by Janice | 19 Apr 2018 | Qigong, Qigong & Emotional Issues, Qigong Meditations & Breathing, Qigong Routines, Qigong To Help Manage Specific Health Conditions
Do you ever wake up feeling as though you’ve been run over by a bus? I do, but thankfully not very often. We all know the feeling of having suffered a terrible night’s sleep. We feel exhausted both physically and mentally. We may also feel anxious that we won’t be able to function to the best of our ability at work. We may also be fearful of this happening night after night, and wonder how we are going to manage our lives if the exhaustion gets worse. In the video today you’ll learn how to use Qigong for sleep problems.
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 by clicking the red “Subscribe” button on the page. That way you won’t miss my regular videos which are full of useful health enhancing tips. These videos will help you to enhance your health and prevent illness from arising in the first place. Also please give this video a “Like” if you found it informative.
Types of Sleep Problems
There are a number of different sleep problems which can all affect the quality and quantity of the sleep we get. The result is that they can also have a negative effect on our energy levels and our mental health. The following sleep problems are listed on the Mental Health Ireland Factsheet on Sleep where you can find more information.
- Insomnia. This affects an estimated 20% of people and is the most common sleep disorder. This is the one we will be focusing on in this video.
- Narcolepsy. This is excessive sleepiness.
- Sleep Apnoea. The person may stop breathing at intervals in the night which then wakes them so their sleep is constantly being interrupted.
- Sleep Disorders in Children. This can be distressing and exhausting for both children and parents. Sleep problems can impact on the physical and emotional health of a child so are important to address as early as possible.
The Solution – Qigong For Sleep Problems
In order to be able to sleep soundly we need to have a calm mind. Often we find that our minds are too busy when we go to bed. This over-excitement in the brain can prevent us from getting off to sleep quickly and easily.
There are many practical steps you can take to ensure that your mind is calm before bed, e.g. taking regular exercise, establishing a regular time for going to bed, turning off screens at least an hour before bed, taking a bath, avoiding coffee and alcohol a few hours before going to bed.
Qigong is also the perfect practice to help you improve the quality of your sleep because every Qigong method helps to calm your mind, the essential ingredient for good sleep.
Below are a few specific tips using Qigong for sleep problems.
- Practice Abdominal Breathing as you are lying in bed at night. Refer to my previous video called “How to Do Qigong Abdominal Breathing or Diaphragmatic Breathing“.
- Watch my previous video called “How to Calm Down with Qigong” so that your mind is in a calm state before going to bed.
- Relaxation is very important as it gets you into the state where you can easily go to sleep. Watch the video “Qigong Relaxation Techniques” for some effective Qigong tips on how to do this.
- Watch another video from me called “Qigong for Sleep Difficulties” which will give you more information and useful methods of Qigong for sleep problems.
What Do I Do Next?
If you would like to start using Qigong for sleep problems then:
- Head over to my Space To Relax homepage. There you can sign up for a free 3 part video series of Qigong lessons. These three lessons will you to help to improve the quality and quantity of your sleep. Once you’ve completed the free series you’ll have the opportunity to join my Space To Relax online membership programme of Qigong video lessons. This will allow you to take your practice to a whole new level where you will learn many exercises to eliminate health issues before they become a major problem. I’ll guide you step by step through many more effective Qigong methods which work to calm and clear your mind; essential factors in enabling you to sleep soundly.
- 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 any tips you might have to improve the quality of your sleep.
- Join my free Facebook group, “Space To Relax Free Qigong 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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by Janice | 28 Feb 2018 | Qigong, Qigong & Emotional Issues, Qigong Routines
“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.
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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by Janice | 25 Jan 2018 | Qigong, Qigong Practice Guidelines & General Information
A while ago I sent out a survey asking those of you on my email list, “What is your biggest struggle when it comes to peace of mind and relaxation?”. I followed this up by asking, “What are the negative consequences of this struggle?” By far the most popular answer was to do with time, or more precisely, lack of time. Many people imagine that by adopting the habit of a mindful practice like Qigong, they will have less time to do other more urgent or important things. In the video on this page I’ll be explaining how you can in fact gain time with Qigong.
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.
If you are watching on YouTube, please don’t forget 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 enhance your health and prevent illness from arising in the first place. Also please give this video a “Like” if you found it informative.
Survey Responses On The Subject Of Time
Here are some of the time related comments left by the people who responded to my survey:
- I feel guilty for taking time out;
- I can’t make time in my busy schedule;
- I have no time to get things completed;
- I want to take time to relax and watch your videos;
- I want to be more disciplined about taking time for myself;
- I want to schedule more time;
- I want to make more time to do nice things and then actually do them!
Any of these sound familiar to you?
Can We Actually Gain Time?
What is important to realise is that there is a finite amount of time in the day so “gaining” or” making” time isn’t actually possible. It’s more about “allocating” or “apportioning” time to the things we feel are more important or urgent. It’s up to you to decide upon those things.
If your response to this is, “Well it’s not up to me, it’s all determined by others”, just remember that you created your life because of the choices you made at a particular time. We create our own reality. If you are feeling a lack of time then please don’t despair! You can begin to make different choices to change things for the better. You create your life, remember that!
How To Gain Time With Qigong
I want to help you to start making different choices. The key to this is deciding that your physical and mental health is a priority. Just pause for a moment and think about how your life would be without them. How restricted would you feel then? This is usually enough incentive for us to gain a little perspective around our health. We all take it for granted until it’s taken away from us.
If you can invest 5 minutes per day in a regular Qigong practice this will go a long way to helping you maintain your physical and mental health.
Take a look at the exercise on abdominal breathing in the video. This is a perfect example of how to gain time with Qigong practice. Why? Because your mind will become clearer and more alert as a result of focusing on abdominal breathing. You will start to feel physically more energetic. This means that you will then be able to complete all the tasks in your busy schedule faster and more efficiently, freeing up time to spend relaxing with friends and family.
See how it works? The hamster on the wheel idea is not sustainable. Something needs to change if you want your management of time to be more effective. That something is the state of your physical and mental health.
What Do I Do Next?
If you would like to gain time with Qigong by improving the state of your physical and mental health then:
- Head over to my Space To Relax homepage to sign up for a free 3 part video series of Qigong lessons.
- 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 in your life to free up more time to spend doing the things you love.
- 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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by Janice | 23 Oct 2017 | Qigong, Qigong Routines, Qigong To Help Manage Specific Health Conditions
Nearly all Qigong methods combine an element of balance, except the ones where you are lying down meditating. I mentioned this in a previous video blog about the differences between Qigong and Yoga. In this post I’ll tell you my three best tips which show you how to use Qigong for balance. This is important for the elderly in helping to prevent falls. Balance is also important for athletes where a good sense of balance can make all the difference to athletic performance.
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 by clicking the red “Subscribe” button if you head over to YouTube. That way you won’t 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.
3 Ways To Use Qigong For Balance
1. Relaxation
The more relaxed you are the more you can find your natural balance and centre of gravity. Holding tension in your muscles causes imbalance. Refer to the previous video on Qigong Standing Posture to learn more details about how to maintain balance and relaxation in this posture.
2. Do Exercises To Promote Leg Strength
Any standing posture will help to increase the strength of your legs if practiced regularly over time. A good example you can look at is one of the 8 Pieces of Brocade (Ba Duan Jin) exercises called “Open Eyes Wide With Clenched Fists” which is performed from a horse stance position. This stance will help to develop the strength of your thighs giving you a more solid and stable foundation leading to an improved sense of balance.
3. Learn How To Stand Properly
Learning how to stand properly by “regulating” the position of the neck and lower spine will improve your balance. From there you can then walk with more confidence and an improved sense of balance.
If you practice these three methods then your overall movement will be more solid and stable resulting in improved balance and confidence as you move around.
What Do I Do Next?
1. Head over to my Space To Relax homepage to sign up for a free 3 part video series of Qigong lessons.
2. Please don’t forget to subscribe to my YouTube channel by clicking the red “Subscribe” button. Then 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 more about how to use Qigong for balance (and share with any friends or family, especially the more elderly people you know who may not be so steady on their feet).
3. If you are on Facebook head over to my free 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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