Read: An Exploration of Qigong Healing: Part 1

Preparation: Heal Yourself First

Powerful Self-Healing: Zhan Zhuang Qigong with Students in Derbyshire

One of the best ways of preparing yourself for a healing situation is to be in a meditative and receptive state, and that’s why I really value Qigong meditation. As I mentioned in my previous article, I first encountered the concept of meditating and balancing your Qi before treating or interacting with clients during my training in China, and I now find this practice invaluable. When I am in a balanced and harmonious state all my senses are more open and sensitive to feeling and identifying my client’s Qi imbalances. This may be as obvious picking up on the words or phrases that they are using, but it could also be their body posture and positioning, the tone of their voice, means of eye contact, and even smell or facial colour. Qi is projected on a multitude of levels and so there are many opportunities that may lead to identifying the imbalance that requires addressing and harmonising.

Fundamentally, as a practitioner when you are in this state of meditation and heightened perception, the Qigong healing is already taking place, quite simply because you are ‘creating the space’ in the interaction between you and your client, which in turn helps you identify and understand their unique imbalances. It also can remind you to maintain the balance between yourself and your client, because if you get too ‘connected’ or drawn into what may be a momentarily negative energy or situation, this can have a detrimental effect on your ability to diagnose and effectively treat the overall energy field of the patient.

I sometimes think of Qigong meditation as my personal Qigong healing, and as practitioners I believe that keeping our wellbeing balanced and healthy is one of the greatest gifts we can give to our clients. So if you are anyway connected to the healing profession, or even give healing as loving assistance to family and friends, I would strongly suggest that you always take a few moments at the beginning of your working day or before you proceed with the healing, to experience healing for yourself: confirm and reinforce your personal balance, connect to your intention, check that you have no expectations or desires concerning the healing process, and, above all, value and respect yourself in the healing process that is about to take place.

Preparation: Creating a Healing Environment

The Healing Environment: My Treatment Room at Peak House Practice

The importance of creating an appropriate ‘healing environment’ is often overlooked, but nevertheless I think it’s something that you should consider seriously as part of your healing practice. The healing environment includes the room or space where you undertake the healing or treatment, which obviously should be comfortable by ensuring it’s warm, feels secure, quiet, and is a place that you client is happy to spend an hour in exploring different zones of their psyche. I also like to use music, as I think it helps create a suitable healing environment, but you should always be mindful that music reflects a personal choice, and so ensure that your choice doesn’t negatively affect your client’s relaxation or your concentration and intention.

Also, remember you are part of the ‘healing environment’, so how you look and greet your client, the tone of your voice, and how relaxed you appear makes a difference. Always be mindful to offer the intention of looking forward to your time together, so that you create a personal energy that encourages your client to feel relaxed, at ease, and trusting in the forthcoming process.

This brings me to the important topic of trust - aside from all of your professional knowledge and experience, I believe the most important skill in your ‘healing toolbox’ is to gain trust. Your personal integrity should never be in doubt; this is the greatest asset that you can give your client; if your client feels relaxed and calm and trusting in you, then the healing process is far more positive and rewarding, for both of you.

I find in my daily practice that the concept of trust is also one of the most important emotional issues that my clients have difficulty in personally balancing, and in this regard I find that my greatest healing ‘weapon’ is my own integrity! When a client feels they can confide and work with you on very profound and deep personal, their emotional issues become less fearful, you can both to begin to address the deep rooted fears they may hold, and this is when the greatest healing and most profound changes take place.

Preparation: Checking your Healing Intention

My understanding is that Reiki healers use techniques to ‘protect’ themselves during the healing process as a vital part of their skill set, however, with Qigong healing this is not so. As you become attuned to the balance of your client’s Qi field it would be counter-productive to consider putting up your own ‘barriers’ and ‘avoidances’ to the flow of Qi, as these would only create additional blocks in the energy field you are attempting to harmonise and dissolve.

With Qigong healing I believe that the focus should instead be on keeping your intention clear and firm, which is why, as I mentioned before,  it is very important to ensure that you are personally ‘balanced’ before performing any healing or treatment. I would ask you to be particularly mindful of this when treating members of your family as it can be difficult to maintain your emotional balance if you are emotionally connected to the person that you are healing. I also strongly recommend that you do not undertake any Qigong healing if you are not in the appropriate frame of mind as this will be counterproductive for both you and your client.

Qigong healing is a very powerful and profound form of treatment and should always be treated as such. If given appropriately, with the right knowledge and experience, the results can be amazing -healing times significantly reduce and the enjoyment of the treatment sessions for both you and your patient is tremendously improved.

Diagnosis: The Role of Pulse Taking

Pulse Taking Diagnosis

Pulse taking is a lifetime’s practice, when I observing and receiving teachings from doctor practitioners in China I am always amazed at the sheer amount of detailed information they can obtain by taking their patients pulses.

Dis-harmonies in the body leave a clear ‘imprint’ on the pulse and the classic Chinese texts reflect many centuries of effort in classifying the basic pulses with their associated dis-harmonies. Pulse taking as a diagnostic healing tool can be quite daunting in terms of its complexity, however, when teaching my students, many of whom only have a very basic Chinese medicine knowledge, I always remind them not place too much value on an ‘accurate’ diagnosis as, on a very basic yet profound level, the process of holding your client’s hands and resting your fingers lightly on their wrists is a very valuable part of the healing process.

At the start of a healing session the gentle process of quietly connecting and pausing with a client can be very reassuring for them, and it can also give the practitioner an intuitive feel of the person they are about to treat. Once, when taking the pulse of an elderly female client, she smiled and remarked “you know dear, that’s the first time somebody has held my hand in 50 years!“, this reminded me how something as simple as the physical act of taking pulses can affect people on many levels.

If you do want to read more about pulse taking from a Chinese medicine perspective I would recommend Ted J. Kaptchuk’s book on Chinese medicine ‘The Web that has No Weaver’ , here the author gives a full description on all the qualities that you may encounter while investigating the wonderful subject of Chinese medicine pulse taking.

Diagnosis: Using Conversation and Intuition to Understand a Patient’s Energy Field

One of the interesting concepts of Qigong healing is the perception of Qi and how an imbalance in an energy field can manifest in the body. As a Chinese medicine practitioner and a counsellor/therapist I work every day attempting to rebalance and harmonise a client’s energy flow by clearing blockages and stagnations in a their Qi field, which may be physical, emotional, spiritual, or a combination of all three.

During this work we obviously talk about what they consider to be the cause of their problems; this can sometimes be easily detected and traced back to a knowable injury, accident or incident in their life, yet on many occasions my clients remain mystified in understanding the origin of their problems. One of the concepts that a lot of clients find difficult to comprehend is that an emotional or mental blockage, or what I term a ‘misunderstanding’ in their thinking, could be causing the presenting physical problem. This misunderstanding, and the imbalance in Qi it precipitates, can on occasions be tracked back into their early childhood, and, although it may now be manifesting and presenting itself as a physical problem, the issue may well be that the historic emotional misunderstanding has never actually been dealt with effectively.

This is not uncommon, as misunderstandings in a person’s belief system, and how they view the world and their place within it, get buried in the subconscious mind, just a virus would on the hard drive of a computer. The effects of this can sometimes lie undetected and unknowingly accommodated by the individual, or sometimes, when it is detected, an elaborate network of ‘avoidances’ created, because the fundamental misunderstanding seems so fearful, unsolvable or unfathomable to them.

So how is all this relevant to Qigong healing? Well, when you approach the client from a Qigong healing perspective, you view them as a holistic energy field, comprising of mind, body and spirit, including everything that is unique to them, their environment, and their past experiences. Sometimes a client will say to me “I don’t know whether this is important, but…“, and then refers to something that happened to them when they were seven or eight years old, I remind them that if they can remember incidents or statements given to them that long ago, over the millions of other experiences in their lives, you can bet your life it’s important! This then gives me a signpost to an energy field that may need to be addressed and rebalanced.

If our energies are balanced and harmonious optimum health will result; yet any imbalances have the potential to cause illness or disease. I like to use the analogy of a symphony orchestra, with its many varied sections and instruments; for us to enjoy the full majesty of the orchestra it has to be organised and conducted in a balanced way, with the different sections and musicians playing together harmoniously; the same applies to our own balance of personal energies if we are to be healthy and reach our personal majesty. It is also worth noting that a presenting imbalance in Qi does not necessarily mean a ‘weakness’ or ‘deficiency’, it could simply be that some fine tuning of the balance of the ‘instruments’ in the energetic orchestra is required!

I find this energetic approach to health fascinating, and working with client’s energy field can be one of the most rewarding experiences, both for the client in regaining their optimum balance and wellbeing, and also for the practitioner striving to harmonise the intricate diversities of the client’s unique Qi field.

I hope this short article gives you a broad overview of how to approach preparation and diagnosis in Qigong healing practice. When I have the privilege of working with a client, I always make sure that I am in the most balanced position that I can be in at that moment; that the Qi of both my external and internal environment is harmonious; and that I am open to all possibilities that may be presented to me during the session.

In my next article I will explore different methods of Qigong healing, including opening and closing protocols, and the healing with the Tan T’ien.

Read: An Exploration of Qigong Healing: Part 1

This series of articles on Qigong healing is also published in the International IMOS Journal.

This is the time of year when we traditionally pause, spend a few quiet moments reviewing the previous twelve months and contemplate the year ahead by making our New Year resolutions.

This process of pause and review can be very helpful and, if undertaken mindfully, it essentially mirrors the Taoist meditation technique I use every day as an invaluable way of connecting to my Higher or Authentic Self, enabling me to learn, grow and attract positive energy into my life.

When embarking on the process of personal reflection and goal setting at this time of year, I would like you to be mindful of some common ‘Ego traps’ that can seriously impact the success of the process and your self-worth!…

1.       Don’t dismiss meditation as mumbo-jumbo

Scientists continue to measure the beneficial effects that meditation practice has on our mind, emotional patterns, and general health and wellbeing, yet I still find many people misunderstand the practice of meditation, believing it to be a religious or mystical practice that will somehow detrimentally affect their free-thinking or decision-making. Recently, for instance, when I suggested a meditation technique to one of my clients she replied that she was fearful because she did not want to lose control.

Nothing could be further from the truth: meditation is a healthy practice that helps you gain mindful control of your own destiny, connecting you with your Authentic or Higher Self and the Universal flow of energy, allowing you to live your life following harmonious patterns that are beneficial to your wellbeing.

2.       Don’t use your personal review as a stick to beat yourself with

As part of the process of mindful review remember to throw away your Ego’s measuring stick, which can critically underestimate and belittle your personal progress, and perhaps even more fundamentally, never look back on past situations and blame or condemn yourself or others. Instead I urge you to embrace honesty, acceptance and learning as part of your meditation and review process.

With an honest heart and mind ask yourself when and how you could have acted differently? Know and accept with loving kindness that, if you’d been equipped with the appropriate knowledge, understanding and skills to authentically deal with any ‘problem’ situation or person at the time you wouldn’t now be left with feelings of internal disharmony. Then embrace any lingering feelings of imbalance and the situations or people they are tied to for what they are: opportunities for personal learning and growth.

This is a profound Taoist teaching: there must always be a Universal lesson for you in any challenging, difficult or painful energetic situation, or else you would have flowed through the energy in balance and harmony (your Wu-Wei) and not moved into the extremes of the energy as an avoidance strategy.

So, as you undertake your mindful mediation and review ask yourself: “what is there for me to learn from this situation, person, or energy field“?

Take time to fully understand the energy of any situation you encounter as, for it to exist, it has to have extreme ‘Yin’ and ‘Yang’ aspects and the wide spectrum between these extremes. This understanding is fundamental in appreciating the whole energy of the situation and armed with this new wider perspective you can steadfastly chart your central Wu-Wei path through any energetic event and respond emotionally and practically as your Higher, Authentic Self.

This is true mindfulness: always finding the Wu Wei (centre) of any energy.

This process of reflection and learning can take practice, but remember the Ego loves taking the easy option of punishing your for past ‘mistakes’ or ‘wrong’ decisions, and this can be an all too comfortable form of self-harm and avoidance.  Avoidance is a basic Ego misunderstanding, with the strong yet misguided intention of protection! It seems momentarily beneficial to flow away from the Wu-Wei centre into the extremes and avoid the emotional pain and learning, but this also means that you are moving away from the Universal lesson of balance and harmony (Wu-Wei).

As part of your mindful reflection and review be particularly aware of patterns of behaviour where you find yourself emotionally avoiding certain people or situations, as this always points to a misunderstanding in your belief system, that unless corrected, will block and stagnate your potential and self-worth as well as your general wellbeing. Through practice this simple technique will become extremely powerful, your senses will become heightened to the same kind of situations/people reappearing, and any lessons and misunderstandings in your thinking connected to the energy will become clearer.

In my experience, once you understand the situation and identify your misunderstandings, in most cases the solution requires just a minor emotional adjustment and realignment in your belief system and patterns of thinking. Of course changing the habitual nature of dealing with the energy may take a little longer to ‘reprogramme’ but, to reemphasise the point, never condemn yourself for your misunderstandings because this will only cause more blocks and stagnations in your energy flow.

Embrace the learning!

3.       Don’t limit yourself to a 12 month review

How many of us have missed the fabulous synchronicities the Universe sends us because we’ve waited for our annual New Year check-up?

The Ego loves the grand gesture of a twelve month review but this can be counterproductive as we tend to only register the extreme energetic highs and lows of the past year and fail to appreciate all the many varied and subtle shifts and alignments in our life and personal energy that have assisted us on our journey.

By ‘checking in’ with yourself and the Universe more regularly through the process of mindful meditation and contemplation (say every day, week or month), you allow yourself the gift of celebrating the smaller achievements and successes in your life and you also tune into and heighten your awareness of all the positive opportunities, people, information and occurrences that have entered your life and which align with your bigger goals or dreams.

As part of your mindful meditation and review you should always spend an equal amount of time celebrating your achievements as this will undoubtedly mean that you have encountered an energy field or challenging situation and navigated your way through the centreline (Wu-Wei) successfully. Acknowledging and celebrating these milestones is in an energetic way of attracting more of the same success. This simple technique connects you to the Universal energy of abundance and following this process on a regular basis can have profound life changing consequences.

The other great bonus of a regular review it that creates the valuable time and space for subtle adjustments in your personal direction to be made if your external circumstances change, or if you find yourself moving ‘off track’ away from your harmonious Wu-Wei, or if a new, unexpected path reveals itself. Though regular meditation and contemplation you can work in partnership with the organic unfolding and evolution of life and ride this energetic flow like a surfer on the crest of a wave allowing it to propel you to your authentic potential!

Conclusions

When a stream disappears underground it does not stop flowing…  

Be mindful that all life changes are like streams that travel a long way underground before they come to the surface. We cannot appreciate the subtleness and wholeness of any energy whilst swinging from one extreme to the other, therefore we need to be able to disengage, step back, reflect and above all trust ourselves and the Universe. The process of regular mindful meditation and review allows for this to happen.

Development and change are sometimes necessarily slow, because true, lasting growth is often an organic process that requires perseverance and fidelity. Always remind yourself that you are working in tandem with the Universe and natural forces.

The ancestor of our current situation is a thought…

Silence any Ego criticism and proactively look for the learning in all situations. Release the Ego’s demands that cause you impatience as being so means that you have lost faith in the Universe.

Remember, you and the Universe are one of the same, learn your lessons well and with grace, celebrate synchronicity, steadfastness and authenticity in your life, allow time and space for your destiny to unfold, and know the only limits that you behold are the ones that you enforce.

Wishing you an amazing 2012 because you are amazing!

This is the first in a series of posts outlining my understanding and experience of Qigong healing, also known as ‘Medical Qigong’, one of the lesser-known areas of traditional Chinese medicine.  I will guide you through practical techniques for preparing for healing, methods of diagnosis and common healing protocols, and will tackle the issues such as ‘trust’ and ‘intuition’ within the healing process, all from my own perspective and experience as a practitioner and teacher.

In this introductory piece I review the basis for all Qigong healing, namely the treatment of the ‘whole’ and the nature and flow of Qi, and set out my journey of discovery of this profound therapy.

Treating the whole and understanding Qi

The existence and practice of Qigong healing emphasises one of the key principles that separate Western and Chinese medicine, namely, the treatment of the whole, rather than focusing on specific health areas or disciplines. Chinese philosophy and medicine view physical, mental, and spiritual energetic health holistically, and consider that illness results from imbalances, stagnations or blockages within the whole person, which disrupt the flow of our ‘life force’ or ‘energy’ known as Qi.

Working with a client to identify blockages and rebalance their Qi can be one of the most profound and rewarding experiences for a Chinese medicine practitioner.  Qi is such an interesting, subtle, diverse, and powerful energy, which can be influenced from many sources and, from my experience and understanding, Qigong healing is an important aid to addressing and reinforcing the harmonious flow of Qi through one’s body and life, promoting general health, wellbeing and self-worth.

Qi can be thought of as the Universal force that flows through everything and everybody in a state of transformation, change and flux, almost like the driving force or energy of the Tao harmoniously finding a balance with nature.  In the same way as we experience gravity, which cannot be seen but can be felt and understood, Qi forms a vital part of our life on this earth. All elements of Chinese medicine, including acupuncture, Chinese herbal medicine, healing, meditation, tai chi, massage and Qigong, have the concept of balancing the flow of Qi at their foundation.

The West has no word or words to fully describe this ‘force’ so it normally gets described as ‘energy’ and, although this gives you some indication of its dynamic, it does not cover the all-encompassing and profound power that balanced, harmoniously flowing Qi can achieve.  From a Western linear thinking mind Qi is something of an enigma – it is very challenging to talk about and discuss, yet is something that we have all felt at some time in our life, perhaps without even realising it or giving it that name.

The Chinese make no consensual distinction between matter and energy, so this makes translations such as ‘vital energy’ or ‘spiritual energy’ problematic, although some of these terms can help in the visualisation of Qi.  In Ted Kaptchuk’s famous Chinese medicine text book ‘The Web That Has No Weaver’, he states: “we can perhaps think of Qi as matter on the verge of becoming energy, or energy materialising” [*1].

The traditional Chinese form of writing Qi is 氣, which literally means “steam (气) rising from rice (米) as it cooks” (source: Wikipedia *2) and the earliest way of writing Qi consisted of three wavy lines which represented breath seen on a cold day.  The literal Chinese translation of Qi is ‘air’, ‘breath’, or ‘gas’, which sometimes causes misunderstandings as it could lead one to believe that Qi is only those things, or that Qigong (Gong meaning to cultivate) is only a breathing exercise.  This could not be farther from the truth, and this lack of adequate translation into the English language can sometimes be an initial stumbling block to understanding the process and power of Qi and Qigong healing.

If we consider that human health and vitality is determined by the relative condition and flow of the Qi fields that surround you and emanate from and within your body, the translation of ‘healing’ in the term ‘Qigong healing’, can be thought of as encouraging this flow of Qi through the dissolving and transforming blockages and stagnations that inhibit the body’s natural healing process.

Qigong healing can feel and sound counter-intuitive to our Western minds, and one of my personal mantras that helps me harmonise this is: “we came from source, we return to source, we are source”.  When we take time to pause with our clients and consider that we are connecting on many levels, both seen and unseen, we also connecting to the Universal force of Qi, and that connection can be mysterious, exhilarating and healing (perhaps an explanation for this feeling could be found in the Western words of ‘intuition’ or ‘gut feeling’).  In some ways Qi and Qigong healing go beyond simple language translation and should be experienced and felt personally through practice and self-development, and this is something I always encourage my students to consider.

My first encounters of Qigong healing China

On my first visit to China I was fortunate to be interned at a large general hospital in the suburbs of Beijing, during the first few weeks of my placement I was fascinated by the practice and administration of acupuncture in so many diverse diseases and health issues, increasing my knowledge and understanding on the practice far beyond my Western training.  During those initial weeks of induction to the new culture of the hospital and their alternative approach to illness and treating people, I became aware of a group of ‘independent’ doctors, who I later found out to be ‘Qigong doctors’, working through the wards of the hospital, administrating healing to patients that had received both Chinese and Western medical treatments.

The procedure at this specific hospital (although this differs throughout China) was as follows: the Qi Gong doctors appeared on the ward and patients would raise their hand or make it known that they wanted to participate in the healing process.  I was amazed at the interest and excitement the arrival of the Qigong doctors generated, even relatives of people that were incapacitated would tie red ribbons to the end of their bed as a show of consent for healing.

Three or four doctors would then surround the bed and, without touching the patient, would adopt a Qigong ‘Wuji’ stance and began a protocol of Qigong healing that would last from 10 to 20 minutes per patient.  Although I was aware of this healing during the early stages of my interment, it was not until I had the opportunity to check several patients pulses before and after they had received healing from the Qigong doctors, that I was amazed at the profound difference it had made, and I became intrigued about what was actually happening during the healing process.

Later a return visit to the same hospital was organised and I suggested that a week of that visit could be spent ‘shadowing’ the Qigong doctors.  Although the medics were initially surprised that a Western TCM practitioner would be interested in Qigong healing, they were extremely hospitable, gracious and readily agreed to my request.  On my return visit some months later I was able to spend one week shadowing the Qigong doctors during their work – a normal day would start with an hour of personal Qigong meditation practice before reporting to the head consulting doctor for a briefing session.  I was always surprised at the breadth and depth of the monitoring of patients from the previous day’s Qigong healing treatments, and how this information and the patient’s energetic health was treated respectfully and with great seriousness.

We would then set off on our ward rounds, and although I had some knowledge of energetic healing through earlier training as a Reiki Master the UK, I was not prepared for the profoundness of the experiences I encountered during that week with some of the most intuitive, loving, healing professionals that I have ever encountered.

After a few days, once I had gained the trust of the Qigong doctors, they allowed me to stand in the Qi Gong healing circle as the healing was being performed on patients.  It is very difficult to write about my experiences as this would be anecdotal, but I will try and explain some of the situations I personally encountered because it was very inspiring to see Western and Chinese medicine co-operating on a range of illnesses and diseases.  The underlying impression I received was of the benefits to the patients, either by speeding recovery times significantly, or by improving their quality of life throughout the illness and reducing their pain levels by releasing the body’s own healing properties.

Protocol was that when the doctors were standing either side of the patient’s bed, after few moments of meditation a vibrational feeling began to grow, sometimes with heat, sometimes without. The procedure was that you would allow your hands to follow this ‘feeling’ (which I know, from my previous Qigong practice to be Qi). For the first few minutes your hands would be led around the patient until you were drawn to an area where you felt that you had to pause and hold your position.  The feeling would then generally increase again, sometimes with or without heat, followed by what I can only describe as the profound sense of peace, tranquillity and healing.  The atmosphere around the patient would change and the patient would normally drift off into a deeper zone of relaxation and breathing. At this point we were encouraged to “trust” the Qi and the unseen work that was taking place, this procedure was extremely flexible and you instinctively knew when it was time to bring the healing session to a loving close.

One thing I did observe to be unusual was that your hands were not always drawn to the area that would seem obvious from the illness been suffered, in fact some of the most profound changes I noticed in the pulse diagnosis were when healing had taken place on what was a seemingly unconnected area of the body.

In subsequent visits to China I developed my training and understanding of Qigong healing under the tutelage of Master Wan Su Jain at the Chinese Taoist Medical Qigong Bagua Xundao Gong Headquarters in Beijing, and I worked alongside him doing some very interesting healing work with patients suffering from physical and mental disabilities, understanding how energy medicine can be helpful reaching blockages that other forms of medical treatments have difficulty reaching.  Master Wan’s philosophy was that, although a disability may be profound, every human being has a connection to the life force of Qi, so some healing will always take place, even if is simply restoring a sense of calm and peace in an otherwise challenging and often difficult life. Again my observations of this work can only be anecdotal, but I did see and feel a deep change in the patient’s demeanour and pulses after each Qigong healing session.

The value of Qigong healing in my Practice

Today I practice Qigong healing on a daily basis as part of my treatment of clients, and through my Qigong classes and workshops at my clinic and teaching centre, Peak House Practice in Derbyshire, England.

I have found the practice of Qigong healing an invaluable tool for treating and balancing the physical and emotional health of patients, and I find great value in using Qigong healing alongside acupuncture as the combination can be very powerful, almost as if the needle prescription of acupuncture is treating the blockage or stagnation on one level, and the Qigong healing is working on a deeper more personal and profound level.

Although most of my patients have never heard or experienced Qigong healing, nearly all comment on the vibrational feeling and the deep sense of calm and relaxation that they have experienced.  For instance, this morning my first client arrived in a frenzied emotional state (agitated Qi), with completely different symptoms to what she had originally made the appointment for (painful knees).  So we spent a few moments talking through her worries and anxieties before treatment began, attempting to return her to a more balanced, harmonious state, before continuing with the original physical treatment of acupuncture on her knees.  Whilst the needles were in place we did some Qigong healing and she drifted off into a peaceful, restful sleep state.  In this state Qi has a better opportunity to flow, clear blockages and stagnations and heal the whole authentic body, and after the treatment she reported a complete reversal to how she felt 45 minutes earlier.  Although anecdotal, I see similar profound types of effect of Qigong healing in my practice every day.

In Part 2 I will review the practical steps to be taken in preparing for Qigong healing and techniques of healing diagnosis.

*1: Kaptchuk, T.J. The Web That Has No Weaver (Contemporary Books Inc., Revised edition Feb. 2000)

*2: Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ch%27i

This series of articles on Qigong healing is also published in International IMOS Journal.

When someone gives us credit or shows us appreciation for an action or a task that we have performed successfully, no matter how humble we may try to be, this usually a generates a gratifying feeling. Yet, when accepting praise, we should always be mindful of the internal shift in energy that this has the potential to create within us, moving us from a place of inner harmony to one of imbalance.

It is appropriate to accept compliments and credit where due, however, what can originate as the positive, loving energy of thanks and appreciation, if not received and handled with care, also has the potential to quickly engage our ego, leading to negative consequences.

These are the two sides, or the yin and yang, of this energy, and I have worked with many clients who demonstrate this energy out of balance, as they live their lives driven by an insatiable desire for appreciation and “positive strokes” from others.

Who these individuals seek approval from is never clear; sometimes it can be people who they consider to be ‘special’ and particularly worthy – parents, bosses, or esteemed friends and colleagues, yet when I enquire the response often is: “just other people“, and they are unable to define who they are striving to please.  This lack of clarity and reluctance to examine their underlying motivations simply allows and justifies the continuation of this energetic imbalance which can be so self-destructive.

The Taoist view on the energetic value of ‘taking credit’ is quite interesting, and one which may appear counterintuitive to some. An excerpt from verse two of the Tao Te Ching that touches on this issue reads as follows:

The sage’s greatness stems in taking no credit

When the work is done it is released

That is immortality.

My interpretation of this would be that it is a misunderstanding to ‘take credit‘, or indeed allow any feedback, good or bad, to shift our energy without question, as doing so means we are allowing the energy of another person or an external source, which we have no direct control over, to affect our internal harmonious balance.  When we let our energy shift according to the feedback we receive from others we also engage our ego, allowing it to swing from one extreme to another, whereby we either feel validated and elated when we receive positive strokes, or empty and worthless when such feedback is not forthcoming.

I have worked with so many clients who have bought into this way of thinking as a means of personal energetic sustenance, and who waste so much time and effort juggling feeding their ego’s constant demands for strokes and validation, whilst managing the negative side-effects of their ego in full motion!

So is there a better way to deal with credit or appreciation from others? The teaching suggests that we should take the balanced and harmonious ‘Wu Wei’ approach, by creating the environment for the energy generated by any person, situation or outcome to flow.

When your ‘work’ is done, whatever that may be, it has to be released – never anticipate or seek the continuation of the energy in the form of feedback from others. Simply, let it go.  Humans are not built with an inbuilt ‘storage system’, we are designed to be part of the greater Universal flow!

A little mantra I always repeat to myself to remind me of this process is: ‘we came from source; we return to source, we are source’.  This simple quote helps me centre and balance the energetic forces involved in any situation, issue, and human relationship, and reminds me that we are all part of the same energetic Universe. So instead of fighting and misaligning to that force, why not harmonise, balance and work with the force rather than against it. In doing so we ‘allow’, rather than ‘possess’, ‘own’, ‘protect’ , ‘store’ , or any of the other ego driven motives that are so misaligned with the Tao way. In turn, our actions and thoughts will mirror the Universe, synchronising and vibrating on the same frequency, bringing us to our highest level of being where we are at our closest to the divine spirit and Universal Qi energy.

Remember, energy cannot be held or destroyed, it must always continue in whatever guise harmonises with your personal belief system. This is what I would present to you as the immortality of the Tao!

Meditate and consider the following:

What or who motivates and drives you to be the best you can be?

How do the reactions or feedback from others affect your personal energy?

What have you done today to please others? Has this moved you closer or further away from your ‘Wu Wei’?

Some affirmations:

The Universe gives me all that I need

I am part of the Universal flow, I enjoy letting go!

One of my Twitter followers sent me a great question last week:

You say ‘allowing’ is the way of the Universe, but surely always saying ‘yes’ is asking for trouble?

This query, which many people have asked me in some form or another over the years, highlights a misunderstanding in thinking that creates a fundamental energetic blockage in many people’s lives.

My belief is that the way of the Universe is to ‘allow’ energy, love or Qi to flow harmoniously and in balance in any energetic situation. The Universe has no concept of ‘right’ and ‘wrong’, or ‘yes’ and ‘no’ – these are human perceptions that we apply to situations or issues we are confronted with; the Universal intention, or ‘Yi’, is always to continue to flow harmoniously, one may say in the ‘Wu Wei’ way. It is therefore a misunderstanding to believe that to continue being in harmony with the Universal flow one always has to say ‘yes’ …in fact nothing could be further from the truth!

Obtaining and maintaining a balance in any life situation should not revolve around human issues such as, pleasing others, being liked, not experiencing negative emotional feelings, harming yourself, or being a ‘martyr’. These types of personal choices may be familiar and more comfortable to some, but they are usually made as avoidance of the ‘Wu Wei’, i.e. the correct, rational and harmoniously balanced judgement and action in any given situation, and being in our Wu Wei usually involves us having to confront and control our own “feeling of fear” as part of our personal learning process, which can be very challenging.

So always saying “yes” is a misunderstanding and will lead to ‘trouble’, because “yes” may not be the correct response in that particular situation, and will therefore NOT allow the Qi to flow harmoniously, and will cause stagnations in your energy and the energy of the event, situation or relationship concerned.

In any life situation it is much better to first pause and consider your response, check whether it aligns to what you consider to be your Wu Wei way, trust your intuition, intention and your higher Qi vibrations to know the correct action. Whether this means the answer is “yes”, “no”, “not now” or “maybe”, these are all valid responses which you can take full responsibility for. Your intention (Yi) should always be to achieve your true potential, authentic self and self-worth, which will also be aligned with the Universal flow of Qi.

Remember never choose self-comfort over self-worth!

Over time, and through practice, you will learn to respond to all situations from a position of self-worth that naturally aligns with the Universe, and your ‘answer’ to life’s situations and challenges will always be ‘appropriate’, harmonious and flowing in the Wu Wei way.

Meditate and consider the following:

Are there times when you say ‘yes’ despite authentically knowing this is not the correct course of action?

When do you choose self-comfort over self-worth?

What is the authentic response to the situations you are facing in your life right now?

How can you be in your ‘Wu Wei’ today?

Some affirmations:

I trust my authentic self / higher self to guide me at all times

I choose self-worth over self-comfort

My self-worth connects me to the flow of the Universe

The national press recently reported a story of a man who was caught driving his horse and cart through red lights and the wrong way up a one-way street – the man told police it happened because his horse was colour blind!  His farfetched tale failed to convince police officers and he later ended up in court….

This amusing story does remind us that sometimes taking responsibility for our actions can be one of the most difficult and challenging things to do as human beings.

The sinking feeling you get when you realize you’ve made a ‘mistake’, and the awkward embarrassment when having to own up to it, can be really unpleasant, particularly if you’re misguidedly striving to be ‘perfect’ or someone who thinks they should always be in the right! 

Next time you find yourself in this sort of situation remind yourself that you only learn by making mistakes - everything you have done in your life so far has been achieved by first not ‘getting it right’, taking responsibility, learning by addressing the situation, trying again, and then blossoming as an individual because of this. Think about starting to walk, riding a bike, baking a cake…practice make perfect…

Personal growth can’t be achieved by constantly making excuses, creating justifications, or blaming other people. When we do this we engage in a process of avoidance and personal and emotional stagnation, instead of what we really should be doing: learning, being true to yourself and reaching your potential.

If you always make excuses for your perceived ‘mistakes’, rather than taking responsibility and owning up to them, the danger is that this avoidance becomes habitual, and slips into the subconscious mind almost unnoticed. You’ll become a ‘master of avoidance’, and spend much of your time and energy going round and round in circles, trying to dodge unfamiliar and uncomfortable situations, rather than learning, growing and moving on with your life. In the long-term this avoidance will also disconnect you from your authentic self and at worst can be very self-harming.

So the message is this: when you make a ‘mistake’, try to deal with your physiological emotional feelings first, no matter how painful and uncomfortable these feelings are. Then tackle the situation at hand in the most appropriate and authentic way you can – if this means that you have to apologise for your words or actions, do so with a kind and loving heart (remember, everyone has made ‘mistakes’ in their lives, and people always will, because we are all human). Finally, look for the lesson in the situation – this is so much easier if you can set aside any confusion caused by making justifications and excuses or by blaming other people.

Once you take full responsibility for your own life and your own learning you’ll be amazed how empowering this can be.

Meditate and consider the following:

What have you learnt and achieved in your life by first making ‘mistakes’?

What are the physical feelings you have when you make a mistake or need to apologise for something? How can you authentically deal with these feelings?

When have you blamed others or created excuses and justifications, rather than taking authentic responsibility for you actions?

Some affirmations:

I take full responsibility for my words and actions

I learn, grow and am empowered by every new challenge the Universe sends me

I accept that others are on their own unique journey of learning

I choose to act authentically in difficult situations

The desire for revenge is a very interesting emotional energy that all human beings have probably experienced in some form. I am reminded of the old saying “revenge is sweet” or perhaps an even older Chinese proverb “revenge is a dish best served cold”, whichever one of these statements resonates with you, perhaps it would be interesting to consider the action of revenge and how it affects you personally.

In my professional experience, the need for revenge or ‘getting even’ is borne from the feeling of being treated unjustly or unfairly. This can be very challenging for us to deal with and there seems to be an overwhelming human desire to bring the situation back into balance, to make the other person pay, or to right a wrong!

Whenever a desire for revenge manifests, the key thing to consider is ‘acting appropriately’ - to do this we need to pause, take a step back from the heat of the moment, and address the situation from a calm, balanced and authentic position.

I have known situations where an act of revenge has been extremely helpful and cathartic for both parties, providing a form of ‘closure’ to a situation or relationship. We’ve all secretly smiled when we’ve heard tales of so-and-so’s ex-partners clothes being stacked outside their door in black bags, but of course you also hear of the other extreme, where real harm and pain is inflicted by an act of vindictive or violent revenge that has negatively impacted on one or both individual’s lives.

So be mindful, always to take time to consider and balance your own emotions. I believe this is what the Chinese proverb is suggesting, allowing time for things to settle and your emotions to cool down, then finding the appropriate way to deal with a very emotionally charged situation in a manner that reflects your authentic self. Even in that moment when you may feel most resentful and vindictive, ask yourself ‘is this the ‘real’ and ‘authentic’ me?’ If not, you are acting out of character and against yourself, which will only cause you future upset and emotional imbalances.

Too many times people act in the height of their strongest most negative emotions but at a later stage go on to regret their actions – this simply makes a very emotional situation even worse!

So the message is:

If you feel you have been treated unjustly or unfairly, try not to treat yourself in the same way by seeking an act of revenge. Instead take time to consider the best way forward for you and your future, which reflects your authenticity.

This way the emotion will pass, the situation or relationship will be resolved in a balanced way and with time will fade into the distance, and you’ll be able to concentrate on the most important thing – your self-worth and your true potential.

Meditate and consider the following:

When was the last time you sought revenge? What was the ‘pay off’ for you? How would you do things differently now?

What are the physical feelings you experience and associate with revenge? How can you deal with these feelings in a calm, balanced, authentic and loving way?

How would your ‘higher self’ or ‘authentic self’ deal with these types of situations?

Some affirmations:

I let go of my need for revenge – I value my authentic self worth

I accept that others may not act as I wish – they are on their own journey and I send them my blessings

I trust that the Universe will show me the way

My authentic self can deal with any situation 

The first two paragraphs of the second verse of the classic text the Tao Te Ching touch upon this concept:

“You can only recognise beauty and mercy

If you know, ugly and mean.

If you think you know goodness

Then perhaps all you really know is evil!“

So how is this 3,000 year old concept relevant to us today?

The idea that all judgements, good and bad, are underpinned by knowledge of ‘the opposite’, can be extremely challenging and emotionally uncomfortable for our Western, linear thinking minds, and it calls into question many of our deep-rooted modern beliefs and thought processes.

The concept teaches us that you cannot feel ‘unloved’, unless you have experienced the feeling of being ‘loved’; you cannot have a sense of ‘injustice’, unless you have sensed ‘justice’; you cannot feel ‘worthless’, unless you have felt ‘self-worth’; you cannot be ‘lonely’, without having experienced a feeling of ‘belonging’.

When you reflect on the nature of paradoxical unity within your personal life or as part of your self-development, the concept can evoke a dramatic and liberating shift in your thinking. If you begin to accept what the Chinese refer to as ‘yin and yang’ within your everyday life, you become aware and comforted by the knowledge that for every dark, fearful or challenging time in your life, there has been, and will always be, times of lightness, love and stability.

A phrase that I frequently hear my clients say is, “I don’t feel good enough”. In applying the concept of paradoxical unity to this statement, for it to be true, they must also believe that at some time in their lives they have felt ‘good enough’, ‘loved’ and ‘worthy of love’ etc.

Critically, what they are in fact describing is a series of unfamiliar and uncomfortable physical feelings that have been generated by a shift in their life situation, rather than a true definition of themselves or their personal characteristics.

With this in mind, I work with my clients to find and deal with the issues that have changed in their lives and guide them to re-harmonise with the paradoxical nature of the universe. We can then address and rebalance the uncomfortable physiological feelings they describe, which in turns releases them to return to their authentic and true sense of self.

In my practice this shift in a client’s perception can be facilitated through a subtle combination of therapies such as counselling, coaching, hypnotherapy, NLP, meditation and acupuncture, however, simply meditating on this concept can sometimes be enough to profoundly change their sense of self.

The key message here is to understand that the phrases or words we use to describe and label ourselves often reflect a ‘misunderstanding’ in our thinking, our view of the world, and our place within it, which runs counter to the universal concept of ‘paradox’.

When we begin to work with the paradoxical nature of life and identify and correct any misunderstandings in our beliefs, we can profoundly change our patterns of thinking and doing, we become inwardly and outwardly more balanced, harmonious and free, and we allow ourselves to move towards our true potential.

Meditate and consider:

What is the paradox of the feelings and emotions I have right now?

What has been the ‘light’ and ‘shade’ in my life?

When do I label myself or others, rather than label my physical feelings?

During dynamic Qigong exercises I can sink into a state of calmness, I feel heat, my movements get slow, and I experience a sort of ‘enjoyable numbness’. Today when I tried some sitting meditation I experienced a different feeling – when I managed to relax some of my tight muscles, I could feel what is known as ‘energetic body’: a nice sort of light, happy feeling swarming all over my body, which felt both nourishing and lively.

I was wondering: what is the relationship between these two meditation experiences? Does the first lead to the second, with practice?

These are great observations that present some interesting questions. One of the challenging aspects of Qigong for our Western minds to accept is that ‘progress’, through application and practice, is never linear, indeed, I believe the term ‘progress’ presents a misunderstanding of the nature of learning and growth.

The cultivation of Qi, our personal energy, through Qigong and other forms of meditation and exercise, happens through a series of mind, body and spirit experiences that are unique to every individual.

My view, which may be somewhat controversial, is that in meditation and Qigong there are no set rules of engagement or cultivation, nor are there defined patterns of experiences that a student should move through to indicate progress. This perspective allows for a freedom of expression and openness to new and unexpected experiences, which reflects the way of Qi and the Universe.

Human nature does, however, lead us to try and explain and interpret our meditation experiences verbally so that we can rationalise and share our journey with others. This also presents us with a dilemma as, remembering that words also carry Qi, we have to be mindful of the words we use as they can be personal and emotive, and will often fail to resonate with, or be ‘off putting’, to other people. For instance, someone’s ‘enjoyable numbness‘ could be another person’s ‘scary loss of feeling‘; I have also been practising and teaching Qi Gong for nearly 30 years, and have never heard the term ‘energetic body‘, but that does not mean that the term doesn’t exist, or that I haven’t personally experienced or taught what the term is trying to explain.

So, in conclusion, it is impossible to answer these questions directly or definitively: certainly entering a state of calmness, sensing a physical warmth or heat, movements slowing down, and a feeling of enjoyable numbness, are terms that I would definitely associate with Qigong practice.

The key is to trust your intuition as you practice your meditation and Qigong; never do anything that feels uncomfortable or out of balance. Mediation and Qigong should be a loving, harmonious practice that encourages you into the Tao state of Wu Wei – in Qigong, as in life, each person treads their own path and finds their own harmonious, effortless balance.