Here is your Heaven On Earth Stress Relief Tip for this week!
As you can see by my T-shirt, World Tai Chi & Qi Gong Day is tomorrow, Saturday April 25, starting in the first time zone and going all around the world for the whole day, people will be doing tai-chi and qigong wherever they happen to be. I hope that you will find a group in your area if you are not from Bend. If you are from Bend, we are meeting at Compass Park at 10:00 AM. I hope you'll be there.
I highly recommend qigong as a stress-relief technique. It will calm the mind, it will soothe the body; it is also the self-healing branch of Chinese medicine.
You can do qigong on your own, there are hundreds of books and DVDs available for you to purchase almost everywhere [i.e. most bookstores]. However, if you are working on a particular health issue, I do recommend at least visiting with an instructor, someone who can help you in your practice by guiding you through the principles of Chinese medicine. They can help you understand what the moves do, how the movements are going to help You with your particular condition.
That little bit of extra help is a great idea because it will help you to more effectively to use your mind to guide your healing practice.
I hope that you will look into qigong, and taiji, both, as a way to relieve stress. It's a great way to enhance your holistic wellness.
Here is your Heaven On Earth Stress Relief Tip for this week!
This is a tough one, and I'm not sure why people don't do it, if we think it's going to make us look incapable or whatever, but we don't ask for help when we need it.
There are two people I know who recently have gone through some challenges with their families, and one asked for help. They've come through it now, are getting over their problems, and everything has worked out very well for them. I think that's because the person who needed that help asked for it.
I know another lady who is taking care of an elderly relative and not only will she not ask for help, she won't accept help when it's offered. I honor where she is and her reasons for doing that, but at the same time she's getting very stressed out, she's getting very burned out, and it looks like she's headed for a place where not only is she not going to be able to care for her relative, she won't be able to take care of herself.
If you need a hand with something, ask. If the first person, or the second person, or even the fifth person you ask is not able to help you, honor where they are. You don't know what's going on in their lives, they really may not be able to help you at this time. Don't take "No" personally. Keep asking! The right person to help you will come along, and it will work out beautifully.
To help with that, I'd like to mention an organization for which I am the Admin person here in Bend: it's called Time Banks or Time Traders. This is a free service, a "pay it forward" organization in which you do favors for other people, and you earn time for doing that. You "pay" for favors for anything that you need by donating your time to another member. There's an online system behind this organization; you sign in, you then put in what you need and what you can do for others.
It's people helping people! If you would like more information, please send an email to me at stressrelief4me@gmail.com . Put Time Traders in the subject. If you would like me to call you, send your phone number, or I can attach and email the information to you. Either way is fine with me! If you are interested, just let me know!
Today's video is a little longer than usual because I teach you a powerfully effective qigong breathing technique that you can use anytime, anywhere to instantly reduce stress!
(If you would like to know more about qigong or the Eight Healing Sounds, please send me a note at bewellwithmichelle@gmail.com. Private lessons are available. I will also be leading the opening breathing exercise and demonstrating the Eight Healing Sounds of Yin Style Ba Gua for World Tai Chi & Qi Gong Day on April 25 from 10 to 11 AM in Compass Park, 2500 NW Crossing Dr. in Bend. Everyone is welcome, so come and join me and other fine qigong and taiji instructors, and take advantage of this opportunity to sample a few different styles of qigong and taiji!)
Here is your Heaven On Earth Stress Relief Tip for this week!
Breathing! You all know proper breathing is great to relieve stress, but breathing is obviously such an automatic thing that doing it in a mindful, conscious manner is not something that we often think to do.
Today I'm going to combine breathing with some simple motions that will make it mindful, that will make it conscious, that will make it "in the moment," and that will keep you in the moment.
Even thought it seems like a very simple and easy thing to do, this is a very powerful stress-relief technique. It is actually the first move in a qigong style called the Eight Healing Sounds of Yin Style Ba Gua.
What we’re going to do in this practice is breath all the way down into our abdomen. Abut four fingers width below your navel is a spot called the dan tien. This is one of the major energy centers in your body.
When we inhale, I want you to imagine you are inhaling all the way down into that dan tien. When you exhale, I want you to think of and imagine you are relieving stress; you are breathing the stress out while making the sound "Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh."
Just imagine how you would feel or what you would say if you were relaxing into the biggest, fluffiest, most comfortable recliner you have ever sat in, in your entire life. You just think, "Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh."
Really let that sound come through. That's what sets the vibration going, that's what gets your energy moving, that's what brings you back into harmony and balance. So, inhale again, all the way down into your abdomen, and exhale while breathing "Ahhhhhhhhh."
Now I’m going to explain a very simple hand motion to go along with that. (See the video for a demonstration!) Follow along while we do the first position from the Eight Healing Sounds of Yin Style BaGua.
Remember, the dan tien is four fingers width below your navel. Inhale into the dan tien while you reach your arms out from your sides like wings, and raise your arms up over your head, palms facing upward. At the top of your reach, turn your palms to point forward and hold your hands bent at the wrist as if you were wiping down a wall while you exhale and vocalize the "Ahhhhhhhhhhh" sound.
Repeat: inhale as you reach your arms out from your sides like wings. Again, raise your arms up over your head, palms facing upward. At the top of your reach, turn your palms forward and hold your hands bent at the wrist as if you were wiping down a wall while you exhale and vocalize the "Ahhhhhhhhhhh" sound.
Remember to imagine the stress leaving your body as you exhale.
Repeat as needed to relieve stress!
Don't forget, if you would like to know more about qigong or the Eight Healing Sounds, please send me a note at bewellwithmichelle@gmail.com. Private lessons are available. I will also be leading the opening breathing exercise and demonstrating the Eight Healing Sounds of Yin Style Ba Gua for World Tai Chi & Qi Gong Day on April 25 from 10 to 11 AM in Compass Park, 2500 NW Crossing Dr. in Bend. Everyone is welcome, so come and join me and other fine qigong and taiji instructors, and take advantage of this opportunity to sample a few different styles of qigong and taiji!
