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Opening Your Body
In this lesson, we're going to learn our first Qigong exercise, called "Hold The Sky With Both Palms". This practice is taken directly from Level 1 of our Complete ChiFusion™ Course. The theme of Level 1 is Opening Body and Mind, and our Level 1 "body" exercises work primarily on flexibility and range of motion.
When you get the Level 1 course as part of your Complete ChiFusion Course, you'll learn eight simple exercises from a style of Qigong called The Eight Brocades. This Qigong style has been around in some form for over 800 years. Despite its ancient origins, it works on exactly the problems many people face today: lost flexibility, stress, tension, inhibited movement, tight physical structures, and even problems such as bad backs, weak joints, and low energy. Best of all, the eight simple movements that comprise the Eight Brocades can be practiced in as little as 10 minutes a day, so anyone can fit them into a busy schedule.
So let's get started right!
To help you open your body, we'll cover two important topics in this lesson:
- The Wuji Stance
The way we stand while practicing Tai Chi and Qigong is important, because our stance can either help or hinder us as we learn to open our bodies. So we start our study by learning the proper way to stand. The Wuji stance is one of the most fundamental stances used in Tai Chi and Qigong. Nearly every style of Tai Chi and Qigong starts with this standing posture.
- Hold The Sky With Both Palms
We'll finish our first lesson with an extremely beneficial Eight Brocades pattern called "Hold The Sky with Both Palms." This pattern also incorporates both the Wuji Stance you'll learn in the first part of the lesson.
Before we get started with this lesson though, we need to cover some important practice tips.
Four Easy Principles to Success in our Program
We've taught Tai Chi and Qigong to hundreds of students over the past 15 years of our combined teaching experience. In this time, we've seen the entire spectrum of students: fast learners, slow learners, natural talents, "klutzes", athletes, "couch-potatoes", the physically fit, those with injuries and handicaps, and just about every body type imaginable!With the ChiFusion™ approach, you do not need to be a fast learner, the most talented, or the most athletic to succeed. As a matter of fact, our most successful students tend to be slow, methodical learners who recognize their current physical, mental, and emotional limitations, and they practice within those limits.
From working with our students, we've learned that if you do just four simple things, you'll greatly increase the benefits and enjoyment you'll get from the ChiFusion™ program:
- Take your time, and learn slowly
and methodically. Work through the lessons at a measured pace and
take your time in understanding the ChiFusion™ details. It's better to learn a
few exercises well than lots of them carelessly.
- Practice a little each day
consistently. Ten minutes of practice each day will bring you faster
results than practicing in large bursts of an hour or more a few times a week.
- Stay within your limits.
Practice at a level that allows you to enjoy the exercises but still see
benefits. (We'll talk more about practicing within your limits in the
"Important Practice Points" section below.)
- Review what you've learned frequently. Read and re-read the lessons, watch the videos numerous times, and use the still images to help you review what you've learned.
Important Practice Points!
Here are some important points to keep in mind while practicing.- Safety first!
When working through our lessons, you are responsible for your own safety. Please keep in mind your own limitations and skill level. Do not do anything that in your estimation is physically unsafe or emotionally uncomfortable. In other words, if it feels good, then do it. If it doesn't feel good, then stop!
- The 70% rule
Here's a rule-of-thumb to use when training. Estimate your greatest ability to perform any given exercise, then practice at only 70% of that maximum level.
For example, if we ask you to bend over and reach towards your toes, and you know that you can only reach as far as your ankles, well, your ankles would be your 100%. So you should only reach down to your knees or shins.
Apply this 70% rule to everything: how far you stretch; how many repetitions you do; how long you practice in a given session. Any type of straining represents 100% or more, wasting energy and causing injury. And if you are injured or hurt, go only 40% or less. Practicing at the 40% or less level will give your injury the time and energy to heal without aggravating it.
- Frequent Breaks
Take breaks frequently. Qigong and Tai Chi can be more challenging - both physically and emotionally - than it looks. If you feel you need a break, take one immediately.
Important Note About the Video and Photos in This Lesson
All of the still images and videos in this lesson are done in mirror-image.You should follow along with the movements as if you were looking in a mirror. As an example, look at the photo at right. If you were doing this movement, you would reach up with your right hand and press down with your left hand.
Now that you understand these important practice points, let's get started.
The Wuji Stance
Since many of the Qigong exercises you'll learn are done standing, let's first take a look at a basic Tai Chi and Qigong stance. This stance is called the "Wuji" stance. "Wuji" loosely translated means "unlimited, formless, or without extremes." This refers to the fact that this stance is a balanced, stable, comfortable stance without extremes of any kind.The way we stand while practicing Tai Chi and Qigong is important, because our stance can either help or hinder us as we learn to open our bodies. By practicing with proper stance, we can increase the levels of relaxation we'll feel while doing Qigong.
It Starts with the Feet!
To stand in the Wuji stance, you'll need to place your feet directly under hip sockets. The hip socket is where your leg connects into your torso inside your hip. Since this is not the same as the outside of your hips, your stance will be slightly narrower than hip width. Notice in the photo the difference between the outside of the hip and the location of the hip socket.
As much as possible, place your feet so that they are parallel, with the second
toe (next to big toe) pointing forward. This is not the same as the splayed-out
foot position, which is the way most people stand. The first photo at right
shows a splayed-out position. The second photo shows the proper position.The correct foot position may feel uncomfortable at first, but this may be due to the fact that 1) the deeper physical structures in your legs (ligaments, tendons, and bones) may have atrophied a bit, and 2) you've compensated for the atrophy by tensing the surface muscles. Over time, if you work towards the correct foot position, you'll find you'll be able release this surface tension while allowing the deeper structures to do the work for which they were designed.
Your weight should be equally distributed over your foot, with the foot flat on the ground except of course for the arch. Don’t rock back on your heels or rock forward on balls of feet. Your ankles should be directly over your heels. Do not let your ankles roll in, collapsing your arches, and do not let them roll out, putting stress on the ankles.
Stand with a slight bend to your knees. Do not lock your knees (as in the first
photo at right), but do not bend them excessively (as in the second photo). A
slight, relaxed, comfortable bend is what we're looking for. This slight bend
will help you feel more balanced and stable.
Legs, Hips, and Torso in Wuji Stance
In Wuji stance, you should stand with your lower back and hips relaxed downward. The buttocks should be relaxed downward as well and not sticking out. For the proper position, think about how you would start to sit down in a chair, but only go the first inch or so. This "sitting down" feeling will position your lower back and hips properly.For the torso, first think of "military" posture: chest out, stomach in, shoulder’s held back, lower back arched. This is exactly the opposite of what we want! When we thrust out the chest and arch the lower back in military posture, we are increasing the amount of muscular tension in our upper body, and we're in danger of becoming "top-heavy."
For maximum relaxation in Wuji stance, we let the chest relax downward, relax the stomach outward, allow the shoulders to drop, and keep the lower back open and flat. This allows the weight of our upper body to sink to our legs and feet. Feel how much more relaxed and tension-free this feels when compared to military posture.
Shoulders, Arms, and Head
In the Wuji stance, allow your arms to relax and hang comfortably at your side. Keep your shoulders in a neutral position, not pulled back or wrapped forward. The head should rest on top of neck, with the ear centered over the middle of your shoulder. Do not thrust your head forward or tilt it back.
A Relaxed Harmony of Body Structure and Gravity
In the Wuji stance, you are allowing the structure of your body (bones, ligaments, and tendons) to hold you upright, instead of using your muscles to fight gravity. The Wuji stance uses your body in the way it was designed for standing up-right.Note, however, that most of us are used to standing improperly and using tension to hold us upright. We're so used to this tension that at first a correct, tension-free stance may feel unnatural!
Just be aware that your current tension-filled stance is "habitual" not "natural." It's a habit you've learned, and as you start opening your body in Level 1, you'll be able to release this habit and learn to relax naturally into the proper stance.
Practice the Wuji Stance
Now take a few moments and practice the Wuji stance. Keep these important points in mind:- Feet under the hip sockets
- Feet parallel - second toe points forward
- Weight equally distributed over both feet
- Knees slightly bent - not locked, not bent too much
- Lower back open - hips and buttocks relaxed down
- Arms relaxed, shoulders neutral, and head centered over shoulders
Improve Your Health with "Secret" Never-Published Details!
Now that you've learned the Wuji Stance, it's time to use it in a Qigong movement. The next Qigong movement is Hold the Sky with Both Palms from ChiFusion Level 1. There are many books and videos that teach this exercise, but only our course includes all of the kinesthetic ChiFusion details that we teach you below.So even if you already know this exercise, check out these details, especially Detail # 5. To our knowledge, this "secret" detail for Hold the Sky has never been published in any other book or video!
How important are these kinesthetic details? Just read what one of our students told us:
"Your Courses Are Unbeatable" says Instructor"Thank you for your Complete Course. Such valuable information and it is so easy to understand. I have been practicing, researching, studying Tai Chi and Qigong for 5 years. I was attracted to your program because of all the information and details you give.Thank you for all the research you have done. "I am so glad I finally bought the course. Being able to access it on the Internet is so easy. I was thrilled to get your program and experience the kinesthetic details and see the anatomy and the video and all the explaining on how to do this correctly. I have tried many programs and classes. I have read many books and practiced from video's from some of our best peers. Your ChiFusion Courses are unbeatable and very reasonable in price." -- Deborah Moen, Tai Chi Qigong Instructor, Certified Relaxation Therapist, Reiki Master/Teacher, Whittier, CA
Click here to read more success stories!
|
Hold The Sky With Both Palms
| Each Qigong or Tai Chi movement
lesson in your full ChiFusion™ Complete course
starts by telling you the direct and immediate
benefits you'll get from the lesson. There's no guessing about why you
are doing a particular movement, as you have to do in some programs. We'll tell
you exactly how each exercise helps you on your way to health, stress relief,
and vitality! |
The Benefits of Hold The Sky
The next pattern we'll learn is called Hold the Sky With Both Palms. On a physical level, Hold the Sky is great for:- opening up the body.
- increasing flexibility and range of motion.
- activating the immune system via the lymph nodes in the shoulder/armpit area.
- waist and back problems.
- improved respiration and breathing.
- better digestion and elimination.
- improving balance and coordination.
This pattern also allows you to connect yourself with both the sky and the earth, and to activate chi meridians (the energy pathways that flow through your body) in the arms, torso, and legs. And finally, the arm movements in this exercise stimulate the circulation of lymph from the lymph nodes in the armpits. Lymph is a critical component of the immune system, but in general, our body requires movement to actively circulate it. The circulation of lymph through movement may be one reason why active people are healthier and more resistant to disease than inactive people.
| After the benefits section in each lesson,
you'll then find a step-by-step explanation of the
Qigong pattern. The explanation is written in an easy-to-follow style and
includes large, clear photos to help you get the most health, stress relief, and
energetic benefits. Your lessons also include full motion video and near
CD-quality audio, so that you can see exactly how the movements "flow." Just
like the photos, the videos are mirror-imaged to make them easy to follow! |
How to Hold The Sky
As you practice Hold the Sky or any of the Qigong movements in the course, please remember to move slowly and stay relaxed. The movements should be accompanied by slow and deep breathing.Remember that all of the still images and videos are done in mirror-image. You should follow along with the movements as if you were looking in a mirror.
Step 1: Stand in Wuji Stance.
Step 2: Bring your hands together in front of your body, near your lower abdomen/navel area. Interlace the fingers and inhale as you lift your hands, with the palms facing up, to chest level.
Step 3: Now exhale, flip the hands over, and push them to the sky. Your elbows should be straight, but not locked. At the same time, rock forward onto the balls of your feet, and lift the heels off the ground. The movements of pushing to the sky and of rocking forward on the feet happen at the same time.
Step 4: Inhale and lower the heels back to the ground.
Step 5: Exhale as you bend from the waist to your left. (Remember, photos are mirror-imaged. Bend to your left.)
Step 6: Inhale and straighten up.
Step 7: Exhale as you bend from the waist now to your right
Step 8: Inhale and straighten up.
Step 9: Exhale and unlace the fingers, then lower your hands, with palms facing up, to shoulder height.
Step 10: Now turn the palms down, continue exhaling, and lower arms to the sides.
Repeat this exercise a number of times slowly before continuing with this lesson.
An Important Reminder!
As we mentioned in the introductory material, we're not concerned with making your movements look like your instructor's. We're more concerned with making your movements feel the right way. As you look at the above video and photos, keep in mind that instructor Carole Taylor is showing you the "textbook" ideal movement. You do not need to rise as high or bend as far as Carole does. Your movements should be within 70% of your range of motion, even if that means you rise or bend only an inch or two. That is your ideal movement.We can't emphasize this enough. Do not copy Carole's movements, but adapt them to fit your own physical strengths and limitations. It's better to do a smaller movement that is structurally correct than to do a larger movement that ignores the principles of good body structure. Concentrate on how the movement feels, not how it looks compared to Carole's. The ChiFusion™ Details section below will help you concentrate on getting the right feeling.
Remember to apply this "feeling" approach to all the movements in this course! From our experience in teaching hundreds of students, we've learned that a movement that "feels" the right way will give you more benefits than one that merely looks a certain way. This concept is the basic principle of the entire ChiFusion™ approach.
| What makes our program so successful? It's our special
ChiFusion™ Details! They outline hidden "kinesthetic" details that give
you physical and energetic benefits you wouldn't get just by watching and
copying your instructor. We
have never published these details publicly before. Up until this
point, they've been available only to students in our private classes. As a
matter of fact, a number of these details have been available only to those who
have studied directly with masters and senior instructors in Tai Chi and
Qigong. |
ChiFusion™ Details for Hold The Sky
Here are some important details for this pattern. For now, practice each of these details one at a time, rather than trying to combine them. For example, read detail 1, then practice the pattern five to ten times just concentrating on this detail. Then move on to detail 2, and practice five to ten times just concentrating on detail 2.Continue this way through all the details. By practicing them individually, you'll find that you learn the details better, and will eventually be able to do all of them simultaneously much sooner than if you try to mix them together from the start.
- Hands Come Up Centerline
Imagine a line that runs right down the center of your body, dividing your body into a left and right half. This imaginary centerline runs from the top of the head, down the forehead, nose, chin, center of the chest, the navel, and into the groin. We sometimes shorten this to say that the centerline connects the "nose, navel, and groin" on a single line.
In this pattern, make sure your interlaced hands come up your centerline and are directly overhead of the centerline when they reach their highest point. Depending on your level of flexibility, your hands may not be directly overhead, but may be slightly in front of your head. Any height of your hands overhead is OK as long as they are on the centerline.
- Hands and Head Stay Centered
During Bend
Make sure your hands and head stay centered as you bend left and right. Notice in the first photo how instructor Carole Taylor has let her head dip to the side. Do not allow your head to tip or tilt to the side, and do not let your arms stretch farther than your head. Instead, keep your hands and head in line with the centerline, as shown in the second photo.
Remember: it's better to do a small movement that keeps your hands and head in line than a larger movement that doesn't. Don't copy how far Carole bends. Bend only as far as you comfortably can while keeping your hands and head on your centerline.
- Hips over Feet, and Feet Stay on Ground
Keep your hips over your feet as you bend. Do not allow your hips to shift to the right when you bend to the left, or to the left when you bend to the right. Notice in the first photo how Carole's feet are no longer in line with the hip socket. In fact, one foot is actually in line with her groin!
Instead, the hips should stay positioned in the same place during the entire exercise, as Carole shows in the second photo. To do this, bend from the waist area (around your beltline) rather than shifting your hips.
As you bend, keep both of your feet flat on the ground. One hint for doing this: Think about keeping weight on your right foot when you bend to the left, and on your left foot when you bend to the right.
- Three Palm Positions
After bending and unlacing fingers at the end of the bends, the palms go through three positions on the way down. They are:
- Palms face each other when they are overhead.
- Palms face the sky as they are lowered to shoulder height.
- At shoulder height, rotate the palms so that they face down and return arms to side.
Make sure you keep your palms facing the sky all the way from over head to shoulder height, in order to open up your shoulders and shoulder blades. Do not rotate the palms down until they are at shoulder height.
- Bend by Extending
Probably the most important detail for Hold The Sky is bending properly. When you bend to the side, do not collapse your midriff or the sides of your torso. This will cut off energy and circulation, reducing the body-opening value of this exercise.
Look at the first photo at right. You'll see that Carole has bent by collapsing her midriff, which causes a sharp angle in the upper body. One tell-tale sign that this has happened is that her blouse actually hangs rather loosely away from her body on the side that is bending.
In the second photo, Carole shows you the proper way to bend. She bends by extending up and out with her entire torso during the bend. This keeps her from collapsing her midriff, giving her the added benefit of opening the torso and spine.
To bend properly, imagine reaching up and out with your arms, head, and torso continuously while you are bending. This will help open up your spine and upper body, giving you the proper feeling needed in this movement.
Engaging Your Mind in Hold The Sky
As we said in the introduction, Qigong combines movement, breathing, and mental concentration. The above steps and details describe the movement and breathing. Practice the steps and details until you are familiar with them, then add this visualization to help engage your mind for mental concentration:
Imagine or visualize standing on an ocean beach. As you lift your hands overhead, you are reaching up and expanding all the way to the sky and into the clouds. As you bend to the sides, your hands actually run along the clouds. As you lower your hands, imagine pulling energy from the sun and sky, then connecting it to the sand below your feet.
This visualization will help open your body and stimulate the appropriate chi energy meridians as you practice this exercise.
Practicing Hold The Sky
Please keep in mind the 70% rule when you practice. Use this rule for the amount of time that you practice, how far you stretch your hands over your head, how high you raise on your heels, and how far you bend from side to side. Also remember to keep to 40% or less if you are injured, especially with a back injury.
Now take a few moments and practice the Hold The Sky pattern. Keep these important points in mind:- Move smoothly during the entire exercise, with no abrupt or jerky movements.
- Breathe gently and easily in unison with your movement.
- Review the details outlined above.
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You are viewing a page from our online Tai Chi and Qigong course.
To get access to the entire course, just click here.
- Three Palm Positions
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