Bodywise: Hello Àgata, you run Qi Gong classes at Bodywise. Can you describe what Qi Gong is and what I can expect from a Qi Gong class?
Àgata Alcañiz: Hello everyone!
Qi Gong is a set of gentle, deep, and meditative exercises practiced in China and other areas of the far East since ancient times. Its health benefits are so great that now it’s practiced by people worldwide. In Chinese Qi means ‘vital energy’ and Gong ‘work’. So this practice is about working with our own life energy, which brings us vitality and health. Think of it as the energies we receive from the air we breathe, the food we eat, the sun, the energy given by our parents in the womb… and how they are distributed around our body. Qi Gong is about working with our body and our breathing, so these energies flow nicely all around. It is when they become stagnant, according to Chinese Medicine in which Qi Gong is rooted, that we become ill, not only physically but also emotionally.
So in our sessions we focus very much on our breathing and we work gently and consciously every part of our body. It’s not so much about just tonifying our muscles but all of our organs, external and internal, and our fascia, the connective tissue that, as its name indicates, connects all the parts of our body and where the so-called meridians are found.
Expect a relaxing class that enables you to calm your body and mind, balance your energy levels and emotions and achieve a sense of physical and mental wellbeing.
BW: Who benefits from your class?
AA: Everyone who wants to keep a healthy body and mind without strenuous or hard exercises can benefit from these sessions. Specifically, people who suffer from chronic conditions, such as asthma, injuries, neck and back tension, anxiety and depression, or other emotional imbalances, or people who need to improve their posture and body coordination.
BW: What led you to train in Qi Gong?
AA: A friend of mine, who knew me very well, told me many years ago that I would benefit from practicing Qi Gong. I didn’t know what it was but I enrolled on a Qi Gong class that was held at my local GP and I just loved it!
Since then I practice Qi Gong, if possible, first thing when I wake up, to get rid of sleep stiffness and to energise myself to embrace the day. But above all, what I really appreciate, is that it makes my day flow smoother.
BW: What do you love about Qi Gong?
AA: What I love most about this ancient Chinese practice is that it really grounds me. Somehow it balances my emotions and makes me feel more serene and better supported in life. I also love the fact that these are gentle exercises, not a workout, which does not appeal to me and with which I do not connect at this time of my life.
BW: Tell us something about yourself
AA: I used to love sport when I was younger. I had so much energy. Now in my mid 40s, I feel that my energy levels are just different. I’ve also become interested in exploring the human body and our human existence in more depth. That’s why I am so interested in carry on studying Qi Gong, Buddhism, meditation and other energy work practices, such as Shiatsu. I invite people who come to my sessions to embrace this journey of exploration with me.
BW: What’s one of your Desert Island Discs?
AA: Hmmm… well… I won’t choose a disc but a prayer. Unfortunately it is not freely accessible online but here are a couple of verses. I might add that its music is beautiful as well as the lyrics. The title is “Liberating Prayer”
O Blessed One, Shakyamuni Buddha,
Precious treasury of compassion,
Bestower of supreme inner peace.
Please, give me the light of your wisdom
To dispel the darkness of my mind
And to heal my mental continuum
At this time of my life I’ve discovered that happiness is not to be found on a desert island or any place you might imagine as perfect. Happiness is something that manifests within oneself and needs to be cultivated irrelevant of external conditions. If you’re not happy inside, you won’t be happy anywhere… Having not that long ago learned this lesson, I am now willing to cultivate my mind through Buddhism and liberate myself from mundane external conditions and find happiness within.