Keeping Motivated in Qigong

 I, like so many people spent time between the Christmas and New Year holidays thinking about the upcoming year and what I may want to do differently, what new to add, and what old to stop. There are folks who call this - making New Year Resolutions - usually around health, finances, or relationships. But to me the title of New Year Resolutions has negative connotations. It is often quickly followed with something along the lines of – which I will not break this time or, it is only 5 days into the New Year and I have already let myself down. Maybe there is another way to approach this which is more likely to bring the success you are looking for. 

The concept of periodically looking at your life – what is going well, what is not, what do I need to do more of, less of, what should I totally stop, what new adventures should I begin? – is excellent and essential to have a balanced life.  You can do it every month, every week, daily mini-looks, or annually, perhaps as one year ends and another begins.

When performing this introspection you may find there were some things you dropped and do not know why, or wish you had not.  Let us look at this phenomenon specifically. Often good habits, routines, life’s adventures are halted due to a lack of reason to continue.  In other words a lack of motivation, even if the activity had importance to you.  How can you keep motivated in the day-to-day workings of life, the boredom of routine, and the real or imagined conflicts of our often too fast paced lives?  

Since this blog is about Qigong I will use this context as an example.  The answer may be as simple as celebrating the small things on a regular basis. I have practiced Qigong on a near-daily basis for many years. Why? Now it is for my health and longevity, and to help others achieve the same. This was not the original reason, but over time it has evolved into the primary inspiration.  

What continues to keep me going is the often small but still significant outcomes of practice and teaching.  An example: during my weekly class just before Christmas there were a few minutes left before class formally ended.  It was a small class and I decided to do a little ‘share and feel the Qi’ exercise, just for fun.  Everyone closed their eyes, they were already in a Qigong state, and I walked behind each student with the mindful intent of channeling Qi to them individually.  One of the students has had issues with their shoulder so I concentrated more on that area.  Then at the close of class I asked each one if they experienced anything from the exercise. The student with the shoulder issue stated she felt a tingling or a small electric charge in the area of her shoulders. (I do not remember the exact words but they were close to this). I think of it as an energetic pulse of Qi to an area of Qi deficiency.  This student had not been part of a ‘share and feel Qi’ exercise and had no idea of what was happening.  

This was a small motivator, but strung together with others is enough to motivate me to continue. I silently/briefly celebrated it and moved on. Nothing else to be said.