Lee Holden - 7 Minutes of Magic: Recharge Your Body Each Day with Qi Gong

Published by the Penguin Group

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First trade paperback edition 2008

Copyright 2007 by Lee Holden

Photographs copyright 2007 by Kurt Kreutzer of Images Photography

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the authors rights. Purchase only authorized editions.

Published simultaneously in Canada

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The Library of Congress catalogued the hardcover as follows:

Holden, Lee.

7 minutes of magic : the ultimate energy workout / Lee Holden with Doug Abrams.

p. cm.

Includes index.

ISBN: 978-1-101-66251-9

1. Exercise. 2. ExercisePhysiological aspects. 3. Physical fitness. I. Title.

RA781.H63 2007 2007003614

613.7dc22

Book design by Mauna Eichner and Lee Fukui

Neither the publisher nor the authors are engaged in rendering professional advice or services to the individual reader. The ideas, procedures, and suggestions contained in this book are not intended as a substitute for consulting with a physician. All matters regarding health require medical supervision. Neither the authors nor the publisher shall be liable or responsible for any loss or damage allegedly arising from any information or suggestion in this book.

While the authors have made every effort to provide accurate telephone numbers and Internet addresses at the time of publication, neither the publisher nor the authors assume any responsibility for errors, or for changes that occur after publication. Further, the publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party websites or their content.

M odern life leaves us always on the run. Juggling the pressures of work and money, family and friends, often leaves us little time to take care of our health and well-being. Ive developed 7 Minutes of Magic as a mind-body wellness program to dramatically improve your life in an amount of time that you can find in even your most hectic day.

Just how long is seven minutes? Putting it into perspective, most of us spend seven to eight hours sleeping, two to three hours making and eating meals, three to four hours watching television, and eight or more hours working. Is committing to a brief, seven-minute routine worth the effort if it means more energy and less stress in your daily life? Is it really that hard to find a seven-minute block of time to rejuvenate, recharge, and reinvigorate your mind and body? Look at it this waythere are seven minutes of commercials in a half-hour television sitcom. If you have to, you can do your 7 Minutes of Magic two or three minutes at a time during the commercials. Its not ideal, but it will still work. This book is about taking away the excuses so you can be healthy and full of energy.

In order to live a balanced life, you need two distinct kinds of energy: one to fire you up in the morning and the other to calm you down in the evening. As you will discover for yourself, the 7-minute morning routine is faster than waiting in line at Starbucks and will give you more energy and vitality throughout your day than a double lattewithout the caffeine crash. In addition, you will find that the 7-minute evening routine is more relaxing than sipping a cocktail and will help you unwind and clear stress from the daywithout the hangover.

Life today demands seemingly endless amounts of energy and all too often we are left feeling drained and exhausted. Everyone needs more energy, but most people have forgotten how to access it. This program will show you how to awaken the energy in your body and harness the energy that exists in the world all around you.

Energy Is True Magic

The word magic in this book has nothing to do with pulling rabbits from hats or the use of charms and spells. It is the word people who have learned these flowing routines use to describe the changes they experience in their bodies and mindsmore energy, greater health, and less stress. Let me explain how this seemingly magical transformation occurs.

Within each of us there is a place that is full of energy, health, and happiness. This is our natural state, but we so often lose touch with it in our busy, distracted lives. A visit to this place of inner vitality and harmony every day, even for a brief seven minutes, allows us to access a higher level of energy, strengthen our immune systems, and transform the patterns and assumptions that limit our bodies and minds.

By clearing physical and mental stress every day, the body finds its natural state of balance. Stress compromises the immune system; exercise, deep breathing, and flowing movements strengthen it.

Real magic is not external; it is about an inner transformation and alchemy. You will learn to change the leaden, lethargic, low-energy state that so many of us experience when we wake up or return from a day of work into the golden, abundant, high-energy state that everyone craves and needs for true well-being.

Our habits shape the outcome of our lives, both internally and externally. To lead healthier, happier lives we need routines that support that outcome. Our bodies, like nature, grow from the inside out. To cultivate greater levels of energy and strength, the body needs consistent growth in that direction. A little bit every dayjust seven minutesis better than a lot once in a while.

Seven truly is a magic number. Modern psychology has shown that seven is the number of things that most people can rememberthis is the reason that telephone numbers are generally limited to seven numbers. Ive designed both the morning and evening routines as seven flows that anyone can remember and do, regardless of their age, body type, or level of fitness. The word flow is used to describe the exercises because one movement or stretch is followed by another, like moving water, so each routine is a seamless extension of the one that precedes it.