Qigong dignifies the menopause and aging process, the inner autumn of our life cycle, breathing into and making space and peace with what’s here. It’s ancient spiritual wisdom in action for how we can move the body through life with presence, calm and deep connection with all beings.
I could be in the mountains of Tibet but I am standing in a serene pool of light in the Old Dairy of the Ecovillage in Currumbin Valley looking out to the hoop pine forest, listening to birdsong and following the movements of my Qigong Instructor, Sono Michetti.
Research shows hot flushes, sleeping problems, hormone imbalance, stress, and bone density, are among many menopausal symptoms that can be improved through practising Qigong. I saw Sono when I was traveling down through the deepest, darkest centre of my mountain of insomnia. Acupuncture and Qigong brought me back upwards to the living, luminous world.
Standing on top of my metaphorical mountain in Wu Ji posture, the silky thread through my body extends both ways, occupying the space between heaven and the womb of Mother Earth. It’s here in Qigong we relate moment to moment to our bodies and breath, in nature. This grounding, easeful, heartful space is where we plug into source and the healing intelligence of the cosmos that is always and already here.
The breath is our most intimate resource. It connects us to life, to the dantian, the source of our Qi and seat of the divine feminine. We see inside ourselves: to who we are, what we know and where it lives in our body. This is the wisdom Qigong offers us.
Sono Michetti, Qigong Instructor and TCM practitioner
We set the chi field in companionship with others in the class, expanding and connecting with the human and other than human world through the 3 Intentful Corrections: adjust body posture, deepen the breath, clear the mind in readiness for the energy to move with the speed of a thought. I know I’m in qigong state when my body is flooded with a feeling of deep gratitude for the practise, my fellow pathwalkers and teacher and for my life.
In this open and curious state, my mind’s eye travels deep into the body, becoming flexible, adaptable and resilient as I acquire with practice the skill of moving chi. It is what my TCM doctor wanted for my mother when he was supporting her cancer journey but she never made it to a class. I am doing this for both of us and the memory of my first Qigong class when I moved to Currumbin Valley floods back to me. How lucky I am to be alive in the flow of happiness, connection, and community.
Qigong teaches us that we have access to vast amounts of universal energy or chi that we can channel and store in our bodies and use for good. Radiating peace and bliss is our gift to others and creating a state of calm in our energy field is the best way to boost and protect ourselves from damaging life-sucking energy. Chi can easily be wasted on obsessive thinking and overdoing especially in the heat.
I am imagining myself doing these same movements when I am 80. In my marrow, my bones, spleen, kidneys, liver, lungs and heart; feeling this is what I need to be well. The sequence of movements we learn in Qigong harmonise the energy flow along meridians, balancing energy in the feminine yin channels with the masculine yang, revitalising organs, tissues and cells, helping to cleanse any blockages that can be the source of dis-ease.
Meditation at the end of the class seals in our ball of light energy. The Emotional Organ Release, takes that silky thread we have worked with, weaving it’s way deep into our organs: the result is a softening, embodied acceptance, a resolve and aliveness that we take back into the world. Movement is the meditation, the meditation is the medicine, and the silky thread stitches me back to wholeness.
Emotional Organ Release Meditation
Every conscious breath is Qigong. Repeat each organ with a cycle of 3 inhalation and exhalation breaths.
- begin in a sitting posture
- breathe in and out through the nose, or you may inhale through the nose and exhale through the mouth
- bring your focus to the Liver, locate it with your mind’s eye
- Liver: with each breath inhale the feeling of ‘Kindness’ and “Human Heartedness” into the Liver and exhale feelings of ‘Anger’ and ‘Jealousy’
- Heart: bring your focus to the Heart, locate it with your mind’s eye and feel it
- with each breath inhale ‘Contentment’ and ‘Tranquility’ into the Heart and exhale and release ‘Nervousness’ and ‘Excitement’
- Spleen: bring your focus to the ‘Spleen’, locate it with your mind’s eye and feel it
- with each breath inhale ‘Trust’ and ‘Openness’ into the Spleen, exhale and release ‘Obsessiveness’ and ‘Self-Doubt’
- Lungs: bring your focus to the Lungs, locate them with your mind’s eye and feel them
- with each breath inhale of ‘Dignity’, ‘Courage’ and ‘Integrity’ into the Lungs and exhale and release ‘Anxiety’ and ‘Grief’.
- Kidneys: bring your focus to the Kidneys, locate them with your mind’s eye and feel them
- with each breath inhale ‘Self-Confidence’ and ‘Inner Strength’ into the Kidneys and exhale and release ‘Fear’ and ‘Loneliness’
- let go of all the feelings with the out breath
- Whole body: now inhale and draw into the whole body ‘Peace’ and ‘Bliss’, then exhale the feeling of ‘Peace’ and ‘Bliss’ in all directions.
Blessings on the journey x
For more specific exercises and individual approaches to menopausal symptoms contact Sono Michetti, Acupuncture East, TCM practitioner and QiGong Instructor. With thanks to Sono for her dedication to TCM and providing the meditation script.
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So glad to be a recipient of your supportive emails Blin….thank you! In fact, when they are nigh, I automatically go hunting for the latest news to see if it’s dropped into my Inbox. I soak up your drip feed of facts that make sense of aspects of life. Your content always resonates in some way.
Much appreciate,
Cheers, Cec xx
Thank you Cec! I am not sure if what I offer is facts, it’s more a lived experience that feels very real to me. Glad it resonates with you.
Blinxx