Some teachers will tell you to keep your eyes open during qigong and tai chi practice. Other teachers will tell you to keep your eyes closed.
As a student of qigong and/or tai chi, what advice should you follow?
Watch this short video and you’ll get a no-nonsense, practical answer that you can start implementing immediately.
Got questions? Or maybe a comment? Go ahead and leave a reply below. I’ll do my best to help you! Best regards, Sifu Anthony 
I’m Anthony Korahais, and I used qigong (pronounced "chee gung") to heal from clinical depression, low back pain, anxiety, and chronic fatigue. Today, I'm the director of Flowing Zen, an international organization with students in 48 counties. I've been teaching qigong since 2005, I've served on the board for the National Qigong Association, and I’ve helped thousands of people to use qigong for their own stubborn health challenges. If you're ready to get started with qigong, there's no better way than my best selling book, which comes with free videos and meditations. The sooner you read my book, the sooner you can start healing! Click here to see my book on Amazon.
Thanks for a beautiful video. I sent the link to my Medical Tai Chi students at Stanford. Are you teaching any workshops or doing any private sessions while in CA?
Doing your course work’s guided meditations I keep my eyes open, for balance reasons, during the exercises . During Flowing Breeze, Swaying Willow, and Flowing Stillness I keep my eyes closed.
I loved the format! I’m on the other coast so enjoyed the scenery while listening.
Due to vestibular issues I choose to keep my eyes half open or I focus on something way in the distance.
Thanks, that was an interesting talking, walking blog.
Hi Sifu! You look wonderful. Like the pain of this test has brought you to a new level of freedom and inner peace. Both aspects are paradoxically there in your energy.
Re: the question of the eyes open or closed: As you repeatedly tell us, we have to “smile from the heart” because the flow of Qi is profoundly related to the status of the “emperor meridian”. So the real question is not whether the eyes should be open or closed, but whether the heart should be open or closed. And the answer to this is obvious. But it so happens that some people can open their hearts more when the eyes are closed, and some people are adept enough to keep their hearts open even when inundated with tidal waves of visual input. For the beginner, the default program is that the world is a fearful place, so they have to go inside to find the ability to open their hearts. At some point in our evolution, the power of the open heart overcomes that default program, so that there is no difference between open eyes and closed eyes. But we all have to start somewhere. So the answer, as you are saying, is, “Whatever works for you.”
Thank you for the gifts that you share. Ishan das
Yes, nice to walk with you! Each step feels purposeful, like we are gong somewhere together. (mis-spelling unintended).
Thank you, Sifu Anthony, for sharing your time, thoughts, and scenery!
I like this format very much! Especially for when you are on this adventurous journey.
It seems like a win, win, win to me. We get to see the scenery of where you are at the moment and learn something new at the same time and you get in a few extra steps.
I always appreciate you and all that you do for us.
I do like the walk-and-talk format, especially if you keep it up as you move in different locales. It satisfies excessive intellectual curiosity while you’re giving the lesson as well as providing some scenic beauty to enjoy.
Beautiful scenery. Great commentary. But the moving camera makes me queasy. Sorry, but I have noticed this with some other people’s YouTube videos. I’m not a videographer, but I imagine the camera needs to move very slowly. Just giving you feedback. Once that spinning sensation starts in my head, it isn’t pleasant.
Thanks for the feedback. That’s the first I’ve heard of this. I’ll experiment a bit.
The walk and talk was great. The scenery was beautiful and the explanation was clear.
I also like the walk and talk format. It gives a friendly, more personal, and less structured feel to what you have to tell us – like you’re responding to a question someone just asked you. The beautiful scenery is a nice bonus, too!
Thanks for the feedback! And I was responding to a question someone just asked me…a few days ago. 🙂
I have taken qigong and I like it when the teacher quietly says when we are on to the next movement. I like to close my eyes and listen. At times I go too fast without the input from the instructors voice.
If you were to watch one of my in-person workshops, you would see that everyone is doing the exercise at their own pace. This is a big part of my teaching methodology.