This past year has taken us - all of us! - to some unexpected and challenging places.
So many startling jolts have rocked our world! Some leave us feeling jumpy and nervous or empty and sad or betrayed and guarded. In this year of extremes, we may feel a little more tightness - and a little less lightness, laughter and love than we'd like. Or maybe a lot less.
Our Hearts have had a lot to handle! In Asian Healing Arts we say the Heart is in charge of how we manage all of this.
Our heart
- Opens and closes to connect every cell in our body with life-giving vitality,
- Connects us to each other with love and compassion, and
- Keeps us in touch with our Spirit guides and our highest and best self.
We say our heart is the part of us that knows what we can control and what we can't. What's OK for us and what's not. It does this with every beat, every second of our lives. And maybe differently from last Summer. Our heart is 'at the heart' of all the changes we are experiencing.
Summer is Prime Time for Heart health. Sparks of warmth can help melt hardness of heart around experiences of trauma or betrayal. The beauty we find all around us in the natural world can help our hearts open and heal.
This year, more than ever, we need all that Summer brings to replenish our hearts.
It can be tough to settle into a heart-healing mode when we feel unsafe or bonds of trust have been broken. Appropriate touch, safe play and good humor all nourish our hearts. Inappropriate touch, betrayal and startling jolts can injure our heart. And too much Isolation and too little touch can actually weaken our hearts.
When our hearts are weary we can find ourselves restless, sleepless, unsettled or anxious. We can also feel heavy-hearted with sadness and uncertainty.
There are simple little medicinal movement and meditation practices to gradually restore our hearts. They were used by ancient Chinese Warriors to help them quickly regroup and recover from the strains of battle. We can use them to gently free our hearts to open to all that we need to heal. They are easy to learn. Some of their benefits often show up in a matter of minutes: Easier breathing, relaxed muscles, mental focus and genuine joy.
In three short video classes this June, you can explore (or review!) some of my favorite heart healing QI Gong practices. I'll guide you thru a selection of medicinal meditative movements that affect all aspects of what our Hearts do for us. You can also join me to do these practices together in one interactive (live or via Zoom) at noon on the Solstice June 12. This optional live-time class be an opportunity to ask questions and fine tune these practices. And for practitioners to learn to modify them for specific clients and circumstances.
These classes are open to beginners and are also certified by NCCAOM. Acupuncturists can earn 3 PDA's for this Summer series, and each seasonal Qi Gong series offered thru the year. Stay tuned for an easy year-long subscription plan, coming this Fall!
Enrollment for Summer classes is now open
Scroll down to register and meet your instructor
Cynthia "Zanti" Jabs, L. Ac.
has shared Qi Gong practices with students and clients for decades. This is her fifth year teaching them online.
"I love how these tools gently undo symptoms." Working WITH the laws of nature taps into our capacity to heal, even with chronic illness, old injuries and trauma.
"My passion is coming up with ‘take-home’ practices to help clients further their learning and healing at home. "It's DIY Acupuncture!"
"Healing is not just about relieving symptoms. It's about reclaiming who we are." Symptoms often guide us - and fade as we find our way..
"Asian Healing Arts let us unfold the healing gifts of each season in turn." So we can focus on the specifics - without losing sight of the whole.
Zanti has taught acupuncture students (MUIH), medical students (JHUSM) and doctors as well as beginners. She is nationally certified (NCCAOM) to teach credit classes for acupuncturists.
