Flowing Through Winter, Practicing Dancing

By Karen Steinbrecher

Welcome to winter.   You may groan when you read this.   Smile. I write this on a rainy day. QiGong practice resonates with Traditional Chinese Medicine practice (TCM).   The TCM system recognizes 5 Seasons throughout the Year. 

We have moved through the Winter Solstice into the season called the WATER Element.

During the Winter Season, we send our energies into our roots, just as the trees do in nature. 

It is normal to sleep a bit more, to eat heavier warming food, and to build energy that can be released in Spring (the Wood element). 

Winter is a time to seek the warmth of love and friendship. 

It is a time for assessment and reflection. 

It is time to recognize the rhythm of nature and follow along.

QiGong is a tool for us to move and flow, to navigate around those obstacles.

To go with the flow of life. 

When our Qi (life energy) is blocked or stagnant, that is when we may dwell upon stress, pain and encounter problems. 

Our Qi helps us to weave through chaos (hundun) to find, even for a few minutes, that peaceful place within. 

Qi dao, Yi dao is my mantra. 

Where the Qi goes and flows, the mind goes.

Let us recognize Water as a great teacher. 

It shows us how to move through the world with grace, ease, determination and humility. 

As it flows upon the earth, the water’s journey can be a mirror of our path through life. 

Water can inspire us to not become rigid with fear or cling to what is familiar. 

Water doesn’t cling to its past, it is brave, and flows onward without looking back. 

When there is a hole to be filled, water doesn’t run away from its fear of the dark; instead water bravely, humbly fills the empty space. 

In the same way we can face the dark moments of our own life bravely, and not run from them.

Qi dao Yi dao. 

We move through life encountering many twists, turns and obstacles along the way just as a river flows.  

Karen invites you to dance and flow through a QiGong practice at the Resiliency Center, Thursdays @ 2P.M. and @ 6:20 P.M.   $10.00 for a one hour class.  Bring socks or slippers.  To register go to:  http://www.meetup.com/Resiliency-Gatherings-for-Movement-Inner-Strength-Joy/ or contact Karen at karensteinbrecher@msn.com.

Playing with Qi Gong - by Karen Steinbrecher

Bring joy into your being.  Visualize your child within.

Bring joy into your heart as you practice Qigong.  Do this around children and watch the difference in the way that they respond to you.  Watch how differently they may react to one another in your presence.  Practicing and dancing the healing dance of Qigong works on adults as well.  It helps us let go of  stress, pain, worries.  It is so simple, amazing.  But you must practice.

Remember that as a child you played with the world around you?  You may have imitated a bird’s song, trying to fly like a bird up and up towards heaven and then gently (sometimes) landing on Earth.  When we practice Qigong, we connect with Heaven and Earth, Yang and Yin.  As a child did you chase a wave, toss stones, or did you run away from the wind, or did you race with it?   Let us bring it back, return to that feeling of freedom, that letting go, and connection to your being, you.  This is healing for all beingness.  As adults we often forget to include joy and play in our lives. Let us let go and be. That is part of the essence of this healing dance called Qigong.

Practicing Qigong with regularity can bring you in touch with the common sense that is your nature, a common sense that may become less common as the pace and pressures of life continue to increase.  How we feel and what we think has a powerful effect on our word as well as upon our ability to heal.  The ancient sages of China believed that thinking was a form of Qi.  Our thought and attitudes do influence not only our own bodies, but everyone and everything around us.  Qigong reminds us of this in a very tangible way because its slow, flowing movements and deep breathwork help us to return and get in touch with our connection to the world around us.  Qigong can be a tool, a strategy for freedom from our cage of isolation.

Qigong practice brings you into a relaxed state, the deep breathing oxygenates  your body. Qigong can motivate healing and inner transformation.  It cannot really be explained; it can only be experienced.

I invite you to play Qigong and breathe deeply.  Let us dance this beautiful exercise together. With each and every breath that you take, think of filling an empty glass.  The glass is empty, and as you breathe deeply you fill it from bottom to top with oxygen and Qi.  Then empty from top to bottom.  Gently move your diaphragm down, inhale and pull it up, then exhale.  Notice the feeling of the air, the Qi, moving in and out, your body and brain relaxing.  Practice this balanced breathing, this conscious breathing towards Healing and Peace and Alignment and Love.

Karen Steinbrecher practices, leads, and teaches QiGong at the Resiliency Center on Thursdays at 2:00 pm and 6:15 pm. The class fee is ten dollars for a 50-55 minute class.    RSVP in advance by contacting Karen at karensteinbrecher@msn.com