Lesson 83 – How To Get “Unstuck” With 3 Qigong Exercises (Replay of Live Lesson)

Lesson 83 – How To Get “Unstuck” With 3 Qigong Exercises (Replay of Live Lesson)

This video shows you a gentle 20-minute Qigong routine to become “unstuck” with 3 Qigong exercises. If you physically feel as though you have stagnant Qi which can manifest as pain, cramp, congestion or digestive problems or mentally like you are “stuck in the mud”, depressed, anxious or unmotivated, why not try these three Qigong exercises to help relieve this feeling of stagnation?

This lesson was taught by myself, Dr. Janice Tucker, the founder of the Space To Relax Programme of Qigong video lessons.

These classes are free and everyone is welcome, however, if you’d like to contribute as a thank you for the class click here. 50% of donations will go to the ICU staff in my local hospital in Co. Kerry. The other 50% goes towards the upkeep of this website.

I have been teaching Qigong for two decades and am a practitioner of acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine. My passion is helping people just like you to develop skills, knowledge and tools to rebalance and maintain your health.

You can join my live classes on Zoom on the first Thursday of each month at 4 pm Irish time by clicking here (lesson replays are sent out by email in case you can’t make it).

How To Get “Unstuck” With 3 Qigong Exercises – Introduction

In our modern day world with our often hectic schedules of often trying to fit too many things into our busy schedules, it is common for us to feel “stuck”. This stuck feeling can manifest either:

  1. Physically – by way of pain, clots, cramps, headaches, premenstrual tension, digestive issues or sinus/chest congestion;
  2. Mentally/Emotionally – by way of brain fog, anger, feeling unmotivated, depressed, anxious or simply “stuck in the mud”.

This stuck feeling in terms of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) is described as stagnant Qi and can be caused by many factors, for example:

  • poor diet;
  • overeating;
  • too much screen time;
  • lack of physical movement;
  • stress;
  • excess alcohol;
  • toxins in the environment.

Three of the main systems in the body which are particularly subject to this feeling of stagnant Qi or “stuckness” are:

  • The Lung system – which when not functioning optimally can lead to a build-up of Qi in the chest manifesting as breathing difficulties, chest or sinus congestion.
  • The Spleen system – which when overcome by excess can lead to a heavy, bloated, “stuck in the mud” feeling, especially in the abdominal area as Spleen governs the whole of digestion in TCM terms.
  • The Liver system – which is responsible for the smooth flow of Qi so is often affected.

How To Get “Unstuck” With 3 Qigong Exercises – Method

  1. Begin by sitting or standing and performing a few abdominal breaths to bring yourself into the Qigong state.
  2. Release stagnant or stuck Qi in the chest and lungs with a chest opening exercise.
  3. Raising Up A Single Hand to release stuck Qi in the digestive and Spleen systems.
  4. “Polish the Table Top” and “Side Stretch” to relieve stuck Qi in the Liver system.
  5. Consolidate your practice with a few abdominal breaths.

The video replay of a live Qigong class shows you how to get “unstuck” with 3 Qigong exercises, focusing on the Lung, Spleen and Liver systems.

Additional Video Resources & Further Tips

In addition to this 20 minute Qigong routine for relieving stagnant Qi, you may find the routines listed below helpful.

You’ll find many other live lesson replays on my blog page. Take a look at some of them to find methods that you can easily combine with this one. You can use the search box on the blog page to find any topics you are interested in.

Click the image above to follow along with the Qigong class!

What Can I Do Next?

To sign up and attend the live online sessions please click here. Classes are free of charge and suitable if you’re a beginner or have more Qigong experience. After you sign up I’ll send details to your email with links to the Zoom classes. Check your junk/spam folders for notifications and then share this information with your family and friends as everyone is more than welcome.

If you’d like to take your practice to the next level with my structured, step-by-step Space To Relax Qigong programme of 50 video lessons accompanied by audio and PDF files with support from me every step of the way then click here.

To get my free part video series of 3 Qigong lessons which will be delivered to you by email over the course of one week please click here. In these lessons, you’ll learn more about abdominal breathing, Qi movement and how to rid waste Qi. This will help you to feel more relaxed and energised.

If you are new to Qigong you’ll probably find my Ultimate Guide To Health and Wellbeing With Qigong very helpful which explains the origins and benefits of Qigong along with 10 beginner Qigong exercises to get you started.

You can click the red “subscribe” button to join my YouTube channel. That way you won’t miss any future Qigong lessons from me.

Click here to join our Qigong group on Facebook.

Website homepage.

Lesson 77 – Qigong Springtime Stretching and Healing Sound For Liver (Replay of Live Zoom Class)

Lesson 77 – Qigong Springtime Stretching and Healing Sound For Liver (Replay of Live Zoom Class)

This video shows you some Qigong Springtime stretching and healing sound for Liver which is associated with the month of Spring. It was taught by myself, Dr. Janice Tucker, the founder of the Space To Relax Programme of Qigong video lessons.

Help Me Raise Money and Climb With Charlie (& dip in Ireland’s highest lake 😲🥶❄️)

My Qigong classes are free of charge but if you’d like to make a donation to a couple of worthy causes as a thank you then please read on……

On 3rd April 2022 I’ll be taking part in the fundraiser “Climb With Charlie“, a Climb with a Dip in Irelands Highest Lake. This is being organised by John and Michaela Edwards who run Wild Water Adventures here in Kerry. John is my swim coach and a lover of the outdoors!

100% of your donations for the month of March will go directly to Pieta and the Irish Motor Neurone Disease Association. Click HERE to donate and at the end of March I’ll donate the total we managed to raise and let you know how brilliant you are! 🥰

I have been teaching Qigong for two decades and am a practitioner of acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine. My passion is helping people just like you to develop skills, knowledge and tools to rebalance and maintain your health.

You can join my live classes on Zoom on the first Thursday of each month at 4 pm Irish time. Click here to join us (lesson replays sent out by email in case you can’t make it).

Qigong Springtime Stretching and Healing Sound For Liver – Introduction

In the northern hemisphere we are well and truly into Springtime which is the time when nature emerges from winter hibernation and resting and begins to grown and literally “Spring” into action. This is also the time of year when we humans begin to feel more active too. As the weather improves we are more inclined to be more active.

[If you live in the southern hemisphere and are currently moving into autumn then you can still practice this routine but you might also want to try this one for the Lung system, the organ system associated with autumn.]

In terms of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), Springtime is the associated season of the Liver system. If our Liver Qi is out of balance at this time then it will be apparent in the season of Spring, more than any other.

Our Liver system is responsible for the smooth flow of Qi and Blood (and emotions). Symptoms of imbalance in our Liver system include:

  • Neck and shoulder tension;
  • Muscle cramps;
  • Headaches and migraines;
  • One sided aches, pains and symptoms
  • Anger and frustration (the associated emotions of Liver).

The good news is that Qigong practice can help you transition smoothly from Winter into Springtime. In the video lesson on this page you can follow along with some simple beginner Qigong exercises to:

  1. Gently stretch the back, front and sides of your body to encourage the smooth flow of Qi.
  2. Use one of the Six Healing Sounds to help discharge (get rid of) waste or sick Qi from the body.

Qigong Springtime Stretching and Healing Sound For Liver – Method

  1. Adopt a Qigong Standing Posture.

  2. Settle into your practice with a few Abdominal Breaths.

  3. Gentle stretches for the back, front and sides of the body.

    Perform chest opening, upper back stretching and trapezius stretches.
    Twist and reach with your hands using the “Polishing the Table Top” movement to stimulate Qi flow through your Liver channel.
    Vibrate your body using the knees as springs and turning in the hips to stimulate Qi flow through your waist area.

  4. Healing Sound For the Liver (Xu).

  5. Consolidate your practice with a few abdominal breaths.

Additional Video Resources & Further Tips

You’ll find many other live lesson replays on my blog page. Take a look at some of them to find methods that you can easily combine with this one. You can use the search box on the blog page to find any topics you are interested in.

Click the image above to follow along with the Qigong class!

What Can I Do Next?

To sign up and attend the live online sessions please click here. Classes are free of charge and suitable if you’re a beginner or have more Qigong experience. After you sign up I’ll send details to your email with links to the Zoom classes. Check your junk/spam folders for notifications and then share this information with your family and friends as everyone is more than welcome.

If you’d like to take your practice to the next level with my structured, step-by-step Space To Relax Qigong programme of 50 video lessons accompanied by audio and PDF files with support from me every step of the way then click here.

To get my free part video series of 3 Qigong lessons which will be delivered to you by email over the course of one week please click here. In these lessons, you’ll learn more about abdominal breathing, Qi movement and how to rid waste Qi. This will help you to feel more relaxed and energised.

If you are new to Qigong you’ll probably find my Ultimate Guide To Health and Wellbeing With Qigong very helpful which explains the origins and benefits of Qigong along with 10 beginner Qigong exercises to get you started.

You can click the red “subscribe” button to join my YouTube channel. That way you won’t miss any future Qigong lessons from me.

Click here to join our Qigong group on Facebook.

Website homepage.

Qigong For Anger

Qigong For Anger

“Do you ever get angry?”
“No.”
“What, never?”
“No.”
“I don’t believe you!”
Over the past 18 years or so this has been a fairly common exchange between myself and my clients in the acupuncture clinic. The reason I don’t believe people who say they never get angry is that everyone does. The difference is that some people express it by shouting and screaming and some people bottle it up in the form of frustration, silent resentment or sulking. In the video today I’m going to share with you how to use Qigong for anger management, more specifically, for getting rid of anger in a healthy way.

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 on if  you are watching over there. That way you won’t miss my regular videos which are full of useful health enhancing tips. These videos will help you to improve your health and prevent illness from arising in the first place. Also please give this video a “Like” if you found it informative.

How Does Anger Affect Us?

Anger is the emotion associated with the “Liver” organ system in Qigong. The Liver system is responsible for the smooth flow of Qi on all levels (physical, mental, spiritual, emotional). If anger is excessive it impacts on the healthy functioning of the Liver system which can result in many health problems such as:

• feeling a lump in the throat;
• abdominal distension;
• eye problems;
• tendon stiffness and inflexibility;
• digestive issues;
• pre-menstrual tension in women;
• lumps in the breasts or breast tenderness in women;
• tinnitus;
• headaches;
• brittle nails;
• muscle cramps and spasms;
• lack of direction and organisation in life.

As you can see it’s not a good thing to be experience and out of balance Liver system!

The Solution – Qigong For Anger

Qigong for anger management is perfect as the methods in general encourage your mind to be calm and relaxed, the very opposite of anger! However there are a couple of methods which are particularly useful to help you regulate anger more specifically.

1. Ba Duan Jin Exercise
This is one exercise from an 8 part series of Qigong exercises called the Ba Duan Jin or 8 Pieces of Brocade. It’s a very famous series of Qigong exercises and this particular one is a perfect method of Qigong for anger because it helps the Liver system. It thereby helps to combat the damaging effects of anger your body and mind.

This movement is called “Open Eyes Wide With Clenched Fists”. The position for this Qigong exercise is a horse stance. Step out into a horse stance that is comfortable for you, as wide or as narrow as you want. Check that the knees are not dropping inwards and are pushed out over the toes. Tuck the pelvis in under your body to make the lower back flat. Both hands rest on the hips, with loose fists and the palms facing upwards. The chest is pulled back slightly and you are nice and tall, with length in the back of the neck.

Women begin with the right hand and men with the left hand. Move the first hand out in front of you with a gentle punching action and as you extend it, at the end, twist the arm so the back of the hand ends up facing uppermost. Bring the fist back, turning the palm upwards as you draw it back in. Repeat with the other arm, extending the arm outwards and looking at the fist. Pull the arm back, twisting it back into the starting position on the hip.

The movement for this punching action actually comes from your hips. You need to twist in the whole body as you make the punching action, looking at the fist. The movement of the hip then draws the punch back. The hip turns and pushes the arm out. Look the fist. The hip then turns, drawing the arm back in towards the body.

Breathing
Breathe in before you begin. Exhale as you punch. Breathe in as you draw the arm back to the hip.

2. Watch my previous video, “Getting Rid of the Negative With Qigong Breathing Exercises“:

In this method you pick one thing that you want to release from your body or mind. In this case pick the emotion of anger and breathe it out using the technique shown in the video.

3. Practice any moving Qigong exercise.

Moving Qigong methods promote the smooth flow of Qi and thereby help to disperse the emotion of anger.

What Do I Do Next?

If you would like to start using Qigong for anger then:

1. Head over to my Space To Relax homepage. There you can sign up for a free 3 part video series of Qigong lessons. Lesson 1 will teach you how to breathe more efficiently and calm your mind with Abdominal Breathing. Lesson 2 is the perfect moving Qigong exercise to perform and promote the smooth flow of Qi. In Lesson 3 you will learn how to rid waste Qi (in this case in the form of anger) from your body.

2. 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. Also please give this video a “Like” and share with me in the comments box what you do to help dispel anger in a healthy way.

3. Join my free Facebook group, “Space To Relax Free Group” and leave any comments or questions for me there. I’ll be happy to answer them. Also, by joining this group, you will receive regular posts of Qigong articles and videos with really useful tips about how to use Qigong to improve your state of health.

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Get Rid of the Negative with Qigong Breathing Exercises

Get Rid of the Negative with Qigong Breathing Exercises

In this blog I’m going to explain how, in Qigong, you can use your breath and your mind together to inhale really good stuff and exhale really bad stuff that we don’t need in our bodies or in our minds. The essence of Qigong is to use your breath and your mind together. You can therefore “get rid of the negative” with Qigong breathing exercises.

My name is Janice Tucker.  I’m a Chinese Medicine and Medical Qigong practitioner. I’m also the founder of the online programme, Space To Relax, where you can learn Qigong lessons in order to better manage your health.

Think about this quote from Thich Nhat Hanh, the famous Vietnamese Buddhist monk:

Breathing in, I calm my body and mind
Breathing out, I smile
Dwelling in the present moment
The only moment.

What this means, from a Qigong perspective, is that, as you breathe in be calm and clear. As you breathe out, relax and smile. The only thing you are doing during this breathing is concentrating on your breath and observing where you are in the present moment. This is something that no many of us do on a regular basis.

Another, more humorous, quote to consider is:

Breathe in the good shit
Breathe out the bullshit!

This is not quite such a serene way of thinking about things as the first quote but it certainly gets to the point.
To summarise, when you are breathing in, think of breathing in good, clean, fresh energising air (Qi). As you breathe out, think of getting rid of anything you don’t want. This could be an ache, pain or other physical feeling. It could also be something more emotional or mental in origin, for example, anger, frustration, sadness, grief, fear, anxiety.

You can use your breathing to help dispel anything negative from your body or mind. Very importantly, visualise the negative thing actually leaving your body, leaving your nostrils as you breathe out. You can imagine the negative thing floating away from you and up into the sky so that it moves well away from you.

Simple Qigong breathing exercises like this can make a massive difference to your day to day life. All you have to do is stop for less than a minute, practice these exercises and be mindful of your breath. Breathe in the good stuff and breathing out the bad stuff while staying in the present moment. During the course of the day this can make very fine, positive adjustments to how you feel as your day goes by.

If you would like to learn more Qigong breathing exercises and meditation techniques then head over to the Space To Relax homepage. There you can download a free Qigong meditation which will calm your mind in 8 minutes. You can also sign up for a free 3-part Qigong video series where you will learn more about the Qigong breathing exercises and a couple of other great methods to help get rid the negative stuff from your mind and body.

For more videos like this you can subscribe to my YouTube channel here (and please also give this video a “like”).

I’d love to hear from you so why not head over to Facebook and join my Space To Relax Free Group. Leave a comment there to let me know how you got on and tell me what you do to get rid of negative feelings in your mind or body during the course of the day.