As will always be the case with my blogs, something will have caught my eye on Twitter but then I'll have a life experience tucked in my back pocket to marry it up to to create a blog!
So this time its 'How is energy moving in our bodies?'
I rarely mention the word 'Ki', its Japanese for 'energy', also known as 'Chi' in Chinese Medicine and its the 'Qi' of 'Qi Gong' .
It's an enigmatic word, only 2 or 3 letters long, but when spoken can sound as long as an out breath ..... 'Ki.......' 'Chi....'
It's a short spelling but not a short word, I think its a powerful word to speak, but what is it actually doing in our bodies?
Last week, I was receiving my Shiatsu, lying on my back and Jen had her hand on my knee and I felt 'anticipation and irritation'.
Now have you ever felt receiving a treatment, both those feelings at the same time?
I did. it was like I knew something good could happen, but it wasn't happening and that was annoying me. So I spoke up, and she said (and I'll paraphrase): "Your energies are not working together, your Stomach energy (at the front of the body), has separated and left the others behind".
So, I'm with you at this point, thinking 'What?' and 'How do I change that?' and even after 15-20 plus years into this energy business I'm always learning new things.
I'm lying there flicking my foot and rotating my ankle, really quite annoyed at this weird feeling of stuckness and I just 'can't let go'.
And then..... I thought ..... ' Just let it go, just let it flow', and she said:
'Bang, its just connected and flowing!'
Just like that!!
But, again - What is that?
Well, it wasn't my body, it was my mind.
I was hung up on irritation that something wouldn't budge, anticipation was hope that I was going to feel great at the end of the treatment. When I 'let go' of those feelings and replaced it with a practical and present thought about energy down the front of my leg and through my knee, connecting with the back of my leg the circuit completed, unblocked and I felt relief.
I feel these things and can put them into words as I have been receiving energetic treatments for over 25 years, and as I'm quite verbal and inquisitive I ask questions, discuss how I feel and I learn.... I'm also trying to relax as well!
The great thing about a Shiatsu treatment is that your body is relaxed and revitalised post treatment, even if you don't shut up and switch off during it, your body will still take what it can get.
We're taught almost from day one in Shiatsu training :
'Ki follows Mind, Blood follows Ki'
And last Monday I truly felt I experienced this. I altered the state of my mind, telling my leg, knee, energies, to let go and they did; I felt the relief instantly. So my Ki followed my mind and unblocked or reconnected.
Following this theory through then, my Blood (and this can mean anything in the body thereafter) should follow through, and a better blood flow down the legs means less irritability or coldness, which manifest as such issues as swollen or weak ankles, knee problems, irritable leg syndrome, and bad back caused by tight leg muscles.
I've consciously remembered this for the last 10 days, and I've not had that weird aggravating pull in my hip since then. So I'll keep this going - tell my Stomach energy to hold up and wait for Bladder & Kidney to join the party!!