The Chinese word for exercise means circulating chi with movement. Chi is many things, including the circular flow of the river of energy animating the universe, life force, and intrinsic energy. Chi follows thought. A T’ai Chi proverb tells of a ruler who promised his kingdom to anyone who could thread a nine-tunneled pearl. A sage advises one on the way to try, to attach the thread with a dab of honey to the back of an ant that will pull the thread through the nine tunnels. The pearl is the body and the nine tunnels are the wrist, elbow, shoulder, hips, knees, ankles, base of the spine, atlas, and top of the head. The thread is chi. The ant is attention and the honey is the practice of Chi Gong. So, Chi Gong is the practice of using your attention to thread chi through the nine tunnels of your body.
FREE VIDEO: Chi Gong for Graceful Aging & Fall Prevention based on our work at the Poudre Valley Hospital Aspen Club teaching more than 300 seniors these graceful aging and fall prevention exercises. Movements progress from simple to more complex, from isolated arm motions to full body motions, from standing on both legs to progressively standing on one at a time, and finally, from individual movements to a continuous flow of motion. Animal Forms and Cheng Man-ch’ing’s Eight Ways are the foundation of the work.
FREE VIDEO: Chi gong graceful aging