The body must have exercise, to work efficiently, by moving about briskly digestion is improved, muscles, tendons and ligaments are toned and stretched, joints are rotated, blood vessels opened, tone internal organs, improve balance, reduce stress, boost the immune system, remove toxins, train the mind and illnesses prevented, or their effects reduced.

There are numerous benefits from performing various Qigong exercises but mainly from a western view the exercises will;

  • massage your internal organs helping them to function more efficiently
  • calm the mind through the focus on the breath with each movement
  • improves the alignment of the skeletal structure
  • stretches the muscles, ligaments and tendons of the body
  • lubricate and ensure good movement of the joints
  • improves the circulatory, respiratory and immune systems
  • brings balance to your emotions
  • and from an eastern view channels energy around the body and through the meridians

Many of the exercises also emphasise moving your eyes (probably due to good eyesight, especially the peripheral vision, is essential to self-defence) to;

  • follow the movement of your hands
  • extend the stretch from you physical body and through your eyes
  • looking into the distance

There are a huge variety of Qigong forms around but some of the common forms of Qigong exercises include;

  • Five animals play (Frolic)
  • The eight brocades
  • Eighteen hands of the Lohan (Enlightened ones)
  • Yi Jin Jing (Tendon changing and marrow washing)

Qigong aims to cultivate the three treasures of Qi, these being;

  • Qi (Vital Energy
  • Jing (Essence)
  • Shen (Spirit)

There are 4 categories of Qigong;

  • Medical Qigong for healing
  • Martial Qigong to energise the body to a higher martial state
  • Religious Qigong for spiritual enlightenment
  • and, Scholarly Qigong for the mind

This is one of the reasons people are confused when they look for Qigong exercises, each has a different goal which may or may not align with what you are looking for.  The exercises we will teach will cover each of these aspects to differing degrees.

Every person who uses Qigong exercises and cultivates their Qi consistently experiences some form of health improvement and access to greater energy and power.

The core exercises

The following ten exercises are the basic foundations for your Qigong journey.

Standing on a stone (Infinite Ultimate stance – Wu Ji) – Infinite Ultimate Stance

  1. Tide rolls in and out
  2. Silk Reeling (Wave Hands Like Cloud)
  3. Playing with the ball
  4. Lifting the Sky
  5. In and Out (Separating water)
  6. Settling the heavens (Plucking stars)
  7. Two hands turn the wheel
  8. Harmonious link to heaven, man and earth
  9. White Crane Spreads its wings
  10. Gentle small universe (Rolling Hands / Wheel of energy)

In our Qigong exercises, we visualise scooping energy up (think golden pool of liquid energy), drawing energy up (think pulling energy up like golden syrup on a spoon) and gathering energy from the heavens (think reaching up and gathering the stars), with these energies we bring them into our Dan Tien (or Hara) – The Three Energies