Here is a simple 5 minute Qigong practice to help settle a busy mind, tension in the chest, calm the heart and unsettled Shen.
In Traditional Chinese Medicine and Qigong, we will be healthy when our blood and qi moves smoothly throughout the body, the meridians, the internal organs, and the soft tissue.
Our qi becomes stagnant due to:
- poor lifestyle habits
- diet
- injury or illness
- being too sedentary
- genetics
- environment
- and of course… stress
The key to health and vitality is simply keeping our blood and qi moving smoothly throughout the body.
We are prone to “stagnation of blood and qi” in different areas depending on your constitution and your particular situation.
For example:
- if you live in a hot climate, vs living in a cold climate
- if you work too much vs not working enough
- if you are very relaxed vs very stressed
and so on.
Many people are prone to stagnation in the heart, chest, and what’s called Shen. Shen is loosely translated as the spirit.
When a person has healthy Shen they feel lively, energetic, and engaged in life.
When a person has deficient Shen they feel depressed, withdrawn, disengaged in life.
And, if a person has an unsettled Shen they can feel anxious, ungrounded, and their mind can be too active with repetitive thoughts.
This simple 5 minute Qigong practice will help both conditions – deficient Shen and unsettled Shen. It is easy, simple, and natural. Just follow along a few times, then you can practice on your own.
The key is to remember to breathe, relax, and find “Flow” in your Qigong practice.
Shen is something we often discuss in the Communi Qi because many of us experience unsettled Shen which manifests as anxiety. One of our most popular Qigong routines is called “Heart Healing.”
Because of it’s popularity we recently added a routine called Peaceful Shen and it is also becoming practiced quite a bit!
Come join the Communi Qi if you need further help to calm your Shen 🙂
