Qigong - Powerful Stress Relief

Qigong (chee-gung), an ancient Chinese system of slow-motion exercise that concentrates on flowing movements and breathes meditation is widely used as an effective stress management technique.

Qi means " life, force, energy", and gong means "work, a skill of practice".

Qigong releases the flow of Qi energy throughout the body. When this energy becomes blocked you become ill, our state of inner homeostasis and balance is destroyed.

According to traditional Chinese medicine, qigong wards off illness. And stress is well known to danger harmful to your health. In fact 75-90 % of all physician visits are for stress-related ailments.

Thoroughly in the tranquil state that comes with Qi gong practice, the mind and body of the person begin to rest. And like other practices that bring mind and body together, qigong is widely used to counteract and reduce the stress - person becomes calmer and more positive in the attitude for own self and others, and improves the health in general.

How Qigong helps reduce stress?

Whenever you perceive stress, an inbuilt alarm-system in your brain triggers the adrenal glands to release complex hormonal cascade of over 30 stress hormones, including adrenaline and cortisol. Those stress hormones give you the extra strength and speed you need to deal with the threatening stressful situation. This reaction is known as the "fight-or-flight" reaction, or the stress response.

The bodies balance is destroyed, which leads to multiple health related problems and premature aging to name just few.

Just as your body has an inbuilt fight-or-flight response mechanism, it also has an inbuilt mechanism for triggering relaxation. This is called "the relaxation response". It turns off the fight-or-flight response returning the body and its biochemistry back to pre-stress levels. In other words - back to the state of balance and wellbeing; back to the health.

Unfortunately nowadays when you live in a constant tension, in a state of chronic stress, your stress response never turns off and this doesn't let the relaxation response to turned on. It is supposed to be consciously stimulated by any relaxation technique such as, progressive muscle relaxation, massage, qigong or guided imagery.

Herbert Benson, MD, the pioneering doctor who helped introduce the concept of mind-body medicine to the U.S., studied qi gong while he was researching what he termed "the relaxation response." He concluded that to reach a state of deep relaxation, all you have to do is control your body, your breathing, and your mind.

You are often told to learn to relax but you are not taught how to relax. Qigong is a potent relaxation technique which activates "the relaxation response".

Qigong is not only of great benefit in treating stress, anxiety, depression and low self-esteem but has other health benefits as well, such as greater flexibility, improved circulation, better balance and an enhanced sense of well being.

'When the mind is at peace the body can start to repair itself.'

Tip:

Move your body slowly, with concentration, and remove all other thoughts from your mind.

The practice of Qigong has many levels for development and is relevant to people of all ages, enabling and facilitating the body's ability to nurture and heal itself.

For more info about Qigong healing visit www.qirevolution.com

Inese Millere is an action-oriented certified life coach who assists professional women in creating stress management strategies and healthy lifestyle routines for longevity.

She runs a highly popular and comprehensive Stress Management For Longevity web site, Action4Balance.com

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