At this point, many of us understand that Energy, Chi or Qi, is a very real thing. It was during her journey as an end of life doula that Reyna Lerma came to deeply understand the healing power of an energy practice called "Zhineng Qigong". From her experience as a now Master Teacher of Qigong and Qi (or Chi) Therapy, Reyna shares how learning to work with and master our own energy has healing power on all levels, mental, physical, emotional and, yes, even spiritual evolution and transcendence. 

Show Notes:

About Reyna Lerma:
Reyna Lerma is the co-owner of Present Moment Living® LLC, and QiCore® Inc. She leads in-person and online Zhineng Qigong classes, workshops, and retreats worldwide. She also continues to offer private instruction and individual Qi Therapy to clients who request those services. Reyna has studied Zhineng Qigong for 15 years and in that time, has logged over 5,000 personal practice hours and has been in retreat with Master Teachers for more than 1,750 hours. She knows her life path is sharing the beauty and power of this living art. Reyna intends to continue to facilitate the evolution of human consciousness as we each discover our full potential.

Connect with Reyna:
Website: www.presentmomentliving.org

Instagram: @present.moment.living 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/presentmomentlivingqigong

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/present-moment-living-llc

Youtube: @presentmomentliving888

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Full Episode Transcript:

Hey beautiful soul Welcome to Spirit Speakeasy. I'm Joy Giovanni, Joyful Medium. I'm a working psychic medium energy healer and spiritual gifts mentor. This podcast is like a seat at the table in a secret club, but with mediums, mystics and the spiritual luminaries of our time so come behind the velvet ropes with me and see inside my world is I chat insider style with profoundly different souls. We go deep share juicy stories laugh a lot and it wouldn't be a speakeasy without great insider secrets and tips. You might even learn that you have some gifts of your own. So step inside the spirit speakeasy. Hey, beautiful soul. Have you ever heard of chi? It's usually spelled Q-i but sometimes it's spelled Chi It is the lifeforce energy that is all around us and today we are going to talk to a Qi expert actually her field of mastership and practice and study is called Zhineng QiGong. She is a master teacher. She is a Master Practitioner, and her name is Reina Lerner. She is going to teach us today all about what Qigong is what Zhineng Qigong is, and she's going to tell us how she came to this field of study through her volunteer work as an end of life doula what it looks like in supporting end of life care, but also how Jan and qi gong can help each of us in our day to day lives to really understand and experience ourselves to a deeper and more profound level. Without further ado, I'm so excited to introduce you to today's guest, Reyna Lerma. Hey, beautiful souls. Welcome back or welcome in for another episode of Spirit Speakeasy. Our guest today is the one and only very special Reyna Lerma she is the co owner of present moment living LLC and T Corp Inc. She leads in person and online Zhineng Qigong classes, workshops and retreats world wide she also continues to offer private instruction and individual Qi therapy to her own clients. And Reyna has been studying in Zhineng Qigong for 15 years and in that time, she's logged over 5000 personal practice hours and has been in retreats with master teachers for more than 1700 hours. She knows her life path is sharing the beauty and power of this living art. Reyna intends to continue to facilitate the evolution of human consciousness as we each discover our full potential help me welcome Reyna Lerma. Nice to see you today.
Oh, a pleasure. Thank you. Thank you for having me. Yeah, I'm
so excited to learn about Qigong and Zhineng Qigong. I think I'm still saying that
you're saying it perfectly hard work. Yeah.
How did you Well, first let me ask you, will you give us just like a starting working definition of Qigong as a whole clearly, there's different kinds. I didn't even really realize that. Oh,
yes, yes, there's 1000s of systems. So you know, the Reader's Digest version. Basically, Qigong comes from China and it is I can break up the word Qi Gong. So Qi is lifeforce energy, and Gong is cultivation or work. So we use Qigong as a tool, ultimately, in Chinese medicine. Qi is the root of Chinese medicine. So Qi is the building blocks of every single thing seen and unseen. And so again, we cultivate with the practice of Qi Gong. Well,
I think a lot of our watchers and listeners, viewers and listeners have heard of Qi in some way. We know it as energy as that lifeforce energy, right? It's getting more common to know that word or to hear that word at least right?
Oh, yeah, I love it. I mean, here, I'm, personally live in San Diego. And so Qigong is actually like becoming quote, unquote, hip. And so people start to learn, you know, when they meet me, and I say, I'm a Qigong teacher, they're like, Oh, that's awesome. And I say, Oh, do you know what Qigong is? They're like, No, but I know, it's cool. You know, the times are changing. And as we continue to evolve and grow and learn about these, you know, really ancient secrets, I believe it's, you know, as a collective consciousness, we are all in this space, where we're starting to become very curious and very open. To learn about how we can refine our own life, you know, on all levels, so these, we naturally attract what we're seeking. I
think that's such a great way to say it, and I feel like more and more as we become more sensitive or more people open to their sensitivities, we're starting to at least have some sense of like, Okay, there's something to this energy thing whether people are like empathic and kind of feel bogged down in their energy after being with all people or certain people or anywhere on that spectrum. So what's the difference? Or I guess maybe more specifically, what is GNN Qigong? Am I still saying that right? Yeah, you're saying, Hey, I
love it. I love it. It's so good. Yeah. And I mean, that's only my English version. You know, when I hear my Chinese masters, I'm like, oh, yeah, this is just the best. I'm doing the best I can with it. But, you know, again, to remind us Qi lifeforce energy, the building blocks of the entire universe. And so, Gong is cultivation or work. Now. shanann, we can also break down so the ZH i, that is a wisdom, and then is mind. So we use the wisdom of our mind or we can also think of our consciousness to cultivate our lifeforce energy.
Wow, that's pretty amazing. That sounds like that's a lot to unpack. So I'm excited to kind of dive into it. So I love in your bio, how it says it's a living practice. Can you ambient noises here where I am with all of the This is an emergency for everyone to learn this. You just kind of explain what that living practice looks like. Or maybe. I mean, I feel like I started seeing people practicing some form of Qigong before I even knew what it was. So maybe people have even seen it being practiced and didn't realize it. What does it look like when someone's I'm sure, it looks a lot of ways, but
no, absolutely. Great questions. Great question. So, you know, ultimately, as a living art, what does that mean? It's not a two dimensional practice, you know, it's a very intimate journey into awakening your own self. And what does that mean? Ultimately, Zhineng Chi Gong is simply a tool to, again, to awaken to cultivate to understand this reality. And we do that by refining our physical movements in our daily living. We know you know, our ancestors were not in front of the screens as much, you know, we have a different lifestyle. And so this body if you want to think about it, almost like this amazing satellite, ultimately, a channel, a channel of this lifeforce energy. And so through the movements, we start to refine this physical body from the habitual patterns that we may have accrued, do it to the lifestyle we have, sometimes the traumas we've experienced in our life, crystallizes in our body a certain way. And so by doing these movements over and over, again, we start to free the body from all of that. And as we free the body lifeforce energy penetrates through much more easily, as lifeforce energy penetrates through much more easily, we are shown what the possibility of having a quiet mind is. So when the body's intention when the body's in discomfort, it's a little bit harder for some of us to be able to have that clear mind to have that quiet mind, when our mind might be busy. Sometimes our emotions start coming in. And when our emotions start coming in, you know, we're feeling the pendulum of the spectrum of emotions. And again, we continue to separate from the body. And so that's a loaded way of saying it in a way, but you know, the, our consciousness and our body aren't necessarily in unison. And so when we start to do these movements, we start to, again, open the body, physically, we start to open the body emotionally, we start to open the mind. And so that, to me, is a living art. Because as we meet Zhineng Qigong, and really any practice, you know, I'm a big advocate, we're an open system, we don't want to say this is the way or the highway type of thing. Really, again, whatever you are attracted to, I always say practice that these body mind practices, really, there's a system, it's almost like a recipe. And so if we're called to learn, you know, we take that time to go into these practices. So the living are is that we come to meet these practices in the moment. And as we continue to go deeper into the journey, we really unfold to new dimensions of understanding of our physical body, the relationship of our physical body, the understanding of our emotions, the understanding of what is possible for our consciousness. And so you know, that's a whole whole huge topic. But to come back to your question of if we've seen it, many people are familiar with Tai Chi. So Tai Chi is a form of Qigong. It is more of a martial arts and I could get into the whole different kinds of Qigong is you know, everything from Buddhist Qigong. Confucius Chi Gong, folklore Chi Gong medical Qigong, martial Qigong, so many Different there's also what Genet Chi Gong is, is a modern system of Qigong. Actually, it doesn't focus on any, you know, when you say dogma, you know, but it's very whatever you practice, let yourself explore this practice without feeling you have to, you know, pigeonhole yourself in a certain direction. It's more about freedom. Actually, what's
beautiful, it sounds very accessible. It sounds like you're saying that it goes along with any belief system or non belief system or other practices, somatic practice, or yoga practice, or whatever someone's doing this can layer in as an additional way to move that energy and help them open their awareness. Is that right?
Absolutely. Yeah.
So it sounds like there's also Is it true with all Qigong that there's some pattern of physical movement that that we're doing when we're practicing it? Great
question, actually. So for example, in Genet Chi Gong, there is approximately 300 Different meditations. Wow. Yeah. And I'll tell you right here, right now, I don't know all of them. Because it's not necessarily about, okay, I've done this next that's doing okay, you could easily learn one practice, and it can absolutely change your life. It really can. I mean, I really, really can. And so this is the beauty of a practice, it's not how many you know, it's really how deep you go into a practice. Okay. And so when, with the 300, different meditations, there's meditations, yes, of movement. But that is dynamic practice, we call it so where we have the mindful movement, then there's a static practice where the physical body doesn't move, but you move your consciousness. And so as an example, we can, you know, scan the body and become very aware of the internal universe that this body is become very in tune with our inner organs. As an example, we have many meditations to become aware of the energy of each of the inner organs, which we, you know, that's a concept that for some of us hearing it now, it's like, Whoa, I haven't really thought about that, you know, we're so in the West about like, the cardiovascular health. And I big proponent of that, absolutely. But what about the, our Oregon Health, you know, we're not, we're not dying of arm disease or leg disease in a way, you know, there's liver, lung, kidney, if we were to actually have a relationship at a meditative level, to the our organs, we would be able to perceive what the inner landscape is, and beyond perceiving, consciously be able to send lifeforce energy to the different organs to support their health and healing.
That's pretty incredible. So in theory, and it sounds like in practice, there's first of all, a little bit of something for everyone. And it's, it feels like what you're saying is, it's really empowering in our own healing and our own ability to focus that, that healing energy into our own bodies for ourself.
Yes, absolutely. And that's the thing. I mean, that's a great gift that we can give ourselves, we take our own power, you know, and support our own healing so many of us, you know, the Western paradigm, it's a passive healing. Many times I say, Okay, this is happening. So I'm going to go to this person, or I'm going to go to that person. And I will say, right here, again, I'm all about building the team around you, I say the entire entire universe is here for you. So use what is beneficial. My message is to also know that you have your own agent and your own self healing, by with your consciousness supporting your own healing, a lot of our diseases come from the fragmentation of our mind. And so when we learn the skill of meditation, when we learn that which Qigong is part of it is meditation, when we learn the skill of focus, when we learn the skill of having the mind Be quiet, and not having all of these 1000s of thoughts that may be repetitive, that may be negative information, ultimately, that's where we can refine and see the power of our own selves, and be able to harness this chi which even though we can't see it, even though we can't see it, we can actually support the material world with it. That's
pretty incredible to think that you know, that's possible in this practice that seems very teachable and very accessible to anyone who's willing to take the time to learn it. I like what you said about that some of the practices or modules are physical and more like you know, movement based. What did you call it like focus mindful movement versus like the Internal meditation, do you feel like it'd be good for someone who maybe feels like, oh, I have a difficult time doing the still meditation to kind of transition in on that movement based meditation? salutely
Absolutely. And this is where, you know, you know, I sound like an advertisement, but they're really
already. I feel like I've learned a lot already. You
know, there's there really is something for everyone. And one of the maybe because of my own personal journey, but again, I'm a big proponent of freedom. And so even when we're doing the movement, if someone can't physically do the movement, exactly, right, that's perfectly fine. The more important thing is to meet yourself where you are. And so, for me, the way I share, you know, I give modifications for every single practice, if someone comes in a certain challenge, I say, Okay, you can't do this, okay, you can do it seated. Okay, you can't go this far down, go to this length, you know, let yourself really explore in the moment, what you are, what you can do with your body. And through time, you will surprise yourself at how much more you can able to, you know, you're able to do after. So it's just it's a progression of, but you know, again, and what does the mind do? The mind says, Oh, I can't do that. And so we say no, and we are doing ourselves a disservice by not exploring. And so I really feel. Yes, when, again, many people learn about the meditative aspect. They're like, Oh, I can't do it, I can't meditate, I have too many thoughts. And we aren't even trying to stop the thinking. Because, you know, this is at a very deep level, we're always processing information. And that's actually one of the the aspects that we really talk about the different types of chi, there are, everything is Chi, everything can be categorized in different types of chi. And so one of them is information. So information, we cannot, sometimes we can perceive it, sometimes we can't. But you know, think about our eyes right now are our ears listening, you're cognizing everything that I'm saying. And it's, you know, these impulses are going into the brain and telling us the story of what we're perceiving, our eyes are perceiving simultaneously, I'm breathing, you know, we are digesting the food, that beverage we just had so many things. I mean, that's actually in a way the body keeps thinking, the mind keeps thinking, and we're processing all these thoughts. Now, when we come to a movement practice, I can guarantee you there's some practices that will bring you into the present moment, you know, we have practices where we have the arms raised up, you know, and that we give the, the instructions very clearly on how to do it, I continue to share, okay, you know, have your arms raised up without moving 510 1520 30 minutes, you will not be thinking about, Oh, you know, what am I gonna wear tomorrow or iron on your like, I am breathing. I am connecting to lifeforce energy to continue to maintain my body posture, and you again, and there's a purpose. It's not just the torture, it's really you know, we're opening the energy lines of the chest opening the energy lines, which are called meridians, and Qigong and Chinese medicine. We're opening the pathways for improved lung health, for improved heart health, to open the radiance in the arms and hands and fingers. So there's a purpose to it. But beyond that, again, each of these systems is like a recipe and the creator of these recipes, understands the human mind. And so we learn anything from a very simple movement. That's, you know, literally two movements, two practices that are over 100 movements. And so that is a process where when we come to the practice, the mind has already been trained to learn what focus is, because that's ultimately the jewel if we can be fully present. And we can be aware without being so attached. And we're simply a witness to all internally and externally. Again, this is where the skill of perception can be enhanced dramatically.
That's pretty incredible. And it's just so interesting to how there is, like you said, an opportunity for anyone to come just as they are, where they are and to, to do these practices and to learn them and to continue to put put in the practice, I guess and expand at the same time, you know, maybe witnessing where we are in this present moment and resisting that urge to have self judgment. So it seems like that's part of the practice that's like layered in naturally. Absolutely.
Absolutely. And so one of my favorite quotes is Comparison is the thief of joy. And, you know, in our teachings, we talk about our thoughts, we talk about not, not only the thoughts itself, but our relationship to the thought. And so many of us have deep roots of that comparison of the judgment of, you know, I want to be this perfect being. And I'll tell you here, you already are, like, how you are you already are perfect, you are in this such an amazing, profound journey. I believe that when we start to awaken to that, and I always, you know, I compare, I have two dogs. And so, you know, they're masters, you know, they are not, they don't have a watch on there. Maybe maybe only the stomach when it rumbles and like, Okay, we know it's breakfast time, we know, it's dinnertime, we know it's block time. Other than that, they are just these relaxed beings. And in our daily living, how much are we, as example the relationship to time, so many of us suffer, because of our relationship to time. And in our society, we have on killing time, you know, I'm running out of time, I'm always chasing time. If we were to consciously transform that, and understand that until breath leaves us body, in this dimension, that we all we have is time. All we have is time. And the reason I say that is that these thoughts create emotions, these emotions create tension in our body. And so Chi Gong is, is is not about getting rid of anything, it's simply to strengthen the inherent ability to be in balance, to be in peace to be in harmony. And again, the constructs of our mind sometimes impede that fully. Because we can be in a practice, we can be in our daily living where I can be getting a full body massage. But if I'm thinking about something that's causing me stress, that's not so easy for my body to let go. Because my body doesn't know that that thought is simply a thought. We're emerged emerging, immersing our bodies into this constant storyline of so many things. And I'm not saying not to imagine not to dream, but to focus. But if we use our imagination, in worry, and we create this whole complete storyline, our we may not realize we start sweating, the heart starts, you know, going faster than it really wants to in a way we're forcing our body through these stories. And when the mind is more quiet again, the body's like, oh, I don't need to put all my energy into this tense moment, I can just completely open and relax. When I open and relaxed, then the inherent ability of the balance comes right back. Where they're one
of the things I love that I've seen over just our lifetime is this like science kind of catching up to what some of these ancient systems have known forever, like now we know scientifically the brain and where the thoughts go tell our body to produce certain hormones. And we're all very common with like, for like familiar now with like the adrenal fatigue and things like that, which are created from a signal from the brain. So what it sounds like is that Qigong has the potential to start to settle or rebalance some of those things. Am I saying that right?
Oh, yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. Yeah. Yes. Very exciting. First, you know, we come back and we assess. And this, this doesn't have to be with the thinking mind. It's a very visceral, you know, you can feel it's just how do I put this, so many of us and I was included, when I first came to this journey, I was type A plus personality type A plus Go, go go, never enough pedal to the metal. And you know, I'll just put it in my experiences. I felt like I had to prove something. And I did not realize that it wasn't normal as a 27 year old to not sleep at night. And then in the morning, slam coffee, and then you know, go do what I was going to do and be like, Oh, this is normal. When we are in harmony and balance, we have that natural energy, this lifeforce. And so I didn't realize that I wasn't listening to the nature of my own being. And this is what I appreciate about Qigong that it really is a nature system. So we want to tap into the rhythms of the universe. We want to tap in to the nature of our being. But, you know, again, we live Have an artificial lighting. You know, someone asks, How are you doing? Oh, I'm so busy. Oh, that's so great. You know, it's this culture of like, running, you're like, you know, you have the candle and it's not burning at both ends, I mean, you gotta blow torch like in all directions just and then. And then at certain times of our life, the body says enough, like enough and we experience a crash. And this is again Adrenal Fatigue is this emerging you know, aspect of sometimes what it is to live this fast paced life. And but we don't know any better. And so then that compassion piece comes in of like, okay, so you start a practice like this, to let your body relax, let your mind relax, let your emotions Calm down, and start to see, okay, what energy do I have? And as you know what energy you have, you start to live your life with that energy. And then with Qigong, you cultivate, so you can actually learn how to have more energy. And it's not, you know, nothing against Starbucks, but you know, it's not the espresso energy, it's just being aware, being awake, knowing your rhythms, when you live with your rhythms. When you live with your own nature, you naturally have more energy. If you're living your life in a way that is against your nature, you're naturally draining your energy. And then we wonder why Why am I not so happy? Or why do I feel so tired all the time? Yeah, yeah. And so these are bigger questions. These are bigger questions that we might ask ourselves because of being quiet and hearing what's inside. And to
your point, I feel like a lot of us maybe earlier in our journey don't even realize that this high level of productivity and achievement and is not part of our nature, we think it is because that's what we're taught are programmed to believe and achieve. So it's some of it is a reeducation of sorts. Well, the geneticists, the wisdom you said, right,
so yes, yes, absolutely.
I'd love to hear more about how you came to this journey as a self proclaimed overachiever.
Oh, boy, you know, let's say, Well, I first learned about chi gong through bodywork. So I was a massage therapist for many years. And in massage school, we actually learned chi gong to strengthen our joints of our hands, you know, obviously, of our whole body, but with the emphasis on strengthen the joints of our hands, because you know, when massage? You do work with your hands, yeah. And as you know, yeah. So in, in massage school, we would do Chi Gong, but also in massage school, we would practice on each other. So basically, every day you get a massage. So, of course, as we're doing Qigong, we remind focus on let's get on the table. So Qigong was there, but it wasn't, I didn't feel so attracted to it, I knew it, it felt good. But I didn't feel like wow, this is the rest of my life. Yeah. Now, going back a little bit. As I was growing up, my dear mother always, always told me be of service in any way that you can. So I would, throughout my life, would do volunteer work in different different realms. And one day, I was called to do volunteer work at a hospice. And not knowing what I was going to get into with that, of course, knowing that my, my, my journey was leading me there, but I felt okay, you know, I want to do some volunteer work. So let me do this. And so I was doing companionship, for people that were walking the journey towards their death. And in this volunteer work, they did a volunteer Appreciation Day. And they had many, you know, many workshops, they had, you know, little acupuncture session, massage chair, you know, different activities to do, and they had Chi Gong. And my husband, we were allowed to bring our plus one, my husband came with me, and I said, Oh, chi gong, you know, I don't know how to explain it, but it feels good. So let's go do it. And 15 minutes workshop, and we were overlooking a cliff here in Mission Valley. And this woman just did a demonstration we followed along. She didn't mean say too much. We're just doing different movements. And there's a point where I brought my hands up and we had to have our hands in a triangle. And we aligned the center of the triangle to our third eye, which I don't even know what that was really. So as we're aligning our our hands and our third eye, I feel like I don't know like a sunray like hit a drop of water on a leaf and that refractor you know, energy just came to me and, and I just saw, I saw something I've never seen before, and I can't even really put it into words, actually. And I've never seen it since. But in that moment I was, I felt I was I was, I was so present in a way I've never been in my life. And, and in that moment, I just knew that until breath left this body that this is what I was meant to share. So, yeah, then I was, you know, 15 years ago. And of course, my monkey mind at the time said, Are you sure? If this, you know, this was what what is this? And so I was still had the doubt I was a very analytical person. And so I said, You know what, worst case scenario, I learned a relaxation technique. But, you know, 15 years later, I love it more than I've ever loved it really? So, yeah,
what did you see? I know, you said, you can't really put it into words. Was it like a? I mean, obviously, it was a spiritual experience. But did you? Did you actually physically see colors or movement? Or did you just have this knowing drop in? It sounds like maybe a little bit of everything. Yeah, it was
a combination. So So I saw a space of vast space. And I saw, like different images of my life, outside of the space, but in the space was, was like a oneness. So that's all I can, I think I could say about it,
in Word amazing. Well, and you know, for a lot of our listeners, and viewers will have had some of these mystical type experiences for themselves, but others who maybe haven't, it is really so much happening at once in just a moment of time. That is almost like so much shoved into one experience, or, or knowing or visualization, or that it is hard to unpack, and really put to words because it's a mystical experience. But I do feel like, you know, at different times in our lives, and on our path, this is the story of so many people have, you know, why was just going along and doing this one thing and growing this one segment of my life. And then all of a sudden, I stumbled into this other thing, and just knew or just felt or just became more curious and started moving down that path? What were the first steps for you after that? So you have this experience? And then part of you is still saying, like, girl, you got a whole business over here? What do you
what like what is yeah, that it's like, yeah, the analytical part that was like, wait a minute, what is this, but from my recollection, I remember one day or two days later, we were going on a five day camping trip to the middle of nowhere with my husband, and the poor guy. All I could talk about was like, Oh, my gosh, I found this most amazing like, this is my life. I can't wait to go back and you learn about it. And I, we came back. And I started looking up Qigong studios in San Diego. And I found several and I called them and I said, I want to learn how to teach Qigong. And they were actually very secretive and quite off putting, they said, We don't teach teachers. And I was like, wow, okay. That's interesting. It was very, like, we only teach students so you can come as a student, but we won't. We won't certify you. You can't. And, you know, best rambunctious person here. I was like, you can't tell me no, like, What do you mean? Like, this is what I'm meant to do. And of course, I went back to the source. I tracked down the woman that did the demo. And I called her and I said, I know you don't know me, but I want to do whatever it takes to teach Qigong. And she said, welcome. And we had a two hour conversation. And I studied with her for nine years, very closely, and always deep respects to my first teacher. So yeah, and that that was the journey. So it was quite fascinating how, again, and because this is an open system, and like I said earlier, yeah, some systems are very, not open. That's all I can say. Yeah,
I mean, like, you can only practice this, you have to believe this, you have to focus on this and everything else is to the, to the wayside, right?
Or, or, you know, these other systems, were saying, we don't teach teachers like, yeah, only if you're like a lineage holder. And you know, that means you're a certain you come from a certain lineage you are, you know, you're raised in the lineage, if you're an outsider, then you'll never be able to share this.
And you bring up a really good point because a lot of people don't realize that in many systems of spiritual work, there are these kind of gatekeeping attitudes and behaviors of it's a very exclusive thing and only certain people can do it and like you said, you have to be from this bloodline or lineage or this form of training or so it's, it's pretty interesting that you experienced that I'm sure it colored you as a teacher and healer yourself of, you know, the type of teacher you want it to be. Right,
right. And that's why I think I was attracted to the system in the first place. Because again, from from where my upbringing, I feel, I grew up very rigidly and so freedom, I'm all about the freedom. So, so being open being free, you know, again, the whole universe, why not learn what works for your individual journey? And take that? And so? Yeah, absolutely. And, you know, there's a whole on how, how some systems are open, you know, and I, I completely appreciate the traditional practices, I, I know that there's a purpose. And again, people get attracted to what they're meant to be attracted to, I believe, you know, their frequency matches with that. And that's why I say, find what works for you. And keep going with that. Keep going with that. So.
So your teacher, the woman who led that initial workshop, and then who you studied under for some time, was also a genetic practitioner
of Correct, correct. So she was sharing Zhineng Qigong practice,
okay. Did you end up using any of the genetic Qigong in your work as a volunteer with people in end of life care? Yep. Just curious how it would apply? It seems like it would,
right, right. And so, you know, as I was going in the journey, I was, you know, just allowing myself to learn what presents was at a whole nother level, at a whole nother level. And actually, throughout my journey, several years into my genetic Qigong journey, I decided to become an end of life doula. So somehow was this beautiful 362, you know, degree evolution for me, where, you know, I was introduced vision and Qigong through being a hospice volunteer. And then I realized, you know, that this is a population, that, yes, they're self healing. But I will say that nowhere on this planet, will someone say that you're going to live forever, in this in this incarnation, you know, we're all meant to go through the cycle of, you know, being in this body and being beyond it. And so I feel that the population as people are walking towards the end of their life, that's a very, such an intimate journey, such an intimate journey. And, you know, just like birth is so beautiful and precious, I really feel that the end of life is also so beautiful and precious, because people are so real at that time, they might be discovering what it is to be living without any masks to be completely authentic, and the Genet Qigong journey supports them. And if they have to do any forgiveness practices, we have forgiveness practices, we have what are called Heartstone release practices of something that you may have been holding inside of your heart, you know, your entire life, to let that fully transform. And so and also pain management, also acceptance of what is happening in the moment. All of that. So my intention with that is to support people to be at the highest vibration possible at the moment of transition. That's
really incredible. I mean, first of all, I think the hearthstone practice that you were just talking about releasing something that you've been holding in your heart is great for any of us at any time. Yes, on our journey, let's just say that. But how amazing to be able to support that during end of life care for people that have that advanced warning or, you know, knowledge that that's where we're moving to, rather than a sudden, unexpected. Are you also working to support the family with the practices if they're open to it?
Yes, yes, naturally. It's very organic, you know, how each each family is, in unique, each person is unique. And so part of my genetic Qigong training, is also to hold presence, you know, for the person as they're walking their path towards transition, and also support the family but, you know, the dynamics being very present for the dynamics. Really being that you know, ultimately through my training, the beacon of presence, the beacon of peace and calm because as we know, the person it's not only the person that's journey and end of life, it's everyone around them is going through a journey as well. And so how to support that and yeah, yeah, it's quite it's quite powerful and it's been very, very profound in my life actually.
It seems like the to the genetic Qigong and the end of life doula go just perfectly together. I mean, I can only imagine how So many feelings and thoughts and things come up for everyone, you know, of course the person who's in end of life care, but then also the family and the friends and yeah, so what an amazing way to be able to have a more organized system to work with them and and support that with the the people that you've supported as an end of life. doula, are there any? So curious about that process? Because I feel like it's, it's kind of the, I don't know, like the last stepping stone before we're on the other side. And then that's kind of where I'm working with them. So are there any commonalities that you noticed with people who are in that process of crossing over?
Mmm hmm. I mean, you know, there's just different levels of awareness. Yeah, different levels of awareness. And, you know, this is just my own opinion, you know, in my end of life training, it's also, you know, there's this aspect of, we, we kind of have an influence of when we go, you know, we are, and then this is what I'm talking about this consciousness, this awareness within ourselves that we, we may know, we may know, and we may influence when. And so, I feel that throughout the different people I've supported, there's just, there's just an awakening within them, you know, you see it in their eyes, you see it, but again, some people are very different, some people may still hide it till the very end, you know, and so, but being present with them, for they also, you know, are on their own journey. So, I'm not there to change anyone, I'm not there to tell them, This is how you should do or should be, it's like, I'm just the mirror, the loving mirror that says, Okay, this is where you are, how do you want to how do you want to be during this journey, so, so there is a, that thread of, I see the awareness, I see the awareness, and at times, there's awareness, and then the programming of fighting it or not wanting to go or being angry, and all of that, and so to support them to work through that. So that doesn't deplete them even more, and they spend the last days the last hours in the contraction, it's already how does it feel to be that openness?
And I would imagine that if someone had been in, in this practice already, for some time before that end of life period, I just wonder how different that period could be if someone like already had all this experience and had worked through some of those things leading up to this time? Yes.
Yes. So absolutely. You know, already training already equipped, already equipped. At the same time, sometimes people that are completely brand new have such a profound because they've, they haven't really been in these money buying Mind Body practices. And so, you know, many times when we come, and there's this truth within something, it may be your very first time and you have this completely, you know, I've worked with people, two days, two days before they passed, so I did not have a lot of time with them. And so yeah, that was that was a very profound and they were actually already unconscious. Wow. And so I could perceive, you know, where they were in their body was sharing with us what was happening to them. And so there was a lot of release of toxins, I'll say, in those last two days, as we started working together that had not occurred before that.
That's pretty amazing. And it must be even, like extra validating for you as the practitioner, that someone who's not even fully conscious in their body who's actually unconscious through the work that you've learned and practiced. so deeply, you can see the effects and the changes, even if someone is not conscious and present in a conscious way. Oh,
absolutely. I could tell you stories. I mean, very quickly, if I may, please, you know, you know, working with animals, working with animals engine and Qigong, so sending them energy and, you know, animals they aren't. They don't have the ego of like, oh, you know, you came this way to support me. It's like, okay. They will tell me when they're done. They're like, Okay, I've had enough. I've had enough chi, I've literally, I've had enough chi, I'm good, I can process it, you know, or they, there's different things that they do to show that that's what's happening to them, you know, because they don't care. They don't care what's happened. They're just, they're there in the field and they're absorbing the energy, you know, coming back to them. One story when I was in training as an apprentice, we went to a skilled nursing facility. And there was different levels of cognitive awareness. And there was I can't recall, you know what level but, you know, most people were just in wheelchairs basically not moving. And so we did a meditation, and a woman came in. And she was basically, I don't want to say screaming, but very loudly saying very, you know, just expletives, she was just like, I hate all of you. Really just wow, the energy that she was spewing, you know, was really not positive. And so, the teacher unfazed, she just went into the meditation. And so from this, you know, negative information, this woman was basically almost yelling out, to start to become quiet, started become quiet in a certain point, you know, we forgot about her almost because there was nothing coming out of her. And so as the meditation was ending, she started to say, I love you. I love you. I love you all. And I mean, to me, my jaw was on the ground, because this woman was very combative. But, you know, in the skilled nursing facility, they just brought her in, and no one else was responding, because that was the cognitive level that they were at. Yeah. And so the teacher just took us through the meditation, and it was a complete night and day change. It was there, you know, I was very young, in my practice, I was like, wow, this is so powerful. This is so powerful. That's incredible.
I mean, that's a really night and day change in a very short time. Yeah. 40 minutes. Wow. Even though that woman was very angry, and clearly demonstrating that I'm sure that there were things in her cognition that made her maybe just a little more open to being moved in that direction because of the phase that she was in. Exactly.
Right. Right. And so she wasn't that open phase. So she didn't care. There wasn't that, you know, cultural or social? Like, I shouldn't say this out loud. She was like, you know, why she
was releasing all that anger in the first place? Yeah, exactly. Okay, once that was done, then something else could, you know, the universe hates avoid, we say. So it's like, once that's gone, something else can come in its place and change. What do you feel like what's happening? I mean, changing her, not necessarily the thought pattern, but obviously, on some level, she was receiving the words in the energy of the meditation, and it was affecting, maybe her energy was starting to match that new vibration being offered.
Mm hmm. Ultimately, her authentic self heard it, you know, ultimately, the her true being the true aspect of herself. Because I believe deep down as, you know, a human being, we want to be in that love and that light, that's our natural state, actually. Yeah. And so the meditation was simply a meditation to scan the inner body. So going through the different organs, and we weren't even sending, purposely sending, it was more like, okay, you know, send, you know, be aware of your brain, be aware of your eyes, your nose. And so that inner awareness that turning inward, I believe, is where she met, you know, her true self. And so
incredible. Yeah. So now that you are a Jeanette, Qigong teacher, where does someone start? Like if someone's listening, and is like, Oh, I'm so interested in this, I'm going to, I'm going to reach out to Reina what is the first segment or like lesson or those initial teachings? Is it a lot of practice? Is it theory first? How does that how does that work?
It's a combination. It's a combination. So for me here in San Diego, we have hybrid classes. So we have in person and online, we have a free 30 day trial to come to any of the classes free. We also offer a video library. So again, for beginners to say okay, what are the different points that we work with? What are the energy gates? What is the don t ns? What is my you know, first practice, what is consciousness mean? So different, you know, different videos, to get us acquainted and feel, you know, that we're stepping in to this, this world, this world. So I'm in this world of Qigong, so I share, I share that to help us you know, take the journey. And and of course,
we'll link your website where where that 30 Day offer is, I'm sure and all of your socials and contact points in the show notes. So anyone who's wanting to find them, that's where they are. That's so incredible that there's that library available to because then it's as you absorb some information. I know we've chatted before and I know some about Qigong but I feel like there's it's one of those systems of endless learning. I feel It's like, oh, yeah, always more to learn or even something perhaps you've already learned or understood, like, there's deeper layers and deeper wisdom to be had. And more, you want to go into it. Right? Right.
Right. And so there's different and so we have intro classes, and we have advanced classes. So to really, uh, allow people that are brand new not to feel, you know, I might be a bit over my head again, it's that, but then that's the beauty either being in person or being online. We have such a beautiful community, such a beautiful community, I mean, many practitioners 1520 years. And whenever someone new comes in, it's like, Yes, I'm so happy for you, you know, to really come in and there isn't that. Because it's really the the journey is very intimate. But when you're doing that with like minded individuals that are supporting each other by being in this loving field, that we're all here to support each other. Yeah. And you know, so that that is one of the many aspects I appreciate about the practice, the deep community that's formed, because if we're doing and, you know, of course, I'll say, we're not going to do a hearthstone release practice in a regular class, you know, that's more for the workshops and retreats. Because things might come up, things might come up. And so, you know, we we keep it more to the physical practice, we keep it more to the meditation, we keep it to the theories. And then of course, through the journey, I also offer private instruction, private sessions, if you know, there's questions. There's Okay, I need I know, need support moving through something something's coming up. How do I manage this? So how,
I think this is probably a really open out answer that you're gonna get, but how, how time consuming is the practice, I'm guessing, like as time consuming as you want it to be. But if someone's like, oh, I don't. Right now where I am in my life, I don't feel like I have a ton of time to integrate a new practice. Is there kind of a minimum starting point?
Well, you know, I'll tell you in my journey, I shared the story. I was like, wow, like this is, this is my life. I'm so excited. You know, I am so you know, completely in. Yeah. And then, of course, I have not learned how to practice meditation yet. And so I remember clearly, when I first started my journey, I practice five minutes. And I said, Yes, I'm a meditator. Now, I practice five minutes. And so what I'm saying is that, wherever you are, if you are like, I can't do this, I don't have enough time, you can find one minute. Yeah, and you can't, and they're literally you have, you can do a practice for one minute. So this is where there's different you can't do the the 92 movement practice in one minute. But, but we have practices that literally are two movements. And you can do that, you can do that. And so ideally, once we start the journey, we really take that inward contemplation and say, how, if I believe that this is something that can support me, How long am I willing to put into it, you know, it's like a meal. It's like a meal, if we really want to have a nutritious meal, it may take some time for us to prepare it, it may take some time for us to gather the ingredients. And so knowing the benefit of that nutritious meal, we're going to want to take that time. So this is the same as practice. And you can start one minute, five minutes, 10 minutes, go one week, two weeks, then add another minute and add another minute. And so ideally, want to start the journey, set a minimum amount of time. As I shared a minute, five minutes, keep doing that when you get comfortable with that, add a couple more, add a couple more. I will say ideally, we would love a practice to be about 30 minutes long. And I say 30 minutes because Qi circulates through the body in one cycle about 28 minutes. So a 30 minute practice. Yeah, is a nice, you know, a nice practice to be in one cycle within your body.
And is that ideally 30 minutes a day is it as many days a week as you can make it happen?
Ideally, it's every day. Ideally it is every day. If you we can't do every day, I recommend every other day until we start to really perceive the benefits. Sometimes in our linear mind. If we're thinking surface time we're saying Oh, there's one more extra thing I need to put in my schedule. Yeah. But many of us know that once we taste and once we really perceive a deep benefit of something. We will make that time we will make that time Yeah. And that
a lot of us I think I've tried a lot worse things for 30 days but I always feel like I tell me you believe this too. I always feel like I tell people, hey, if something piques your curiosity, if it kind of tickles your interest, or calls to you, even in a whisper, it's worth investigating a little more. Because maybe it's the maybe it's the thing you've been waiting for. Yes.
And this is where I will bring in one of the foundation aspects of our practice that we revolve, ultimately, everything around. And that is the power of our intention. And so many times the first time I meet someone, I asked, What is your intention? And so of course, someone's like, Okay, well, what does that even mean? And so, you know, what is it in your life that you are here for? Yeah. And so that might be very small, or that might be very big. And I'll say there's nothing ever small, it's just my opinion, we have no idea when one small little thing, how it can change our entire lives. But we want to, and some practices are not like this, actually, some practices are like, don't think about the purpose. But we want us to be aware about what is it that we really, truly want in this life. Because that is our guiding force. And the entire universe is listening to your intention. And it conspires to manifest it in a myriad of ways. So we always say know what you want without being in the state of wanting. Because when things start coming in, in your life, and we start walking more consciously, we're going to become aware of these things. And we're going to see how our intention is materializing itself in this realm. And so intention gets absolutely power.
It's such an important thought, too, because I mean, as we know, even just with universal laws, law of attraction, and that kind of thing, yes, the universe hears our intention. And if we don't have an intention, sometimes it will hear something that's maybe not what we're intending. Or if we're, for lack of a better way of saying it, if we're kind of stewing on or thinking about something challenging, or that we don't want continuously, we can also draw that closer.
Exactly, exactly. Right. And so when we learn what it is that we truly, truly want. And many people come to these practices, with an illness or an emotional challenge, or they're just looking for something new, well know that, again, what you're seeking is seeking you. So when we become more clear about what it is that we want, we're going to start to see that our life is reflecting that because we are, we're more connected to it. And, you know, I'll say very quickly as an example, with intention. If someone comes and says, Oh, well, my shoulder hurts and I want my shoulder to stop hurting. Me, really, that's part of the intention, but it's not the complete result of it. Meaning, yes, you want your shoulder to stop hurting, but why do you want your shoulder to stop hurting? Oh, to play tennis to go rock climbing? Okay, well, your intention is to go rock climbing to play tennis. What does it feel like to play tennis? What will you be wearing when you play tennis? Where will you be when you're going to be rock climbing? What is the VISTA when you find a climb this mountain that you've been wanting to climb? That's your intention. And then then that is the driver. And so when you come to the practice, and you harness lifeforce energy, it is going to follow your intention. So we've been we've been focusing on the physical body, but it's also how you manifest in your life.
And it sounds like you start in your practice with Genet Qigong, Qigong, you start with someone where they are. So even if they're saying, like, I'm not really clear on my intention, it sounds like through the practice, you can support them in more clearly understanding their intention. Right. So then
I invite them to say that their intention is to find their intention. Oh, that's
perfect. Yeah. So even if your intention is to find your intention, this might be for you. Yes, you actually for people wanting to like maybe they're already in a Qigong practice, or who are wanting to just like really dive into the deep end. A while down the line in October, you have a pretty incredible 10 Day opportunity. Will you tell us a little bit about that?
Yes. So very blessed in this journey. I am I also co facilitate with my husband, so he's also ocean and Qigong teacher. And so that's been a great, beautiful, beautiful journey. And so, in October, we're going to be in Austria, leading a 10 day retreat. And this 10 day retreat focuses on it's a healing retreat, and we Give the principles of Genet Chi Gong. We support with practice. So we're practicing in a strong field for many hours. Additionally, seven out of the 10 days, the participants are going to receive what's called One and Two therapy treatments. So Qi therapy, so therapists from around the world, that know how to harness chi and to emit chi to others. So it's, we've been doing it several years now. And I am no longer surprised at how surprised I get at the results. You know, being in this, you know, retreat, what is retreat, We're retreating from that daily living, many people come with various levels of challenges, some life threatening. And so when they're in their own field, sometimes the stress of that is causing even more disease. So they come to this retreat in this beautiful countryside in Austria, and supported by a whole team, a whole team of practitioners, our master teacher, Master Yuan, Tong Lu from China comes and, you know, we take them through this program. And yeah, it's a really, really beautiful experience life changing.
Is it appropriate for all levels? Is this some something for more advanced practitioners? All
levels, so we have generic Qigong practitioners and people that are completely brand new, you know, last retreat, someone, you know, just found us online for a healing retreat, and they said, Alright, I'm gonna go to this and, and now, now they applied to be a one to therapist.
Oh, my gosh, that's amazing. So it was really the thing for them then right early. And this would be a perfect time for anyone who is interested to get in that 30 day experience to get started getting marinated a little bit, but you can find out about that initial training, you can find out more about Raina and all of the services you offer. And this 10 Day Austrian immersion retreat at is it present living dot President living dot Correct? Yes. And of course, we'll link it in the show notes, but present moment. living.org Thank you for sharing all about. That's amazing. I want to shift gears a little. And I'm going to give you the spirit speed round. Yeah, I'm so curious to hear your answers to these questions. Yeah, they're for fun and easy, quick questions for you to answer. Will you share with us one thing that really shocked you or was unexpected about GNN? Chi Gong, and your journey?
Hmm. What shocked me was how, how? Well, I started to learn the ability to persevere through challenges in my life, like how I could navigate with clarity, with, with grace with poise. Where before I'd like fall apart in a million pieces. What
a cool byproduct of the practice, like something unexpected that you weren't really expecting to get out of this incredible practice. I love that. If you got to spend a day in the spirit world, you got the full tour, you had time to spend time with everyone you've known who's crossed over, it's almost time to return to your life. And your guide tells you you have one hour left and you can spend it with anyone who's on the other side. Who do you choose and why?
Wow, any? Anyone? I think I would spend it with my grandfather I never met. And he passed away when my father was five years old. Wow. And so I've just seen a picture of him. And I've connected with him. And I believe that the story that he has of his life, I would love to bring because I am very close to my roots. And I would love to bring that in embody it for the rest of my living days.
It's incredible. Sounds like you just have a special soul to soul connection with him. I love that answer. That's beautiful. Even though we have spiritual gifts and practices, we have very human lives. What's one quirky thing about you that people might be surprised to learn?
Oh my gosh, a quirky thing about me. I feel like we all have a lot of them. But yeah, a quirky thing I still deal to this day idea with leaving my house. And I have to come back sometimes and like double check that the doors are locked and so it makes me laugh actually before I used to be like really upset at myself. I'm like, Oh my gosh, like you should get over this. But you know, if I feel that I want to go back then it's okay for me to go back and it's really for my puppy. So I'm like make sure that the doors are locked, that the stuff is off and all of these and I don't do it all the time. But when I catch myself and I say you know what, if I really want to go back, go back and I do
a lot that will sound like you've come to non judgment with it which is I think great. Yeah. And in San Diego as in the summer, I'm sure you're checking if puppies air conditioning is on.
Absolutely.
Well, you leave us with a pearl of wisdom. What's one piece of advice you wish that you had had early on in your understanding of, of chi of Zhineng Qi Gong of your work? Huh?
Well, another quote, I'm filled with quotes. I love it. I believe his name is Jonathan Swift. And his quote is, may you live all the days of your life?
Wow. And I think a practice in Zhineng Qi Gong is a great way to understand the many levels of what that can mean for someone to live all the days of their life. Wow. Well, thank you so much for being here with us today for giving us a mini education about genetic Qigong and your journey and what it what it can help and support with this. I really appreciate your time. And thank you for shining your
light. Oh, thank you for yours and the work that you do as well. So very grateful for being here. Well, thank you.
Wow, I really learned so much more about Qi Gong and especially Zhineng Qi Gong, didn't you? Reyna is such an amazing teacher. And she's clearly so passionate about this work and how it can help anyone from any point no matter where they are in their own journey, even if it is nonverbal and unconscious two days before their passing, or if it's tomorrow, and you're just wanting a new, refreshed perspective on your journey to learn more deeply about yourself or even to recover from a physical illness or injury. I'm going to link all of the contact points for rain alarma in the show notes, of course, you can find her website present moment living.org And also I'll have that in the show notes if you're interested in hearing about her 30 day introductory courses, or even learning about this 10 Day amazing healing retreat opportunity in Austria. What a fun healing adventure that might be. So make sure that you look at the show notes to connect with her either through her website or on social media. I am so grateful to Reyna Lerma for sharing her wisdom and shining her light for us today. Hopefully, your mind and heart have been open just a little bit more to what is possible by really learning how to focus embrace expand the chi or energy that is available to all of us. Big hugs, lots of love. I'll see you soon inside Spirit Speakeasy