A Smooth Qi circulation for Women

Welcome to today's session, where we will explore more about Qi, the life energy, and especially how it relates to us as women from the perspective of Chinese medicine. In our last session, I mentioned that good, smooth circulation of energy throughout the body is paramount to health. From a Chinese medicine view, women have a receptive energy that functions differently from men. Generally, we tend to take energy inward, while men’s energy is often more outward and active. This means we might be more sensitive to what happens around us — in family, groups, and work. Qigong is a wonderful way to release that accumulation and let go of what we hold from daily life. Once that happens, we can feel more stable and ready to strengthen and balance ourselves. So first, we’ll spend a few minutes letting go of what’s happening in our day. We also have natural cycles that make us more changeable and sensitive — our hormones fluctuate, and that rhythm can easily be disturbed. Let’s use movement to support this flow and harmony. Start by standing still and releasing with the help of the hands. Just release anything that comes to mind or heart. Gently bounce your knees and move your hips — anywhere you feel you might be holding tension or stress. Think of letting go of what’s weighing on you — work, family, tasks, worries. Breathe out through your mouth if it feels good. Otherwise, breathe naturally. Do this a few times and stop. Now we’ll move into the second exercise to help the ribs and sides of the body — areas where we often hold tension. Use your hips and knees to lead the movement: one hip and knee go forward while the other goes back. Keep your spine straight, rotating around it. Feet remain parallel and shoulder-width apart. Drop your shoulders and let yourself swing side to side, led by the hips. As your shoulders relax, your arms begin to swing naturally. The front hand lightly taps the sides of your lower ribs, and the back hand gently massages the lower back. This movement stimulates meridians — channels connected to organs such as the liver, spleen, and gallbladder. If you can, let the hands swing a little higher to reach under the collarbones and the sides of the chest. These areas are connected to energy flow and emotional balance. Be still for a few seconds. Observe what’s happening inside — tingling, warmth, movement. That is the Qi beginning to circulate more freely. Now for the third exercise. Place your hands on your head. Follow the sides of your body down — around the ears, sides of the neck, shoulders, and upper body — all the way down the outer legs to the feet, ending at the little toe and fourth toe. Release the hands there. Then bring your hands up along the inner legs, groin, lower abdomen, and front of the body, returning to the head. This follows the gallbladder meridian, connected to emotional stability, and then the liver and spleen meridians — the Yin aspect of the body. Repeat the flow again, gently tracing down the sides, releasing outward energy, and then bringing energy up the inner line of the body, nurturing and grounding the Yin. When you reach the hips, come up on your toes and then release the hands down. Let’s do this once more — smooth, steady, and relaxed. To finish, bring your hands up as in the previous session. Breathing in as you raise your arms, breathing out as you lower them. Once more — inhale, spread the arms, exhale, follow the midline of the body downward. Then make a small circle up to the chest, palms together. Inhale, exhale, let the fingers drop. Open the palms, place your thumbs on the navel, and rest your hands on the lower abdomen. Take a few gentle breaths. Let your feet feel steady on the ground, your hips relaxed. Notice if you can sense subtle movement beneath your hands as you breathe. Just observe, no need to change anything. When you’re ready, slowly come out of the posture. Thank you for this session.