Emotional Healing - Do You Live Life or Does Life Live You?

 

Life's up and downs can often trigger emotional responses, which are either healthily expressed or unhealthily repressed inside. The Emotions (which can be seen as "Energy" in "Motion") are a powerful part of our being. Emotions of any kind cause strong feelings in the body and in the mind. When the body and the mind are not in harmony, it makes us feel confused, unhappy, and ill at ease, hence, dis-ease begins. Just imagining happy or sad feelings or thinking of a happy or sad situation will cause you to feel positive or negative emotions. According to Traditional Chinese Medicine dis-ease is caused by emotional repression. People think that strong emotions are "bad" and they avoid feeling them. Trauma, resentment, grief, or grudges can become locked in the body's tissues and organs. Such repressed emotions get held in the organs of the body and each emotion is associated with a particular organ. The liver stores anger, the kidneys hold fear, the spleen holds worry, the lungs hold grief and sadness, and in the heart repressed emotions can cause depression and a lack of joy. Repressed emotions can slow down circulation to the organ and toxins can build up. 

 

For example, lung and respiratory problems may result when sadness is repressed.  Blockages in the kidneys may lead to reproductive, bone, ear, and other problems when fear is repressed. Anger issues such as resentment can cause problems with the Liver. In her article, "Moving into Thankfulness with Qi Gong" (published in the New Health Digest, November 2003), Lisa B. O’Shea states "Resentments can be big or small and can cause huge stress on our physical and emotional well-being. Chinese Medicine and Qi Gong look at this resentment as relating to the Liver energy system. The Liver system includes the liver and gall bladder, their respective meridians, the eyes, glands, tendons and ligaments, the peripheral nervous system, as well as nonphysical elements such as decision-making, action taking, and the emotions of anger and frustration. Symptoms such as depression, anxiety, cancer, ovarian cysts, fibroid tumors, endometriosis, constipation, headaches, allergies, twitches, muscle cramping, PMS, or menopausal problems can all come from the stress on the Liver energy from bottled up emotional resentment."

 

Stress, anxiety, tension, and the inability to relax also effect us by building up static electricity in the body. This static causes blockages, which cause stagnation, which causes congestion, which causes inflammation, which causes infection, which causes infestation. The calmest person in the world is still subject to outside factors that wear away at one's wellbeing. It has recently been proven by scientists that the body cells hold memory; thus, emotions repeatedly felt set up a pattern of vibration within the cellular memory of a given organ. These emotions adversely affect decision making and action taking. The good news is that Qigong, and Jindao Life Transforming Qigong in particular, offers great relief from emotional effects. The various self healing movements practiced in Qigong help to restore balance to the body, mind and emotions, not by reviewing the emotional issues, but by releasing the trapped emotions from the organs and body tissues. The Four Core Points of Qigong (Posture and movement; Deep Breathing; Massage; and Meditation) all work together to unwind the body, release the trapped emotions, and harmoniously unify the body, heart, and mind. Upon this release, we begin to feel unification, peace of mind, and self transformation.

 

How does Qigong do this? Qigong movements exchange energy (Qi) between people and the universe. The greater concentration of energy (Qi) from the Universe flows into areas that are deficient in Qi and restores them back to harmonious levels. This can take minutes, hours, days, or weeks, depending on the severity of one's condition. Once the emotions are balanced, the body calms itself. According to Qigong master Li Junfeng, "Qigong is good for overall health. Through the exchange of qi, diseased qi is removed and fresh qi is gathered. Qigong brings about the removal of negativities that lead to worry, sadness, anger, nervousness, fear, and a stressful life. As a result, one is free to lead a happy and carefree life. Modern medicine is good but only provides a temporary solution. If people want to maintain their health the energy level in the body must be in balance - the emotions must become balanced and even. Emotions can affect the physical body. The emotions and the physical body must be in harmony. This determines the quality of life. Finally, qigong opens the heart. As one experiences the opening of the heart, this allows the qi from the universe to go to the entire body, removing the negativities that rob one of a life of perfect well-being."

 

The ancient Chinese Qigong masters taught the importance of connecting spirit to body or the Heavens to the Earth through ourselves. In essence, we become an antenna between the cosmos and the Earth. In Jindao Life Transforming Qigong, one is taught how to receive and transmit unconditional love through exercising intention. Continues Li Junfeng, "The true qigong awakens understanding from the heart so people can have a natural life rooted in unconditional love. Qi is never separated from love. Through the practice of qigong, true love is always with you - the joy of the lightness of being is always with you. A healthy mind coming from the practice of qigong cooperates with the flow of qi in the body. In the end, one realizes that it is not that the heart and the mind are used to make the qi flow effectively. It just happens naturally, of its own accord. Then life is never seen apart from the qigong state. It is then that one's life becomes established in it."

 

 When we encounter emotional upsets, this is exactly the time when you should practice Qigong! Using your brain-mind to solve your problems is to no avail. No matter how many times you ask, your mind has no clue on how to solve your problems. If it did, you wouldn't have any! Instead, your heart-mind (xin) is the place to direct your attention. Receiving and transmitting Qi to the heart field here harmonizes the internal flow of energy and disperses the stagnant energy trapped inside. In this way, you can move your low energetic vibrations to a higher vibratory state of Joy and Gratitude arises as we see how things truly are and appreciate what we have. Instead of dwelling on what is wrong, we start from a point of wellness and blossom out from there. Upon release, the result is always a big smile and a sudden laugh as the nervous system balances out as well. Daily Qigong practice makes it easier and easier to laugh at the daily aggravations and frustrations that happen. Thus, 'you live life', instead of 'life living you'!

 

Sal Canzonieri - Jindao Life Transforming Qigong instruction and healing