Those familiar with this blog know that qi is the Chinese expression for vital energy, or life force, which is present all around us, and inside us. The Taoist martial arts, as well as Traditional Chinese Medicine, focus on balancing qi to increase internal energy – to fight, and to heal. In my winter days (and years), daily Tai Chi and qigong exercises increasingly have focused on the healing power of qi, as I’ve sought to ward off the inevitable frailties of aging.
Nobody gets out of here alive, of course, but we want to live our best life, with as much of our faculties as we can preserve, over time. I’ve found that qigong and Tai Chi practice allow me to feel how I’m doing inside, massaging my organs as I focus my mind, breathe deep, digest, move, pump blood and flow qi. While we may not be able to measure it scientifically, qi is as real as the air we breathe, if you can realize it.
In fact, qi also means “breath” or “air,” as well as energy, meaning that qigong essentially is breath work, balancing energy with gentle motion and standing exercises, connecting with the Earth and the broad universe beyond. We coordinate our breath in Tai Chi, essentially qigong, while gentle, mindful breathing also engenders meditation in the Taoist tradition.
Qi is the energy elixir, and it’s available to those who choose to breathe and move in mindful ways and spaces. I use Tai Chi and qigong exercises to balance qi for internal strength, to improve my health and extend my well time on Earth, if not to fight off a physical attack. So I was happy to find, moving into a new community in Chesapeake, Va., a local Qigong trainer and wellness coach who takes the same healing approach to the practice, and I’ve joined her qigong circle for Easy Tai Chi and qi fellowship.
Kathleen (Katie) Cook is a former corporate executive transformed into a “spiritual director,” integrative health coach and mind-body-spirit practitioner. She leads the weekly qigong circle at the Unity Renaissance Spiritual Life Center, supporting “self-care and wellbeing,” she says, by “encouraging the harvesting of qi.” Exercises include such gentle movements as tapping and rubbing along vital organs, breathing and stretching, moving through various qigong movements like “Tai Chi Easy,” forms developed by Dr. Roger Jahnke. I found the tapping and rubbing to be invigorating, the breathing and stretching to be relaxing, and the energy radiating around the healing circle to be palpable.
Katie guides the lesson and stimulates interactive conversation, with gentle music chiming behind her messages of relaxation, relief and spiritual awakening. She begins each session with an excerpt from Lao Tzu’s Tao Te Ching (translated by Yang Zwing Ming), offering pertinent lessons that she revisits as the exercises proceed. She invites sharing among the participants about their experiences, wisdom they may have to offer, and any intentions they may have for the practice. She then tailors the instruction to include movements that can assist with their wellbeing.
After the standing Easy Tai Chi practice, the group returns to the circle for further discussion and breathing exercises. Katie’s engagement with each member of the class, her steady gaze and easy manner, contribute to the heady spiritual sensation of the session. Asked recently by Katie for one word that describes their experience with the qigong circle, participants responded with such words as “confidence,” “connection” and “peace.”
Katie serves as the Healing Therapies coordinator at the Sentara Princess Anne hospital in Virginia Beach, supporting staff and patients with relaxation techniques for stress release that promote strength in the body’s immune system and innate healing abilities. She also offers private “Healing Touch” sessions with clients, in which she uses “heart-centered intention, in collaboration with her clients, to reestablish the natural flow of energy.” Without forcing or pushing, she invites balance and harmony to naturally “reboot” the energy system.
I accepted her offer of a complimentary Healing Touch session, not for physical issues but to fortify my efforts to give up alcoholic beverages, an annual personal campaign that inevitably ends in failure. Like many integrative wellness methods, the session began with an invitation for me to discuss my history, including alcohol abuse, and efforts to eliminate or moderate its use, which I had long determined is bad for my health. She was encouraging, noting that my determination and perseverance over the years showed that I had the right attitude, and the capacity to accomplish what I wanted to do. Then she invited me to relax “to facilitate the movements of energy with intentions to clear, balance and encourage harmony.”
Despite the title, Healing Touch doesn’t necessarily involve touch, per se. I’ve written before about my experience with qi healers, how therapists would “feel” with their hands waving around a body, finding qi blockages and clearing them with healing energy projected from the practitioner. In the Healing Touch modality, the focus “is to support the client’s highest good, consciously, gently and reverently, instead of focusing on changing or fixing the individual,” she said. Katie made sure I was relaxed, swaddling me in blankets on a wellness table and offering a cover for my eyes. Fully relaxed, I lost track of time, and I reckon it was about 15 minutes when the session was over, and I sat and thanked her for making me feel so well.
In addition to her trainings through the Institute of Integral Qigong and Tai Chi, and her Healing Touch certifications, Katie holds certifications in mind, body, spirit practices as a Certified Integrative Health Coach from Duke Integrative Medicine, and is a Registered Yoga Teacher (200-hour Yoga Alliance). She is also trained as a Spiritual Director through Shalem Institute, a non-denominational center in Washington, D.C., that seeks to “nurture contemplative living and leadership.”
“The foundation of my services is in Spiritual Direction,” Katie said, “grounded through grace in compassionate, contemplative, holistic listening for the movements of Spirit in all aspect of one’s life.” Promoting this process of inward reflection, Katie “companions with her clients to explore the deeper rhythms and patterns of life.” Individual meetings normally take place monthly for an hour, with flexibility depending on the needs of the individual.
Postscript: A few weeks after my Healing Touch session with Katie, I relapsed and began drinking alcoholic beverages again. I have many excuses, none justified. While I may have the right attitude to control this unhealthy behavior, I still lack the fortitude to stick to my resolution. The struggle continues, with a little help from a healing circle.
Katie invites anyone interested in “exploring heart-based companionship, rooted in holistic listening for the movement of grace enfolding the ever-unfolding discovery of innate wisdom, peace and joy,” to email her at katienstar@outlook.com.
I'd like to know what you think. Please reply …