Qigong Method To Open To The Multitude Of Wonders

This method is an important part of classical Qigong and traditionally connects us with the greater potential of Heaven and Earth in order to consolidate a more highly ordered Qi flow. In this way it bolsters the Qi, and supports our physical strength and all bodily processes. This is a good exercise to practice if tired as it will move the Qi and give you more energy. Please watch my free video "Abdominal Breathing" and the premium video "Standing & Swaying" as these form the basis of this exercise.
Integration Into Your Day:
You can practice this exercise if you have 5 minutes to go out into the garden to do it or if you are out walking in a quiet area and want to stop for a few minutes to practice. Try to think of ways in which you can integrate this into your day, ideally when you are out in nature.

Transcript

Hello everyone and today I'm going to show you an exercise which is done in the standing position and it has a very long and poetic name. It's called the method to open to the multitude of wonders and for short I always refer to this as the circles exercise because it's much easier to say and you'll see why in a second. So just to explain about what this exercise does, In Qigong and in Chinese medicine there is the theory that we are part of the whole universe, As I guess we are, And we are in the middle between the heaven and the earth. So from a Qigong point of view what we can do is we can use exercises to draw on the Qi, On the good energy from both the heaven and the earth and that's what this exercise is supposed to do for you. It's part of an ancient Qigong form and It's really, Really easy to do. What it will also do for you though is by drawing on that energy from the heaven and the earth it will also give you much more kind of physical strength because it will really boost the chi, Boost the energy in your body. So it's a great one to practice if you're feeling a little bit tired or if you're feeling a little bit exhausted it really gets things moving again in terms of the energy flow. So the position for this, As I said, Is standing. So just from one of the previous videos there, You want to just check that you're in the correct standing position. So with the feet parallel, With the knees slightly bent, You make sure that the back is nice and flat so the pelvis is tilted forward. Shoulders are relaxed with the hands just resting down by your sides and that there's length in the back of the neck so remembering that imaginary string pulling up from the top of the head and then tucking the chin in slightly which will open up in the back of the neck for you. So just beginning by placing the hands one on top of the other just in front of your lower abdomen. So just breathing in and out. Using the abdominal breathing that you've already learned. And if there is a little bit of swaying happening at the same time That's a great sign that you're nice and relaxed. OK, And the movement for this. It's just. . . Like this. Parting the fingers. Very slowly. So the more slowly you do this movement, The better. So the hands come apart towards the sides of the body. Then when they reach the side what you're going to do is just turn in the wrist joint so turning the thumb up to face the ceiling and then each of the fingers in turn are rotated around to face up towards the front. The sky. Lifting in the hands now, At the same time try and keep your shoulders nice and relaxed so keep your shoulders down and elevating the hands up to around shoulder level. And then you'll find that the shoulders may need to come up slightly as you raise the hands. And then bring the hands in towards each other. Around the level of your forehead, Almost to make like a little roof. And then from this position you're going to begin to draw the hands down. Through the centre line of the body. In order to do that, The first thing you need to do is just drop the shoulders. Palms will start to almost face each other And just. Moving them gently and slowly. Down through the centre line of the body. Coming back to. . . Your original position. And so just to do this one more time. Separating the hands. Rotating in the wrist. Drawing the chi up through the body. Shoulder level then. Hands start to come together. To make a roof. And then. Dropping the shoulders before you drop the hands down through the midline. Coming back to the beginning. We'll just do that one more time now. Thinking now about where your mind is, So remembering we're trying to Draw the chi from the earth. And from heaven. So the point at which you move the hands upwards It's the point where you're thinking of drawing the Chi up. From the earth, So up through the feet, Through the legs. Up through the whole of the body. The hands then come around. Front of the forehead and at this point you're now thinking of drawing the chi down from the sky. And leading the hands down through the centre line of the body. So the breathing for this whole exercise is just your normal abdominal breathing. So just breathing at your own speed. And just checking in that you're nice and relaxed. So again, Parting the hands. With your mind, What you're doing here is you're thinking of as you turn the hands up towards the sky. Lifting up. The energy throughout the whole of the body, So from the earth coming up through the feet. Up through the whole of the body. And then as the hands come to face each other You make the roof. Then you're going to be now thinking of sinking and drawing the energy down from the heavens, From the sky. Into the lower abdomen area. Now to assist this movement of the energy up and down through the body What you're going to do is a very tiny movement the next time around. So as you lift the hands, You're going to very Slowly and very slightly make a little movement of just straightening the knees a tiny bit. Not so the knees are locked out but just making yourself a tiny little bit taller. So that helps to draw the tea up through the body. And then as the hands make the roof. And start to descend you're going to just drop very slightly in the knees, Just a couple of millimetres And that aids. The Chi flow. Down through the body. So just one more time. So hands are parting. Rotating in the wrist, Very slowly feeling the movement of the whole joint of the wrist. Slightly, Slightly coming up. By straightening the knees a tiny bit, Drawing the chi up through, From the earth up through the body. Making the roof around the level of your forehead. And then dropping the shoulders. Dropping in the knees just a couple of millimetres to draw the sky or the heaven down into the body. And once you're feeling comfortable with this exercise, You can do it with your eyes closed as well. Really feel what's happening. And just to finish, Just for women placing the hand, The right hand on the lower belly with the left hand on top. And for men the left hand with the right hand on top. And just again sealing in all the lovely chi that you've drawn from the earth. And from the sky. Into the lower abdominal area. And then just allowing the hands just to drop down by your side. And breathing using your abdominal breath. And at the same time, For the end of the exercise, Just observe. Sensations you might feel in the body. So certainly anything that might be happening in the hands or the fingers. Also any sensations elsewhere in the body as the observation of what happens After an exercise, Is just as important as the actual exercise itself. That way you can gauge. Whether any subtle changes have actually taken place.