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Abundant Life Well-Being
Breathwork
While not as obviously visible to the casual observer of Qigong practioners's flowing gentle movements as they practice in the local park, breathwork is a foundational element within any Qigong practice. Qigong's deliberate deep breathing practice is purposed for stimulation and exercise for the internal organs, at the root a feeling of grounded psycho-emotional balance and the root of more strengthening the more visible external health.
While there can be many variations of breath focus, there are fundamentally two base approaches of breath meditation:
Buddhist Breathing = focuses on expanding the belly upon the inhalation and contracting the belly as one exhales. This focused awareness of breath is for better concentration and mindfulness.
Taoist Breathing = Reverse Abdominal Breathing to prepare Qi for movement. One squeezes the belly in as inhaling air deeply into the lungs and then relaxing the belly as releasing the breath. This breath focus is to improve the flow of energy during qigong exercises by helping to build up and balance energy.
Medical or Clinical Qi Gong
Clinical Qigong professionals, who are equipped via extensive training and practice for self-cultivation, can provide clients with exercises, breathing methods, meditations, and self-treatment methods based on varied diagnostic assessment systems to aid their clients. The goals are to improve vitality and harmony to restore health and the sense of well-being by balancing excesses (stuck qi) and deficiencies (think of the plants down the stream below a blockage of that stream).
Health Qigong
This gentle form of yoga-like exercise and stretching, appropriate for patients of all ages and abilities, provides relaxation, physical flexibility, physical recovery, and longevity.
Qi Gong is an ancient Chinese Medical practice that combines slow movements, conscious breathing, and focused mental attention to strengthen and enhance the flow of Qi (energy) throughout your body. Rather than addressing your symptoms (as Western medicine tends to do), Medical Qi Gong addresses your ailment at its very source by healing your entire being — mentally, emotionally and physically.
Shen Zhen Gong
Sheng Zhen Gong is a contemporary creation by Master Li Junfeng, martial arts film star and coach of the National and Beijing Wushu teams, based on classic qigong.
Lea was extraordinarily fortunate to study Sheng Zhen Qigong with Master Li Junfeng, one of China's most respected martial arts Olympics coaches who went on to develop Sheng Zhen Gong, teaching his love-meditation qigong forms worldwide. Lea teaches her favorite Sheng Zhen forms, Kuan Yin Standing Qigong and Sheng Zhen Healing Qigong (a seated form).
During a therapeutic session Lea often draws upon these and other forms to teach a prescribed specific meditative movement to acupuncture, massage and hypnosis clients to aide them in their home progress.
“The practice of Sheng Zhen Meditation creates a deep state of inner peace and a feeling of love and harmony with the universe. It opens the heart, strengthens the body, and calms the mind.”
– ShengZhen.org
Acupressure and Massage
Acupressure points and meridians are another important technique to Qigong. Along the energy pathways (the energy circuitry of the body referred to as meridians or channels), are points recognized as having higher electrical conductivity than surrounding areas. These points are more sensitive than other parts of the body and are incorporated into varied Qigong practices.
Qigong practitioners, particularly those with acupuncture training, might use acupressure techniques during their practice of medical qigong to stimulate or balance by releasing a blockage to balance the flow of qi through these points. Releasing blockages will improve qi circulation to restore harmony to the body's energetic systems and fields.
What is Qigong?
For over four thousand years qigong has been an integral part of the Chinese culture in its role for empowering individuals to enhance, balance and maintain physical, mental and emotional health while also expanding martial arts prowess and pursuing spiritual cultivation.
There are many forms and techniques of qigong to draw upon to accomplish these varied objectives. Ultimately, the composition of qigong techniques are used to cultivate and balance the body's vital energy , commonly known as 'qi' or 'chi'. The Japanese word for this vital energy is 'ki'.
Qi = "subtle breath" or "vital energy"
Gong = "skill cultivated through regular practice"
While Western medicine and culture has no equivalent definition of this concept, the qi circulating within all living things (plant and animal) can often be termed as bioelectricity.
Over the thousands of years there have been, of course, the development of numerous varied traditions, lineages, schools and techniques. Some of these variations naturally relate to the varied goals and focus of the practitioners, be they more geared toward military martial arts strength and skill or toward physical or mental health recovery and balance focus or on a more spiritual focus.
All schools and techniques have a shared root in the need for cultivation and smooth flow of Qi. Smooth flow of this energy, qi, is vital for the smooth flow of our body's blood and fluids and for the health of both body, mind, emotions and spirit.