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Archives for August 2019

Stale energy: how to stop it killing you

August 24, 2019 by Andrew Marshall Leave a Comment

Stale energy in our bodies is probably something we don’t like to think about very much. It has connotations of something old, smelly and going off. There’s more than a hint of decay in the expression “stale energy” that’s far worse than a mouldy piece of bread, say, or a biscuit that’s gone a bit soft. Yet we all have it in us and it can be responsible for aches, pains, illnesses and even an early death.

Stale energy is pathogenic

Xie Qi, or Pathogenic Qi, is energy that is stagnant or even stuck. For good health, our Qi needs to circulate easily and freely through the body. It does this mainly through energy channels, informing the body as it circulates. Energy patterns that are poor or out of  balance have a corresponding effect on the body. A major influence on the internal flow is consciousness – the way we think, feel and experience impacts on our energy enormously. If we resent something, for instance, or are frustrated, the flow of energy will suffer.

Move it to lose it

Stale energy can be the result of experiences from long ago, from our current lifestyle or from a mixture of causes. Fortunately, we don’t need to analyse the reasons. However, we do need to learn how to shift the Pathogenic Qi and expel it from our system. Usually this requires a combination of movement and specific intent, something we shall be learning at our next workshop. We can also learn a practice such as Dao Yin or seek advice from a practitioner of Traditional Chinese Medicine or some other discipline of our choice. Whatever we do, though, it is imperative to keep moving.


Our next Staffordshire workshop, Healing with Qi is on Monday 16th September 2019. Details here.

Books available here.

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  1. Longevity: seven secrets of ageing gracefully
  2. Movement: why listening to our body is vital for health
  3. Qi power – secrets of internal energy for health and stability
  4. It’s not all bad news – love heals, both inside and out

Filed Under: Health Tagged With: ageing, body, breath, detox, energy, happiness, healing, health, mindfulness, qi, qigong, rejuvenation, wellbeing, yoga

Thinking too much? Why it can make you ill

August 2, 2019 by Andrew Marshall Leave a Comment

Thinking too much
“Hmm… I should have thought of that.”

Thinking is a good thing, of course. If we didn’t think, we would get nothing done. There would never be any brilliant new ideas and there would be no education. Life would be a series of responses to basic needs and not much else. The ability to assess, calculate and learn is a staggering faculty that we take for granted. It is one of many aspects of a miraculous state called consciousness, though certainly not the only one. Thinking intelligently is a great gift, but most of us – and I most certainly include myself in this – suffer from unintelligent thinking. It is this that has the potential to make us ill.

Thinking without thinking

More than ever, there is a pressure in society to have an opinion on just about anything at all. It is so important, that corporations spend billions of pounds every year on ensuring that we do. Addiction to social media guarantees that at any given moment millions of people are expressing their opinions on this that or the other. Click Like if you agree. (No, please don’t – that was a joke.) The end result is that our minds are constantly active on things that don’t really matter. So how can this affect our health?

Too much focus can easily create tension

Energy flow

For good health, we need vitality. For that, our energy needs to flow easily through the body. When the flow of energy is blocked or restricted for any length of time, discomfort can build up, eventually leading to illness. We know if we are too sedentary or eat unwisely, there can be a negative impact on the body. But probably we don’t consider the effects on the body of our thinking.

Awareness, not thinking

The fact is that all our mental responses affect our energy circulation in some way. In short, too much thinking creates tension that interrupts the free flow of energy. Yet the nature of consciousness is not to be in a constant state of activity – it is to be aware. It really does pay to stop sometimes. Stop thinking and just be aware. It’s a treat for the body and a boon for the mind. Oddly, it’s great for our health, too.


How we can reduce unnecessary thinking is explored in my third book The Art of Not Doing. Available in print and on Kindle.

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Related posts:

  1. Clarity: why it’s a vital antidote to this mad world
  2. Action: Why everything you do and say is more important than you think
  3. Mortality: why our own impermanence is such a wonderful gift
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Filed Under: The Art of Not Doing Tagged With: ageing, blame, body, business, cause and effect, consciousness, ego, emptiness, happiness, inner peace, letting go, loving kindness, meditation, mindfulness, positive thought, tai chi, thinking, wellbeing, wisdom

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