Relieve Insomnia Naturally with Qi Gong

You’re laying awake in bed at 3 am and cannot sleep. You’ve tried a wide variety of solutions from pharmaceutical sleep aids to dietary supplements such as melatonin, yet find yourself consistently awake in the early hours of the morning.

In the Chinese medicine system, the pattern of waking in the early morning hours is often associated with imbalances with the liver energy that occur when:

* Your days are filled with many tasks and not much time to relax.
* You engage in activities that require a lot of mental energy especially before bedtime.
* You are not able to settle thoughts about issues or situations in your life.
* There are other system imbalances such as anemia, hormonal imbalances, or endocrine issues.
* There is not adequate exercise to release stress.
* The diet is poor and lacking in green leafy vegetables, root vegetables and high in sugar and highly spicy foods.

Qi gong movement is a valuable tool to promote restful sleep in the following ways.

(1) Qi gong reduces stress by calming the mind through repetitive movements that require focus away from ruminating thoughts.

Researchers at the University of California at Irvine are conducting research that demonstrate that brain wave patterns associated with being in a relaxed state that involves concentration, is highly restful.

Thus, unlike pharmaceutical sleep aids, qi gong provides you with an activity to perform when you wake up that not only can settle your mind and allow your body to rest despite not sleeping the night through, but also train the body to achieve deeper states of relaxation so that in time, your sleep cycle improves, insomnia decreases and your concentration during day time hours improves.

(2) Qi gong reduces liver agitation with movements designed to release excessive energy from the liver and restore system balance.

Unlike other forms of meditative movement like yoga, qi gong comes from the system of Chinese medicine that emphasizes the use of certain movements designed to impact organ systems in a very specific way. For example, the Taoist Five liver movement, with its gentle twists of the torso, creates a gentle internal massage that helps release tension from the organ of the liver to promote better sleep.

(3) Utilizes specific patterns of breath work to cool heat within the body such that the body can rest more effectively.

A qi gong instructor trained in medical qi gong as a practitioner can customize movements and breath work to fit the specific root causes of why you have insomnia to promote better sleep.