How Qigong influences on our body, energy and mind

In this blog you can find some general information regarding Qigong practice (cloths, place, time, variety of styles…) and you can read about some of the major influences that Qigong has on our body, energy and spirit.

We practice Qigong in comfortable clothes.

I like that I can practice Qigong in comfortable clothes, comfortable footwear or even better, barefoot. Why is this so important to me? When my body is free, is relaxed, my blood and my Qi can circulate in an unobstructed way. When we wear uncomfortable clothes, our brain receives massages that something is going wrong. Our body is tense and also our mind becomes tense. The body that feels comfortable is the very first step to the inner state of relaxation and to the feeling of freedom.

We can do Qigong anywhere and anytime.

No matter the weather conditions. If there is a sunny, warm day I can do Qigong outside in grass, in the forest, on a beach… Qigong outside is simply – Refreshing. If there is a rainy day I find a shelter, if it is too cold, I practice Qigong in a warm home. I avoid extremes – too hot, too cold, strong wind… If I have a lot of space, I make use of it, if there is little space, I adapt to it. If I can, I choose quiet place, if it is not possible, I try to find silence inside me and do a practice which doesn’t require deep focus.

We can practice Qigong alone or in a group.

Each of us has, in different moments, different desires, needs and goals. When you practice Qigong, you can decide daily about the practice that is the most suitable for you. Each way of practice has its good sides. For example, I like the practice of Qigong in a group because the established energy field is stronger. Each group of people offers to me a different experience. But this is not my only way of practice, as I also like to be alone or in a smaller company. I adore morning Qigong with Petar where we align ourselves for the day. And I really appreciate the time of my individual training. Usually I study and learn and improve my knowledge. Or I simply let go everything and listen to my rhythm, my mind is calm, vibration is high…

Qigong always improves our physical condition and raises our spirit.

No matter how good I feel when I wake up, after a morning Qigong I feel always even better. In time this feeling is becoming stronger. After a period of regular practice we can notice that after Qigong routine our joints are softer, body is more flexible and that we have more energy. Eventual morning fatigue and moodiness is slowly disappearing. The feeling of general well-being is more and more stable. Qigong practice in the middle of the day is refreshing and it energizes us. Evening Qigong can help us to release the tensions and feel ease.

Qigong helps to achieve and to maintain high level of energy.

I hear often how people blame their age for being in bad physical form, without energy and for decreased learning capabilities. I have to say, this is not my experience. I have so much energy now as never before in my whole life. I also learn and comprehend things faster and in different, more holistic way, as for example in the period of my secondary school or at university.

During a lifetime we accumulate a lot of tensions, which obstruct and slow down the flow of energy (Qi) in our body. The most common reasons of tensions are our lifestyle (movement, food, sleep…), our mindset, different traumas, environment… If these tensions are not released on regular bases, they reflect first in a decline of our energy and later in disease, depression, chronic fatigue… Qigong helps release all these tensions through exercises, breathing and meditation. The result is higher and more stable level of energy.

When you are more experienced in Qigong a high level of energy is so normal for you, that you feel the smallest change and you immediately do something. In this way you maintain energy balanced. The high level of energy is also deeply connected to the desire for creation. It means that in the morning you wake up excited about a new day. During morning Qigong you feel how the energy circulates strongly in your body and you know that you are ready for the adventures of this day. Believe me, THIS IS OUR NATURAL STATE. And anyone can achieve it.

Through Qigong we can become aware that we work with energy all the time.

If we want to experience the benefits of Qigong practice, we shouldn’t perceive Qigong training as another obligation and also not as one hour luxury per week. …and then forget about it until the next training, with an excuse that we “don’t have time”. We experience much greater benefits if we try to use in our everyday life the things we have learnt on training.

In my past there were no ideal conditions and enough time to do as much Qigong as I would like. My day was the same as the day of all employed people. But from that non-ideal experience I have learned how to use every spare moment for practicing my posture, breathing, focus of my mind and how to be more connected with myself. We can always find time, minute here and minute there. Gradually we realize that greater and greater part of our day we live in awareness and not on automatic pilot. We react less and less to the impulses of our surrounding in the way we were taught or that we believe others expect from us. We start to follow our inner wisdom.

We begin to really understand Qigong when we realize that in fact all the people work with energy all the time, if they know or not, in creative or destructive way. So, it is better to know how to guide this energy in direction that WE choose.

Qigong is interesting, various and is fun.

When we learn Qigong we learn a lot of things from the basics. We do things in a different way as we were used to. There are many new things for us, new movements, new connections, we begin to feel energy, to discover capabilities of our mind and freedom of our spirit. Learning and comprehension are a long non-linear process. Due to the complexity, some beginners can become frustrated because they would like to learn too much things at once and as fast as possible. Obviously this is not possible and they soon withdraw from the practice. The better way, that I recommend, is to stop taking us too seriously. Then we can really enjoy the gradual process of learning and we can have great fun.

Numerous styles of Qigong offer to us a palette of choices, from the very dynamic forms with complicated movements to the styles where practitioners for outside observer “just stay still”. Qigong is multilayered and we can practice it at different levels. It depends what we are interested in, what are our goals, how much time we can dedicate to the training. We can proceed with our study deeper and deeper.

Qigong helps us to understand better ourselves.

Today I know that each one of us has the possibility to choose what role he will play in life. Victim or creator? Slavery or freedom? It is just the matter of our perspective. My Qigong practice is still helping me a lot to understanding myself better and to see the world with different eyes. It helps me to think with my own head, to know, what I really want, to receive the right information at the right time. I have decided to follow only those things which support my contentment, joy for life and for creation.

Qigong connects all levels of our existence.

I like Qigong because it is simultaneously working on all levels of our existence. Through Qigong I cultivate my physical body, my breathing, my energy body, my mind and my spirit (Shen). They are all interconnected. After many years of studying and practicing Qigong I’m more aware of the wholeness of this ancient system. Unlike some other old traditions which are trying rigorously to preserve their “original” scheme and form, the wisdom of Qigong is at its bases flexible and originates from the knowledge that process of changes is a natural flow of things. Maybe this is the reason why after all this thousands years Qigong is still alive, fresh and attractive for all those who try to understand the wholeness and interconnection of our universe.

May the Qi be with you!

Smiljana