Life can be challenging at times. Whether you’re dealing with loss, overwhelm, or unexpected obstacles, the elements of everyday life can be difficult to manage.
Fortunately, Chinese Medicine and Qi Gong offer some important insights that can help you cultivate greater resilience, allowing you to traverse the ups and downs of life with greater ease and flow. In this blog, you’ll learn how to embody those principles so you can feel more confident and empowered in the face of challenges.
In Chinese Medicine and Qi Gong, there are two important qualities that comprise resilience. These include strength and flexibility.
Strength is your ability to stand firm when confronted with challenges. Strength allows you to be true to your values and speak your truth. It also allows you to set clear boundaries when necessary—an essential quality for anyone who wants to stay on their own path.
Flexibility, on the other hand, allows you to adapt and pivot when the unexpected arises. For example, being flexible means you’re able to easily change plans or adjust when unforeseen circumstances present themselves. Of course, life is full of surprises, and flexibility allows you to move through life with lightness and flow.
Although strength and flexibility are both great gifts to embody, either quality on its own is not enough. To have true resilience, you need to have both.
To understand why this is important, try to think about a tree.
If you look at a tree, you’ll notice that both strength and flexibility are part of its true strength. A tree’s roots extend deeply into the soil to create a strong foundation, and its trunk is solid.
When the wind blows, the tree’s flexibility becomes visible. With each gust, the tree’s trunk and branches sway gracefully back and forth, letting the wind pass it by while staying firmly rooted in the ground.
Although resilience looks a bit different in humans, the same principles apply.
Being a resilient person means you’re able to stay firmly planted within yourself, while also being open and receptive to the constant changes that life presents you with. It means being persistent and steady, while also being willing to adapt and evolve.
In Chinese Medicine and Qi Gong, resilience is connected to the Wood Element and the season of spring. If you live in the northern hemisphere, that means that right now is the perfect time to cultivate this important quality within yourself.
As illustrated in the example above, trees are rich with the energy of resilience. Therefore, one of the best ways to soak up this potent form of Qi is to immerse yourself in nature.
Spending time in nature during springtime can help you naturally ‘charge up’ on the energy of resilience. Walking, hiking, and biking outside are all great ways to surround yourself with the nourishing energy that springtime offers.
Trees aren’t the only elements in nature that embody the energy of resilience—everything within nature holds this energy. Plants, creatures, and even the land embody the wisdom of the Wood Element.
Another powerful way to help cultivate resilience is through journaling.
To cultivate resilience through journaling, think about any challenges you might be facing. Then, write down how you want to feel while facing those challenges. Do you want to feel confident, empowered, or clear in your actions?
Write down and visualize how you want to feel.
When you establish an intention in how you want to feel when faced with life’s challenges, your internal energy responds accordingly. This allows you to show up with more confidence and clarity as you navigate through life.
If you’re a Qi Gong practitioner, you won’t be surprised to learn that Qi Gong can be another wonderful way to help cultivate resilience.
Certain Qi Gong exercises are specifically designed to help you harness the energy of the Wood Element. One of these Qi Gong forms is called The Swimming Dragon.
Some Qi Gong exercises for the Wood Element mirror the movements and energy of trees. This helps you channel the embodied wisdom that trees offer so you can experience greater resilience, creativity, and vitality.
If you’re interested in discovering Qi Gong exercises for the Wood Element and resilience, be sure to check out the on-demand Qi Gong for Spring Workshop.
In the on-demand Qi Gong for Spring Workshop, you’ll learn powerful Qi Gong exercises that are designed to boost your Wood Element, allowing you to experience more strength, flexibility, and overall resilience in all aspects of your life.
This workshop is led by master Qi Gong teacher Lee Holden. Because this is an on-demand workshop, you can enjoy Lee’s teaching from your own home wherever you want. Click on the banner below to learn more and discover how Qi Gong can help you face life’s challenges with greater confidence and flow.
