Have you ever held your hands close together — not quite touching — and noticed the feeling of something passing between them?
A warmth, perhaps. A gentle pressure. A tingling sensation, almost like a magnetic field connecting one palm to the other.
If you have, you have already had your first experience of Jigam.
Jigam is one of the foundational practices of Body & Brain Yoga. In Korean, Jigam means "to stop emotion." This seemingly simple concept contains profound meaning and has the power to transform your awareness.
Why We Need to Stop, Before We Can Feel
Emotions fluctuate almost constantly in our lives. When negative thoughts and feelings arise, we often experience distress, conflicts, and the kind of mental disturbance that consumes our vital energy. It’s easy to get caught in a feedback loop of worry and emotion, which may be so common that we don’t even notice when it happens..
Jigam is the practice of separating from that noise — not by fighting it, not by forcing the mind to be quiet, but by moving our awareness to something else: the direct, physical sensation of energy in the body.
When we focus our awareness on the subtle sensations of the body with acceptance and patience, the restless mind tends to calm down. Just as waves on the surface of a lake become still when the wind moves elsewhere, emotions tend to subside when we don’t allow our awareness to be attached to them. Thoughts naturally grow quieter. Brain waves begin to slow toward an alpha state — the state associated with calm, creativity, and deep rest. In that quieter space, something remarkable happens: the sensation of ki energy becomes perceptible.
How to Practice Jigam
Begin by sitting comfortably, either in a half-lotus position or in a chair with both feet flat on the ground and your spine straight. Place your hands on your knees with your palms facing up. Close your eyes.
Take a slow, deep breath — as you exhale, consciously release any remaining tension from your neck, your shoulders, and your hands. Let your body become heavier and softer with each breath.
Now slowly raise your hands to chest height, palms facing each other, but not touching. Let your arms float — shoulders completely relaxed, elbows soft — as though your arms are weightless, suspended in open space. You are not holding a position. You are simply being held by it.
Bring your full attention to the space between your palms. Not to a thought about that space — feel the actual, physical, present-moment sensation of it.
Inhale as you slowly draw your palms apart. Exhale as you gently bring them closer together — still not touching. Pay attention to how the sensation changes as the distance between your hands shifts.
You may begin to feel warmth or a subtle pressure. A faint tingling, an almost magnetic quality — as though something is between your hands that your eyes cannot see but your body can feel. That something is ki. That is your own life energy, making itself known.
After a few minutes, when the feeling has grown stronger, rub your palms together briskly and sweep them gently over your face, your head, your neck, and your chest. Share the energy you have gathered with the rest of your body.
The Key: Relaxed Concentration
The most important element of Jigam is what we call relaxed concentration — and it is subtler than it sounds. Most of us have two modes: focused but tense, or relaxed but unfocused. Jigam teaches a third way. A state of awakened, softly directed awareness — concentrated, but not constricting. Focused, but not forcing.
Here is why this matters: if you tense up to concentrate, you block the very sensations you are trying to feel. But if you let go too much, the mind drifts. Jigam lives in the balance between these two — and finding that balance is itself a profound training of the mind. It is also, as practitioners discover, a quality that begins to transfer into daily life. You can stay present and relaxed in conversation. Work feels more focused and creative. Your intuitive power is strengthened, and your nervous system more easily finds harmony.
This is because, of all the parts of the body, the hands are usually the most sensitive and awakened. Most people use their hands regularly, and anatomically, the hands are filled with nerve endings. Many brain structures are dedicated specifically to processing what the hands feel. When we feel energy flowing into and between our palms, the mind naturally stays in the present moment rather than roaming to the past or future. Brain waves slow and stabilize. The nervous system shifts into what is often called "rest and digest" mode. The chest opens and relaxes, allowing energy to circulate in the middle dahnjon or heart center.
Where the Mind Goes, Energy Follows
Through Jigam, you can directly experience the Body & Brain principle known as Shim Ki Hyul Jung — where awareness is focused, energy flows; where energy flows, blood follows; where blood follows, the body is transformed.
This is not a metaphor. It is a description of something you can feel for yourself, today, with nothing more than two open hands and a few minutes of relaxed concentration.
If you can feel your energy even once, your mind will discover a new awareness beyond thoughts and emotions. This can be comforting and reassuring, especially when you face negative thoughts or stressful emotions. Jigam is a practice that’s well worth trying for yourself.