What is the first question any Chinese doctor will ask you when you visit them with any health issue? (more and more western doctors now will ask you that too)?

How's your sleep?

Remember those days when you were young and your sleep was so deep that even the voice of your mother calling your name did not wake you up?

What top sleep researchers are finding today that insufficient sleep (7-9 hours) a night, will not only affect your energy levels, focus, creativity and memory function, it will also age you much faster! For example, your immune system shuts a staggering 70% of its activity with less than 6 hours of sleep. Those are the same cells that fighting cancer tumors and other diseases...

The link between cancer and sleep is so strong nowadays that the World Health Organization declared any night shift job as a probable carcinogen. Without a consistent good night's sleep, digestion function will suffer, your heart will be at risk and your hormone system will get out of balance. In fact, for men testosterone level drop by half (!) with less than 6 hours of sleep.

We also know now that sleep medications and alcohol causes even more harm as they don't allow the brain to go into the deep sleep stage which is essential for your brain and body to recuperate. In Chinese Medicine, we look at sleep from a different lens and we heal sleep imbalance naturally.

I worked with quite a few cases of insomnia with great success in my private practice. Even though getting back into childhood deep sleep sounds so far to you or elusive. It is within reach. In this Qi Talk we discover how we see sleep in Chinese Medicine and how to restore a good night's sleep!

How can we get out of our habits? Change our old routines? How can we secure the future we wish for?

Well, in Qi Gong we say that you are creating your future every second of the day. By the thoughts and emotions your mind is producing. Don't get me wrong, of course we cannot control outside circumstances. But, the way we respond to life's events will determine our future.

More than this, the way we FEEL about the future, will shape it for us, most certainly. So how come there are things I want in life that I don't get, and old habits that I struggle changing? The way that we react to life is usually the work of the subconscious mind. In other words, we are running on Auto-pilot 96% of the time. And this is a good thing! Otherwise, you would have had to learn how to drive every-time you get into the car.

You'd have to re-learn things that you already know. But, on the flip side (remember there's yin and yang), today you are creating what you created yesterday. And this why people creating the same relationships, similar job situations they have in the past ... in the future. They feel stuck in a pattern!

So, how can we override the subconscious mind when we need to? One of the most powerful tools in Qi Gong practice is what we call Nei Gong (internal practice i.e. thoughts, breath, emotions) that is paired with with Wai Gong (external practice, i.e. the physical movement of your body). We can tap into the power of re-shaping our future by working with Nei Gong and the heart.

In this Qi Talk we discover how we can mainfest into our life what we want with the idea of Wu-Wei (effortlessness) in Chinese Medicine!

Do you know how many thoughts you are thinking every day? Research found that every day an average person has over 70,000 thoughts! What is even more interesting is that 85% of an average person's thoughts are fear-based and negative.

Self-criticism, anger, jealousy and fear are the most common themes. Buddhists say that the root of this comes from the misconception that equates 'having' with 'being'. Scientists say that this is an evolutionary mechanism that allowed our ancestors to look out for danger and survive. Living in fear of being eaten, back in the days when there was a constant survival threat, payed off.

We know that negative thoughts are not good for health, healing, creativity, self confidence and living a happy long life. So how to go about it? Can we change the way we are built? In this Qi Talk we discover one special easy practice cherished in eastern cultures that can answer that.

What is the quality of your energy? In Chinese Medicine we often talk not only about how much energy you have but also the quality and the type of one's life force energy. We all want a lot of energy, but, a good, balanced type of energy. Many studies conducted in communities around the world also known as "The Blue Zones". These are clusters of areas where people live a very long and consistently happy life. They have discovered that life direction or an overall purpose in life plays a major role in your health and longevity. Do you know that feeling that you are feeling vital and happy doing something you love? It has nothing to do with your job or financial goals. It is "That which makes life worth living"... What is it for you? In Chinese Medicine the Heart holds the connection to one's purpose and meaning in life. How can you be closer to yourself? This week we focus on listening to your heart and being connected to your purpose!

Our modern life is full of challenges and moments of frustration, judgement or misunderstanding. No one likes that feeling of chaos or un-clarity. Sometimes our struggles lead to growth and expansion and sometimes to contraction and caving in. Is there a way to secure growth and winning at all times? 

From the Qi Gong point of view; life is cyclical, day and night, bright and dark, full and empty, chaos and clear, two sides which play the game of our daily experience which known also as yin and yang. They transform into each other and they are essential to the flow of energy. YES! That sense of energy we all seek. 

How can we embrace and trust this process?

In this Qi Talk talk (the 2nd out of this series of 5 talks addressing the subject of energy depletion) I'm going to talk about how to turn a rocky road into a magnificent flight. And downfalls into opportunities. 

You know the feeling of starting your day and feeling like you carry heavy weight with you -- the muscles are sore, your head is not clear, and all you want is just to rest?

Your body is a marvelous factory of energy and it needs a very specific kind of maintenance.  Qi Gong has the almost magical ability, to replenish your energy and build an energetic reservoir for you to pull from when you need it! The Heart, specifically, is an endless source of energy when your emotions, body and spirit are in alignment.

This week we focus on energy cultivation from the Heart (the current season we are in and organ system we are focusing on for the next six weeks) more specifically as a source of infinite energy.

We all know these days when nothing seems to be working. The feeling of frustration, anger or disappointment arise and we cannot see the light in the end of the tunnel.

In these moments, the Chinese will say that your Qi is stuck and your heart is confused. You see, the heart can see see as far as the meaning of life, and when it loses this feeling it becomes confused and its energy loses its rhythm and direction.

In my free Qi Talk this week we will talk about how to transform the state of the heart from stagnation to flow, from fogginess to a clear view of ourselves and our life.

Have you ever woken up on the wrong side of the bed, or woken up with lackluster energy?  This week we focus on using Qi to turn our energy around.

Today's stressors and environment around you can really contribute to the energy you take on, even if you're mindfully aware of what's going on around you.  If you go to bed without clearing your energy and preparing for the next day, you can end up agitated, unmotivated, etc...

This week in my weekly Qi Talk I share some really powerful, yet simple ways to reset your energy with what I call a Qi refocusing.  Enjoy!

Qi Gong healers practice the same foundational techniques as everyone else, but they have practiced so much that they understand every move, breath, and thought behind the techniques. Through effort ("gong"), Qi Gong healers have gained a deeper understanding of the exercises and aimed this effort toward learning how to control Qi.

Practitioners believe that to effectively emit Qi to help heal others, Qi Gong healers need to maintain their personal health. Therefore, they continuously practice self-healing Qi Gong to regulate their personal health. The practice of Qi Gong teaches that without self-healing, the Qi Gong healer's ability to heal diminishes as well as his or her own health.

Practitioners further believe that diligent practice helps them progressively develop skills such as clairvoyance, clairaudience, and clairsentience, that can help the healer's diagnosis skills.

In addition to their strong practice, Qi Gong healers understand Traditional Chinese Medicine theory (Qi, five-element, meridians, and other theory) and its applications. A healer uses this foundational knowledge in partnership with intuition to balance the patient's Qi. However, if a Qi Gong healer relies too heavily on theory, or too much on intuition, he or she won't become a great healer. Only those who find the balance do so.

We will discuss this in my FREE weekly Qi Talk!

In this podcast we discover the importance of diet in bone health from a Traditional Chinese Medicine perspective.  Qi Gong is critical, as well, and when combined with the right diet you can super-charge your bones!