If you've been feeling numb,
Like you're on autopilot and nothing's really landing,
I want to offer something different.
Hi,
I'm Sheri.
This is a gentle Qigong practice to help you reconnect.
I invite you to begin standing and we'll start with a gentle bounce.
Knees soft,
Heels lifting slightly,
Arms relaxed.
Allow your body to find a rhythm that feels natural.
Feel the contact of your feet with the ground and the movement rising from underneath.
Allow the jaw to soften,
The shoulders to release.
No effort here.
There's no way to do this right or wrong.
Simply feeling,
Allowing yourself this time to fully let go and relax.
Gradually,
I'm going to allow the bounce to shift into a sway,
Side to side,
As if you're seaweed in water.
Spine fluid,
Ribs,
Hips,
Arms,
All invited to follow.
As you move,
Simply notice what's present inside.
Is there weight,
Tingling,
Maybe stillness or nothing at all?
Notice any changes in the breath,
Any sensations that may fade or become stronger.
Knowing that regardless of your experience,
It's all welcome.
You're allowing awareness to meet what's here without needing to change it.
Begin,
Gradually slow the sway.
Feel the shift in pace and weight.
And when that feels complete,
To the next exercise,
Begin by lowering your hands towards the earth,
Palms open,
Knees soft.
And gently draw the hands upward through the space in front of you,
Gathering the energy of the ground beneath you.
Allow the arms to float up to chest height,
Then turn the palms down and slowly return them to your center.
Repeat this rhythm,
Gathering,
Lifting,
And returning.
Allow your knees to bend as you lower.
And as you rise,
Feel the stability under your feet.
This movement supports the earth element in traditional Chinese medicine,
Connected to the spleen and stomach.
It helps regulate worry,
Strengthens digestion,
And restores the center.
From a nervous system lens,
This up and down flow offers your body predictability and support.
It brings awareness to your vertical midline,
Reminding the system what grounded connection feels like.
As you move,
Simply notice if there's more weight in your feet,
A sense of settling,
Or maybe the mind feels a little quieter.
You don't need to name it.
Simply allow whatever's there to be part of the experience.
Take one last cycle here,
Gathering from below and bring it all back to the center.
Take a moment here to feel the effects of the practice.
And when you are ready,
Begin to allow a gentle spiral through your spine.
Let the torso start the movement and allow the arms follow without effort.
Soft twist,
Side to side,
Shifting your weight gently from one foot to the other.
There's no right shape here.
You're simply allowing the spine to unwind however it wants to move today.
This motion gently stimulates the vagus nerve,
Supports the organs along the midline,
And helps unwind stored tension through the fascia.
As you move,
Notice what feels like the center of the spiral.
Maybe it begins in the belly,
Behind the ribs,
Or maybe it's more subtle,
Like a thread uncoiling.
You might feel warm or fluidity,
Or maybe a sense of stuckness.
That's welcome too.
No wrong answers here.
Keep the movement light,
Allow momentum to carry the arms.
No effort.
Simply following what's already happening in your body.
And when that feels complete,
Allow the spiral to slow.
Feel your weight come back to center.
Notice what shifted.
We'll begin to draw one arm forward and upward.
Palm slowly turning outward as it rises.
At the same time,
Allow the other arm to draw downward and back.
The palms spiraling in,
Fingers facing gently behind you.
Arms past each other near the center line,
Like ribbons moving in opposite directions.
Elbows soften as they cross through the midline.
And the chest turns slightly with the flow.
Nothing forced.
Simply following the spiral from within.
Each side has its own rhythm.
One rising,
One returning.
A mirrored movement,
Steady and slow.
This shape supports the heart and lungs,
Opens the chest,
And balances opposites.
Inward and outward.
Stillness and expressi.
And in this rhythm,
Notice what it's like to feel safe.
Here in motion.
You're not doing this alone.
You're practicing inside a moment that's already holding you.
Allow that support to register in your body,
Even if it's quiet.
Maybe a little more breath,
Or a softening around the ribs,
Or something else entirely.
Keep moving in the spiral.
Not to get anywhere.
Simply to be here as you are.
We'll take one more full breath with the flow.
And slowly bring both arms back to center.
Bring your hands together in front of the chest.
Palms lightly touching.
Elbows soft,
Shoulders relaxed.
Feet grounded,
Hip-width apart.
Begin to shift your weight gently,
Side to side.
A soft sway through the hips.
And allow the hands to move with you.
Guiding upward along one side of the face.
Spiraling across the front of the chest,
And down across the belly.
Then rising again.
Tracing that same spiral,
Like drawing an infinity loop through your center.
The hands remain close together,
Moving as one.
Supported by the rhythm of your spine and breath.
Allow the chest and head to follow.
There's no outcome to reach for.
Simply allowing motion to unfold.
This spiral supports the center of the body.
Gliding through the connected tissue.
That wraps the stomach,
Liver,
And kidneys.
In traditional Chinese medicine,
This motion supports the digestive system.
And helps move stuck emotion or overthinking energy from the core.
From a nervous system lens,
This kind of fluid,
Midline movement supports self-regulation.
Reconnecting the organs to awareness without forcing feeling.
When the rhythm feels complete,
Begin to guide the hands upward.
Rising along the center line,
Arms lifting above the head.
As the hands reach overhead,
Allow yourself to rise onto your toes.
If that feels steady.
Feeling the length through your whole body,
From soles to fingertips.
Then slowly lower the heels and allow the hands to float down through the center line.
Returning to the heart or resting gently at the belly.
Allow the breath to settle.
Simply notice what's here now.
From wherever your hands have landed,
Begin to draw them outward and upward.
Creating a wide arc through the air.
Palms turn to face downward as the arms float above you.
And slowly glide down through the space in front of the body.
All the way back to the center.
Feet remain hip width,
Knees soft,
Eyes can stay gently open or soften.
Allow this vertical flow to keep repeating.
Lifting the breath in,
Lowering the breath out.
Each arc connects sky and earth,
Clearing what's no longer needed.
And inviting your energy back home.
In Qigong,
This movement helps clear excess yang from the head and draws your awareness downward into the lower body.
It soothes the heart,
Calms the mind,
And gently closes the loop on everything that's been stirred.
From a nervous system lens,
This simple downward motion supports parasympathetic settling.
It signals safety through repetition and gives your body permission to pause.
One more time through,
Arms rise with ease and fall like a wave returning to the shore.
When your hands return to center,
Allow them to rest wherever they feel most at home.
The chest,
The belly,
Or by your sides.
And simply be here with what is.
Now,
Begin to draw both arms forward,
Then slowly open them outward to the sides.
Sweep them back in toward the belly or chest,
Completing a wide circular shape in front of you.
The movement is slow and steady,
As if turning a heavy wheel of water through space.
Knees soft,
Feet rooted.
Let the weight of your arms guide the rhythm.
Stay connected to the center as the palms spiral around it.
As the arms circle,
Allow your attention to drop inward.
Is there a sense of movement in your low belly,
A quietness behind the chest,
Or simply the feeling of your feet beneath you?
The movement supports spleen and stomach energy,
Stabilizing the earth element and nourishing the center.
It also supports cross-body coordination,
Which gently re-engages rhythm and orientation after dissociation,
Freeze,
Or emotional shutdown.
Reverse the direction when it feels right.
Arms now circling the other way,
Keeping the gentle pace.
Continue for another cycle or two,
Not achieving anything,
Simply supporting integration.
And when you feel complete,
Slowly bring your hands back to center.
If it feels okay,
Begin to bring a light bounce into your knees,
Arms loose,
Feet grounded.
Allow your whole body to join,
Hips,
Shoulders,
And jaw.
Everything gently shaking,
Releasing anything that still wants to move.
This kind of spontaneous shaking is how animals complete a freeze response.
It helps your system discharge stored tension and reawaken movement without overwhelm.
As the movement continues,
Simply notice what's changing.
There's more warmth in your hands,
A little more breath,
A sense of your feet under you.
Are your body arriving more fully into the space?
And slowly allow the shaking to fade.
Take a full breath in,
And on the exhale,
We make a soft voo sound,
Allowing it to resonate low in your belly.
The sound of voo,
V-O-O.
V-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O V-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O or the way your body meets this moment.
If something in today's practice resonated with you,
I'd love to hear what landed.
Go gently and remember,
Your body is always communicating with you.
All you need to do is pause and listen.
