We have now completed the final nine days of SOL 18 days. Also this time we have practiced together from many different places. Below follow some pictures from some of these places, taken during the second half of the 18-day course.

The next opportunity to practice SOL is the weekend August 6-7. Click here to see more opportunities during the autumn when the course is arranged.

The wall next to a participant’s training place on Nagu, an island in the Åboland archipelago. The objects on the wall are made by family members and friends.

Training outdoors on a veranda on Åland, in the shade of leaves. Footprints from the training linger in the carpet.

Two cats during the SOL course. One relaxing on a blanket in a training room in Smedby, Kalmar. Another on the floor during a couple of training buddies’ joint SOL training in Billdal outside Gothenburg.

A participant’s training place both during SOL and the rest of the days of the year. Here, passion fruit, paprika and mother-in-law’s tongue thrive in the pots.

Where a participant in the west of Sweden practice.

The same participant and a training buddy met here for a walk and coffee one afternoon during the course.

Pictures from Gran, where two participants practiced SOL together.

Training place of a participant in Trondheim and the view from a training room in Gothenburg.

Training location for a participant on Åland, recognizable from the photos from the first nine days. During the second half of the course, the bush bloomed properly outside the window. The roses in the vase were also enhanced with a bouquet picked by a family member.

The cat Lukas after a SOL training, with another participant on Åland.

Morning coffee before a SOL training on a balcony in Stockholm.

Beautiful view from western Norway, Kvinnherad.

The first nine days of SOL 18 days are now completed. During the course we practice together while we are physically located on different places. To get insight into the different places where we have been during the course here follow some pictures that we have received from participants, taken during the first nine days of the course.

Tomorrow the second part of the course begins – the last nine days of SOL. If you want to join, please email us at info@zhinengqigong.eu.

Do you participate during the last nine days of SOL? Please, send us a picture! Email us as support@zhinengqigong.eu.

The training site for two participants who practice together on an island a few miles outside of Stockholm.

To be able to train outside during sunny days, a participant on Åland built a place in the garden with an awning over it as sun protection.

Lovely rest after a training session. A training companion of a participant in Stockholm.

Training site in the bedroom for a participant in Vallda, located on the coast south of Gothenburg.

Where a participant in Hälsingland practice when the weather allows.

Another participant’s training space on Åland and a blooming mock orange bush that smells good outside the window.

Breakfast on a balcony in Sigtuna before the start of a SOL-session.

Training place in a summer house on Gotland.

Rushing water in Växbo in Hälsingland, where a participant trains the course from.

View from a training room in Dalsland.

A picture from a stream in Gävle, where a participant walked past during the course. On the log in the water, a few birds are sitting in a row.

Another dog resting after a training session, with a participant in Gothenburg. A faithful training companion who doesn’t miss a session. Comes when the training begins.

Outdoor training on the west coast, south of Varberg. Two participants stay there and practice the SOL course together.

The wall in the room where a participant in Stockholm practice.

Clouds over mountain peaks outside Bergen in Norway, where two participants stay during the course.

Training place of a participant in Finland. For most of the course, she and a training partner have trained in the basement, where it is cooler.

Where another participant in Hälsingland joins the course.

Training space in Pargas, Finland. In the other direction in the room another dog is resting, who have been there during the training.

A pause in green surroundings. Taken by another participant in Finland.

From a croft in Katrineholm, training place during the SOL course. A butterfly fluttered against the window glass in the room and became still during the qi-regulation.

Good preparations can help you to get the most out of a Qigong course. A common way to prepare for longer courses is to arrange the practicalities, such as the trip and packing. It can be helpful to start preparing mentally for the course, for example by thinking about the desired objective of your participation and what you want to achieve during the course. As our courses are now given online, it seems to not be quite the same, and the challenge when participating from home may be to just prepare. It is easy to forget that small preparations are still very important. We would like to help our participants get the most out of our courses, so here is a list of suggestions on how to do it: 

Administration: Submit your course registration and pay for the course well in advance of the first course day. Make sure that any holiday application is submitted and approved. This way you avoid unnecessary stress in close proximity to the course. 

Practicalities: Plan the days so that it does not get stressful around the training, make sure to have some margins before and after the training sessions. Choose a quiet place where you can train undisturbed, preferably the same place every day. Find your Qigong shoes and feel free to have your Qigong paintings on show to create a harmonious atmosphere. If you live with other people, inform them so that everyone knows when you are on a course and ask not to be disturbed during those hours. 

The feeling: Everyone who attends this summer’s SOL course has participated in one or more of our Summer Courses that we have arranged in previous years. One way to prepare for training together again can be to remember the feeling of what it is like to be on a Summer Course. Think back on pleasant memories, look for group photos from previous years or read course reports. Looking forward to a course and remembering the feeling from previous courses can help us get more out of the course we attend.

Your goals: During the Summer Course, we usually focus on what we want to achieve with the training. Maybe you want to become calmer, softer in your body, improve your concentration or achieve other health improvements. Think about what is important to you and wish that you will achieve it. It can help us stay motivated and get where we want to go faster.

Looking forward to seeing you online at SOL 18 days!

Two years ago, in the beginning of the pandemic, we asked you to send us images from different places of lovely signs of springs. Now, when another spring is here, we share some images we received that were not published then. Do you have any pictures from this spring? Please, feel free to send them to us at web@zhinengqigong.eu, and we might publish in a future blog post!

Practising on a regular basis can be a challenge for parents with young children. Our online training can ease the situation. Below we gathered some experience from our participants.

We have recently posted some articles (click here and here) where parents share their experience of practising Qigong during the toddler years. We have now gathered more experience from parents regarding practising online. They describe the help the training has given them, both in everyday life and for the actual training.

”With online training I can now actually participate in it. I can ´ t be away from my children during the evening- and morning procedures. Furthermore my husband and I can support each other and use Qigong in our daily life. It ´s good for the love.”

”I had terrific results during the course. I have been able to sleep without interruptions for many nights in a row. It ´s the first time that happens since I got my second child two years ago.”

“Because I practise in my childrens’ bedroom their sleeping quality has improved.”

”My son likes the training very much, he wants me to stand close to him. He knows how many repetitions we do every day and often he falls asleep quickly. My health state has improved generally after we started with online training. Online training is one of the benefits with corona!”

”My family is happier.”

”I have improved my routines, I´m more alert thanks to better sleep. I have a better attitude towards my family.”

”I notice how my family members are positively affected by my training.”

To Join the Online Training

If you haven´t practised with us before, you can join the online course EasyCare Wellness Qigong. Thereafter you can participate in our online training for that specific course. To participate in other online training you have to participate in an ordinary course first. Follow the link to read more about our online training: https://zhinengqigong.eu/en/daily-training-online/  

New year is the time for promises. But what exactly is a New year’s resolution? Often it is a commitment to change something for the better, that is, to add a good habit or replace a bad one with a more favourable behaviour. In Qigong, people often talk about good habits as something that provides long-term benefits. Bad habits, on the other hand, often provide short-term advantages but long-term disadvantages. Since the benefits of a good habit lie further into the future, it is not difficult to understand why many New Year’s resolutions are broken. If you want to make lasting changes in your life, we have gathered some advice on how to increase your chances for success.

Motivation – Doing what you usually do is easy for the brain, so implementing a change requires energy. To change a behaviour therefore requires motivation. Think about what is important to you and how the change will benefit you in the long run. Doing so makes it easier to stay focused on the goal during the time it takes to stick to the new habit.

Planning – Nobody’s everyday life is the same and in order to realize your goals you need to adapt them to your circumstances. Doing so reduces the risk of aiming too high and the disappointment if it becomes impossible to keep up with the new habit.

Togetherness – For many people, it is easier to implement a change jointly. Being able to share goals, successes and setbacks with others who have the same goal, believe in you and want to support you in your efforts can make the journey easier.

Be kind to yourself – Making a change, joining a good habit or getting rid of a bad one is difficult. Give yourself a pat on the back for trying! If you fall back into old tracks, take new steps the next day. Do not try to compensate or make up for it, just continue with the change you have in mind. It is completely natural not to succeed a hundred percent, but if you get angry with yourself, the risk increases that you will not continue to implement the change because failures will be too painful. Instead, focus on the small progress and value it.

Good luck in your quest!

This time of the year many people are more tired than usual. While the workload is heavy it gets darker earlier. In addition, there are few days off to get some rest. One way to tackle the autumn fatigue and give yourself extra energy is to practice Qigong. Several of our participants have told us how they get more energy from Qigong training. Participants who previously suffered from chronic fatigue and long-term lack of energy have also received good help. Below you can read excerpts from Lotta-Karin’s and Helle’s personal stories where they describe how the training with Zhineng Qigong helped them.

Lotta-Karin now has strength and energy after years of problems with ME

“In the autumn of 1999 I got a viral infection with pain in my muscles and joints. After a week the fever disappeared but the pain remained, my energy was very low and I often had flu-like symptoms. In the spring of 2000 I could no longer work. It was a great setback. After several years of examinations, hospital stays, physiotherapy and help through a pain team, I was diagnosed with ME, chronic fatigue syndrome. Today, August 2017, most of the pain is just a memory. I have strength, energy and desire for life.”

Read Lotta-Karin’s full story here.

Helle recovered from burnout

“In 2001, I was so-called burnt out from work. I was on sick leave for about a year and then started working. However, I did not really become my true self, my energy was low. I worked a little and was still completely exhausted every weekend. My whole life was about resting and it went on like that for several years. When I met with Qigong, I noticed that it renewed my energy. I stuck to practicing, and as the years went by the quality of it probably increased. It has taken me several years but I would say that today my energy level is good. That is of great importance to my social life: the feeling of participating in the world. For the first time in twelve years, I have now applied for adding working hours.”

Read Helle’s full story here.

Zhineng Qigong’s training method aims to strengthen the whole person. Therefore, improvements can be achieved regardless of the starting position. Lotta-Karin and Helle have both achieved great improvements even though the reasons for their fatigue and lack of energy differ. No matter what your life situation looks like, Qigong practice can bring you something positive in the winter darkness. Welcome to practice with us!

A lot of work in front of the computer and sitting still for a long time can be a strain on the body. It can make you stiff and tired, reduce your ability to concentrate, and cause headaches and pains in shoulders and neck.

Below you can read some advice that we published last autumn, on how practising Qigong can be a way of removing the bad effects of sitting still for a long time.

Think of your posture when sitting in front of the computer

Alternate between standing and sitting if possible, and keep your posture straight but at the same time relaxed. During our basic courses we teach how to stand and sit in a way that is relaxed and can help us to conserve our energy instead of getting worn out. How we stand and sit has an impact on our health and the more we use the body in a good way the better we will feel.

Take short breaks for training during the working day.

One way to avoid health problems due to too much sitting down is to find a moment to train during the working day. Practising Qigong is a good method to improve the circulation without working up a sweat. The practise does not take much time since you do not need to shower afterwards. If you have already attended our courses and are now working from home – practise Hold Qi Up, Shenxin Qigong or La Qi, even just a short while, during your working day.

Do not forget the eyes

A general feeling of tiredness often starts with the eyes. Several hours in front of the screen or reading can tire the eyes and it is good to give them some rest from time to time.  An idea can be to let the eyes shift focus, i.e. look away from the screen and instead look at something further away. A more powerful way of relaxing the eyes we teach in the course ‘EasyCare for Eyes’. By taking a break from your work in front of the computer and doing the ‘EasyCare for Eyes’ the health of your eyes can improve. The eyes influence the rest of the body so the practise is also good for general well-being throughout the body.

Good preparations can help you to get the most out of a Qigong course. A common way to prepare for longer courses is to arrange the practicalities, such as the trip and packing. It can be helpful to start preparing mentally for the course, for example by thinking about the desired objective of your participation and what you want to achieve during the course. As our courses are now given online, it seems to not be quite the same, and the challenge when participating from home may be to just prepare. It is easy to forget that small preparations are still very important. We would like to help our participants get the most out of our courses, so here is a list of suggestions on how to do it: 

Administration: Submit your course registration and pay for the course well in advance of the first course day. Make sure that any holiday application is submitted and approved. This way you avoid unnecessary stress in close proximity to the course. 

Practicalities: Plan the days so that it does not get stressful around the training, make sure to have some margins before and after the training sessions. Choose a quiet place where you can train undisturbed, preferably the same place every day. Find your Qigong shoes and feel free to have your Qigong paintings on show to create a harmonious atmosphere. If you live with other people, inform them so that everyone knows when you are on a course and ask not to be disturbed during those hours. 

The feeling: Everyone who attends this year’s Winter Course online has participated in one or more of our Winter Courses that we have arranged in previous years. One way to prepare for training together again can be to remember the feeling of what it is like to be ona Winter course. Think back on pleasant memories, look for group photos from previous years, read the course report from last year’s Winter course or scroll back to old blog posts from Karlskoga. Looking forward to a course and remembering the feeling from previous courses can help us get more out of the course we attend.

Your goals: During the Winter course, we usually focus on what we want to achieve with the training. Maybe you want to become calmer, softer in your body, improve your concentration or achieve other health improvements. Think about what is important to you and wish that you will achieve it. It can help us stay motivated and get where we want to go faster. Looking forward to seeing you online at the Winter Course!

For the best results possible it is important to practise regularly. However, having small children can make it somewhat challenging to find the time. Before, a parent shared here on the webpage how they’ve dealt with this period of time in their lives. Now you can read what another parent has to say. To read what the first parent said, click here. 

My children are now quite big (8 and 11 years old) and can do things on their own, so finding time for Qigong is not that hard. I practise when they’ve gone to bed, since they can fall asleep on their own, or when they play on the computer. I also practise on my lunch break. Since I work from home, I can choose myself when to work. 

However, it hasn’t always been this easy to practise in my everyday life. I was never able to put my children in the carrier and practise while they slept, because they always wanted to lie on my stomach. So I only had the opportunity to practise when someone else watched them.

My salvation was to have 20 minutes for myself in the morning when the childrens’ father handled everything before going to work. I practised only Shenxin Qigong, because the exercise is short and effective. I never skipped my morning training, it helped me cope with the rest of the day in a good way.

My advice to Qigong practitioners who have small children is to set a routine in the morning where your partner does all the chores for 29 minutes. They can handle this. If you don’t have a partner you can try doing some Snake Arm, Dun Qiang, finger training and combing when it suits you. These exercises don’t take up much time and it’s ok if you get interrupted while doing them. Another advice I wish I’d known about earlier: Try doing La Qi before you pick your kids up at kindergarden – that will make it much smoother!

To all of you who have small children and are struggling: it will get easier! Until then; you do what you can. It’s better to do a small effort than none!