Reciprocity

Reciprocity: The practice of exchanging things with others for mutual benefit
Giving and Receiving. Reciprocity. Balance. We thrive on exchange, give and take, to survive as living beings. In Wisdom Healing Qigong, we learn the practice of Lachi as a way to cultivate, give and receive life giving energy to ourselves, others and the universe.  We open and close our hands and visualize cultivating the brilliant, beautiful light of chi concentrating as we close, and expanding as we open. We cultivate, give and receive a great gift with this practice–the gift of energy, connection and healing for ourselves, for each other and for our planet Earth.

“The open and close rhythm is the principle rhythm of all life.” Think about our bodies, our world, our lives. Our breath is about opening and filling our lungs with beautiful oxygen, and then closing and releasing CO2 to the atmosphere. Our hearts beat with the rhythm of expanding and gathering, sending out blood to become oxygenated and then receiving and sending that blood to all parts of our amazing physiology. The universe itself expands and contracts. Lachi is about an energy exchange with the universe unlike our usual autonomic exchanges. It’s like we purposefully become a chi pump or chi bellows to breathe energetically with the universe, with the Source Energy. Not only do we as usual take part in the O2/CO2 exchange with the world, we now are learning to exchange and enhance the positive energy on this planet, in this universe.

We chant while doing Lachi in order to focus our minds to make this exchange happen. We say Kai when we open our hands. Kai means to open, expand, liberate, and open to the chi energy around us. Think about opening and releasing all blockages and negativity. Open and let your minds and hearts be clear. Hui means to close, contract, draw inward, unite. As we close our hands, we visualize bringing life giving energy to each of our cells, organs, and glands. We envision receiving the pure white light into our centers and connecting with the highest wisdom inside ourselves.

In our classes here in Bishop, we have learned preliminary qigong practices that also are about expanding and contracting, giving and receiving. In Spinal Bone Marrow, the spine contracts and expands as we rotate and relax. In Chen Chi, we receive chi into our hearts as we draw the shoulder blades together, and we open or offer chi into the universe as we thrust our arms outward. “Open to release, close to purify and nourish.” Focus on the exchange, the receiving and the giving, the balance. Giving and Receiving. Reciprocity. Balance. Haola! All is well and getting better!