Qigong

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Last week, I had the unique opportunity of attending a 4 day seminar in Orlando on Qigong put on by the Qi Revolution. It was 2000 people from all walks of life converging in the Orlando Convention Center to learn about Qi Gong. Plus, it gave 32 CEU's and was very inexpensive for most seminars that we take for our licensing.

Direct from the flyer in the mail that I received, Qigong is an Energy Art that uses powerful breathing techniques and special movements to strengthen Qi (or energy). [Qi is pronounced "chee"]. According to Chinese Medicine, "Qi" is the leading force behind blood circulation. The key benefit of Qigong is that it turns on your nervous system's healing energy. Practicing dramatically strengthens blood circulation, immunity, metabolism, digestion & the endocrine system.

While I was a little nervous about going to this, I needed the CEU's and I wanted to experience what this was all about. So, I was courageous and signed up for it and am glad I did. It was a little overwhelming at first with 2000 people in a big room as I usually don't do very well in that many people. So that was challenging but I was able to meet some people and felt a little less "all alone".

The first couple of days were challenging. I had just come off of a couple of weeks of working in jobs and trying to keep up with some projects that had a due date on them so I was pretty exhausted walking in there. The movements we were doing pretty much hurt like "you fill in the blank". They were not difficult movements either. It was just that my body was sort of frozen from the buildup of stress. I figured, I would go into the pain because I know that by doing this, I would find peace, calmness and ease. Of course, by the second day we did a stretching routine and that made a world of differance in me and the pain did let up. It became easier with each day.

Throughout the four days, there were different "forms" that we did which is another word for routines in Qigong. Some of them were challenging for me as I still struggle to stand with balance going back to my days of being paralyzed. Each day though, the basic movements did get a little easier.

We did a lot of breath work and I believe the seminar leader, Jeff Primac, called it Breath Empowerment. And boy ol boy was it empowering! He took us through one exercise that had many of us crying and moving and a shaking and releasing. The peace that followed all of that was so wonderful and felt so good to me. From there, we did a 9 breath method and again, it was powerful but then he used the 9 breath method in a meditation circle. All 2000 of us were sitting in chairs, holding hands going through this 9 breath meditation. It was a powerful moment. You had to be there to fully understand it but just take my word for it, that was an experience like no other.

Some of the breath work we did was based upon TUMO. Tumo is an ancient form of breath work that the monks in the Himalayas used to keep warm. It generates so much heat that a guy referred to as the "iceman" can sit in a tub of ice and melt it with the body heat generated by this breathing process. The breath work is very powerful in moving energy (qi) through the body.

Throughout the seminar, he had various lectures on topics such as "Food Based Healing, Origin of the Universe and Miracles, Near Death Experiences and Sacred Geometry". The food based healing was awesome to learn a little about and I'll have to write more on this another day. For me though, the near death experience lecture hit so close to home because I've had a brief visit with that when I was paralyzed. It was the first time I have heard anyone talk about it or been in a room where others have been through it, so for me personally that was very empowering.

There is so much I could say about this seminar but I am glad I went. Working with movement, breath and energy is so healing and healthy for the body. We all need to be doing more of this every day in our lives because it touches the true essence of who we are and what it means to live in our bodies.

Since the workshop, I have continued to work with what I learned (Level 1 Form) including the stretching routine that he showed us. It is amazing just how peaceful and centered, the practicing creates in myself when I do this work. I am sure that it will deepen my healing work and deepen my connection between my own mind and body as it takes me to the next level of awareness.