I‘m frequently asked this type of question: “Which Qigong exercise should I practice?” Well, let’s take a look at the 5 main of aims of Qigong and I’ll recommend 1 or 2 for each one: Health and vitality – Lifting The Sky (p.53), Nourishing Kidneys (p.81) Longevity – Carry The Moon (p.77) Internal force – [...]
Learn All About Qigong Exercises
Qigong exercises come in many different schools and styles. And with a history of around 5000 years, that’s hardly surprising.
To help us categorize the legion of qigong exercises we can separate them into 4 different groups based on the aims and objectives of the practitioner.
- Medical
- Scholar Qigong
- Qigong exercises for martial artists
- Qigong exercises for the Monk.
Medical qigong exercises – as the name suggests focus on overcoming a specific or general illness or disease. The aim is restore the harmonious flow of energy or qi through the energy channels (meridians) of the body. With harmonious energy flow you have good health. There are many different qigong exercises that focus on overcoming illness and improving health including ‘self manifested qi flow’.
Scholar Qigong Exercises – at a higher level, where good health is established you may wish to improve your ability to think clearly, to find creative solutions to problems or be a great student, in the endeavor of your choice. In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) the Shen or mind/spirit is responsible for Spirit, consciousness, the ability to articulate thought, memory, intelligence and creativity. Qigong for the scholar focus on the Shen/mind. When Shen is strong you have peace of mind and you can see Shen in a persons eyes. Qigong exercises like Dan Tien breathing and Nourishing Kidneys are beneficial for the Scholar.
Martial Qigong Exercises – the martial artist requires great health, stamina and the ability to make decisions quickly. In the past the martial artists life may depend on these abilities. Qigong for the martial artist focuses on developing these qualities. There are 1000′s of qigong exercises like Zhan Zhuang, iron palm, golden bell, 1 finger shooting Zen that are suitable for these aims.
Monk Qigong Exercises – the highest level. Spiritual cultivation is one of the most rigorous activities an individual can undertake. Qigong exercises can help a person to follow this path safely and effectively.
But remember this grouping is definitely not carved in stone. It’s just to help us in our understanding. For example if we pick one of the most well known qigong exercises – Lifting the Sky. It could easily fit in more than one of the groups mentioned above.
You see, there is no one exercise that is the best of all the qigong exercises. There is something far more important and that is the skill of the practitioner. It’s not how many exercises or forms you know, it’s the skill you have that counts.
Below you will find lots of different posts all to do with qigong exercises. Just click on the title for the full article.
It’s 01:52 in the morning as I write this. It’s so dark as I look outside of my office window, I can’t see a thing. I didn’t notice when the street lamps went off as I was too busy finishing the printing and packing of the 61 Qigong Inner Circle Letters that will be heading [...]
Ollie’s on school holidays and he’s watching early morning kids TV. Reminds me of the fond memories I have sat in front of the TV in my PJ’s on a Saturday morning watching re-runs of the great black and white series. Favourites being: Champion The Wonder Horse – With the catchiest theme tune EVER. Flash [...]
One of the Top 10 questions I keep getting asked goes something like this: “Is it okay if I practice more than one form during my PERFECT Qigong practice?” I blame Tai Chi for this obsession people seem to have with practicing more than one Form during their practice. But I digress. My opinion is [...]
I‘d like to share this with you. It’s part of an email I received from one of my wonderful Qigong clients: ========== “…and then high Qigong came into my life, I knew I was changing for the better. I was getting bolder and growing in confidence. Casting out old fears and most importantly opening my [...]
Preparation. It’s all about preparation… and something else. But we’ll get to that in a moment. I recently bought myself a small methylated spirit burner and a billy can. So I can make wonderful cups of green tea whilst out walking in the beautiful English countryside. But I thought I better get some practice in [...]
I don’t usually talk about what I call ‘The Qigong Lightshow’. What’s that? You rightly ask. It’s the indescribable experiences and sensations you have at random points during your practice. They usually make you stop and say: “Wow!” I’ll tell you why I don’t like talking about them and why they’re actually more of a [...]
So I met up with Neil Hopkins yesterday. Who’s that? I hear you ask. He’s the graphic designer working on the cover for the PERFECT Qigong project and it turns out he’s quite a character. Over far too much coffee, which is funny considering how much of a hard time I’ve given caffeine over the [...]
Welcome back, I hope you had a great weekend and that Monday is being kind to you. Clarabella and Ollie have had a week off and are ‘back to school’ today, so the atmosphere is a little heavy hearted here today. Moving on… I read an interesting article this weekend. The title hooked me in: [...]
This weekend I finally helped my dad to finish his garage to workshop conversion. I’ve enjoyed hanging out with my dad and getting out from in front of this computer and doing ‘Man Stuff’. In case you’re wondering what Man Stuff is, it’s stuff like drilling holes, measuring and cutting wood, fixing things and so [...]
One of my lovely new clients asks a question: “How soon can a new student expect to experience Energy Flow after starting Perfect Qigong?“ It depends on so many factors. But they can be grouped into three main areas: The source of the teaching – I’ve covered the different sources in my Qigong Learning Index [...]
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Woo hoo! Dawlish’s 2nd Qigong course blasted off yesterday. There weren’t as many students in the class as I would’ve liked, but then there never are =) It’s hard to beat the feeling of sharing something you love with keen students face-to-face. Especially when it has so much of value to offer them. I wish [...]