A Qigong client of mine wrote in with the following question:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“I have a very stressful life. At the start of the week I have a 6 hour commute to work and at the end I have a 6 hour commute back. I’ve been doing this since the start of the year. And I’m also involved with opening up a branch office for a major financial services company.<\/p>
Qigong has helped me immensely with this pressure, but it’s constantly growing. Can I practice Qigong more often or just deeper?<\/p>
I find it almost impossible to keep my work and my ‘to do list’ out of my practice.<\/p>
I’m struggling a bit and I don’t like it. Any words of advice would be greatly appreciated.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
Here was my reply, which I think you’ll find beneficial, all page numbers reference material from my book Smiling From The Heart:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Hi Brent,<\/p>
A couple of thoughts come to mind for your situation.<\/p>
1) You don’t want to be practicing Qigong more than twice a day<\/strong>. But… you can practice skills like:<\/p>
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- Emperor Walks Heart Opens (p.31<\/em>)<\/li>\n
- Smiling From The Heart (p.46<\/em>)<\/li>\n
- Ultimate Mind Calmer (p.36<\/em>)<\/li>\n<\/ol>
As often as you like.<\/p>
You can also practice Entering a QSoM (p.45<\/em>), but just make sure where you’re doing it is safe. I.e. a quiet, peaceful place where you’re unlikely to be disturbed.<\/p>
2) Turn to page 105<\/em> and re-read the section on stress<\/strong>. When you become aware that your stress levels are building up to a 5 or sliding into a 6 or 7 – you MUST do something to bring the levels back down to a healthier 3, 4 or 5. E.g.<\/p>
\n
- Go for a walk<\/li>\n
- Sing a song<\/li>\n
- Hum a tune<\/li>\n
- Take a break<\/li>\n
- Have a 5 minute breathing session.<\/li>\n<\/ul>
Whatever works for you.<\/p>
3) How do you do your 6 hour commute?<\/strong> If you drive, get some CD’s to listen to. For example when I go on a drive of more than an hour I make sure I’ve got a pile of podcasts, spoken word books, or learning material loaded up on my Mp3 player.<\/p>
Then when I’m driving I’m actually learning or being entertained at the same time.<\/p>
I also make sure to open the window regularly to let some fresh air circulate in the cockpit.<\/p>
4) Remember you’re doing your best under difficult circumstances.<\/strong> Be gentle and compassionate to yourself, refer to the box on page 131<\/em> to recap why this is so important.<\/p>
5) If your mind keeps wondering back to your job during practice<\/strong> simply keep your focus on what you’re doing e.g.:<\/p>
Now I’m lowering my arms whilst breathing out through my mouth…<\/em><\/p>
Or<\/p>
Breathing in through my nose I say the word ‘In’ to myself…<\/em><\/p>
And so on.<\/p>
Your mind can only focus fully on one thing at a time. Hence the saying:<\/p>
“Use the one thought to overcome the 10,000 thoughts”.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
Regular exposure to stressful situations like Brent’s lock you into ‘fight or flight<\/em>‘ mode. Whilst this mode is great for survival, it’s not a good place to live.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And unfortunately too many of us do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The 29 Qigong and non Qigong tools in my book Smiling From The Heart are powerful ways to transport yourself out of the toxic ‘fight or flight<\/em>‘ mode and into a much healthier ‘rest and build<\/em>‘ mode.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Personally, I don’t believe you can ever get rid of stress. I believe stress is a part of life. But instead of stress being in charge of you, you can learn how to be in charge of your stress.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Let me show you how:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
SmilingFromTheHeart.com<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n
The good news is it’s not that hard when you know what to do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Enjoy your practice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Kindest regards<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Marcus<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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