Qigong to Centre, Balance and Nourish

During this YOQI® qigong sequence we focus on balancing our Earth element, and you’ll also discover why I’m wearing a sparkly gold jumpsuit. In traditional Chinese medicine, the Earth element is linked to the Spleen and Stomach meridians. When these energy pathways are in harmony, you feel grounded, stable, centred, and focused. Digestion and metabolism function smoothly, the immune system stays balanced, and you’re able to nourish yourself while also supporting others without becoming depleted. From this place of balance, you can trust in your connection to Source.

Transcript

Hello, Welcome to this Yochi Qigong flow to center, Balance and nourish yourself. So in this practice, We are going to focus on our earth element. And this is why I have a sparkly gold jumpsuit on. So if you see the colors gold, Yellow, Orange, Actually seeing those colors helps to nourish your earth element. So while you practice with me today, You will be seeing the color gold, And that will help to nourish and balance your earth element along with the sequence that we are going to share together. So when our earth element is balanced and nourished, We are centered, We are grounded, We can focus, We feel nourished. So we nourish ourselves well, And then that means we can nourish others without feeling depleted. It means that we have a happy digestion, A happy metabolism, And a balanced immune system. So let's find a place on the mat and start to practice together. Let's find our Ouji posture, Bringing our feet shoulder width apart. Begin to relax and open your joints, So softening through your toes, Your ankles, Your knees, Your hip area. So this is called our Kua. A little space under the arms, Soften through your elbows, Your wrists, Your fingers. We're relaxing and opening the joints to allow Qi to flow more freely. And now let's activate our Taiji pole. So this is the central meridian that nourishes all our other meridians, Running right through the center of our body. We do this by lifting the front of the pubic bone, Tucking the chin in a little, Bringing the tongue to rest on the roof of the mouth, Just behind your top front teeth, And begin to imagine a beautiful string cord lifting through the crown of your head. So we're lengthening our spine and begin to soften your shoulders and your chest and allow your breath to sink down, Down into your belly. So down into your lower Dantian. These deeper belly breaths are helping to calm our nervous system, Help to center us. And we can set our intention for our practice together today. Let's use 60%-70% effort with our Yoji flow today and flow together to nourish our earth element. Our earth element is associated with our stomach and spleen meridians. We're going to nourish and balance these meridians during our flow together today. And importantly, Let's bring a smile to our face. So rising, The corner of the lips are rising. There's that smiling energy shining through your eyes as well. And this smiling energy helps us to connect to the heart, Our middle Dantian, Our unconditional love, The human force. We're going to bring that into our practice together too. And so let's interlace our fingers, Gently draw them all the way up on an inhale. Stretch and exhale, Release. Let the arms float back down. Let's do that again. So inhale up, Exhale down. There's a slight sinking of the energy with the exhale and a lifting on the inhale. Inhale up. This time, Holding here and let's take a breath and stretch over to the side. So stretching along the side of your ribcage, Inhale center, Stretch over to the other side. This time, Take a breath here, Stretch, Then back to inhale center, Exhale down. Exhale, Soften your shoulders, Sink your energy. Inhale, Open your heart to the universe. Exhale, Wrap yourself up in a big self-loving hug. Give yourself a squeeze. If it's morning where you are, Good morning self. If it's evening, Good evening self. Big breath in, Open your heart to the universe. Breathing out, Swap the arm position, So the other arms on top this time. So we're giving ourself a really good self-loving hug. One more. So in ancient Taoism, The magic number is three. You'll notice in this sequence, We do lots of sets of threes. So big breath in, Heart open. Breathing out, Wrapping yourself up in a big loving hug. Take a little pause here. Offer yourself some gratitude and acknowledgement. Thankful for where you are right now and how you come to be here. And then just gently releasing the arms. We're going to begin to massage Lao Gong right in the center of the palm. So either with fingers or thumb, We're coming to massage. So Lao Gong is pericardium eight. The nickname for this point is the key point to happiness. So let's open this side and then we're going to tap with the back of our fist three times. And swap sides. So I'm coming to the opposite side now. We are balancing our emotions by massaging this point. We're helping to relieve any anxiety, Helping our stomach, Also our circulation. And we're getting our healing hands ready. So Lao Gong is an energy gate. So let's tap three times. We're now going to clap, Rub your palms together and start to generate warm, Healing energy. So we want that beautiful, Warm, Healing chi to gather in our palms. And then we're going to tap some essential energy points. And we're going to take a purging breath and then a tonifying breath. So a purging breath is in through the nose, Out through the mouth. Tonifying is in through the nose, Out through the nose. So we take the purging breath first. So bring your hands to the crown of your head. Tapping with the fingers on GV20, Helping our brain. And we take a breath in through the nose, Out through the mouth. A tonifying breath now. In through the nose, Out through the nose. Deep belly breath. Flicking that off. Clap again. We're going to activate these points to help us in our practice today. So now we're coming to yin tang right between the eyebrows. So continue on with your breath. So a purging breath first and then a tonifying breath. And I will share some of the benefits of each point as we do so. So yin tang. This point's helpful if you can't sleep. It helps to quieten your thoughts. Helps us to access source. And our intuition, Our wisdom. And then flick that off. Clap. We're now coming to our cheekbones directly below the center of our eyes. So this is stomach two and three. Tapping here. Continue with your purging breath and then your tonifying breath. These points are very grounding. They benefit our eyes and our sinuses. Finishing your tonifying breath now. And then flick off any stagnant energy. Clap. We're now going to come to our collarbones. So if you find just that middle edge of your collarbone, Your clavicle, And then drop your fingers off the bone down into the fleshy part. This is kidney 27. And we can tap here with fingers or a bird's beak. Some people prefer. So breathing in through the nose. Out through the mouth. Continue with your tonifying breath. In through the nose. Out through the nose. We're tapping this point to help us focus. It balances our emotions and it raises our stomach chi, Our stomach energy. So good for digestion as well. And then flick that off. Clap again. Rub your palms together. We're now coming right to the center of the chest. CV 17. So we're tapping with our fingers. Breathing in through the nose. Out through the mouth. Then in through the nose. Out through the nose. This point helps to unbind our chest. Helps us to connect to our middle dantian. That unconditional love. The human force. And then flick that off. Clap again. Now we're coming to a bird's claw. With the hands like a shape of a bird's claw. Going to take that to the sides of my rib cage. So we're tapping the sides here. So breathing in through the nose. Out through the mouth. Then in through the nose. Out through the nose. This is good for digestion. We're tapping on spleen and liver points. Flick that off. Clap. Let's bend the knees now. You can see my sparkly kneecaps. So this point, If I come off my kneecap. Four fingers down from my kneecap. I'm coming to stomach 36. Out to the side in the fleshy part. So it's four fingers below the kneecap. I come out to the side from there. And I'm going to use a loose fist to knock. Or you could use your bird's beak still. Or tap with your fingers. Whichever feels better. So stomach 36. And then your tonifying breath. Take a few tonifying breaths here. This is a point for longevity. For balancing immunity. For strength. Particularly your lower limbs. Strength of your lower limbs. And then flick that off. We're going to fold forward. Just widen your feet a little here. So we're folding forward. Allowing gravity to help release through the head and the neck. You might like a few little yes, No movements here. And we'll take a breath in. Folding forward. And as you exhale, Start to bend the knees and come into a squat. Then inhale, Come back up. And exhale back down into your squat. Opening up the hips. Inhale up. Exhale down into your squat. Stay in the squat a little now. You might like to bring your elbows in between your knees. You might like to shift your center of gravity a little bit. Just starting to warm up the hips. We'll be using the hips in our practice and our flow today. And then inhale up again. This time we're going to clap. Rub the healing hands together again. And this time bring your hands to your sit bones. Right at the back. We're going to tap down the back of the legs. All the way down. We get to behind the knees. Then down the backs of the lower legs. And over to the tops of the feet. From here we're going to massage our toes. There's lots of acupoints here. So starting at the base of your little toes. Little massage. And then wiggle and pull the little toes. Flick it off. Start at the base of your second toe in. From the sides there. And then pull, Wiggle, Flick it off. Then I'm coming to my third toe. Massaging the base. And then coming up to the actual toes themselves. Giving them a wiggle and a pull. Flick that off. Now I'm at the fourth toe. And massaging, Pull, Flick that off. Right at the base of the big toe now. Give the big toes a little wiggle and a pull. Flick any sticky chi off. Fold forward. Just let that hang. Then let's clap one more time here. Rub the healing hands together. This time we're bringing them to the outside of our hips. Tap down the outside of your legs. All the way down the gallbladder meridians. All the way down to the ankles. Go over the tops of the feet this time. And up the inside. And as you tap up the inside, We're slowly rolling back up. So we're tapping up. Spleen, Kidney and liver meridians. All the way up to our belly. Let's bring our feet a little closer. Back to shoulder width apart. Arms to the sides. Begin to turn from your waist to the left and then the right. Let the momentum help you move and twist. So we're still keeping our spine nice and straight. Our knees are bent. We're turning from the waist. And our arms are tapping over our lower back and our lower belly. So we're tapping over our Ming Men at the back. This is our gate of life. So we're opening up the door of life. The gate of life. To also let all the qi flow. And then we're going to take some loose fists. I'm tapping just below the navel. And in the middle of my lower back. So over my Ming Men. So that lies between our Lumbar 2 and our Lumbar 3 vertebra. So we're tapping. Waking up our Lower Dantian. Both at the centre now. Just below my navel. Good morning or good evening Lower Dantian. This is a really beneficial practice in the morning. Because our spleen and stomach meridians are more vulnerable. During the time of 7 till 11am. So this can be even more reason to practice with me. At those times. This particular sequence. We're now going to say good morning to our digestive system. So we start over the right side. The lower hip. We can tap up our ascending colon across. And then down the descending colon. For most people. It's running on that direction. Some people have their organs mirror imaged. Very small percentage of the population. Coming up to our gallbladder. Good morning gallbladder. So if you're doing this direction. And it just doesn't feel quite right. Maybe you're one of the small percentage of people. With your organs mirror imaged in the opposite direction. Good morning stomach. So you would go and flow in the other direction. If that's you. Good morning stomach. Good morning spleen. I'm coming to my small intestine. Right in the center. So I'm waking up my digestion. Good morning digestion. Thank you for all that you do. And then hand over the belly. Coming to our Wuji posture. Feeling all those tingles. Happy tingling buzzing digestive system. Take some deep breaths down into your belly. Let's take one more belly breath together. So really feel your abdomen gently push out into your palms. And then deflate on the exhale. Letting the hands relax to the side. Begin to bounce through your joints. This is called shake the tree. So we are bouncing. Having fun with it. And you might like to bounce up high. Bounce to the sides. Do a little wiggle. Shake it all about. And if you would like to add some bone renewal. We can drop down on our heels with this one. And make it a little more impactful. So there's more impact as we drop down. So that would look like this. So I'd raise up on my toes. And I'm dropping down more intentionally onto the heels. We can do a few of these. So we're shaking the tree. And releasing whatever no longer serves us. So really letting go of any stress. Worries. Shake, Shake, Shake. And we could do a little one more little shake. Shake it all out. You might even want to shake turn around. Feel like I'm doing the hokey pokey. Shake it all about. And then let's come back to our Ouija. And now feel those buzzing happy cells again. All through your body. Buzzing happy cells. So we've purged with shake the tree. Now let's begin to flow. So we're going to inhale. Float the arms up. Turn the wrists. Palms face the heavens. Exhale. Float the arms back down. So inhale up. The heavens are heavy. So there's a slight bend of the knees here. Exhale down. Inhale. And there's a slight pause with the breath. So you inhale. Pause. Pause. Begin to flow with the movement. We're balancing yin and yang. Exhale down. This flow is called sage holds up the heavens. Inhale up. And again this time inhale your arms up. Hold your arms up this time. We're going to bring our left hand down. Keep our right arm up. So we're plugging into heaven and earth. So I'm now standing taller. So I inhale. Plug into heaven and earth. Exhale. Spiral through centre. Inhale. Swap sides. So exhale. Spiral through centre. Inhale. Exhale. Spiral through centre. Inhale. Plug into heaven and earth. Exhale. Spiral through centre. Inhale. Plug into heaven and earth. So as you spiral you're balancing the spiralling energy of yin and yang. And through centre again. Inhale. Stretch. Exhale. Spiral. There's a slight sinking of the energy as you exhale. Inhale. Stretch. Exhale through centre. This time we're going to inhale up and bend to the side. We get a little more side stretch. Exhale. Centre. Inhale. So we're stretching along the spleen and the stomach meridians. Again. Inhale. Exhale. Inhale. Exhale. One more each side. Inhale. Slight stretch along the torso. Exhale. Not forcing anything too much. And this time finish with your palms as if you have a qi ball in front of you. So I've got this beautiful ball of qi on the exhale. I'm coming to my ball of qi. Inhale. Expand and circle your arms. Exhale. Condense. Inhale. Spiral and expand. Exhale. So as you inhale, There's a slight lifting of the energy. Exhale. We sink the qi back down and condense it. Inhale. Exhale. This is called yin yang universe. And we are strengthening our wei qi with this flow. So our wei qi is that protective energy field around us. So inhale. Expand. Exhale. Contract. Inhale. Exhale. Again. See if you can make the movements fluid. Again, Inhale. Spiral and expand. Exhale. Last one together. Inhale. Exhale. Now let's take our palms to the side. Face the earth. We're going to tune into our feet and our palms. Connecting to earth energy. That yin energy. It's so grounding, Centering, Nourishing and balancing. Imagine little roots growing from your toes, The soles of your feet down, Down, Down into the earth. You might like to close or lower the eyes here to help you feel into your palms, The soles of your feet, Connecting to that earth energy. Begin to visualize warm golden light beginning to grow in your belly, In your lower dantian. This warm golden light is spreading, Filling your torso. It's beginning to fill your legs, Into your shoulders, Your upper arms, Your elbows, Your hands, All the way down into your toes. Warm golden light flowing up your neck, Filling your head. And then this warm golden light begins to engulf you. So it's not only filling your body, It's also surrounding you. This warm golden light. Sharing the affirmation together. I am centered, Nourished and balanced. Taking a deep belly breath, Awareness of the earth energy and this warm golden light. One more breath here, Beautiful deep belly breath. Bathing in this warm golden light and this connection to earth. Gently opening the eyes if they were lowered. We're going to exhale and slowly push our palms out. Inhale the palms face up, Draw in towards the belly. Exhale, Palms push out. Inhale, Draw your palms in. Exhale, Palms push out. Palms float above the earth. Inhale, Draw that earth energy into your lower dantian. So as you exhale, It's like you're caressing the earth. It's like you are running your palms over velvet or some beautiful soft, Maybe grass or rose petals. So it's that very gentle touch. As you caress the earth, Draw that earth energy into your lower dantian. Sinking down a little on the exhale, Slight rise on the inhale. Exhale out. Inhale, Draw chi in. Again, Keeping your spine straight. Gathering earth. One more with both hands. And now we're going to take the left hand only. So this is gathering earth yin and yang, Now the right hand. And it's like we form a little figure of eight with our center of gravity with this one. So exhale, Right palm is floating out, Then drawing in on the inhale. Exhale, Left palm. Inhale in. Exhale, Caress the earth. This is really beneficial for left-right brain connection and coordination. Exhale, Right palm. Inhale. One more to the left here. Beautiful. And then finish with your palms facing to the sky, Out to your sides. Inhale, Let's draw the palms up. Gather heavenly chi. Exhale, Down through center. Inhale, Gather earth chi. Draw it up to your lower dantian. Exhale, Palms out to the sides. Inhale, Up. Gather. Exhale, Down. Inhale, Gather. Exhale, Expand. Keep flowing with it. We're looking for those slow, Fluid movements. Inhale, Gather your earth chi. And exhale. Inhale, Floating the arms up. Gathering heavenly chi. Exhale, Down through center. Inhale, Gather earth chi. Drawing it up to your lower dantian. Exhale, Sharing this chi with the world. Inhale, Up. Exhale, Center. Inhale, Gather. Gather all that earth chi. Exhale, Expand. Let's take one more. Inhale, Up. Gather heavenly chi. Exhale, Down through center. This time we're staying down. You might like to widen your feet a little. We're staying down and we're going to gently continue to gather all that nourishing earth chi. You might like to shift your weight slightly side to side as you gather earth chi. And then we're slowly going to gather it all the way up. Coming to our face. Sipping in a few breaths of air. We're now forming a golden circle. A golden elixir pill, It's called, In our mouth. So all this earth chi, We're mixing it with air, Metal chi. Rub your tongue over your teeth, Gathering up saliva. Once you have a ball of saliva, We're going to swallow either once or three times and help direct this golden elixir pill, This chi, All this nourishing chi, All the way down. All the way down to our lower dantien. Placing your palm over the top of each other, Over the lower dantien. We're going to begin to massage this golden elixir pill. Into our lower dantien. Now you might like to have your palms resting on your body, Or you might feel more comfortable with them just hovering in front of your belly. So whichever option feels best for you today, And that might change each time you practice. So we're massaging up the right and down the left in the direction of peristalsis. For most people, Massaging all that chi through our lower dantien and our digestion. And then let's reverse. So we're massaging in the opposite direction. The other direction now. So I'm going up the left, Down the right. We're going to begin to make our circles smaller and smaller. So we slowly begin to condense that chi, All that nourishing earth chi, All the way down. Smaller circles until we come to rest our palms just below our navel. Slowly draw your feet together. And begin to release all efforts. Allow your body to rock and sway. Allowing chi to flow wherever it needs to. This is called bamboo sways in the wind. And I invite you to join me for the Yo Chi blessing. Bringing your palms to the middle dantien in front of your heart. Repeating after me. I am in the universe. The universe is in me. I am blessed and filled with chi. May all beings be well and happy. May all beings be free. May all beings be blessed and filled with chi. Amituofo. Thank you so much for your practice.