Rejuvenate Your Body and Mind: Master Bai Yin's 3 Relaxing Steps for Better Sleep and Healthier Skin
Every Mother's Day, the village chief organizes a health screening event. Last year, my bone density was -2.3. This year, it has improved to -1.43, and my other health metrics are within the normal range. Most surprisingly, my biological age is 37 even though I'm 66 this year.
In the past five years, Ms. Hu has been caring for her mother with dementia; day and night, sometimes getting less than an hour of sleep. The excessive fatigue left her haggard and physically weak.
After practicing qigong, her health improved. Her insomnia got better, and she could go back to sleep even when waking up to change her mother's diapers at night. Headaches became less frequent, chest tightness disappeared, and she became more cheerful. She gained the courage to face many frustrations, not by forcing herself to think positively or overcome challenges, but by relaxing naturally, both physically and mentally.
Her mother's dementia also slowed down and even improved because her heart relaxed too. ""Every time I practice qigong, my mother sits and watches me with a smile. The music affects her, and seeing my happy smile while practicing makes her very happy too.""
Although her mother fell two or three times in recent years, their perseverance enabled her to walk again. Last November, Ms. Hu and her mother tested positive for COVID-19 together. Fortunately, she was learning YoungQi Rejuvenation Techniques online at home. With confidence, she practiced diligently and relaxedly. In the end, both recovered well, with Ms. Hu experiencing some long COVID symptoms but her mother remaining carefree and seemingly problem-free.
Qi Deficiency and Stagnation Make One Dry and Old.
Qigong expert Master Bai Yin says dry, rough skin indicates that qi and blood are not reaching the extremities to nourish the epidermis. The body cannot obtain nutrients and starts to wither, losing function.
There are two possibilities for qi and blood not reaching the extremities: qi deficiency or qi stagnation in the body.
Qi deficiency means insufficient primordial qi. The body instinctively preserves qi and blood for vital organs, not extremities. Qi and blood deficient people often can't get warm in winter, with cold, pale, weak hands and feet. More lines appear on the back of hands and palms as they get drier. In severe cases, the skin cracks open, often seen in frail elders.
Qi stagnation means qi and blood are not circulating smoothly. Nutrients are stuck inside and can't reach the limbs. People with qi stagnation tend to feel hot in the face and head but have cool hands and feet if qi and blood are abundant. Teacher Bai Yin suggests that qigong can help greatly.
Love Yourself by Caring for Your Body
Master Bai Yin says another type of "dryness" comes from overwork, as in Ms. Hu's case. Over-depleting essence, qi, and spirit makes one like a withered tree. People lose hair, get dry eyes, stiff joints, insomnia, rough skin, and in severe cases, osteoporosis.
Essence, qi, and spirit are the fountain of life. Staying up late, overworking, and excessive indulgence dry up this fountain. Kidney qi deficiency and liver fire excess are most common in modern people. Kidney qi deficiency means the body's water is depleted. Liver fire excess means the body is in a state of dry burning.
Chinese traditional medicine says, "the liver stores blood" and "the kidneys store essence." Blood is the body's water. Excessive liver fire prevents blood from nourishing the body, leading to stiff joints and dry eyes. Essence is the essence within the water. When one is over busy with constant heart fire burning, this essence is needed to put out the fire. Over-straining depletes kidney water, eventually becoming insufficient to extinguish heart fire, causing insomnia and circadian rhythm disorders.
Master Bai Yin points out that this "dryness" severely damages the body. When you drain your fountain of life, you damage not just the liver and kidneys but the vitality of your whole being and all cellular functions. When the body cannot obtain nourishment, organ tissues get inflamed, causing low energy, poor digestion, metabolic disorders, poor concentration, and lack of motivation, like a withered plant gradually dying.
To live healthily, one needs an endless fountain of life for vitality to flow. Master Bai Yin teaches a simple three-step relaxation exercise that makes the body feel warm, lightly sweat, and sleep more easily at night. She says the moments practicing qigong may be the real moments of self-love, by caring for your body and irrigating your life with the living water of essence, qi, and spirit. When you are healthy, you can give your family more love.
