What if we told you that you could lower your blood pressure, increase circulation, and reduce both stress and depression without medication? What if we told you all you had to do was make slow, gentle movements while taking deep, focused breaths? The ancient Chinese art of qigong is the natural home remedy to a number of problems of the mind and body.
Qigong means cultivated energy, according to the National Qigong Association. It is an essential part of ancient Chinese medicine, which combines relaxed body posture, slow deep abdominal breathing, and a focused mind void of thought. When practicing qigong, you use gentle, rhythmic movements to improve the function of your cardiovascular, respiratory, circulatory, lymphatic, and digestive systems, according to the National Qigong Association.
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Qigong works because it calms the mind and body, thus reducing stress and increasing energy. Practicing qigong also helps sharpen mental focus and develop mindfulness. When a person is more mindful, the body is better able to communicate with the brain when something is wrong or needs some sort of boost, explains the Qigong Institute.
Qigong has long been used in the fight against aging and illness, according to the Qigong Institute. And it works. An article in The Wall Street Journal even cites studies in which qigong has been effective in reducing depression.
Qigong can be practiced sitting, lying down, standing or moving. This is why midwives use qigong to ease the pain of childbirth and caregivers apply the techniques to seniors with limited mobility to improve quality of life. According to The Wall Street Journal, qigong is being used with increase frequency to care for cancer patients.
While there are hundreds of methods of qigong, you can begin with the 8 traditional postures, as demonstrated by Jake Mace of Phoenix Longevity Arts in the video below.
1. Begin by standing in a natural, relaxed posture. Interlock your fingers and while breathing in, stretch your arms to the sky. As you exhale, sweep your arms in a wing-like motion, pushing them down until they fall naturally to your sides.
2. Take a wide stance with your hands pressing on bent knees. As you inhale, gently twist your torso as you push your knees away. Pause to feel the stretch and exhale. Repeat on the other side.
3. Stay in a wide stance and raise your hands slowly. When they reach your breastplate, move one hand up and the other down. As you move your hands, rise up on your toes. Hold for just a moment and then lower your heels and hands. Breath in as you rise up, and out as your lower yourself down. Repeat, switching which hand you raise above your head.
4. In a wide stance, sweep your arms around your body so they are outstretched to one side. Think of this posture as if using a bow-and-arrow. As you move your arms, lower your knees and exhale. Pull back the arm closest to your body and straighten your legs as you inhale. You should feel a stretch in your shoulder. Drop down once more and exhale. Repeat on the other side. This exercise builds strength in your legs and back, while also generating immense power.
5. Bring your legs together so they are shoulder-width apart. As you inhale, raise your hands toward the sky. As you exhale, drop your hands to the floor, reaching as far down as you can. Breath in and look up in order to stretch and strengthen your neck. Hold the breath for a moment and then exhale as you stand back up.
6. Stand with your legs shoulder-width apart and your hands at your sides. Using your core muscles and lower back, slowly turn to the right as your inhale. Hold the posture and exhale as you twist back to center. Repeat on the left side. To improve balance, you can practice this posture while raising up on your toes.
7. Step out to the left and sweep your hands over your body, turning towards the left. Lower your knees with your hands in a bow-and-arrow position, as in posture number 4. As you breathe out, shake your hands up and down as they move towards and away from one another. This is effective in shaking the tension from your body.
8. You can practice the last pose throughout the day in order to invigorate the body with oxygen, while also ridding the body of anger, stress and conflict. Stand with your legs shoulder-width apart and your hands naturally by your sides. Raise your arms and lift up on your toes as you take a deep breath in. Push the breath out with force as you throw your hands and heels down.
By integrating qigong postures in your daily routine, you can increase the health of both your mind and body. You will have increased circulation, be less stressed, breath more easily, and have a higher immune function.
What do YOU think of qigong? SHARE this video on social media and tell us how the ancient Chinese practice has helped you!
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