Qigong for Anti-aging and Health : 5 and 6

Eight Direction Exercise Part 2 

Movement 5 and 6

5. Earth Energy and Sky Energy Flowing inside the Body

Return feet to shoulder width apart.  Inhale, imagining opening your body to new chi気, and raise your arms up to the sky.  Imagine a beautiful natural scenery; ocean, mountains, and sky.

As the hands reach the sky, exhale, imagining bai hui百會 (crown of the head) receiving chi energy天気 from the sky and going down from head to the chest to the abdomen and then to the legs.

Press the hands down while exhaling, bending forward at the waist and reaching the hands down to the feet.  When fully bent forward, draw circles on the ground with the hands, imagining earth energy地氣 inside the ground.

Inhale, stading up, imagining earth energy rising up through the legs into the dantian丹田.

Standing erect, draw arms in front of the abdomen in a horizontal circular motion; imagining chi氣 circling through the internal organs and returning to the belly button.  Exhale, placing  the backs of the hands together in front of the chest, then rotating hands inwards towards the chest in a vertical circle.  

Continue to rotate the hands down pointing towards the ground while simultaneously lowering them toward the ground; imaging chi going down through the body.  With the arms fully extended, inhale, rotating the arms upwards at the shoulder until the arms are pointing the sky.  

Look up at the fingers with the chin pointing up as well  Exhale, lowering the hands to the side of the body, imagining chi氣 going down to the dantian丹田

. 

6.  Pushing the Wall Behind

Standing with feet at shoulder width on the balls of the toes, bend wrists back as far as they can.  Inhaling, tighten the glutes, standing up on the balls of the toes, and rotating arms backwards at the shoulder.  Exhale, lowering the heels, relax wrists and returning arms to original position.

Qigong for Anti-aging and Health 1 to 4

Try Eight Direction Exercise for Health and Longivity

Yin Yang Bafang Gong 陰陽八方功

Note: perform each movement 3x

Starting position:

Start with  feet spread shoulder width apart and hands resting at side ofbody.  Stand erect with back straight, lifting the crown of the head to the sky, and relaxing the chin.  Stand in a relaxed position; specifically, with the knee and hip joints relaxed.  Your mind should be concentrated on the Dantian 丹田region, four finger widths below the belly button. 

Part 1
Movement 1 to 4

1. Breathing Gently and Relaxing

Inhale, lifting the arms in a circular motion with the palms facing 

upward.  When the hands reach above your head with palms facing down, 

exhale, starting to press down towards the ground.

2. Turning and Pointing Back

Raise your arms to shoulder height, pointing the index fingers of each 

hand.  Inhale, rotating at the waist to the left, your eyes following the index 

fingers.  Imaging chi going to the tip of the index finger.  As you turn, 

pivot on the ball of the big toe on the foot opposite the direction turned.  

Exhale, rotating at the waist back to the original position.  Facing forward, 

lower the hands to waist level, imagining chi sinking  down to the dantian.  

Perform for the right side. 

3. Stretching the Side of Your Body

Inhale, bending at the left waist towards the ground.  Left hand is flat 

on the side of the body, extending down, while the right elbow is simultane

ously rising up along the body towards the shoulder, stretching it.  

4. Stretching the Thighs and Relaxing the Hip Joints

Spread feet wide apart, with feet parallel towards the front.  Bend the 

left knee, while maintaining the right leg fully extended.  Press down with 

the right hand on the right hip joint and inhaling raise the left arm up to the 

sky.  Exhale, bending at the right waist, keeping the left arm near the left 

ear and your weight on your left heel.  Extend the upper body, stretching 

the right inner thigh; do not collapse your upper body.  Perform on the right

 side.

Lower Back Pain Relief Exercise

Improving and Preventing Lower Back Pain

So many people experience acute(short-term) back pain.

When acute(short-term) back pain occurs, it generally lasts for a few days to a few weeks.  Sometimes, the pain may be very strong that a person cannot stand straight or walk.  Three of my students had experienced it before.  They felt  stabbing pain when tried to go back to the standing position after bending forward.

I noticed what three people have in common.  Their back muscles are tight.  Because of the less flexibility, they cannot round their backs like Yoga cat pose when they bend forward.  Their back of the legs are also tense. 

To relief the pain and prevent the future injury, I recommended them to practice Ying Yang Bafang Gong 陰陽八方功 as it is a very moderate exercise that can relax the body, stretch to improve the flexibility and strengthen the muscles.  Also, the martial arts swinging arm exercise (Shuiashou甩手) and kicks may help improve flexibility and strengthen the back and abdominal muscles to support the spine.  I showed the self-massage on back and stretch exercise for spine on the chair.  

Qigong for Lungs Prevents Cold and Flu

益氣養肺功 Qigong for Lungs

Yi Qi and Yang Fei (益氣, 養肺) means replenishing Qi and nourishing the lungs.

Practicing Lung Qigong is for strengthening the lungs 

in the Autumn.  The breathing exercises will replenish your Qi and 

strengthen your respiratory system.  Replenishing Qi can also 

make your immune system stronger.  So, practice the Lungs 

Qigong to prevent catching colds and flu during cold season.  After 

a long hot summer, the temperature suddenly dropped down and 

many people are finding themselves catching cold and flu now.   

Try to keep your body warm, eat nutritious food, and sleep well 

may help prevent cold and flu infections.    

It is also important to reduce the stress because stress may 

weaken your immune system.  Qigong help many people to relax  

the mind and the body and reduces the stresses.  Qigong also may help strengthen the immune system.

Higanbana is an Autumn flower.  Higan means three days before and after Spring and Autumn Equinox.

         

Feel the Qi (Chi energy) of the Moon

Happy Moon Festival! 

 但願人長久  千里共嬋娟 (Wishing you a healthy long life, Watching the same beautiful moon from thousands of miles away)

This is the last phrase of a poem written during Song Dynasty by Su Shi(蘇軾), a very famous poet over many centuries.  He was also a government official in high position.  However, exiled to a remote area.  On Mid Autumn night, he was thinking about his brother in the capital as they may never be able to see each other again.

September 19 is Moon Festival (中秋節) of 2013.  Fortunately, the sky is clear tonight in Tokyo.  People watch the full moon and celebrate Mid Autumn in Asian countries.  

Mid Autumn Day in the US is tomorrow because the International Date Line is between Japan and Hawaii.  However, I feel my friends in Hawaii are watching the same moon in the sky tonight.

When I was in Hawaii, I watched the Mid Autumn moon from Lanai after midnight.  The moon was high in the sky.  Very quiet and  peaceful.  When practicing Wudang Qigong, we feel the Qi in the nature.  The moon has Qi.  It's energy of Yin.  The Qi of the moon is tranquil and the gentle moon light is soothing.  The night ocean also has Qi.  It is cool and serene.      

If you are in the busy city and missed the chance to watch the moon tonight, imagine you are watching the beautiful full moon  and it's silver reflection on the sea from Hawaiian beach.           

       

Feel the Qi (Life Energy) of Tree in Hawaii

Qi of Tree  

Trees have energy, just like other living things.  And we can feel their energy. 

Hawaiian trees have strong life energy.  They are much stronger than those of trees in Tokyo.  Perhaps because Hawaii has a very good enviroment.  There are some huge banyan trees in Waikiki.  One is in Sheraton Moana Surfrider Hotel.   Another tree is in International Market Place.  They are over one hundred years old.

There is a banyan tree in Ala Moana Beach Park in front of the shopping center.  When I went under the tree, I was surrounded by a strong heat.  It was in the evening with cool breeze.  Oviously, no sunlight, no source of heat energy around there.  It must be the life energy ot the tree.  When I walked about 4ft away from the tree trunk, the heat was week.  I went under the branches, then walk away from the tree.  Tested several times.  It’s like a barrier.  I felt very warm and comfortable near the banyan tree.  I must have absorved it’s healing energy.  

Simple Exercise for Healthy Hip Joints

When you do Taichi, dance, yoga and other sports, it is important to relax your hip joints.  Most people don't know how to relax them.  We don't pay much attention to our hip joint movement in our daily life.  If you are always tensing your hip joints, they may become stiff.  When you practice Taichi, you can not feel very comfortable as your energy is blocked and cannot flow down to your legs.  When you practice yoga, you cannot fully stretch your legs without relaxing your hip joints.  If your hip joints lose flexibility, you may hurt them.  Also, you may twist your knees, or hurt your back while practicing martial arts.  

Hip joint exercise is one of the basic trainings in Taichi and martial arts.  One is called Kai Kua Gong.  It is very good for maintaining hip joint health, however, not very easy to practice without shifu's professional instruction.   

We can try a few minutes simple exercise in our daily life.
This is another simple exercise you can try while you are sitting on the chair:

1.  Sit on a chair.

2.  keep your spine straight and vertical to the ground.

3.  Hold your arms up in front of your chest as if you are holding a pillow in your arms.  (You may try other arm movements such as Taichi cloud hands)

3.  Turn your body left and right very slowly like an earth rotation.  Imagine your upper body is a globe and your spine is the axis.  Think the axis is pulled upward while turning the body.  

Do not wring your waist like a towel.  Your headand torso (shoulder, waist, and hip) suppose to move together toward the same direction.  If your lower belly and pelvis are not moving,  you may be tensing your leg joints.  Do it VERY SLOWLY.  

This exercise will help improve your Taichi skill (martial arts, hula dance, ballroom dance, or other skills), if you do it properly.

  

How to maintain hip joint health

 According to NIH, osteoarthritis is the most common arthritis among American people.  It is also very common in Japan.  Exercise is one of the best treatments for osteoarthritis,

To prevent hip joints stiffness and pain, we teach simple movements to increase flexibility, reenforce muscles, and help you maintain healthy weight.

1,  Sit on a chair.  You can relax your hip joint in the sitting position.

2.  Keep your back straight and pull your chin down naturally.  
     Do not tense your back, neither round it.

3.  Move your upper body back and forth as you bow.  

4.  Swing your upper body left and right.

5.  Turn your upper body clockwise and counterclockwise.  

To do exercise 3 to 5, do not bend from your waist and make sure your spine is straight.   If your hip joints are relaxed, your upper body can move like a spinning top.   

Wudang Qi gong and Kundalini Yoga trainings have similar exercise.  Their goal is to let spirit out from their body.  In order to do so, they need to relax every joint to get rid of the blockage in the meridians so the energy can go through.   

We recommend this turning body exercise for hip joint health.  It may help build muscles and keep your body in fit.  It helps blood and lymph circulations as you get rid of the stiffness.  Also helps prevent injury while you practice Taichi, hula dance, and other sports. 



We instruct exercises for anti-aging, health, and beauty in Hawaiian Relaxation Qigong and Taichi class

Get rid of negative energy

氣　Qi Part 2

It may be difficult for many people to maintain mental happiness and optimism in bad time.  As a result, many people tend to attract more negative qi and downturn their luck even more.  Therefore, to improve your luck in bad time, when you do Qigong or Taichi, you have to try to forget about the issues you are facing while you practice them.

 After finish practicing Qigong or Taichi, you can think about the issues but while you are practicing Qigong or Taichi, you have to try to empty your mind (万虑抛 get rid of various thoughts) and feel comfortable.  Even if you cannot get rid of negative thoughts completely, it is better than practicing Qigong or Taichi with the mental state that is totally distracted by the issues that are in your mind.  In fact, when you have an issue, you may think too much about the issue but if you do not think about it ,  just for ten to fifteen minutes, your mind may get refreshed and you may be able to deal with your issue with new perspective.

Qigong May Bring a Good Fortune and Health

Qi 氣　Part 1

Qi is an energy that is often explained as a life energy in Taichi and Qigong.  However, qi is actually more than simple life energy that flows all over the universe.  Daoists believe that even your luck can be determined by what kind of qi you have.  Kinds of qi can be classified into positive qi and negative qi. 

Positive qi can make your body healthy and strong.  It also makes your mind calm and happy.  The positive qi can also improve your luck.  However, negative qi can make your body sick and your mind depressed or anxious. 

Also, the negative qi can downturn your luck.  Qi can be guided by your mind.  If your mind is happy, you naturally attract positive qi and if you are unhappy, you naturally attract negative qi.  Therefore, even in hard time, it is believed to be better to maintain optimism and be happy so that you attract positive qi, which improve your luck.  

Wuji in Taichi(Taijiquan) and Qigong

Wuji  無極

                When you practice Taichi (Taiji) stances, you first start from Wuji.  In Wuji, you stand straight but your whole body must be relaxed and your mental state must be in rujing.  Wuji is the state of things in which yin and yang are totally harmonized that the things are neither yin nor yang.  According to Daoist cosmology, before the universe exists, the world was in the state of Wuji.  At this point, not only things but even emptiness did not exist.  When Taiji, which is yin and yang, emerged, existence and emptiness emerged.  From this point, everything in the universe emerged.  However, the universe will gradually decay and in the end, the universe goes back to the state of Wuji.  The universe than grows again thus there is an endless cycle of emergence and decay of the universe.  In Daoist cosmology, a human body is considered as a small universe.  Therefore, when a person practices Taichi, the person is supposed to follow this principle of growth and the decay of the universe.  Thus, before you begin Taichi, your body must be in the state of Wuji.  Your body is in the state of Wuji when your mind is in rujing because when you get into rujing, yin and yang of your body is completely harmonized that your body is neither yin nor yang.  Daoists believe that your mental state affects your physical state.  When your mind is in rujing, your mind is supposed to be empty and this leads your body to be relaxed and rested.  When you begin the Taichi movement, you can start flow your qi by using your imagination and at this point your mind is not empty so that your body is not in Wuji.  When you have imagination, your body is activated by your images so that your body has cycle of yin and yang which is Taiji.  After you finish all the movements, you go back to original posture and empty your mind again so that your mind goes into rujing again.  By taking this process, your body imitates that cycle of birth and return of the universe and Daoists believe imitating this cycle can enhance one’s physical and mental health.

Tao Wellness Taiji Institute

Hawaiian Relaxation Qigong and Taichi Class

Meditation Rujing8入靜) ２

入靜方法 (Method to get into rujing)

                
One of the easiest methods to attain rujing is to practice Daoist standing meditation.  First, one needs to stand straight and open legs to shoulders width.  One should make sure that his/her back is straight but relaxed.  Arms should be dropped naturally and knees must be relaxed and bent slightly.  Next, imagine that one has cluster of energy in dantian (丹田) which is the lower belly.  Try to relax whole body as much as possible and feel the energy inside dantian.  Breathe naturally and do not try to control breathing intentionally.  As one breathes naturally and feel energy in dantian, one should start to feel calm and mentally peaceful.  There may be a moment that one feels totally selfless and mind is clear that there is no thought.  This is the state of rujing.  When one is tired, he/she may feel sleepy.  If one becomes sleepy he/she should stop standing meditation and lie down and go to sleep because his/her body is requiring sleep.