Hello, Qigong friends! The weather is turning gorgeous and drawing us outside, so I wanted to share an easy and beneficial Qigong practice: grounding. This is simply the act of putting your bare feet on the bare ground.
We talk a lot about different energies in Qigong–universe energy, nature energy, earth energy, and our own personal energy. We each have own electromagnetic field, and so do the earth and other celestial bodies, as well as all the plants and animals around us. We use these energies frequently in visualizations; in the Peaceful Dragon Rising form we are prompted at one point to bring our arms around to “hug a tree.” But Qigong also encourages us to get outside and literally hug a tree.
Connecting your own energy, your own electromagnetic field, or however you want to think about it, to those of the earth and the life around you is considered vital to maintaining health and harmonious balance. One of the easiest ways to do this is to find a patch of grass, take off your shoes, and stay a while.
And if there’s a tree nearby to hug, all the better!
Have a beautiful, grounded week, everyone!
-Rory