Ancient Chinese Wisdom

Two years ago this week I was in Savannah, Georgia, to immerse myself in lifestyle changes that I hoped would fully and finally liberate me from the emotional and physical pain that has plagued me for most of my life. I called this new way of living, fierce qigong.

I chose Savannah because it is one of my favorite cities, esteemed for many reasons but close to the top of the list are its colonial history--some of the cobble stones in River Street are actually ballast stones from sailing ships that once docked here; the European look and feel with it's network of welcoming plazas and historic fountains; and the fact that it is the most walkable city I've found in America--it's a pleasure to park your car and forget it until you say goodbye.

The first morning in Savannah, I was in the park overlooking the Savannah River, between Bay Street and River Street. It was early--before dawn--and the only people moving about were the city sanitation workers and the homeless. On a park bench near where I was performing morning salutations, one of the later was just waking, stirred to life no doubt by the noise of the garbage trucks.

As I moved through Wuji Swimming Dragon and Waves on the Water, I realized that he was watching me and by the time I was ready to begin Separating Earth and Sky, he was walking my way.

"Good morning," I said.

He returned the greeting and then said, "What is that you're doing? Are you a martial artist?"

"It's called qigong," I said, "and it's an ancient Chinese healing exercise."

"What's that?" he said.

I explained that qigong is many things and that its benefits include improving physical health and mental clarity.

"I need that," he said.

"It's easy," I said, "just do what I do."

I began my routine again and he followed along, surprising me by staying with me for all eight of the wudaos. When we finished I asked, "What do you think?"

"I think those ancient Chinese knew something," he said and I understood exactly what he meant. Qigong has become the cornerstone of what I now call Fierce Living, a set of principles that I use to mange the physical pain of arthritis and the emotional pain of bipolar disorder. Only in the last two years have I been able to truly say that I have found the solution to life's challenges and that I am free from the limitations of yesterday.

I haven't been back since but when I do return I would love to find that the homeless of Savannah are practicing qigong on the river.

Life comes hard and fast--be ready for it--Fierce Qigong!

Stress and Chronic Illness

It's not just the stress, but how you react to it, that could have an impact on your health down the road, according to a new study from Pennsylvania State University researchers.

Published in the journal Annals of Behavioral Medicine, the study found that people who were more stressed out and anxious about the stresses of everyday life were, in turn, more likely to have chronic health conditions (such as heart problems or arthritis), compared with people who viewed things through a more relaxed lens.

Qigong is a self-healing method that requires very little effort and very little time. It's so safe that young children and the elderly practice it daily in China and increasingly in the United States and other Western countries. 

In fact, qigong's ability to relieve stress without exhausting the body has made it an increasingly common recommendation for seriously ill patents. At the Stanford Center for Integrative Medicine, cancer patients are offered weekly qigong classes. Doctors at the University Medical Center in Tucson, Arizona, prescribe qigong to patients with severe heart disease.

But even though the movements are easy and relaxing, qigong is being used in university sports training programs such as the University of Virginia tennis program and, Scott Cole, the fitness guru of the "Abs of Steel" video series has added qigong to his latest exercise videos. 

Qigong circulates the vital energy that renews vigor and health to all the cells of the body. As you feel your energy increase, your attention become focused on the present circumstances and your experience a calm relaxed mind. This energy cultivation and mindful awareness brings healing, strengthening and renewal to the body.

Mahmet Oz, the Vice-Chair and Professor of Surgery at Columbia University and Director of the Cardiovascular Institute at New York Presbyterian Hospital, is quoted as saying, “If you want to live to 100, practice Qi Gong.”

I don't really want to live that long but I do want to live well as long as possible. That's why I practice qigong.

An Introduction to Qigong

A solitary figure moves slowly and gracefully in the early morning mist swirling underneath the live oak trees down by the River in Savannah, Georgia. His movements are relaxed, yet demonstrate a controlled power. His posture is upright but not stiff; he glides over the dew-covered grass of the park in a way that resembles a gentle ballet.

You think you are watching a young man but as you draw nearer, you see that he is much older than you expected. He must have good genes you think to yourself. When finally you speak to him and inquire, you learn that he lives with spinal arthritis (ankylosing spondylitis), which is often a very painful and debilitating condition. Yet he moves easily and effortlessly. You're amazed to learn that he also lives with bipolar disorder class 2 and yet he smiles, jokes and speaks in a manner that demonstrates a joyful outlook on life. 

Welcome to Fierce Qigong!

Qigong is often described as “meditation in motion,” but it might well be called “medication in motion.” Qigong is easy to learn and you can get started even if you aren’t in top shape or the best of health. In this low-impact, slow-motion exercise, you move through a series of stylized motions named for animal actions or martial arts moves. As you move, you breathe naturally (belly-breathing), focusing your attention — as in mindful meditation — on your body moving through the space around you.

Qigong differs from other types of exercise in several ways. The movements are never forced, the muscles are relaxed rather than tensed, the joints are not fully extended or bent, and connective tissues are not stretched. Qigong can be easily adapted for anyone, from athletes to people confined to wheelchairs or recovering from surgery.

A typical qigong class 

• Warm-up. Easy motions, such as shoulder circles, turning the head from side to side, or rocking back and forth, help you to loosen your muscles and joints and focus on your breath and body.
• Instruction and practice of qigong forms. Forms are sets of movements. Different styles require smaller or larger movements. A short form with smaller, slower movements is usually recommended at the beginning, especially if you’re older or have not been recently active in an exercise program.
• Self massage. Gentle smoothing, rubbing and tapping to "distribute" chi and relax the muscles and organs after completing the full set of movements. 

The object is to help relax the mind and mobilize the body’s energy. Qigong may be practiced standing, sitting, or lying down.

No pain, big gains

Although qigong is slow and gentle and doesn’t leave you breathless, it addresses the key components of fitness — muscle strength, flexibility, balance, and, to a lesser degree, aerobic conditioning. Here’s some of the evidence:

Muscle strength

In a 2006 study published in Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine, Stanford University researchers reported benefits of qigong in 39 women and men, average age 66, with below-average fitness and at least one cardiovascular risk factor. After taking classes in 12 weeks, they showed improvement in both lower-body strength and upper-body strength.

In a Japanese study using the same strength measures, 113 older adults were assigned to different 12-week exercise programs, including qigong, brisk walking, and resistance training. People who did qigong improved more than 30% in lower-body strength and 25% in arm strength — almost as much as those who participated in resistance training, and more than those assigned to brisk walking.

Flexibility 

Women in the 2006 Stanford study significantly boosted upper- and lower-body flexibility as well as strength.

Balance 

Qigong improves balance and, according to some studies, reduces falls. Proprioception — the ability to sense the position of one’s body in space — declines with age. Qigong helps train this sense, which is a function of sensory neurons in the inner ear and stretch receptors in the muscles and ligaments. Qigong also improves muscle strength and flexibility, which makes it easier to recover from a stumble.

Aerobic capacity

Qigong shows a beneficial effect on aerobic capacity in older individuals, and can enhance breathing efficiency during exercise due to the training effect of diaphragmatic breathing.

Qigong is Not Yoga

Yoga, as a system of exercise for both body and spirit, has been popular in the West for much longer than Qigong. It is a wonderful practice, and I participate in Hatha yoga primarily to help with the arthritis pain in my back, neck, and knees. There are many classes available in all but the smallest towns, and for those who don't have access to classes, there are many videos and books. Videos are preferred to books only because it's easier to learn the proper way to move by watching someone perform the move while an instructor describes it.

Why doesn't everyone practice yoga? Well, in addition to those who can't get to a class, there are many people who simply cannot perform the moves due to physical limitations. Qigong, on the other hand, is gentle and easy for almost everyone, including young children and seniors. Once you master a qigong movement, there is no advanced version of that move. It will be the same move no matter how long you practice. The mindful component will advance, but that happens naturally and is not something you must work for.

The concept of mindfulness, which is simply paying close attention to the movements of the body and the breath, is an important component of qigong and of yoga. The yoga classes that I attend are taught by people who recognize the importance of focused attention when performing a move, but not all instructors appreciate that importance, and some yoga classes are structured to be physical exercise only.

Qigong always incorporates mindfulness as an integral component of the practice. If you aren't performing the moves mindfully, then you aren't getting all the health benefits. One of my teachers puts it this way: "If it's NOT done mindfully, it's NOT qigong."

A Calm Mind

A calm mind is characterized by a sense of internal composure that is needed if we are to function to the best of our abilities. It is the ideal state we reach when, supported by a body completely allied with our heart's intent, we are able to harness our cognitive powers while maintaining a harmonious emotional balance. When we are calm, we are "in the zone," unperturbed by distractions or distress.

The balance of calm and anxiety is directed by the parasympathetic relaxing system and the sympathetic alerting system. Both carry information from the body into the core brain, which then controls the switch for more or less calmness.

You can choose calm over panic in confronting a stressful situation because the brain has systems for relaxation and calm to counteract the mechanisms for alertness and anxiety. The key isn't in the frontal lobes, the seat of logic and thinking, but within our core brain, which controls our emotions and impulses, and the vast environmental sensor that is our body.

The conflict between the primitive core brain and rational brain leads to the angst and unrest that characterizes so much of modern life. We can't sleep at night, we're tense and edgy during the day. We can't concentrate, can't relax. When we don't activate our body's calming parasympathetic mechanism, our runaway sympathetic system causes us to succumb to heart attacks and strokes, even as it helps us meet our daily deadlines.

Fierce Qigong, with it's mindful attention to the slow, rhythmic movements of the body, tunes into the parasympathetic system and familiarizes the body and the mind with the experience. With regular practice, we learn to monitor our emotions, our bodies, our state of mind, so that we can consciously choose calm rather than chaos. Eventually, sometimes quickly sometimes slowly, the choice moves into our subconscious where it becomes just a part of who we are--rational but calm.

When we choose the parasympathetic system over the sympathetic, we are better able to achieve our goals while avoiding the damage caused by chronic stress. We enjoy better sleep, greater peace and freedom from emotional and physical limitations that plague most of the human race.

Power Up!

Spark positive emotions and trigger positive thoughts by doing any small thing that makes you feel happy—no matter what kind of day you're having. It could be listening to a favorite song, eating a favorite food, or spending time with your pet.

Feeling good about yourself, about the day, about the your activities is essential to your health. Positive emotions and thoughts don't just make you feel better—they make you stronger by increasing your resilience.

More resilience means faster recovery from whatever ails you and a greater probability for success in reaching your goals.

Maybe you can't avoid the downs of life completely, especially when facing a health challenge. But you CAN outweigh the downs with ups.

How to Work It

My personal method for powering up every day is Fierce Qigong and I use the following three techniques. Of course, you will have a different intent and you may prefer different qigong wudaos. The three-breath meditation is recommended for everyone:

I begin each morning by declaring my intent for the day in what I call "Opening to the Morning. As I perform 'Lifting the Sky' I chant, "As morning opens, I open to the possibilities of a new day. Today I will be free from the limitations of yesterday. Today I will be an instrument of healing and love."

After opening to the morning, I continue my personal qigong routine, which includes:

• Swimming Dragon
• Sweeping the Clouds Away
• Embracing Heaven and Earth
• Separating Heaven and Earth
• Shoot arrows
• Autumn Wind Blows the Leaves

Anytime during the course of the day that I notice myself becoming uncomfortable in my skin, I perform the three-breath meditation:

First breath:     "I am powerful."

Second breath: "There is more good than bad in this moment."

Third breath:    "I am more than enough for whatever life brings my way."

The Science:

Researchers have demonstrated many significant physical and mental impacts of optimism and it’s optimism that you are generating with the positive thoughts and emotions. Here’s a few of the things you can expect:

• Grow your brain:  Brain cells are constantly dying and new ones are constantly generated. Research shows that positive emotion prompts brain cell growth, while negative emotion prompts brain cell decay.
• Be creative: Studies demonstrate that optimism expands the boundaries of our minds. We imagine more possibilities and discover more options and opportunities.
• Achieve more: The more optimistic our outlook, the more successful we become at work, at school, at sports. Optimistic people are happier in their marriages and achieve more personal goals.
• Better health: There is a direct correlation between optimism and cardiovascular health. People with positive outlooks have lower levels of the stress hormone, cortisol, and stronger immune system.
• Decrease anxiety: Brain scans show that highly optimistic people experience less activity in the part of the brain associated with worry (the orbito-frontal cortex)—even when they're under significant stress.

The Five Animal Frolics

As a certified personal trainer, I often heard the phrase, “No pain, no gain.” I didn’t believe it then, and today, as a qigong coach, I say, “No fun, no gain.” I say this for two reasons: First, the qigong approach to health is integrative and holistic. Mental and emotional health is not separated from physical health the way it is in Western medicine.

Cranes Walking by Pattie Brooks

So, if you aren’t having fun in your health practices, you probably ignore your mental and emotional health. The second reason I like to focus on fun is The Five Animal Frolics.

I practice the Animal Frolics because they help me manage my arthritic pain, and they are especially helpful in clearing out the soreness (caused by lactic acid buildup) after my pilates classes. But the biggest reason I do them is that they are just plain fun.

Because they are so easy to do and because they are so fun, this qigong style is perfect for children and seniors. The benefits they provide include:

Improved balance and coordination

Better health through a strengthened immune system

Greater flexibility and range of motion

Improved mental focus and greater attention span

As with many qigong practices, there are variations in the movements and the terms used to describe them. The Five Animals is no exception. The style I practice is one reputed to be the "original," although I don't mean to say that it’s better than any other. I simply prefer it for reasons of tradition.

Here is a list and description of the five movements (wudao) that I teach in my workshops and classes:

Crane cultivates balance and graceful movement. It promotes cardiovascular health and a calm mind.

Monkey improves agility and strengthens the spine and shoulders. The movements keep the stomach, spleen, and pancreas healthy and improve digestion. These postures also can bring relief to shoulder and neck problems.

Tiger teaches speed and upper-body strength in arm and hand joints and muscles. Tiger moves are good for the lungs and the spine, and one of the moves is especially good for relieving arthritis.

Bear builds strong bones and lower body strength

The Body Follows the Mind

I recently taught a couple of workshops at a wellness clinic here in Raleigh. It was great fun to work with many people who knew nothing about qigong and it was fun to discover "new" ways that people were interested in using qigong. 

One of the attendees was a body builder interested in using the slow movements to help flush lactic acid out of the muscles after an intense workout. I suggested to him that focusing the mind using qigong before exercise would result in a more efficient workout--where the mind goes the body will follow.

One person attending the workshop was more interested in the meditation component than the physical. It seems his doctor has prescribed meditation to help with his attention deficit disorder but he not only has trouble focusing his attention, even staying still for more than a few seconds is problematic. He had read my flyer about the mindful component Fierce Qigong and wanted to learn more it.

I worked one-on-one with him after the workshop and he was pleased to learn that he could be intensely mindful, even if for only a few seconds, when he focused on his body moving through the space surrounding him. I suggested to him that with practice, he would be able to meditate for several minutes rather than seconds. 

It might not sound like a lot to you but it's a big benefit to people with his concern. In my regular classes, I work with ADHD sufferers and people diagnosed with bi-polar disorder. They all seem to agree that movement meditation works best for them.

With bi-polar disorder, the movement is beneficial, but in different way, depending on whether one is depressed or manic. If depressed, the movement helps to elevate mood and break the focus on the negative aspects. When manic, the movement helps to bring calm and restores a sense of well-being and control.

For people with medical conditions, such as ADHD and bi-polar syndrome, the intent component of qigong becomes very important. I often tell students that intent is not to be consciously considered during qigong practice but something that is held in "background consciousness." This concept generated questions in both workshops.

If you imagine that you are learning a new movement, one you haven't heard of or seen in a youtube video, then you realize that you will be paying careful attention to what the instructor is doing and saying as well as paying attention to the movement of your own body. Your consciousness will be filled with that attention. 

What you will not be thinking about is your intention to learn a new qigong move. You are "aware" of this intent but it isn't in your foreground consciousness. You are aware of--or perhaps I could say that you are holding--that intent in background consciousness. No matter what the heart's desire, it can held in the same way.

To hold intent in foreground consciousness will result in striving to accomplish something, which is the same thing as striving to change things as they are, and that would be a violation of true mindfulness: paying close attention without judgment and with striving to change things as they are.

It may take a little practice but in my experience, results come more quickly that I expect.

Three Components of Qigong

Fierce Qigong is a focused healing modality intended to lead the practitioner to freedom from past limitations. There are three components of Fierce Qigong which may be described in general as exercise, meditation, and fierce intent. The exercise and meditation components are an inherent part of qigong and of other healing movement practices such as hatha yoga.

The distinguishing feature of qigong, when compared to the other healing movements, is the gentleness and ease with which the movements are performed. Qigong can be practiced by almost anyone regardless of age or physical limitations. Young children practice qigong and seniors in their nineties practice qigong. Kung fu masters in the Shaolin Temple in China practice qigong, and people recovering from serious injury practice qigong.

The distinguishing feature of Fierce Qigong, when compared to other qigong practices, is the fierce intent, which may be thought of as an unwavering resolve to be mindful during the movements, which are called wudao.

        Form and posture

The form of the moves, though simple and easy have evolved through centuries of practice and even though there is room for differences in style, wholesale modifications carry the risk of losing the promised benefits.

Posture is important in that the energy channels should be open and free of obstructions. In general, a straight spine should be maintained when standing and sitting.

       Mindfulness

It is important to pay attention to the movements of the body through space as the exercises are performed. Paying close attention, without judging your performance, and without striving to change the way things are is the essence of mindful qigong. I was taught that if it isn’t mindful, it isn’t qigong.

       Intent

Intent is important when making any change in our lives and qigong is about making change. Jack LaLane said that if we aren’t getting better, then we’re getting worse. I believe he was right. Nothing stays the same and that includes our health and happiness. Make intentional positive changes in your life or your life is going to go downhill.

Intent is another name for the goal you want to achieve. It can be something easily identifiable and measurable like losing weight or it can be something like shaking the blues during the dark days of winter.

Intent does not violate the mindfulness creed to not strive to change the way things are. Striving to change something implies that you have assumed responsibility for the change. Holding an intent in your heart while you perform a qigong routine is simply a signal of your heart’s desire and the agent responsible for manifesting the change is qigong, not you.

We Don't Succeed Alone

Hundreds of scientific studies have shown that having at least two allies dramatically increases positive health outcomes and helps us succeed in our goals. I call this the "ally effect" and it works it's magic in our qigong practice too. Qigong will provide all the health benefits you intend even if you practice alone. However, the health benefits are even greater when you practice with someone else. This is why group participation is so important.

Here's how the ally effect works. (The following is taken from SuperBetter.com: The science behind allies.)
An ally is identified as a strong social relationship with these four traits: positivity, honesty, support and closeness.

Positivity: You feel good when you see each other.
Honesty: You can talk to each other honestly about problems and challenges in your lives.
Support: You feel comfortable asking each other for help.
Closeness: You see each other in person or talk at least once every two weeks.

Allies make each other stronger in four key ways:

Stronger immune systems:
Social support from at least two people is linked to better immune functioning—our wounds heal faster, we catch fewer colds, and we even fight diseases like arthritis and fybromyalgia more effectively.

Lower stress levels:
Positive social interaction reduces the levels of cortisol (the stress hormone) in our bodies.

Cardiovascular impact:
Spending time with people we like lowers our blood pressure and decreases our heart rate.

Social resources:
Allies help us gather the resources we need to achieve our goals.

And the health benefits work both ways. Every time you connect with an Ally, you're making THEM stronger, too.

Here's some of the scientific research:

Social Relationships and Health:
 http://m.hsb.sagepub.com/content/51/1_suppl/S54.full

Social Ties and Cardiovascular Function:http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2765114/

Social Relationships and Mortality Risk:http://www.plosmedicine.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pmed.1000316

Depression and perceived social support:http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1365-2702.2011.03868.x/abstract

Flowing Freely

All things in the natural world curl, twist, and swirl in patterns like flowing water. You see it in clouds, smoke, waves in the ocean, sand dunes, the whirls in long summer grasses, the markings in the walls of slot canyons.

Spiders build their geometric webs in herky-jerky spirals, adding a bit of chaos to the design. Looking up in the night sky we can see rivers of stars that sometimes seem to follow the curving form of animals, if not gods and goddesses.

The Chinese give the name, Li, to these water-like flowing patterns. The Chinese written character carries with it the pattern and order of nature. Humans are part of nature, born out of the earth rather than into it. Everything that composes our bodies is found in nature, and the primary marker of life on earth--carbon--is not formed in the earth but in the fusion reactors that power the stars.

The philosopher Lao Zi (fourth century B.C.) says, "People follow the earth; earth follows heaven, heaven follows Tao, Tao follows its own nature." 

The quality of Li is a part of us. It's opposite, Zi, wich is logic and reason, is acquired and, unfortunately, it is too easily acquired in a society that urges us to follow clocks rather than the cycles of nature. We hurry from one place to another, never taking the time to enjoy the journey. We spend more time reading about and watching other people live their lives that we spend paying attention to our own.

The flowing, graceful exercises of Qigong help us to slow down and pay attention, to recapture and express that flowing part of ourselves that we share with the rest of nature. Not just our bodies but our minds become supple and more alive. Flowing internal energy creates flowing consciousness, the mind is freed and so are we.