Energetics of Smiling Heart QiGong

Turn To Accept the Moon Qi

Preparation: The focus of this Qigong form is to bring your heart into a state of happiness and gratitude. This promotes an experience of heart congruency which is an essential part of mind-body-spirit growth and harmonization.


1. Rippling Pond
Feel your heart center energy expand outwards. Lightly ripple your fingertips through the energy to create pond-like ripples, spreading your heart qi around.

2. Gathering Sunlight
Open your arms and imagine drawing the warmth of the sun directly into your heart, warming you and also making your heart feel warm to others.


3. Bending the Rainbow
Feel a ball of energy between your raised hands. As you stretch it, imagine that each finger has a rainbow color of energy. Try to maintain the feeling of qi connection between your hands. This exercise builds and refines sensitivity to feeling qi.


4. Bathe in Earth Energy
Gather yellow energy from the Earth. Draw it up through yourself, then surround yourself with it while circling back down. This exercise strengthens the primal connection between you and the Earth mother who provides everything you need to be nurtured and cared for.

5. Share Smiling Heart
As the front hand holds your heart qi, your back hand moves and pushes it, sending your heart qi out of your fingers like rays of the sun, to share with everyone.


6. Rowing on the Lake
Embody the feeling of being on vacation, the sun and sky are perfect, you are lazily rowing a boat on the lake, you haven’t a care in the world. Feeling this sense of ultimate relaxation at the same time you loosen your shoulder girdle lets your body release the most common area of tension (upper shoulders and neck) to let Yang qi from above flow into your body with ease.


7. Toss the Ball
You feel so happy and so good, if there is anything in your being (dan tian) that is negative or toxic, toss it to the wind – you don’t need it. It often helps to actually say in your mind what you are releasing, such as “I toss away pain. I toss away frustration. I toss away disease, etc.”


8. Push Palm
The push forward emphasizes stretching the heart meridian, and focuses on the Heart-7 (Shen Men, Spirit Gate) acupoint in the wrist area. The push/pull of the opposite arms stretches open the heart center.

9. Turn to Accept the Moon Qi
Imagine drawing the light of the moon into your raised hands, then drawing it down and placing it in your dan tian. This move is strongly Yin in nature, which helps to balance the overall Yang focus of the QiGong form.


10. Wave Hands Like Clouds
The legs are strong, solid, yin. The hands are light, airy, yang. This is a classic movement for harmonizing the Yin/Yang of the whole body.


11. Reaching Into Yin & Yang
12. Push the Ocean Wave
13. Fly Like a Dove
The first 2 of these movements together stimulate the Wood Element (Liver qi) through the free and easy flow, the physical stimulation of the liver meridian in the big toe and legs, and the focus of bringing the ocean wave hands up to the eyes. Wood feeds Fire, so the last movement – Fly Like a Dove – emphasizes very softly expanding and contracting the energy of the heart center.


14. Turtle Pokes Out Its Head
The extended hand is stretching the Small Intestine meridian, and you should feel it from your shoulder blade area to your hand. The legs are being strengthened in the pumping movement. Strong legs are very important to strong qi flow throughout the entire body.


15. Fly Like Wild Geese
Like wild geese, honor the Way of Nature, where everything happens exactly when it is supposed to. This is freedom.


16. Painting the World
Circling 3 times to the left honors the Yin energy of the 3 dan tians. Circling 3 times to the right honors the Yang energy of the 3 dan tians. The extended open hands stretch and tonify the Perciardium meridian.


17. Bouncing the Ball
The Green Dragon of the wood element is on the left side. The White Tiger of the metal element is on the right side. Both sides should be strong and stable to show balance between these 2 powerful energies.


18. Press Palms to Settle the Breath
Promotes connection and harmonization within the central meridian (Taiji Pole) which includes the lower dan tian, the heart center, and the 3rd eye. Settles the breath back to the dan tian, the foundation. Provides a sense of calming closure.


Always end your QiGong with several moments of silence and experience how you feel. Shaking all over or tapping your meridians at the end is appropriate to release any stagnant qi and obtain optimal flow.

See the video of Smiling Heart QiGong movements here: http://youtu.be/nJeb6FRwvns

If you are interested in QiGong, you may also like our DVD of Taoist Temple Seated QiGong, available at: http://www.akinstitute.com/store or watch it on YouTube  http://youtu.be/5xOrivB5tBQ

Six Week Case Study

Over the course of six weeks we were given the assignment to massage only one person. We were given this assignment so that we as massage therapists would have the oppurtunity to experience the changes in a single persons body wheather it be muscle tension or any mental as well as physical improvements. I chose to work on a 32 year old licenced massage therapist who for the past couple of years has been experiencing alot of pain around her upper back and shoulder area.

Some of this pain could stem from her spinal/ hip missalignment. since she happens to work for a chiroprachtor she is able to receive spinal adjustments as often as her schedule allows her to. She told me her spine and hips have improved significantly due to the adjustments ,yet she like most hard working massage therapists forget or don't even consider to take time out for themselves. over time all that physical work begins to wear you down physically and mentally. In my first session with her we sat down and went over all her medical history I scanned the form looking for any specific areas that stood out or seemed out of balance. she was very open to the idea of receiving any kind of massage for six days a week. Due to her past massage school experiences she had been exposed to the concept of oriental medicine but they had only touched on the subject very briefly. oriental exercise and medicine had always held her intrest so she was very eager and facinated to learn more about the practice.

On day one I gave her just a general relaxation massage to introduce myself to her body and get a feel for her muscles. throughout the massage I used very long soothing strokes feeling for any areas of tension. throughout the next couple of days I found she was tight and knottted usually in the same areas which was around the neck , trap , and shoulder area. some of the sessions she seemed very down and emtionally distraught, so with her permission I incorporated very calming anti-anxiety accupressure points such as stomach eight and stomach forty. Throughout our massages I tryed to channel very calm, loving, and compassionate energy. I gave her some chi-gong exercises to do to help improve her motivation and open her heart center, such as smiling heart chi-gong she told me she loves that chi gong and does it every morning which helps her to start the day off right. The experience was a very rewarding and awe inspiring awakening to the power of massage. throughout those six weeks her stress and tention areas began to melt away she was able to have the motivation to get up early and workout, and she felt everything about her life had completely shifted in a positive way. In the end she requested that I be her only massage therapist which really filled my heart with joy.

What Does Energy Healing Feel Like?

Many people are drawn to Energy Healing and have a gnawing curiosity about it.  If you find yourself in this position, read on and enjoy.

Energy Healing is mysterious, powerful, and deeply personal.  There are many sensations, thoughts, emotions, memories, visualizations, and more that are experienced by both the giver and the receiver.  Sometimes these are almost difficult to describe because they can be so unusual to what we recognize as normal, so it is strange to put words to what we feel.

We have found the strong majority of people describe these experiences as physically pleasant and deeply relaxing.  At the same time, profound emotional shifts can occur that seem to directly precipitate internal healing that happens on many levels – including physical symptoms.

The following short case studies are real experiences noted by students in the Medical QiGong Energy Healing Class, and also participants in several of the special Energy Healing Clinics we have offered.

We hope these leave you with a sense of wonder, excitement, and possibility. Magical moments exist in our lives and we don’t have to explain them to benefit from them.

#1: Energy Healing Clinic Reports From Giver and Receiver

During one of our Medical QiGong energy healing clinics, I worked alone on a recipient while Cynthia (the instructor) guided us through the Medical QiGong healing pattern.

The person had his eyes closed and seemed relaxed while lying on the table. Partway through the pattern, he suddenly opened his eyes and looked around. Then he relaxed again and kept his eyes closed for the rest of the treatment.

I felt a good connection in my hands with his energy and also warmth in my hands while working on him.

When we were done and Cynthia asked the recipients for feedback, he was very excited and said that he felt something like out-of-body sensations several times during the treatment. He said that he opened his eyes once because he felt as if he was falling off the table, but he realized that his body hadn’t moved at all. He could feel energy moving inside him throughout the treatment.

This was a very positive experience for him and also for me.

During a follow-up Medical QiGong clinic the next week, I teamed up with a classmate to again work on the same recipient. Cynthia guided us through the energy healing pattern again.

The recipient’s energy field felt even stronger to me this time as we went through the healing pattern. About halfway through, he suddenly whispered, with excitement, “I’m floating!” I whispered back, “Enjoy it!”

My healing partner used the pendulum above his chakras during the treatment, and the pendulum spun very fast in big circles over each chakra.

Near the end of the healing pattern, when Cynthia instructed us to “Pump the Energy” over each of the three Dan Tians, I had trouble pumping down into his energy field with my hands because it had expanded so much. It was pushing back strongly against my hands as I tried to push down.

At the end, the recipient was again very excited about the treatment and reported that he felt as if he was floating above the table while we worked on him.

This was another very positive experience for both the recipient and for the two of us who did the energy healing treatment.

 #2: Energy Healing Treatment Following a Heart Attack

While visiting a family member out of state 2 years ago, I had the opportunity to perform a Medical QiGong energy healing pattern we had practiced in class on a middle-aged family friend who had recently experienced a heart attack. He was out of the hospital at that point and was working on life changes to strengthen his heart and his overall health.

The recipient was very open-minded about trying the treatment, which involved the use of crystals in conjunction with the Medical QiGong hand movements. He was familiar with concepts of Medical QiGong energy healing but had never experienced energy healing before.

He appeared to be very relaxed and kept his eyes closed during the treatment, which took about half an hour. When it was over, he reported that he felt calmer, more peaceful, and more relaxed and said that it was a positive experience.

He expressed interest in learning how to do the basic QiGong meditation that the energy healing pattern was based on, so he could continue to work with that at home. I demonstrated how to do the hand movements and also followed up later by emailing him some written instructions.

A month later, he emailed me to report that he was feeling very good and that he was doing the meditation every night before heading to bed. He shared the following: “The meditation helps me purge the daily grind and focus on centering positive thoughts and resting. The follow-up doctor visits confirm my self-diagnosis.”

The great news is that he is continuing to do well two years after the heart attack.

 #3: Distance Energy Healing from 4,000 Miles Away

In 2009, I called the assisted-living home where my mom was living (4,000 miles away from Alaska) and asked to speak with her. The director of the home took the phone to my mom and immediately realized that something was wrong with her and that she was experiencing some kind of serious health crisis.

They called an ambulance, and my mom was rushed to the hospital. The director followed the ambulance to the hospital and, once there, reported to me that it didn’t look good and that my mom was fading fast. The doctors didn’t know what was wrong with her, but she was just fading away, as if going into a coma type of state. Her organs were fine, but she was dying.

I had a very strong bond with my mom, and I was not going to just give up on her so easily. I knew that distance energy healing could be very powerful, and I had experimented with it off and on over the years.

I grabbed two very large natural (uncut) crystals, held them against my chest (Heart Center), and began focusing my attention fully on my mom while repeating healing mantras silently in my head, asking the Universe to heal my mom with love and light in that moment and thanking the Universe for healing my mom.

My focus was so clear and so intense. There was nothing else in that moment except my mom and me and my love for her and my appreciation for those in Spirit who were channeling love and healing energy to my mom.

I could feel in my heart that I had made a genuine connection. I had a sense of peace as if everything was going to be okay, and I went to bed.

The next morning, I called my dad to see how my mom was doing. He was in my mom’s hospital room with my brother and my sister-in-law. Dad said that Mom was dying. The doctors thought that she would pass at any time. My heart sank. We began to talk about making funeral arrangements.

All at once, I heard my sister-in-law exclaiming, “She opened her eyes! She’s smiling at me!”

My mom had awakened and was smiling at my family members who were there with her. She was very weak, and she required some special care after that, but she lived a good life for two more months. Those two months gave me the opportunity to fly down and spend several wonderful days with her.

When she did pass away two months after she had nearly died, she left in exactly the same way, just fading out of her body—very peacefully, I think.

I can’t say with certainty that the distance energy healing work that I did for my mom helped extend her life, but I believe that it played a part in her recovery, as did, I’m sure, all of the prayers and good wishes that she received from other loved ones.

  

#4: Receiving a Distant Energy Healing

I had arranged to receive some distant energy healing, and we had agreed on the day and time it would happen.  These are the notes I made immediately after the experience.

I set a timer to go off at 3:35pm, then laid down a few minutes before 3:00 and started to breathe/meditate and I intended to allow the energetic connection.  

Several minutes into it all, I saw (in my mind) an eye.  It saw me and the pupil became a whirlpool that sucked in everything around me, then stopped. For the next few minutes I felt tingling movement, slight pressure going up and down my body.  I had a light spasm in my right lower leg.

At some point - I would guess 8-10 minutes, my teeth started to spontaneously move like shivering, only there was no tension or sensation of being cold at all.  I just allowed it, and this came and went in rushes for maybe 2-3 minutes.

After this, I felt a variety of energetic pressure type sensations.  At one point it was very clearly underneath me, then changed to where I could clearly feel over me, on my left side, then right side, at my head.

I "saw" eyes several times.  A man that looked like Jesus (I'm kind of laughing here because I don't follow any Christian religion) looked at me and as his eyes came closer he was looking directly into my right eye and I had intense energy sensations there for a while.

My teeth shook again, just briefly.

I felt more energetic pressure sensations moving up and down my overall body.  At a certain point the sensations became very vibrational, like my entire body was floating and vibrating at a very fast rate.

Then it all stopped and I only felt myself, very quiet and peaceful, altered mind state was gone and I knew it just ended.  After a moment I picked up the timer and I wasn't sure what to expect, but it was 3:33.

It was a wonderful experience! 

 

#5: Practicing Energy Healing at Home

My husband has been a wonderfully cooperative and appreciative recipient of my energy healing treatments for quite some time. 

We have recently been working on two specific areas of concern.  The first is his difficulty maintaining restful sleep, and the second is pain and soreness in his legs which occurs when he stands still for a sustained period of time.

I like to do a little qigong with him before we begin.  I often use crystals and a lovely essential oil spritz to complement each treatment.

I applied a lavender/sage essential oil blend in a carrier oil to his wrists and ankles, as suggested by Cynthia in her Essential Oils Insomnia video.  With relaxing music and dim lights, I administered the energy pattern we practiced most recently in class. 

Extending my arms above his reclining body and lowering my hands until I felt a shift in energy, I began the treatment using my hands moving above his body to strengthen and facilitate movement of qi. 

I could feel the qi become fuller as I worked.  His breathing became slower and deeper as his body relaxed.  He fell asleep. 

The incidence of broken sleep has lessened following treatments and it is easier for him to fall back asleep once awakened.  The pain in his legs, although still present, has become less limiting.

I think energy work is somewhat of a “two-fer”.  Not only does the recipient benefit from the experience, but as the practitioner, I come away from each experience with renewed energy and feeling absolutely wonderful!

  

#6: Playing Around in Energy Healing Opens to Other Experiences

Several years ago I was working on an automobile. In the 70's and 80's once retired you often bought a Lincoln or Cadillac car.

A woman brought in a Lincoln car that just would not run right. Sometimes it would be fine but many times it was unreliable. She had taken it to many different shops and spent quite a bit of money trying to fix it. The car ended up in my shop.

I was doing all of the usual tests when I noticed what I can only call an odd energy about the car. I glanced up about the same time the car started running really bad.

There in the back seat was her deceased husband. Not for real, but in the spiritual realm. I had to convince him to make his journey. It took about an hour or so but he finally left.

The car ran great after this. I couldn't explain to the owner what I did and I didn't charge her anything. She was ecstatic! She had spent a lot of money on the car with no results. I told her I didn't know what it was or how it got fixed.

#7: How I Feel Receiving Energy Healing

On receiving energy healing, most times I feel warmth or tingly sensations in my fingers or hands.  Sometimes my body will twitch or spontaneously move.

The last time I was on the table on 8/21/16, I felt very strong sensation from my head to my waist, also down my arms.  It was the most intense feeling I ever had – in a very good way. I had to slowly rise from the table and sit for a few minutes to recover from that experience. It left me feeling great!

#8: My Experience Learning Medical QiGong

My experience with Medical QiGong has been incredible. In January 2015 I had very little knowledge of Qi Gong. I knew it had something to do with vibration which equaled sound, right? I’ve discovered through my journey that sound is the ice cube on the iceberg.

My health was in bad shape. I was sleeping when I was not working and I was beginning to have migraines every week. After going to a doctor that told me chronic fatigue syndrome was in my head I decided it was time to look into alternative medicine.

In February 2015 I began to get massage and medical qigong energy healing. My life began to transform. Slowly I was sleeping a little less each week, gaining energy and looking forward to what each day would bring. Now 20 months after starting my journey with medical qigong I have more energy and motivation than I have had in the last 15 years.

We are energetic beings. By encouraging my own energy to flow and with Cynthia’s help my health is better at 50 than it was at 35. The healing has touched me through my emotions and physical status. I have gone from working a desk job and sleeping to becoming a Massage Therapist with time and energy for other activities.

I am still working on the healing process. With the support of a therapist, Cynthia, at Oriental Healing Arts and the support and compassion of the whole staff I am healing and growing in the most wonderful ways.

Finding Happiness

In Taoist philosophy there is a saying about health: “When your heart is happy, everything is fine.” What this means is that when you are able to find peace and happiness within your heart, you will not have painful symptoms of disease in your body (physical), mind (emotions), or spirit (sense of divine purpose).

Having a happy heart is a virtue that most of us have to continually and sincerely work on. However, it helps to know that the end result is a feeling of enthusiastic bliss!

One of the ways that I practice having a happy heart is to take a moment to list some of my favorite things in life. Here’s part of my list today:

1. The color of the clouds when the sun rises over the mountains.
2. A bright blue sky.
3. The smell of walking past wild roses.
4. Jazz music.
5. Foreign French films with subtitles.
6. Sunshine on my toes.
7. Getting a letter from an old friend.
8. Seeing a moose.
9. Laughing hard.
10.The seat heater in the school's new car.

Right now my heart is happy, I’m smiling and have a feeling of deep satisfaction. Please add your own list below and share the bliss!

~Cynthia

Case Study

(s) My client is a 55 year old female. She's in good shape and eats healthy. She's suffering from migraines and bouts of insomnia. She also claims to get very anxious at times. Her right rhomboid is sore as well as the right shoulder. She thinks she has frozen shoulder and tendonitis on that side. Her main goal is to relieve shoulder pain, stress relief, better sleep, and general relaxation.

(o) My client relaxes easily, partly due to her being comfortable with me and partly because she is looking forward to some quiet time. Her traps, neck, rhomboids and levetor scapulae are constantly tight and dense- these muscles include teres minor, supraspinatus, infraspinatus, and subscapularis. The erector spinae group of muscles down the back always seemed to have knots in them. This was more so on the low back. Biceps in the arms felt a bit more tense in the right arm. The IT band was problematic and tight. Rectus Femoris also tight with knots/ "speed" bumps. I could not do a deep clearing stroke on the legs. Throughout the massages I noticed the right shoulder gained more range of motion and flexibility. The IT band also let up over time. She was seemingly happier and more relaxed. She didnt slouch or slump her shoulders as much as she was before. She also said she felt more energized, pain reduction in the shoulder, and could sleep better at night. It took about 3 sessions to really notice a significant difference in how she felt.

(a) Throughout out time together I made sure to move very slow through the head/scalp massage to relax my client. I taught her 3 centered meditation for during the massages and to use outside of our sessions. On days that her anxiety level was high I would do a nice foot massage first and do some energy work to draw the energy down. When she experienced headaches I would work the pain path in the arms, including points LI 11,10,9, and 4. I also incorporated the S.I points 11 and 12 and L.I 16 all located around the shoulder to help with the shoulder pain. Energy work in the arms to draw the energy out through the fingertips and open up the pathway for the pain to travel out. Lung 1 and 2 were also included into the treatment plan, more towards the end. I used the LV/GB grasping down the legs to open up the meridians. This will help wood imbalance, manifested in the nails being ridged. The upper back got extra attention around the rhomboids and made sure to work S.I 10 on the scapula. Deeper pressure was often applied the erector spinae and focused more on the low back. When shoulder pain and headaches were at a high i would focus more on the arms, shoulders, neck, and back, and skip the legs completely besides compression. All these teqniques seemed to work for my client over time with pain relief and over all sense of well being.

(p) I plan to keep working with this person for as long as I can. I would like to assign and teach some Qi Gong movements to help her low back, which would include: Reaching for heaven and earth, accept the moon qi, and painting the world. Rowing on the lake would also be good for range of motion in the shoulders. I would also like to use the 9 points to revive the yang for depression issues and to restore energy. I would like to draw up a 5 element chart and map out imbalances to help her further. My client is very curious about chinese medicine, and would love to see some more results. I would also like to do a moxa/kidney treatment that we recently learned to help the low back and kidney qi. I will encourage her to use the meditation daily, especially before bed. I would like to practice Smiling Heart Qi Gong with her as well because its my favorite Qi Gong and opens the heart center

In conclusion I would say that I could see a significant different in body tension and some internal changes. Its amazing what a month and a half of consecutive massage can do. I am excited to learn more about Oriental Medicine and use it in the practice. I feel like the things i have learned here at OHAC are beneficial to my practice and make a tremendous difference. They can be life changing and are always positive. I cant wait to see what other positive changes I can make in my life and others.

Essay on "Meridians & Points" Class

We started to learn about higher level healing massages than the basic relaxation healing patterns. We learned several complete patterns of healing massage, such as:

- one involving the bladder meridian
- one for nausea
- one for deficient kidney qi
- one for knee pain
- one for sciatic pain
- one for head aches &
- one to revive yang.

We learned the 5 elements;how each is different, and how they interact. This helps me to see the many aspects of an individual. If I refine my [health] intakes over much time I may be able to see more fully who my clients are, and how to treat each individual.

I believe we were all inspired by the movie, "9000 Needles." It truly showed the power of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) healing. I was also inspired by the movie, "Something Unusual is Happening, We don't Know What."

We learned when to use toning & tonifying.

We learned and focused on ways of bringing the best and highest good from ourselves and others. This is a very good space for a healer to be in. This included a "Pay it Forward" exercise.

Having our red book, "Fundamentals of Chinese Acupuncture" will be good for referencing the points and meridians to use for acupressure point holding. In our yellow book, "Traditional Acupuncture - The Law of the 5 Elements", I like the section on "Traditional Examination." I can foresee incorporating these suggestions into a good complete intake, especially for longer-term clients. The book, "The Web that has No Weaver" has given me a very good overview of the societal mind-set that includes Traditional Chinese Medicine. I start to be able to think more in this way. It is good for letting my Western-raised mind see/feel into what TCM really is.

We have learned and practiced "Smiling Heart Qi Gong" 3 times per week. This has become one of my favorites. I have also been practicing a daily hour-long qigong for my own specific health issues; for several weeks now. This has become more important to me. And, as I learn more, I may be able to suggest qigong to clients who may be open to it.

Being introduced to [health] intakes from the complexity of TCM [Traditional Chinese Medicine] means seeing a person much more thoroughly as an individual. Therefore, I may be able to help clients better as who they are; rather than from the perspective of a very brief Western style [health] intake and diagnosis. Knowing the acupressure points and meridians will help me help specific clients. And, it also gives me a direction to go towards more thoroughly learning specific helpful points.