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May 23, 2005
Qigong as an Antidote to Download Downtime Angst
Yesterday, I was downloading some MP3s of teleconferences on how to make your book a #1 bestseller on Amazon. It was near the end of a long day where I had already spent way more time than was good for me staring at the computer screen and punching out endless messages on the keyboard.
I found myself getting suddenly impatient at the tedious process of waiting for the darn things to download. Most of them were at least 10 meg files! Okay, so they would only take a few minutes, but I was deep into I Want It When I Want It Which Is NOW mode and was getting quickly tangled up in a mess of irritability and jangled nerves.
When in doubt, blame…
Hey, wait a second, this is Mr. Qigong! Supposedly sailing along on an endless swell of gentle bliss. What happened?
Well, one great thing about regular qigong practice is that you develop a very sensitive early warning device for when you get off kilter. So instead of careening off into rocky rapids, you have the chance to correct yourself and head off into calmer waters.
After shaking myself off like a wet dog, I decided to do a short qigong method while I was waiting for each MP3 to download.
Easy, I just stood up from my computer hutch, put myself into the initial Crane Breathing posture and performed twelve repetitions of that particular method. I repeated this for the next three downloads... using the next three methods from the Crane Frolic.
The result was predictable: I calmed down, relaxed, my tension and irritability disappeared and I had generally reclaimed myself from my imminent Pain Body attack. I wasn’t looking to blame anyone anymore. I felt too good.
Easy as that. Of course, the more qigong you’ve done in the past on a regular basis, the faster this calming effect kicks in.
Here is a description of the initial Crane Breathing technique. You can find more detail plus photographs on this and other similar methods in my Five Animal Frolics Qigong book or you can learn every nuance and get it totally right, from my Serenity Qigong DVD.
Crane Breathing
Initial postural alignment:
1. Seek to reduce the impact of gravity on your body to minimize tension and maximize a relaxed flow of energy through your system.
2. Stand with the heels touching and your feet angled out at 45 degrees.
3. Distribute your weight equally across the whole of the foot.
4. Bend the knees slightly.
5. Tuck the hips under.
6. Relax the lower dantien or abdomen area.
7. Relax the upper chest and lower your shoulders.
8. Pull your chin in slightly and extend your head up, elongating and opening up your cervical vertebrae.
9. Place your tongue lightly against the roof of the mouth.
10. Maintain a level gaze with a soft, 180-degree focus.
11. Put the hint of a smile on your face and allow the smile to permeate your whole body.
Movement:
Place the palms facing up at lower stomach level, just off the body and slightly apart from each other. Move the palms up the front of the chest to the level of the heart region, then back down to the lower stomach. Inhale on the upward movement, exhale on the downward movement.
Attention:
Move your attention up the spine as the hands rise and move the attention down the spine as the hands descend.
Check out more of John Du Cane’s Qigong resources here
Posted by james at May 23, 2005 7:17 AM