In my last post, I discussed the importance of Grounding and getting in touch, both physically and energetically, with the energy of the Earth.
And as I mentioned, in my online video course, “Introduction to Qigong and Breathwork“, I included an easy, fun Grounding meditation. Did you check it out yet? If not, please do so.
Here’s an additional “Fun Fact to Know and Tell”:
The Earth has a natural electromagnetic frequency of 7.83 Hertz. This is called the Schumann Resonance and is also referred to as the “Earth’s heartbeat”.
Did you know that the human brain, in a healthy state, also resonates at a frequency of 7.83 Hertz? Not a coincidence!
Our brains, indeed our entire electromagnetic and biophotonic selves, are in a natural state of resonance with the Earth. In fact, the Schumann Resonance is thought to affect our health and wellbeing, including our sleep, mood, and even consciousness.
This is why we often feel good when we are out in Nature, as it allows us to get connected to the Earth’s frequency and essentially become entrained with the Earth. This in turn has a positive effect on our moods and emotions and promotes a feeling of wellbeing and calmness.
WARNING: Interrupted Transmission
However, if you live in an urban environment, or a suburban area that is undergoing development, you are subject to human-generated EMF emissions – from radios, cell phone towers, and the electricity that hums around us in our homes and offices. These types of EMFs are NOT at 7.83 Hertz and are NOT in synch with our natural frequency. They can crowd out the Schumann Resonance, leaving you feeling depleted, moody, low energy, etc. etc.
Getting back into resonance with the Earth is easy. Make it a habit to sit our stand outside in your bare feet (or socks if it’s cold), preferably in the vicinity of trees. Breathe naturally and deeply and relax. Do your grounding meditation or just sit and enjoy. This is just about the easiest health practice I can possibly recommend, but it’s also one of the most powerful!
To show you just how easy it is, please see the photo below. This is Zuzu and Clinty sitting in their favorite spot, grounding and resonating with the Earth. They look pretty happy don’t they?
We’re already into the third month of 2024. How have you done so far on your New Year’s resolutions or the goals you set for this year?
If you’re like the majority of folks, you’ve already slipped, backslided, or simply given up on your goals. The famous dictum within the fitness world is as follows: the gyms will get super crowded in early January…but by the third week in February, the crowds have mostly disappeared and it’s just “the regulars” again.
Well, I’ve got wonderful news for you!
“It’s not your fault.”
You see, setting new goals and resolutions in late December or early January is just about the worst possible time to do so.
Winter is the most Yin time of the year. The reduced light, shorter days and longer nights, and cold temperatures naturally encourage us to sleep more and become less active. Our metabolism and energy levels decrease in winter. Nature’s idea is that we should slow down, use less energy, and basically “hibernate” during the cold, lean winter months.
And yes, even in our climate-controlled, well-lit modern existence, our bodies, brains and energetic matrix still respond to nature’s call.
Energetically, this most Yin time of year is just the worst in terms of gearing up to conquer ourselves, move forward toward new challenges, and push to achieve our goals. The energetics of winter are more about quiescence, going inside to ponder and reflect, develop some wisdom, and help the body rest up and recharge.
Lunar New Year Just Concluded
Here’s a suggestion: Instead of beating yourself up for not making better progress….or berating yourself for having already given up on your stated resolutions or goals…start all over!
Yes, restart your year now.
The Chinese Lunar New Year just concluded in February. So it’s a brand new year! The year of the Wood Dragon, by the way, which is quite auspicious. The Wood element means growth and development, rising energy, and many other good things (which we will discuss in a future post).
And now we are experiencing the first glimmers of Spring.
If you live in the northern states or climes, you may still be experiencing cold weather and even snow. But you likely are detecting some signs of Spring, including the days getting longer. Where we live in Central Texas, we have already been mowing the lawn, cleaning the beds, and planting new flowers. In fact, we just put the garden in!
Spring means Yang Ascending – the energies are increasing. So it only make sense to ride that energetic wave, recommit and refocus on your goals, and get moving.
Declare it a new year and move forward with renewed vigor and expectancy.
The postures and simple movements of the Between Heaven and Earth form help condition us to the vital cycles and rhythms of life.
For example, in our Qigong practice, we devote a lot of time to centering and grounding. These two skills are so important in our Qigong – indeed, they are critical life skills. Life throws a lot at us. Centering and grounding can help you take the incoming fire or stress without overreacting, enabling you to deal with it more effectively. These two skills can also keep you younger.
As the saying goes, “A mind that can control its response to stress is the world’s most advanced anti-aging technology.”
When we ground, we focus primarily on our lower dan tien or energy center (lower abdomen) and on connecting through our feet to the Yin energy of Mother Earth.
However, when we ground, we also enhance our ability to take in Yang energy from Heaven.
Think about it: most buildings and homes have a lightning rod typically located on the roof of the building or in the area where the electrical and other wiring comes into the house. The wire of the rod connects to a metal base that is implanted or stuck into the ground. The rod serves to attract any lightning strike that might otherwise hit the building or house and carry the current into the ground.
Likewise, when we stand and ground, we are attracting heavenly energy or Qi into our bodies, without even having to think about it.
Which Connection is More Important?
With Between Heaven and Earth Qigong, we are more targeted and intentional on accessing energy from Heaven as well as Earth. The postures are representative of the ways we naturally connect to Heaven and Earth in our daily lives. At all times, we maintain a strong connection to Earth through the feet and Hui Yin (point on the perineum). We can also connect quite strongly through our hands.
On the other hand, the connection with Heaven through the Bai Hui (crown of head) typically is not as strong. You can really feel it when the Bai Hui opens – it’s a clear sensation. However, the feeling is like a funnel through which the energy pours, resulting in a smaller stream coming in and down through the point. Therefore, in certain postures we lift our hands and face toward Heaven to help strengthen the connection.
It would seem that our connection with the Earth is the most important. As we move through our day-to-day lives, we deal with the material, the substantial, the daily cares of living, and the to-do’s from our task list. However, every now and then, we should to connect to Heaven to recharge and renew with that heavenly yang energy. This is where our inspiration and creativity come from.
These cycles of Earth and Heaven – yin and yang – work and recharge – activity and rest – doing and creating – mirror the universe around us. Through reflecting these cycles, the Between Heaven and Earth exercises provide a wonderful way to recharge. They activate the Eight Extraordinary Meridians (the “8X”) which in turn strengthens our natural energy matrix and helps us stay healthy and resilient.
How Do I Get Started?
If you’re interested in learning more about Qigong, Breathwork, and related energy disciplines, a great way to get started is with the introductory course, Breathing & Qigong for Health and Energy. In just four weeks, this course provides you with a wonderful introduction to these ancient and vital practices. I bypass all the “woo woo” stuff and focus on the foundational elements of a successful practice, so you can reap the benefits from your first day of learning. It’s like taking private lessons with me (but at a much lower cost).
So, from now on, anytime you stand, breathe, and ground, place a little bit of your awareness on your Bai Hui point at the crown of your head. See yourself as a lightning rod, allowing Yang energy from Heaven to gently funnel into the top of your head and diffuse and settle down into your body, energizing you from head to toe. At the same time, maintain your connection to Mother Earth and enjoy the Yin energy coming up from the soles of your feet into your lower abdomen.
“Suspended Between Heaven and Earth”. There’s no better place to be.
We’re moving more fully into Fall now, so let’s complete our discussion of the Late Summer / Earth Element by discussing aspects of Earth / Spleen energetics and the emotional, mental, and spiritual aspects of transformation.
Just as we digest, assimilate, and obtain nourishment through the Stomach and Spleen organ system for our physical bodies, so do we digest and assimilate our experiences, whether good, neutral, challenging, or even traumatic. When our Spleen / Stomach energies are balanced and regulated, we can “digest the gristle” – that is, take from the experience the lessons learned, the “nourishment” to help us grow and get better, the impetus towards the transformation that may be required based on our new knowledge. And we also eliminate that which does not serve or help us.
If we are out of balance – for example, if we are living in a stressed-out state of mind and being or suffering from a chronic health condition – we may have difficulty assimilating nourishment from our challenges. We may embrace lessons that contract or constrict our world view, rather than expand it. We may lack confidence to move forward in life. We may find ourselves unable to trust – we don’t trust other people, and we don’t trust our own gut or intuition. We lose faith in ourselves and our ability to move forward.
In Classical Chinese Medicine (CCM), the Spleen (Yin organ) and Stomach (its Yang organ pair) are intimately connected. The Stomach receives nourishment and begins the digestive process; the Spleen transforms this nourishment into Qi / energy and blood, and then transports the Qi and blood throughout the body. Stomach and Spleen create a dynamic balance between giving and receiving.
The key qualities of the Earth element are nourishment and stability. When our Earth element is balanced and stable, we easily transform food into nourishment and experiences into lessons-learned and growth. We feel well-nourished and grounded within our body. Our Earth energy provides the stable platform from which to trust ourselves, our gut, our intuition. And we can attend to others, giving support, encouragement, and nurturing.
When our Earth element is out of balance, we are unable to transform or assimilate food or experiences. We feel unstable and ungrounded. Our mind may go around and around in an endless cycle of excessive rumination. This can include rumination and overthinking about something that just happened, so we can’t digest and learn from it. This can also include obsessing or excessive worry about an event (either real or imagined) yet to come.
As a result, we never get off the dime. Our natural Yi or intention, also associated with the Spleen / Stomach, becomes weak. Our Yi influences our capacity for thinking, concentrating, and studying. It helps us think through our life experiences. If our Yi is weak or unbalanced, we won’t learn our lessons, and we may make the same mistakes, over and over again. We also lose motivation and become less resilient.
Earth’s Connection to Our North Star
Within Daoist teachings, the Earth element is associated with the North Star. How so? Well, first, visualize yourself standing on the stable, solid earth under your feet – this is the grounded state of trusting yourself. Then form a triangle with the thumb and forefinger of each hand and raise your arms straight up above you. Now look up through the triangle to the North Star. Set your ultimate goals, your intention (or Yi) square within your sights. Your “True North” helps guide you through life, through the challenges, the lessons learned, the detours. As long as you can stay grounded and have a place to stand, you can figure out a way through.
Or, as Casey Kasem used to say, “Keep your feet on the ground and keep looking at the stars”.
So, you see how important the Earth / Spleen element is to our growth and transformation. Its key virtue is Trust: trust in ourselves, as well as our ability to trust in others.
Trusting oneself to learn, to grow, to be able to handle new situations and challenges. Going deep inside and listening to what our gut is telling us (i.e., the enteric nervous system which has more neurons than the brain). Using this as the stable ground from which we set our intention and purpose and move forward in life. Good stuff!
How to Boost and Balance your Spleen / Earth Element
The Wu Xing / Five Elements exercise for Earth / Spleen is a simple yet powerful movement for building this energy within yourself.
Earth elemental energy rises from the level of the Spleen and Stomach and then divides as it reaches the top of the thrusting meridian (Chong Mai), which moves up through the center of the body. This yellow, dividing energy exists at the point of change or transformation of the other elements.
In the Earth / Spleen exercise, we use movement and intention to pull up energy from the ground / earth through our core, through the level of the Spleen and Stomach, up to the point at which the energy divides at the center point of change between the other elements. The nice stretch and twist of this exercise also directly activate the Spleen and Stomach meridians.
If you’re interested in learning more about the Five Elements exercises, visit the Wu Xing / Five Elements Course page.
There is a wonderful framework used by artistic creators called “Structural Tension”.
Within this framework, the artist or writer or other creator focuses on two ends of the creative spectrum or process.
The first point of focus is the vision for what they wish to create.
The second point of focus is on where they are now, or the starting point.
Creative tension results from the dissonance or distance between where the creator wants to go – their vision of their finished creation – and the beginning of the creative process.
As long as the artist or creator stays focused on their vision or goal, they maintain the creative tension. And by tension, I don’t mean something negative. It’s more like a “pulling toward” feeling, by which the creator invests emotional, mental, and sometimes physical energy into the process, so they stay on track and, bit by bit, chip away at what they are working on.
Each of us can use this Structural Tension framework as we approach our own goals, dreams, and vision for our lives.
Medium to longer-term goals may require that you operate on a lower but more constant level of creative tension or energy. You feel the dissonance between where you are now and where you want to go or what you want to manifest in your life. And at times, you may lose the feeling as you focus on shorter-term goals or current life problems or challenges.
Eventually, you will come back to that goal or dream. It’s always there, percolating under the surface.
Get back in gear by renewing the creative tension. Allow yourself to feel the pull of the goal and the emotions of wanting to achieve it. Bask in the feelings you will experience once you have it. Then begin. Take a small step today from where you are today.
As Teddy Roosevelt, 26th President of the United States, said, “Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.”
Creative Tension in Our Practice
We practice within this Creative Tension framework every time we do our Qigong and related dynamic exercises.
In fact, our standing practice helps us to develop structural tension and stability – what’s known as “tensegrity” – so we feel more stable and grounded and can stand for extended periods of time. This in turn strengthens the supporting structures and allows the body to open so the energy can flow.
We strive to stay relaxed… yet we also learn to focus our mind and intention. We stand still in our Wuji stance… yet the energy flows and tingles throughout our body.
In many of our forms (such as the Yi Jin Jing or Muscle-Tendon Changing Classic), we stretch to create structural tension on our ligaments, tendons, fasciae, bones, and muscles…then we release that tension into relaxation or into movement in another plane or direction.
Tension, relaxation, tension, relaxation…stretch, relax, stretch, relax…inhale, exhale, inhale, exhale…rhythmic cycle after cycle after cycle.
These instances of “micro” structural tension – relaxation cycles help condition us and improve our abilities to leverage creative tension in all areas of life, helping us bring into being the person we want to be and the contributions we want to make.
Practicing Qigong is a fun, wonderful, fulfilling, and minimal impact way to stretch and strengthen without the potential risk of injury from other exercise modalities.
In addition to moving forms, such as the Ba Duan Jin (Eight Pieces of Brocade) and Yi Jin Jing (Muscle-Tendon Changing Classic), standing practices also improve our strength and flexibility. In fact, as you progress in your Qigong, you will find that your standing practice, coupled with the internal work (Neigong) that you do while standing, becomes the more important and profound aspect of your practice and development.
Having said that, I also feel it critical to point out the following: Qigong practice alone is not enough!
This may go against the grain of some purists, but it’s true.
You must also include other types of strength and aerobic capacity-building exercise to help ensure you stay fit and strong, as well as help recover from or prevent the common injuries and complaints many people experience as they get older. We’re talking resilience against back problems, knee problems, osteoporosis, diabetes, early aging, etc., etc., etc. We’re talking improving your capacity to adapt. We’re talking quicker, easier recovery if you do become injured or ill.
Dynamic Energy Exercise
This is so important that, years ago, I developed an approach to fitness for myself that included the major components that help develop resilience, capacity, and improved health and energy. I called it “Dynamic Energy Exercise” and it proved so effective for me and my clients and students, that I actually registered it with the US Patent Office.
Dynamic Energy Exercise™ is an approach to exercise and wellbeing that integrates your body, mind, and spirit through the focal point of your breath. It leverages time-tested principles and techniques from Qigong and other energy disciplines, breathing methods and practices, and traditional martial arts. It’s grounded in years of study and teaching, rigorous and ongoing education in Medical Qigong and Classical Chinese Medicine, and continued practice and evolution. It’s extremely effective yet easy to learn and accessible to anyone.
Anyways, I mention this because I’ve learned from first-hand experience that following a well-rounded program is key to avoiding injuries, getting stronger and fitter, and staying younger and more energetic. Qigong and breathwork are at the heart of this type of program, of course. Then you want to add the other components. AND be efficient in your program so you’re not tasking yourself with having to work out all the time.
An example I am super familiar with is studying martial arts, especially more traditional approaches. For years I have studied Uechi-Ryu Karate (a traditional Okinawan style with roots in Southern China) and a traditional form of Tae Kwon Do. (I took some time off from martial arts when I became a mom but have been back in the saddle the past few years.)
My instructor, Grandmaster George Mattson, is considered the “Father of Uechi-Ryu Karate in America”, because he first brought Uechi to the U.S. back in the late 1950s, and over the years has run dojos, online schools, tournaments, and been a wonderful role model and ambassador of the style. Mattson Sensei continually stresses the importance of supplemental training as a complement and support to our Uechi-Ryu. In Uechi we train for fighting, self-defense capabilities, and self-development. We perform body conditioning and special breathing exercises. AND… we supplement this with exercises such as calisthenics, lifting and manipulating weights and weighted tools, and aerobic exercise to help build up our bodies.
Your Body is a Temple
Centuries ago, a wise sage traveled to a reknowned monastery to teach his version of Buddhism. When he arrived, he found the monks to be so focused on their spiritual practices, which involved copious time spent sitting and meditating, that they had allowed their bodies and health to deteriorate. The wise sage knew they would never reach their spiritual goals unless they also built up their physical and mental health and capacities.
And so (it is said), he developed the Yi Jin Jing (Muscle-Tendon Changing Classic) to help the monks build their strength and flexibility, begin to flow internal energy, and gain an appreciation for the physical aspect of their being. (This wise sage is also said to have developed a second classic Qigong practice, which we’ll get into at another time.)
The wise sage knew that the physical, mental/emotional, and spiritual are all tied together. In fact, many believe they are all…the same thing.
It would seem to make sense to embrace all three within your own health practice, wouldn’t it?
If you want to improve the functioning of your lungs and your ability to pull in more life-giving, energy-stoking oxygen, you need to focus on two major areas.
The first is to develop the muscles and structures that support proper, healthy breathing.
The lungs have no muscles of their own. Their expansion and contraction are completely dependent on the muscles surrounding the rib cage and the diaphragm. You need to build up the strength and coordination of the structures that support proper, full breathing.
The second major area that affects your breathing has to do with what goes on inside your lungs. This includes your vital capacity and the residual air that remains in your lungs when breathing. The size of the lungs varies from person to person. But each of your lungs is about the size of a football.
Isn’t that funny? The first time I heard that, I thought “My lungs aren’t that small!” A football just doesn’t seem that big to me.
Naturally, a larger person will have larger lungs than a smaller person. Men have larger lungs than women. So there are some natural limits to lung capacity.
However, lung size is not as important as the total capacity of your lungs that you can use. This usable portion is called your vital capacity. A well-conditioned person’s vital capacity is about 75 percent of his or her total capacity.
When you exhale, you breathe out all the air you can from your lungs. The remaining air is called the residual volume. This is air that remains fixed in your lungs. You may have heard it referred to as “stale air”.
Too much residual volume is unhealthy. If you are inactive for any length of time, or you have a respiratory condition that is not well-controlled, the unusable portion of your lungs may increase. This physically blocks off more of your airways, which leaves less space for normal breathing – and makes it even more difficult to breathe when exerting yourself. You may get to the point that just climbing a flight of stairs leaves you breathless.
Unless you do something, this breathlessness and chest tightness will keep getting worse and worse. These two key areas – developing the structures that support proper, healthy breathing and improving your vital capacity – are the same areas we work on with the dynamic energy exercises I teach in my classes and through my programs. We’re talking simple, ancient, time-tested breathing and energy exercises that work – AND leave you feeling great!
An effective fitness program can help you improve your ability to breathe, build your vital capacity, and reduce the residual volume. However, many people do not breathe correctly when they exercise. In fact, unless you seek out this information, you likely have not been taught how to breathe to maximize the results you get from exercise.
Increasing the efficiency of your breathing and your ability to allow things to open up in a relaxed manner is a surefire way to target, develop and maximize the work performed by your lungs, as well as the structures that support proper breathing. If you’re serious about improving your physical condition and your health, you should make it a point to focus on expanding your vital capacity and ability to breathe properly. This type of dynamic breathing exercise will help you get fit more quickly. And it provides the foundation for robust health and longevity. AND – key point – it makes you feel great!
If you’ve thought about exploring breathwork…you’re interested in developing your breathing ability…or you’d love to enhance your health and energy levels, try my Introductory Program, “Breathing & Qigong for Health and Energy – 4 Week Introductory Course“. This program will introduce you to a proven health and energy cultivation method impacting body, mind, and spirit. It’s easy to do and only takes a few minutes per day. I personally send you a new lesson each week, but you can learn and enjoy at your own pace. Click here for more details or to order.
What’s a surefire way to turbocharge your Qigong or Breathwork practice? The fastest and easiest way to balance the energies in your body?
It’s what we call “Tree Qigong” (or “Tree-Gong” for fun).
Your overall constitution, which is a huge driver of your health, resilience, outlook, energy levels, and how fast you age (or how young you remain), is a compilation of your three main energy centers or dan tien:
-Lower Dan Tien: Physical
-Middle Dan Tien: Mental and Emotional
-Upper Dan Tien: Spiritual
When you practice your Qigong and Breathwork, you are building up your constitution so you can be healthier, enjoy more energy, have a more positive attitude or outlook on life, and just generally be more adaptable and roll with the inevitable punches and problems of life.
And making Tree Qigong a regular part of your practice or self-cultivation is a wonderful way to fast-track your development. You’ll increase your awareness of energy and improve your ability to remove blockages or stagnation and open the energy channels that flow throughout your body.
When I provide my clients or patients with prescription exercises, I often recommend performing centering, grounding, and basic breathing exercises in the vicinity of trees. (For a wonderful introduction to these practices, as well as several other foundational energy exercises, check out this course. It will help you transform stress, center yourself, and improve your health and energy in four short weeks!)
Better yet, find a tree that resonates with you and get close to it. Standing in the vicinity of its roots and under its canopy helps create an energy capsule of protection and good feelings.
IMPORTANT: Don’t just walk up to a tree and begin doing your thing! Take a little time to “introduce yourself” energetically to the tree and see if you can sense how receptive it is (or is not) to your approach. If it’s not receptive, no worries, just find another tree (or come back another time). If it is receptive, spend a few minutes just sitting or standing with the tree so you can begin to pick up on its energy.
What Type of Tree Works Best?
Depends on what your current needs are. If you’re feeling down, lethargic, a little under the weather or blah…or you just can’t seem to get moving on important projects or work…work with a tree that is more YANG in nature.
Generally, this means trees that are fast-growing. Aspens, Weeping Willows, Poplars, and Cedars are all fast-growing trees. Here in Texas, the Sugar Bush or Hackberry tree is an excellent YANG companion. The Cedar (or Juniper) tree is a close second.
On the other hand, if you need to improve the health and energy of your internal organs, especially due to chronic issues or after surgery, chemo, or radiation…or if you’ve been feeling too scattered or hyper, ungrounded, and/or can’t seem to settle down and focus… work with a tree that is more YIN in nature.
Yin trees include most Oaks, Hickory, and Beech trees. These trees are slow-growing and take years to establish a tap-root and build their root structure before they begin to grow to any significant height. Therefore, any medium to large trees of this type (I’m thinking of the beautiful oaks and live oaks that are prevalent here in the Austin area) will make for an excellent YIN companion.
Here are a couple of MY favorite trees (friends) with whom I share energy and “Tree-Gong” on a regular basis:
This beautiful willow tree lives near Lake Travis in one of our more natural park settings. A stream and wetlands area are just to her left in the photo, so there are always a lot of birds and other critters around. When I’m feeling a little blah or like I need a pick-up, I hang here. The combination of the tree’s YANG energy and proximity to the lake combine to help energize and balance me.
This lovely, stately lady is one of my favorite trees. Her energy is just incredible, you can feel it walking toward her. She exudes calm, cool, healing YIN energy and is very receptive to sharing energy. For many years, she has provided a home and shelter to birds, squirrels, and other critters. I love to hang with her when I’m into serious cultivation or simply need a quiet space for reflection.
I encourage you to find your own tree or trees with which to practice your Qigong. It’s likely to become one of your favorite things to do!
The Washington Post published an article yesterday titled, “Living Near Green Spaces Could Add 2.5 Years to Your Life, New Research Finds” (you can read the article here).
They go on to discuss an article in the journal Science Advances which suggests long-term exposure to more greenery where you live can add an average of 2.5 years to your life. The study looked at long-term exposure to surrounding green spaces among a group of more than 900 people in four U.S. cities. They found that being near green space causes “biological or molecular changes that can be detected in our blood”.
Well, I’m happy that modern science continues to catch up with ancient medical wisdom. For centuries, our Classical Chinese Medicine (CCM) paradigm has educated us on the importance of staying close to nature. Taoist practices have had a major influence on CCM and Taoism is all about simplicity, staying close to nature, and following nature’s rhythms and cycles.
In CCM, we teach that the blood and the Qi are synonymous and how important it is that both flow without obstruction or stagnation. Blood and Qi are energy, information, communication, and alimentation (i.e., nourishment) for every structure in our bodies and brains. One of the wonderful benefits of our Qigong practice is an increase in the circulation of blood and qi along with a concurrent decrease in stagnation or blockages. So it’s interesting to hear of a study that identifies actual markers in the blood that indicate a younger biological age due to living closer to green spaces.
When I teach Qigong, I make sure that the participants and I center and ground in every single session. It’s such an important skill, not just in our energetic work – it’s an essential life skill too! As the students in my group and private classes will tell you, I often encourage them to go outside in their bare feet and engage in a few minutes of conscious breathing, centering, and grounding. It’s much easier to feel or become aware of the Yin energy coming up from the earth and to get into a grounded state when you connect directly with the ground. It’s such a pleasant, wonderful feeling too!
Say Hello to Your Big Friend
To turbo-charge your practice, choose a spot close to a tree. Stand with feet about shoulder width apart or in your Wuji posture and follow your
process of breathing, focusing inside, centering into the lower abdomen (or heart center if you prefer), and ground via the Kidney 1 (Bubbling Well) point in the bottom of each foot. Imagine your feet are projecting a tap root down into the earth, so you feel fully rooted. And see or sense your tap roots are becoming intertwined with the roots of the tree.
Feel the energies of your root system commingle with the energies of the tree’s root system. Then inhale deeply into your lower abdomen. At the same time, allow the Yin energy of the earth to come up through your roots and your Kidney 1 point, up through your legs, and into your lower abdomen (lower dan tien or energy center). Gently “fill up the bathtub” in your lower abdomen.
With each exhale, allow the energy to drop back down through Kidney 1 into the earth. As the energy drops, release and purge any unwanted stagnation, stiffness, tightness, blockages, emotional content, or thoughts that are not serving you well. Let it all drop into the earth.
Then take a fresh breath and repeat the cycle.
Obviously, there are some subtleties and finer points to doing this. But don’t worry about that for now. Keep things simple.
As you repeat cycles of inhalation and exhalation, pulling energy in and allowing energy to drop and release, you may get into a profound state of grounding. You are also sharing or cycling energy with your new friend, the tree. This results in profound physical, mental, and emotional benefits, which we will discuss in our next post.
In the meantime, get back to nature, find a new friend – er, tree – and allow yourself the pleasure of interacting in a whole new way.
Each New Year can feel like a new beginning. This man-made structure of the calendar, with its ritual ending of one year and beginning of another, serves most of us as a cue to take stock and reflect on the past 12 months…and think about what we want to manifest in the coming 12 months.
Many people make a New Year’s resolution – or multiple resolutions – at the beginning of each year. The expectation and potential of the new year combines with the reality that we came up short the previous year and propels us to think optimistically. “This year I will do it! This will be my year! This time I will stick to my diet / fitness program / new work habits / stop procrastinating / stop yelling at my kids” etc. etc.
Typically, these resolutions involve things we want to change about our lives in the coming year. Many folks start out strong. Unfortunately, as studies (and our own experience) have shown, most people drop their resolutions by about mid-February. In fact, it’s a truism in the fitness world that most gyms make their money on the people who sign up in late December or early January. The gyms are super crowded during the first four to six weeks of each new year, frustrating the regular gym-goers who now must compete with the newbies for the equipment or the spot in the group fitness class. However, by mid-February, the gyms are noticeably less crowded. Most of the newbies have stopped coming or come only occasionally. The regulars get back to their own routine and can snag the fitness class spot or piece of equipment they want with no problem.
If resolutions don’t work so well, what is a solution? What’s an alternative that works?
I encourage you to switch from making resolutions to setting intentions. An intention is a directed impulse of consciousness that contains the idea, the form of what you wish to create. Based on quantum physics, it is thought that each of our ideas or intentions broadcast out into the quantum realm of possibility, like the ripples or waves on the surface of the water that emanate out in all directions from the rock that you throw into the pond. Those waves of possibility move out to the future, charting a potential path for manifesting the reality of the intention into your life.
Some waves “bounce back” to us in the form of a material change in our lives. How successfully we manifest our intention depends on the strength of the wave we send out. The strength of the wave – whether a small ripple, a large surfing wave, or a tsunami – depends on two things: (1) How definite and clear our intention is – in other words, we have a clear, well-defined purpose or achievement or way of being; and (2) how much desire or emotion we have invested into that intention.
The wonderful thing about intentions is that they are not tied to the calendar. You may have an overall intention of getting into better shape, or feeling more energetic, or finally achieving a goal that has eluded you. And that’s great! Define it clearly AND allow the feeling associated with the intention to wash over you. Get enthusiastic about it. Feel as if you have already achieved it, or it has already come to you or happened to you. Bathe in that feeling and that vision regularly.
At the same time, set smaller intentions for each day that help support or feed into your larger intention. This is akin to setting “process” goals – or things you will do daily, weekly, or monthly, on a consistent basis – that help you accomplish your more substantial goals. When you link your bigger intentions to your daily activities, you keep that intention front and center. Each time you complete a task or smaller goal that supports a larger intention, you send out additional waves into the realm of possibility, further strengthening the probability that your intention will come true.
To have a momentous year, you don’t have to” set the world on fire”. You don’t need “massive action”. You simply need to go inside, take stock, consider what you really want – the thing or things with the most meaning to you – set the intention, and imbue it with feeling. Then set your supporting intentions and take the small, daily, consistent steps each day to help bring to fruition that which you wish to manifest in your life.
