Beginning Level Exercises- repeat three times in general or do as many as comfortable
1. Standing position with stretching of the spine
Feet shoulder width apart, knees bent, hands at sides, feel suspension from the top of the head
2. Swing and stretch arm upward Knees bent, straighten and use momentum of bounce in knees to swing arm above head, stretch to sky, let arms drop to slap thigh (right side then left, the both sides)
3. Touching jiangjing, point on shoulder near base of neck
Swing arm to up to vertical position with knee momentum, drop to touch jianjing with your middle finger, then let arm fall to side (right, left, then both sides at once)
4. Patting dazhui, point on back of neck
Swing arm to vertical, drop to pat dazhui three times each side
5. Diagonal patting upper shoulder Swing arm to pat opposite side of upper shoulder (right and left three times)
6. Same side patting of upper shoulder
Swing arm to vertical, let drop on upper shoulder on same side (right and left three times)
7. Body stretching in three directions
Arms at sides, stretch downwards using mind power- relax – stretch arms forward in front of you using mind power and feel connection of arms through your back – relax – stretch arms upwards above your head while bending knees using mind power – drop arms to thighs
8. Up-Down stretching the spine
Knees bent, hands at sides, lower your body while feeling a string pulling at the top head – feel a stretching of the spine – then straighten up knees while feeling pulling sensation from below on your tailbone, again feel stretching of spine
9. Holding balls standing Knees bent, form energy balls at the end of both hands at your sides
10. Balls floating then pushing down
Let the energy balls float the arms up to shoulder level, then push them down to waist level
11. Holding ball standing
Form an energy ball in front of the lower abdomen like having a big belly
12. Holding – expanding and shrinking of the ball Let the ball expand and the arms float outwards and to the sides as though touching the surface of a huge energy ball – then let the ball shrink, while the hands and arms come together
13. Supporting ball standing
Support a giant energy ball from underneath by both hands, palms facing up, in front of your lower abdomen
14. Supporting – Floating and sinking of the ball
Let the ball float up to the level of the center of the eyebrows – let the hands rotate up to touch the top surface of the ball and the palms now face the floor, let the ball sink slowly as your hands fall to the level of the lower abdomen and circle hands around outline of the ball
15. Head stretching in four directions
Let your head flop down, chin to chest and gently bounce head forward – then flop chin to sky and gently bounce head backward – then flop ear to left shoulder and gently bounce head toward shoulder – flop ear to right shoulder and gently bounce head towards shoulder
16. Neck stretching in circular motion
Slow neck circles clockwise and counterclockwise three times each; use your torso to let floppy head circle
17. Dao Yin – Imitating Turtle
Lift shoulders up to your ears – drop shoulders and relax three times; circle shoulders towards the back to open up chest three times; circle shoulders towards the front pointing elbows to front – three times
18. Dao Yin – Imitating Bird
With imaginary beak coming out of your chin, let chin circle forward (pecking grain) – knees bend and straighten chin to chest – three times,then chin circles backward (swallowing water) – knees bend and straighten chin to chest – three times
19. Dao Yin – Imitating Snake
Feet together – index fingers point at ground – right hand sweeps side to side going upwards, use torso to move your arm and finger – stretch right arm up and left arm down when right arm is fully extended up; then reverse movement and move torso to wind right arm until it is at the side again; repeat with left arm
20. Holding the ball facing the belly Form an energy ball at the level of the navel – palms facing your belly
21. Moving the ball upward, backward, and bending downwards Move the energy ball out in front of the chest, arms at the level of the shoulders – then move the energy ball upwards above the head and bend backwards, looking through the energy ball – then bend downwards, bringing the ball down to the floor, and look through the energy ball at the floor, repeat three times
22. Turning the body and shining the ball on the opposite heel Move the energy ball to the right side, turning the waist so as to view the back of your left heel through the energy ball – repeat three times while turning to the right, then three times while turning to the left, view right heel through the ball when turning to the left
23. Moving the ball playfully sideways
Move the ball in a diagonal motion upwards and to the right – place body weight on the right foot-lift the left heel from the floor and point with left toes to ground – swing the ball in an arc across the sky to the left – arch right side of body and feel stretch from fingers, down right side of body, to the right foot let the ball drop slowly as though it were becoming heavy – return to center – do three times, then do on other side, let ball float to left, point with right toes to ground, arch to stretch left side of body, let ball drop
24. Holding the ball moving upward Slowly raise the ball up, swinging it vigorously from side to side like a pendulum, raise it until it is directly over your head
25. Turning the ball at the area above the crown
With the palms facing downwards above the crown, circle palms three times clockwise and three times counterclockwise, then let left hand lower from third eye down center of the body at level of breasts, then to navel
26. Holding the ball at the area above the crown Hold the palms facing downward at the area above the crown for a few minutes, feel the energy of higher chakra
27. Qi passing through from the head to the feet
Let the hands descend from the area above the crown along the midline -direct the energy downwards towards the feet – swing arms up to position palms facing downwards over the crown, capture energy, again lower hands and watch energy flow down body to the feet – repeat three times
28. Rotating the ball with the bottom of the feet With hands at the hips, form an energy ball underneath the right foot – roll it away and roll it back by extending the leg and bending the foot backwards; repeat three times with left foot
29. Massage low back
With hands on low back, massage shenshu (a point located on the back at the level of L2 vertebra), rub up and down then clockwise three times, counterclockwise three times, and finish by pushing downward
30. Filling up the abdomen with qi
From shenshu, allow the abdomen to fill up with qi, qi passing through from the head to the abdomen – slowly lower hands down the front of the body, where the hands go the qi goes, fill your abdomen full of qi, then raise hands above head and lower to fill abdomen full of qi again, repeat the movement three times, finish in the standing posture
31. Awareness of the field of qi around the body
Rest in the standing posture, feel the qi all around the body, the qi may make the body feel like it wants to rise
32. Treading on water Slowly step up and down as though walking on water – palms facing down towards the floor
33. Holding the ball in 8 variations
Spontaneously, move the energy ball as the leading energy moves through you – let the ball do the following: floating, sinking, expanding, contracting, forward, backward, spiraling, rotating
34. Taichi exercises for self-induction of qi (externally and internally) Part I
Use your thought to lead qi to ming men (life’s door, a point located just below the spinous process of the second lumbar vertebra, approximately at the level of the umbilicus in your back, it is said to be the root of life qi within the body and is therefore very important in qigong), holding energy ball with both hands, feel a stick from ball through navel to connect to mingmen, wait peacefully for self-induction movement, allow the energy ball to move you and follow its movement
35. Taichi exercises for self-induction of qi, Part II Use awareness to lead qi from shoulders to elbows to hands. Become aware of both hands and wait peacefully for self-induction movement, follow the energy flow of the hands and arms
36. Closing exercises When finished (if at night), bring the right hand over the navel and then the left hand over the top of it, during the day bring the left hand over the navel, and the right hand over the top of it, feel the qi be absorbed into the belly, bring energies back to your center
Simplified Beginning Exercises (abbreviated exercise sequence)
1. Dao Yin – Imitating Bird
With imaginary beak coming out of your chin, let chin circle forward (pecking grain) – knees bend and straighten chin to chest – three times, then chin circles backward (swallowing water) – knees bend and straighten chin to chest – three times
2. Body stretching in three directions
Arms at sides, stretch downwards using mind power- relax – stretch arms forward in front of you using mind power and feel connection of arms through your back – relax – stretch arms upwards above your head while bending knees using mind power – drop arms to thighs
3. Up-Down stretching the spine
Knees bent, hands at sides, lower your body while feeling a string pulling at the top head – feel a stretching of the spine – then straighten up knees while feeling pulling sensation from below on your tailbone, again feel stretching of spine
4. Standing position with stretching of the spine
Feet shoulder width apart, knees bent, hands at sides, feel suspension from the top of the head
5. Holding balls standing
Knees bent, form energy balls at the end of both hands at your sides
6. Taichi exercises for self-induction of qi (externally and internally) Part I
Use your thought to lead qi to ming men (life’s door, a point located just below the spinous process of the second lumbar vertebra, approximately at the level of the umbilicus in your back, it is said to be the root of life qi within the body and is therefore very important in qigong), holding energy ball with both hands, feel a stick from ball through navel to connect to mingmen, wait peacefully for self-induction movement, allow the energy ball to move you and follow its movement
7. Turning the ball at the area above the crown
With the palms facing downwards above the crown, circle palms three times clockwise and three times counterclockwise, then let left hand lower from third eye down center of the body at level of breasts, then to navel
8. Qi passing through from the head to the feet
Let the hands descend from the area above the crown along the midline – direct the energy downwards towards the feet – swing arms up to position palms facing downwards over the crown, capture energy, again lower hands and watch energy flow down body to the feet – repeat three times
9. Taichi exercises for self-induction of qi, Part II
Use awareness to lead qi from shoulders to elbows to hands. Become aware of both hands and wait peacefully for self-induction movement, follow the energy flow of the hands and arms
10. Closing exercises
When finished (if at night), bring the right hand over the navel and then the left hand over the top of it, during the day bring the left hand over the navel, and the right hand over the top of it, feel the qi be absorbed into the belly, bring energies back to your center