CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL who participated in the New Year 10- day challenge. This event brought so many GOOD RESULTS to all participants. CLAIMS were: ……..relaxed body, mind engaged with the natural rhythm of the body ……..woke up feeling good ……..more focused and aware ……..more centered and grounded ……..energy level up, calmed, revitalized ……,..relaxed and grounded ………more balanced, warm and energetic ………warm, clear-headed ……..energized, ready for the day……… These are just a few…….. This CHALLENGE has PROVEN something……that in order to make your BODY RELAX, you have to WORK FOR IT! And by PRACTICING QIGONG AND TAI CHI CONSISITENTLY ON A DAILY BASIS FOR 10- 20 MINUTES HELP GAIN PROFICIENCY AND MAINTAIN DESIRED RESULTS! All of the participants have reported being RELAXED, CALMED, GROUNDED, FOCUSED AND ENERGIZED WHICH GAVE THEM AN OVER-ALL FEELING OF VITALITY. WHY IS THIS SO? WHY DO WE FEEL GREAT WHEN WE RELAX? WHAT HAPPENS INSIDE OUR BODY TO REFECT THIS? Let us set aside Qigong and Tai Chi for awhile and dig deeper into the.. THE SCIENCE OF RELAXATION. After relaxation, the body shifts from a “ FIGHT TO FLIGHT” state to the PARASYMPATHETIC “ REST AND DIGEST” mode. KEY PHYSIOLOGICAL CHANGES include: 1. HEART AND CIRCULATION- blood pressure and heart rate drop as the cardiovascular system slows down, reducing the risks of heart disease. BLOOD flow increases to major MUSCLES AND ORGANS. 2. MUSCULAR SYSTEM: muscles become LOOSE AND LESS TENSE RELIEVING PAIN AND ACHES. 3. HORMONAL SHIFT: the body REDUCES PRODUCTION OF STRESS HORMONES LIKE CORTISOL AND ADRENALINE, INSTEAD RELEASES NEUROTRANSMITTERS LIKE SEROTONIN AND DOPAMINE THAT IMPROVE MOOD. 4. CELLULAR RESTORATION: during DEEP REST, the body redirects ENERGY toward CELL REPAIRS AND TELOMARES (PROTECTIVE CAP OF DNA) maybe protected from damage, SLOWING CELLULAR AGING. 5.COGNITIVE AND MENTAL STATE: BRAIN ACTIVITY shifts often resulting in INCREASED FOCUS, CLEARER THINKING AND BETTER MEMORY FUNCTION. 6. ENERGY AND IMMUNITY: ENERGY LEVEL IMPROVES AND THE IMMUNE SYSTEM BECOMES MORE EFFECTIVE AT FIGHTING OFF ILLNESS.

🌿 February Qi Gong Check-In Welcome to February’s Qi Gong Check-in . This is a supportive space to show up for your practice, build consistency, and move together as a community. Whether you joined a live session, practiced along with YouTube inside the community, or completed a self-paced course, it all counts. What matters most is that you showed up. This thread will stay pinned for daily check-ins, connection, and encouragement. ⸻ ✅ How to Check In Each Day After you finish your practice, post a short check-in using these four steps: 1️⃣ Intention What did you want to focus on or cultivate today? 2️⃣ Practice What practice did you do today? Live session, YouTube, or self-paced are all welcome. 3️⃣ After How do you feel after completing your practice? One short sentence is perfect. 4️⃣ Visual Share a photo or short video of your practice, your screen, or your setup. ⸻ ✨ Sample Check-In Intention: To slow down and reconnect with my breath Practice: Live Session 12-21-2025 After: Feeling grounded, calm, and present Photo or video attached ⸻ There’s no right or wrong way to participate here. Show up in a way that feels good to you, support others when you can, and enjoy the process. One day. One breath. One practice.

If you don’t see results, you get tired. If you don’t feel anything, you start to doubt. If something doesn’t move you, you discard it. If something doesn’t motivate you, you abandon it. Maybe today you feel like you’re not moving forward, like practicing feels hard, like you’re repeating the same thing, like you always end up back at the same point, like the silence feels empty. And then comes the day when the temptation to leave appears. To leave the practice, to leave the silence, to leave yourself. But if you stay, even if you don’t see, don’t feel, don’t understand, something begins to fall into place inside you, something begins to be cleansed, something becomes more true. Changes don’t happen all at once. They happen slowly, with consistency, with faithfulness. Transformation is already happening even if you can’t see it. What truly transforms you is not the intensity with which you live things, but how faithfully you remain in them. Roots grow in the dark, not on the surface. What today feels barren will be support tomorrow. What today feels useless will be a foundation tomorrow. Nothing lived with faithfulness is ever lost. Don’t try to feel more—try to be faithful. If today you’re tired, don’t force yourself to feel. Just stay. Breathe. Remain in silence.

This is a great video explaining how we look at the intention of our practices by considering these common "mistakes" that we all run into. One of the main reasons I started practicing qi gong more regularly was to manage my energy levels, ability to stay focused, and all the other ups and downs that come with perimenopause. And because I had been practicing yoga for such a long time, I had to come at it with a "you don't know what you don't know" mindset, meaning less expectations of myself and what I think I know, and allowing for a new process to take hold. And that was both challenging, but exciting once I started making new connections. Check out this video! Can you relate?

Before going to bed, watched and took part in the YouTube video of BaGua walking. I wanted to see how it would aid with balance as well as learn the drill itself. The quick passage of the 3 walking movements means I will def have to watch and take part again. This is ideal for me in a small lounge. Many thanks.