It’s about to be Father’s Day, and we wanted to write a post about how Qi Gong helps Lee to be a better father. However, we realized that this applies to both mothers as well as fathers, so we decided to broaden the topic to include all parents.
According to Lee, nothing takes up more energy than parenting! As any mother or father knows, being a parent is very demanding. It requires you to be on your game at all times and challenges you in ways that nothing else possibly can. Luckily, we have Qi Gong to help us deal with all the joys and frustrations that parenting can bring! This blog post will discuss how Lee uses Qi Gong to help him to be a better parent, and how you can too!
Taking Care of Yourself So You Can Care For Others
Parenting presents us with rigorous physical, mental, and emotional health challenges. There’s nothing that a parent loves more than their own children, but there’s also nothing else that can deliver quite the stress or frustration than your own child.
When parenting gets stressful, what happens? First, our energy becomes depleted which can harm other areas of our lives. Additionally, we may start to act out with our kids and take on their own childish behaviors. Have you ever found yourself bickering or acting like a child with your toddler or teenager? Who else in life would you do that with? Certainly not your boss or colleagues at work.
The intense feelings of love combined with the unique challenges of parenting can have a powerful ability to pull us away from our center. Of course, parenting requires you to become much more “other-centered”, and pay close attention to the needs of your child. After all, they depend on you for support and safety. While it can be deeply fulfilling to dedicate so much of yourself to your child, it’s also important to remember your own needs.
For Lee, staying centered means having a dedicated Qi Gong practice that brings him back to his place of peace and strength. By starting his morning with a few minutes of Qi Gong, he’s able to establish his inner foundation so he can maintain stability amid the whirlwind of joy, laughter, and tears that he encounters with his daughters.
Starting the day with a strong baseline allows you to face the vast variety of energies that your children will undoubtedly bring you. As any parent knows, kids can be impulsive and emotional, and often they don’t know what their needs are. Of course, you are probably the first person to receive the energies and confused feelings that your kids are experiencing. However, by having a strong center of emotional gravity, you can hold space for their experiences without letting it derail your own inner stability. This is only possible when you truly take care of yourself and aren’t constantly wrapped up in your child’s experiences.
One thing to keep in mind is that you can’t expect it to be as easy to stay centered as a parent compared to being a single adult. Not only are the challenges more significant, but it’s much more difficult to find the time and space to maintain your own consistent practice. Nonetheless, it’s essential to be creative and find the space in your life to nurture your practice. For many people this means waking up a few minutes earlier. For others, it means waiting until your kids are in bed and then spending some time with yourself practicing Qi Gong. The important thing is to recognize the immense importance of staying internally balanced and prioritizing your practice among your daily activities.
When you are able to stay balanced and connected to yourself, parenting is a fun and fulfilling activity. For Lee, Qi Gong helps him to stay energized and maintain a clear mind. It also helps him to stay more present with his children. As he points out, time moves very quickly as a parent, so it’s important to slow down and really experience your children and the joys of parenting. Parenting shouldn’t always be a stressful rush to get to the next activity. Rather, it should be a joyous experience of loving another, while also facing the challenges that your child will never cease to present you with.
Being A Source Of Strength For Your Children
Children are not stable beings. Even when they’re at their peak of joy and excitement, you know that there will soon be a time when disharmony returns once again. Whether they’re a three-year-old on the playground or a sixteen-year-old wanting to borrow your car, you can rely on them to have a wide spectrum of emotions to share with you.
As their parent, one of the most valuable gifts you can give your child is your own inner stability. Not only does this help you, but it gives your children a solid foundation to return to in an ever-changing world. This also allows them to develop more confidence and a healthy attachment style that will help them later in life.
Additionally, one of the most powerful forms of learning happens through observation and experience. Telling your children how to tie their shoes and put on their shirt is important, but it’s only a small part of what parenting is really about. Teaching your children how to develop resiliency and how to stay true to oneself are other important lessons. These are not always easy to explain to a child, but if you teach through example, over time your children will observe and learn.
Qi for Children
As a Qi Gong teacher, some of Lee’s favorite students are his children! He loves showing his kids how a simple breathing practice or meditation can help them to feel relaxed and grounded. You don’t have to be a Qi Gong teacher to teach your kids. Just choose a few simple practices that Lee teaches and introduce your kids to the ancient wisdom.
Even just making your children aware of their own feelings is a huge gift. Although most children experience great joy, they also feel stress and anxiety. School, sports teams, and relating to other children bring very similar challenges to a lot of adults’ experiences. By introducing your children to Qi Gong, you’re giving them an early start in a practice that can continue to grow and flourish within them for a lifetime.
Qi with children can also be fun and playful. Rather than making it serious and solemn, have fun and make it an activity that they look forward to. In addition to helping them to discover their own strength, Qi Gong can also be a great way to connect with your children and share energizing experiences together.
Qi Gong For Father’s Day
To celebrate Father’s Day, we’ve put together a special collection of programs to help parents be their best selves! Although this is technically a “Father’s Day” bundle, the courses that Lee teaches are just as valuable and special for all of the mothers out there too.
These programs and courses are intended to help you to cultivate your health and internal strength to show up as your brightest self for both yourself and your children. They make wonderful Father’s Day gifts and can be enjoyed alone, with a partner, or with your children. We all deserve the tools and resources we need to care for ourselves, so click the banner below to check out our specials.