Kan and Lii
Kan and Lii have been an important part of qigong training for many generations. Kan represents water and Lii represents fire. Therefore kan is yin, lii is yang.

It is believed by qigong practitioners that everyone has excess yang energy and this is why there are so many yin oriented qigong exercises. The exception is if someone is sick then they may have excess yin.

Excess yang is thought to play a large role in the aging process. If you can prevent excess yang you can slow down the aging process living stronger and healthier life.

We can regulate the fire and water in the body by the food we eat, our breathing strategies and controlling your emotions. If you are agitated your yang energy is building by using the breath as tool to control or balance the kan and lii you can prevent the agitation from getting out of control.

As soon as you recognize that you are starting to go down that path take a few long deep breaths and watch how quickly you will be able to stabilize your emotions.

A simple trick I have used when helping people who have high stress jobs like (police officers, military personnel, amateur and professional fighters and professionals who have high stress situations) is to count three breaths using this simple pattern.

Inhale for 6-10 seconds hold the breath for 4-8 seconds then exhale for 6-10 seconds and hold at the end of the exhale for another 4-8 seconds then repeat this for three cycles and notice the change.

This is just a simple start to get you focused and learn how to balance the energy in your body. You may need to spend more than just three breaths in the beginning, but soon you will have the control to bring down the fire energy with as little as three breaths.
This concept plays a major role in qigong and internal martial art training. There are other areas you want to be aware of when learning how to master your energetic balance within your body.

Kan and Lii Training

Here are some other ideas to help you get started with using kan and lii in your practice. Remember this is just a starting point it will take effort and time to truly master this skill, but by implementing these strategies you will see immediate results.

Some of the other things you will want to consider will be to understand how to use your diet and know what foods will help to calm the mind and what foods will bring nourishment when you are deficient. Different exercises will also help to balance the body and bring you energy when needed and relaxation when you need to calm down.

Your study of the breath is extremely important. You can cool the body down with kan and lii training by lengthening the inhale (yin side of the breath) and possibly using retention’s or build power by lengthening the and adding power to your exhales (the yang side of the breath).

In this training as you reach deeper levels in your practice you will find that the regulation of your emotions will become easier and your awareness will extremely in tune with your internal and external surroundings.

The more in tune you can be with your emotions the more balanced you will be everywhere. Using meditation and breath training will help you to be more sensitive and notice these imbalances as they are starting.

This makes it much easier to control rather than waiting until your heart rate is 170-200 beats per minute and you are in the fight or flight mode and tunnel vision has set in. Once you are in this state you are usually there until the event or stressor has subsided.

Through this training you will be able to avoid these situations more often than not. If you are diligent and learn how to listen to the subtle signs that so many of us let pass by without a second glance you will be well on your way to finding balance and harmony in life.