I have been practicing Chi Kung (Qigong) for two years. It is a gentle but powerful form of exercise that has great Skeletal, Muscular, Internal and Mental benefits. It is a combination of rhythmic breathing, easy graceful movements and the mental awareness of your body’s movements. It lowers Stress, raises Energy, improves Strength, corrects Posture – all this for 10 to 15 minutes a day.

Chi Kung is as old as acupuncture going back a few thousand years but ‘The knowledge’ was kept a secret by the Masters (it is not that way today and is an eminently DIY exercise regime). It was only in the mid 1900’s when China had an acute shortage of Doctors did the Chinese authorities decide that if they did not have the doctors they would open up traditional medicine to the masses and improve the nations health to reduce the need for extra doctors. Hence you will see Chinese of all ages practicing Tai Chi and Chi Kung together in Parks etc. It seemed to work but more importantly the Chinese are still doing their exercises so they must enjoy them and appreciate the benefits.

Two and a half years ago I suffered a severe Sciatica (Piriformis) attack compounded by a ruptured disc and this was very, very painful and the only natural drug free way of easing the pain and resultant depression was Acupuncture. When my injuries improved I wanted to find a way of giving my body the ‘Feel Good factor’ of Acupuncture without the £30 a session price tag. There was Acupressure but that did not have the ability to correct the lack of spinal flexibility that caused the back problem. Tai Chi looked as if it would be the answer so I obtained a ‘Teach yourself’ book on Tai Chi. Tai Chi really needs a teacher to direct you as I found trying to follow the movements from a book and to do them too difficult. The book did provide the answer when it described how Tai Chi was derived from Chi Kung as a way to teach martial arts skills along with the health benefits of Chi Kung. So I ordered the ‘Teach yourself’ book on Chi Kung and it has proved the best £7.00 approx I have ever spent. The exercises were easy to learn and always done within your capabilities – ‘no pain, no gain’ goes against the principles of Chi Kung. In a few weeks I was sleeping easily and deeply and the damaged Sciatica nerve was improving. My blood pressure and pulse rate dropped as my circulation improved. Cramp became a thing of the past and I started to feel on top of the world and my normal optimistic nature I had lost in the mist of pain had returned.

I have included a routine with this article for you to try but I do recommend the book ‘Teach yourself Chi Kung’ from the ‘teach yourself’ series, your local library may have a copy or get you a copy. It is inexpensive and your local bookshop would order it for you if you prefer your own copy. My normal routine is longer and involves a few more exercises. They are my own interpretation of exercises from the above book and the eighteen movements of Taiji Chi Kung derived from Taiji Quan, which can be used for ‘self healing’. A good book for reference to these is ‘Qigong for health and vitality’ by Michael Tse at £12.99, again you could get it from the library.

I will now explain the principles of Chi Kung. Chi in Chinese means Energy and Chi Kung as a whole means to stimulate the flow of energy through the body, bringing in fresh energy from the air and ground. The energy gates are the main ones in acupuncture and the energy travels along the same meridians. Of these the gate in the palm of your hand called Laogong and the equivalent one under your foot called Yongquan are very important and the main way your body absorbs the energy. The laogong is the one you will be most conscious of during the exercises. More detail than this can be learnt from the books but it is not necessary for you know more to discover the benefits of Chi Kung.

Now we will discuss the attached exercises. You will need to apply the following points to all the exercises.

  1) – You need to adopt a positive happy attitude, be aware of the world around you but be          concentrating on your body and what it is doing.

  2) – Breathing is a vital component and each movement will start with breathing in and finish on an exhalation. Most movements are just the one breathing sequence.

  3) – How you breath is vital component for removing stress from the system and relaxing the mind. You breathe rhythmically in keeping with the movements and as you inhale your abdomen should expand and when you exhale your abdomen should contract. This activates the diaphragm and draws air to the bottom of the lungs ensuring all stale air is removed. This is accepted by modern medicine as an important element of relaxation. All to do with the concentration of carbon dioxide in the blood, which in turn sets the right alkalinity of the blood, which in turn keeps the blood vessels of the brain fully open to supply a good flow of blood. Nice to know that something the Chinese discovered by instinct is born out by science.

  4) – Don’t strain doing the exercises or lock out the joints. Concentrate on you body and relax all the muscles not required. For example when raising your arms above the head make sure the hands pull the arms up, do not have the shoulders pushing them up.

  5) – I like to have my hands slightly cupped with the fingers open as if I am holding a football. Also the hand rotations are important because this causes the tendons in your forearm to stimulate the meridians passing through that area. Keep the back straight and imagine the top of the head has a string attached and that is pulling you upright.

  6) – I referred earlier to my versions of the exercises, this is not because I think I know better than the experts, it is because the exercises need to be rhythmic and smooth with one blending into the next smoothly. Also certain movements will ‘feel right’ and very soon you will be doing the movements your way. Best results will come from doing the exercises regularly. A small amount every day is far better than a ‘burn out’ twice a week lasting an hour or so.

  7) – In the Chi Kung books it suggest that each movement is repeated 3, 5 or 7 times. I personally do 3 repetitions on each movement and normally spend no more than 10 minutes a day exercising. At the odd moment I have to myself during the day I will practice the breathing. It is second nature to me now. Do not expect anything from Chi Kung just do the movements with an open mind and happy spirit and you will surely reap the rewards.

Start of by doing the five movements three times each, the first two or three times you will find everything a bit disjointed while you master and learn the movements. Then you will be able to build up the routine till it is a smooth continuous enjoyable session. Once mastered you will find that if you the do movements No1 to No 4 three times each, then No 5 five times, then reverse and do No 4 to No 1 three times each and you should end up with a session of about 10 minutes. The exercise can be done at any time of the day so I now fit them in to suit my day’s schedule. When I first started I always did them in the evening just before going to bed as the back injury had destroyed my normal sleep pattern.

So you will find out as you learn the exercises what suits you. Remember you will be giving your body the attention it needs and deserves. In return it will bring health, harmony and balance. In this modern world we all take our body for granted while we abuse it satisfying our desires. Give your body a treat with Chi Kung, it really is the ‘age old’ answer to the modern ‘high speed’ life style and it is free with no gizmos required. The only problem is if you believe in ‘no pain, no gain’, then you might think this is too easy. Please don’t hesitate and give it a try. Chi Kung is not a replacement for specialized training but is more a way of life to equip your body to allow you to get the best out of your life.