Tight muscles, shoulders, neck, and back is very common these days. Many of us sit at desks, sit on the couch, sit in the car, or just sit in general much more than ideal for the human body.
If we don’t get enough movement, exercise, and stretching it becomes very easy to develop a lot of tension in the body.
But, we can also walk, jog, or stretch everyday BUT still we have a lot of physical tension. Why is that?
We Carry Too Much Tension
Even if we do everything right we can still have tightness in the body. Part of the reason is that we have ‘practiced’ carrying stress and tension for such a long time, that it has become our ‘normal state.’
Being Tense is not Ideal
Even if we are tense at all times, and it has become our habit, it is far from ideal. When we have too much tension in the body it can lead to:
- slow healing
- poor circulation
- low energy
- unclear thinking
- premature aging
- fatigue but inability to sleep deeply
- mental and emotional stress
Fortunately, there is a lot that we can do to release tension. This simple Qigong practice can help:
Qigong Routine to Soften the Body
This is a very simple Qigong practice that focuses on relaxing the hands. You can practice while standing, sitting, or even laying down – just try not to fall asleep!
In Traditional Chinese Medicine and Qigong we have ‘microsystems.’ Mainly the:
- hands
- feet
- scalp
- ears
- face
We can use microsystems to treat the entire body. For thousands of years Traditional Chinese Medicine has used microsystems to help people feel healthy and vibrant. The best example is massaging the feet during reflexology to affect the entire body.
The hands are a very important microsystem because many meridians, collaterals, and acupuncture points are on the fingers, palms, finger tips, and wrists.
So by stimulating blood and qi circulation by moving the hands gently, breathing, and relaxing the mind, we can affect the rest of the body.
When you soften the hands, you soften the rest of the body!
If we can ‘teach’ the hands to be relaxed, soft, and strong at the same time, the rest of the body will eventually follow!
Other Qigong Practices
Of course we can directly work on relaxing tension in all areas of the body through full Qigong practices.
Daily Qigong Routine– simple movements, great for daily practice
Rowing the Boat Routine – great for tension in the upper body
And the new Simplici – Qi routine in the Long section in the Communi Qi – great daily practice routine!
Or you can always explore the 30 Days of Qigong in the Communi Qi
Give this simple practice a try – it’s surprising how such a small exercise can affect the body!
~Jeff
