Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a9RtAz8_CKI Starts at: 02:04:12 (jump to 02:04:12)
Steve Smith Qi Gong Wellness Demonstration
[02:04:12] Like, so many questions. [02:04:14] So many thought-provoking questions. [02:04:18] I just, thank you for that, because it really had me thinking. [02:04:22] But then the ADHD kicked in, and then it reminded me of a song. [02:04:26] I’m sorry to do this, but like, why is Jada Kiss as hard as it gets? [02:04:30] Why is the industry designed to keep the artists in debt? [02:04:34] Why them dudes ain’t writing? So sorry. I’m so sorry. [02:04:38] That nice poem made you think of Jada Kiss. [02:04:42] Well, like, you know, I was like, wow. [02:04:46] Sustainable food, sustainable energy. You know, what if government wasn’t [02:04:50] I was like, I’m for that. I’m for that. Government. [02:04:54] Jada Kiss. Industry. [02:04:58] Yes. The locks. Sorry. I can’t apologize for how my brain works. [02:05:02] It just does what it does. And I love it. [02:05:06] And I hate it sometimes, but I love it. [02:05:10] Alright, so we are going to get into a calming space. [02:05:14] We’re going to go and go ahead and introduce [02:05:18] I don’t see him. I feel like seeing him [02:05:22] Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. That was like a Where’s Waldo moment. [02:05:26] Gotcha! Alright, so if you guys can just [02:05:30] you know, I guess finger snap? [02:05:34] Like more calm? Yeah, yeah, yeah. Like more calming. [02:05:38] Coming to the stage next. [02:05:42] You’re going to learn a technique that probably may help you to soothe and kind of [02:05:46] help you learn how to regulate your body. [02:05:50] And so, here behind us is our Crofting Yoga Wellness Instructor [02:05:54] Steve Smith. Hey, give it up for Steve Smith, y’all. [02:06:02] Nice to see everybody tonight. And so yes, my name is Steve Smith [02:06:06] and I am the Tai Chi instructor at Crofting Yoga Wellness. [02:06:10] I’m also the acupuncturist at Crofting Yoga Wellness. I’m a retired combat medic [02:06:14] and I’m also a retired counselor. So, you know, you take all those skills [02:06:18] together and you blend it and then you do what you can to help people. [02:06:22] So, I use a lot of Qi Gong because what does Qi Gong mean? [02:06:26] It means breath, work. It’s the same as what you do in Yoga where we talk about [02:06:30] Pranayama. If you think about China and India, you have two civilizations [02:06:34] very similar in their thought process, separated by the middle leg. [02:06:38] How do they do anything? Through the Silk Road, through training. [02:06:42] So, you took the stuff that worked here and then you went back home and you told your folks [02:06:46] and you practiced what you did. Okay? So, in a minute we’re going to get up and we’re going to practice [02:06:50] Qi Gong. And what Qi Gong really does is it works to help open the body, [02:06:54] open what’s called the meridians. Okay? So, what we really want to do [02:06:58] is diffuse blood. The more that you can get blood to the fingertips, top of your head, [02:07:02] and top of your toes, the healthier you’re going to be. [02:07:04] Because blood can go in between. Okay? Think about it. [02:07:08] When we get sick and upset, we are in dis-ease. [02:07:12] We’re in disease. Right? So, we want to calm the body down. [02:07:16] We want to relax the body down. And unfortunately, I meet a lot of people [02:07:20] and they’ll say, what’s your worst expression of stress? And they’ll go, [02:07:24] And I’ll say, okay, so where are you at? Right here. [02:07:28] Okay, so you’re really like two steps away from it. [02:07:32] Okay? Now, do you really think you’re going to do your best thinking? [02:07:36] Are you going to have your best relationships? Are you going to have your best life? [02:07:40] No. Why? Because you cannot do that. Physically, your body will not let you [02:07:44] do that. Why? Because you’re in what’s called a fight or flight reaction. [02:07:48] Sympathetic. What happens when that blood goes away from the gut? That’s important. [02:07:52] We’ll come back to that. Goes up to the big muscles. Makes me tense and tight [02:07:56] so I can run or fight. But it also does one more thing up in my brain. [02:08:00] I can’t get to the higher reasoning sections of my brain. [02:08:04] I go down to the emotional brain. Okay? Because I’m ready to fight or flight. [02:08:08] That’s why when you talk to people that are really upset, what do you do? You stand up [02:08:12] and you really logic with them, right? That works really good, right? [02:08:16] Okay? Now, anybody ever [02:08:20] seen a Judge Judy or been in an ER or anything like that where they’re like, [02:08:24] yes, your honor, I completely stand by that emotional outburst [02:08:28] I had? Nobody does. [02:08:30] Right? Everybody’s like, I’m so sorry. I said that. I didn’t mean to do that. [02:08:34] Why? Because you were upset. So the more that you can control your body, [02:08:38] the more that you can control what your body is doing. Okay? [02:08:42] So what is energy? Energy is mass moving [02:08:46] at a constant rate. Einstein said it. Think about emotion. [02:08:50] Energy in motion. Emotion. Okay? So if your [02:08:54] emotions are stuck, they’re probably a part of your body that’s stuck. Alright? So [02:08:58] everybody go ahead and stand up with me. Alright? [02:09:02] Now if you have a bad shoulder or a bad neck day, this is absolutely fine. [02:09:06] But if it’s okay, I want you to reach up over your head and grab your left wrist. [02:09:10] Okay? Now let me demonstrate what we’re going to do. We’re going to [02:09:14] inhale. Open to the left. Exhale. [02:09:18] We come back to center. We’re going to inhale. Come to the right. [02:09:22] Exhale. Come back to center. [02:09:26] Repeat. Rest and repeat. Inhale. [02:09:30] Exhale. Release. Inhale. [02:09:34] Exhale. Release. And let’s keep going. [02:09:38] Inhale. Exhale. [02:09:42] You end up doing like ten of these. You say, why? It’s not that hard [02:09:46] of a task. But you do it because you need the repetition. [02:09:50] The nervous system needs a chance to catch on. [02:09:54] You need a chance to get good. [02:09:56] Okay? Because there is no such thing as natural in this life. [02:10:00] You know? Let’s do one more to the right. Inhale. [02:10:04] Exhale. Let’s put the arms down and come down. Thank you. [02:10:08] You can sit down. Okay? But think about it. There’s no such thing as naturally [02:10:12] good in this life. And you say, Steve, what do you mean? Baby duck is born. [02:10:16] A couple hours later, baby duck is swimming on the lake with mom. It has an instinct. [02:10:20] It has an intelligence that drills into its DNA about [02:10:24] what you’re doing. Baby horse is born. A couple hours later, baby horse is [02:10:28] running through the field with mom. It’s not. Human baby. [02:10:32] A couple hours later, laying in the field. What’s it going to do? Lay right there in the field. [02:10:36] Because what are the three reflexes a baby has? [02:10:40] One, supple. Two, grasp. Three, Babinski reflex. [02:10:44] And then, well, that was two and a half. And then three. [02:10:48] If you put baby on mama, it roots for the breast. That’s it. That means [02:10:52] everything else in this life has to be learned. [02:10:56] And to the degree you learn it is the level of proficiency you’re accepting in your life. [02:11:00] You can be better at your life. You can be better at your body. [02:11:04] You can be better at what you want to be. You just have to cut yourself some slack [02:11:08] and say, it’s okay to learn. It’s okay to give up [02:11:12] what I know today for a better understanding tomorrow. That’s it. [02:11:16] Because you’re not wrong where you are. You’re just here now. Okay? [02:11:20] Everybody gets here where they get here from. So it’s not about, oh, I should have [02:11:24] did it this way. No, you do what you do. It’s about recognizing [02:11:28] I’m here now. It’s what I’m serving. It’s what I’m doing serving my life. [02:11:32] If it is, great. Keep doing it. If it’s not, maybe it’s time to retool. [02:11:36] Maybe it’s time to do something different. Say, well, but I’ve been doing this for 26 years. [02:11:40] And? Okay? Let’s be honest. [02:11:44] Does the butterfly really bitch at the caterpillar? [02:11:48] Okay? [02:11:50] Really? I mean, think about it. If you don’t have a caterpillar [02:11:54] on stage, you ain’t gonna get a butterfly on stage. Fair enough? [02:11:58] So take where you are now. Keep it moving. But be honest and [02:12:02] love yourself enough to say, we all learn. Because we do this [02:12:06] false analysis thing when we compare. Now, I know y’all don’t do this. I appreciate [02:12:10] y’all using your imagination to pretend that people can be like this. Okay? [02:12:14] So I appreciate y’all working. That’s why I work with professionals. But [02:12:18] you have to understand, we all get to where we get from. So it’s okay [02:12:22] to learn. But then you say, okay, I’ve got it. I’ve learned it up here. No, that’s your [02:12:26] entry. Okay? Just like, just like truly. [02:12:30] You learn how to do, you learn how to do the basics in elementary school. [02:12:34] Then you get better at it in middle school. You get better at high school. [02:12:38] And in college, you learn to get real good at specific things. [02:12:42] But that’s only pieces and parts. That’s not you. Okay? [02:12:46] What happens with you is what you practice the most. What you think about [02:12:50] the most you become. Does it really make sense that you can have a life where you’re upset, [02:12:54] worried, tense, tight, and then you’re going to walk through the day, [02:12:58] hey y’all, what’s up? No. [02:13:02] Does it make sense that if you practice relaxing the body, [02:13:06] getting the blood to the fingertips, getting the blood to the toes, getting the blood [02:13:10] to the top of the head, relaxing the breath, does it make more sense [02:13:14] that you might have a body that shows up that’s more amendable? [02:13:18] A body that makes you not want to club your neighbor like a baby seal. Okay? [02:13:22] Isn’t that, again, I know nobody upsets y’all. I think I’ll always [02:13:26] work with everybody who’s nice. But what if, what if [02:13:30] you had somebody that you had a tense, tight body, [02:13:34] teach them to breathe, relax deeper, teach them to open their body, then they have a better [02:13:38] life, they open their life, and now their neighbor works better, their community [02:13:42] works better, our country works better. Wouldn’t that be a nice thing? [02:13:46] Okay. [02:13:50] I’ve been looking forward to that time. I have talked till I am [02:13:54] out of time. But again, my name is Steve. I’m from Crofton Yoga and Wellness. [02:13:58] You can check us out at croftonyoga.com. And please, come on down [02:14:02] and try a yoga class, try a tight-sheet class, and we will help you [02:14:06] make a great day on purpose. [02:14:10] Hey, give it up for Steve.