Your Fountain of Youth with Lee Holden

Thousands of years ago, the ancients made a profound discovery.

Humans could experience a longer life with more radiant health simply by mirroring the movements of nature Over the centuries.

They developed practices known as Qi Gong.

During my last 25 years of teaching these practices I've seen remarkable transformations as my students tap into their own life force energy.

This is the real fountain of youth Not hidden in some far away land but inside each one of us.

Each episode is a complete Qi Gong routine focused on one aspect of preventative health and wellness.

So try them all To discover which leaves you feeling the most nourished radiant and uplifted.

These routines are simple, gentle movements that don't require any special clothing or equipment.

All you need to do now is stand up, get ready to move And I'll be your guide to your very own Fountain of Youth About 1 in 3 Americans have been diagnosed with high blood pressure long term stress is a key factor in high blood pressure stress keeps the brain in a hyperactive state this leads to blood vessel contraction faster heartbeats and less blood flowing to the extremities this causes elevated blood pressure by relaxing the system and lowering blood pressure these potential problems are greatly reduced There's a saying in Qi Gong that goes flowing water doesn't get stagnant now the same is true for the body's energy When we keep this internal life force energy circulating inner balance relaxation happen naturally stress contracts the energy system which in turn constricts the blood vessels When we relax the vessels dilate and the Qi flows research shows that daily practice of Qi Gong can dramatically lower blood pressure and without any negative side effects I encourage you to try it for yourself take your blood pressure before and after practice this routine should produce short-term and long-term lasting effects do the workout daily for best results enjoy the serene redwood forest and relax into the flow as you practice the ancient art of Qi Gong Welcome to Qi Gong for high blood pressure this routine will help calm the mind relax the body and keep you stress-free begin by bringing both hands over the lower abdomen take some nice long slow deep breaths deep abdominal breathing can bring the energy down and out of the head keeping the body centered and balanced as you inhale allow the abdomen to expand and as you exhale abdomen moves towards the spine in Qi Gong we want to bring energy down down to the center out and away from the neck and shoulders and the head this will help to clear stress keep you centered and energized now bring the hands down to your sides turn from your hips and your waist and we'll do a movement called water waves water waves helps to calm and relax the mind bring you into the present moment keep you grounded and centered take some deep breaths into the abdomen turn from your hips and your waist relax your upper back your neck and your shoulders bend the knees slightly and feel the air move through the fingers and go across the arms feel the feet connected to the earth this movement helps to bring energy down keeps us connected breath here is slow deep and relaxed feel that the movement pushes away clears out any worries or stress especially stress and worries that accumulate in the mind feel the hands gliding through the air staying soft cool and relaxed hands moving through the air clear away worries and stress anything weighing heavy on the mind and take that feeling of being balanced and centered and come back without movement feet on the ground notice how your body feels take a nice deep breath and just start to feel that relaxation moving through you now inhale and open your chest exhale and round your spine take a big deep breath and look up round your back tuck your tailbone under and look down this is called spinal cord breathing this helps to balance the nervous system when we take full breaths and move the spine it helps to calm and clear stress and tension out of the nervous system inhale as you look up exhale round the back tuck the tailbone under feel all the joints in your spine moving inhale up exhale round the back synchronize the breath and the movement inhale open the chest exhale round the back feel any tension or tightness releasing out of the spine clearing out of the muscles next to the back inhale bring more energy into the system exhale clear stress and tension inhale bring in positive energy exhale release any negative energy spinal-cord breathing is a wonderful way to stay balanced flexible and stress-free bring your hands down to the sides and then bring your feet a little closer together both hands by the heart now breathe into the belly feel connected feel grounded feel your feet connected to the earth now bend your knees push your hands to the right and your head turns left then take your hands over to the left and your head turns right I'm going to do your mirror image here so just follow along this is called swimming dragon hands go left head turns right and switch hands to the right heads to the left back and forth and this is a wonderful exercise to stretch the spine release tension through the muscles and strengthen the energy your knees are bent and when your head turns left your hips follow so head and hips now turn to the right hands go left hands go right head and hips left now come a little bit lower same movement but your hands are now by the solar plexus going back and forth head moves in the opposite direction of the hands in Qi Gong and in Chinese medicine the liver and the liver energy controls the blood pressure swimming dragon is an exercise to relax and invigorate the liver energy to bring energy downward to keep us stress-free clear as well as flexible and strong in the body bring your hands down a little bit lower fingers pointing down knees are together hands going in the opposite direction as the head in the hips a little bit of a weight shift both knees stay bent through the whole exercise going back and forth this part of the movement is called the dragon tail so the hands are like the dragon's tail going back and forth and the spine stretching keeping your body flexible strong supple and relaxed and now bring both hands over the lower abdomen feel the energy centered take some deep breaths each movement each exercise helps to balance the internal energy let's do it again bend your knees going into swimming dragon hands go one way head and hips go in the opposite direction and this movement when the head goes in the opposite direction of the arms is said to clear confusing energy out of the mind so it's also good for clear thinking releasing mental stress or worries or when the mind over thinks it's said that this also creates tension in the back especially the neck and shoulders so feel all that releasing and stretching hands are now down by the solar plexus hands going one way head turns in the opposite direction stay loose through the hips keep the knees bent the whole entire exercise head and hips go one way hands go in the other direction these movements that go in opposite directions are really good for the brain help the right and left brain communicate stay in sync and again bring hands back into the lower abdomen feel centered feel balanced feet are on the ground breath in the belly inhale allow the abdomen to expand exhale hands come down to the sides stepping back out shoulder-width and another dragon exercise this is called dragon stretches its tail I'm going to look at both hands and then press away and turn the head in the opposite direction look at the left hand press it away and turn the head over the right shoulder look at the left hand turn and then look over the right shoulder now inhale as you look at the hand and exhale as you turn and stretch inhale look at the hand exhale press and turn this will clear tension and tightness out of the upper back and neck now hold the stretch breathe into it spread your fingers take some deep breaths if you can turn the head a little further then drop the hands down to the sides notice the energy flowing down that left arm to the fingertips and let's do the same thing over to the right side inhale look at the right hand exhale press and turn and stretch inhale lookat the right hand exhale press turn and stretch use the breath to help release tension and tightness out of the neck and shoulders when the neck and shoulders release tension energy that accumulates in the head or the upper body gets discharged and released as well exhale as you twist and inhale look at the hands hold the stretch breathe into it when we stretch the body it frees it up gets that Qi to circulate and flow bring your hands down arms relaxed feel the flow of energy going from the neck and shoulders all the way to the fingertips now bring your right hand up in front of you and then exchange with the left left up in front push the right hand on top of the left palm and go back and forth the hands are gliding right by the ribcage and this frees up the tension through the ribs and the middle spine this movement is called repulse the monkey the monkey has to do with overthinking it's called the monkey mind when thoughts just repeat repeat and repeat so feel here that you're cleansing and clearing and pushing away stress tension and tightness old energy out of the body and old energy out of the mind pump the energy right by the ribcage exhale as you push through and then inhale with the other side and exhale and push through inhale with the other side just let your breath be relaxed and deep and deep feel the movement in your torso going back and forth pulsing the energy through the body now bring your hands in front of you arms are round take a few deep breaths here feel your feet on the ground feel your breath in the lower abdomen and even imagine roots extended out through the bottoms of the feet into the earth this whole routine is going to keep you grounded and energy downward so that the blood pressure starts to lower and we feel balanced and centered now take a nice deep breath we're gonna do repulse the monkey again pushing through and expanding the arms a little bit more now so the hand comes back behind you and then swims by your ear down through the forearm to the hand so let that arm glide back and behind you and exhale as you push through inhale and expand exhale as you push through feel this calm cool energy moving through the head clearing any mental stress anything weighing heavy in the mind push it out arms open exhale clearing worries stress and tension when the arms open it's a symbol or a sign to open the mind to the universe to keep your mind spacious keep the mind calm and relaxed push-out worries and we bring in inner peace inhale and exhale keep the movement slow and fluid like you're swimming through water arms gliding through the air like you're swimming in water slow graceful movements calm the nervous system balance the body's energy and clear the mind now hold a posture called embracing the tree arms are round and in front of you knees are bent feel your tailbone drawn down towards the feet or down towards the earth and imagine that you have roots extended through the bottoms of the feet and just breathe cool calm energy up from those roots into the legs and into your lower abdomen calm cool clear energy from the feet up into the lower abdomen now bring your arms down down to your sides and then scoop up some energy and pour it down from the head down the front of the body to the lower abdomen like you're dipping your hands in water and pouring the water down through the body this movement is called waterfall calm clear energy flowing through you and inhale and then exhale right down the front of the body take a nice deep breath exhale down the front of the body your hips push forward as the hands come to the forehead and the hips glide back as your hands go down glide the hips back as the hands come down push the hips forward as the hands come up to the forehead hips going forward and then gliding back feel this cool energy washing downward from the forehead down through the torso down into the legs this movement helps to lower blood pressure also helps to wash clear mental stress and fill the body up with calm peaceful relaxed energy exhale as you come down inhale float the arms up feel the body moving like water slow graceful movement gather that water like energy and let itflow down through you the energy from the forehead to the lower abdomen is an internal path of energy a river of energy and when this opens up blood pressure lowers we stay relaxed and energized now bring the hands up and out to your sides and then drop the hands downward inhale take a nice deep breath and then exhale hands down palms face towards the ground inhale slowly let the hands lift palms face towards the ground exhale drop the energy down into the earth this is called pulling down the sky and here feel the energy descend downward feel the feet on the ground waves of relaxing energy moving from the head down through the chest down to the abdomen down out through the legs to the earth a few minutes of pulling down the sky has shown to lower blood pressure also feel the sense of just calmness and clarity let's add an internal breathing exercise to this when you exhale exhale with a heee like a whisper heee whisper this is a healing sound that is said to lower blood pressure and calm the mind inhale through the nose as you come up exhale with a heee sound as you come down inhale heee exhale now feel the energy going downward feel warm current going down through the legs all the way to the feet the head stays cool and calm the energy descends down now bring your hands down to your sides notice how your body feels take some deep breaths calm clear energy in the head relaxed energy in your body now again bring the hands up shoulder height this is called pulling down the sky to the six directions feel a sense of connection to the energy of the horizon left and right and then connect to the energy in front and behind you by rotating the waist one arm in front the other behind now bring the hands up over the head and then draw the energy down from the head to the feet connecting to the earth bring the hands up connect to the horizons expand your mind in all directions turn the hips and the waist one arm in front the other behind hands come up over the head and then relax as you come down gather cool calm relaxing energy in all directions above the head down to the earth out to the left and to the right the front and the back the universe above the earth below inhale float the arms up exhale as you twist inhale gather energy from above exhale sink the energy down to the earth let it flow expand your mind expand your energy calm clear mind energized relaxed body inhale float the arms up exhale as yourotate inhale float up exhale as you come down and bring your feet together hands near the lower abdomen left hand circles around and comes right down the midline of the body then the right hand circles and comes down the midline of the body inhale gather energy exhale center the energy inhale and gather exhale and center feel the energy of the head the heart and the belly in balance nice clear pathway down from the head all the way to the lower abdomen energy of the head is our thoughts energy of the heart our emotions the energy of the belly is the body thoughts emotions and body stress free calm and relaxed inhale and exhale feel like you can gather your resources gather your strength and your power bring it into your center we often scatter our energy in our work our friends family all the things that we have to do we invest a lot of energy in our life now bring it back to yourself bring your power your resources your energy back into your center inhale as the arms circles exhale as you come down gather your resources gather your energy mind calm heart open energy centered bring both hands over the lower abdomen take some nice deep breaths this is called bamboo in the wind feel your feet grounded and rooted feel your body relaxed and then just gently rock and sway a little bit let all that energy that you cultivated through your practice move through you let it move through you in just the right way where it lowers blood pressure calms the mind keeps your energy balanced and centered and then bring your hands down to your sides take that relaxing energy with you into the rest of the day