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A
mighty
ocean
is
made
up
of
drops
of
water.
A
great
healing
chi-field
is
made
up
of
individual
healing
stories.
Every
healing
story
is
a
story
of
love
--the
love
of
oneself
and
others
through
ups
and
downs.
Every
healing
story
is
a
story
of
triumph
--
the
triumph
of
one's
spirit
over
one's
temporarily
setback.
Life
is
no
guarantee.
We
love
life
as
it
comes.
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My Path to Health and Happiness
Judy
Bayliss
Palmyra,
PA
I was very skeptical about that first Chi-Lel ™ Qigong
workshop. I was interested in
Qigong and had been for some time. In
fact, I'd bought a book a few years ago, but like most things I start, I never
finished the book. OK, let's be
honest, I never even finished the first chapter!
When my friend Judi talked about the benefits of Qigong,
(she even quit smoking!) it reawakened my interest. I did a search on the Internet looking for a class.
There were no classes in my area …… and the only web site I found was
about a 'miracle hospital' where they cure people
without
medicine…. People with life-threatening illnesses… people with terminal diseases…………yeah right!
Just one more scam for the gullible.
So I forgot about my hope for self-improvement.
Not that I didn't need self-improvement!
I have a variety of back problems: curvatures in the lower and upper
back, a degenerated disc, arthritis in the spine and my pelvis is out of
alignment. I'd been in constant pain for nearly ten years.
My range of movement was shrinking, some things I could no longer do,
many things I learned to do differently, some things I just had to do in pain.
The most ordinary, everyday things were painful: getting dressed,
personal
hygiene, standing up from a seated position, sitting down from a standing
position, making love. The list is
endless.
There were
different types of pain, sometimes the stabbing 'ice-pick in the spine', the
rest of the time the constant dull presence. Sometimes my body would jack-knife,
I learned to walk and move carefully, the slightest uncontrolled movement could
cause pain and/or spasm. I ruined my stomach with pain killers and
anti-inflammatory medications and finally reached the point where I could no
longer tolerate anything that might take the edge off.
I'd tried Kunkalini, Hatha and Kripalu Yoga, Tai Chi, and Chiropractic
treatments in addition to physical therapy and traditional medicine.
Didn't help. I just had to
live with it.
I'd even gotten shorter.
I've always been 5'3", but a few years ago it was discovered that
I'd shrunk an inch. No signs of
osteoporosis, the loss of that inch was due to the missing disc and muscle
weakness. My height was stable at
5'2" for the next 4 years. Then I invited myself along when Judi mentioned
another Qigong workshop. It was
then that I realized she was saying Chi-Lel ™.
So I did another Internet search and found the Chi-Lel ™ web site.
You guessed it. It
was that same web site about the miracle cures. I felt my spirits plummet, and wondered what I had gotten
myself into. But then I thought, I've known Judi for over 30 years, I trust her
judgment and intelligence. I
decided to go ahead and go to the
Oakwood
retreat, but promised myself I'd steer clear of anything that sounded like a
pyramid plan, not get talked into high-priced supplements etc. I'd just go, get
the good out of it and ignore the rest.
So I went with high hopes. But that first night, when Luke led us through healing
circles, once again I thought "Oh great, what have I gotten myself
into?!" But even though I was
skeptical I took part in everything. I got up the next morning, went to
breakfast, and then had my first introduction to 'Lift Chi Up, Pour Chi Down'. At last, the stuff I had come for!
When I bent down that first time, I could only get my hands
down to the level of my knees. But
when I came back up……. It was with a huge smile on my face………..
because I DID come back up! Just
using my back, without having to 'walk' my hands up my thighs to push myself up,
without having to find a chair or something to push off of.
It had been YEARS since I'd been able to do that, I couldn't believe it
was happening. And then I realized when I'd gotten dressed that morning, it
hadn't been the slow, painful process it normally was.
And morning was always my stiffest and most painful part of the day!
By
the end of the Oakwood retreat, I was able to get my hands about half-way down
my calves. And still come back up
each and every time! I was so
excited!
I
continued to practice every single day and saw many improvements as time went
on. It's been over a year now, I
still can't put my hands on my feet, but I can get them to about 2 inches above
my feet. I'm flexible, I have
stamina, I have strength. Dressing,
showering,
everything
that used to be so difficult and painful is a snap now!
It's been a long time since I've experienced any back pain at all.
Recently
we moved and not once did the several hours, day after day, of carrying heavy
boxes and moving furniture ever cause me any pain or soreness.
This
past July, when I went in for my annual check-up, the nurse measured me, looked
at the chart, jimmied the lever up and down a few times to make sure she had it
all the way against my head, flattened my hair down, looked at the chart
again……… Finally she said she didn't understand why, but I'd regained half
an inch! I just smiled……….
and felt
very tall!
During
the year since I started practicing Chi-Lel ™ Qigong, I've never missed a
single day, and don't plan to, ever! October
3, 1998 is a date I'll always remember, that's the day I found my path to health
and happiness.
I
hope to become an instructor and help other people discover this wonderful tool
that changed my life so much. There
are so many people that need it and would benefit by it, and I need to give
something back.
What does Judy practice every day?
My
daily practice for the past year has been the 21-minute Lift Chi Up, Pour Chi
Down, frequently followed by 3-Centers Merge in the morning, and in the evening
I try to do something, even if it's just a 'quickie' version (maybe 10 minutes?)
of LCUPCD.
And
of course the Full Moon tape each month. (and
the very infrequent wall squat...... I think 20 is the most I've ever done but
I'm determined to change that!)
What
I think about before & after doing LCUPCD is increasing flexibility &
strength in my back. While I do the
form I just think about blue sky and Chi going into my body.
When
I do 3-Centers Merge, I do something similar to what's on the Full Moon tape, go
down through my body, system by system, organ by organ, part by part and think
of healing Chi pouring through.
I
think an important key for me has been to 'just do it' every day, no matter how
pressed for time, or how tired I might be.
I know how easy it would be to 'lose' a habit if I were to skip even one
day, I'm not going to let that happen with this.
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