Starting a QiGong Routine
If you would like to begin practicing QiGong but do not have access to a teacher and are unsure where to start, you can structure your own routine using the following basic format:
- Opening
- Clearing
- Cultivation
- Centering
- Closing
Here are some examples exercises you can choose from. I pulled them all from QiGong Illustrated (Christina Barea). In leiu of the book, Google / YouTube searches can show you how to preform each one.
Opening
- Pulling Down the Heavens
Clearing
- Channel Dredging
- Counter Swing
- Dropping Post
- Trembling Horse
Cultivation
- Swaying
- Daoist Five
- Eight Silk Brocade
- Turning and Winding the Belt Vessel
Centering
- Swimming Dragon
- Rising Lotus Facial Rejuvenation
- Ten Dragons Running throught the Forest
Closing
- Pulling Down the Heavens
These exercises will be enough to get you moving and consistent practice will bring many benefits, but it is very much worth digging deeper and researching more. QiGong is an ancient practice with many different branches, schools, and forms. It is good to know why you are doing what you are doing.
Recommended reading:
- Chinese Medical QiGong Therapy: Vol. I (Jerry Alan Johnson)
- The Root of Chinese QiGong (Jwing-Ming Yang)
- QiGong Illustrated (Christina Barea)
There are also online courses available on platforms such as udemy, which regularly has sales.