Why Practice Qi Gong

Recently a friend asked me why do I practice Qi Gong?

I had been exposed to QI Gong on meditation retreats and guitar seminars.  While I liked the affects, I did not practice on my own until I was injured.  A nasty case of tendinitis in my left wrist had me stop playing guitar.  After little progress with Western Medicine I received an acupuncture treatment which had an immediate effect.  Of course the nature of tendinitis and inflammation meant I had to have repeated treatments.  One day I noticed that my acupuncturist Dr. Nianzu Li, also taught Qi Gong.

After the treatment I asked him if there was an exercise which would help my condition. He showed me “Opening the Energy Gates” which I practiced daily until my next visit to his office. I showed him the exercise and he commented that I was doing good.  He then shared a secret with me, if I practiced Qi Gong, I’d probably not need to see him for acupuncture.  I signed up for his next class. 

That was over twelve years ago.  I have learned many forms in this time, relishing in the calm and energy that the practice of Qi Gong delivers.  I developed a daily practice. When Master Li offered a teacher training program I joined with my wife.  Our practice and learning accelerated and I continue to reap the rewards of daily practice.  When we began teaching our own class, I was happy as others embraced Qi Gong for the first time and many have continued their studies.

Last year I had an opportunity to present Qi Gong during a week long residential Guitar Seminar.  What would best serve the guitarists on the course?  I settled upon the Daoist 12 Postures form.  One of the intentions in this form is to release the spine, known as the Heavenly Pillar in Mandarin.  Several of the participants told me how this helped them release their own issues arriving from poor use of their bodies. The various postures are simple, yet powerful and allow the shoulders, arms, elbows, wrist and hands to release the various tensions related to the demands of playing an instrument.  These exercises are great pre-instrument practice warm ups and can be done anywhere at anytime.  Even back stage prior to performing. 

My wife & I will be offering the Daoist 12 Postures for the first time in a class offered by the Takoma Park Recreation Department.  While Qi Gong is great for musicians, the benefits of stimulating our energy flow is great for all.  We’ve had students from the age of 15 to 78.  Join us.

I is for ?

Intelligence, Intermission, or Injury.

I woke this morning with stiffness in my left shoulder, just about where the weight of the guitar rests. This happens at times. Years ago I learned to relax this area as I was "lifting' this shoulder to meet the weight of the guitar. Of course I did not know I was doing this until a friend of mine from the world of dance, Bob Dunn, watched me play. I have also had irritation in the area if I turn my neck to watch my hands while I play. And perhaps I just plain old slept funny last night.

While at work I did a bit of stretching and noticed that the tendon that leads to the outside of my left wrist was also sore. I had tendinitis in this area a couple years ago so I am very aware of being gentle when noticing any pain or discomfort here. Ignoring anything out of the ordinary in this area of my body is no longer an option. My adventure with tendinitis had me seeing an orthopedist, an acupuncturist, and a practitioner of the Muscle Release Technique. MRT was great as I was taught a series of stretches to do to alleviate the situation and to keep me healthy. MRT was developed in response to the growing Repetitive Use Injuries common to people who use their hands intensively. If you live in the Washington DC area, Robert True, a certified practitioner is located in Ashton, MD and did amazing work with me.

So for tonight I will apply my intelligence and take the night off from playing. I normally do this one night a week and Monday seems to work best. As I age I had to accept that I need an intermittent break from the demands the guitar places on my body. I had my wife massage the area and apply a liniment, Zheng Gu Shui, originally recommended by my acupuncturist.

If not and I choose to "play through the pain" then I is for Idiocy and eventually for INJURY. In fact maybe while I am listening to my body, I'll get out my mp3 recorder and listen to the solo works in progress that I am currently writing and/or learning. Seems like an intelligent response to my situation, musical progress without muscle injury.

Check out my solo guitar work on Scattered Hearts.  For only $4.99 you can receive a download that will support this blog, support my musical pursuits, and warm your soul to boot. Be kind to musicians, be kind to yourself.

Addendum to this post.

If you search this blog for Alexander Technique you will find quite a few postings on this topic. I was first exposed to the Alexander Technique 21 years ago on a Guitar Craft Course. Over the years whenever I had AT done to me I always benefited, but my individual application was sporadic and consisted mainly of doing a "lie down." While doing the "lie downs" is valuable to allowing your back to lengthen & widen and your entire body to rest, AT offers so much more.

In February of 2010 I began to study AT outside of participation in courses. I describe the change as that previously I had AT done to me, now I am embracing the work for myself. Issues in my left arm and shoulder are gone. Overall my use of myself is more efficient and relaxed, my awareness deepening. Individual instruction is vital in this work but a great guide to musicians is Indirect Procedures: A Musician's Guide to the Alexander Technique (Clarendon Paperbacks)  by Pedro de Alcantara. I can not recommend this book enough for insight into your musical process.