Spring …
 
Everything starts back up in spring. Leaves appear back on the trees, flowers start to peep out of the ground and come back into bloom. Animals wake up and come out of hibernation.
 
However for the human being, although it is a welcome time, with the sun and its energy returning; and all that has been stored and gathered over winter now being put to good use to rejuvenate the body, it can also be a very changeable and therefore dangerous time.

The body and mind can be tricked into believing too soon that the warm weather has returned. Because of this we turn the heating down and change our heavier, warmer clothes for lighter ones. Only to have the weather sharply swing back to the cold a week later, leaving many of us caught short and exposed to the climate. This can obviously weaken us and quite often causes problems like common colds.
 
It is again easy to avoid. Just be aware of it and keep extra clothes on you or within easy reach if the weather turns bad. You can leave such items like jumpers or hoodies in your car or at your desk at work...

There are three main categories regarding exercise that people usually fit into; those who do very little or none at all, those who do moderate exercise and those who partake in strenuous exercise.
 
Chinese and Eastern Medicines strongly differ from the current Western view of exercise.

They believe that doing too much exercise or doing more intense exercise like running and aerobics can be unhealthy for the body and mind.

They feel that too much exercise uses up and weakens resources such as energy, nutrients and hormones in the body.

This can take them away from the vital organs that need them in order to stay strong and healthy…

Let’s start this blog post by taking a look at Western exercise…
 
There are different intensities of exercise in the West, from moderate paced walking to intense running.
 
In this article, we will concentrate more on the strenuous activities that are popular in the West; like running, aerobics and competitive sports.

That is anything that gets your heart thumping, pulse racing or your lungs panting hard for more than a short period of time. Or that breaks you out into a strong sweat.
 
In terms of health, there are benefits you can get from intense exercise, such as increases in circulation and a reduced risk in cancer. But these can also be achieved by more moderate exercise.
 
So the question becomes, should we really be doing hard intense exercises ?

Well let’s take a look at a few problems it can cause and see whether it is still worth it…

Is Western exercise really that effective for weight loss ? …
 
Something strange has happened in the West over the last few decades. Since gyms became popular, obesity levels have sky rocketed. It is claimed that exercise is great for weight loss, yet the results produced in our society seem to say the opposite.
 
A study by a team at the Louisiana University of 464 overweight women, who were assigned different levels of exercise for six months, found that the group who exercised the most did not lose significantly more weight than the other groups who did less.

Another study by researchers at the University Of Leeds published in the Journal Of Public Health Nutrition came to similar conclusions.
 
So what’s going on? ...

Lack of exercise.
 
 
We have seen how doing too much can weaken, wear out and damage your body in many ways, but so too can a lack of movement and activity lead to many problems and illnesses.
 
If you do nothing at all, organs start to become weak and things start to slow down and accumulate in the body. This can cause it to become blocked and stagnant on the inside. The heart and other organs will find it more difficult to do their jobs and will face a heavier workload and burden from this excess...

The right types of exercise…
 
If you ever visit China, you will notice that the parks are filled with people in the early hours of the morning. In them you will see the people perform many different types of activities. Above all else they love to do moderate and gentle exercises. You won’t see many sweaty and strained faces or puffing and panting individuals among the crowds. The Chinese exercise more frequently with less intensity, spending thirty minutes to an hour doing more easy going, less strenuous movements.
 
These moderate activities do many things in the body…

Over training is an increasingly common issue…


It affects both serious competitive athletes and the general public who may be doing their everyday jobs and then pushing themselves too hard running or in the gym or at aerobic classes in the evenings.


Signs of over exercising can be ...

In 2018, a team of Portuguese researchers reviewed thirteen western based scientific studies on acupuncture.  

This review was published in the journal Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice and concluded that

“Overall, there is good scientific evidence encouraging acupuncture therapy to treat anxiety disorders as it yields effective outcomes, with fewer side effects than conventional treatment".

And also that “Pharmacology and psychotherapy stand for the conventional treatment for anxiety disorders but these present limited efficacy, especially in the case of chronic anxiety, with high relapse rates and often causing adverse side effects. Clinical research studies render acupuncture as a valid treatment therapy for anxiety disorders without significant adverse effects”.

In the East, Chinese Medicine – herbs, acupuncture and QiGong have all been successfully used for thousands of years to combat anxiety, depression, mood swings, stress, irritability and psychological disorders. They have been widely used for these issues of the mind and emotions on hundreds of millions of people ...

For thousands and thousands of years, Chinese Medicine has seen that the power of the mind is an incredibly potent and powerful force. It has the ability, through the medium of suggestion and belief to make the body strong and healthy or to make it weak and sick.
 
Methods of mastering, manipulating and controlling the conscious and subconscious minds have been written into and practiced in Chinese Medicine since its’ formation; from Qi Gong to meditations to Shen Gong to the art of Feng Shui.

Mind work is one of the many great pillars supporting the foundation of Chinese Medicine.
 
One of the best ways to increase your physical and mental health is to simply train your mind into a state of positivity; in this state your internal reactions, such as the building and upkeep of cells are performed at peak and productive levels.
 
You could imagine that if you have the opposite, a negative depressed mind, your body will slump and feel tired. Everything from your concentration to your digestion will become sluggish. And even the reproduction of your cells will be less efficient, causing weaker cells to be created, which in turn will cause you to slump even further and lay the grounds for possible future illnesses. 

To clearly see the power of the mind in action, all we have to do is look at the placebo and nocebo effect in western science …

In the simplest form, Qi means energy and Gong means work. Qi Gong is the art of cultivating energy.
 
It's primarily a set of exercises which have the aim to increase the amount of energy in the body, mind and spirit.

This energy powers up all living parts, enhancing their functioning. This increased energy will further help to process food and air more effectively to help create more blood and nutrients to nourish and protect our physical bodies and calm and stimulate our minds. It will help to preserve cells, slow down ageing and increase general health and well-being.