Try Some Qi Gong Now

Here are two very simple Qi Gong exercises that you can try right now in the comfort of your own home. Try and follow the step by step instructions as they appear on this page. These exercises have been placed here to give you an idea of what to expect in a class practicing Qi Gong. If you enjoy practicing these two exercises and you feel that Tai Chi/ Qi Gong is for you then seek guidance from a qualified teacher.

  ***Follow the instructions carefully and try at your own risk***

Position your feet a shoulder width apart on parallel lines pointing directly forwards ( as if balancing on railway tracks ). Keep your head “as if suspended from above” with your chin level. Bring your attention down to your shoulders and your neck and imagine these areas completely relaxing. Keep your back straight with the base of your back tucked under. As you bend your legs slightly you should allow the soles of the feet to connect to the Yongquan points, this is a point just behind the ball of the foot. once connected to this point then your weight will be evenly distributed over the whole foot.

Now imagine holding a large box in front of the body. Your hands should be lower than you wrist, your wrist lower than your elbows. Allow a space under each arm, relax your thumbs and keep a space between each finger. Remember to keep both of the legs bent and the base of the back tucked under. shift all of your weight into the left leg. Keeping your body straight, turn your waist slowly to the left. Now shift all your weight back into your right leg and turn you waist slowly to the right.

If you feel tension creeping into the shoulders than check whether the chest is slightly sunk so it keeps the shoulders relaxed and rounded. You should feel that from the waist down is doing all the work. From the waist up has this alert relaxation within the top half of the body. Keep this correct alignment through the body as your shifting and turning the waist. By using the breath now we can relax the body even more. Try and slow the breath down, relax it as much as you can, then as you shift the weight, breathe in, as you now turn the waist, breathe out. Try and allow the movement to follow the breath. The slower the breath, the slower the movement. The arms should follow the body at all times and should never move independently.

Keep on repeating the shifting of the weight, and the turning of the waist, trying to get as much relaxation as possible out of each movement.

The feet are positioned in the same way as the previous exercise. Feet a shoulder width apart on parallel lines pointing directly forwards ( as if balancing on railway tracks ). Keep your head “as if suspended from above” with your chin level. Bring your attention down to your shoulders and your neck and imagine these areas completely relaxing. Keep your back straight with the base of your back tucked under. As you bend your legs slightly you should allow the soles of the feet to connect to the Yongquan points, this is a point just behind the ball of the foot. Once connected to this your weight will be evenly distributed over the whole foot.

From the previous position, as you shift your weight into the right leg, your right arm rises as if holding an invisible ball with the right hand on top of the ball. Keep your weight in the right leg as you turn your waist to the right. As you shift the weight into your left leg your arms change so you hold a ball with the left hand on top of the ball. Keep your weight in the left leg as you turn the waist to the left.

The hand that on top of the ball should be at about chest height and you must relax the shoulders as much as you can. Try not to collapse the arms into the body. The breath works in the same ways as the previous exercise. Breathe in as you shift the weight, changing the position of your arms, then breathe out as you turn the waist. Repeat as many times as you want.

Every time we shift our weight and turn our waist within the exercises, It is massaging our internal organs, as well as strengthening our legs, and allowing the Qi (Internal energy to flow more efficiently around the body.