Qigong Ken Cohen Traditional Chinese exercises to heal body mind & spirit ancient wisdom and modern science one of the most effective self-healing methods in the world today as water is to fish, air to birds, so chi is to humans Glossary Dan Tian: the field where planted is the elixir of life energy center between lower abdomen & lower back Basic Qigong stance Stance of Power Wu Qi position Posture standing head light like a puppet's head held up by a string eyes open and peaceful mouth lightly closed, tongue touching upper pallet chin slightly down to expose just a bit of the neck i n back shoulders relaxed and naturally down by weigh of arms keep shoulders relaxed & down in all qi gong exe rcises spine plum vertical & stretched long straight but not stiff elongated: tail-bone pulled down, head pulled up chest dropped and relaxed, ribs hang naturally abdomen soft & relaxed down and out to allow free moveme nt knees slightly bent just over the toes feet flat on the ground, shoulder width apart parallel: check them to be sure spread weight evenly over the whole foot all joints are open & relaxed, never locked weight sunk thru the feet like a tree with deep roots mind is silently aware, like a clear sky with no clouds Relaxation
whole body relaxed, not limp but alive shoulders relaxed, face relaxed use minimum effort to maintain your posture tension dropping into the ground Breathing most exercises (begin with) abdominal breathing abdominal respiration with the diaphragm slow relaxed breathing thru the nose perhaps as few as 5 per min Qigong practice Stage Stage Stage Stage
1: 2: 3: 4:
warm-up - whole body breathing purifying the Qi - bone marrow cleansing gathering & circulating Qi - standing meditation dispersing stagnation - self massage
Exercises 30 mins Stage 1: Warm-up standing meditation from stance of power rotate palms to back lift arms from wrists do not lift shoulders: we want breath to stay low in abd omen wrists to height of shoulders bend knees a little extra rounded stance, hands holding ball hold as long as we can comfortably, eventually 15 mins breath, slower the better, to sense chi imbalance eyes open (help with balance) mind focused on present moment, no expectation of result s (restorative awareness) if we loose focus and the mind wanders, concentrate on b reathing again: how am i breathing? once we are experiencing the deep abdominal breathing, s end this breath/Qi to the entire body whole body breathing A. long arm circles, 3x this way then 3x opposite way stand feet shoulder width apart, parallel knees slightly bent abdomen relaxed to move free with the breath spine straight & long relax without trying to stretch to hard inhale and let arms rise slowly (in front) & dri ft up overhead drawing Qi thru legs thru body to finger
tips exhale: hands come down (sides of body) expel stale/stagnant/unneeded Qi B. Qi accordion palms lined up facing each other (holding ball) height of navel arms lines up: forearms to hand to fingertips knees bent a little more than before breathing thru the nose go at your won pace let the movement of breath determine the movemen t of body inhale (open) and hands come out, body rises a l ittle, knees straighten (don't lock) whole body fills with breath hands expand as well exhale (close) palms move toward each other release breath and contract everything body sinks down a little knees bend Stage 2: purifying the Qi Bone marrow cleansing cleanse bones of impurities strengthen bone structure strengthen & stimulate immune system basic qigong stance A. filling body with prayer line up palms like whole body breathing but lower at abd omen relaxed breathing, not needed to line up breath with mov ement carry ball between palms up to height of chest elbows fold hands move toward chest & toward each other to prayer posture, rent thumbs on breastbone hold posture a minute or two feeling observing how the b reath is moving in this meditative posture eyes open or closed watch the breath body is filling with Qi body is microcosm of universe hands drift down to sides B. long hair filling the universe palms turn outwards and arms lift up laterally until hei ght of shoulders palms turn outwards imagine body is filling universe feet reach down to center of earth head reaches up to sky
arms infinitely out pores of skin open so Qi can enter & move thru body hair is long & flowing hold position & intent for a bout a minute drift hands down C. ming-man switch one hands begins to lift up palm facing out to front center of back of other hand rests spine on lower back b ehind navel (ming man) hand overhead palm toward sky for a moment turn hand down and feel energetic connection between cen ter of hand & crown of head stimulate internal energy hand drifts down, pure healing energy moving thru bones driving impurities out thru feet when hands are same level, release back hand switch sides 5x each side hands down to sides D. rooted tree illuminates the skeleton both hands lift up center body in front as offering overturn hands upwards at chest and push up image standing like tree with deep roots, palms reaching toward sky turn palms over (still overhead) to feel energetic field hands come down in front sending pure healing energy thr u the bones skeleton is illuminated with internal light drive impure energy out thru the feet as compose to help plants to grow release hands down to sides Stage 3: gathering & circulating Qi standing meditation 5-10 mins total standing time to start 20-25 mins advanced single most important exercise in qigong awareness of present moment gather qi from universe and spread thru body balance qi increase deficient places reduce excess chi first position: lower rounded arms fist size under each arm pit lifted from naturally hanging position entire arm is gracefully rounded, not just the w rists eyes are open, soft relaxed gaze at nothing in p articular sounds & sights part of experience of reality up to 3 mins
second position: middle rounded arms arms still rounded bring circular shape up to height of breast-bone elbows sunk slightly down as if weight attached to elbows fingers gently extended third position: upper rounded arms arms still rounded raise arms up to height of eyes palms turned diagonally out as if resting on a g iant sphere fourth position: lower rounded arms hands float slowly down down to anywhere: from top of hipbone to top of femur palms facing down, buoyant as if resting on a wa tery surface top of forearms & wrists are now rounded close up rise up just slightly rest hands on back of hips foot massage via the earth move weight forward without lifting heel s shift weight back to heels back & forth a few times right & left several times circling weight around a few times one w ay then the other hands come down Stage 4: dispersing stagnation self-massage so essential is self-massage that many scholars translat e the ancient word for qigong "tao yin" actually meant massaging the b ody. first massage: front abdomen relaxed cross hands over navel men: left hand on navel, right hand on l eft women: right hand on navel, left hand on right circle hands around navel in small circles lightly chafing the skin result: warming the area and spread qi m ore evenly gradually larger and larger circles 18 circles end under breast bone
reverse direction of circles reducing circle diameter yuen qi guay yuen: the original energy r eturns to the origin strengthens dan tian 18 circles second massage: back kidney massage circling with fist up along spine 36 circles final wrap-up circles massage / slap any area that needs some love face/eyes is good end with hands over lower abdomen, thumbs interl ocked close eyes, go into quiet meditation overall body scan what has happened, what has changed how am i standing, how am i breathing experience the qi
