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Monday, April 20, 2015

Sucari - Qi?

I just wanted to try that to see how it looked. You see Qi is pronounced "Chee" or you may know it as Chi.

Qi is debunked in Western Society as non-existent. In Eastern Philosophy, Medicine, and in any other way you can use it, it has a meaning.

It is energy or life force in a person. It's an energy field. It's related to the meridians used in Acupuncture and pressure. It's broken down as breath or air or gas. Ew.

Anyway, the point I make is that such a little word apparently means a lot to a lot of people. I think in Western Culture our little word that means a lot would be "If". But, that's another post.

My father, apparently, introduced my mother to Chinese food in the early 1960's. He was so cosmopolitan! From that point on, she was in LOVE....with Chinese food.

While pregnant with me, Mom and my older brother would take a daily walk to the neighborhood Chinese restaurant. She would order the same thing and they knew when they saw her coming what to start cooking. Shrimp fried rice. She was hooked! And, so am I with my trusty wok!



She claims that's why I have always (and I mean all my life!) shown an interest in Asian Culture. It was Bruce Lee and the living crush I have on the man two (OK, FOUR) decades later. It's that I went to theaters, then rented VCR tapes, then dvds, now stream movies about every type of martial art or Samurai. Kurosawa was a genius! It's that one of my favorite books is The Book of Five Rings by 'The Man' Musashi. Somehow, it's gotten into my blood!

It's in my breath, my Qi, if you will.

I have a fascination bordering on obsession with watching Korean dramas, lately. I reluctantly took a break from binge-watching "Princess Hours" and imagine what I found! Last night, I could barely contain myself when I saw that Netflix was streaming The Man with the Iron Fists 2 (Go, Rza)! I took Tai Chi and Kung Fu in my early days and again in my 30's...and I was GOOD, if I may say so! My Shifu said it!

Through it all, I learned how we are supposed to breathe. Did you realize that many people breathe wrong? They take these little "wasp breaths", to quote Patsy Stone of AbFab. What brings in breath is working from the diaphragm. Singers learn it. Swimmers know it. The lungs fill and empty based upon the muscle just up under them. Try filling your abdomen before your lungs. There! You've got it! There should be a definite movement there in your torso.

Once you learn to breathe, everything else follows. If you do it right, your posture improves. You relax and drop your shoulders out of your ears.You can't slump in a chair and breathe properly. Your head is held a little higher as you inhale through your nose and out your mouth, gently. Your health and skin improve because you are taking in Oxygen the way we are meant to and it's reaching every cell in your body through your red blood cells. Your mood improves for the same reason. You are calmer and you think and feel...cleaner. That may not be the correct word but when u get it, you'll get it.

Qi may just be some concept to the West and real live meaningful stuff to the East but if it helps you to consider doing good for yourself, then, Dagnabit! Try it!

Reboot Challenge? Get to know how your body works and BREATHE.
 

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