As Qigong students, we all face the question of how to integrate Zhineng Qigong into our daily lives. Join Martha Work on her journey, navigating through life from overcoming depression to insights triggered by caring for her mother in her final month and ultimately changing her thoughts on aging. My name is Torsten Lueddecke, and this is the Wisdom Qigong podcast. I’ve got Martha Work with me from Kentucky, and Martha
has been with Qigong for many, many years, since the beginning of my career as a Qigong teacher. I’ve already heard her name, so I’m very, very pleased that she is joining us today. And I’m particularly pleased, Martha, that you would like to talk about how to integrate Qigong into your daily life. So maybe you can let us know what you mean by that and how you do that.
All right, and thank you for having me. I’m really pleased to be here and share about Qigong. And one part of that is that I’m a very introverted person. And typically, you know, in the past, this is something I would not have done. I would—oh, no, no, no—it would be very awkward and uncomfortable. And Qigong has caused this shift. And I think part of it is because I’m
so passionate about it, because it’s really changed my life in such a positive way that I want to share. So, yeah, when I began, I was suffering from depression. This was 2008 when I started, and I’d had not severe but chronic depression for years. And Qigong is what began to really turn that around. And so I think it was just that the whole idea of adjusting the mindset,
of being aware of when I was having negative thoughts, and then transforming those into positive ones is one really good example of bringing the practice into your daily life. So during the Qi therapist training with Teacher Liu and Britta, that was one of our assignments. And when I first started to do it, I read a little research, and it said that 80% of human thoughts tend to be
negative. And I said, oh, no way, you know, but then when I started becoming aware, I was like, oh, yeah, I’m probably above 80%, you know, and just to be able to interrupt those thoughts is so powerful. To just say, wait, you know, this thought of maybe, let’s say, judging another person, that’s not being true to myself, to who I want to be, who I’m growing and progressing
to be, is thinking really negative thoughts about other people. It makes me, like I say, not be who I feel that I am meant to be. So that was huge. And then other things are like the idea of looking at every moment as a brand new point in life. So let’s say we meet a stranger. Instead of all of a sudden, you know, it’s so automatically easy to
kind of put them into a box, to paint them based on impressions we’ve had throughout our life of other people. And, you know, this idea that Teacher Liu brings is to look at everything like a newborn baby, as if you’re seeing it for the first time. And that is so powerful. It brings you into the present moment and gives you a freedom, you know, from all those past
habits, perceptions, and judgments. Now what that needs is a lot of awareness of being attentive in every moment, because these thoughts come automatically. And most of us, we don’t notice when it happens. So you meet someone new, your judgment machine starts, or, you know, something happens and your negative thoughts start. So the real key to accessing this is being attentive, isn’t it? Yes, yes. Just that awareness is
huge. Just starting to notice. And then a piece of that too, you know, once I started to notice, it’s easy to kind of beat up on yourself and say, whoa, I had no idea that I was being so negative in my life. And then I think, you know, to realize we’re all human, we all do that, and to be compassionate with ourselves, and then we can begin to
be more compassionate with others. Right. I understand. Now, for me, I would even say it goes one step further. I mean, I’m not the kind of guy that tends to beat up on himself, but I’m the kind of righteous guy. So, for example, if I meet someone new and I’ve got my judgments, even when I’m attentive and I notice I’ve got my judgment, there’s a part of me
that says, yeah, but it’s so much fun to make a judgment because it means I’ve got control over something and I can judge something. So it kind of puts me on a higher pedestal. And that’s a joy. So the awareness needs to come and say, okay, what I’m doing there is really not doing me nor the other person any good. But it’s also something I notice particularly when
I’m in traffic and other people are making stupid mistakes. Right. That is so much, it brings me joy. It’s fun to be angry about that and to be right because I can drive so much better than that person. So I think this is also an aspect that we have to acknowledge. There’s a reason why we’re doing these things. We have these thought patterns because, on one level, it
gives us satisfaction. So to be aware, but also then to have a clear commitment of, you know, you said that’s not who I want to be. Right. This is not the idea I have for myself about myself and how I want to live my life. So I think this is an important aspect to bring into it next to the awareness, right? Yes, yes. And it’s interesting for me;
there are similarities, but I really think it stems from a different place, the judging. I grew up with very low self-esteem, and I think it was. But then it was to put me above the other person by judging them, maybe coming from a different source. If I felt inferior, not good enough. And then the idea of traffic—I love that you brought that up. That’s a big one for
me. I’m so impatient in traffic. Occasionally, I will look at it as training for my mind and my mindset. So I did something very unusual. Usually, I’ll go shopping, you know, in a crowded area. I’ll do it when it’s not going to be as crowded. Well, two days before Christmas, I kind of set this up so I would go grocery shopping in this area that has malls, and
it’s just so crowded that time of year. I said I am going to really work to not have any negative thoughts the whole time I’m doing this. And it was amazing. I would see those thoughts start to come up and go, no, I’m just going to enjoy the color of the sky or just wonder what this person is doing, what are they up to today? I would come
from a place of curiosity rather than that impatience. I love that example because you’re bringing up another point here. It’s not just going through life having an awareness of what we are doing. You are also setting an intention here. So you say, yeah, I’ve got an intention. I’m going into a place where I know I usually would not enjoy it so much, but I make it like my
little exercise now to go there with an intention to enjoy it and to be positive about everything that’s going on there. I think this is great because this helps us practice our mind. It’s one thing trying to be aware, but then we are so easily distracted and we just fall back into our patterns. But you, you’re starting with setting an intention. And I think, as we said, you
know, how can we integrate Qigong in our daily lives? I would say this is a perfect tool that any of our listeners can take and say, okay, now for the next hour or whatever, I go out with the intention of having only positive thoughts. So your mind is focused on what you are actually doing inside of your head here, rather than just accidentally catching yourself having a negative
thought. And so I think this is a great tool that we can all use in our daily life to practice it. And it is a Zhineng Qigong practice at the end of the day because we know from our great teachers that life is beautiful and everything is beautiful and everything is good the way it is. So there is no need, you know, to look and try to make
something negative. So that’s great. And next to the consciousness work, obviously, we also have the physical exercises. Is there any idea you could bring to the audience here of how to integrate the physical side into your daily life in an easy or playful way or in a way that works for you? Yeah. Yeah. First, I want to say one more thing about that, the practice in real life.
I got that from my older daughter, and she talked about weather training. She and her partner moved to Minneapolis, which is way north of where I am. And it’s a lot of really cold weather, so I kind of don’t like winter. So I started doing that same thing, going out when it was very cold, you know, waiting even until it was dark out. And like, I’m weather training.
And that whole idea of just training, you know, where, okay, if I can do this, get out in this winter and embrace it, you know, so it’s that idea of embracing those things that kind of push our buttons the most. And then as far as practices, wow. What popped into mind first was holding the body Qi Field because it’s such a, you know, it’s a stationary meditation. And
I’ll be honest, those are much more difficult for me. I love the moving, you know, where I’m moving my body, so. And I’ve been holding the body Qi Field every day lately. And it’s challenging because you really become aware of all that chatter in your mind. And some of it’s negative, some of it’s just, what am I going to have for dinner? You know, so that idea of
just coming back to stillness over and over and getting more quiet, I think is very beneficial. We have a way you can discover Qigong. So at the Huaxia Center, we know that understanding Qigong is very important and also that Zhineng Qigong in itself has various nuances that people can’t easily comprehend. So we’ve approached it in the style of a video game. On this page, Discover Qigong, you can
select your character. So you can either be a beginner, a practitioner, or a holistic healer or self-healer. And you click on your character, and it takes you to these different sections. In these sections, you can explore the nuances, and when you click on a card, all of the resources pop up. We’ve made it really fun, and not many people know about it. So if you are interested, have
a look and Discover Qigong. Right? And how do you… I mean, there are two kinds of people in the world. Some of them are just looking forward to their Zhineng Qigong exercise, and that’s why they are doing it. And then there are others who say, okay, I still need to do my Lift Qi Up or my Holding the Body Qi Field, or maybe I’ll do it in an
hour, maybe I’ll do it this afternoon, maybe I’ll do it this evening. And then it never happens. So what is your approach there? Okay. I have not that long ago shifted from the second type to the first. I used to just do it, okay, I’ll just do it when I want. And so often, you know, I’d be kind of rushing through my practice right before going to bed.
It just wasn’t as meaningful. So, it’s probably been four months since I’ve been practicing every day, first thing, you know, I practice. So that has made a tremendous difference. It’s not like a choice or a chore. It’s just this is what I do when I get up. And it really made a huge difference. And I had done it off and on in the past, but now I’ve really
set that intention to do it every day. So it’s again, intention here that makes you do it. There’s no, it’s not a question. Okay, shall I do it now? Should I not do it? It’s like you make a decision, you have a clear intention, and then you go for it. Right, right, right. And I’ve heard that when you’re trying to form a new habit, let’s say, flossing your
teeth every day, that I believe—and it was years ago I heard this—but that maybe after six weeks things just become so automatic, it becomes so much easier. You know, it’s not as much work to do that every day. Okay, cool. So what else is to add when you say how to integrate Qigong into your daily life? I had a lot of physical challenges after being my mother’s main
caregiver in her last few months of life. And I really kind of felt broken after that. And it wasn’t. She was 94. She was very much ready to die, but it was the stress. I’m not, I’m more of a right-brain artistic type. And I was managing her meds and getting up in the night and giving her meds and, you know, not sleeping well and just taking her to
Western medicine visits, which is challenging for me. So I really, while it was going on, I practiced a little bit every day, but then when it was over, it’s like, okay, Qigong is my. That’s how I’m going to get back to balance. Because I, like I said, I just felt kind of defeated by the whole experience. It sort of opened my eyes to how it made me feel
like I kind of couldn’t trust the universe, that, oh, life can be much harder than I had realized, you know, so that was carried over from something as a child, or, you know, something I had a belief of as a child that life is scary. It’s hard and difficult. Through my training with Qigong and other things over the years, I came to really embrace life and be more
positive. But this kind of put me right back there, like that little girl who was scared and didn’t trust anything. So the Qigong practice has just been huge on so many levels. It’s around opening my heart to the Western medicine that was so difficult for me to be part of. But I, you know, accepting that that was her choice and just taking time every day to be with
myself and really nourish myself. All of the Qigong practices do that for me. I’ve been even more intentional about it lately, just kind of getting in touch with that part of me from when I was a little girl that was so afraid and getting in touch with that part of me that doesn’t like to manage things and be, you know, very stick to a schedule and all of
those things. So, so what you’re saying here is that in times when life is not so friendly towards us, so when we are faced with situations that are more challenging than our normal everyday life, that then using Qigong and focusing on Qigong is a great way of, you know, helping us to get through it, right? Yes, and it feels like it’s at my core, it’s my way to
ground and get centered. And really before I began practicing Qigong, I just didn’t have that. I was kind of flailing around looking for something like that. I did Tai Chi, which was wonderful, but just didn’t go as deep for me. And I tried stationary meditation, some Buddhist meditations. Again, didn’t really work for me. And then with Qigong, it was like, oh, this is it. Although I have to
say, after I first went to a demonstration, it took me quite a while to commit, but once I did, it was just life-changing on all levels. What are the insights that you’re getting when you’re doing Zhineng Qigong in this particular situation? So you’re with your dying mother, and obviously, this is a challenging time for you, and you use the practice now. What are the insights? What are the
thoughts? I mean, one thing you mentioned, which is opening up your heart to Western medicine, which is, you know, while I’m saying it’s already, there’s a part in my mind that says how can you even do that? Right. Because you know, we all think there’s so much evil about it, which obviously there isn’t. I mean, Western medicine has its place, but our natural way of doing things is
obviously with natural health methods. But this is a great insight, I think, where you can say, okay, well, there’s no point in me resisting that. And also there is, you know, another person involved, and she also makes choices, and I respect these choices, and she will have her good reasons. So it’s now Western medicine, something that I’m normally trying to avoid as much as possible. You know, are
there any other thought processes or insights you had while you were taking care of your mother and working with Qigong through that time? Yes. And I love the way you said resisting what’s happening because I would catch myself doing that at the very end. She, after she quit, she was at home, but in hospice care. And then family, she quit eating. And then there was. And I thought,
and then I read online people usually die within two to three days. Well, it was 11 days with no food, no water. And I was resisting that. I was like, why is she having to suffer? Like as if I knew best. And then I just had to open and trust the process, you know, that maybe she’s processing things that I know nothing about. And I think that’s just
huge with not just the situation with my mom, but with everything. I’m realizing more and more there’s just so much I don’t know. And so I can’t. You know, I know this piece of it, and I might. It might not fit in with what I value or want, you know, but there’s just so much I don’t understand, and just. That’s kind of takes a weight off my shoulders,
like I don’t have to know why this is happening like this. Yes. And it’s also a humbling experience because once we really have the insight that we know very little, then all our judgments and thoughts become less important because chances are they are wrong anyway, as we only have a tiny little bit of information about what’s going on. And then we can relax about things because we don’t
have to insist on a certain way or on certain truths that we feel is so. So that’s a great, yeah, a great example. And I’d also like to go a little bit back here at where we started because I missed that point. But I know that this is an important point for many in our audience because you said you were dealing with depression when you met Zhineng Qigong,
and I’ve seen people that found Zhineng Qigong and they worked their way out of depression, but I’ve also seen others that kind of didn’t get the right angle or I don’t know how to express it better, where, you know, they struggle, and it didn’t really move them to where they wanted to get. So is there anything you could share with us about this experience? Maybe. I think I
was just desperate. You know, I had two kids. I, it was, I think I was 48. I mean, they weren’t little at that point, but 10 and six maybe. So kind of young and. And I just was so motivated to be a better, you know, I was a really good parent. I didn’t trust that for a long time. But then I saw my kids are wonderful. So I’m
doing a lot of things right, and I want to be a better role model. I don’t want them to see this person who’s sad and who overeats and comforts herself and gets numb, you know. So I think that was just such huge motivation. And then I started with Deborah Lissom, who is the woman who. Here in the States, who live not far from me, and she’s the one
who brought Teacher Liu to the United States for the first time. And, you know, of course, it was a process, but I just trusted it. It just felt. I think I was just so ready for it because I was just sick of things, just that, you know, couldn’t wait to get in bed at night. And so I was just very willing to trust and dive in. And that
was a process, too. At first, it was just I would force myself to go to class, or sometimes my husband, who’s so supportive, would just say, those weeks when I was saying, I don’t think I’ll go today, he’ll say, well, you know, maybe that’s when you need it the most, and gently encouraged me to go. So having support around it is great. Maybe if other people are having
that same issue, they can see if they can get a friend involved or just ask someone to be accountable to them. You know, when it really shifted for me was in my health was in 2010, and I went to my first retreat with Teacher Liu at Oakwood in Muncie, Indiana. It’s on a farm, a wonderful space. And after that retreat, I, you know, did the whole retreat and
had a couple of individual healings with a man called Master Mang Teacher Mang. And I just had, when I got home, this shift in everything in mindset. Suddenly I started eating the foods that would support my body, and the depression had gradually cleared. There was just this big push forward, a real movement forward. I’ll hear two things that I would like to come back to. The first thing
is that now in depression, often we have no motivation at all. But you seem to have been coming from a place where you were kind of so fed up with, you know, being depressed and what it means for your daily life, that there. That there was a counterbalance, a counter power, something else within you that really said, yeah, I want to get rid of it. Right. And that
is, I think, an important factor because depression, by definition, is kind of, let me lie in bed and not do anything, right? So to connect to this part within you that says, I don’t want that, that must have been important. And then the support of your husband or, you know, it could be of other people as well, to carry you to the training if necessary, and. And to
do things. And the second thing that I noticed when you explained that is that you actually took the positive experiences that you had. So there were some successes in the workshop. There were some healing. Yeah. When you were with Master Liu and Master Mang, there were some things that shifted, something, and you kind of took it as a reference to say, well, if that is possible, then, you
know, let me work more. Let me do more. Right. And I think this is a secret I wish that everybody understands because most of the Zhineng Qigong practitioners, they have this experience at one place or another. Yeah. That some miracle happens or some major shift happens because of Zhineng Qigong, but they tend to forget about that rather than, you know, keeping this like a lighthouse in front of
them and saying, okay, well, I’ve seen it works.. So now let me continue on my path now. Let me use it for the other goals I have, and let me continue, you know, the journey I’m on. So I think that’s. It’s from what you explain and how you explained it, you seem to have taken these examples of where you had successes and built on it. Is that fair
to say, or am I making it up? Yes, no, no. Two things about that. When I had this one healing with Master Mang, it was just deeply spiritual, and I felt this oneness with the universe that I had never felt. When I walked out of there, every blade of grass was, you know, just glowing. I was 100% present. So that showed me what was possible then. Yeah, I’m
human. It was a process. I definitely, you know, it was a big step forward. But there was and still are, you know, where I backslide and move forward again. But just that, knowing what’s possible, that. That sense of oneness and presence and peacefulness, you know, that I know that now. So I. I. As I backslide, I can say, wait, wait. This is where I want to move, you
know? Right. And that’s what I mean. So don’t forget these things. Right. Keep them present, because, you know, when the. Hit the fan and there’s other stuff happening, we so easily forget about these things while this is the moment when we need them the most. This reference to say, okay, I know what it can be like, and I know what’s possible. So, yeah, always remember these things and
treasure them. And I can tell because you’re still talking about it very vividly, so although it was many years ago, you seem to treasure it, and you seem to keep. Keep it present within you. So. So I think this is a great tip for anyone who’s in a situation like you’ve just described. Yeah. Yeah, definitely. Is there anything you’d like to add to these points or anything you’d
like to explore a little further that we have touched upon? Well, and we might have touched upon this, but the idea of releasing heart stones as a way to bring the practice into daily life has been, for me. I had a very difficult relationship with my father. And there was, you know, like I said, I grew up fearful and with some trauma, and I had very gradually released
some of that. But it would still be like, when I thought of him, there was this mix. There was the love, but there was also this, you know, and it’s just recently that when I think of him, there’s just the love left, that’s all. So that was a big piece of that. I’ve been doing a lot of work, but a big piece of that was at one retreat
at Oakwood with Master Liu, where we did an exercise to release heart stones, a practice. And I was a puddle in the corner just sobbing. And so much of it came out. So that was a big step forward. And then it was a more gradual process after that, including EMDR. Therapy was wonderful, and I think it works really well with Qigong. You know, I kind of included that
in my practice. In some ways, you know, you’re dealing with trauma and you’re. You watch a bouncing ball or have a clicker in each hand. And they used to think it was the actual movement of the eyes imitating REM sleep and bringing things from being. Trauma stays so present, more putting it in the past where it belongs. Now they think it’s right brain, left brain, you know, the
awareness going from right brain to left brain back and forth. But, yeah, it’s been a wonderful tool for my process. Okay, that’s great. I mean, I don’t know much about it. I’ve heard about it, and it seems, because you said it’s working well within Zhineng Qigong. I mean, in Zhineng Qigong, we also have this idea that, you know, if it belongs in the past, that’s. If it’s the
past, it belongs in the past. And our focus is on the present and in defining our future. But it’s one thing to know that, and it’s another to do the emotional work that is involved with it. And I don’t know the exact exercise you did with Master Liu there in Oakwood, but I know that resolving heart stones is an important part of his work, and I’m glad it
works so well for you. Here. Yeah. Yeah, thanks. Yeah, it was basically, you know, the brief version. He would have us imagine a person sitting in front of us, and I did it with my father and just connecting to them, even though he was no longer living. Connecting with them heart to heart, mind to mind, and just really connecting with their essence. You know, their true self that
may have gotten, you know, twisted and turned along the way, but that their. Their essence, that best part of them with our best part. And it’s very powerful. Beautiful. Okay, wonderful. Anything else that we’ve left out or anything you’d like to explore a little further? Well, and I don’t know if this is useful, but I’ll talk about it a little bit. Another kind of therapy that I have
done on my own through a book. I have no bad parts. It’s internal family systems. And I have found I’ve been using that to deal with the things around my mom’s caregiving. And it works beautifully with qigong. But it’s about. I was talking about that part of me that was a frightened little child and that part of me that really doesn’t like to manage things. And you kind
of just get in touch with and nurture those parts of yourself. So to me, like I say, it really connects nicely with Qigong. And I kind of find myself doing both at once. It just kind of opens. It’s just very opening. Mother, you’ve also mentioned that Zhineng Qigong has changed your views on aging. So that will be something I’d like to go into a little bit further because
that is also part of our daily life. I mean, daily life means, you know, we are aging. So how has it altered your views? How has it changed your views? Yeah, well, I think as a culture, what I was picking up is that a lot of people in our society and media kind of see aging as just, okay, you’re just going downhill and you’ll just lose more and
more abilities and talents and skills. And with Zhineng Qigong, I feel like I have more control over how the rest of my life goes in such a wonderful way. Control over my health. And, you know, I use very little Western medicine and just with my mindset becoming more and more peaceful. And we do have loss, we do have changes, we do have suffering as we grow older and
lose friends. And with Zhineng Qigong, I feel so much support for these processes, you know, and again, especially that idea of having control over my health and how my life goes. Right, right. So, and this is a great point, because it’s not only aging, it is really the idea of being responsible for your own health. And that is something that quite a few people actually get wrong because
they think Zhineng Qigong is a method that does something to me, or there is a teacher that heals me, and it’s actually the opposite. It’s really trusting your own abilities to do the healing, to do the work, and to. To create the life that you want. So I love that you bring it up when we talk about aging, because as you said, most of us have the idea
that with aging, we are losing control there. But this gives you a lot of confidence that you have something to say, that you have a tool, a method that can direct your life no matter what age and can make sure you’re not this helpless person. And so I think that’s a great thing to add, and it fits perfectly into your how to integrate Zhineng Qigong into your daily
life. Because this is a huge part of our daily life. Exactly. And if I do see myself getting discouraged or feeling, you know, defeated or something, it’s like, wait a minute, I have these tools, and it’s just being willing. It’s work and it’s joy, but just having that discipline to use these tools, it’s life changing. That’s beautiful finishing words for our little episode today, Martha. So thank you
very much, and it was a pleasure to have you on the show, and I hope to see you soon again, maybe for another episode for more of your wisdom and more of your ideas. Well, and thank you, Torsten. It was a pleasure, and you really made the process very pleasant. Thanks. We trust you enjoyed this conversation, and we invite you to subscribe to our podcast so we can
stay in touch and notify you of future episodes. We will end today’s episode with the Eight Verses Meditation performed by Zhineng Qigong teacher Katrien Hendrickx. Enjoy. To get your free ebook on the Eight Verses Meditation, please check the show notes below.
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