Why is it that sometimes you feel confident, connected, and at ease and other times you get flustered, disoriented and nothing seems to come together? According to Greek poet Archilocus, “we don’t rise to the level of our expectations, we fall to the level of our training.” Now does that mean that every possible situation you go through needs to be practiced, rehearsed, and trained? That seems a little overwhelming!
I remember the first time I really got a sense for “opening and closing” my joints. We were on a qigong retreat and the person who was helping me probably spent 20 minutes “pulsing” my wrist, so that the fluids in the joint were moving in a smooth, even way, alternately creating more and less space between the bones. When you pulse, you’re manipulating the fluid flows inside your body so that the spaces inside your body compress and expand.
We live in a culture where doing more, having more, and working harder are valued above pretty much everything else. This is a dangerous attitude, a linear approach to life that denies the need for rest and renewal. Of course, if you constantly push yourself, you know it will lead to burnout. If you operate as if you have an infinite capacity to do and never rest, sooner or later you will get the message in some form that it is time to slow down.
Even if you have cultivated a daily practice that takes you into deep relaxation, it’s helpful to have a set of stress reduction techniques “that work in 5 minutes or less.” You can pull these out during the day when you have a few minutes of downtime. If you are busy and really stressed out, these relaxation techniques can prevent your stress level from going through the roof. Try them and let me know what you think.
The Three Swings from Energy Gates are some of the most challenging exercises to do well in the entire Energy Arts curriculum. You have to relax, maintain good alignment, and coordinate stepping and turning while moving faster than most other qigong exercises. Let’s talk a little bit about why the Three Swings are important and what you need to integrate to do them well. Getting Started with the Three Swings
So, I know I’m writing this on vacation where the most pressing decision we make each day is whether to hike, kayak, or swim, but I’m going to go ahead anyway and recommend that you practice twice a day. Here’s why…
What I Learned from a Month-Long Tai Chi Intensive After a month in England, practicing 10 hours a day at the Short Form Instructor Training this summer, I have a renewed appreciation for daily practice rhythm.
Implementing a breathing practice that has an impact on your energy levels and actually chips away at stress can be tricky. It requires a blend of persistence and relaxation that can seem like a paradox at first. That’s why I recommend the 20-20-20 Rule (which I made up) for better breathing. I explain the 20-20-20 Rule in this clip, pulled from the breathing course in my Foundations of Relaxation series:
Bone Rhythm is a core concept taught in Z Health and I’ve found it to be one of the single most important teaching tools I have when it comes to getting people moving. The idea is very simple, that each bone is a rigid structure and because of that, when one end moves, the other must move. Now, the question of how the other end moves is what matters here. When the two ends of the bone move correctly relative to each other, you have smooth, effortless movement.
