To practice this exercise:
1. Stand with your knees slightly bent with your feet waist width apart.
2. Have your hands facing palms up just under the navel just an inch or two from the body.
3. Breathe in and raise your arms with your palms up to the center of the chest.
4. Breathe out and lower your hands to below the navel.
Repeat this exercise for 20-40 repetitions. You can build up to doing it for 10 minutes. Make your breath as comfortably long and slow as possible. The Harmonizing Fire and Water exercise is either calming or energizing depending on your needs.
Qigong (pronounced chee gung) has many different exercises and sets that balance the body by opening tissues and tendons to increase the flow of energy, blood, and nourishment to your organs.
Harmonizing Fire and Water is a special practice with variations that is common to many of styles of Qigong. The term refers to two major energy centers in the body in Chinese thought. The Water center is the area around the abdomen. The image of water refers to quality that is imparted to the body and mind when this area is stimulated: quietude, peacefulness and conservation of energy. In modern biology, these are the functions of the parasympathetic nervous system.
The Fire center in Chinese medicine and Qigong teachings is located in the chest. The image of fire relates to how stimulating this center activates the body to become more energized, using up energy and nutrients to fuel the functions of the body and mind. In modern biology, this refers to the sympathetic nervous system.
If one of these areas or parts of the nervous system is overactive we don't feel well. The sympathetic nervous system is over active when we are in the stress mode. If the Water or parasympathetic nervous system is too strong, we feel sluggish.
1. Stand with your knees slightly bent with your feet waist width apart.
2. Have your hands facing palms up just under the navel just an inch or two from the body.
3. Breathe in and raise your arms with your palms up to the center of the chest.
4. Breathe out and lower your hands to below the navel.
Repeat this exercise for 20-40 repetitions. You can build up to doing it for 10 minutes. Make your breath as comfortably long and slow as possible. The Harmonizing Fire and Water exercise is either calming or energizing depending on your needs.
Qigong (pronounced chee gung) has many different exercises and sets that balance the body by opening tissues and tendons to increase the flow of energy, blood, and nourishment to your organs.
Harmonizing Fire and Water is a special practice with variations that is common to many of styles of Qigong. The term refers to two major energy centers in the body in Chinese thought. The Water center is the area around the abdomen. The image of water refers to quality that is imparted to the body and mind when this area is stimulated: quietude, peacefulness and conservation of energy. In modern biology, these are the functions of the parasympathetic nervous system.
The Fire center in Chinese medicine and Qigong teachings is located in the chest. The image of fire relates to how stimulating this center activates the body to become more energized, using up energy and nutrients to fuel the functions of the body and mind. In modern biology, this refers to the sympathetic nervous system.
If one of these areas or parts of the nervous system is overactive we don't feel well. The sympathetic nervous system is over active when we are in the stress mode. If the Water or parasympathetic nervous system is too strong, we feel sluggish.
RSS Feed