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Two More Qigong Moves

Check out the first two qigong moves and the next two qigong moves. Here are two more moves to give you a full fifteen minute qigong routine. Scooping the earth: stand with your feet wide and your toes turned outward. Rest the back of your left hand on your lower back. Extend your right arm parallel to the floor with your palm facing downward. Bend your right knee into a lunge and lean forward from your hips while you reach your right hand towards the floor. Shift your weight to the center, then to the left side as you scoop … Continue reading →

More Qigong Moves

If you liked your first experience with qigong, you may be looking for more meditation moves to try. Here are a few more! Rocking: stand with your feet about hip-width apart and your knees unlocked. Step forward about a foot with your right foot. With your arms at your sides, bend your elbows about ninety degrees. Keep your palms facing each other. Rock forward, bending your right knee and extending your arms upward as you inhale. Your hands should circle up and away from you. Rock back onto your left knee and circle your hands down as you exhale. Flex … Continue reading →

Give Qigong a Try

If you’d like to try qigong — a form of active meditation whose name means “energy work” — here are a few moves to get you started. The big cat stretch: start on your hands and knees. Place your hands directly beneath your shoulders and your knees directly below your hips. Tuck your head down to look at your belly button and round your spine. Take a breath, then exhale. As you exhale, lower your hips towards your heels and let your arms extend forward. As you inhale again, return to all fours. As you exhale again, lift your head … Continue reading →

What is Qigong?

Looking for an exercise that can give you more energy, more stamina, and a stronger immune system? You might want to look at qigong. Qigong means energy work. It is a form of active meditation that focuses on graceful, flowing movements. The results are in: qigong makes a difference. Studies from UCLA found that qigong can lower stress hormone levels and enhance nervous system activity. Healthy adults in the study who practiced qigong had ten percent more energy compared to those who practiced tai chi. Stress-related headaches may also be relieved or eliminated entirely. A Swedish study found that women … Continue reading →

Better than Energy Drinks

I feel like I’m seeing a LOT of commercials for energy drinks on television lately. But I’ll be honest: energy drinks scare me a little. I imagine that they’re full of sugar or caffeine, or both — giving you a quick jolt of energy, sure, but in the long run, probably not that great for your health. But I do suffer from that mid-afternoon slump. Around two o’clock, I start to slow down and think about napping. I suspect it might be a hold-over from my radio days, when I’d get off the air at two and it would be … Continue reading →

Be Careful With Zinc — Especially During Cold Season

Think zinc is the answer to all your seasonal cold problems? Think again! Zinc supplements can help boost your immunity, but there is a down side. A recent joint study between American and European researchers found that there may be a link between zinc and age-related macular degeneration. Eye deposits in people over sixty with age-related macular degeneration contain high levels of zinc! So overdosing yourself with zinc in order to ward off a cold may cause vision problems later in life. More research into the exact source of the zinc in eye deposits is underway. Zinc supplements may or … Continue reading →

Relaxation For Your Personality Type

We’re all different. And we all relax in different ways! Lately, I’ve been having trouble getting my mind to shut up when I’m ready for bed. Sometimes I distract myself with television; other times I try a relatively simple (but effective) visualization technique: fully visualize (using all your senses) at least one thing for each color of the rainbow. A strawberry. An orange. A banana. A handful of blueberries. Leafy green spinach. A juicy purple plum. Food is easy because it quickly engages all five senses. Not enough to shut your brain down? Try three things for each color. Some … Continue reading →

Dear Heather … Exercise & Addiction

Dear Heather, My son has struggled with drug use over the last two years and while we have tried to get him into rehabilitation programs before and more to help him to quit, we’ve not been successful. Recently after running away and getting hooked again, he came home and said that he’s done with drugs for good. He’s been exercising regularly, running four and five miles a day. At first, I wasn’t sure if he really was doing it and I hate to admit it, but I’ve followed him and so has his father on many occasions and he’s doing … Continue reading →