Qigong

 My heart started bothering me again on December 30, 2020. I don’t usually put down dates like that, but I remember it very well because it was the day before NYE and I was visiting one of my daughters at work with my husband and sons. Too much excitement? Maybe. I don’t know, but it did seem clear to me that day, and when I was exhausted after the next episode, that all of the workout plans I’d been pursuing were out the door for the next few months. (This is part of what I mean about trying on new personalities, or in this case trying to fit back into old ones.)

So I’ve been doing something I wanted to anyway and have been focusing on walking and qigong. (Yes, I’m also drinking tea maybe once a week, and coffee never; that last part isn’t hard at all.) I love walking, and since reading The Nature Fix I’ve been trying to expose myself to as much green as I can; I’m fortunate to live in a part of Boston where that’s easy.

As much as I dabbled into qigong before, I found I really loved Lee Holden’s approach, and after using his practices on Hoopla A LOT, I treated myself and bought four of his dvds. (I’m old-fashioned, I know; I like to be able to use things that don’t depend on whether I have a good wi-fi connection.) And I’m using them regularly (well, three of them; the fourth feels a little too light). And I love it. It focuses my breathing, goes at the right pace to allow me to move into a flow, and I break a little bit of a sweat. It’s not magic – I don’t always emerge from a practice feeling all of my troubles fall away – but it does make me feel better without making me feel worse. (People who work out regularly may know what I mean.)

The big question: do I get another DVD?