Rotating Winch is the fourth of the 18 qigong exercises that make up the Shaolin 18 Lohan Hands. Also known as 轆 轤 旋 轉 and LU LU XUAN ZHUAN, it is a deceptively simple-looking pattern with a broad range of benefits — particularly for the head, neck, and nervous system.
Key Benefits of Rotating Winch
When practiced as qigong — not merely as physical form — Rotating Winch offers the following benefits:
- Relaxes and stretches the muscles, tendons, ligaments, bones, connective tissues, and meridians of the neck and upper spine
- Encourages qi to flow harmoniously to the head
- Extremely beneficial for frequent headaches and migraines
- Can overcome neurological problems
- Helps prevent or overcome strokes
- Benefits problems with any of the organs
- Provides relief for thyroid, ear, throat, eye, and facial problems
- Cleanses the nervous system
- Gives the spinal cord a gentle stimulation
- Ideal for those who spend long periods sitting at a desk
A Note on Breathing
Unlike most exercises in the 18 Lohan Hands set, Rotating Winch has no specific breathing pattern attached to it. It is performed with spontaneous breathing — breathe in when you need to breathe in, breathe out when you need to breathe out.
An Important Note on Form vs. Qigong
Rotating Winch is one of the clearest examples in the entire set of why form and qigong are not the same thing. Watching the video with little background in qigong, it’s reasonable to ask how such a simple movement could produce such significant benefits. The answer is that the physical movements alone cannot — and will not.
Practiced as qigong — in a Qigong State of Mind (QSoM) — the form generates an energy flow (sometimes called “flowing breeze swaying willows”). It is that qi flow, working through the relevant meridians, that produces the benefits listed above. Practicing the movements without this is practicing form. At best, it will help relax the muscles in the neck. The deeper benefits require qigong.
Learning Rotating Winch directly from a qualified qigong instructor is strongly recommended — the gap between form and qigong is especially visible with this pattern.
Next in the 18 Lohan Hands
The next exercise in the set is Big Turn of the Cosmos — exercise 5 of the 18 Lohan Hands.
