Hello everyone.
For those of you who are new to my practice,
I offer a blend of yoga and qigong.
Essentially,
Yoga and qigong are complementary.
Both are ancient mind and body practices.
Modern yoga has more movements,
Whereas qigong has a few.
You may consider qigong a moving meditation.
It utilizes our mind,
Its creative visualization,
The breath,
And simple movements for self-healing.
I often incorporate commonly used acupuncture points in our classes to bring together the beauty of yoga,
Qigong,
And traditional Chinese medicine to vitalize our lives.
I have recorded this little introduction to the qiaga practice for you to try at home.
I hope you will enjoy yourself and please honor your body.
Rest when you need to.
Yoga or qiaga is not about perfection.
It is about not losing ground and keeping our strength and flexibility.
Now grab a block.
Let's get started.
We will begin by taking a comfortable seat.
You might use a block or a small pillow to help lengthen the lower spine and relax the hips in an easy cross-legged position or even with the legs open.
Keep the spine nice and lengthened.
Dry your shoulders away from your ears and tuck your chin slightly.
Lengthen the back of your neck.
Engage your qigong breathing techniques by placing the tip of your tongue on the roof of your mouth.
The tip of the tongue acts as a switch connecting the two main energy channels of the body,
The governing channel along the spine,
The conception channel in the front.
Close your eyes.
Bring up a joyful smile.
Find your breath.
Find your calm.
And find your heart at ease.
Notice the air comes in and out through your nostrils.
Inhale,
Push your belly out.
Exhale,
Draw your navel towards your spine.
Lengthen your eyes.
Inhale,
Exhale,
Gaze to the right.
Open the eyes big at the end of the exhale to stimulate the liver meridians.
Then gaze to the left.
Eyes are the openings to the liver.
One more time on each side.
Feel the energy rise through your eyes,
Liver enlightens the eyes.
Bring your chin back to center,
Neck row clockwise.
Slowly and mindfully,
Loosen up every muscle fiber on your neck.
Always keep the spine nice and tall.
Then counterclockwise,
When it comes to the movement of our neck,
We don't want to rush through it.
Bring your chin back to center,
Come to all fours.
Stack your shoulders over your wrists,
Hips over your knees.
Spread your fingers wide and press down each pad of your fingers.
A good option is to make a fist,
Press the knuckles down.
This relieves the pressure on the wrists,
Easy on the shoulders.
Cat cow.
Inhale,
Cow pose.
Drop your belly and lift your gaze,
Lift your chest through your biceps.
Exhale,
Cat,
Round your spine.
Press down the tops of your feet,
Draw the knees towards the midline.
Back to a cow,
Followed by our favorite modified cat pose.
Tuck your navel,
Send your hips to the right,
Then draw them towards the left.
You can decide the range of motion.
Back to a cow.
For the next cat pose,
Tuck the navel,
Send your hips to the left,
Then draw them towards the right.
Two more cycles of cat and cow.
This modified cat pose loosens up the psoas muscles,
A very important muscle group.
It connects the front body to the back body,
Upper body to the lower body.
Sometimes when we sit too long,
The psoas muscles get tensed up.
Back to a neutral table top.
Press down the left palm,
Draw the right arm up,
Roll the arm.
Restrict the tendency of lifting the right hip up with the arm.
Inhale,
Fingertips to the sky.
Exhale,
Thread needle.
Right shoulder and right ear to the mat.
Stack the left elbow over the left wrists.
Plug the head of the arm bone into the shoulder socket.
You can decide how much to dial into this twist by the amount of pressure you apply to your left palm.
Keep the hips centered.
Feel the stretch on the upper back,
The compression on the chest,
And the twist in the spine.
Now we're going to change.
Press down the left palm.
Inhale,
Draw the right arm up.
Exhale,
Back to all fours.
Reach the left arm up.
Roll the arm.
Keep the hips square.
Inhale,
Reach up through the fingertips.
Exhale,
Thread needle.
Left shoulder and left ear to the mat.
Right elbow over the right wrists.
Breathe deeply.
Press down the right palm.
Inhale,
Draw the left arm to the sky.
Exhale,
Back to a neutral tabletop.
Roll the toes under and lift your hips high to a down dog.
Walk your hands towards your feet to a smaller dog.
Kind of like an upside down letter U.
Step the left foot half step forward.
Move the weight to your hips.
Lengthen through the left leg and keep the right knee bent.
Little or no weight on the hands.
Hands are barely there for keeping the balance.
Stretch through the left hamstring,
The glutes,
And the lower back.
Press down the right big toe.
Especially important if you have head,
Ankle,
Or knee injuries.
Switch up the legs.
Right leg forward and straight.
Left knee bent.
Heavy your tailbone.
A nice pose to work through the pelvic,
The glutes,
And the hamstrings.
Step the right foot back.
Walk your hands forward to a high plank pose.
Take inhale.
Exhale,
Down dog.
Pedal your feet out.
Move your hips around.
Warming up the waist on both sides.
Inhale,
Look forward.
Exhale,
Walk your feet to your hands to ragdoll.
Bend your knees to any amount.
Move the weight to the bow mount of your feet.
Interlace the elbows and let your head and neck hang heavy.
Sway a little from side to side.
Releasing tension from the lower spine.
Switch up your arms.
Shake your head no and nod your head yes.
Release your palms to the mat.
Toe heel your feet together.
Bend your knees,
Bond your spine a lot.
Tuck your chin.
Begin to back row yourself up.
Stack one vertebrae up at a time.
Your head come up the last.
Once you're up,
Roll your shoulders up and back,
Hands to heart center.
Samasthiti.
Reach your arms up.
Wiggle your waist long.
Press both feet down.
Lengthen through your waist.
Look up from under your armpit.
Gradually bring the palms closer.
Stack them front and back.
Bring your arms closer or behind your ears.
More a thorough stretch.
Inhale,
Reach the arms up.
Exhale,
Lower the arms down.
Stand on top of your mat.
Inhale,
Reach the arms up.
Exhale,
Swan dive,
Forward fold.
Inhale,
Halfway lift.
Exhale,
Fold.
Inhale,
Chair pose.
Exhale,
Airplane arms.
Move your weight to your heels.
Reach the fingertips back,
Palms facing down.
Squeeze the triceps towards the midline.
Inhale,
Rise,
Mountain pose.
Practice arms.
Hold and breathe.
Press your forearm back.
Stack the wrists directly over the elbows.
Tuck the core in strong and tight.
Opening the upper body.
Inhale,
Reach the arms up.
Exhale,
Swan dive,
Forward fold.
Plant your palms on the mat.
Step the feet back to a high plank pose.
Shoulders are directly over your wrists.
Press and lift through your heels.
Engage your strong core.
Guard the elbows towards the midline.
Turn the crease of the elbow facing forward.
One more breath.
Press up from the earth and then lower the knees down.
Flop the feet.
Send your hips up.
Keep your hands forward to a puppy pose.
Rest your forehead on the mat,
Pressing down the thumbs and index fingers,
Finding that twisting sensation on both hands.
See if you're twisting the right palm clockwise,
Left palm counterclockwise.
This sensation in the hands would help us to line up the shoulder joints when we're in up dog or bum dog.
Elbows are lifted and stretch the armpits.
Lower your elbows and slide your torso forward.
Belly down.
Prepare for a low cobra.
Zip the feet together.
Press all the toenails into the mat.
Lift your kneecaps to activate your quads.
Palms underneath your shoulders,
Little or no weight.
Tuck the elbows in.
Inhale,
Lengthen and lift your chest.
Hold and breathe.
Feel the activation of your lower spine,
The spread of your collarbones.
Here for three.
Flow even higher in two.
And one.
Lower the chin down.
Bring your hands to near your waist.
Press into your palms.
Relax your neck.
Lift your torso and hollow your belly.
Begin to round your spine,
As if you're in a big cat pose.
This rounding of the spine helps to neutralize the spine after the back bend we just did.
Reach your hips towards your heels.
Knees together.
Walk your hands to your left.
Move the hips off the heels to the right.
Walk the hands across the mat to the right.
Move the hips to the left.
Arms back to center.
Settle into your child pose.
Engage your chi gong breathing techniques by placing the tip of your tongue on the roof of your mouth.
At the end of the exhale,
Pull the pelvic floor up,
Strengthening the muscles and tissues in the pelvic organs.
Observe three cycles of chi gong breath.
Inhale,
Rise,
Tabletop.
Exhale,
Down dog.
Inhale,
Ride leg high.
Exhale,
Three legs dog.
Bend the knee,
Roll the ankle.
Open the hips if you feel like to.
Inhale,
Reach the toes up.
Exhale,
Step to low lunge,
Foot in between your hands.
Inhale,
Rise for your two.
Hold and breathe.
Back foot parallel with the short edge of the mat.
Press down the edge of the foot.
Front knee,
Sag the over ankle.
Not beyond.
Pull the back arm back slightly.
Inhale,
Reach through the fingertips.
Exhale,
Extended side ankle.
Front arm forward and down.
Back arm to the sky.
Taking options,
Rest the elbow on the thigh or use your elbow to hook up the inner thigh to give the thigh an external rotation.
Press down the short edge of the back foot.
Now we're going to change.
Inhale,
Reverse warrior.
Front arm to the sky.
Hold and breathe.
Aim the front knee towards the outer edge of the front foot.
Bring the right arm closer to your ear.
Turn the triceps in towards your face.
One more inhale.
Exhale,
Hands to your heart.
Horse pose.
Heels in and toes out.
You're going to flow.
Inhale,
Start.
Exhale,
Horse.
Inhale,
Rise.
Exhale,
Sink a little deeper.
Inhale,
Open.
Exhale,
Soften the grips of your toes.
Inhale,
Open and expand.
Exhale,
Hands to your heart.
Keep your chest lifted.
Inhale,
Rise.
Arms out to a T.
Parallel your feet.
Take a breath in.
Lift your chest.
And then breath out.
Hinge your hips.
Wide leg forward fold.
Hands hold onto your heels or place the palms in between your feet.
Parallel the elbows.
Each inhale,
Lift the hips higher.
Each exhale,
Draw the crown of your head closer towards the earth.
Inhale,
Lift your chest halfway and palms underneath your shoulders.
Exhale,
Turn the left foot forward.
Walk the hands to both sides of the front foot.
Lift the back heel up.
Press down the right fingertips.
In a low lunge,
Now reach the lifeform up.
Easy twist.
Press down the big toes front and back.
Keep the back leg straight and strong.
Plugging the front knee towards the midline.
One more breath.
Lower the arm and the back knee.
Flatten the back foot.
Send your hips back.
Half split front ankle flex.
Press down the fingertips.
Keep the spine lengthened.
Feeling the stretch on the hamstring.
Or fold over your leg.
Adding the stretch to the lower spine.
Press the front heel into the ground to deepen the stretch.
One more breath.
Bring the palms back.
Fall the left foot back.
Neutral tabletop.
Inhale.
Exhale,
Bend the elbow,
Lower your chest down,
Chin down.
Inhale,
Up dog.
Hold and breathe.
Option is to move into a low cobra.
Press down the tops of your feet.
Lift your kneecaps to activate your quads.
The pubic bone can be on or off the mat.
Press down your thumbs and your index fingers.
Finding that twisting sensation.
Lift your chest through your biceps.
Gaze towards the front wall.
Or where the wall and the ceiling meet.
One more inhale.
Exhale,
Curl the toes under.
Lift your hips high to down dog.
Observe three deep cycles of breath.
Inhale,
Lengthen your spine.
Exhale,
Press your chest towards your thighs.
Soft bend of your knees are always welcome.
Be sure the lengthening of the spine.
Inhale,
Life like a high.
Exhale,
Three like the dog.
Bend the knee,
Roll the ankle.
Open the hips.
Take a breath in,
Reach the toes up.
Exhale,
Step the foot between your hands.
Inhale,
Rise.
Warrior two.
Hold back on back a little.
Stack your ribs directly over your hips.
Exhale,
Extended side angle.
Take your options.
Inhale,
Reverse warrior.
Hold and breathe.
Exhale,
Straighten the front leg,
Arms out to a T.
Parallel your feet.
Bring the arms behind and interlace the fingers.
Hold the fist down.
Take a breath in.
Lift your chest,
Tuck your chin.
Exhale,
Wide legged forward fold with chest extension.
Send your knuckles to the sky.
Let your fist hang.
Squeeze the triceps towards each other.
Pull your shoulders away from your ears.
Bend your knees to any amount.
Lift the hips higher.
Draw the crown of your head closer to the ground.
Inhale,
Lift your chest halfway.
Palms underneath your shoulders.
Exhale,
Turn the right foot forward.
Hands to both sides of the front foot.
To a low lunge,
Lift the foot closer to the right hand.
It's down the left fingertips.
The right arm up.
Easy twist.
Press down the big toes front and back,
Hugging the front knee towards the midline.
Act like nice and strong.
Lower the arm and the back knee.
Flap the feet.
Send the hips back to a half split.
Press down the fingertips.
Lengthen through the spine.
Press the front heel into the ground.
You might fold over your leg.
Stretch through the lower spine.
In addition to the nice stretch on the hamstring.
Back to your palms.
Draw the leg back to a tabletop.
Cross the ankle or move the feet to the side.
Take a seat on the mat.
Send the heels to touch.
Walk the hips closer to your heels.
Butterfly and pick up the big toes.
Spine lengthened,
Yourselves hugging your chest.
Tuck your chin.
Project the crown of your head up.
Wiggle your knees.
Bring the knees together.
Legs straight.
Start to pedal the knees against the floor.
Shake the kinks out.
Now we're going to make our way up to a stand.
Take your time.
You can stand up the usual way.
Take this opportunity to take a sip of water.
If you'd like to try to stand up through a yogi squat,
Bring your feet hip width or slightly wider.
Elbow press against the inner thigh.
Lift the heels off the floor.
Yogi squat is a hip opener.
It stimulates your metabolism.
It encourages grounding.
It helps us to connect with the earth energy.
Now engage your strong core.
Select your leg muscles and come up to a stand.
Arms towards the sky.
Beautiful job everybody.
And now lower the heels down.
Release the arms.
Roll your shoulders.
Back yourself to a wall.
Bring the heels to touch.
Toes open.
Arms up.
Interlace your fingers and flip the palms towards the sky.
Slowly inhale and lift your heels off the ground.
Continue to breathe,
Standing on your toes.
This simple pose offers many health benefits.
The joints are stacked properly.
All the muscles in the body are engaged.
Internal organs are uplifted.
It's a great exercise.
It works the entire body.
It also stimulates the mass point on the kidney channel that is in the soles of the feet.
The Yung Chuan point.
The study shows the simple move helps to lose weight in particular to the middle section.
One more breath.
Lower the heels down.
Hands on the crown of your head.
Massage the Bai Hui point,
The highest point in the body to the sun,
To the source.
Massage it in a circular motion.
The word Bai Hui stands for where hundreds of young energy converges at this point.
Bai Hui regulates circulation.
It improves memory by increasing blood flow to the brain.
Doctors also use it to treat prolapse of the organs.
It opens sinuses,
Treats sinus headaches.
Bring your hands behind your scalp as if you're trying to scrape up the hairline.
With inhale,
Draw the elbows to touch.
Exhale,
Press your elbows back.
Press the shoulders back and open your chest.
Press down the big toes.
Feel the lengthening of the hip crease.
One more deep breath.
Slowly release the hands.
Draw your shoulders.
Prepare for Tree Pose.
Move through the left standing foot.
Right knee bend.
Soap the foot on the ankle,
Shin,
Or all the way to your thigh.
Be careful to avoid knee joints.
Bring the hands to your heart.
For balancing,
Three things to keep in mind.
Foundation,
Core,
Lock,
And an unmoving vocal point.
If you like to grow your branches,
Reach your arms over your head.
Turn the triceps in towards your face.
Then reach the arms as high as you like.
This pronation of the arms helps you minimize the tendon overload.
It helps to preserve the integrity of the shoulder joints.
Bring the hands back to your heart.
Release the foot.
Walk your feet out.
Second side.
Root through the right standing foot.
Bend the left knee.
Move into your Tree Pose.
If you are able to look out through a window,
Be inspired by the graceful trees outside.
They give us comfort,
Alters us,
And brings us peace.
Bring the hands to your heart.
Over the foot.
And we're going to bring up the heavy bouncing feet.
Hip widths are slightly wider.
Bend your knees up and down.
Find the most comfortable vibration in your body.
You might think this looks silly,
But when we bounce,
We stimulate our muscles to release stress.
And you can help to feel happy.
Reach the arms up.
Let your wrists hang.
If you notice any tension in your shoulders as you breathe out,
Let go of the tension.
Move the arms and swing them front to back.
Come back to stillness.
Prepare for today's Qigong practice.
Feet hip widths are slightly wider.
Arms long,
Palms facing forward.
Place the tip of your tongue on the roof of your mouth.
Engage a gentle but deep breathing.
Close your eyes.
Bring up a joyful smile.
The simple act of smile helps to release endorphins and serotonin,
The feel-good chemicals in the brain.
Now,
See this beautiful light shining in your heart.
With each breath,
This beautiful light shining in your heart gets bigger,
Brighter,
And warmer.
Now,
Your whole body is in this light.
With your closed eyes,
See yourself as this magnificent being of light.
This is the light of the unconditional love you were born with.
In the light of your unconditional love,
Notice how your body feels from the inside.
The light continues to grow.
See your family and your community are in this light.
The light grows even bigger,
Even brighter,
Even warmer.
In the light of your love,
You start to open your wings.
Feel your light and your love radiates to the end of the earth,
All the way to the sky.
Once your arms are up,
Flip the palms facing up,
Fingers pointed in.
Try to keep the arms as straight as you can.
And then,
Keep the wrists engaged.
Slowly open your arms.
Once your arms are out to a T,
Relax your shoulders.
Press your palms away,
Fingers pointed up.
Accentuate the middle fingers.
If this is your first time,
Lower your arms to an angle and continue to hold.
Notice the warmth in your chest,
The tingling sensation along your arms,
Through your palms,
And your fingers.
You're practicing opening the heart and clearing the lungs.
This T-Gong practice stimulates the pericardium meridians as well as the lung meridians.
The pericardium is this double walled sac.
Encloses the heart.
It's the guardian to the heart.
It's a simple practice.
It's a good self-care for heart health.
It brings relief for mild symptoms of palpitations.
When we stretch the arms out,
We also clean the lungs.
Slowly lower your arms with your wrists engaged.
Take your hands to prayer.
Bring your focus back to your heart.
Feel this beautiful light shining in your heart.
This light is yours.
This is your light.
Am I extended to anyone or to anything?
Take a cycle of breath through your lower gan tien.
Release your fingers and wrap your palms.
Massage your face nine times.
Give your trifacial nerves some love.
This dry wash of the face improves complexion and makes us look younger.
Now massage the ears nine times.
Every part of the ears,
Nooks and crannies.
Cup your head.
Cup back and your neck.
Notice your head become more clear to cup the head.
In case you're wondering what we're doing,
We are harvesting the chi.
Cup the left shoulder head.
Right shoulder head.
Up the torso.
Left side of the torso.
Right side.
Left arm inside,
Outside.
Right arm.
And we're going to cup the kidneys.
Bend your knees a little.
Use the back of your hands to massage the kidneys gently.
Use your palms to massage.
You might kind of feel a little thing.
The energy is moving about on your back.
Radiates to other part of your body and even to your head.
And now we're going to tap the depression behind the hip cramps.
It's easier to access this point if you send your hips back.
And cup the kneecaps.
Last knee.
Right knee.
The condiments.
Heel rise.
Stimulating the Yong Chuan point.
It translates to bubbling spring of life.
Wonderful.
Let's make our way down to the floor.
Lie on your back.
Arms out to the side.
Bring the knees up and drop the knees to the right armpit and gaze to the left.
Bring the knees back.
Drop the knees to the left armpit.
Gaze to the right.
Two more times on each side.
Bring the knees up and grab onto your feet or your shin or happy baby.
Then hug the knees.
Rock yourself front to back.
Massage your entire spine.
Then curl yourself up like a ball.
Take a deep inhale.
Exhale.
Shavasana.
Release the legs down.
Flap the toes out.
Arms long by your sides and palms face up.
Tuck your chin slightly.
Again to relax your entire body.
G cracks in the you you We are awareness back make all your toes and your fingers For the next five breaths use your entire body to breathe Inhale fresh energy comes in through every pore of your skin gather in your lower dantian Exhale send the breath out through the soles of your feet and the center of your palms Slowly roll yourself to your right side find your fetal position we symbolize rebirth With your eyes remain closed assist yourself up to a comfortable seat Guide your hands to heart center gently bow for our time together on the mat today Bring your thumbs to the third eye may this practice and beyond bring your peace joy and contentment namaste
