Saturday, June 4, 2016

Capacity to Perform depends on Our Capacity to Relax

Taking a lunch break from the Yi Jin Jing workshop, I stared at the TV in the restaurant for a moment and felt my mind zoned out.  Sudden the realization entered that this is why so many of us watch TV or surf the web at times, while feeling like we are wasting our life doing so.  This is because the TV and web actually alleviated our busy mind, so that we could zone out for brief moments. 

Our body needs these zoned out moments to recuperate.  Kids zone out for no apparent reason all the time.  It’s a crucial but forgotten part of life. We used to chat amongst friends and family, and in between talk, we naturally zoned out.  The villagers in Inner Mongolia where Jerigtu is from still do that, and that’s one of many reasons why I enjoy being amongst them so much. 

Now that our days are packed full of activities, of actively doing, we are lacking these moments of zoning out. Our modern city lives place too much importance in doing, and not in undoing.  Our lives tend to be too yang and not supported by yin activities, such as resting, letting go, surrendering the mind and the body, zoning out, observing and meditating inwardly.

There is a saying that the muscle is only as strong as it is flexible, which means the muscle’s ability to engage depends on its ability to relax and lengthen.  To broaden this concept into our lives, this means our actions are only as powerful as our capability to relax and regenerate.

Through years of teaching and healing, I notice that almost all of us, myself included, don’t know how tight we are until the moment we are able to release.  So we are unaware of how much our own power is restricted, and how much our life is limited until we begin to explore into our capacity to relax.

So if you feel a little more relaxed from the busy day after watching TV or surfing the web, can you imagine the capacity of relaxation would happen while your whole being is intending on that one purpose only, to relax.  The main goal of Level One ZY Qigong is relaxation.  All the exercises and meditations help us release and surrender fuller into our capacity to relax.  When our physical body and mind relax enough, energy naturally begins to flow and accumulate. 


If you feel chronically lack of energy, lack of focus, clarity or the ability to persevere, you may consider joining us for the weekend June 10-13.  If you are working on healing a chronic illness, this practice would serve you well.  If you would like an overall shift in your productivity or creative energy, this practice could be the jump start for the change.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

I am glad you started writing again. I love reading your blog. Look forward to reading next blog.

Claire said...

Thank you!

Claire said...

Thank you!