Where Can You Do Qigong?
Anywhere! A wiser question is, “where is the BEST place to do Qigong?” Doing Qigong in nature provides the maximum health benefits with the least effort. Doing Qigong in a park or forest, on the grass, or near foliage or trees will supercharge your Qigong. Qigong done in nature — out in the sunlight or moonlight, near a body of water will add a quantum energy boost to your Qigong practice. The simple goal of Qigong is to increase our life energy. Doing Qigong in nature is like plugging your Qigong practice into a hot battery or electric socket. Zap! We tap into the most powerful resource on earth — earth itself.
In the video companion to the article, I demonstrate a short Qigong exercise set near a lake. I can do the same Qigong exercise set in my bedroom, in a hotel room, or in a gymnasium. Doing Qigong in nature is like adding a double shot of espresso to your Cafe Mocha. It provides more “bang for your buck.” Doing Qigong in nature is like mainlining “bio-electric energy,” a Western scientific term for “Qi.”
What is Your Exercise “R.O.I.?”
Being the naturally lazy and time strapped person that I am, I always look for shortcuts. Of all the martial arts I could have achieved a Blackbelt in, I gravitated towards Japanese Jujitsu (AKA, “the Gentle art”). It is better translated, the “yielding” art, or going with the flow of an attacker’s energy. Doing high kicks, rapid punching, and other hard athletic styles are great. But, “I ain’t got time for that!” Remember the excellent adage, “KISS” — “Keep it Simple Stupid.” Qigong is a lazy person’s mind-body exercise. Tap into the profound power of nature. This is an easy way to get more R.O.I. for the time you put in.
The focus of our teaching approach at Download Qi is to help busy people cut to the chase on accessing the profound benefits of Qigong — quickly. If you are retiring to live on Wudang Mountain in China and you have years to study and practice, Congratulations! For the rest of us that have a life outside of contemplating their navel and doing meditation all day, we need something more efficient. We must enhance our benefits in the brief time we can practice. Doing Qigong in nature is a powerful short cut.
How Does Doing Qigong in Nature Supercharge Our Practice?
To put it simply, we as humans are a walking “water-battery.” We are 70 to 80% water, a dash of earth minerals, and an electric charge. Ancient Qigong is the basis for Traditional Chinese Medicine, which states that humans are a link between the earth’s energy and heaven’s energy. Our bodies literally run a current from the energy of the core of the earth, through to the sky. If we literally connect to the earth during our Qigong practice in nature, we enhance that current’s flow of energy through us; the conduit.
So take off your shoes, find a solid chuck of dirt or grass, and feel that flow. Imagine the energy of the sky entering through the top of the head (the “Bai Hui” acupuncture point –GV 20). As you breathe, imagine a thin line of blue oxygen passing through your spine, through your legs, and into the earth. On the exhale of breath, reverse the flow from the earth, out the top of the head, into the sky. Visualizations help release the deep, healing power of Qigong. Doing Qigong in nature enhances this profound healing effect.
The Power of Water and Blood
René Quinton, a French doctor discovered back in 1897 that sea water is 98% identical to blood. Sea water needs one molecule of magnesium, and blood needs an one molecule of iron. Other than that they are identical. Doing Qigong in nature, especially near water, is another source of power that we should tap into.
Bodies of water, the sound of waves and streams, and the moisture in the air near water, are all known to be healing. The Ancient Greeks, Romans, and Egyptians all testified to the healing power of water. Many religious and spiritual traditions, including Christianity, Islam, and Indigenous beliefs concur. Plato said, “The sea cures all ailments of man.” Science is now finally catching up with this ancient experiential wisdom. Water is living, we are full of H2O, and it seems just common sense to get our bodies near bodies of water.
Do You Need “Scientific Proof” That Nature is Healing?
I discuss this issue in my book, “Qigong: The Quick & Easy Start-Up Guide.” Personally, I do not have time in my life to wait for science to catch up to pragmatic wisdom. A book called, “Shinrin-Yoku: The Art and Science of Forest Bathing,” by Dr. Qing Li is quite hot now. It provides “scientific proof” that being in nature heals. Wow! No Shit. No offense to the Doc, but waiting for research (which is often funded by big Pharma) to give me “scientific” permission to do what heals me makes zero sense. I want to get my healing on now. So I will listen to what the Ancients shared, as well as the logic of my own body.
At Download Qi, we emphatically believe that each person is responsible for their own unique path to healing. We provide low-cost to no-costs tools to help individuals and organizations enhance their health and healing. We promote natural health remedies and approaches to nutrition, since food is our medicine. I believe that nature is a medicine chests, a cornucopia or healing remedies, a playground for our body, mind and soul. Do your Qigong practice in nature. Take full advantage of the greatest source of energy on earth — the earth itself.
