Ahhh, Qigong.

Today I went to a much-needed "Nurturing Woman Qigong" class, held at the Oregon College of Oriental Medicine campus in SE Portland.  Eileen found the listing for it a month or so ago and asked me if I wanted to take it with her.  She figured it would be good for us because it is a form of qigong that is calming and helps one turn inward for balance.  It also supports and nurtures a woman's reproductive organs, and that is right up both our alleys.

It was a three-hour class (9a.m. to 1p.m.), and sitting here 3 and a half hours after it ended, I am still feeling relaxed and centered.  I think what I liked most about the class was that it was mostly hands-on, with minimal lecture involved.  The instructor, Julie Porter (who, by the way, has the most amazing, calming voice I think I have ever heard), gave us a brief lesson on qi and on the aspects of yin and yang so that we would be able to better understand the reasoning behind some of the qigong movements, hand positions, etc.  For the most part, we just practiced the form, over and over, and eventually, Julie had us do it on our own, so that we would feel confident we remembered how to do it once the class was over.

We also got a spiral notebook on the history of the form and specific instructions on how to do each part of it.  Eileen and I are both excited about having this tool that only takes about 20 minutes a day; it will be great to start using it and hopefully it will help us navigate some potentially emotionally and physically challenging times ahead in IVF Land. 

Once again, I feel like I have come back to myself, back to my center.  And I had a good reminder today when I was at the class.  Julie told us that it will work best for us, in facilitating our healing (emotional, physical, mental, spiritual), if we can approach doing the form with the intention of getting centered--no goal other than that.  I've been hearing the same message from a great fertility affirmations CD that my acupuncturist Jelena loaned me.  Basically you set your intention, you invite what you would like to happen, and then you let go of your expectations of how and when it will happen: I release the need to know when.  I release the need to know how.

It's certainly not easy, but I can understand how doing something with a sole purpose in mind (like getting pregnant) can lessen or completely negate any positive effects what we are doing may have, just because we are holding on so hard to the notion of what we want, hoping so hard, not letting ourselves open to what is the most right thing for us.


Anyway, I am grateful for this class today, for Julie and the wise, peaceful energy that just radiated from her, for Eileen who is beginning her IVF injections tonight, and for all women past, present and future; it sounds odd, but I feel like I connected with them all today just by coming back to myself and to my center.

Namaste.