A Woman’s Qigong Guide: Health Through New Eyes

Over the last couple of weeks I have been reading A Woman’s Qigong Guide by Yanling Lee Johnson. As I’ve been learning more about Chinese culture – from kung fu to mandarin lessons – I decided to read and learn more about Qi (or Chi). I found it interesting that the initial books I read about Qi assumed I was a male reader, and the diagrams shown were male bodies rather than female. I asked my teacher her advice, and she sent me to Yanling Lee Johnson’s book A Woman’s Qigong Guide. It is such a refreshing and valuable guide (and it is so comforting to open a page and see a diagram of human anatomy I can biologically relate to).

Although I am still building my knowledge of Qi, I can say that it is a form of energy that everything has and, within us, it flows alongside our blood. Through cultivating Qi, human beings can lengthen their life-spans and find a sense of balance in their bodies and minds. I have been trying some short forms of meditation in the morning and breathing exercises whilst I walk, to get started. Lee Johnson’s book is wonderful because it is so personal; she explores how Qi has helped her during her life (through China’s cultural revolution – it is an astounding story), and writes in a way that is informative and accessible. (I had tried some textbooks which were pretty full-on for a first-timer!) I love the way in which Lee Johnson breaks down each element of Qi – starting with history, then moving through to cultivation of Qi, and Qi as a Way of Life. She uses poetry to highlight key ideas, and to offer an insight into the philosophies that coincide with using Qi. It really flows through every aspect of life.

It was a life-changing moment for me when I read:

‘The primary focus of western healthcare is to take care of an individual after he or she has become ill. In the Chinese culture, prevention of illness is more actively stressed as the first priority.’

It seems ridiculous that prevention of illness isn’t the philosophy we grow up with in the UK. Why are we waiting to get ill and then doing something about it? It seems nonsensical. I have been thinking about this more and more whilst learning about food, too: we can prevent ageing and metabolic diseases through avoiding sugars and carbohydrates (which are also sugars), so why don’t we? Studies have shown that Alzheimer’s and Dementia could be the ‘third diabetes’, so why are we still eating “foods” that kill us?

I believe that by combining Qi with knowledge about how food truly affects our bodies, we can live strong lives.

It is amazing when parts of our lives – that initially feel disparate – are brought together, and open our eyes to a bigger picture. A Woman’s Qigong Guide has done this for me: threading my acts of living, together. I am excited to continue my Qigong education.

Guest Post Sunday: Less Monotony, More ‘I Can Be’

This week’s guest post is by Natalie Simberg.

This post is dedicated to all the dads who spent hours reading bedtime stories to their daughters, and loved every moment. Happy Father’s Day.

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Every Friday at 10pm, after their bellies were full, he’d walk her outside to sit on the trampoline and stare up at the sky. They would talk about theories of the universe, the constellations, planets and the stars.

She would say that the universe was made like a donut, that we can never discover the end of it because the end is the same as the beginning. “Space changes so quickly and by the time you get back to the start, its not the same anymore,” she would claim with certainty.

Then she would ask about life beyond the stars. “The world would be an awfully lonely place if there were no others to keep it company,” he would say.

Her curiosity never wavered and as she grew, so did her inquisitive mind and fascination.

They did this every week, until they could no longer stare at the stars together. It is the moment that she remembers most when reflecting on her life 20 years ago. That trampoline has long rusted, but her childhood memories with dad still shine as bright as the stars, every Friday night.

In a game of tennis with my friend Sandra, I committed to contributing a blog post today. I have never written a blog post, or published any exert from my creative writing like the above, but there is a lot ‘I have never’ going around right now. As we sit in our homes today waiting for the time our whole family can be together for Fathers Day, we find ourselves asking the question “why haven’t I done this before?”. The GroundHog Day we all feel from our everyday life at this present time is a bonus that should be appreciated, and that is unlikely to come around again in our lifetime. You are being encouraged to do what you haven’t done before – less monotony, more I can be.

I can be a children’s story writer.  My favourite book growing up was Flat Stanley by Jeff Brown. In the book, Stanley Lambchop is squashed flat by a notice board but being the resourceful kid that he is, takes advantage of it by being posted to places he never thought possible. He helps to solve a crime, and truly makes the most of a bad situation. I learnt a lot from this book as a child – not simple that biology does not work like the book describes, but rather that there can be a practical outcome in all scenarios.

I undertook a series of creative writing subjects at university. Whilst I thoroughly enjoyed the creative outlet that writing could provide, for many years since I have put down my pen and paper, replacing these with Microsoft Excel and post notes. Recognising that I enjoyed creating stories (often with ludicrous plots) my husband one day revealed to me that he had been writing down my ideas on his phone before bed, so to come back to them and remind me of what I had done. We’ve decided that, one day, we will write a series of books together – me as the plot creator, him as the illustrator (he is an exceptional drawer). There is a wonder that how taking a step back has helped re-evaluate the power of my mind, and joy of childhood.

I can be a historical fiction enthusiast. Other than astronomy, history was a love that my dad and I have always shared.I’ve long been taught that you cannot learn the lessons history can teach, unless we seek to understand what they mean. I am keen history buff, going as far as getting married at King Henry VIII’s former Summer Palace, where a young girl named Elizabeth found out that Queen of England. Studying at Law School gave me many things, but time to enjoy reading a leisurely book is not one of them. It has taken staying home to rekindle my love, and in particular that of historical fiction. 

My recommendation is to read The Miniaturist by Jessie Burton. Set in Amsterdam in the 1600’s, the story follows a late teen named Petronella (‘Nella’) and her experience being married off to a wealthy merchant sailor. As a wedding gift, she receives a miniature dolls house. As the tale unfolds, the only constant is the impact of the dolls house on Nella’s life. We experience how themes of sexuality, wealth, race and gender have developed and evolved, and are encouraged to reflect on ourselves and our mindfulness of others.

Once I made it to page 150, I found myself enthralled and enwrapped in the events that were to follow. This book rekindled my love with historical fiction, and my Amazon wish list has grown ever since. 

Less monotony, more I can be. As I complete this post, I find myself thankful that Sandra recommended I write for this blog. I find it calming to express creativity, to rekindle my love of reading and writing.

Five tennis games later and a commitment to weekly lessons, I know what my next I can be moment is. I can be a tennis player.

What about you? 

Natalie Simberg is an Australian masking as a Brit. She is a professional Portfolio Director, and an unprofessional traveller and explorer. Born in Sydney, she is a lover of all things outdoors.