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Reach For Happiness: Qi Gong for the Immune System
Qi Gong Exercise for the Metal Element (The Immune System)
Reach for Happiness
This exercise focuses on bringing more energy and blood flow to the lungs. In Chinese medicine, the lungs are one of the most important organ systems for creating energy and sustaining health and well-being.
It has its origin in a famous statue of Buddha, in which he is portrayed with his hands above his head just like the photo above.
As we learned in the chapters on the Metal Element, the lungs and large intestines are united by the immune system. They both have an enormous number of lymph glands in and around them, as you can see in this illustration.
The Metal Element: Immune System
So focusing on healing these areas can have a very positive effect on the immune system for calming, regulating, and balancing the immune system. All things that a valuable for people with Hashimoto’s.
This exercise is also good for digestive problems; heart, lung, spine, or back problems; and a stiff neck and eye problems. It helps also bring more blood flow to the brain, increases lung volume, and increases blood flow back to the heart.
How to Do It:
Begin with the natural standing posture. Feet shoulder length apart, hands hanging relaxed at your side.
Inhale and gently sweep your hands out to your sides, to the front and bring your hands to meet at your abdomen, just below your navel.
Your palms should be facing up towards the sky, with your fingertips pointing up towards each other. As you sweep your hands up imagine that you are holding a ball of energy, keep your arms rounded and your armpits open.
Next raise your hands, lifting the energy ball slowly and steadily up to your chest. Keep your arms about six to eight inches from your body to keep the movement open. Gently hold the energy ball and imagine that you must balance it or it will fall.
Next turn, turn the palms down and rotate your thumbs underneath and push your hands out above your head. Keep your fingers interlocking and again imagine that you are balancing an energy ball and pushing it far into the sky.
At the end of this movement stand up on your tip toes as far as your balance allows. Push up for one or two seconds as you completely exhale. Then inhale as deeply as you can while staying relaxed.
Finally, exhale again, unlock your fingers and return your head and eyes to a forward position. Let your arms float outward as if gently pushing down a couple of big balloons.
Repeat the entire Qi Gong exercise three times, once or twice a day. When you are finished try to maintain the posture and height that got from doing the exercise.
From Liu, Master Hong. The Healing Art of Qi Gong Healing. New York: Warner, 1997.
About the Author Marc Ryan
So now, not only is it my profession, it’s my passion, and it’s personal. I’ve been joking with people lately saying it’s a blessing and a curse. A blessing because I really get it, and a curse because I really got it! ?
