Hi Susan,
Yes it can, no question.
It takes the teamwork of qigong itself, and, your effort and intention. The qigong takes care of itself. It addresses your health, balancing your energy, opening up energy channels, healing the inside and outside physical self...All this benefit just happens by doing it, and "following the instructions". Now, following the instructions connects to your mind activity. I have been running into a number of people who are so active in their minds. It is either something like worry/anxiety, or intellectual nonstop thinking. Neither is healthy. One thing qigong does to address this thinking/feeling part of self, is give you something to focus on, other than your usual negative thinking, or , being in your head/thoughts all the time. Time spent in qigong exercise or meditation, where you either still the mind, which often requires a concious effort, especially at the beginning, or put the mind in a secondary place, giving it a specific task to focus on, takes you away, or out of , your normal thought patterns or busy thinking. It's like going to a gym to workout for your body, a small amount of time, relative to the day, that gives you a good physical feeling that affects your whole day in a positive way. The time in spent in qigong, stilling the mind, or utilizing it in a way that assists a healthy state of being during an exercise or meditation, gives you something for whole day, in terms of how it affects your mental health. You gain perspective on the difference of good mind work, or negative mind activity. Something as simple as focusing on the lower dan tien, a qigong basic, takes one out of the head/mind. Healing time, building new patterns...I have mentioned this in old posts, but I have always felt bad habits or behavior can be released through movement(breathing of the universe, Level I), just like a physical energy blockage. One just has to envision what one is releasing. Calling on the master's energy brings in outside help. Just as you want to keep a physical blockage open, say like keeping the yin aspect of a tumor clear, so the yang/physical part eventually breaks down, you want to keep the behavior in a state of constantly releasing it. This is experienced or felt as awareness of what you are doing. If you are really intent and clear on this, practicing qigong in the ways I've mentioned, then staying aware of your behavior as you walk away from it, calling on the master's energy whenever/wherever you want to help you stay focused. After a period of time, you can loose a bad habit or behavior, and establish a new/healthier one.
Try measuring the time by a full cycle of the moon. Be aware that establishing a new habit, is easier than releasing the old one. I am rusty on this. I think it could be three or four times as long???, to release a strong behavioral habit. It is tricky, as often we can replace the bad habit with another bad habit or behavior. You really have to stay aware. Qigong is a great base to work from, and you can accomplish all that you're inquiring about. The terms/language I am using will make more sense once you have the material. You can always ask for help/support through this forum.
