Energy classes at Jung Shim

The first couple of months of the new year can bring about a lot of changes to an individual, weather it be diet, fitness or change of job, change is good and it’s important to listen to our bodies when going through changes. Like every year, I bang on about getting healthy, but working as a freelancer, with no scheduled days, means I could end up working a 10 hour day. Which makes it hard to be consistent in looking after my body.

This year something changed, which was due to the ever growing stiffness in my body and the lack of concentration I was feeling. I had recently joined the gym and started yoga classes, this could be the answer right? the classes were intense for a beginner, and three classes in I pulled a muscle. So while I wait for the pain to go away, I booked myself into an acupressure massage at Jung Shim.

The location is perfect as it’s a 5 minute walk from Oxford street tube station, so getting there is simple enough. I received a warm welcome as I entered, got myself into the provided slippers and met my practitioner Leigh-Anne. We went through the aches and pains I was suffering from, which happens to be a pulled muscle in my lower back, so I was a little apprehensive to have applied pressure on my back.

The acupressure massage is to help get rid of blockages in parts of the body, to allow your energy to flow. As the pressure was applied I could feel pain in certain parts of my body, which sounded about right as my body is very stiff, not forgetting that pesky pulled muscle. Leigh-Ann explained that it would take more than one lesson to remove all blockages, which makes sense… if it did only take one session, it would be a miracle! After the session my body didn’t feel as stiff, but I wanted to get more out of the Jung shim centre, as I felt my body was crying out for help. I booked in a 2nd session and I asked what else they offered.

Leigh-Ann talked me through the Qi class workshop, which they were hosting the next day. The taster class is an introduction to the classes at Jung Shim, where receiving Qi energy can help achieve better health and happiness. It was £20.00 for the class, so I signed up on the day, with eager anticipation. The classes are based on South Korean principles to harness ‘human energy’ and to regain a goodhearted, generous and compassionate state of being.

The class entailed meditation, chanting and movement, you are assigned a Jung Shim teacher, to guide you through the class, the lady who I was assigned, had a very calming presence, she had bright eyes and radiant skin. I could see how genuine her smile was and how much she wanted me to get the best out of the class. To be honest, what made the experience for me so enjoyable, was having her as my teacher.

Okay onto the class: so first up was chanting vibrational sounds, which I read off a piece of paper. At first I found the chanting a little strange, as I hadn’t experienced this before, but by the end of the 2nd set of chanting, I was quiet enjoying it. It was almost as if my body was opening up and receiving energy to want to carry on.

After the chanting we moved onto movement, this was small body movements, allowing energy to enter into our bodies and to detoxify the body. I enjoyed this part the most as I felt focused and was starting to feel quite light. Next came the meditation, which helps in creating stillness whilst trying to calm the mind. The meditation was the hardest part of the workshop, I found my mind wondered all over the place and I couldn’t seem to rest my mind. Which is a shame, but as a person who has attempted meditating five times now, I am aware it takes more that one session. So that I will have to conquer another time.

So how did I feel? well I’ll tell you what, I was grinning from ear to ear, almost like I had been given this burst of energy to help me conquer my day, but not only that, I also felt very very calm and my mind was very relaxed. When I got home I remember telling my flat mate how it went and she commented on how calm and soft my voice was, I felt at peace, which was a wonderful feeling.

I highly recommend trying out one of these taster workshops to anyone feeling like they are feel tired, are in pain, un-focused and in need of positive energy.

On Saturday 3rd of March Jung Shim are hosting a Qi class workshop, for only £20.00, book your place by calling 0207 462 8811 or emailing [email protected]

We would love to know how you got on, so feel free to drop us a line.

Written by Nyla S.