– Ken Cohen from “The Way of Qigong”
Exercise 1
- Assume the basic qi gong standing posture. Take a few moments to relax into this position. Feel your feet planted on the ground. Tune into how your body and mind feel.
- Take your right hand and slap down the inside of your left arm, which is the direction of the meridian flow.
- Follow this by slapping up the outside of your left arm. Do 9 sets of this, or as many as you feel like.
- Change arms and repeat.
- Bending from the waist, lean over and slap down the outside of both legs simultaneously. Continue the circuit by slapping up the inside of the legs. Do 9 sets, or as many as you feel like.
- Stand back up into your basic posture, and slap up the centreline of your torso from above your pubic bone to your neck. Don’t slap in both directions – when you have reached your neck, start again from just above your pubic bone. Do 9 sets or as many as you feel to.
- Come back into your standing posture. Relax and once again tune into how your body and mind feel.
Exercise 2
- Assume your standing posture. Relax and tune into your body and mind. Make sure you have enough space around you to swing your arms freely.
- Allow your hands to hang free by your stands. Beginning the movement at your waist, begin to gently and slowly twist from side to side. Begin with small movements and gradually increase both rotation and speed to your comfort level. Practice for about 5 minutes or as long as you feel to.
- When you are ready, begin to gradually slow down your movements. Gradually return to your resting position.
- Next, move your arms back behind you below the level of your shoulders, and then swing them in front of you as if you are giving yourself a hug. Start slowly and increase speed (or not) as you wish to. Practice for 5 minutes or as long as you feel to. Gradually slow down so that you come back to your resting position.
- Finally, begin from your resting position and begin to slowly swing your hands in front of you, up and over your shoulders, reaching back to slap your upper back if you can comfortable reach. Do this for 5 minutes or as long as you feel to.
With all of these movements, take a few moments at the beginning and the end to tune into how you feel in your body and mind. Begin to notice the different sensations in your muscles and connective tissues. Where you find tension, begin to release it gently and without force.
These exercises can be helpful in the morning upon waking, or anytime when we are feeling lethargic and need more energy.
It is also helpful to notice what is happening in our minds during these exercises. Are we bored and looking forward to finishing? Do I feel more energy doing them, or not? Tune into the more subtle layers of your thinking and emotional life. Don’t try to change anything, just notice what is happening in terms of your reactions and feelings. Gradually, you might find that you extend your awareness of your feelings, thoughts and reactions with increasing sensitivity into more and more aspects of your daily life. Combined with gentleness and generosity towards oneself, this can be extremely helpful in shedding light on our habitual functioning.
Have fun!
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