Gentle Exercises for Optimal Health

There is a famous (in China) Wild Goose Qigong form called the First 64. It takes 5 to 6 minutes to go through this long form-not much time out of any given day. I wanted to practice it everyday to deepen my connection to it, memorize it my muscles and bones, and refine my performance of it. I also wanted the benefits that comes with practicing it- the flexibility, back strength, thigh strength, energization, etc., etc.

Commit to Qigong

I decided to commit to a daily practice for 100 days. This is called a 100-day discipline. It is astonishing how difficult it can be to just do something everyday. Read the rest of this entry »

Yesterday, in the “8-Pulling Waist” Qigong workshop, the topic of practicing came up. It almost always does come up, and should. Qigong, for all it’s barrels-full of benefits, isn’t much good to you if you don’t practice. Over and over I have heard from students how difficult it is for them to keep up a practice, despite their initial enthusiasms.

Practice is the First Principle

The first principle of qigong, as I see it, is to practice. More fully, the principle is: Read the rest of this entry »

Wild Goose and the Biker

When I was performing the Wild Goose Qigong practice last Sunday, I did it on a former logging road that is now used as a hiking, horseback riding and biking trail. Sure enough, a bicyclist on his mountain bike came riding by when I was in the middle of “The First 64″. Many internal arts exercise can look strange to the average American. I try to avoid doing these type of forms in public places. I don’t do them to show off to strangers, I do them because they are such effective ways to health and happiness. I guess I’m a little shy. (But showing off to friends or students is okay.) In the cities of China, you find the parks full of people doing odd-looking movement practices outside. Not yet in America. Read the rest of this entry »