This is a replay of a live session showing you a Qigong routine for Spring, taught by myself, Dr. Janice Tucker. I have been teaching Qigong for two decades and am the founder of the Space To Relax Programme of Qigong video lessons. I’m also a practitioner of acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine. You can join my live classes on Zoom every Thursday at 4 pm Irish time. Click here to join us (lesson replays sent out by email in case you can’t make it).
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.
Qigong For Back Problems – Introduction
I think you’ll agree that very few of us go through our lives experiencing no issues with our backs. At one time or another we may injure our backs lifting something too heavy. Many people around the world suffer from arthritis of the spine. Our jobs may involve lifting or sitting at a desk for long periods of time which can be detrimental to our posture and have a detrimental impact on our back health. The long and short of it is that back problems are common!
In this video you can follow along with some simple methods of Qigong for back problems and learn how to help relieve aches, pains and stiffness in your back.
Qigong Routine
1. Begin with adopting the correct Qigong stance so that your posture allows for the free flow Qi and blood throughout the whole spine (more details here).
2. Use Abdominal Breathing to calm the mind and prepare yourself for your practice, focusing on the back of the Dan Tian area around the lower back (more details here).
3. Holding your arms at shoulder level, move the arms in and out, rounding and extending the upper back as shown in the video. Remember to breathe and smile! 🙂
4. Relax your arms by your sides, turning from one side to the other, allowing your arms to tap the back of the body as you are moving. 🙂
5. Perform the “Looking Back Over Shoulder” method which is part of the Ba Duan Jin (8 Pieces of Brocade) method. This exercise regulates everything, especially the spine and the thighs. It is useful in the prevention of painful twisting and distortion of the spine. You can also help calm your nervous system and aid recovery from fatigue as well as regulate visceral Qi and blood. Looking Back Over Shoulder can help in the prevention and management of hypertension (high blood pressure). This exercise also benefits the eyes (because we look back). Headaches will also often be reduced.
6. Massage the lower back, buttocks and hamstrings to bring more circulation into these areas.
7. End this routine with a few abdominal breaths.
For more information on Qigong for back problems please refer to my previous video here. This gives you more detail on the “Looking Back Over Shoulder” method.
Previous Live Lesson Replays
Previous live lesson replays are listed below and can be found on my blog page.
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. Once you sign up I’ll send details to your email with links to the Zoom classes (check your junk/spam folders for notifications). Please 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 go to my homepage. In these lessons you’ll learn more about abdominal breathing and Qi movement. In addition, you’ll learn how to rid waste Qi from your body order to feel more relaxed and energised.
You can also click the red “subscribe” button to join my YouTube channel. That way, you won’t miss any future Qigong lessons from me.
This is a replay of a live session showing you a Qigong routine for Spring, taught by myself, Dr. Janice Tucker. I have been teaching Qigong for two decades and am the founder of the Space To Relax Programme of Qigong video lessons. I’m also a practitioner of acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine. You can join my live classes on Zoom every Thursday at 4 pm Irish time. Click here to join us (lesson replays sent out by email in case you can’t make it).
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.
Qigong Evening Practice – Introduction
For a Qigong evening practice you are looking to encourage a state in which you mind is calm and your body is relaxed. You also want to rid any “waste” Qi which may have accumulated during your daily activities. This will then enable you to enjoy restful sleep, waking up the next morning feeling refreshed and ready to take on the day!
In this video you can follow along with a simple Qigong evening practice.
1. Begin with Abdominal Breathing to calm the mind and prepare yourself for your practice (more details here).
2. Discharge waste Qi which may have accumulated during the day with vibrating movements of the body. This is like taking a shower on the inside of your body and mind to leave you feeling clear-minded. A more detailed explanation of this method is in Lesson 3 of my Space To Relax free video series which you can get here.
3. Relax, Expand and Nourish the Heart method is one of the best Qigong methods I know of to help if you are having difficulty sleeping. Follow along with this method in more detail here. Don’t forget to smile! 🙂
4. Come back to your abdominal breathing and observe how you feel.
Previous Live Lesson Replays
Previous live lesson replays are listed below and can be found on my blog page.
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. Once you sign up I’ll send details to your email with links to the Zoom classes (check your junk/spam folders for notifications). Please 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 go to my homepage. In these lessons you’ll learn more about abdominal breathing and Qi movement. You’ll also learn how to rid waste Qi from your body order to feel more relaxed and energised.
You can also click the red “subscribe” button to join my YouTube channel. That way, you won’t miss any future Qigong lessons from me.
This is a replay of a live session showing you a Qigong routine for Spring, taught by myself, Dr. Janice Tucker. I have been teaching Qigong for two decades and am the founder of the Space To Relax Programme of Qigong video lessons. I’m also a practitioner of acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine. You can join my live classes on Zoom every Thursday at 4 pm Irish time. Click here to join us (lesson replays sent out by email in case you can’t make it).
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.
Qigong Morning Practice – Introduction
In this video you can follow along with a simple Qigong morning practice.
1. Begin with Abdominal Breathing to calm the mind and prepare yourself for your practice (more details here);
2. Rub the palms of the hands together until they become hot. Place the palms over your face and massage your face feeling the heat from your hands;
3. Perform neck and shoulder stretches using the mind and the breath to lead these movements (learn the full sequence here). Don’t forget to smile! 🙂
4. Perform a few repetitions (as many as time will allow you) of the “Circles” method (more details here).
5. Perform a few repetitions of groin stretch, knee bends and ankle circles.
6. Come back to your abdominal breathing and observe how you feel.
Previous Live Lesson Replays
Previous live lesson replays are listed below and can be found on my blog page.
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. Once you sign up I’ll send details to your email with links to the Zoom classes (check your junk/spam folders for notifications). Please 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 go to my homepage. In these lessons you’ll learn more about abdominal breathing and Qi movement. You’ll also learn how to rid waste Qi from your body order to feel more relaxed and energised.
You can also click the red “subscribe” button to join my YouTube channel. That way, you won’t miss any future Qigong lessons from me.
Qigong is the practice of co-ordinating your movement, breath and mind to promote the free flow of energy (Qi) around your body. In this way the body can heal itself and come back into a healthy balance. One of the difficulties my students experience is how to focus during Qigong and stay relaxed enough to allow for the open flow of Qi. They often find it hard to balance the mind, the breath and the movement with the relaxation that is necessary in order to promote unimpeded Qi flow. This video on how to focus during Qigong will show you exactly how to do this.
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 don’t forget to subscribe to my YouTube channel 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.
How To Focus During Qigong Practice
1. “Sloppy”, casual focus of your mind
Pay “sloppy” almost casual focus with your mind to what you are doing. Do not concentrate with a “laser beam” focus on what you are trying to do. Rather, pay fleeting attention to your movements and breath, then let it go.
2. Observe
Observe what is happening as though you are watching and playing no part. You are simply observing the exercise, the flow of Qi, the breath and sensations in your body.
3. Relax and breathe
All you are doing is allowing, making a clear pathway for the Qi to flow. You do this by relaxing. Relaxation is the key.
4. The Qi Reorders Itself
By relaxing the Qi reorders itself because you are not doing anything to block this from happening.
5. Health and balance are restored
Once the Qi has reordered itself this promotes the self-healing mechanisms in your body and mind so that your physical, mental and emotional health come back in to equilibrium.
Summary
If you focus too much, like a laser beam, all you will do is give yourself a headache. Don’t try to force things too much. You are not moving the Qi with your body, breath or mind. The more you try to force things to happen the more the Qi stagnates. You are simply relaxing and breathing, paying casual attention so that the pathways along which Qi can flow become more open, unobstructed and unimpeded. It should feel effortless, calm and relaxed. This is the whole essence of how to focus during Qigong practice.
What Do I Do Next?
So, now you know how to focus during Qigong practice why not give it a go by heading 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.
You can also 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, by joining this group, you will receive regular Qigong articles and videos with useful tips about how to use Qigong to improve your state of health.
Please don’t forget to subscribe to my YouTube channel 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 focus during Qigong practice.
This video explains your Qi field and the importance of making sure you do your best to only come into contact with positive, healthy Qi fields in your environment.
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.
It may be viewed by some as “woo-woo” or “out there” when we talk about your Qi field. Very simply, your Qi is your energy (although there is much more to it than that). This energy is inside your body, at the surface of your body and can extend beyond your body. The part that extends beyond your body is your Qi field.
In Medical Qigong your Qi field is simply an extension of your Qi beyond your physical body.
Consider this quote from Thich Nhat Hanh:
“Every feeling is a field of energy. A pleasant feeling is an energy which can nourish.”
We can pick up pleasant feelings around pleasant fields of energy and unpleasant feelings around unpleasant fields of energy. You know this already because if you walk into certain environments or rooms you will pick up a vibe, one way or the other, about whether that environment feels good or not. If it feels good it creates a pleasant feeling because it has a pleasant field of energy around it.
For example, imagine walking in a forest which is lush and green, with the sun streaming down through the trees. It feels warm, fresh and clear. You will feel a pleasant feeling from that. This is because trees have a clear and nourishing Qi field. They create a very good vibration of energy or Qi around them. When you walk through a forest you are bathing in that energy and experiencing a lovely feeling.
The opposite example is driving behind a smelly truck churning out exhaust fumes which are entering through the vents of your car. The Qi field around the truck is not clear and fresh, it is polluting and so does not create a pleasant feeling for you as you are forced to inhale the noxious fumes while driving along behind it.
In Medical Qigong a type of Qi field exists called the Wei Qi. It is the field of energy that extends beyond your body. In Chinese Medicine the Wei Qi is also called Defensive Qi or Protective Qi because it prevents invasion by external pathogens. It also communicates with the universal and environmental energy fields.
In the above video you can see the “Circles” exercise which you can use to connect with the Qi of the environment (e.g. trees, beach).
Our Qi field is affected by the external environment, emotions and physical trauma so it is very important to protect it and manage it well.
The practice of Qigong allows you to rid yourself of any emotions that affect your Wei Qi field and could cause physical and mental illness. By using your breath, movement and mind you will, with practice, gain much more control over your life (and your health).
Being aware of the type of energy fields you are in and which things affect your energy field is very important in the management of your health.
If you’d like to learn more Qigong breathing and meditation techniques then click on my website homepage. There you can download a free Qigong meditation which will calm your mind in only 8 minutes. Also you can sign up for a FREE three part Qigong video series (where I show you the “Circles” exercise in more detail).
Please don’t forget to subscribe to my YouTube channel by clicking here 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 found it informative.
I’d love to hear from you so please leave a comment below or head over to my free group on Facebook, “Space To Relax Free Group” and leave a comment for me there.
