It's the beginning of a
new year and for a lot of people that means a brand new gym membership. This is
not at all a bad way to start off the new year.
But, if you're looking for something a little outside the box, you might
want to check out Qi Gong (pronounced chee gong). Literally, Qi Gong means life energy
cultivation.
Alright, I know what you
must be thinking because I was thinking the same thing. “That sounds crazy!” This verbiage was a lot for my Western
cultured mind to digest, but definitely piqued my interest. Who doesn’t want to cultivate his or her energy
for life?
Given the opportunity, I
had to experience it for myself. Ed Kan
teaches Qi Gong at Isothermal Community College on the Polk Campus. Before class ever started, I already felt
better for being there. Ed's big, warm
smile greeted me the moment I walked through the door. Then, we were treated to
his sense of humor. All of this put me
at ease. Just to have a little time at ease, isn’t this what we all want?
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| Entrance to Isothermal Community College - Polk Campus |
Class began with three
questions to ponder. How long can you
live without food? How long can you live
without water? How long can you live
without air? Such simple questions
brought to light how important breathing is to our well-being. If you think about it, it makes perfect
sense. When the heart is starved of oxygen,
one suffers a heart attack. The lack of
oxygen to the brain causes a stroke. Oxygen is key to our vitality.
We commenced with a series
of gentle movements to enhance our breathing and exercise all of the muscles in
our body to promote circulation. With the addition of correct breathing
techniques, we began to introduce more oxygen into our bloodstream. Ed
forewarned us, “You may experience redness or tingling in the hands and
fingers”. This was the result of good
circulation to our extremities.
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| Ed Kan demonstrates one of the exercises designed to improve circulation. |
With such great health
benefits, you would think Qi Gong would consist of rather complex
movements. Thankfully, that is not the
case. It is not strenuous to perform and
can be practiced by people of all ages. Qi Gong requires no additional
equipment and you do not have to have a lot of space to participate.
So, if you're looking to
try something new to improve your health or you just want to reward yourself
with a pleasant break from the stresses of everyday life, Ed can teach you
China's nearly 3000 year old system of cultivating your life energy. Classes start later this month at
Isothermal’s Polk campus. Here's to a happier,
healthier year ahead.
If you’re not quite sure
this class is for you, see Ed in action on our YouTube channel.
