Many of the students in our Qigong class have asked for links to videos of the various forms we’ve learned and will learn.  This blog post will share videos and links to videos which best display the qigong forms I teach, as closely to the way I teach them as possible.

It must be borne in mind that there are MANY variations for each qigong exercise.  I’ve alluded to this – you’ve all heard me say “How many ways can you do a push-up?”  They’re all “the right way,” but open to modification based on the needs of the player.  For example, in the “8-Section Brocade” video, you’ll see the instructor spin her head in a way that makes my inner ear go crazy; and since you aren’t paying to see me fall on my butt in class, I leave the head-spinning bit out.  In like manner, her “Separate Heaven and Earth” does not have a “twisting” component which I add because I think the movement is beneficial for range-of-motion and flexibility.

At the time of writing, I know six or seven qigong “forms,” and teach five.  I may add more to the curriculum but it depends entirely on what students need and where they are in their “qigong journey.”  3^rd graders aren’t taught calculus, and qigong players who are just starting out shouldn’t be taught difficult or arcane exercises.  Some of these videos may be unfamiliar.  That’s fine – you don’t read every book in the library, but they’re all there just the same.

This, then, is the “library” of qigong routines which I teach, in the general order I teach them:

“Ba Duan Jin” or “8 Pieces of Silk/Brocade”

Nine Temple Exercises

Yi Jin Jing or “Tendon/Muscle Transformation Classic”

Wudang Wuxing Qigong or Wudang “Five Animals” Qigong

“Shi san Luohan” or “Thirteen Apostles”

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLDKvBKCWxJYlR_sy3QeAcfvZowvALa1A4

NB:  This is a playlist – the first video is a demonstration of the entire routine; the rest of the videos teach the individual exercises.  I can’t do a thing about the poor quality of the sound or the video – it’s just the way it is.

Wrapping Things Up

I’m not sharing any Zhan Zhuang videos for two reasons:  First, the best ones I can find relate to a martial art called Yiquan (lit. “Intent-Boxing”); but secondly, because it’s a skill best taught in person.  You don’t get much out of watching a video of a person standing still.

I have a few more “tricks up my sleeve” (and so do some of the students!).  But if we learn all of these and can each do them when the mood strikes us, we’ll have a VERY well-rounded repertoire; moreover, once we get to this point, we’ll have a deeper understanding of our own bodies and our own “internal energy” – and at that point there’s not much more I can teach you.