Qigong Exercise Steps

Qigong Exercise Steps are a type of Chinese healthy exercise, a powerful exercise program for seniors that uses breathing and stretching to develop vital energy for health and peace of mind and improve your health and lengthen your life as well!

Easy-to-learn daily exercise - a great investment to ensure your long-term well-being!
As a beginner exercise program - nevertheless very potent in the results - the '6 Simple Sounds' program is top of the pack!

Qigong Exercise Steps make good senior fitness exercises, they are based on Traditional Chinese Medicine, which awakens and stimulates the circulation of vital energy in the body.

They consist of EASY sequences of movements, each having a particular purpose, e.g. low back pain exercises.

Qigong Exercise Steps can also be known as Taoist Gymastics and the exercises often have exotic, yet meaningful names, such as 'Dredging of the Sea', which describes the effect the exercise has on the energy in the body in a colourful way! (see below).

Dredging of the Sea (Left and Right) and Looking at the Sky

The sea and the sky being vast open spaces, these exercises encourage a person to be 'open minded'.

Put your attention on the middle of the palms of the hands during this
Chinese Healthy Exercise.
From the basic stance:

Standing, with spine straight and feet shoulder-width apart, knees slightly bent, release any tension you are holding in your legs, with the hands by the side of the hips, and armpits 'open'.

1 - While breathing in, move your left foot forward, the heel touching the ground first, arms extending out to the sides in a forward motion.

2 - While breathing out, bend the upper body forward slowly, transferring the weight on to the left foot and crossing both hands in front of the left knee, in a 'scooping" movement.

 3 - While breathing in, slowly lean the upper body backward,
 transferring the weight on to the right leg, drawing back the left foot.

 4 - Your weight is now back on to both feet, while your arms just follow the rest of the body keeping the same 'rounded shape' and your hands come to cross over each other, above your head.

5 - Bend the upper body backward, the palms turning to face forward, tilting your head to look at the sky, slowly starting to extend your hands.

6 - While breathing out, extend the hands slowly to the sides.

(Same instructions, but on the right side this time)                           
Dredging of the Sea: right side                                                                                          

1 - While breathing in, move your right foot forward, the heel touching the ground first, your arms continuing slowly extending to the sides in a forward motion.

2 - While breathing out, bend the upper body forward slowly, transferring the weight on to the right foot and crossing both hands in front of the right knee, in a 'scooping" movement.

3 - While breathing in, slowly lean the upper body backward, transferring the weight on to the left leg, drawing back the right foot.

4 - Your weight is now back on to both feet, while your arms just follow the rest of the body keeping the same 'rounded shape' and your hands come to cross over each other, above your head.

5 - Bend the upper body backward, the palms turning to face forward, tilting your head to look at the sky, slowly starting to extend your hands.

6 - While breathing out, extend the hands slowly to the sides.

Repeat steps 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 of the left and right in a continuous sequence, 3 to 5 times.

Benefits:

- Strengthens the back muscles

- Improves the movements of the joints

- Massages the internal organs, helping them to function well together, in one unit

Correct Breathing during 'Qigong exercise steps' is important.

Here are some simple instructions:

Deep Abdominal Breathing using your diaphragm.

It is deep breathing using the full extent of your lung capacity and it is called abdominal because the movement of your diaphragm will expand your lower abdomen during the inhale and contract your lower abdomen during the exhale.

There are also sequences of 'Qigong exercise steps' for specific conditions (Back Pain exercises, for example).

You can have a little taster of my programs by getting your The 7-Day FREE Exercise Program for Seniors mini-course!