Oriental Movement for Health & Vitality

Here in the west we tend to concern ourselves more with our physical condition rather than our spiritual wellbeing and only rarely acknowledge the link between the two.
Whereas the Chinese have long linked the physical with the spiritual as joint keys to good health and longevity. For every ailment or ill that presents itself, the Chinese will look not only to the symptoms produced by the body but to the balance of its energies, often finding that the root cause of an ailment has strong links to a person’s spiritual state. Indeed the raft of alternative therapies coming into regular practice in the UK are often of Eastern origin, like for example acupuncture and reflexology, and these findings and teachings of ancient civilisations are so widely and successfully practised throughout the world that they warrant serious consideration.
Here we may say that we are run down or depressed and therefore will be more susceptible to illness. So, rather than look for the reasons why we are run down or depressed, we get trapped on a treadmill from which we are perpetually falling prey to one ailment or another – and becoming reliant on medicine, but never attaining a true state of good health. We have lost the ability to apply commonsense in our lives and to link the positive benefits of regular mind and body exercise to our general wellbeing.
In the East, people learn to listen to their minds and to their bodies and place great importance on achieving perfect balance between the two. Indeed in the East exercise is a daily element of life and in city parks throughout the Far East as dawn breaks thousands of people take the opportunity to welcome the day with their exercise routines. Many scarcely seem to move at all, holding their poses for lengthy periods, taking time to breathe and to welcome the day. Here we see men and women in their eighties and nineties as fi t and as supply as pre-teens drawing strength from their inner balance and serenity.
How different that is to the competitive way in which exercise is approached in the West ? With costly gym memberships, all that equipment, and all the focus placed on building muscle, losing flab and aerobic exercise. Where is the mind/body balance in these forms of exercise ? Do they merely lead to our being ever more competitive and dissatisfied with who and how we are ? Listen to the talk in the locker room.
Increasingly more of us are discovering that there are great benefits to be found from the ancient Eastern systems and along with this an increasing number of training schools and classes are opening. Some of us will merely touch the surface of these disciplines yet still benefit greatly from them. For others it will become a lifelong mission to learn and to master the intracacies of the more advanced forms. Whichever, take an open mind and a willingness to learn, and enrol in a beginner level class to find out for yourself how great the benefits can be.
Chi Kung (Qi Gong) is an exercise system from China with its origins going back thousands of years and translates to the cultivation of energy through breathing. There are many different forms of Qi Gong, as it is mostly referred to in the West, and they are based on learning a series of movements and coordinating these movements with correct breathing patterns. When achieved the body’s natural energy – its Chi – circulates more efficiently and when practised daily it can greatly improve overall health and resistance to illness. Qi Gong can be practised with or without physical movement which makes it accessible to those who are incapacitated or frail, as well as fit to individuals. Passive Qi Gong does however require greater dedication to assimilate whereas the more active form can quickly deliver positive results.

Yoga
Here in the West we have mostly adopted a very basic form – Hatha Yoga – and it is regarded as offering huge benefits in terms of physical health, inducing feelings of calm and enabling complete relaxation. The gentle stretching, twisting and flexibility promoting exercises stimulate the spinal nerves and the endocrine system which spread out to the vital organs and glands. Basic yoga classes are offered all over the region. Basic yoga is inclusive with teachers who specialise in taking yoga classes for the elderly and the physically disabled as well as all others who are interested in it. More advanced training is available with many courses spanning years.
Check out the listings in ConnectConnections for classes and teachers in your area.