The Energy that wants to move. Today will be the end of our exploration of restlessness. We’ve looked at its many faces—in the body, in the mind, in emotion, in effort, in spiritual seeking.
Now let's return to it with fresh eyes: not as something to overcome, but as energy—moving through us, asking to be met.
Restlessness is often misunderstood. We think it means something is wrong, but what if it’s just a sign of life?
Of aliveness looking for rhythm… for expression… for a place to land? In Qigong, energy isn’t pushed down or pushed away—it’s moved, guided, and eventually settled. The same is true in meditation. We don’t suppress the restlessness—we make space for it, and in doing so, it transforms.
During your meditation, allow stillness to return without forcing it, but by meeting the energy with acceptance.
Notice what remains, not silence, instead of restlessness, but silence that holds restlessness.
The path is already unfolding. Thank you for being here. Leia
Filmed on the temple grounds around the Wudang, mountains
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Video Summary
AI Generated
This session focuses on accepting restlessness as a natural part of the human experience rather than a hindrance to be eliminated. By embracing this energy through mindfulness and Qigong, practitioners learn to coexist with agitation, using it as a catalyst for growth and discovery while maintaining a grounded spiritual practice.
Welcome back to the last day that we will explore restlessness.
We've explored it, how it shows up in the body,
how it shows up in the mind, how it shows up as
energy wanting us to move, as energy wanting us to do.
It shows up as a spiritual agitation
and today we are just going to look at accepting it.
This agitation, this restlessness
Restlessness also means that we're alive.
Remember how I told you that there's something in me avoiding,
but it's also something that wants to learn
and live and grow and discover.
So my restlessness has taken me all over the world,
and I've learned so much through this restlessness.
So let's make room for the restlessness.
Mindfulness is not about pushing anything away.
It's about moving it around, accommodating it,
and allowing it to settle somewhere.
It's a part of being human.
And it can actually be a lot of fun if you let yourself go with it.
Let it take you where it wants to take you.
Accept it, enjoy it, and don't fight it.
It's still possible to meditate even when you're restless.
It's still possible to have a spiritual practice
even when you want to jump around from practice to practice.
What we're doing is we're getting to know ourselves on a deeper level,
accepting ourselves
on a deeper level, and whichever hindrances
show up for us, making room for them.
Now let's do our qigong practice sitting
on the edge of the chair like we always do.
We will start by sinking the qi.
Drop the hand,
collect the energy,
sink it into the belly.
Now hold your hands in front of your belly and let's do circles,
qi circles, circling
In front of the Dan Tien.
Find a breathing rhythm.
You can do any multiple of six.
Let's
do
24.
24. Are you ready?
Now we're going to take the energy and have it go the other way.
24 times.
Stay with yourself. Stay in the present moment.
Stay with your breath.
And
24.
Drop
the
hands.
Collect the energy.
Sink it into the belly.
And let's take a moment
before the next exercise.
As I've already told you,
you can do as long or as short as you wish in between each one.
Reflecting on all that we've been talking about this week.
Okay, for the last one of the 8 Brocade Series,
you take your toes and you stretch them as far as you can.
Keeping your feet on the ground.
And now lean back.
And now shift and come up on a diagonal forward
and bend down and touch your toes.
Come back,
lean, and here
you reach,
bend forward,
come back,
reach, toes,
now come
up, take a moment,
you can either keep your feet forward or you can bring them in while
you're resting, it makes no difference,
either way is good, let you choose.
Okay, bring them back
if you brought them in,
lifting back, reaching,
forward, come
Forward and
Set, back, forward,
and touch your toes.
Come back, in with your belly,
taking a moment to be with yourself.
Keeping your feet
on the ground.
And now, lean back,
and now shift and come up on a diagonal forward,
and bend down and touch your toes.
Come back, lean,
and here you reach,
bend forward.
Come
back,
reach,
the toes.
Now come up,
take a moment.
Okay, drop the hands,
bring the energy into the heart,
share it with everybody, bring
it back into the heart, and down.
Thank you so much for showing up,
and thank you so much for allowing restlessness to walk
beside you, recognizing your humanity and not trying to fix anything.
See you next week for sloth
and torpor.
