There’s a natural peace that we experience when our body and mind finds harmony with our surrounding environment. Flow is a state of being that allows us to be fully present with ourselves and our world, without taking on the stress that comes our way.
Unfortunately, many of us experience stress or anxiety in connection with our everyday routine. While sometimes it’s healthy to avoid situations that cause stress or discomfort, we also have the option to decide how we respond to such circumstances. This blog post will explore how Qi Gong can be a powerful tool for overcoming stress and anxiety and finding peace in everyday living.
Understanding Stress and Anxiety
What exactly is anxiety? Like all things, one of the first steps to making progress in your relationship with stress and anxiety is to understand what it is. In Qi Gong, we view anxiety as a natural reaction to tense situations, which can be induced both internally as well as externally.
Anxiety can be experienced in different ways. Sometimes, anxiety manifests as excess thinking. At other times, we may feel tension in the chest or other part of our body. One thing that all anxiety has in common is that it is unpleasant, and is based on future projections.
When our attention is directed to worrying about hypothetical future outcomes, it’s very difficult to be in the present moment. A cluttered mind or tense body is often the result. Not only does this not feel very good, but ironically, it actually inhibits our ability to effectively address the challenges that we’re worried about.
With such a fast-paced society that places a high value on getting things done, it’s no surprise that anxiety the leading cause of mental health disorders in the U.S.. In fact, over forty million Americans suffer from some form of anxiety disorder.
In Traditional Chinese Medicine, if our anxiety is experienced as emotional disharmony, it is related to the heart center. If we experience excess thinking and worry, we may have an imbalance of the earth element within us. Qi Gong for Anxiety works with our internal energies to transform both of these disharmonies and restore peace and flow.
Restoring Peace and Finding Presentness
Every practice in Qi Gong is based on the understanding that thoughts and emotions are deeply connected to one another. If our emotions are turbulent, our mind will follow. If our mind is tense, our emotions suffer.
Since anxiety is based on future projections, Qi Gong for Anxiety focuses on helping us to return to the present moment. Often when we think of finding presentness we think of meditation and quieting the mind. Letting go of thoughts and experiencing mental relaxation is important. However, another essential element is returning to presentness within our heart and emotions.
Many meditation and mindfulness practices emphasize thought and mind. Qi Gong is unique in that it teaches us how to understand ourselves not just intellectually, but also on an emotional level. Thinking and intellect are important, but often thought is only useful for describing how we feel, not for actually working with those feelings. As the Dao Te Ching points out in its first verse: “The Dao that can be spoken is not the real Dao.” The same is true of our emotions.
Qi Gong provides us with the unique opportunity to connect directly with our feelings and bring about powerful transformations.
Qi Gong for Stress and Anxiety focusses on practices that help us return to the here and now in our heart center. By slowing down and bringing attention to the energies of the heart, we can mindfully work with our emotions to let go of that which doesn’t serve us. As we do so, we can feel the release of physical tension in our body, which in turn relaxes and liberates the mind.
Although Qi Gong for Stress and Anxiety focuses on working with stress and worry, the skills that we learn are applicable to all emotions and struggles. By learning how to truly be present with our thoughts and emotions, we can welcome in a renewed sense of peace and invigorated joy.
Qi Gong for Stress and Anxiety Pre-Recorded Workshop
We’ve put together a special, pre-recorded workshop called Qi Gong for Stress and Anxiety. During the workshop, Lee teaches students powerful practices to transform their stress and anxiety into tranquility and inspiration. The workshop focusses on breathing practices, movements, and a meditation that all work with the mind and heart. By taking the time to build an effective skill set for emotional balance, participants can walk away with powerful resources that will nourish them long into the future.
Some of our most important investments are in ourselves, and nothing is more essential than allowing your best, most joyful self to flourish and be happy. You already know how valuable Qi Gong is in your everyday life, so take another step forward on the path of personal empowerment.
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