Qi Cultivation (Tai Qi, qi gong, yoga, martial arts), Play/Pray, Exercise I include the all of the above as Qi cultivation because in different ways they all help balance the cellular effects from certain physical and emotional states, and to help maintain the patency or ‘free-flowing’ nature of qi. Some of you who read my article on bodywork now understand that the nature of qi is like a river, and it needs to flow freely and evenly. Chronic pain and disease are signs that the qi has gotten diminished or stuck in some way. This category includes ways to help ensure that qi moves freely and smoothly, and also helps bring a level of self awareness into your body to help prevent recurrences in the future.
What types of qi cultivation you choose depend on your personality and taste, and I don’t find one to be more beneficial than the other. It should be something in which you find immediate gratification (or you won’t continue doing it). I have experimented with almost everything – sadly I lack the temperament to do tai ji – gave it my best shot for over a year – do not have the patience for it. But found immediate results when I started doing yoga for my back. So to each his own. In general I find there is a need for something with movement and stretching (frees up the qi in the large muscle groups and maintains flexibility and strength) and something which allows for quiet time and contemplation (relieves stress and allows the body to mentally and physically recharge the batteries. Sometime they can be combined like long solitary walks on the beach, so again, search out ones that are pleasing.
In addition to the physical benefits of clearing out stress, improving flexibility, freeing up stuck qi from the large muscle groups, the process of qi cultivation for me personally has brought with it a greater level of awareness of how I hold myself during the day, where my qi gets stuck, how my emotions affect me physically. This is very liberating because I am much less at the mercy of them – I am more aware that when I haven’t taken the time to stretch or have quiet time for inner contemplation, I am a little too tightly wrapped, both mentally and physically. And I have learned over time, that when this gets really out of balance, then I get grumpy, my back goes out, and the cycle begins again. The great news is that I have the practices to go back to, and within a fairly short period of time, the qi is flowing, and my body and mind are in better shape.
I also find that ‘play’ is one of the most important aspects of self-care, and one that seems to get left behind after childhood. Dogs and kids remember already know this. Play can be anything, but it should be something that genuinely is joyful, makes you glad to be alive, and renews the heart. Dinner parties with friends, tennis, golf, singing, salsa dancing, church choir. It doesn’t matter what.
Let’s be honest, martyrs are boring – remembering to play makes us more enjoyable to be around, and it provides a reserve of good feelings so that on bad days I am less likely to go home and kick the dog or yell at my spouse. (All Work and No Play... remember the Shining? Not good). It gives us a cushion – which again is partly biochemical! If we go back to the idea of cellular chemistry, play has a powerful affect chemically on the body in terms of the pleasure receptors in the brain, and stimulates the immune system. From the TCM perspective, it helps to stimulate the heart energetic (joy), and relieves mental and physical stagnation. Seriousness of mind leads to seriousness (or stuck- ness) of the body, and we now know what happens now when the qi gets stuck.
In the oriental classic, The Great Dao (6) (a great read by the way), great attention is given to qi cultivation and self- care – meaning right diet, right action, right thought, bodywork like tui na, etc. Acupuncture was considered crude and invasive – it was only used when the other aspects had been neglected. For the practitioner who was skilled in therapeutic massage and offering wise counsel in terms of diet, exercise, and mindfulness, there was no need to resort to something as crude as needles…. While I am not yet ready to give up my weekly acupuncture visits, this brought me to a renewed respect for all the elements of self-care, including qi cultivation. Truth be told, there are not enough hours in the day for me to do everything I need to to maintain myself so that I don’t need to rely on bodywork to help balance the equation. I would rather go horseback riding….
Contact me directly at jmoffitt@acunut.com.
1. Pert CB. Molecules of Emotion: The Science Behind Mind-Body Medicine. New York, N.Y.: Touchstone, 1997, p. 9.
2. Psychoneuroimmunology: Body-spirit-mind medicine (http://www.journeyofhearts.org/jofh/transition/pni_p)
3. The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. Houghton Mifflin Company: 2000. Available at: http://www.bartleby.com/61/59/P0635950.html.
4. Maier SF, Watkins LR, Fleshner M. Psychoneuroimmunology: The Interface between Behavior, Brain and Immunity. American Psychologist. 1994;49;1004-17.
5. http://www.what-is-cancer.com/index.html
6. The Great Dao Doctrine was founded by Liu Deren, who declared that an old man had taught him the mysterious Dao in the second Huangtong year (AD 1142) of the Jin dynasty (1115-1234), leading to the birth of the Great Dao Doctrine. (http://www.eng.taoism.org.hk/general-daoism/major-daoist-sects/pg1-3-18.asp)
© Copyright 2003 - 2009 Jennifer Moffitt, Healing Arts Center Press, and AcuNut.com. All rights reserved.
Let’s be honest, martyrs are boring – remembering to play makes us more enjoyable to be around, and it provides a reserve of good feelings so that on bad days I am less likely to go home and kick the dog or yell at my spouse. (All Work and No Play... remember the Shining? Not good). It gives us a cushion – which again is partly biochemical! If we go back to the idea of cellular chemistry, play has a powerful affect chemically on the body in terms of the pleasure receptors in the brain, and stimulates the immune system. From the TCM perspective, it helps to stimulate the heart energetic (joy), and relieves mental and physical stagnation. Seriousness of mind leads to seriousness (or stuck- ness) of the body, and we now know what happens now when the qi gets stuck.
In the oriental classic, The Great Dao (6) (a great read by the way), great attention is given to qi cultivation and self- care – meaning right diet, right action, right thought, bodywork like tui na, etc. Acupuncture was considered crude and invasive – it was only used when the other aspects had been neglected. For the practitioner who was skilled in therapeutic massage and offering wise counsel in terms of diet, exercise, and mindfulness, there was no need to resort to something as crude as needles…. While I am not yet ready to give up my weekly acupuncture visits, this brought me to a renewed respect for all the elements of self-care, including qi cultivation. Truth be told, there are not enough hours in the day for me to do everything I need to to maintain myself so that I don’t need to rely on bodywork to help balance the equation. I would rather go horseback riding….
Contact me directly at jmoffitt@acunut.com.
1. Pert CB. Molecules of Emotion: The Science Behind Mind-Body Medicine. New York, N.Y.: Touchstone, 1997, p. 9.
2. Psychoneuroimmunology: Body-spirit-mind medicine (http://www.journeyofhearts.org/jofh/transition/pni_p)
3. The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. Houghton Mifflin Company: 2000. Available at: http://www.bartleby.com/61/59/P0635950.html.
4. Maier SF, Watkins LR, Fleshner M. Psychoneuroimmunology: The Interface between Behavior, Brain and Immunity. American Psychologist. 1994;49;1004-17.
5. http://www.what-is-cancer.com/index.html
6. The Great Dao Doctrine was founded by Liu Deren, who declared that an old man had taught him the mysterious Dao in the second Huangtong year (AD 1142) of the Jin dynasty (1115-1234), leading to the birth of the Great Dao Doctrine. (http://www.eng.taoism.org.hk/general-daoism/major-daoist-sects/pg1-3-18.asp)
© Copyright 2003 - 2009 Jennifer Moffitt, Healing Arts Center Press, and AcuNut.com. All rights reserved.
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