Archive for November 2021
How to save time and increase energy
Our lives can be full of demands.
Overwhelm and burnout are common. How can we save time and increase our energy? How can we make more time in our lives to do all the things we want or need to do?
If you want to make more time for yourself, it's worth thinking about how you spend your time and energy. Maybe you're spending half an hour scrolling through social media every day.
What's nourishing you, and what's depleting you? Can you make any simple changes to save you time and energy?
It's so easy for our time to be taken up with things that don't really add any value to our lives.
If we want to increase our health and wellbeing, we can make that a priority and give less time to something that's less important.
Making time to practice qigong for a short amount of time every day can bring about positive changes - having more energy, being able to deal with stress better, increased balance and mobility, and a clearer mind.
Perhaps you already have a practice, but things aren't changing as quickly as you would like. Regular practice is key.
When you learn how to use your mind, body and energy efficiently, qigong practice only needs to take 10-15 minutes. It can even be for just 5 minutes if time is limited. Daily practice has a cumulative effect.
As our practice develops and our awareness increases, it can become clearer where we are putting our energy. We notice more, so we have more freedom to choose.
Chi flow, the missing ingredient
Are we missing something? The simple answer is yes, we are.
We are missing something essential, the building block for all things, yet for various reasons, many people have completely missed it. As a result, it seems that they get stressed more easily, sick more often, and lack sustained vitality.
I'm talking about energy flow.
It's not our fault - we have become so conditioned to focus on material things that we have missed the key ingredient, energy.
Let's take Qigong (Chi Kung) as an example. Many people focus on learning the outward form, or more and more forms, and believe that if they practice the Qigong forms, they will be well, happy and full of energy. However, they never progress to the essential skill of using energy (chi), so they miss out on this energy art's essence and more significant benefits.
If the form (movement) alone was responsible for increasing health, releasing held tension and stress, and increasing energy levels, you would feel an increase in energy flow every time you got up from the sofa. Likewise, every time you unloaded the dishwasher and reached up to put a cup away, you would feel an increase in energy flow. Getting in the car, putting a seatbelt on, getting dressed, bending forward to tie your shoelaces would noticeably increase your energy levels. But it doesn't. Why? Because you are not using or developing the skill in using energy.
If you aim to improve your health, better deal with stress or anxiety, and increase your energy levels, you need that essential ingredient, energy flow.
Over the last 20 years, I have practised and passed on the secrets of energy flow so that people can get the full benefits from Qigong practice.
What you see in this video is a Qigong practice with energy flow. Energy flow comes from relaxation at the physical, emotional and mental level, what we call a Qigong State of Mind. Once you have developed the skill of using energy, your Qigong (Chi Kung) practice changes dramatically, as do the benefits you get.
If you are not used to seeing or experiencing energy flow, it can look odd at first. Some people ask why I am losing balance and wobbling all over the place and that I should stand still and do the form correctly. I smile, for they have never developed the genuine skill of using energy, as passed down from generations of masters, so how would they know?
If you are interested in learning genuine high-level Qigong, then try one of our classes.
Identity and Awareness
One of the students on the Unfolding Being course shares some insights from his practice...
Identity is a part of who we are. Through time we collect and hold onto passing events and get distracted by our predictions of the future. Our minds create a story out of this which we then identify with as “I”. This “I” is then the place where we relate from and to ourselves and the world around us.
Awareness is to experience what is without identification. Imagine there is a space inside all of us where everything may be seen from, where all is already in relationship with one and another, without having to make any connections or relate to things, as this is already inherent. It is a place where you may come to rest and surrender your “I” to be with all beings as one.
Chi Kung is a way to enter into this awarenessing. By developing the skill of generating an energy flow and letting go you awaken this awareness. It only a matter of time and dedication to become familiar with this mode of being. It will certainly help with broadening your view and understanding the bigger picture of things.
-Pascal
Yu Wei and Wu Wei
Two concepts you will often hear mentioned in our classes are Yu Wei and Wu Wei. Yu Wei translates as intention or action, and Wu Wei as non-action or non-doing.
When you start to practice chi kung, you will have an experience of wu wei, doing nothing. This can be a beautiful place to be, not needing to change anything and being able to rest exactly where you are.
But you might also have aims and objectives that you want to get from your practice. This is yu wei: setting an intention for a specific outcome.
Learning to use intention to direct your energy, then letting go is a useful skill in Chi Kung practice. It's also really useful in everyday life - knowing when to act, what's the right amount of action, and when to let things be.
This is a clip from one of the Friday morning Qigong for Vitality, Flow and Calm classes. If you're interested in learning these kinds of skills, you can book a month of classes for £39. Join live via Zoom, and receive all the class recordings to catch up and review in your own time.