My favorite part of the 9-Day Mariposa Cleanse Retreat is gathering early with our guests to start our day with a little qigong. I have been sharing a short warm-up series I learned years ago that has stuck with me over the years. After that we practice standing meditation; standing and awakening in the awakening jungle.
The qigong warm-up is easy to learn, especially when following along. However several people have asked for some aid in remembering later. This year a guest filmed me on her phone. She has since shared it on YouTube and so I am sharing the link:
Remember this, there are no instructions with this clip and an essential part of any qigong exercise is the integration and coordination of the breathing with the movements. This, among many other fine points which help you focus levels of awareness, would best be provided by a good teacher. I have shared this because I think this simple exercise is helpful and it feels good done at any level.
To integrate the breath you can think of it this way: In-Breath = opening, straightening, expanding…and… Out-Breath = closing, bending, contracting, etc. Breathing should be natural not held or forced, should coordinate with the movement, and be from the lower belly below the diaphragm.
Have fun, just do it. Think of big circles and seamlessly smooth movements. Please note that watching is not doing.