comes in front of us and then as the hands move to the other side, releasing whatever we have gathered (as we are exhaling). 'Letting it go.' Gathering again and then bringing our hands to the other side to release. As our hands cross in front of use we can focus on gratitude, forgiveness, and appreciation, giving our heart the tools it needs to let it go as we release.   This is a wonderful practice for release stagnant thoughts that no longer serve us.

Our breath is another beautiful vehicle for releasing stagnant Qi.  We can also play with Xi, Xi, Hu walking or Warriors Breath.

So enjoying our practice this week, as we focus on finding and releasing stagnant qi; letting go of what no longer serves us.  Just explore and have fun!

'There is a backpack in the mind which over the years has become filled with rocks and stones.  You do not have to carry them anymore.  You can empty your pack and carry only compassion from one day to the next.'          ~  The Sage's Tao Te Ching by William Martin