As an HR Practitioner obsessed with the dilemma surrounding the disengagement of workforces within organizations, I have been on a quest to find answers. It was on this quest that I discovered Qigong (pronounced chee-gong). See this quest began from a practical professional place but what I quickly found was that it was an extremely personal journey. My obsession with disengagement came from a place of desperation. I wanted to know the answers in hopes to avoid my own personal disengagement. I had begun establishing a track record of personally disengaging from workplaces and now that I was out on my own. I had no employer to blame for my unhappiness or level of satisfaction, that blame could only go one place on me.
I’ve come to the conclusion that solving disengagement, is more about healing individuals, establishing a new definition of work-life balance and embracing the magic. But before I lose you, this post is not going to dive into that heavy topic. I’d like to first introduce you to Qigong from a practical professional place just like how I began this whole journey.
There are three practical professional reasons, I believe busy passionate professionals should consider Qigong. There are several forms of Qigong, the one I have been studying is Medical Qigong. Its primary focus is on the well being of the three bodies, physical, emotional and spiritual, with the end goal of establishing a state of conscious harmony within the individual. Conscious meaning increasing the level of awareness and harmony being a level of inner peace. I share this only to instill in you that the basis of Qigong and its benefits is increasing awareness, which is the first step in any personal or professional journey of growth.
Reason #1: Clarity
One of the three goals of a Medical Qigong practice is to purge turbid Qi. These fancy words mean to remove any energy that no longer serves us, it could be bad or negative energy, an energy that has become stagnant or someone else’s energy that you inherited.
As a busy professional that works with people, I was naive about how much energy I was taking on from others and how this additional energy was impacting me. I believe this ability to be naive came from the simple fact that I couldn’t detect when I was taking other people’s energy one. I had no clue how to tell the difference.
Learning how to purge my energy has been a game-changer. It’s no lie I feel literally lighter. After years in the HR industry, being able to remove the energies that I had acquired from others over the decade was truly game-changing. Not only did I feel lighter, with it came a newfound clarity.
The newfound clarity was my ability to hear myself fully for the first time in years. My thoughts, my dreams, my voice, which sounds incredibly selfish. But it’s not when you spend a decade trying to make everyone else happy and meeting everyone else’s needs. Absorbing everyone else’s energy taints our voice and sometimes causes us to lose it completely.
For me, energetic purging using Medical Qigong exercises has truly changed my life.
Reason #2: Resilience
Resilience has become quite a buzz word lately in the business world. Which cannot come as a surprise since we live in a constant state of change, so our ability to recover from difficulties or struggles is essential.
In Traditional Chinese Medicine, we recognize three bodies, the physical, emotional and mental or spiritual. In Medical Qigong, each of these bodies has a Wei Qi field. These Wei Qi fields serve to protect each of our bodies and it is when these fields are damaged that we are at risk. Damage to these fields can result in low energy and struggling immune system, it then can begin to manifest as larger health issues.
The way these fields become damage is by exposure to external elements, which can come directly from our environment. It can also come from the way we process our emotional reactions to life events as well as the energy that we take on from interacting with others.
The good news is having a daily Medical Qigong practice, which is comprised of a series of exercises, allowing you to strengthen your Wei Qi fields. Stronger Wei Qi fields mean that your protective boundaries are stronger. Therefore you are able to withstand exposure to the external elements and in a situation where the damage does occur to one of your fields, your daily practice will ensure quick restoration.
Reason #3: Endurance
This final reason predominantly comes into play when stress has taken a major role in our professional lives. An infrequent occurrence for most of us I’m sure.
In Medical Qigong, another goal is cultivating Qi. When you cultivate Qi, you essentially are increasing your personal energy levels. In fact, during a Medical Qigong practice, you cultivate Qi and fill your lower dantian. The lower dantian serves as your reservoir of energy, it is your battery for functioning every day. Increasing your Qi levels that are stored within your lower dantian, increases your personal stamina to take on the high demands that often are the root cause of our stress.
That being said, I personally believe that you can choose to use this new level of stamina for good or evil. It can be used to accomplish even larger piles of work, it can also be used to bring a new level of overall wellness into your life. Imagine having the energy to go for a run after getting home from work rather than barely being able to veg out in front of the tv.
There you have it, my three reasons why a busy professional should consider Qigong. If you find yourself in need of clarity, resilience and endurance, consider Qigong – what do you have to lose? From my perspective, you only have so much to gain.
If you are interested, we offer free community classes on a weekly basis at Leadership Arts Associates – so stop by. Click here to learn more about our classes.
Sincerely,
