Location:  BAGHDAD In recent posts, I’ve sort of alluded to the fact that I’m not currently building sand castles on the beautiful sandy beaches of Northwest Florida with my family, but instead I’m dodging roadside bombs and rubbing shoulders with terrorists in Baghdad, Iraq.  I’m sure Baghdad used to ...

Yoga Sutra 1:12-14 12  Both practice and nonreaction are required to still the patterning of consciousness. 13  Practice is the sustained effort to rest in that stillness. 14  This practice becomes firmly rooted when it is cultivated skillfully and continuously for a long time. Now sit back, relax, breathe deeply and enjoy ...

Yoga Journal is my secret guilty pleasure of sorts.  I’m not sure why, maybe it’s the high school locker room dude in me, but I still get uptight about people knowing that I read and enjoy a magazine that 1) is about yoga (which is still weird to ...

Although lots of people have cut back on luxury item purchases recently, apparently luxury yoga mat sales have never been stronger.  A Time magazine article reports that Manduka, the undisputed Porsche/Ferrari/Cadillac/[insert your favorite luxury car] of yoga mats, has seen its sales rise 55% in the first quarter ...

A few weeks ago I gave some examples of my recent successes with magic (or “intention manifestation”).  The method I was using had three basic steps: Make sure you really want it. Believe it can realistically happen. Feel the gratitude for it. A simple method, and some good results can be achieved ...

I just got back from hiking a small part of the Appalachian Trail, and Lo, my whole life is close to turning upside down.  I definitely have some thoughts from the trip I want to share with you, but they will have to wait until other matters get ...

Note:  this post is intended to be part of the “Journeying to Otherworlds” synchroblog hosted by Mahud here.  Other participants include: Faith and the Hero’s Journey (Hawk’s Cry: The voice of a witch) Journeying to Otherworlds: Access Denied (Between Old and New Moons) Lions at the Door (Quaker Pagan Reflections) More Than ...

Oftentimes it is illness or some smaller imbalance we notice that steers us toward thinking and learning more about our bodies and the mind-body connection. For others, discovering the presence of body energy may happen during meditation or some other quiet time, such as just before sleep.

I myself …

Qigong is a powerful tool for increasing one’s wellbeing and maintaining optimal health. Spring Forrest Qigong has been the focus of many recent qigong studies. Specifically interesting is the research done by Dr. Gaik that studies the effects of Spring Forrest Qigong when practiced by those who have …

Both qigong and tai chi work by encouraging relaxation, concentration and optimal alignment. Both tai chi and qigong attempt to bring body and mind closer together to accomplish these primary goals.

With regular practice, tai chi and qigong help us to become more attuned to our bodies, and so …

Qigong exercises not only relieve stress, but keep it from coming back! We all know that qigong, like tai chi or yoga, helps us relieve stress and tension by stretching our muscles and calming our minds as we focus on moving our bodies or qi throughout our bodies.

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If you’re familiar with tai chi, you already know something about qigong exercises. Many of the warm up exercises in tai chi are really qigong exercises.

In the broadest sense of course qigong exercises can include any activity that cultivates qi. In this sense, simply sitting and

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