I started practising qigong about one and a half years ago. By then I had been curious about it for a while. At a place where I often go to have tea they arranged an information meeting about qigong, and what I heard there made me feel that it might help me to get better. We live in a house with many stairs, and I had noticed that I was finding it increasingly difficult to negotiate those stairs and that my joints and my body were growing stiff. I had actually begun to wonder how long we would be able to stay in our house. Last autumn I also had great difficulties sleeping. I often read until the small hours and had to take sleeping tablets, and then I was like a zombie next morning and couldn’t get started doing anything. I had lost my spark, was in a low mood and didn’t feel really happy despite the loving care I receive from my husband and our dogs.
More energy the morning after group practice
Qigong has improved my life. My husband tells me that on days after the weekly group practice I have more energy and do things that I have postponed for a long time.
Several people in the practice group told me that you don’t really know what qigong is all about before you have taken the summer course, and I fully agree with them. I was a little worried about sleeping on the floor in a classroom with a number of people I didn’t know, and, to be honest, I like staying at comfortable hotels with floor heating in the bathroom and thick, warm towels! But it all worked out beautifully! I am staying with eight wonderful women, and I get a lot of thoughtful help and support from the contact persons from my practice group at home, who are also here at the course.
Better sleep and balance
Here at the summer course I am sleeping better than I ever did, and I wake up early with a clear mind. If someone had told me before the course that I would get up at six o’clock and be alert and prepared to start practising at half past six, I would have thought they were joking – but I did, and it was easier day by day. My posture is much improved, and during the course I have learnt to stand more steadily on the soles of both feet.
No stomach problems
My doctor has told me that I suffer from IBS, Irritable Bowel Syndrome, and I often have long periods of stomach pain and feelings of swollenness. At home I focus a lot on my stomach, and there are days when I hardly dare leave the house. Here I have simply not paid any attention to it at all! A few years ago I fell and injured my shoulder, and I now find it much easier to lift both arms above my head.
More positive thinking
I have benefited enormously from the positive atmosphere here at the course. I have begun to think more positively. I have learnt a great deal from observing how all you wonderful people here treat each other. Here I get to spend some precious and unique days in the qi field, and I happily make the most of it.
Now I’m looking forward to going home and continuing to practise to stay in the state of wellbeing I have achieved during the course. While I have had to accept many intellectual challenges in my professional life, I now face the stimulating challenge of developing a calmer and more harmonious mind by doing the soft and comfortable qigong exercises.
Ulla Thagg Fisher