Archive for November 2022
Qigong for More Energy
A lot of people find qigong because they want or need more energy. Maybe they feel tired most of the time, they have chronic tension or pain that depletes their energy, or they need more energy to deal with a stressful job or home life.
A 'Golden Exercise'
There are certain qigong exercises that are really good for restoring energy. One of these is Carrying the Moon. It is known as one of the 'golden' exercises of the 18 Lohan Hands (a set of 18 qigong exercises passed down from Bodhidharma at the Shaolin Temple). Carrying the Moon is a beautiful exercise that helps to release tension, reset the nervous system and restore emotional balance.
This video takes you through the form of Carrying the Moon:
Mind and Energy Skills
Doing Carrying the Moon at the physical level (just doing the movements without using any skill of mind or energy) will have some benefits. But qigong becomes much more powerful when you include mind and energy skills, including:
- Entering a Qigong State of Mind, also known as entering Zen
- Generating an energy flow
- Allowing energy to circulate
- Coming to stillness
Relax, Release, Restore
In classes with Fully Alive, you will learn these skills step by step, to supercharge your movement practice. You then only need a short 10-15 minute qigong practice to release unnecessary tension and restore your energy.
Once you have the foundation skills of qigong, you can use any of the qigong forms you know to rebalance your mind, body, energy and emotions. You can start to explore the ways they affect you, and the different outcomes they have.
Spread and Depth
In qigong classes, we talk about spread and depth of practice. You might only ever practice a few different forms, and find they are all you need. Your practice continues to deepen as you refine your skill.
You might wish to broaden your practice to include more techniques, as you increase your skill level - bringing in spread as well as depth. What isn't recommended is spread without depth. This is when someone may learn lots of different forms, but without knowing the mind and energy skills that would take their practice deeper.
Coming Back to Basics
It is also useful come back to practicing qigong at the form level now and then. We don't want to get into a habit of always practicing the same way, and that includes always going into a deep state.
Practicing at the level of physical form can increase our body awareness and relaxation, as well as allow the mind to focus. This can prepare the way for deeper levels of training including
- Cleansing (letting go of stress, tension, old habits and conditioning)
- Building (gathering or increasing the amount of energy you have available to you)
- Nourishing (increasing the quality of energy)
Learn More...
All our weekly classes include mind and energy skills along with physical practice to improve your health and increase your energy levels. Beginners are always welcome.
Or you might want to try our Level One online course, which takes you through the techniques and skills of qigong step by step.
And you can find more form video clips on our social media channels: