by janicetucker | 14 Oct 2016 | Qigong, Qigong Practice Guidelines & General Information
Often when I tell people that I help them to banish their stress and improve their energy using Qigong I’m met with a quizzical expression. They can easily relate to stress and lack of energy but they have no idea what Qigong is. In this video I explain the definition of Qigong and the meanings of the terms “Qi” and “Gong”. We do far more in Qigong than just working with energy!
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 remember to subscribe to my YouTube channel by clicking the red “Subscribe” button above so you don’t miss my regular videos. These are packed with useful health enhancing tips and exercises. Also please give this video a “Like” if you found it informative.
What is Qigong?
Qigong has been an integral part of Chinese culture since ancient Chinese times. Basically the definition of Qigong is any set of breathing and Qi circulation methods that can:
• improve your health;
• prevent illness;
• strengthen your body
Very loosely translated, Qi is your vital force. It is all types of energy. We are made of this energy and we are also immersed in it so it is all around us in the environment.
The term “Gong” is the power that you have to produce an effect. It is also translated as work. This is the kind of work that involves steady practice. The effects are achieved with steady, ongoing, regular practice.
“Qigong” means “the attainment of Qi”. Medical Qigong, more specifically, involves building your Qi to make your body more resistant to illness and disease. If you are actually ill, medical Qigong can bring your body back into balance so that you regain your health.
Benefit of Qigong Practice
So, by practising Qigong regularly, you can maintain the balance in your health. Also, if you happen to become sick then you can use Qigong to bring yourself quickly back into a good state of health.
If you’d like to learn more Qigong in order to maintain your health and bring yourself back into balance then you can do this by practising for around only 10 minutes per day. You can actually start this by heading over to my Space To Relax homepage. Here you can sign up to receive three free video lessons which will be delivered to you by e-mail. By practising these 5 minute lessons you’ll get a flavour of the Qigong benefits of feeling calm and relaxed.
If you head over to my free group on Facebook, “Space To Relax Free Group” you can leave any questions for me there and I’ll be happy to answer them. Also, by joining this group, you will receive regular postings of health enhancing Qigong articles and videos. Please leave a comment in the comments box next to this video if you now have a bit more clarity around the definition of Qigong.
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. Also please give this video a “Like” if you now know more about the definition of Qigong that you did before!
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by janicetucker | 4 Oct 2016 | Qigong, Qigong Routines
This video from Dr Janice Tucker at Space To Relax explains the correct Qigong standing posture. To get the most benefit from Qigong practice you need to stand such that the Qi flows in an unimpeded and unobstructed way around the body.
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. Also please give this video a “Like” if you found it informative.
By making small adjustments in your Qigong standing posture you can make a world of difference to the flow of Qi around your body. When your Qi is flowing freely your health has the potential to skyrocket!
The following extract is taken from Lesson 2 of the Space To Relax Programme of online Qigong video lessons. This is a shortened version of the lesson explaining the correct Qigong stance.
Exercise – The Correct Qigong Standing Posture
1. The Position Of Your Feet
Your feet are important in giving you a stable grounding for Qigong practice. Look down and your feet and check that they are parallel and shoulder width distance apart. Your toes should not be pointing outwards or inwards.
2. The Knees
Your knees should be very slightly bent. There should be softness in your knees so that the knee joints are not locked.
3. Hips and Lower Back Area
To check this place one hand in the small of your back and one on your lower abdomen. Then make a hollow in your lower back so that it is curved by sticking the buttocks out. Feel how the vertebrae in the lower back feel squashed or compressed. Your lower back will feel tight.
Next tilt your pelvis forward by tucking the buttocks under. You will feel the lower back flatten and the whole area open up. You will feel as though there is space in this area. This openness allows the Qi to flow up and down the spine much more freely.
4. Shoulders and Arms
Your shoulders should be loose and relaxed. Your hands hang down from the shoulders by the sides of the body.
5. Head and Neck
Your neck, like your lower back, is an important area in which to maintain space and openness in order to allow for the free flow of Qi. Make sure that your head is not tilted too far forwards or too far back. Imagine the top of your head is being pulled up by a string. This creates length in the back of the neck. At the same time tuck the chin in very slightly. As you do this you will feel the back of your neck extending and opening up.
Summary
These adjustments will promote the free flow of Qi up and down your spine and in to your head.
The Qigong standing posture should be relaxed. Once you are in this position practice Abdominal Breathing in order to allow your Qi to begin to flow freely around your body.
Your Qigong standing posture is the basis of many standing Qigong exercises. Once you can stand correctly you will notice huge differences in the Qi flow around your body. Your energy will quickly feel as though it is supercharged as the Qi zooms around your body in an unimpeded way! 🙂 This is turn leads you to gain much more energy, clarity, calmness and focus.
More Information
If you’d like to learn more about the Qigong standing posture and and learn some more exercises that you can practice from this Qigong standing posture then head over to my Space To Relax homepage. Here you can sign up to receive three free video lessons which will be delivered to you by e-mail. By practising these simple 5 minute lessons you will get a flavour of the Qigong benefits of feeling much calmer and at the same time more energetic.
If you head over to my free group on Facebook, “Space To Relax Free Group” you can leave any questions for me there and I’ll be happy to answer them. Also you can leave a comment in the comments box next to this video.
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 the Qigong standing posture by reading this article.
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by janicetucker | 23 Sep 2016 | Qigong, Qigong & Emotional Issues, Qigong Practice Guidelines & General Information
This video from Dr Janice Tucker is the first in a two part series about Qigong benefits. What I’d like to share with you today is specifically how Qigong benefits YOU.
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 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 found it informative.
What Are The Main Benefits Of Qigong For You?
There are five main benefits:
1. Relaxation
Qigong offers you the benefit of relaxation both physically, mentally and emotionally. This has the effect of calming your mind and giving you much more energy.
2. Calms Mind, Adjusts Breath And Posture
The effects of these three factors lead to more energy, more strength in terms of health and also the ability to cope much more readily with day to day stress!
3. Strengthening of Health
As a Chinese medicine practitioner I love this particular benefit. Qigong helps build up your health. This makes you stronger and more resistant to disease. By doing strengthening your health you can help to prevent the onset of any illness which is the most effective way to manage your health! Head off any illness before it has the opportunity to take root in the first place.
4. Helps Treat Illness
By practising Qigong you can help slow down the progress of a disease or illness and also help speed up your recovery from illness.
5. Helps You To Live Longer
The idea that Qigong can increase your longevity makes sense when you consider the previous benefits. If Qigong helps treat illness, prevent disease and makes your body stronger then it follows that you have a good chance of living longer! Qigong practitioners are reputed to look younger than their actual age and be healthier than the next person. This is because they are continually adjusting and managing their health on a day to day basis.
If you’d like to learn more about Qigong then head over to my Space To Relax homepage. Here you can sign up to receive three free video lessons which will be delivered to you by e-mail. By practising these simple 5 minute lessons you will get a flavour of the Qigong benefits of feeling much calmer and at the same time more energetic.
If you head over to my free group on Facebook, “Space To Relax Free Group” you can leave any questions for me there and I’ll be happy to answer them. Also you can leave a comment in the comments box next to this video.
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 full of health enhancing tips. Also please give this video a “Like” if you learned much more about Qigong benefits by reading this article.
Look out for Part 2 of Qigong Benefits which will be available very soon.
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by janicetucker | 13 Sep 2016 | Qigong, Qigong Practice Guidelines & General Information
This video from Dr Janice Tucker at Space To Relax explains where you can find relaxing music to listen to when you are practising Qigong (Chi Gong) exercises.
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 next to the video when you click the YouTube link. 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 found it informative.
Recently one of my Space To Relax members asked me about where to find relaxation music to listen to during Qigong practice so I filmed the video above and wrote this article to answer this question and hope that we can all share our ideas.
Sources of Relaxation Music
Your choice of music is very personal to you. I know this from my 16 years practising in Chinese medicine clinics. Some of my clients love relaxation music, some hate it, some want no music at all and prefer total silence! It’s all a matter of searching and finding something that you love to listen to and can work with.
The following are the sources of calming and relaxing music I found which would be suitable for Qigong (Chi Gong) meditation and exercises:
There is so much music out there. I simply typed “Qigong Relaxation Music” into the search box in YouTube and there was a huge choice of calming, relaxing music to select from.
2. App Store (iTunes or Android)
There are many free and paid apps available through the iTunes Store and the Android Store.
Check out this one which I use in my clinic called “Nature Sound”. It’s a free app from iTunes and also on Android. You have a choice of both relaxing music and sounds from nature (ocean, forest, whale calls etc.). The advantage of having music on your phone is that you can take it out into your favourite place in nature to practice Qigong (Chi Gong).
I don’t use Spotify but I’m sure that many of you do. There is a good choice of relaxation music to download, again just by searching for “Qigong Relaxation Music”.
4. Buy Your Music!
You can choose to buy your music in the form of CDs, paid apps and downloads. Often a good source of physical CDs is your local health store and of course, Amazon.
The most important thing to remember is to find music that you like to listen to and that you can relax to while practising Qigong (Chi Gong). The essence of Qigong is relaxation and anything which will help you to do this has to be a good thing!
I’d love you to share with below in the comments box if you have any tips for other good sources of music. We can all help each other by sharing our ideas!
If you would like some free Qigong video lessons to help you extinguish exhaustion, annihilate anxiety and calm your mind then take a look at the Space To Relax homepage. Here you can sign up to receive three free video lessons and then choose some relaxing music to go with them!
Also, if you head over to my free group on Facebook, “Space To Relax Free Group” you can leave any questions for me there and I’ll be happy to answer them.
Please don’t forget to subscribe to my YouTube channel by clicking the red “Subscribe” button over on YouTube 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 about a few more sources of calming and relaxing Qigong music.
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by janicetucker | 23 Aug 2016 | Qigong, Qigong Routines
This video from me, Janice Tucker, at http://spacetorelax.com/ explains a simple and quick Qigong (Chi Kung) method to get rid of the “icky, yucky” feelings that you might epxerience at the end of the day. These feelings may be tiredness, aches/pains, irritability, grief, sadness, anxiety, etc. The Qigong (Chi Kung) method featured here is particularly useful when practised just before going to bed. You will sleep like a baby after this!! 🙂
I am a practitioner of Traditional Chinese Medicine and Medical Qigong. I am also the founder of the Space To Relax online programme of Qigong video lessons. My passion is helping people to improve their health using simple Qigong (Chi Kung) methods which can be easily integrated into their day. You can practice most of these in 5 minutes or less so they are perfectly suited to fit in to our busy lives!
Please subscribe to my YouTube channel by clicking the red “Subscribe” button above so you can view my regular videos which are full of useful health enhancing tips. Also please give this video a “Like” if you found it informative.
Watch and follow along with the short demonstration of the Qigong (Chi Kung) method called “Discharge Waste Qi With Vibration”. This video is available on my Space To Relax website as part of a FREE 3 part video series which you can sign up to receive by e-mail.
Principle
For this exercise you think of any waste energy (Qi) that you might have accumulated during the day. This can be physical (ache, pain, stiffness), mental/emotional (sadness, grief, worry, anxiety). Bring waste Qi from deep within the body up to the skin surface. Your action of a simple vibrating movement and breathing is what gets rid of the waste Qi.
Method
-Stand with the feet shoulder width distance apart and be soft in the knees. Vibrate the body by bouncing gently up and down on the knees. The whole body should be loose and relaxed.
-Think of using the vibration of the body to bring up any waste Qi from deep inside the body to the skin surface.
-Breathe out and think of sending the waste Qi away from the surface of the body. Think of it as raindrops flying off the surface of the skin and away into the atmosphere.
-Continue vibrating the body, tilting first to one side and then the other.
You can practice this exercise for as long as you want in order to feel that waste Qi has left the body.
Effects
By discharging waste Qi in this way you will feel:
-much more energised
-relaxed
-able to sleep much better at night
This Qigong (Chi Kung) method feels almost like you are “taking a shower on the inside”. The removal of waste Qi from deep down makes you feel much cleaner on the inside.
This is a short extract from the full exercise of “Discharge Waste Qi With Vibration”. If you are interested in learning the full exercise then click on my Space To Relax homepage. At the top of the page you can sign up for a free 3 part Qigong video course which will be delivered to your e-mail. The exercise featured here is Exercise 3 in the FREE course. The first exercise shows you how to breathe much more efficiently so that your mind becomes instantly calmer and more focused. The second exercise shows you how to quickly increase your energy levels in the space of only 5 minutes!
Also, if you head over to my free group on Facebook, “Space To Relax Free Group” you can leave any questions for me there and I’ll be happy to answer them.
Please subscribe to my YouTube channel by clicking the red “Subscribe” button when you head over there. When you do that you will receive my videos which are packed full of useful health enhancing tips. Also, please give this video a “Like” if you learned something new here today. Got questions? Just pop them in the box below and I’ll be happy to answer.
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