The Five Yin Organ Routine

  The five organ routine is a very powerful set of Qigong movements that move energy through the kidneys, lungs, heart, liver and spleen.  These are very important organs that work in harmony to sustain life.   When one of these organs is not functioning optimally it will affect the others.   The five yin organ routine is designed to disperse/release toxic Qi and collect/send healing energizing Qi to the five yin organs. Why do we want to ensure energy is flowing freely through these 5 organs? According to traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), the five are connected and when there is an energy block or disturbance in one, there can be a domino affect. Energy disturbances can occur from external sources and from unprocessed emotions. To read more about these 5 organs from a TCM perspective click here The five yin organs are easily disrupted by the seven emotions (anger, joy, worry, grief, sadness, fear, and shock) than are the Yang organs. The emotions are said to be the primal force behind energy transformation; however, each person will have different reaction to emotional changes, based on his or her dominant elemental pattern. Each organ has an element associated with it, and each person has a dominant element. Below are the seven emotions, the corresponding organ, and the element. 1. Anger - Liver -Wood Symptoms of disharmony include, blurred vision, headaches, high blood pressure, insomnia. 2. Joy - Heart - Fire Symptoms of disharmony include anxiety, insomnia, elbow problems, obsessive compulsive disorders 3. Worry - Spleen - Earth Symptoms of disharmony include, nausea, weight loss, belching and easy bruising. 4. Grief and Sorrow - Lungs - Metal Symptoms of disharmony often appear on the skin in the [...]

By |August 28th, 2017|Categories: Blog|Tags: , , |0 Comments

Plucking Stars Exercise # 3 of the 18 Luohan Hands

Plucking Stars is a simple movement that requires you to reach for the stars with one hand while pressing down with the other hand. Plucking stars improves digestion by bringing energy to the spleen and stomach meridians. According to Chinese medical theory and western medicine, good digestion is essential for good health and vitality. Plucking stars can help with virtually any digestive problem. Add plucking stars to your routine to help with indigestion, acid reflux, diarrhea, constipation, diabetes, liver and gallbladder problems, Crohn’s disease, diverticulosis, tennis elbow, endometriosis, yeast infections, dysmenorrhea, vaginitis and ovarian cysts. In addition, plucking stars opens up the 8 Extraordinary Meridians along the sides of the body, these are important energy reservoirs.   Learn more about the Extraordinary Meridians in a future blog post.

Musings from Qigong Class

Many students have asked me if they can take some of the movements that they have learned from me and combine them with movements from other Qigong teachers.  My simple answer is yes of course you can.  Play around, have fun, do what feels good. My long answer goes like this.  You have come to me to learn qigong.  I think you came because you wanted to learn what I have to teach.  Once you learn it, you need to practice it.  You need to determine for yourself if this style that you have learned is effective for you.  This is an important thing to do with any qigong that you learn.  Is it doing what you want it to do? How do you know if it is working?  First, decide what it is you want to get from your qigong practice.  Do you want to decrease pain?  Improve blood pressure?  Connect to a higher power?  Increase creativity?  What ever it is you want to accomplish, you need to write it down.  Then, learn the movements and practice daily for 6 months.  Keep a log, track your daily practice and make notes to see if you are getting more creative, or is your pain going away?  Maybe you want to increase your flexibility, what ever it is you need to monitor it.  Keep a daily journal where you record how much time you spend practicing, and how you feel on that day.   After 6 months ask the hard questions and check your journal.  Is it working?   Have you improved? If so, keep doing what you are doing.  If not, maybe this form is not for you or maybe you are not practicing enough.  The magic [...]

By |April 6th, 2017|Categories: Qi Gong|Tags: |0 Comments

Five Reasons to Try Qigong

Carrying Mountains one of the 18 Luohan Hands   Movement is medicine! Did you know that the single most important thing you can do for your health is move more everyday!  I believe that movement is medicine, taken daily you can ward off most ailments including aging.  I love to move, and want to share one of my favourite movement medicines Qigong to all who are interested. Easy to do and restores health: Half of the population in Canada is not active enough for health.  People claim they don’t have time. Qigong can be practiced anywhere, anytime, for any length of time - inside or out, and no props are required…just YOU!  For best results aim for 30 minutes a day. Endorsed by research!  The Harvard School of Medicine has endorsed Qigong.  In a recent review, Harvard researchers cited the following improvements from practicing Tai Chi and Qigong. Some of my students have seen improvements, like less pain, lower blood pressure, increased sex drive, and no more heart burn, in as little as 2 weeks. Manage stress: Qigong is a form of dynamic meditation where you calm the mind, breathe into the poses and follow the flow of energy through your body.   When you practice Qigong, your internal chemistry, and energy function optimally. Qigong builds mental and emotional strength while teaching the body to react in a positive way to stress. Treat, manage or prevent disease! Qigong is a branch of Traditional Chinese Medicine.  Qigong movements are a form of medicine each movement encourages the flow of Qi, the circulating life force (or energy) that circulates via meridians throughout your body.   According to Chinese medicine when the meridians are blocked or if the energy is [...]

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