Peaceful at the Center

One of the most rewarding challenges for a Qigong student is to find the stillness within each movement. When doing a simple repeated move like “Opening the Flow”, as our arms float gently up and down, can we maintain a calm and focused mind? Or after a few repetitions does our mind splinter off into a hundred distractions or get impatient? “Oh I’ve got this one, it’s easy. What’s next?” 

It’s the nature of the mind to jump around like a monkey, or sometimes feel as clouded and opaque as muddy water. Our challenge is to cultivate the patience to submerge ourselves completely into the moment, to wait for the mud to settle, the monkey to rest. THAT is when the qi really flows. You can experience this with the first exercise you do in your first Qigong class! Then, as you expand your movement vocabulary to more complicated exercises like “Teacups” or “Soaring Dragon” the same quest remains: can I maintain my peaceful, clear center as I do this? Can I breathe softly and fully and not worry even if I don’t get it right away? That’s one reason Qigong never gets boring. The good energy continues to grow and so does our ability to maintain a calm center, no matter what is happening around us.