For me, qigong is a tool that brings me closer to my goal in life. Before I could often feel lost, empty and I felt a lack of meaning in life even though I thought I “had everything” – a wonderful husband, a cute baby, an exciting career, a cool flat, an active outdoor life, many friends and a lot of social interaction. I kept in touch with everybody except myself.
Rheumatoid arthritis
Finally my body had enough. I got rheumatoid arthritis. Life crisis, identity crisis, stiffness and pain, but at the same time a chance for me to pause.
Builds self-esteem
By qigong, silently, peacefully and with my eyes closed, I come to see myself again. I understand more and more who I am, my needs, what I like and what I don’t like. I build my self-esteem.
Worth every minute
This is a hard work, which takes a lot of time but it’s worth every minute spent. To have a solid foundation to stand on, to know who I am and where I’m going is for me the most basic and it’s completely necessary to live a meaningful life.
Found a positive attitude
My general health condition due to rheumatoid arthritis has completely gone back to the normal state and I don’t have any inflammation anymore. Several joints which previously were in pain, swollen and stiff have recovered. However, one of my feet and both wrists are still stiff. I keep on fighting with them and I feel that I have to let it take the time it takes. Thanks to qigong I have found a way to live with a body that doesn’t completely function the way I would wish.
Handle life
To practise qigong is for me a way to practice how to handle life. During the training small things come up to the surface to be handled, to stay focused and not be influenced by disturbing external things, that someone is coughing, that the training hall is to warm, the lamps are too strong, a foot hurts, the trousers are wrong, the training speed is too slow or a fly is buzzing around me. I practise to steer my thoughts to let things pass without being irritated, angry or having any other negative feeling. Then I go out in life again and apply this on larger contexts. It’s super nice not having to put energy on being annoyed at what she or he said or did and a lot of other things that I unwittingly got hung up on.
Helps to be calm and acceptant
Qigong helps me to improve my ability to see the difference between what I can influence and what I can’t. It helps me to be calm and accepting. It’s nice not being dependent on outer circumstances to be in a special condition for me to feel good. A small, but still significant, thing is that I don’t care any longer if the room I sleep in is dark or light.
Life style
Qigong is so much more than training. For me it’s a life style. The training itself gives life energy but it also makes me clear about what gives or takes energy in other parts of life, like food, environment, relations, thoughts. All the time I spend practicing qigong, I get back many times over as I don’t run around in life doing, eating and thinking things that actually aren’t for me.
Madeleine Grimhusen