Earth Qigong For Centering & Transformation (From Live)

Root, recharge and re-center in this guided moving meditation Qigong practice, recording from the live Qigong Yoga Nidra Circle on 20 August 2023. Qigong is an energy cultivation practice with its roots in Traditional Chinese Medicine. You'll be guided through Qigong shaking, mindful movements to circulate and cultivate energy and restore your body, mind and spirit.

Transcript

So,

As we come to stand,

We are in this very important position as bipeds.

We are one of the few bipeds on the planet,

And it's often easy to take for granted the fact that we can stand on our two feet.

Take a moment to marvel at this miracle that is you,

That is the two of your feet,

That feeds your hands,

So that then we can use these hands to write,

To draw,

To create,

To embrace the people we love.

And with these two feet,

We connect the two different aspects of ourselves,

The parts of us that take action,

That are brave,

And then the parts of us that are patient,

That are loving,

That are kind,

That open and allow.

So feel both of these,

Yin-yang,

Between,

As symbolized by your feet,

And then we're going to do a grounding movement,

Regulars will be familiar with this.

So,

Soften your knees,

And using your hands,

Imagine you gather from the earth.

So the knees soften,

You gather from the earth,

And as you breathe in,

Lift all ten of your toes,

But keep your feet connected,

This will draw the rainbow arches of your feet up.

And as you exhale,

Then spread the toes,

And let them ground down,

And feel the earth,

Know the earth,

And trust the earth.

Let's try this two more times,

Inhaling,

Lifting all ten toes,

Feeling the arches of your feet,

Let it rise,

To flush your heart,

And then as you exhale,

Spread the toes,

And let them touch down,

And feel the earth.

One last time,

Deep breath in,

And long breath out.

Great.

Now keeping this connection with the earth,

As you exhale and breathe out,

Notice if there's any tension,

Perhaps you're locking your knees,

Your elbows,

Or your shoulders,

See if you could exhale,

And soften them.

What if this standing position was so relaxed,

And imagine that this shape,

This body,

Is holding you,

There's nothing to be done,

You're allowing yourself to be held.

You're allowing yourself to stand.

Keep yourself connected with this feeling of allowing,

As we transition into the rest of today's practice,

We start with some free form movement,

Or as one of my teachers likes to call this,

Spontaneous tibong,

Allow yourself to move in any way that feels good,

I like to do this opening movement with my arms sometimes,

As I add a twist,

I also sometimes like to explore the sides of my body,

And some movements with a folding forward,

And then an opening back,

Can also feel really great,

But there's no real blueprint here,

What truly matters is that when you move,

Really pay attention and draw awareness inwards,

And notice which areas feel like they need some love,

Which areas feel more tender,

Which areas feel quite well rested,

Which areas perhaps you notice,

Oh I have an injury and I feel this area needs more love and care,

Or maybe this area feels stronger and more stable,

Acknowledging and sensing and embracing all of you,

All of this wonderful physical form that is manifest,

That is your body,

That we sometimes,

Often take for granted,

You're very welcome to continue exploring this free form movement,

Moving in any way that feels right,

If you want a little bit more,

In a moment I will invite you,

If it feels nice,

You can join me in some gentle tibong shaking,

The shaking is a little bit stimulating,

So for those of you who are close to bedtime,

You may wish to skip the shaking,

Or let this be really,

Really gentle and very,

Very relaxed,

Rather than a vigorous,

Rhythmic kind of shaking,

So for me I'm pretty close to the afternoon,

And also I've been having a long day,

I'm gonna keep this really gentle,

If you are close to the start of the day,

Or you feel like you've got lots of energy,

Or if you've got something within you that really needs to move through you,

Then feel free to let this be a vigorous and rhythmic kind of shaking,

Take a moment to sense and feel what you need,

And allow your practice to be a way to answer your needs,

In the shaking you want to relax all of your joints,

And if it feels good,

You can inhale to let the arms flow up,

And exhale to let the hands go down,

Inhaling coming up,

And exhaling coming down,

One last time if you wish,

That's also a nice option to turn and look behind one shoulder,

And slowly come back,

I like to breathe out as I turn,

And breathe in as I come back,

See if that feels good for you,

And then one final option here,

Actually two more options,

You might lift and land your heels to pump through the balls of your feet,

Or start to begin to release any sounds of flutter out through your lips,

We're going to keep shaking and clearing for about 10 more breaths,

Our dog Didi is on the sofa by the side,

And he just gave me a look,

A surprise as I was fluttering out my lips,

This is a really great way to release,

Notice if there's still any holding in your body,

See if you can let this shaking and these sounds,

This fluttering be a way for you to let go of the things outside of your control,

And if and when you feel like you've had enough,

Slowly let that shaking taper off into stillness,

Once again reaffirm your connection with the earth,

Relax your shoulders down,

Soften through your knees,

And you want to make sure the last part of your tailbone tucks under slightly,

As if you're sitting on a high stool or a chair,

Take a moment in this position to feel the pulsation of your breath,

And notice this ebb and flow of energy inside of you,

That is you,

Not your body,

Not your mind,

You're so much more,

Feel the energy that you're made of,

Now we're going to connect with this energy,

Let the palms slowly begin to inhale,

To sweep up to the skies,

Gathering from the heavens,

Connecting to your higher self,

And as you breathe out,

Imagine that like the energy of the sun shining down on you,

Warming planet earth,

Warming your body,

Forming that guiding light in moments where things are not so clear,

Or when you've had to make a difficult decision,

You don't know the path forward,

Let this light guide you,

Now the second round,

Connect with your heart space,

And there are moments in life where we feel alienated,

We feel alone,

Remembering that you are not alone,

You are part of something much greater than yourself,

You are part of it all,

The pulsation that is the world,

You are part of your family,

Your circle of friends,

Your community,

You're part of our circle here today,

We see you,

And last one,

Connecting with the earth,

The earth represents all the more manifest and tangible aspects of our being,

As your hands move from above,

Down,

In front of the lower belly,

Feel the earth,

Know the earth,

And trust the earth,

Acknowledging this present moment,

You are here,

You are safe,

You have arrived,

All is well,

From here,

Gently and slowly,

We bring both palms together in front of the lower belly,

Let them gently touch,

And feel the texture of skin upon skin,

Then gently and slowly,

Let the palms part,

And in between your hands,

Visualize,

See,

Sense,

Feel,

As if you're holding something very precious that you love,

That you enjoy,

Whatever that is you would like to grow,

You would like to manifest in your life,

Maybe that is love,

Maybe that is care,

Maybe that is confidence,

Whatever that is,

Feel that in your hands,

And then with your next breath in,

Let this grow,

With the next breath out,

Let it refine,

So you let go of the unnecessary bits,

And you condense and consolidate the bits that are golden,

That are great,

In here,

You let it expand,

Picks up more space,

And as you exhale,

You refine it,

Let's keep going for the next couple of rounds,

Growing your intention,

For whatever you'd like to manifest in your life,

However you'd like to show up for the rest of today,

The rest of this coming week,

The rest of this coming month,

We are about halfway through,

And the rest of this one quarter of a year or so,

One third of a year or so,

We've got left,

Let your breath be your inner teacher,

Your guide,

As you continue to flow through this ebb and flow,

You are welcome to stay here,

You're also welcome to join me as we transition into the next form,

Summer slowly transitions into late summer,

Into the season of harvest,

Which is the earth element,

The earth element is the fifth element that bridges all of the four elements,

It is the one that comes,

Brings us back to center,

So from here,

Let the palms rise up to the level,

Roughly around your heart,

And we'll come into an earth element form to support you to stay grounded through all transitions,

As the school holidays start to come to an end,

Coming back to life,

As summer comes to an end,

Slowly and gently also coming back to your routine,

So let one hand turn face up,

The other hand turn face down,

And let them move apart,

As if one hand wants to touch and support the sky,

And the other hand wants to connect with the earth,

Then gently and slowly let the hands spiral,

And let them face each other,

And let them slowly and gently close in,

So let's try the other side,

The hands move apart,

Your knees can softly straighten,

I like to breathe in here,

And then as I breathe out,

I let the hands spiral,

And then I let them close back in,

Let's try this about two to three more times,

Moving at your own pace,

Your own breath,

So this form is for the stomach and spleen energy channels that is associated with the earth element,

The earth element plays an important role of helping us digest and assimilate all the different situations,

Interactions,

Relationships that we have,

That we are in,

It helps us integrate and come back to center,

It helps us make sense of all of these things,

And more importantly,

It helps us come back home,

Back into you,

We'll try just one last round,

Wherever you are taking your time,

Remembering to do both sides,

As we balance it out,

And then gently and slowly,

We'll come into one last form to close today's practice,

Let the palms come in front of the lower belly,

Staying about two to three centimeters away from your skin,

So not quite touching,

But slightly away,

And we're going to trace your energy field,

Or as one of my students like to call it,

Combing the energy field,

Let your hands rise in front of the body,

And then as if washing your face gently,

Let this shine a light on your face,

The crown of the head,

The back of the head,

Sides of the neck,

Your collarbones,

Your underarms,

Looking to the back of your shoulder blades,

Your lungs,

Mid-back,

Your hips,

The back of your legs,

All the way to the outer ankles,

Then when you reach the tops of your feet,

Lengthen your legs and your spine away from each other,

Float the arms by the sides of your ears,

Root down through your feet,

And then rise as high as it feels good for you,

Reaching up,

Up,

Up,

And beyond,

And then as you exhale,

Let this energy bath rain down on you from above,

Receive answers for the questions you've been asking for,

Healing from any trauma or tiredness,

Any fatigue,

Whatever you've been asking for,

Allow yourself to receive.

Let's try this two more times,

Front of the chest,

Face,

Crown of the head,

Back of the head,

Sides of the neck,

Collarbones,

The sides,

The back,

All through the back of the legs,

Outer ankles,

Tops of the feet,

And then lengthen and reach up and beyond,

Aligning with the stars,

With the heavens,

And then as you exhale,

Receiving.

Let's try this one last time,

So front of the body,

And then your face,

And then the crown,

The back,

Sides,

Looping towards the back of your body,

Like a waterfall flowing down,

And then from the earth,

Just like the water vapor we've visualized in the yoga nidra,

Flowing all the way up towards the sky,

Effortless,

Weightless,

Then descending like the rain,

Pouring down,

Let that cleanse you,

Let that purify you,

Let that rejuvenate and enliven all of you.