Recently I asked the members of my “Space To Relax Free Group” on Facebook what they would like to learn about regarding Qigong and how it can help them. One great suggestion from Kathy was about how to stay motivated, on track and avoid slipping back into bad habits. This is such a great question! Today I’m going to be talking to you about how to stay motivated and also how to use Qigong for motivation.
Janice Tucker is a practitioner of Traditional Chinese Medicine and Medical Qigong, and the founder of the Space To Relax online programme of Qigong video lessons.
Please don’t forget to subscribe to my YouTube channel by clicking the red “Subscribe” button above so you don’t miss my regular videos which are full of useful health enhancing tips. These videos will help you to benefit your health and prevent illness from arising in the first place. Also please give this video a “Like” if you found it informative.
My 7 Top Methods Using Qigong For Motivation
1. Choose something you like to do
To stay motivated for Qigong or any other exercise it is important to choose something that you like to do. By now many of you will have access to a number of Qigong methods. Choose your favourites as then you are more likely to maintain your practice.
2. Pick a regular time to practice
It is easier to stay on track with Qigong (or any good habit) if you pick the same time every day to practice. First thing in the morning works best for me as then my practice is done and I have set myself up in the best possible way for the rest of the day. Also, if I have more time at the end of the day, I’ll do more. A regular practice time will really help you to stay on track. Once you can do this, you will see how you can use Qigong for motivation in other areas of your life.
3. Keep a record of you observations
Keeping a diary or journal of your observations will allow you to see how much progress you are making. Once a few weeks have passed and you look at your journal you will see the difference between where you were before and where you are right now.
4. Practice with friends and family
Certainly with Qigong there is huge benefit in practising with friends and family. The presence of a group enhances the “Qi field” (see my blog on “What is a Qi Field?“) of everyone practising. Similarly, with other exercise such as walking, running, cycling, it is much easier to do it and stay motivated as you can encourage one another.
5. Celebrate your successes
Don’t give yourself a hard time if you don’t practice or exercise every single day. Instead focus on all the good things that you are doing. If you have set yourself a milestone, e.g. to practice 10 minutes of Qigong every day for one week, then when you achieve this CELEBRATE! Go out and do something that you love to do to celebrate that milestone. This is important.
6. Be kind to yourself
If you miss a couple of days of practice, don’t give yourself a hard time. Simply get back on track as soon as possible. Realise that you are only human. You are not a robot. You can pick up your goal and resume progressing towards it as soon as possible.
7. Start small to get motivated
If you find you have no motivation to get going then pick the tiniest thing that you feel you would like to do and just do that. Start with a small thing and build it up slowly. Over time you will find that things do get easier for you to carry forward with some momentum.
If you want to start small and learn some Qigong by practising for a few minutes each day, or getting really clever, and learning how to integrate Qigong into your day then head over to the Space To Relax homepage. There you can sign up to receive three free video lessons which will be delivered to you by e-mail over the course of a few days. Also, for a free audio meditation “Calm Your Busy Mind In 8 Minutes” scroll to the bottom of the Space To Relax homepage to sign up for that.
I’d love to hear what you do to stay motivated. What do you do to stop yourself from slipping back into bad habits? How do you use Qigong for motivation? You can head over to my free group on Facebook, “Space To Relax Free Group” and leave any comments or questions for me there. I’ll be happy to answer them. Also, you will receive regular postings with useful tips about how to use Qigong to improve your state of health.
Please don’t forget to subscribe to my YouTube channel by clicking the red “Subscribe” button on my channel page. That way, you won’t miss my regular videos which are full of useful health enhancing tips. Also please give this video a “Like” if you learned much more about how to use Qigong for self care.
Recently I asked members of my free Facebook group what they would like me to talk about in my videos. One great suggestion was how to use Qigong to help with self care and learning how to like ourselves again. Often we may give ourselves a hard time about certain things. We can feel we are not good enough and we don’t really like ourselves very much! If you feel like this, I can tell you, you are not alone. This is what I’ll be telling you about today; how we can use Qigong to overcome some of these feelings.
Janice Tucker is a practitioner of Traditional Chinese Medicine and Medical Qigong. She is also the founder of the Space To Relax online programme of Qigong video lessons.
Please head over to subscribe to my YouTube channel by clicking the red “Subscribe” button. That way you won’t miss my regular videos which are full of useful health enhancing tips. These videos will help you to benefit your health and prevent illness from arising in the first place. Also please give this video a “Like” if you found it informative.
What Do Stagnant Emotions Feel Like?
If you find that you beat yourself up, feel that you are not good enough or give yourself a hard time over you actions, lack of actions, bad habits, what you say or what you do then take solace in the fact that this is very common.
In terms of Chinese Medicine, our emotions and what we feel are a manifestation of our Qi (energy). They are a reflection of what is going on with the Qi in our bodies. Physical stagnation and the blockage of Qi flow can cause physical pain. In the same way the blockage of Qi can also cause a blockage or stagnation of emotions. This can result in us feeling unworthy, not good enough, frustrated, like we could do better in our job, relationships, our life in general.
How Does Qigong Help Smooth The Flow Of Emotions?
Qigong promotes the smooth flow of Qi in both the physical body (to relieve pain) but also acts to smooth your emotions. The result is that you feel calm, settled and comfortable within yourself.
Qigong also enables you to realise that there is no separation between you and nature or the environment. You are part of your environment. If you look around and see how beautiful nature is then realise that you are part of that. You can’t really be separated from it. You can blend your own Qi with the Qi of nature. Take more time to look around you and observe the beauty around you. That will create feelings of joy as you live in that present moment. You stop thinking so much about yourself and start thinking about everything as part of the whole environment.
What Can I Do Next?
All you have to do to overcome and work through these feelings is to practice a little Qigong (around 10 minutes) every day.
If this is something you want to do then you can sign up on the homepage to receive three free video lessons which will be delivered to you by e-mail over the course of a few days. Also for a free audio meditation “Calm Your Busy Mind In 8 Minutes” scroll to the bottom of the Space To Relax homepage to sign up for that. The meditation is excellent for those of you who experience feelings of not liking yourself because you get to work with your Qi in a way that takes you away from your negative thoughts.
I’d love to hear how you are getting on. You can head over to my free group on Facebook, “Space To Relax Free Group” and leave any questions for me there. I’ll be happy to answer them. Also, by joining this group, you will receive regular postings of Qigong articles and videos with really useful tips about how to use Qigong to improve your state of health.
Please don’t forget to subscribe to my YouTube channel by clicking the red “Subscribe” button above so you don’t miss my regular videos which are full of useful health enhancing tips. Also please give this video a “Like” if you learned much more about how to use Qigong for self care.
Happy New Year! This is traditionally the time of year when everyone wants to get fit and healthy. We want to get rid of the indulgences and excesses of the holiday period. This is what I’ll be showing you in this post. I have a special treat which is how to use Qigong for cleansing.
This exercise is in the paid programme of Space To Relax online video lessons. It’s very quick and easy to perform and will take you around 2 minutes once you become familiar with the sequence of movements. Watch the video and follow along. You need to be in a standing position. Note how you feel before and after the exercise. I think you’ll agree that this is a great way to use Qigong for cleansing your body and mind.
Janice Tucker is a practitioner of Traditional Chinese Medicine and Medical Qigong, and the founder of the Space To Relax online programme of Qigong video lessons.
Please don’t forget to subscribe to my YouTube channel by clicking the red “Subscribe” button so you don’t miss my regular videos which are full of useful health enhancing tips. These videos will help you to benefit your health and prevent illness from arising in the first place. Also please give this video a “Like” if you found it informative.
Method For Discharging Waste Qi With External Movement
1. Rub hands together until they feel hot.
2. Touch hands with palms together.
3. Think of fingertips and energy in palms.
4. Rub face – should feel temperature in hands and tingling/electricity. Massage face up and down 9x, not only on surface but into deep layers. Do it well and it will have cosmetic effects as it has same frequency as your body – you can’t buy this!
5. Comb forehead and then flatten hands around the back of neck.
6. Rub chest and abdomen up and down to adjust Qi in 3 upper, middle and lower areas of body. 9x
7. Rub chest horizontally. If upset with stuffy chest breathe out after this to discharge all emotion. 9x.
8. Rub abdomen horizontally 9x.
9. Rub kidneys with back of hands in circular movement. Start with large circle decreasing to small and then small circle increasing to large. Then press very hard and deep – release once uncomfortable. 9x in and 9x out.
10. Relax shoulders and shake off arms 9x.
11. Relax waist and hip joint. Bend knees. Men move to left first and women to right. Move waist and spine. The spine is a very important pathway in body. Turning neck here also helps to turn the whole spine to make it move and open up. 9x (once left and right = 1x). Turn as far as is comfortable but to cause a bit of stretching. As you turn look at back of heel.
12. Relax knees. Bend knees, at the same time bend elbows, lifting hands towards shoulders in a relaxed way. As you do this exhale. Repeat for 9x.
13. Relax ankles. Men circle left first and women right. 9x each ankle.
What Do I Do Next?
Learn the sequence of movements and practice this daily because this is the best way in which to maximise Qigong for cleansing the body, especially at the end of the day or anytime you feel tired.
Similarly, there is another way to use Qigong for cleansing (especially after alcohol consumption) in one of my previous blogs so you might want to take a look at that too. It’s called “Combatting Excess With the Ba Duan Jin“.
If you loved this exercise and want to take your Qigong practice to a whole other level of experience then head over to the website and take a look at the information on becoming a Space To Relax member.
Alternatively, if you are undecided about joining Space To Relax you can sign up on the homepage to receive three free video lessons which will be delivered to you by e-mail over the course of a few days. Also for a free audio meditation “Calm Your Busy Mind In 8 Minutes” scroll to the bottom of the Space To Relax homepage to sign up for that.
Also, please don’t forget to subscribe to my YouTube channel by clicking the red “Subscribe” button so you don’t miss my regular videos which are full of useful health enhancing tips and furthermore give this video a “Like” if you learned much more about utilising Qigong for cleansing.
In addition, you can head over to my free group on Facebook, “Space To Relax Free Group” and leave any questions for me there. I’ll be happy to answer them. Also, by joining this group, you will receive regular postings of Qigong articles and videos with really useful tips about how to use Qigong to improve your state of health.
Finally, please leave a comment in the comments box next to this video if you now have a clearer direction in which to go to use Qigong for cleansing and detoxification! I’d love to hear your tips as to what you do to feel better after overindulging in food and drink. If we all share our ideas then we can all help each other to regain the balance that’s needed in order to feel healthy and supercharged with energy! 🙂
This week’s video has a topical theme coming up to Christmas and the holiday season. Of course many people love Christmas but I also meet those who don’t. The reason for this is that they get together with the family and very quickly start to feel a sensation of claustrophobia and stress. People start niggling at each other which makes them want to get out of the situation. They need a bit of space. Myself and my best friend describe this feeling as a feeling of being “peopled out”. When you are “peopled out” you feel like you have had too many people around you for too long! In the video above I talk to you about how to use Qigong for stress relief so that you can cope with the “peopled out” feeling and attain peace of mind over the holiday period.
Please don’t forget to subscribe to my YouTube channel by clicking the red “Subscribe” button above so you don’t miss my regular videos which are full of useful health enhancing tips. These videos will help you to benefit your health and prevent illness from arising in the first place. Also please give this video a “Like” if you found it informative.
The “Peopled Out” Feeling
When I asked my best friend to describe the “peopled out” feeling she sent me an e-mail with the following superb description of what it is like for her. Is there any trigger, feeling or thought you can identify below?
Triggers
1. Multiple people are demanding things of me simultaneously, without consideration for my priorities.
2. People trying to help me do something that I am perfectly capable of doing.
3. Feeling that I need to engage in small-talk conversations.
4. I have not been able to go outside / have not seen the sky (at least once a day).
5. I am physically uncomfortable (e.g. sore back, stomach ache).
Feelings
• Irritated
• Anxious
• Snappy
• Crowded
• As though I am a pressure cooker on simmer, aware that I need to release the pressure valve or an explosion may occur!!
• Mortified if I do ‘explode’
• Self conscious (exposed), everyone can see how inept and unpleasant I am.
Thoughts
• Rapid re-planning of the “to do list” that I carry around in my head in order to “fit in” others’ priorities, so lots of playing out of scenarios in my head.
• Lots of “I have to…” thoughts (when I really don’t have to!)
• Resentful thoughts about why these people have to be in my space when all I want to do is…..
• Guilty thoughts about having resentful thoughts
• Resentful thought about how “these people” make me feel guilty
• I don’t fit in, I’m not normal
• I’m odd
From the above description you can see how these feelings and thoughts can trigger each other. Before you know it you end up in a vicious spiral connected to having people around you the whole time when you are not comfortable.
Top Tactics To Deal With Feeling “Peopled Out”
1. Get up early (before everyone else) so as to have some alone time, outside – do some tai chi or Qigong (avoid an audience!). Stay up later than everyone else
2. Make excuse that dog needs a walk or I just have to run over to the neighbour to return something.
3. Reiterate my preferences about doing my own ‘chores’ (as they are actually fun for me). Politely reject offers of ‘help’ explaining that this is what I do for relaxation and please don’t take it away from me.
4. Avoid large social gatherings. Certainly avoid hosting large social gatherings.
5. Qigong for Stress Relief: Abdominal Breathing (Lesson 1 in the free Space To Relax Video Series).
6. Qigong for Stress Relief: Discharge Waste Qi With Vibration (Lesson 3 in the free Space To Relax Video Series).
What Do I Do Next?
If you would like to learn more about how to use Qigong for stress relief and the feeling of being “peopled out” you can sign up on the Space To Relax homepage to receive three free video lessons which will be delivered to you by e-mail. Also for a free audio meditation “Calm Your Busy Mind In 8 Minutes” scroll to the bottom of the Space To Relax homepage to sign up for that.
Please don’t forget to subscribe to my YouTube channel by clicking the red “Subscribe” button above so you don’t miss my regular videos which are full of useful health enhancing tips. Also please give this video a “Like” if you learned much more about utilising Qigong for stress relief.
You can head over to my free group on Facebook, “Space To Relax Free Group” and leave any questions for me there. I’ll be happy to answer them. Also, by joining this group, you will receive regular postings of Qigong articles and videos with really useful tips about how to use Qigong to improve your state of health.
Please leave a comment in the comments box next to this video if you now have a clearer direction in which to go to use Qigong for stress and too many people around you!. I’d love to hear your tips as to what you do to minimise the “peopled out” feeling and how you use Qigong for stress relief. If we all share our ideas then we can all help each other to find peace of mind and enjoy the holiday season which is what it’s all about! 🙂
I recently asked my Space To Relax Free Group members on Facebook what they would like to see videos about. Three of our members suggested I make a video about how to use Qigong for fibromyalgia and its management.
What is Fibromyalgia?
Fibromyalgia is classified as a syndrome. This means it can involve a number of different symptoms. It’s often misdiagnosed or takes a long time to be diagnosed. This often means that patients have gone through many tests before they are diagnosed with this condition.
Fibromyalgia is a condition that I have often treated in my Chinese medicine and acupuncture clinic. I’m also familiar with using Qigong for fibromyalgia management.
Symptoms of Fibromyalgia
Symptoms can present as widespread pain, anxiety, fatigue, sleep disruption and gastrointestinal symptoms. In my experience anxiety, sleep problems and muscle pains appear to be the three main symptoms that people are struggling with.
The Two Main Areas Of Focus When Using Qigong For Fibromyalgia Management
1. Relaxation
2. Releasing the areas where the Qi is blocked (the areas of pain).
Results from Dalhousie University Study Using Qigong To Reduce Fibromyalgia Symptoms
This study was carried out in 2014 and published in the “Evidence Based Complementary & Alternative Medicine Journal”.
The study group included 100 people. Half were taught Qigong by a Qigong teacher for three and a half days. They were then instructed to practice Qigong for 45-60 minutes per day for 8 weeks. Half were told they were to be put on a waiting list to learn Qigong (the control group).
After 8 weeks the Qigong group reported a significant reduction in pain levels, anxiety levels and an improvement in sleep quality and ability to function. In addition, 4-6 months later the benefits continued.
One of the authors gave the reason for this as “the mindful, meditative state releases neurochemical and immunological messengers that improve healing and reduce pain“.
For those of you who want to read the article please go to:
1. For pains and aches. Stretch and extend the arms out to the sides at shoulder level as you breathe out and then gather Qi in with the arms as you breathe in to use the healing properties of Qi to relieve your aches and pains.
2. To improve the general flow of Qi . Circles exercise – Lesson 2 in the Space To Relax free 3 part video series (more details below).
3. For sleep and anxiety. Free 8 minute meditation: “Calm Your Busy Mind in 8 Minutes” at the bottom of the Space To Relax homepage.
5. For emotional pain (depression/anxiety). Discharge Waste Qi exercise – Lesson 3 in the Space To Relax free 3 part video series (more details below). You can any emotion or physical pain that you don’t want in your body and quickly get rid of it using this Qigong exercise.
7. For anxiety and increasing energy levels. Qigong Abdominal Breathing – Lesson 1 in the Space To Relax free 3 part video series (more details below) and there is an extract of an Abdominal Breathing exercise on the Space To Relax programme page.
For Space To Relax paying members there are specific lessons in the programme which will help you. I recommend Lessons 7 & 8 (Yi Tai Stretches), 11-19 (Ba Duan Jin), 45-47 (Walking Qigong).
What Do I Do Next?
If you would like to start using Qigong for fibromyalgia relief you can sign up on the Space To Relax homepage to receive three free video lessons which will be delivered to you by e-mail. For the free audio meditation “Calm Your Busy Mind In 8 Minutes” scroll to the bottom of the Space To Relax homepage to sign up for that.
Also you can head over to my free group on Facebook, “Space To Relax Free Group“. Here you can leave any questions for me there and I’ll be happy to answer them. You will also receive regular postings of Qigong articles and videos with useful tips about how to use Qigong to improve your state of health.
Please leave a comment in the comments box next to this video if you now have a clearer direction in which to go to use Qigong for fibromyalgia and its management. Also I’d love to hear what you do to minimise the symptoms of fibromyalgia if you have this condition.
Please don’t forget to subscribe to my YouTube channel by clicking the red “Subscribe” button above so you don’t miss my regular videos which are full of useful health enhancing tips.
Also please give this video a “Like” if you learned much more about utilising Qigong for fibromyalgia.
