Udara

Qi Cultivation

Starting in March, our teacher Bella will offer a new class format called “Qi cultivation” on Tuesdays from 10.30 – 11.45 am at Udara. Do you like to know what Qi is and how we can cultivate it? Have a read of her blog article and come try out her class!

What is Qi? 

Qi” is “life-force energy” and the English translation of the word “qigong” is “life-force cultivation.” Before we can cultivate our life-force energy. First need to discover it to establish direct awareness of the presence of Qi within our own human body-mind. One way to discover Qi is simply to become aware of sensations of flowing energy within our body. This flowing energy might have a quality of warmth, or of coolness. It might feel more like tingling, or a sense of heaviness or fullness, or perhaps will have an electric or magnetic quality to it.

Bringing Conscious Awareness Into The Body

The way to begin to notice these sensations is to bring your attention, your conscious awareness, into your body. One simple practice to facilitate this is to rub the palms of your hands together until they feel warm, then separate them just slightly, at the level of your belly, and create small movements, in circles, or separating and then bringing them close together again, as you pay attention to the sensations in your fingers and palms. What do you feel? Try the practice with your eyes open, and then with them closed, simply noticing any and all sensations in your fingers, palms or wrists.

Once we begin to conceive of our bodies as being in continuous motion, it becomes much easier to “feel the Qi” to perceive directly the vibratory quality of our bodies. Once you’re able to perceive Qi sensations in your fingers, or between the palms of your hands, you might start noticing patterns of flowing energy, say along the course of particular meridians or places where the energy tends to gather, e.g. in the dantians (In TCM, dantian are considered to be energy centers similar to the Indian yogic concept of chakras). You may begin to notice that Qi can be felt several inches or even several feet outside of your body as though your physical form were held within something like an energy cocoon.

How Qi can become imbalanced 

According to Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), Qi is the vital energy that circulates through the body at all times. A general Qi deficiency may cause some overall symptoms of fatigue and illness. Qi deficiency may also result from using too much Qi in daily life. Many people in the Western world are constantly working or on-the-go, leading busy lives, leaving no time to relax.

According to TCM, leading such a stressful life with little downtime may quickly drain the body of vital energy, making a person more susceptible to Qi deficiency and the illnesses that follow. Think of Qi deficiency as being burned out, a condition that can cause the symptoms and conditions associated with stress.

How to cultivate harmonious Qi flow 

To help balance the Qi in the body, many TCM practitioners recommend to focus on rest.

This can include taking breaks throughout the day, making time to take a nap, doing relaxing activities such as yoga or qigong.

What you will experience during a Qi Cultivation class 

With calming movements you will feel an energy boost and learn how to gain energy with this ancient method. Feel relaxation in your body and enter the path of finding calm and inner peace. Reduce stress and gather Qi for your overall wellbeing and health.

The Qi Cultivation class is suitable for people from all ages and no previous experience is needed.

Check out the full schedule of our daily classes here. See you on the mat!