Qigong for Burnout

Qigong for burnout is very essential for modern people in the modern day and age. Burnout is a very common problem in the workforce. In the fast and high-demand world, we need to have practices like qigong that will help us balance our energy. This will help us to have more positivity and do well in our work. Try this FREE Qigong for Burnout Video above by White Tiger Qigong Instructor, Elly Burgonio. This qigong routine will help you relieve burnout and feel more amazing. Save the video to try it with your friends, workmate, and family whenever you need. 

What is Qigong?

Qigong is an ancient practice that deals with energy. The direct translation, "qi" means "energy" and "gong" means "to work". A very short definition through these translations of qigong, qigong means "working on energy". 

In qigong, we use a balance of movement and meditation to cultivate and conserve our energy. 

The 3 Treasures / Energy of the Body 

When we say energy in Chinese Medicine and qigong practice it has different meanings. Energy can be divided into three aspects. These three are called the 3 Treasures.  

First, is Jing, or our "life source". We receive this energy from conception and we already have it when we are born. 

Next, is Qi or "energy". This is the energy that flows in the body and allows for our body and organs to function. Qi can be cultivated from our Jing and outside sources such as the food and drink we consume. 

Lastly for the 3 Treasures is the Shen or " spirit". The Shen more closely connects to the mind, consciousness, intellect, and reasoning. When we have enough Qi in the body we can cultivate our Shen. If our Shen is well cultivated, have a clearer mind, reach consciousness, improve our intellect, have better reasoning, and many more. When our Shen is properly cultivated, then we reach the state of Wu Wei which means "nothingness", " emptiness", or "infinite". 

What is Burnout? 

Burn-out is defined in the 11th Revision of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11) as an occupational phenomenon.

 ICD-11 defined Burn-out as:

“Burn-out is a syndrome conceptualized as resulting from chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed. It is characterized by three dimensions:

feelings of energy depletion or exhaustion; increased mental distance from one’s job, or feelings of negativism or cynicism related to one's job; and reduced professional efficacy.

Burn-out refers specifically to phenomena in the occupational context and should not be applied to describe experiences in other areas of life.”

What is Qigong for Burnout?

We can use Qigong for Burnout to help us balance our energy. When we feel burn-out we feel energy depletion. This might be because you are depleting the energy and life source in your kidneys. When our energy is depleted we cannot have more positivity with doing our work. This causes mental distance in one's job. Therefore, this decreases professional efficacy. 

Every day there are a lot of tasks that need a lot of energy. With the high demands of the modern world, our body responds and the Sympathetic Nervous System is always activated. This means that the fight or flight response is always active. When this happens, our system does not have enough time to reset, rest, and regenerate. 

For our bodies to adapt well to the modern world's demands we need to balance our daily lifestyle. Connecting back to the body and nourishing it by doing movements that help cultivate energy allows the body to regain the high demands of energy it needs every day. This helps us to relieve burnout. This also us have more energy to do your daily tasks with more positivity, vigor, and vitality.

How does Qigong for Burnout work?

Doing qigong for burnout helps us cultivate energy back into our bodies. There are specific qigong exercises that focus on bringing in and cultivating energy into the kidney. Other exercises also help us to open up the meridian energy pathways of the body to release stagnations and allow energy to flow more smoothly.  

The kidney is known to hold our Jing. When we deplete our kidneys we are also depleting our life source. Therefore, depleting everything we have. 

Doing qigong regularly helps balance our energy which is very much essential with the high energy demand of the modern world. 

Qigong for Burnout Exercises

The Wave / Dragon Back 

The Wave or the Dragon Back from the 8 Trigram Organ Qigong is a gentle qigong that can be done by anyone. With its slow waving motion and angulation of the spine, it helps pump energy to the spine as well as the Kidney. 

The wave motion of this exercise allows the energy to flow more smoothly in the spine. The spine is also known to run along the energy vessels of the body along the centerline of the body. It is one of the most important structures in the body that helps transmit necessary information to and from the brain. When the spine is compressed or has blockages our energy cannot flow smoothly and our energy can be blocked. 

Doing The Wave or Dragon Back helps us to balance our overall energy. This helps us relieve burnout by releasing stagnation and improving the energy flow in the body. 

Two Hands Holding the Kidneys

The Two Hands Holding the Kidney from the Meridian Qigong system open up the front line and back line of the body. This is a very good qigong exercise that helps increase our energy for its full body energy opening movement. By putting our hands in the lower back as we bend backward and compress the back we help release any negative energy or blockages that are pent up in the kidneys. When we release the back to a neutral position and as we inhale we bring in fresh energy to the area we compressed into the kidney. 

As we open up the body and bring fresh energy to the kidney we bring it more vigor, positivity, and vitality. This helps us have more positive energy to work and avoid burnout. This is also very good to generate energy before it after work to help you have better energy for or from the day. 

Separating Heaven and Earth 

The Separating Heaven and Earth qigong from the 8 Trigram Organ Qigong helps us to ground our energy at the same time gives a gentle squeeze in the organs. Through this qigong, we help open up the meridians in the arms and release blockages. A lot of times when we are in fight or flight mode our energy also rises and we need to balance this energy by grounding it. 

The Separating Heaven and Earth qigong help us ground our energy at the same time, it still allows us to connect to the energy above or the heaven. This helps us release old energy and ground our energy but at the same time still allows the energy to flow naturally by the balancing of the heaven and earth energy. 

This qigong exercise is a very good exercise to balance and open up our energy which helps us to have good energy to work, relieve or avoid burn-out. 

Learn more about Qigong for Burnout 

If you want to learn more about how you can use qigong exercises to relieve burn-out you can also check out our Qigong for Stress and Anger Course. You can also check the different qigong systems you can use, like the 8 Trigram Organ Qigong course and the 5 Element Qigong course.