Getting out of my head and into my body

         Last night's class started off a little rough for me.  I have been having some heightened anxiety again lately, after three years of not experiencing any.  The entire day I was feeling anxious, and that beginning of class tipped me past my edge.  Usually physical exertion really helps me, but it wasn't cutting it last night; so already feeling stuffy in the chest, the warm-up exacerbated the feeling of not being able to breath and sent me into a mild panic attack.

        However, it was the second part of class that really helped me.  We were going over Lung 1 with Sihing Csillag, the form that I chose for this years IHC.  He really had us dial in to feeling our Qi when going through the form.  Even had us use loose hands throughout to keep the sensitivity of the sensation.  What I found, was between the concentration on this feeling and the breathing that is apart of the form, it really helped take me out of my head, and placed me more in my body.  The end result was a calming effect on my nervous system, and I definitely felt better after class than I did when I started.  So, thank you Sihing Csillag for that.

        It is serendipitous that Lung was the form I chose for this year.  Part of me knew that it was the form that I needed.  I'm looking forward to exploring that Qi sensation more.  As far as Qi goes, it is not a new concept to me, and I have been doing Qi work day in and day out for 13+ years now; however, using Qi in this way is a bit foreign for me, so will need some getting used to.  The way I use Qi typically is to sense areas in others where their Qi is blocked and move it.  I'm not so used to taking my own Qi and using it externally the same way we do in Kung Fu.  I can definitely feel the sensation quickly, because I'm used to it, but to apply it in a more forceful manner than healing is strange.

        I also think that this form really parallels my Yoga training by connecting the breath with the form, something we do in Yoga all the time.