Stress affects more groups

Stress is an increasing problem in today’s society. Not only is the pace of life in general more intense, stress also affects groups that were not affected before. Young persons are no longer protected from stress. The fact that everybody all the time should do more and new things is an important reason why stress has increased in recent years.

Chronic stress

Chronic stress is negative for our health and well being. Pain in the head, neck and shoulders are common consequences of stress. Stress is also known to affect the immune system. Keeping good relations is more difficult when we get stressed, even though good relations can help us to avoid stress. In some cases the ultimate consequence is chronic tiredness; one gets a burnout.

Reduce stress

A very effective way to reduce stress is to learn to slow down. It is of course a good thing to be able to do things fast when that is required, but always being in a hurry is not good. It is in the nature of things that one gets stressed by always being impatient, wanting to do many things at the same time and never being able to do things fast enough.

One thing at the time

Trying to do one thing at the time and letting things take time is an excellent training to avoid stress and create a calm state of mind. Why not walk to the bus stop instead of waiting until the only available option is to run?

Relaxation and concentration

In Zhineng Qigong we practice relaxation and often concentrate on one thing at the time. We practice exercises in a rather slow speed so that we can get calm and increase our well being.

An ancient tradition

In many countries there is a old tradition of eating eggs at Easter, but the habit to eat eggs during this period of the year is much older than that. The ancient Egyptians had similar traditions during the spring time. For them as well as other civilizations, eggs were a symbol of renewal and eternity. The connection between eggs and the period of the vernal equinox, when spring starts and nature comes to life, is therefore a very natural one.

Decorated eggs

Decorating eggs by painting on the shell is another tradition. In the Middle Ages it was forbidden to eat eggs in Europe during the forty days prior to eastern. As the eggs could not be used for anything else, farmers started to decorate them in bright colours. In our days this tradition has expanded and become more commercial. Now we also have paper eggs with small presents or sweets on the inside.

Eggs laid around easter are special

Despite the fact that the traditions have changed in the course of history, eastern still is the period of the year when we eat considerably more eggs than during other parts of the year. Except for the symbolic function of eggs, those old traditions are also rooted in the knowledge that eggs that are laid at Easter contain more energy and nutrition than eggs that are laid during other periods of the year. They can for instance be stored longer and still remain fresh.

So the best time of the year to eat eggs is around Easter. We recommend that you put some real eggs in your Easter egg!

Stressors are events that provoke stress and they often come in pairs – like hunger as opposed to feeling too full and feeling cold as opposed to feeling hot. When we react on stressors we often want to find some kind of balance in between these states. To react on stressors is a natural and good thing since it increases our chances of survival.

Stress overload

Problems with stress come when we experience too much stress during longer periods of time. In modern societies we tend to often find ourselves in states that make us tense or think and worry a lot. These states can be triggered by a lot of things like having too much to do, always being on the go and conflicts. When the body continues to pump out stress hormones during a prolonged period of time we will suffer from many problems. Stress hormones suppress the immune system and can also have severe mental effects like producing anger, anxiety and depression.

Relaxation concerves resources

Relaxation goes beyond just avoiding stressors or a stressed state. Relaxation can help us unwind, but also enhances the resource replenishment in both body and mind. Reduced oxygen consumption,decreased heart and breathing rate, lower blood pressure and muscle tension are common effects of practicing relaxation. These simple things actually increases the body’s efficiency and can help us sleep less, get more energy and improve our metabolism. A lowered blood pressure also means that the likelyhood for strokes and heart attacks is reduced. Relaxation reduces the amount of stress hormones and allows the immune system to recover and work more effeciently.

Mental effects of relaxation

Relaxation reduces the activity in the limbic system of the brain, which is responsible for negative emotions. This should make us feel better and can also make it easier to reduce smoking and alcohol consumption. Other positive effects include an improved concentration, a feeling of inner peace, a comfortable feeling in the body and improved relations.

Relaxation for patients

Due to all the positive effects of relaxation the self healing abilities of the body and mind can be improved. Problems that can be overcome range from sleeping problems to wound healing. Some diseases and complications that can be helped by relaxation are diabetes, cardiac disease, high cholestrol and stress-related disorders.

The best relaxation exercises

Many adults (according to some most adults) do not know how to relax but rather have to learn this skill. Research has shown that simple relaxation exercises are best for health. If the exercises are simple they can help us replenish energy, if they on the other hand are complex (for instance involve complex visualizations) and difficult the exercises will instead use energy.

In Zhineng Qigong we often use simple relaxation exercises.

Psychologists have studied depression and despair for many years and have started to understand what really makes us happy.

To be happy with one’s life is of course a good thing in itself. It has also been shown that there is a clear relation between the degree of happiness and physical health.

Increased happiness

Some of the most important things that can contribute to an increased happiness are gratitude, optimism, positive thinking, curiosity and the ability to love and be loved. To engage in meaningful activities, to lose oneself in a hobby or something else, is also an important ingredient in achieving real happiness. Family and friends is another important factor. In the scientific results concerning happiness that exists today it is difficult to pinpoint one single aspect that makes us happy, but one thing is clear: Almost all happy persons have good friends.

Eliminate problems

Yet another important thing is to try to eliminate problems and / or negative feelings. It is a very bad thing for happiness to struggle with severe problems every day. To eliminate the problems or – if this is a better solution – change the way one thinks about the problems, can therefore make us happier.

Less consumption

Happy persons are not typical materialists. Consumption can even be negative for happiness. This may depend on the fact that an increased consumption leaves less time to spend on family and friends, sleep, training and other things that are good for body and mind.

To practice Qigong can help us eliminate health problems and also give us something interesting to study and do. In Zhineng Qigong we often practice thinking positively. A lot of our participants have found new like-minded friends in a course or at a practicing group.

According to experts, waist measure can say more about somebody’s state of health than the overall body weight. Having a lot of fat around the stomach increases the risk that a person will suffer from diabetes and heart disease with a factor four. A cause of this might be that fat cells around the waist pump out proteins, hormones and chemicals that can damage the insulin system. The risks are particularly high for persons with a waist measure of more than 35 inches (women) or 40 inches (men). The risks for these persons are equally high as for massively overweight persons.

Since persons tend to have different body shapes, a way of measuring the waist has been developed that does more justice to physical shapes by comparing the measure of the waist and the hips. The hips should be measured at their largest spot, that is over the buttocks. The waist should be measured at its smallest place, which is the navel. The measuring tape should not be pulled tightly, but should touch the body. After this the waist measurement should be divided with the hip measurement. If the ratio is more than 0.8 for women or 0.95 for men the risk of health problems is high. The ideal ratio seen from a health perspective is around 0.7 for women and a little less than 0.9 for men.

In Zhineng Qigong we use several different exercises that can help us relax the waist (especially the small of the back) and reduce the waist measure.

It is widely known that oranges contain a lot of vitamin C. Oranges also contain less well known phytonutrients (more than 170 different kinds) and flavonoids (more that 60 different kinds). These nutrients in combination with the vitamin C of the oranges generate a lot of health benefits.

Eating oranges can amongst other things lower blood pressure and cholesterol levels in the body as well as prevent inflammations – e.g. in connection to colds and recurrent ear infections. Oranges can also inhibit blood clots and thereby reduce the risks for stroke and heart attacks. The oranges anti-inflammatory properties give positive effects on (amongst others) asthma, rheumatism, ulcerative colitis and multiple sclerosis. It can reduce the risk of cancer, especially stomach cancer. Oranges also contain antioxidants and can strengthen the immune system.

An important note is that many of the nutrients found in oranges are located in the peel or the white pulp – parts that are often removed completely when producing juice. The peel of oranges even contains oils with a pleasant scent. The oils from orange peel are often used in cleaning agents which shows that a lot of people experience the scent as pleasant.

When the first astronauts travelled into space they brought a lot of things with them to help them maintain their health. The astronauts got nutritious foods, games to prevent boredom, exercises and tasks to prevent stress as well as pictures, music and sounds from their home environments to prevent depressions. However, there was one thing they forgot: smell. Modern research shows that scents stimulate regions of the brain that control, amongst other things, the production of neurochemicals – that is needed for the central nervous system to work – and hormones. The astronauts got so big problems that they had to float around in their vessel sniffing citrus-scented hand-wipes.

A simple way to use the positive properties of orange peel is to leave it on the table for a while. The air will be refreshed and the room is filled with a pleasant smell.

Many people have a good feeling when they get the opportunity to spend time in nature. It gives one the possibility to escape every day stress and move around in a bigger space than usual. Furthermore, many are moved when seeing the beauty and greatness of nature. A lot of people feel that nature is a place where they belong.

Visiting natural environments also has a lot of positive health effects. Research confirms what many persons have guessed: nature can help us relax and deal with stress. It has also been shown that being in the countryside or beautiful natural sceneries can help us relieve our pains and even speed up the recovery of patients. Nature offers therefore care for healthy people and patients. Several studies show that adults and children alike can improve their concentration abilities by staying in nature. Another finding is that open sceneries with water, green areas and scattered trees have the most positive effect on our health.

There are several theories that try to explain why nature has such positive effects on our health. One of the theories claims that we really do belong in nature, and that we have built in biological systems that make us feel well when we are in the countryside. Another theory looks more at how we are living in today’s societies. When we are at work, school, driving, shopping, watching TV (and a lot of other things) we focus our attention to observe, plan, make decisions, keeping things in our memory, keeping track of time and so on. These things take a lot of energy. But when we are in the countryside we register information without any effort. It has for instance been shown that the number of alpha waves in the brain increases when the subject watches pictures of an open scenery. An increased occurrence of alpha waves indicates that the brain is awake but also relaxed, in other words that it is taking rest while being awake.

The principles of Qigong also come from nature. In Qigong we often use peaceful exercises and try to get more harmony. Qigong-practitioners who often stay in the countryside often compare the harmonic state of mind they can get from Qigong with the feeling they get from being in nature.

In our modern society, many acute and chronic diseases are thought to be caused by stress. If the level of stress hormones in the human body is high for a long time, stress responses can be observed in the form of disturbed sleep as well as problems with the metabolic system and other body functions. Obviously it is very important to deal with the causes of stress, but there are also other ways of alleviating the negative consequences of stress, e.g. by activating the body’s own “anti-stress system”.

Stress and relaxation are biochemical processes that are tightly intertwined. If a person gets stressed, the adrenal glands produce stress hormones that raise the body’s level of activity. Fortunately, a converse system can be activated in the body making a person feel more calm and relaxed. A central substance in this process is a peptide called oxytocin. High levels of oxytocin in the body generally cause the amount of cortisol, a powerful stress hormone, to decrease. The result of this changed balance is that a person feels more relaxed and that the likelihood of healing and growth increase.

Skin to skin contact, e.g. in the form of massage, is a very effective way to release oxytocin. Breast feeding woman generally have very high levels of oxytocin. Sometimes simple forms of skin contact mean a lot for a person and can even make the difference between life and death. Holding the hand of somebody who is depressed, seriously hurt or in a state of shock has a calming effect on that person and facilitates his or her self-healing abilities, both on a physical and a mental level. Research that has been done at the University of Miami shows that prematurely born babies who receive frequent massage increase their body weight by between 29 and 58 percent more than other babies. The effects of physical contact can also be shown among people who have domestic animals.

Another way of dealing with stress is to train in Qigong. Many of those who practise Qigong are more capable to deal with stress in day to day life than before they started training. If you want to know more about this, please click on “results” and “cases” and search for the word stress.

Many aspects of health, from energy to eyesight, are affected by the supply nourishment to the cells. Impaired circulation can lead to conditions such as heart disease, stroke, varicose veins and poor resistance to infection. Poor circulation can also make us feel dizzy, unclear, uneasy, cold and tired.

Diet

One way to remedy poor circulation is to alter once diet. Generally less fat and avoiding coffee and alcohol are good advices. Some herbs such as ginger can also improve circulation.

Exercise

Physical exercise will make the circulation increase when the heart pumps the blood faster through the body.

Hydrotheraphy

Hot and cold showers or hydrotherapy is a good way of improving your circulation. When you get hot under a shower the blood rushes to the skin, when you immediately put on the cold water, the blood rushes to the internal organs. When this is repeated circulation is improved. It is recommended to not start with very hot or very cold water.

Qigong

Another way to improve circulation is practicing Qigong. Scientific research has proved that Zhineng Qigong can improve circulation even at micro levels, so called microcirculation. If the microcirculation is good enough most diseases can be cured. To read more about research on Zhineng Qigong please click on Research & Projects in the menu above.

Heat can have a significantly negative effect on our health. During periods of very hot weather, a person may suffer from several conditions that are a direct result of the heat. Symptoms that can occur when the weather is hot include: fatigue and weakness; cold sweat or absence of sweating; hot, red and dry skin; elevated body temperature; dizziness; headache and blurred vision.

So what can we do in times of hot weather in order to prevent those symptoms from occurring? Common sense precautions such as staying out of direct sunshine, wearing lighter clothes that offer better protection, wearing hats, drinking a sufficient amount of liquid and avoiding alcohol and caffeine are good ways to handle heat.

Some areas in China have to endure long periods of hot weather. The local population in these areas has adopted habits and methods that help them handle the heat better. One way to deal with hot weather is to use products from nature such as mung beans (Phaseolus Aureus) and green tea. The mung beans can be used in two ways. Drinking cool decoct from the mung beans is one way. It is also useful to eat the beans. In addition to drinking mung bean decoct, people also drink a lot green tea during periods of hot weather.

Another way to handle heat is to practice Qigong. Training Qigong not only contributes to a general improvement of ones health state, but also helps us to deal with heat during the summer months. Qigong may also give us better protection against sun rays.