Taoist Wisdom for Cultivating Inner Peace
In the west, we live busy lives. The constant demands of daily life can sometimes put us into a reactive state, as we seek to harmonize our internal and external worlds. While it’s important to address what’s going on around us, we have a responsibility to ourselves to take care of our own peace and emotional health.
Ancient Taoists used a practice called Qi Gong to let go of stress and anxiety and cultivate inner peace. In this article, we’ll explore how stress affects the body and mind. We’ll also share how individuals can channel the Taoists ancient wisdom in order to experience peace and joy.
How Stress and Anxiety Affects the Human Body
Humans are sensitive creatures, and our internal energies play a huge role in how we show up in the world. While feeling stress and anxiety may be unpleasant, it can also inhibit your ability to tap into your fullest potential.
In the United States, corporate culture has a tendency to idolize the Yang qualities of hard work and vigorous activity. We all have an image in our mind of the hustling businessperson who works long hours and navigates tense situations. While many of us can perform under stress, none of us are able to put forth our best self when we’re anxious. The stressed-out businessperson is also on a fast track to emotional burnout and mental fatigue.
When our minds and hearts are inhibited by stress, many of the subtler human strengths are unable to flourish. When our mind is full of worry or anxiety, we’re unable to receive insights or intuition. Repeating thoughts and a cluttered internal state prevent us from picking up on the more sensitive nuances of what is happening around us. In Qi Gong, we view this as a lack of connection to the Dao and separation from the flow of the universe.
This manifests on a deep, spiritual level, but can be noticed simply by observing your relationships. The loss of intuition and sensitivity to the world around us leads to disharmony between ourselves and others. How often have you gotten into an argument with a loved one because you’ve checked out from the present moment of the relationship?
Similarly, stress can inhibit our intuition when it comes to making decisions. Whether we know it or not, much of our decision-making wisdom comes from feeling the situation, not just analytical thinking. Ironically, important decisions are a common cause of stress and anxiety, so we need to be very mindful of how we respond to the questions of the world.
Stress And Emotional Strength
Stress and anxiety can also prevent us from showing up as our strongest self emotionally. While someone may appear strong, serious, and firm in a tense situation, oftentimes this is a cover for pain or suffering. Stress can cause our heart center to become imbalanced, leading to reactive feelings and actions.
Similar to stress and anxiety in the mind, when our heart experiences these emotions we can become disconnected from our true feeling. Instead of viewing a situation with empathy, compassion, and clarity, our hearts become tense and clouded. Feelings that don’t reflect our truest and most grounded self can manifest, causing pain or suffering for ourselves and others.
When we’re able to let go of stress and anxiety and calm the heart and mind, we can let our truest gifts flow throughout us. Emotional balance is the source of true internal strength. Learning how to transform stress into vitality is an essential part of flourishing and being happy.
Give Qi Gong a Try
The beautiful thing is that we can choose how we respond to stress and anxiety. Instead of staying on the rat wheel and digging deeper into the pattern of anxiety, you can make the decision to choose a new way relating to stress. Within each of us lies the tools to work with our internal energies, and nothing feels better than transforming pain into joy.
When you practice Qi Gong, you’re able to fully drop into your body and work directly with your experience of stress and anxiety. By doing so, you can learn how to quickly transform those feelings into a deep sense of peace and joy.
If you’re interested in experiencing Qi Gong for yourself, be sure to check out our Two-Week Qi Gong trial.
The Two-Week Trial is completely free and allows you to experience five unique Qi Gong lessons from the comfort of your own home. Learn more about the opportunity and discover the healing power of Qi Gong today.
