My First Year of Qigong

I can’t remember how I found out about Qigong, but I think I must have come across it when I was web-surfing for Tai Chi. I was feeling stressed, and the combination of slow movements and focus on breathing, without the need to learn a long sequence of moves, seemed to be just the thing.

I found the ActiveQi website and decided to give it a try. I wasn’t at all sure what I was getting myself into. What is this ‘qi’ thing? Is it more than the energy we don’t have when we are unwell? Is it something to do with our aura? Will Qigong help me to manage my own energy in the face of the energy of others? And what are yin and yang?

I started with an online class, and enjoyed it. I liked the quiet attention, and there’s something I like about being in my own space. I really wanted to be at an in-person class if possible though, so when I discovered there was one I could get to, I moved to that and have stayed with it ever since.

The 5-Minute Qigong Program

Soon after I started, Jeremy posted his ‘5 Minute Qigong’ program. How lucky was that? At just 5 minutes a day it was the perfect way to get some Qigong practice into my life, outside of the classes. The advice to start at 2 minutes and gradually build up to 5 minutes worked well. I started with Balancing the Qi, soon finding that my hands were willing to turn themselves at the bottom of the movement, and that was enough to hook me in.

Meanwhile in an early class, a sense of relief I felt as we went through the quiet calmness of our opening routine, and again at the end, brought me to tears. A chat with Jeremy after the class persuaded me to send him my observations from my 5 minute Qigong practices. I started to do this once a week and found it difficult to write at first, but it became easier with time, and the replies I’ve received have always been encouraging and helpful.

So this was my new routine, going to the class each week, and doing my 5 minutes every day at home. At first I didn’t feel any of the tingling we were invited to notice, but I enjoyed what I was doing, I believed it would be helpful, and at the very least, slowing down and noticing my breathing and movement wasn’t going to do me any harm.

In the 5 minute practice, Regulating the Qi, gave me such an avalanche of feedback after about a week that I wondered what on earth was going on. I ploughed on with it though, sticking with my daily 5 minutes, and by the end of about a month of practising it I was absolutely loving the movement. Some time later came Cloud Hands, a movement I immediately liked. However, I started to experience pain as I was doing it which I ignored at first, but it eventually became clear that I needed some advice.

In another chat with Jeremy after a class, I was offered some ideas for what to do. Five minutes became 10, and has been ever since – 5 minutes to work with the new ideas, and 5 minutes for the ‘usual’  qigong practice.

Exploring Muddy Water

Exploring Muddy Water, Standing like a Post, and Washing with Qi, alongside my other 5 minutes, has given me a whole new perspective on Qigong. I’ve started to see more of what is going on – things I’m doing that I don’t need to do, and something about what qi is. They have all given me insights, and swapping between them, over time, has been useful. Washing with Qi, though, is the one that has given me belief, and has somehow made it mine. I’ve found it fascinating to sense what seems like an electric field around me when I am moving my arms around. If I just think it, there is still something going on, and in some way, whatever it is, it can go where it’s needed (on a good day).

Each 5 minute Qigong video has been packed with information. I’ve found that it has taken me a few days to get into the rhythm of each new exercise, which has been surprising for such seemingly simple movements. I’ve enjoyed getting to know the movements in this way, though, and as I go on with them I see different things.

The classes give me the foundations for my practice at home. It’s not just the movements, it’s the guidance that comes with them, both general and specific. Jeremy is very good at seeing what’s going on, and gives us gentle nudges to help us to improve. I like the music accompaniments, and the consistency of the starting and ending routines, and there’s a good variety of different routines in between. By the end of a class I always feel quieter and calmer than I was at the start.

Over the year I’ve had the inevitable ups and downs with my practice, especially when life gets stressful for whatever reason and my head is buzzing. I know that if I just keep on going, making sure I maintain my 10 minute practice habit, then eventually I will emerge from the ‘down’ times.

Every now and then I’ve had a glimpse of something else – an experience that shows me how different things could be. One time during my 5 minute practice I had a mesmerising sensation of magic string between my hands. Another time after a relaxing week off work I found that the next class, even after returning to work, left me thinking ‘I didn’t know I could feel like this’. On one occasion (outside of class) the sheer simplicity of choosing to be quiet dissolved a bout of anger. And then there’s the time I arrived at work after a class and realised how calm I felt, even though I was anxious about an upcoming meeting. After these glimpses it seems that I go back to where I was before, maybe with some subtle change in the background, but with that memory encouraging me on.

Where am I now?

Each day I make time for my 10 minutes. What I do in that time is sometimes the same for days or weeks, and sometimes it changes – I just do what seems like the right practice for the day, without thinking too much about which exercise to do, and for now that works. At home and in class I sense more of the tingling, and sometimes get a sense of something between my hands that I can’t explain. I see much more than I used to of how different I am on my right side and my left side. By the end of a class I feel quieter, and while I don’t always achieve that on my own, I can notice things differently in my own Qigong practice and I know that it changes my state for the better. My awareness of how I’m moving has changed over the year, both in my practice and in my life, which can only be a good thing, as it gives me a chance to change things.

That said, there is plenty of clutter in my brain for the time being. I see the clutter as being related to the stuff I don’t need to be doing physically, as well as just being mental chatter. Part of the noise is emotion and, while not wanting to be anything other than my real self, I wish for a day when my emotions don’t have such a hold on me. 

As regards stress, there is a long way to go.

I like being at the early end of learning about Qigong because it seems as if there’s a whole new world to learn about. One year in, do I know what qi is? No, but I do have the beginnings of an idea. Do I know what Yin and Yang are? No, other than a seemingly changing bunch of things that need to be balanced. Do I have any clue about how the movements are supposed to do what they say on the tin (e.g. how does Balancing the Qi actually balance the qi)? No. But do I think I’m doing something useful? Yes. And most importantly, I’m enjoying it.

What’s Your Experience?

Share your reflections on your Qigong (or Tai Chi) journey. Each of us takes a different path and your experience may be quite different yet we all have something to learn from each other.

Comment below, or Email me

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