By Molly Patrick
Oct 24, 2020,
My friend CarolAnn Barrows has been teaching Qigong (pronounced chee-gong) for over 15 years. I had never done it before, but I always wanted to try. So, I asked CarolAnn if she would do a session with me while I recorded it for our community. She said yes, and today I am sharing it with you. I was really surprised just how grounded and good I felt after our session. I hope you try it out and get some relief.
Here is a quick message from CarolAnn before we get started:
Qigong is the art and science of gathering, circulating, balancing, and storing Body/Mind/Spirit energy which is available from within oneself and all of nature.
The practice of Qigong is at least 4,000 years old and is the root of Acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine.
The continued practice of Qigong is clinically shown to strengthen the body, repair, and regulate the central nervous system, eliminate disease, improve mental capacity, and prolong life.
Although the non-strenuous movements resemble those of T’ai Chi, Qigong consists of shorter sequences which are easy to learn and practice. Qigong is a beneficial and accessible practice for all persons, regardless of physical condition.
Combining deep breathing, slow movements, and meditation, Qigong begins by affecting the function of the autonomic nervous system and goes on to balance the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems.
You will leave each class feeling calm, balanced, and invigorated!
I have been studying, practicing, and teaching meditation, yoga, and other spiritual arts for over 30 years and have been teaching Qigong for 15 years.
I began studying and practicing Qigong in 1999 and was certified to teach by Sifu Karen Ries in 2003 and I currently study and practice Qigong with Dr. Gaspar Garcia, Taoist Priest Yun Xiang Tseng, and Dr. Guan-Chen Sun.
I have provided Qigong training for numerous yoga centers and acupuncture clinics throughout Washington state and now teach in Wailea on Maui via Zoom. Combining my knowledge and passion for Qigong, music, dance, science, and meditation I gently, yet powerfully, guide my students to discover their own innate abilities to heal and live balanced, vibrant lives.
Closed captioning available.
CarolAnn suggests these additional Qigong resources if you’d like to start a practice:
- 7-minute section of the Five Elements Qigong form with Master Liu de Ming
- One Breath Qigong: Guided Internal Cultivation with CarolAnn Barrows
Ingredients
- 1½ cups water (355 ml)
- 1½ cups Yukon gold potato, chopped (no need to peel) (240 g)
- ½ cup yellow onion, diced (65 g)
- 1 tablespoon garlic cloves, quartered
- 1 teaspoon turmeric powder (can sub with 1 tablespoon fresh turmeric root, chopped)
- ½ cup raw cashews, soaked in water for 10 minutes (75 g)
- 1 cup canned pure pumpkin puree, unsweetened (235 ml)
- ½ cup nutritional yeast (40 g)
- ½ cup unsweetened non-dairy milk (120 ml)
- 3 tablespoons sauerkraut, drained (squeeze out excess brine before measuring)
- 1 tablespoon sauerkraut brine
- 1 tablespoon white miso
- ½ tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- ¾ teaspoon paprika
- ¼ teaspoon chili powder (use less if your chili powder is a spicy variety or omit altogether if you don't like spicy)
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon mustard powder
- ¼ teaspoon white pepper
- ¼ teaspoon onion powder
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- pinch ground nutmeg
Instructions
- Place the water, potato, onion, turmeric, and garlic into a medium-sized saucepan or pot and give a quick stir. Bring to a simmer, then cover the pot with a lid and simmer for 20 minutes, until the veggies are tender.
- When the veggies are tender, transfer them (along with any remaining liquid in the pot) to your blender.
- Drain the cashews (discard the water) and add them to the blender, along with the rest of the ingredients. Blend until creamy and smooth.
Notes
Wishing you a happy week. May it be filled with feeling invigorated and grounded.
Xo
Molly
7 Comments
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Dear Molly,Thank you for your humaness .I look forward to all your blogs.I laughed out loud,screamed,and thought what a treasure “i’ve found”,how lucky am I.love you.
Loved the qigong practice, thanks so much for sharing with us!
Can I purée my own pumpkins and use them instead of canned? ??♀️
We accidentally grew 100 baby pumpkins this year.
Hi Jessica Vp – This is certainly possible – you’d just need a way to portion out the cooked and pureed pumpkin into smaller amounts for cooking and enough freezer space to store the portions. We don’t have a recipe on our blog that I can share for this, but if you search there are many recipes to cook and prepare your own pumpkin puree online. The good thing is that if you store the pumpkins in a cool space without moisture they should last awhile so you don’t have to process them all at one time. Thanks for stopping by! ~Karen
Made this after Thanksgiving with leftover mashed potatoes, canned pumpkin, and sweet potato! I didn’t have sauerkraut and forgot the miso but it was still delicious!
Thank you. That was my first time trying qi gong and I am intrigued.
I would have loved this if the high-pitched (to me) music weren’t so loud. It was distracting to me and not soothing. I found it difficult to pay attention to her instructions because of it. Perhaps it is the speakers in my iPad, but it sounded tinny to my ear. The sound of the music kept going in and out, it seemed.