The miracle of self-healing

The smell of incense wafts through the room, relaxing my mind. The sound of nature fills my ears. I sit with my eyes closed, my legs crossed on an exercise mat and hold my hands in mid-air with my palms facing each other. As I inhale, I move them apart; as I exhale, I bring them close together.

I focus on the space between my hands as I repeat this steady movement. After a few minutes, I enter a trance-like state and feel a magnetic ball of energy pulling my hands together.

Energy work

That's qigong or ‘energy work' — an ancient Chinese meditative practice that promises to re-balance your energy through controlled breathing techniques and slow exercises. It is used to strengthen the mind and body, cure health problems such as headaches, stress and heart diseases and connect you to the universe.

Although fairly popular in the West, qigong is not well-known in the Middle East. Deanna Fries, who teaches qigong at the Dubai Ladies Club in Jumeirah, says: "Dubai is a very hectic place. It's wonderful and exciting here, but there's a great lack of balance. Dubai residents in particular can benefit from qigong."

To help regain your balance, Fries takes students through four stages in her two-hour class.

The first stage is body tapping, which involves gently striking all parts of your body, moving from the head to the toes. This clears blockages and encourages energy flow in the body. The next step is yoga-like stretching exercises. Students are taught to breathe using the abdomen and stimulate the dan tien or the body's centre of gravity. The third stage includes breathing exercises to stimulate the dan tien.

Finally, students perform qigong exercises to focus on posture and slow, soft, graceful movements.

Verdict

Despite my scepticism, by the end of the two hours, I felt more relaxed. I was surprised I had sensed my energy, and also that I maintained difficult positions for long periods by focusing on my breathing. If you are interested in learning qigong go with an open mind. You might be surprised.

sanam islam is a Dubai-based freelancer

Deanna holds Qigong classes at the dubai ladies club on sundays and wednesdays from 9am and at the monarch hotel on sundays from 6.30pm. each two-hour session costs Dh130

e-mail: deana@re-balance.eu

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