What is Qi Gong?
Qi Gong is a low-impact form of exercise which increases your energy and reduces your stress
Qi (pronounced “Chi”) is energy, your own energy, your vital life force. Gong means work or skill. Qi Gong is becoming skilful at managing your own energy, to improve your overall health and wellbeing. The result of a regular Qi Gong practice is a calm mind and an energised body.
Qi Gong = Breath + Movement + Mindful Awareness
Highly recommend Suzi, she is absolutely amazing! After Qi Gong I felt completely chilled and reset! She has a beautiful calming approach, very chilled. Amazing!!!!
Eileen, North Berwick
When you practice Qi Gong you:
- Improve cardiovascular health and circulation
- Balance hormones
- Stretch your body and increase your flexibility
- Foster greater balance and coordination
- Nurture your mind-body connection
- Increase yang energy to help you go about your day
- Enhance your body’s inherent ability to breathe deeply
- Experience deep relaxation
- Lower stress levels
- Bolster your immune system
- Improve digestion
- Build muscle strength and resiliency
- Remove toxins from your body
- Develop yin energy to promote better sleep
- Create harmony and balance in your whole system
- Improve mental health, including mood
Qi Gong can help you feel better during (peri)menopause
Hormones are essential for every cell in our body to function properly. As a woman ages and her sex hormone levels decrease (perimenopause and then menopause) her yin energy drops. If yin energy lowers, yang energy has to increase. Yang energy is heat, active, doing, agitation which in turn leads to disturbed sleep, hot flushes, distraction; some of the more common (peri)menopause symptoms.
Stress is an ever present feature in our lives. Stress exerts an incredible influence on (peri)menopausal symptoms. The ‘rushing woman’ embodies a lot of stress in her day to day life and in so doing exacerbates all of the symptoms she experiences. Our body can only generate one hormone at a time. If cortisol is being generated oestrogen, for example, cannot also be generated. In addition, high levels of cortisol is partly responsible for weight gain around the tummy. The first step to balancing hormones, at any age, and feeling better is tackling stress (cortisol) levels. Qi Gong is wonderful at lowering stress levels and increasing energy, bringing the body into balance. When the body is in balance it can heal.
Every Burning Brightly Qi Gong class follows a well-researched structure
- Breathing
- Warm-up
- Stretching
- Low-impact, slow-motion, relaxing, fluid movement sequences (often called “the flow”)
- Short meditation (in longer classes)
All the moves are performed standing and are suitable for every age and every level of physical fitness and flexibility. Longer classes finish with a brief meditation.
You do not need any special equipment or specific clothing to perform Qi Gong. All you need for a Qi Gong class is a (long sleeve) t-shirt or sweatshirt and track pants or leggings.
The original interpretation of Qi Gong was “nurturing life.” Finding an exercise you can easily incorporate into your daily life which is not only accessible but also fosters better inner health is something to cherish. Increasing the supply and flow of energy throughout your body can have a rejuvenating effect on your physical and mental wellbeing.