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September 26, 2005
How to Use The Reticular Activating System to Make Your Qigong Practice Stick
I just attended an excellent one-day seminar on Getting Things Done by the productivity guru David Allen. See www.davidco.com for more information on David Allen's programs.
Near the end of the seminar David gave one of the most useful and succinct explanations of how and why we can use the reticular activating system to lock in more effective life habits. The advice is perfect for ensuring you stick with a qigong practice.
According to David, to ensure that we automatically stick with a process or practice, we need to identify so completely with an outcome or experience these behaviors create that you must do them in order to have it.
In the case of qigong, the most general and common outcome is a feeling of gentle, energized well-being, best summed up by the technical term, “Aaaaaahhhh!”
Unfortunately, in our culture, with our general addiction to stress, our habitual feelings tend to oscillate wildly and erratically between the extremes of two other technical terms, “Aaaargh!” and “Yahoooo!”
Now, the interesting thing is that with both David Allen’s process and with Qigong, the final outcome is a more balanced life with more extended periods of sustained pleasure. You’d think it would be a no-brainer that we would all automatically choose this option.
But most of us have become conditioned to choosing the wild ride of cascading chemical and hormones triggered by the fight or flight response. We end up accepting fatigue, low-grade anxiety, stress and sudden rushes of excitement followed by slumping let downs as the norm.
As David puts it, we don’t see how to get and stay in a state of bliss, we barely believe it is attainable and don’t feel compelled enough to make it happen.
What makes us jump out of bed when we hear our child whimper next door, but sleep through the harsher interruptions of heavy traffic? It’s the reticular activating system, the part of our brain geared to brute survival that constantly prompts us to take notice of what is relevant to our safety, security and well being. The RAS prompts us to take notice of what is relevant.
What our RAS considers relevant, we focus on. What we focus on, we identify with and reinforce.
So, we establish an inner thermostat that seeks to regulate our nervous system to maintain a comfort zone. To move us back from agitated, excited and nervous to calm.
Most of us have set our internal stress point surprisingly high. We have come to accept that that is just how it is.
The trick therefore is to consciously reset our inner settings so we no longer accept high stress living as the norm.
What’s the best way to create sufficient identification with the new outcome? By reprogramming our neurology through repetitive involvement with a new pattern.
Repetitive programming tools that can help us include outcome focusing, visualization, affirmations, following coaches and mentors who model the new outcome, physical engagement and acting as-if.
I frequently tell new qigong students to practice as much as possible for the first three months after learning a qigong form. An hour or more a day, every day. And to attend group classes as frequently as possible. If necessary to also read qigong books and watch qigong DVDs.
The consistent, repetitive experience of qigong practice will start to build a steady state of gentle, energized calm that we realize we are able to control. We no longer have to be victims of stress and pain.
We will develop an early warning system that will immediately alert us when we are going off-kilter, we won't like it and we are confident that we now have an effective toolkit of posture, breathing, attention and movement techniques to restore us to our preferred state of energized well-being.
Another very powerful way to affect a change in the strength of our identification with a process is through an extended immersion, like a retreat or a multi-day workshop.
If you are interested in jump-starting your ability to feel and create extended states of well-being in your life I strongly urge you to attend the upcoming three-day Unlock! seminar that I am teaching with Pavel and Steve Maxwell.
It’s like getting an instant PhD in mobility, flexibility and free flowing movement.
Besides having a dramatic impact on your physical capabilities, it may catalyze a new vision for you of what you can genuinely achieve to live a life that is consistently pleasurable and high-performing. Hope to see you there!
See all of John Du Cane’s qigong resources.
Posted by james at 9:19 AM | Comments (0)
September 19, 2005
Affecting Other People Energetically with Qigong Healing
I sometimes do bodywork trades with massage therapists. Over the years I have studied Jin Shin Do, Shiatsu, Lomi Lomi and Cranio Sacral, plus of course a greater deal of medical qigong and general qigong healing methods. While I have never wanted to be a professional bodyworker, I like to keep my hand in working with others because it’s a wonderful experience to give in this way.
If you spend a good amount of time practicing qigong, anyone that you work on is almost certainly going to be strongly affected energetically.
I was powerfully reminded of this a few days ago when I worked on my friend Kari Fenelon, who is an excellent massage therapist in the Twin Cities (if you are local she can be reached at: 651-221-0970 or karifenelon@aol.com). When I placed my hands on the top of her feet and made an energetic connection with her she told me it felt like a tidal wave had been suddenly released in her, or a power switch had been thrown.
Kari experienced a surge of current that flooded through her body, finally arriving in her hands where it began to swirl. She also saw vivid colors internally.
Now Kari is a very practical, down-to-earth, no-BS type who is not given to flights of fancy. What amazed her was how “physical” this all felt.
So, what’s really going on here? After all this time, and many such experiences (although I’ve never experienced this from someone working on me – I wish!) and a lot of thought and study, I have to tell you that I really don’t know. Qi generation is a very mysterious process that still confounds me after thirty years of exposure.
What I like to think is that an individual with good qi cultivation naturally broadcasts a strong vibratory field or informational signal, which can “wake up” or enliven the receiver’s own energy system.
Which the qi cultivator has also studied methods to focus their qi-information, the results are sometimes dramatic.
Everyone is different but there are a couple of simple qigong techniques that will contribute to your ability to affect another person energetically in the way Kari described above:
Spiralic Recharge: Standing in a horse posture, inhale while spiraling the right hand slowly from the waist across the torso and up to opposite and about two feet away from the left shoulder. Spiral the right hand back down to the waist on the exhale, while spiraling the left hand up and across to the right. Continue for about five minutes. For more detail see my Qigong Recharge DVD or manual.
Balancing the Three Centers: this is a classic and very well-known qigong method for cultivating energy. Everyone and their brother seems to teach it… for a reason: it really works!
Begin in horse stance with the palms facing in toward each other at abdomen level. On the inhale, rise up a little while expanding the hands away from each other. On the exhale, sink back down, bringing the hands in close to each other. The palms, which are like biomagnets for energy, will begin to stimulate a force or qi-field between the hands, within the hands and in the area of the body immediately opposite those hands. For good results do this every day for at least five minutes. For more detail see my DVD Bliss Qigong.
See all of John Du Cane’s qigong resources.
Posted by james at 6:08 AM | Comments (0)
September 12, 2005
Qigong, Tachycardia and "Instant Courage"
Question: I just started doing qigong meditative practice and have been doing the standing meditation for some time and have been encouraged by its healing ability. Lately, I have been experiencing tachycardia (rapid heart beat) and acute tremors. Overall, I have been feeling fine. Is this part of an energy release or stagnant energy being flushed out of my body? Generally, I feel relaxed after doing a meditative session.
Answer: Acute tremors and spontaneous shaking are quite common during prolonged standing meditation. This happens from energy opening up blocks in the body and channels. The legs in particular will start quivering and vibrating. A favorite quote from a qigong master regarding the standing meditation process, was: “First you shake, then you ache, then you bake.”
In fact the level of internal heat generated by simply standing comes as a surprise to many. This internal heat is a sign of high qi levels, normally.
Rapid heart beat is more unusual and if it persists I would consult a physician. A temporary condition may indeed simply indicate your system adjusting to the new energy from the standing practice.
My intuition from the little you tell me here that your condition is not serious and will pass.
Speaking of the heart, I just returned from teaching qigong to the Shannon Institute, an organization that runs a one-year renewal and leadership program for directors of non-profits. A great group of people as always.
Besides teaching qigong for Balance and Rhythm, I was asked to address the qigong perspective on Courage and Risk-Taking.
I talked about how courage is heart-based as well as value-based. However, if your values are strong but your heart is faint and vulnerable, your courage may be compromised in expression. Having the courage to jump into fast waters to rescue a drowning child is one thing, but having a sturdy heart to survive the challenge is another.
A strong heart is a responsive, resilient heart that has the physical and energetic capability to survive and overcome sudden challenges.
Here is a mini qigong course to build a more responsive and resilient heart:
1. Expand the Heart Center
Place your palms at mid-chest or heart level, facing down, fingers pointing toward each other. Inhale, hold your breath while tightening the glutes and pulling up the perineum, and bring the palms out to the sides at shoulder level. Exhale, inhale, circling palms back to heart area. Repeat up to eight times.
Note: this is an iron shirt technique. Check with your physician and/or start this method cautiously, if you have questions about your overall heart health.
2. “Instant Courage” Technique
Deep inhale, then pound upper chest with alternating fists, while making Aaaaah sound. Repeat four times.
3. Red Dragon
Raise palms above the head. Shake hands up and down from the wrists while circling the arms through 360 degrees. Squat low as arms circle down, rise up on upward movement. Perform nine times with the circle moving initially to the right side, down and up. Then repeat in the other direction. Finish with hands in front of the lower dan tien. Repeat four times in each direction.
4. Heart—Gut Connector
Inhale, draw energy through heart center directly into the lower stomach. Exhale into lower stomach. Repeat twelve times.
See all of John Du Cane’s qigong resources.
Posted by james at 6:07 AM | Comments (0)
September 5, 2005
The Mechanics of Living: Qigong, Katrina, Being Prepared and The Art of Crisis Management
I thought I had time and I thought I had enough gas...but suddenly woke up to realize that I was still twenty-five miles away from the airport with only half an hour before they would close the flight.
Almost simultaneously, the red light bleeped on to show that I was running on empty. It was a cheapo rental and I had no real idea how much gas and mileage I had to play with. If I stopped to fill up, the delay would mean certainly missing my flight. If I sped up, I was more likely to run out of gas and might also get pulled over for a speeding ticket.
If I didn’t get gas, I might suddenly run out in the left hand lane of the freeway, with the possibility of either getting rear-ended at speed or being stranded the night and wasting both time and several hundreds of dollars in extra expenses.
What did I choose to do, how did I handle my “crisis” and what was the final outcome?
I will tell you in a minute…
I had been at a qigong retreat Tuesday through Sunday morning, immersed in practice. I had arrived suffering from a certain level of busy-mindedness and resultant preoccupations. By the time the retreat was over, I was feeling connected, fully in my body and serene.
In fact, I slowed down so much, felt so good that I let go of carefully planning my return trip to the airport. How much time did I really need to allow? What time should I absolutely leave by? Did I need to fill up before the journey? Could I afford to stop on the way?
Immersed in my contented wash of pleasurable feelings, I left it late to pack, drove off late, continued at a leisurely pace, stopped for coffee and chocolate at a cute roadside coffee shop and generally dreamed my way toward my destination.
The result was that I set up myself up squarely for the little crisis I described above… entirely of my own making… entirely avoidable.
All the time of the retreat, the monumental crisis of Katrina was unfolding. I am not going to belabor what you must all know already: that it has always been a question not of if but when a hurricane would destroy New Orleans, that despite this knowledge no comprehensive plan had been developed to deal with that eventuality, that the crisis opened other floodgates of rage, blame, horror, terror, rape, murder and disease…
When I was taking an MBA course in accounting my teacher scratched up a glib homily on the chalkboard: “When you fail to plan, you plan to fail.”
I always like to think that qigong is there to help us restore balance to our lives, make us more resilient and responsive, more vital, more capable to handle life in general.
However, there are many dimensions to balance in life that qigong needs to address besides the obvious. They include a healthy respect for nature’s capability to harm as well as heal us… and an understanding of how to exercise proper care to protect ourselves as best possible for crisis.
I didn’t take proper care on my journey home and I am fortunate not to have paid the price.
How did it turn out? Well, I made it to Budget with seven minutes to spare, my needle well below empty. I wouldn’t have been remotely surprised to hear that Budget were unable to restart the car, for lack of gas… Running all the way with my luggage, dodging through the crowds, I arrived at the ticket counter two minutes before they would have closed the flight.
I made it.
And this is a guy who likes to normally arrive at least ninety minutes before his flight is due to depart!
But I do give myself high marks for how I handled my self-manufactured crisis. Every time I felt myself start to clench the wheel and tense up, thinking about my situation, I breathed deep, exhaled and relaxed out of it. I mentally accepted and prepared and surrendered to the possibility of missing the flight and resolved to make that an enjoyable experience.
When I finally knew I was safe, I sighed with relief but I had managed to keep my equilibrium more or less intact. I feel my longterm qigong investment paid off on many levels.
And yet I was reminded of how we have to remain eternally vigilant and not let our guard down, when it comes to protecting ourselves from possible harm. Sometimes, as with Katrina, the forces and surprises can be so powerful we are simply overwhelmed. But we can stack the deck in our favor by taking care in all aspects of our daily life.
See all of John Du Cane’s qigong resources.
Posted by james at 6:19 PM | Comments (0)