QIGONG IN A PARK: TAKING IT TO THE NEXT STEP

So, you want to take your Qigong practice deeper.

I wrote a post called Getting Started and another called Practice, Practice, Practice. The take-away? Find resources: groups, teachers, videos, books. Practice, study, practice some more on your own, turn off the video, make mistakes, fix, adapt, make it your own, pat yourself on the back, smile.

Do you want to go even deeper? It's okay if you don't. If you do, you might consider one-on-one lessons. Practicing with a teacher encourages movement beyond imitation.

The teacher can:

address your specific goals,
plan a practice tailored to your needs or desires,
practice along with you,
observe and provide feedback,
make it fun.

When I'm designing a practice for a group or for individual students I start with a loose outline of what the practice may look like. Friends who practice regularly with me know that sometimes I stray from my outline. 😉

Warm up.
Hook up: get into the mindset, begin turning off distractions or at least lowering the volume.
Define your space: this is MY time, my space.
Purge: let go of baggage you're carrying around.
Start with bigger movements: Yang, active, expansive.
Begin to slow things down and move your attention inwards: Yin, Neigong, Internal Alchemy.
Ground.
Close: I have a little routine, okay ritual, for closing, showing gratitude and setting an intention for the rest of the day.

These "blackboard" outlines #1 keep me somewhat focused and my plans 😋 and #2 provide a reminder for fellow-practitioners of what we did, or probably did during our time together.

The forms written in orange are the more Yang, active, expansive forms. The focus is placed on the muscles and joints. The forms in green are more internal, feeling the movement of Qi. The notations in white are topics of conversation about concepts and intentions of forms.

After a practice I like to recommend YouTube videos showing some of the forms we've practiced. I always present videos of other teachers doing the forms, get their perspective.

Coiling Silk with Karen Soo