Need More Time & Less Stress? Do Tai Chi-Qigong!

[Anna York]

“If I only had a few more hours in the day!”  If this wish came true, a series of global catastrophes would immediately ensue. The Earth’s rotation would slow down, creating gigantic tidal waves worldwide, followed by floods and destruction of coastal cities. Longer days and nights would disrupt the biological cycles of all living creatures and global climate would change . . .  

Enough already!  So that’s not really what we wanted to happen when we wished for more time!  No, we are just wishing for more hours because we want to fulfill our commitments and obligations in a more effective, fulfilling way--or because we want less craziness in our lives. 

Since we aren’t going to slow down the Earth, how about a different strategy? How about slowing down the time we already have so that we are able to accomplish all we need to do and also feel more peaceful in ourselves?  Is that possible?  Yes, it can happen by practicing Tai Chi and Qigong. Doing Qigong can actually have the effect of slowing down time so that you feel like you have more hours in the day.  How does it work? 

I am fascinated by those crime shows where they slow down the action in a crime scene so you can see the details of what happened. Or, they slow down a bullet so you can trace the exact path it took to its target. We are impressed when the slow, patient work of the investigators, visualized in this way, gives insight to understand and then power to take effective, thoughtful action. The crime is solved and the villain is brought to justice. 

While we don’t live in a crime scene investigation, we do normally live in a fast-paced, action packed world where time seems to fly by as we race from one activity to another. We multiplex, dividing our focus among several different ideas, people or tasks at the same time. In this pressure cooker of life we are usually focusing our attention on the external world, on what goes on around us, and a lot of important details and relationships get lost because we don’t have time to observe and nurture them carefully. Wouldn’t it be nice to slow down the bullet?

We are even less sensitive and may completely miss what is going on inside ourselves.  How are our bodies holding up? How tight are our muscles?  What is happening to our heart rate and blood pressure? How are we feeling emotionally? These are the crucial infrastructures that keep us moving efficiently through life—until we ignore them so long that they break down. 

Qiqong is the practice or discipline of energy in our lives, not just physically but in all dimensions.  It begins with learning to slow everything down, beginning with the breath.  When the breath slows down—you have to try it to believe it!---time seems to also slow down!

Breath is one vital function we have control over, and it is the master key to gaining awareness and control of many vital body functions.  When we slow down the breath, we also slow down the heart rate and lower blood pressure.  Stress hormones that usually hype the body into physical action begin to decrease, allowing more clarity of thought, more capacity to see details in the environment around us. Colors may begin to pop out, small movements may become more evident, insight into people and situations may be enhanced. Priorities may become clear.

Slower breathing integrates with slo-mo Qigong movements that create awareness of fine muscles and of the flow of energy through the whole body.  We can sense a movement sequencing smoothly from the feet up through the legs, into the back and then out through the hands. There is a feeling of connectedness to the whole body.  Likewise the eyes slow down their movement and yet take in far more information.  There is almost a sense of being an outside, objective observer to all that is happening inside and around us. 

When one first begins to do Qigong, there is often an immediate sense of relaxation in body, mind and spirit.  As practice continues and becomes part of one’s daily life, there is a developing sense of being able to relax even in the midst of highly stressful situations. The breath is slow and even, the emotions are peaceful, the mind is calm and clear. Time seems to slow down, and senses, perceptions and thoughts become luminous, discernible, palpable. We are able to take them in our hands, mold them and send them out as authentic feelings, decisions and actions. 

It doesn’t take a cosmic event like slowing the rotation of the Earth to get some extra time in your life. New Creation Tai Chi & Qigong can help you go back before the beginning of time, before the world was created, before people, traffic and stress. Doing Qigong will help you slow down your inner cosmic clock and create more time for the things that are really important.

Find out more.