Every day without fail, we are bombarded with daily news of violence, political upheavals, natural disasters, wars, and other bad news that may prevent us from taking a positive view of our surroundings and life. The fearful and timid ones may just capitulate to their hardships and stop looking forward to a bright future.

So how can a single person like you transform the world around you? There’s actually very little you can so except for the fact that you can change the way you perceive the world with ‘a new pair of eyes,’ in a matter of speaking. To let the change begin with you, you can start with small steps. You’ll notice, in no time, that your positive outlook would have an impact on others.

But how do you start changing yourself in the first place?

You can begin by taking an archaic Chinese art known as Qigong. Qigong has a way to transform your world from within incrementally that in no time at all you are actually changing the world outside.

What is Qigong?

Also called Chikung, Qigong is an ancient Chinese practice dating about 3,000 years ago. It is an extremely effective therapeutic series of activities combining gentle physical exercises, deep breathing techniques, mental focus, relaxation, and meditation. Qigong is non-religious and anyone can practice regardless of hid political and religious affiliations.

For beginners, Qigong’s most important objective is to become conscious of the vital energy or Chi within themselves. It will be a lot easier for them to follow Chi with their mind once practitioners become more in tune to the Chi in their body, which enable them to gain better control of themselves holistically (spiritually, mentally, and physically), this is if they practice the exercises diligently.

Sooner or later and without them realizing it, beginners will espouse the philosophy and lifestyle of Qigong one they get deeper into their exercises. This is actually expected as the practitioners themselves will experience tremendous gains as they effortlessly flow deeper into their practices. As an example, Qigong meditation and exercises can help maintain tranquility and peace in the mind of a practitioner by increasing the intake of oxygen to their cells and tissues and clear up the energy channels called meridians that transport energy all over their the body.

As a practitioner performs repetitions of appropriate sets of Qigong exercises, his or her Chi gradually flows unimpeded within the body balancing their Yin and Yang energies. They will realize that besides bringing about a relaxation response, the energy of Chi can assist in the treatment of various minor and major illnesses as gleaned in clinical studies.

A Word of Caution

If you’re a newbie to Qigong and you have a restless mind, these exercises may be challenging at first. The mind more than the body, is often the part of you that is hesitant, timid and reluctant. But once you begin the practice and you feel Qi freely flowing and circulating inside of you, then your relaxation increases and the resistance emanating from your mind starts to decrease.

The perennial problem for  beginners is a restless mind. This is even true for sages who address this problem by observing their breath, focusing on certain areas of their body, counting, or visualization. These aids can also help beginners from causing their mind to jumping around, or what some refer to as ‘monkey mind.’ The mind eventually will become more relaxed, less busy and can immediately Qi Gong enter into a state of tranquility and peace. This benefits the practitioner that in turn impacts the world around him or her.

Tammi A. Jones is a licensed acupuncturist in Palm Harbor, FL., practicing acupuncture, Chinese herbal medicine and Western medical pathology. She is also the founder of Synoma Wellness Centre.