In this edition of Ask Sifu Anthony, you’ll find questions about the number of repetitions in qigong, practicing qigong under stressful circumstances, practicing tai chi and qigong together, neigong vs. qigong, qigong for insomnia, and a timeline for future Flowing Zen projects!

I believe that students should be able to get the answers that they need. That’s why I work so hard answering questions in our Facebook group, inside my online programs, in our webinars, and here on the blog.

Seeing other students asks questions that you might have asked yourself – and then reading the answers – helps too! This helps us all to feel connected to a global qigong community. It also helps those who are too introverted or too shy to ask a question.

Question 1: Asandra

Although I don’t know your specific version or practice, I studied with Qigong teachers for 9 yrs in California & have been practicing a total of 11 yrs. My question is: I practice 5 to 7 days a week and worked up to 36 repetitions for each movement. I generally do a total of 9 movements so probably similar to what you teach. How many repetitions do you advise for each movement?

Hi Asandra. First of all, congrats on practicing qigong 5-7 days per week. That’s wonderful! Keep up the good work.

The way that I teach is quite different than what you’ve described. The heart of my method is called the 5-Phase Routine, which is described in my book and also taught in the bonus course that comes with it.

The actual qigong movements go in Phase 2 and make up just 1/5th of this routine. With the 5-Phase Routine, we don’t worry about the number of repetitions. Instead, we devote a rough amount of time to the entire routine, and then divide that among the phases. Keep in mind that these are rough estimates. For example:

How many movements do we do in Phase 2? Typically, I advise the following:

• Beginners should choose 1-3 favorite qigong patterns.
• Intermediate students should choose 1-6 favorite qigong patterns.
• Advanced students should choose 1-12 favorite qigong patterns.

So if you’re a beginner, you’re doing 1-3 movements in roughly 5 minutes. If you’ve been practicing for a year or two, then you’re doing 1-6 movements in 10 minutes. And so on.

But how do we split the time? It depends on the qigong pattern. Some patterns can be done for several minutes, like Lifting The Sky or Hugging Tree. Others are too challenging to do for more than a minute or two, like Iron Bull Ploughs Field.

If you’re using one of my guided meditations, then I time the transitions for you and tell you when to change. But with experience, you’ll discover which exercises you enjoy doing a little longer or a little shorter. Over time, you’ll develop a natural feel for each session without the need to count repetitions.

Qigong schools that don’t use the 5-Phase Routine will typically need:

1. more patterns per session
2. more repetitions per session

Why do they need more patterns? Because they don’t practice a rare technique called Flowing Breeze Swaying Willow (FBSW) in Phase 3 that circulates the energy freely through the meridians. Because they don’t practice FBSW, they need to rely on the qigong movements (Phase 2) for circulation, which isn’t as efficient.

Why do they need more repetitions? Because they don’t take enough time to enter into a Zen state of mind (Phase 1). Instead, they rely on the qigong movements to slowly get them into a meditative state. Again, this is less efficient.

Question 2: Mark

Hello, I’ve recently been scammed out of my life savings and worked up huge debts. Total amount being £79,000. Is there anything I can do with dealing with my stress and emotional struggle and pain that I’m feeling? My time is so limited so I don’t have much available. Any advice would be great.

Oh god, that’s awful Mark. That must be incredibly stressful. I’m sorry that you’re going through this.

Right now, your Monkey Mind is probably obsessed with the past and the future. It probably rushes from thoughts of being scammed and the things you could have done differently, to worrying about the future. This back-and-forth between the past and the future is part of why you’re experiencing so much emotional struggle and pain.

Mindfulness is the solution, and qigong is a wonderful way to practice mindfulness while also getting health benefits. From your submission, I know that you’re in your 30s, you’re relatively healthy, and you haven’t yet learned the 5-Phase Routine. With this info in mind, I think we have a clear direction to go.

Read my book, learn the 5-Phase Routine, and then begin to implement it. This is a small investment of time with a potentially huge return over the remainder of your life. The value of this investment is impossible to calculate, but I can say with confidence that it’s worth far more than £79,000.

Once you finish the book, all you’ll need is about 15-20 minutes per day to start feeling the effects. I wish you luck on this journey!

Question 3: Amy

Should I separate my classes, Tai Chi & Qigong or mix the arts together? I’m currently only teaching Tai Chi. Once I have gotten your 101 class under my belt, then I’ll have enough to go forward with more Qigong. Thanks for your help.

Hi Amy. In my opinion, tai chi should never be taught separate from qigong. Without some skill in the cultivation and manipulation of qi, tai chi is just a strange, slow-motion dance. It will still bring you some benefits, but these will be about the same as going for a walk or learning to dance.

However, many of the so-called “warm up” exercises that are taught in tai chi schools are often just qigong exercises in disguise. Do you have your students rotate their knees, or swing their hips, before doing the tai chi form? If so, those are both qigong patterns!

If we’re not careful, then qigong can also become a slow-motion dance without much energy cultivation. The key is to teach it as an internal art. If you want to know what that looks like, then my book is a great choice.

You don’t need to wait for the 101 to reopen in January. Instead, you can join the 201 when it reopens in June. But first, read the book and go through the free mini-course that comes with it. That will get you up to speed for the 201!

Question 4: Steve

Qigong is based on physical forms worked in a relaxed state of mind and body. It seems to smooth the passage of qi through the body. Neigong seems more alchemical: a means of opening your orbits and extraordinary meridians, and sublimating jing to qi etc. My question is, how is it that the Neigong methods I have been taught seem almost identical to those of qigong, but with an emphasis on ‘feeling’ your qi? Or are my assumptions all wrong?

Hi Steve. This is really just a matter of semantics. The answer to your question depends on how a particular teacher defines neigong and qigong. Let’s look at the two words:

neigong
內 (inner ) 功 (cultivation)

qigong
氣 (qi) 功 (cultivation)

As you can see, the 2nd character (gong) is the same for both words. In both cases, we’re talking about cultivating a skill over time through personal practice.

But qigong is a more modern term. Since 1949, it has been used as an umbrella term for many different qi cultivation arts. I myself use it as an umbrella as well. For example, I call the Small Universe (Xiao Zhou Tian, 小周天) qigong rather than neigong. But if anything qualifies as neigong, it’s the Small Universe.

Some teachers use qigong to refer to dynamic qigong exercises, like Lifting The Sky and reserve neigong for more quiescent exercises with less obvious movement, like the Small Universe. Again, this is just semantics.

I can’t really criticize teachers for using different terms. For example, Lifting The Sky and the Small Universe are pretty different even though they both fall under the umbrella of qigong. So if teachers want to call one of them qigong and one of them neigong, that’s their prerogative.

As an aside, I think that Lifting The Sky is more useful for regular people. The Small Universe is powerful and sophisticated, but it takes years to master. For a beginner who just wants to be healthier and move their body more, the idea of sitting cross-legged while imagining a stream of energy that they can’t even feel go around a loop of meridians that they don’t understand isn’t very helpful. In this sense, it doesn’t matter whether we call it qigong or neigong; the key here is pedagogy.

Question 5: Tanya

The post [May 2022] Ask Sifu Anthony appeared first on Flowing Zen.

“What does he think she is, a G.I. Joe action figure?” I said to myself.

I was taking a tai chi workshop and the teacher was poking, manipulating, and downright manhandling a 60-something student into what he dubbed “proper alignment.”

It wasn’t working, not by a long shot. And no wonder. The woman obviously had what we call kyphosis, an excessive curving of the upper spine that causes a slight hunching. With kyphosis, the muscles, tendons, ligaments, and fascia gradually adjust to the hunched posture over a period of years. Kyphosis is very common and although it can be reversed, it’s not a quick fix. It’s certainly not something that can be solved in a weekend workshop.

Meanwhile, this teacher seemed convinced that, with enough prodding, he could fix this poor woman’s posture NOW.

Is Proper Alignment Necessary?

If you’re learning qigong and/or tai chi, then “alignment” is a word that you probably hear often. You probably hear instructions like this:

• “Your nose should be aligned with your navel…”
• “Sink the shoulders, drop the elbows…”
• “Keep your knee aligned with your toe…”
• “Sink the chest…”
• “Don’t lean forward…”

What are we to make of all this alignment talk?

“Alignment is critical,” the teacher said to the woman and the class as he adjusted her. “Without proper alignment, we can’t do tai chi.”

Is what this teacher said true? Must our alignment be perfect in order to do tai chi? What about qigong?

Clearly, this woman’s alignment wasn’t anywhere close to perfect. Nor was it going to improve much over the span of a weekend. So was she just wasting her time in the workshop?

During one of the breaks, I had a little chat with her. It turns out she had been doing qigong and tai chi for a few years. More importantly, she’d been getting pretty good results.

In other words — she’d been getting results DESPITE her poor alignment.

Functional vs. Aesthetic

Alignment isn’t limited to qigong or tai chi. Alignment matters in virtually all movement arts and sports.

If your alignment is bad, your golf swing will suffer and your arabesque won’t look right.

However, I think it’ll be helpful to differentiate between “functional” and “aesthetic” systems. Golf is a functional system whereas ballet is an aesthetic system.

What’s the difference?

In golf, it doesn’t matter how your swing looks as long as you get the ball in the hole. If someone invented a totally new golf swing that worked better, it wouldn’t matter how the swing looked. People would adopt it because it works. And eventually, this new swing would be considered “beautiful” because of how beautifully it functions.

The same is NOT true of ballet. An arabesque is, first and foremost, aesthetic. How it looks is what matters most. The aesthetics of ballet dictate the form.

In functional systems like golf, alignment is based on results. You can win The Masters with an ugly swing as long as you get the ball in the hole faster than your competition.

In aesthetic systems like ballet, the look is everything. You’ll never get chosen as a principle dancer if your alignment is ugly.

What’s Your Function?

Qigong is pretty to watch. So is tai chi. There’s just something about the flow that is aesthetically pleasing.

But we need to be absolutely clear here: Any aesthetic beauty that we perceive in qigong or tai chi is a bonus, not the primary goal.

What’s the primary goal? That depends on the type of qigong or tai chi that you’re practicing.

Let’s look at the functions of 3 different types of qigong:

• Medical Qigong is designed to help people heal themselves from pain and illness, to prevent future illness, and to promote vitality and longevity.

• Martial Qigong is designed to improve performance and power in martial arts.

• Spiritual Qigong is designed to help you wake up to the nature of true reality.

Now let’s also look at different types of tai chi, as well as other Internal Martial Arts:

• Health Tai Chi is any form of tai chi that has diverged from its martial arts roots. The function is similar to Medical Qigong. It aims for health and vitality and is unconcerned with self-defense. This is, by far, the most common type of tai chi practiced today.

• Tai Chi Chuan (Taijiquan) is any form or style of tai chi that retains its martial roots. In these forms, the martial aspects supersede the medical aspects. Health and spiritual benefits are a bonus, not the primary aim.

• Xingyiquan is an internal martial art that has little-to-no spiritual aspects. It was designed purely for self-defense. Health is a bonus.

• Shaolinquan has both internal and external versions, but both are martial arts. Since this type of kung fu was practiced by Shaolin Monks, spiritual cultivation was also a goal.

As you can see, these are all FUNCTIONAL arts. Aesthetics are not a primary aim in any of them.

Pretty Tai Chi

However, in the 21st century we’re witnessing the rise of tai chi tournaments. There are even qigong tournaments now!

Tai chi tournaments focus on aesthetics. Alignments are adjusted not for martial arts, but for the judges. For example, many of the stances done in tai chi tournaments are impractical for self-defense. Ironically, these stances also inhibit the flow of qi because they are so extreme.

So you’re left with a version of tai chi that is not as good for the health, is totally useless for self-defense, but looks really really pretty!

Actually, I disagree that it looks pretty. To my eye, the alignments look ugly because they are so empty of meaning. To each their own.

Do You Need Good Alignment?

Let’s come back to our question from earlier: Is it necessary to have proper alignment in order to get results?

The woman I described above was practicing Health Tai Chi. She had zero interest in self-defense. The only thing she was interested in combatting was her arthritis. And she was doing a pretty good job!

Was her alignment good? Hell no. But was she getting results? Hell yes!

Although she called it tai chi, she was really practicing Medical Qigong. In other words, the primary aim of her practice was medical, i.e. arthritis.

We need look no further than this example for an answer to our question about alignment. People with poor alignment can  absolutely get results with Medical Qigong or Health Tai Chi.

The truth is that most modern humans have bad posture and thus bad alignment. And it’s not just the older folks. The younger generation has bad posture too, largely because of cell phones. There’s even a condition now called “Text Neck”. You can guess what that looks like!

If qigong could only be practiced by people with perfect alignment, then none of us would qualify, myself included.

Working With What You’ve Got

I would guess that 90% of my students had alignment issues when they came to me. I’m being conservative with that estimate. The number is probably closer to 99%, but let’s just use 90% to be safe.

If perfect alignment were necessary in order to get results, then 90% of my students would have failed! And yet, my students have gotten remarkable results with qigong.

And you know what? Even after years of practice, even after getting results that doctors described as “impossible,” many of my students STILL have poor alignment.

The tai chi teacher who was trying to poke and prod the woman’s hunched back — he refused to acknowledge how long it can take to restructure the body. It takes years, and sometimes it can take a decade.

And yet, we can and should work on our alignment, no matter how old we are.

Teachers who admonish against bad alignment aren’t wrong about the negative effects. Poor posture and poor alignment definitely block the flow of qi. (Click here to read a related article: Fix Your Posture, Fix Your Qi, Fix Your Biochemistry)

But that’s just life! Everything we do blocks the flow of qi, from the crap we eat to the way we sit. Pointing out things that block the flow of qi is easy!

Start where you are, and work with what you have. Whatever hand you’ve been dealt, qigong will significantly improve it.

What about Internal Martial Arts?

When it comes to Internal Martial Arts, then alignment is more important simply because we’re dealing with self-defense.

For example, the Yang Style Tai Chi pattern commonly called “Warding Off” is basically a defense against a punch to the face. If your alignment is off, then you won’t block the punch! Ouch!

These days, tai chi has lost its martial roots. Very few people can use tai chi for self-defense. And that’s fine as long as they acknowledge that they’re basically doing Health Tai Chi, which is really just a form of Medical Qigong.

In other words, it’s important for teachers to be honest about WHY the alignment should be this way or that way.

Mediocre Form, Great Results

In my 20s, I taught the violin to young kids. It’s truly incredible what a 4-year-old can do with a violin, but let’s be honest — it doesn’t sound very good for a long time! That’s just part of the process.

In any style of tai chi, no matter how athletic you are, your form is going to suck for the first few years. There’s just no way around it.

And yet, you can get remarkable health benefits despite having crappy form. This is even truer with qigong.

In my qigong classes, I actually encourage my students to butcher the form. And they do! If you were to watch my students doing a simple qigong exercise like Lifting The Sky, it wouldn’t be pretty!

And yet, my students get results. You’ll be hard-pressed to find qigong students who consistently get better results than mine. And results are what really matter.

My students don’t give a shit about how pretty their form is because they are busy beating depression, anxiety, chronic pain, and other serious issues.

Aligning the Qi

In my teachings, I talk about the 12 different skills that can be cultivated through qigong. These skills are as follows:

1. Discovering the Qi
2. Circulating the Qi
3. Aligning the Qi
4. Gathering the Qi
5. Protecting the Qi
6. Purifying the Qi
7. Mobilizing the Qi
8. Directing the Qi
9. Consolidating the Qi
10. Transforming the Qi
11. Unifying the Qi
12. Transmitting the Qi

As you can see, Aligning the Qi is one of the early skills.

Notice that I speak of Aligning the Qi, not Aligning the Body. This is critical. Aligning the body is not only impossible for some of us, it’s also unnecessary. The truth is that we can better align the qi even if the body is out of alignment.

And this makes perfect sense. This is why people with kyphosis get a wide range of health benefits before they fix the hunching in their back. The same is true of any alignment issue, whether it’s lordosis (excessive curvature of the low back), scoliosis (abnormal lateral curvature of the spine), or something as simple as a hip hike.

I speak from experience. I have the world’s flattest feet. While this may not seem like a big deal, your feet are your root. The angle of your ankle determines the angle of your knee, hip, and pelvis, which in turn determines the angle of your spine.

In that sense, my alignment has never been perfect, and it probably never will be. And yet, I get amazing results from qigong.

I’m able to align my qi despite my flat feet. This is how qigong works in the real world. This is how my students use it.

We’re not perfect. We’re all just trying to make the best out of the cards we’ve been dealt.

And I can’t think of a better art to do that with than Qigong.

How does your alignment affect your qigong or tai chi practice? Share your experience and let’s chat about it in the comments

From the heart,
Sifu Anthony

The post Does Alignment Really Matter in Qigong and Tai Chi? appeared first on Flowing Zen.

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!

From the heart,
Sifu Anthony

The post Should You Keep Your Eyes Open or Closed in Qigong and Tai Chi? appeared first on Flowing Zen.

“My teacher told me that it’s incorrect to breathe through the mouth,” she said. “He said that in qigong and tai chi the breathing should be in and out through the nose.”

This question comes up all the time in my Facebook group.

Sometimes, it’s more of a challenge than a question, as if to say: “Why are you doing it wrong, Anthony?!?”

I’m not doing it wrong.

This video explains why. It’s a replay of a live broadcast that I did on Facebook. You can watch it below, or you can click the little “f” button below and watch it on Facebook. (Note: if you want to read the comments, you’ll have to watch it on Facebook.)

If you have any questions, feel free to post them below this blog post.

No sound? Click the play button, then click the volume
button in the lower right corner.

From the heart,
Sifu Anthony

The post Qigong and Tai Chi Students: Should You Exhale Through Your Nose or Mouth? appeared first on Flowing Zen.

Ah, teaching. You teach me so much.

They say that to teach is to learn twice. I like that phrase a lot. The more I teach, the more it rings true.

Recently, a prospective student asked a question in our Facebook group. This happens all the time, almost daily.

But sometimes, a question catches me off guard. Something about the question forces me, as a teacher and also a practitioner, to look with fresh eyes.

In the Zen tradition, we call this Beginner’s Mind (shoshin, 初心). The more you advance in an art, the more important it is to cultivate Beginner’s Mind.

The question that this student asked did exactly that for me. It made me pause and look at the issue from a new perspective.

Today’s vlog (that’s a video log, as opposed to a blog, which is a web log) is the result of that student’s question, plus the Beginner’s Mind that it caused in me.

I hope you find it helpful. I certainly did!

In this video I cover:

1:04 – The question that inspired this video

2:33 – Do we really need to understand how Qigong works?

5:18 – 2 requirements for success with Qigong

6:00 – The 13 proven benefits of qigong & tai chi (click here for the free PDF)

8:09 – Why it’s critical to ask the right question

8:36 – How qigong works from an Eastern perspective

9:38 – How qigong works from a Western perspective

12:13 – What I really want for you

13:15 – IMPORTANT! Cure or Help?

Scroll down for the video, or click the button below to toggle the transcript.

Now I’d love to hear from you. Did this explanation make sense? Did it spark something? Or do you have a followup question? Let me know in the comments below.

From the heart,
Sifu Anthony

The post How Qigong Helps You Heal: What You Really Need to Know appeared first on Flowing Zen.

“Do you sell Chinese incense?” I asked.

The year was 1995, and the young man behind the counter seemed to be a caricature of a NYC smoke shop employee. He had thick dreadlocks, a Bob Marley t-shirt, and he looked stoned out of his mind.

I was not his usual customer, however. I was there on a very specific mission.

“Sure, we’ve got incense, man,” he said. He gestured casually in the direction of the incense sticks, right next to the bongs.

“I’m looking for really long sticks,” I said after taking a quick look and not seeing what I wanted. “Like a foot long.”

“Yeah man,” he said. “We’ve got some like that.” He disappeared into the back of the shop and returned with a foot-long tube covered in Chinese writing. It smelled like smoky perfume.

Mission accomplished! I paid the man and left the shop with thoughts of my Incense Stick Horse Stance…

Incense Stick Horse Stance?

When my first Sifu proudly said that he had an “incense stick horse stance,” I was confused. My mind immediately went to that old kung fu movie with Jackie Chan.

In the movie, Jackie Chan’s character was punished in the Horse Stance, where he had to sit with bowls of hot tea on his thighs, shoulders, and head — plus a hot incense stick below his butt (see image below). I assumed that this is what my teacher was talking about.

This particular teacher of mine was extremely stern, and asking questions was tricky business. At times, a question would get you a swift rebuke. Other times, you would be rewarded with a fascinating lecture.

I was intrigued by this “incense stick horse stance” idea, and I wanted to know more. One night, a bunch of us took our Sifu out to a Japanese restaurant, and I saw my chance. Sake was flowing freely, and I worked up the courage to ask him a question.

“Sifu,” I said, filling his sake cup in the traditional manner. “Can you tell us more about the Incense Stick Horse Stance?”

He paused for a moment, and I was afraid I was about to get reprimanded. But he broke into a big smile and then proceeded to tell us how hard it had been to get his Horse Stance up to one incense stick.

“My training was tougher than yours will ever be,” he said. “We just sat and sat in Horse Stance, watcing the incense stick burn and enduring.” He paused and sipped his sake.

“And not one of those sissy incense sticks,” he clarified. “Chinese incense sticks!” He held both index fingers about 15 inches apart, indicating the length. “At least one hour,” he added as he drained his sake.

Aha! That’s when I suddenly understood. My Sifu didn’t use an incense stick below his butt; he used it to time how long he could endure in a horse stance!

He was right to be proud. To do a horse stance correctly for 1 hour is an amazing feat. Most people can’t do 2 minutes. Even college athletes can’t make it past 5 minutes.

The Origin of the Method

When you’re deep in meditation, the passage of time can be elusive. This is probably why monks began using incense sticks to time their meditation sessions.

Actually, there’s something called an Incense Clock (香鐘, lit. Fragrance Clock). This is an ancient Chinese timekeeping tool that uses incense sticks. It’s a clever idea. You can read more about it on Wikipedia.

I don’t know if kung fu masters (including tai chi masters) got the Horse Stance idea from monks, or from the Incense Clock. Either way, this incense trick can still be found in many different schools of kung fu.

Unfortunately, it’s a dying art, which is a shame. I think that many 21st century students can benefit from this method.

Let’s see if we can keep it alive in a more modern context.

Who Can Benefit from This Method?

If you learned qigong the traditional way (see #18 on this list), then you would be taught the Horse Stance, and nothing else, for the first 3 months of your training.

As you can imagine, if I taught the traditional way, then I would have exactly 4 students (you know who you are).

Teaching qigong in the 21st century needs to be more modern. Most of my students are not interested in a 1-hour Horse Stance. They just want to get healthier, and a 15-minute daily qigong session is challenging enough.

The beauty of the incense stick method is that it can be used by students at all different levels.

You can benefit from this method whether you are:

• a new qigong or tai chi student struggling to practice 15 minutes a day
• an ambitious kung fu student who likes the challenge of a 30-60 minute Horse Stance
• a seasoned tai chi practitioner who wants to increase their practice time

I’ve already written trillions of articles about willpower and discipline. Do we really need another article on the subject?

The answer is yes. We need all the help we can get. I think that this incense stick trick is another good tool to keep in your box.

If this article inspires one person to be more diligent with their practice, then I’ve done my job as a teacher.

Japanese vs. Chinese Incense

For most of you, the foot-long Chinese incense sticks won’t be helpful. They simply take too long to burn.

Sure, you could cut off some of the stick to shorten the duration, but there’s a simpler method.

I like this Japanese incense. My first Sifu would call them “sissy sticks,” but that’s okay. I think underneath he would be happy that people are using the method, even if it’s an abridged version.

These sticks are shorter and last for about 20-30 minutes, depending on the humidity. So they are already more useful than the foot-long ones.

But Japanese incense is different. There’s no stick running down the center. The entire thing burns, which means that you can also break the sticks in half — and still use both halves.

These sticks are perfect for setting a minimum practice session for qigong, especially with Flowing Zen Qigong where the standard session is about 10-20 minutes.

A big box contains 200 sticks, and also comes with a little holder that works great. They also have smaller boxes of 50, and you can buy them in many different scents.

How to Use Incense With Your Qigong or Tai Chi

By now, the method should be pretty clear, but here is the step-by-step breakdown:

Step 1: Light your incense stick. I keep a small Bic lighter inside my box of incense. The Japanese incense above comes with a small stick holder, so the entire thing is self-contained. The ashes just drop down onto the sticks, so there’s no mess.

Step 2: Begin your session as normal. Don’t do anything special, but try to make it a really high-quality session in order to set your baseline. (If you don’t know any qigong, click here to start learning for free.)

Step 3: Look at the incense stick. How much is left? Did it burn down completely?

Step 4: Rinse and repeat. Try to develop the habit of simply lighting the incense stick to initiate your practice session. Even if it’s just going to be a short session, try lighting the stick anyway.

Why It Works

Of course, you can use a digital meditation timer, a cube timer, or a sand timer. I’ve used all of these, and they can be helpful.

But I still prefer the incense stick. Here’s why I think it works so well:

1. The Visual Reward: There is a feeling of intense pride at watching your box of incense sticks empty gradually over time. I like to write the start date on the box so that I know how long it takes me to go through all 200 sticks.

2. The Olfactory Reward: For me, the smell of incense is wonderful. I guess this is where the word “inspire” comes from because as soon as I light a stick, I’m inspired to practice.

3. The Power of Ritual: If you light an incense stick every morning, it becomes a ritual. Later, simply lighting the incense stick will help to initiate your morning practice, even if you’re feeling lazy.

4. Analog vs. Digital: I don’t know about you, but the last thing I need is another digital device in my life. I appreciate analog options whenever I can get them, and incense is as analog as it gets!

5. Portable Discipline: When I travel, it’s easy to bring my ritual with me. The smaller boxes of incense work great. Be aware that some hotels frown on incense, but I tend to stay in Airbnbs these days anyway.

Wrapping Up

There you have it, the simple incense stick trick that can dramatically improve your willpower.

How do you feel about incense? Love it or hate it? Do you have a favorite kind? Let me know in the comments below!

And if you decide to give this trick a try, I’d love to hear how it works for you. 

From the heart,
Sifu Anthony

The post Build Willpower like a Kung Fu Master with This Incense Stick Trick appeared first on Flowing Zen.

“I tried qigong, but it didn’t work for me,” she said.

This is my nightmare. This is what wakes me up at night screaming “NOOOOOOO!” like Luke Skywalker after he found out that Darth Vader was his father.

I want people to fall in love with qigong. I want them to have an amazing, positive experience with this beautiful art. I want them to get the many health benefits of qigong for themselves.

And they can do exactly that, but there are some pitfalls to avoid along the path.

If you avoid these traps, then qigong will work wonders for you.

In Western civilization, one of the biggest traps is treating qigong like calisthenics.

In this article, I’ll explain why qigong is fundamentally different than calisthenics, and how to avoid this common trap so that you can get the benefits you deserve.

What Are Calisthenics?

First, let’s define calisthenics:

cal·is·then·ics

n.

exercises consisting of a variety of gross motor movements—running, standing, grasping, pushing, etc.—often performed rhythmically and generally without equipment or apparatus. They are, in essence, body-weight training. They are intended to increase body strength, body fitness, and flexibility, through movements such as pulling or pushing oneself up, bending, jumping, or swinging, using only one’s body weight for resistance; usually conducted in concert with stretches. [from Wikipedia]
 

Let me be absolutely clear that calisthenics are a good thing.

Many, many people — especially in the US where obesity and inactivity are becoming epidemics — could benefit from calisthenics.

But I didn’t dedicate my life to the art of calisthenics. I dedicated my life to the art of qigong, and with good reason.

Calisthenics Didn’t Heal My Depression

Calisthenics didn’t save my life. Qigong did.

Specifically, it saved me from an illness that has killed more people in the 21st century than all of the global wars combined.

I’m talking about Major Depressive Disorder (MDD), or clinical depression.

Although there’s evidence suggesting that regular exercise and calisthenics can help with depression, those things didn’t work for me.

I was in my 20s when I was diagnosed.

At the time, I was already a black belt in Karate, I could crank out 50 knuckle pushups like it was nothing, and I probably could’ve gotten a job modeling men’s underwear because I had amazing, washboard abs.

I also had depression, low-back pain, a weak immune system, and anxiety.

Calisthenics are great, but they didn’t help me to heal.

It was qigong — REAL qigong — that helped my body to finally heal, not calisthenics.

The Yoda of Yoga

Before we talk about what real qigong is, let me tell you what it isn’t.

To do that, I’ll tell you a quick story.

I heard this story from a friend who, interestingly, now practices qigong rather than yoga. Since I seem to be on a Star Wars theme today, we’ll call him Luke.

A long time ago, in a galaxy far away, Luke was living in an ashram in India. He was there to learn from a famous yoga master.

While he was there, a young American yoga teacher came to visit the ashram. We’ll call him Han.

Han requested an audience with the guru, and it was granted. While the guru and many disciples watched, Han proceeded to demonstrate several advanced yoga postures.

You know — those pretzel-like ones that you and I will never be able to do.

After getting into one of these poses, Han would glance at the guru, presumably looking for approval.

This went on for a while, with the guru saying nothing. The silence was thick and tense.

Finally, the American stopped posing and asked, “Master, what did you think of my yoga?”

The master paused for a moment before responding. Then he spoke.

“I have not seen you do any yoga yet,” he said.

BOOM! Best answer ever! That guru was like the Yoda of yoga. 

If this answer confuses you, then here’s what he was conveying with his ingenious comment:

• Yoga is more than just going through poses.
• Yoga is an internal art.
• If you’re constantly glancing at someone while doing poses, then you’re obviously not practicing it as an internal art and thus you’re not really doing yoga.

That Ain’t Qigong

These days, yoga has gotten so muddled with calisthenics that the guru’s message is almost completely lost. It’s sad, but many people view yoga as Indian calisthenics, completely ignoring the internal aspects of the art.

And the same thing is starting to happen with qigong.

Qigong is becoming more and more popular, and that’s a wonderful thing! In fact, I believe qigong will one day be bigger than yoga.

But popularity brings its own problems. 

Like with yoga, many people don’t understand that qigong is an internal art.

When someone says, “I tried qigong, but it didn’t do much for me,” it makes me want to scream because what they did most likely wasn’t qigong.

They were just doing bad calisthenics.

Often, these are the same people who ask which exercise they should practice for X problem and then expect that exercise to fix their problem in just 3 weeks.

Gentle Calisthenics?

In the West, we have no point of reference for an art like qigong.

When we see the slow, gentle exercises of qigong we have nothing from our culture to compare it to. So we just compare it to calisthenics.

Here’s an example from my recent retreat in Costa Rica:

From a Western perspective, an exercise like this makes no sense. How could something like that make you healthier?

It’s too gentle, too soft, and too simple.

Even when compared to yoga, qigong is gentler.

With yoga, if you ignore the guru’s advice from above and you practice it as calisthenics, you’ll still get some health benefits.

Anyone who has accidentally wandered into an “All Levels” yoga class knows just how challenging it can be.

That shit is hard!

I think that many people who practice yoga KNOW that they’re just doing it as calisthenics rather than an internal art.

But they’re still getting results because calisthenics are good for you! Duh.

The Secret of Both Qigong and Tai Chi

With qigong, it’s different. There are many styles of qigong, and some are more vigorous than others.

But all of them are built on a foundation of softness and relaxation.

If you were learning qigong in Mandarin Chinese, then virtually every teacher would say the same 2 words over and over, regardless of the style:

fang song (放 松)

This simply means “loosen and relax”.

Even if you were doing a tai chi form, which is more complex and usually more vigorous than qigong, you would still hear fang song repeated over and over.

(If you’re not clear about the difference between qigong and tai chi, then this article will help.)

Both tai chi and qigong aim to get the qi, or internal energy, flowing smoother and smoother.

And to do this, to get your qi flowing smoother, you need to practice fang song.

Softness vs. Calisthenics

This concept of softness is not found in calisthenics nor in yoga.

Savasana (Corpse Pose) is the closest thing I’ve found in the yoga tradition, but it’s characteristically different because it’s done lying down rather than standing.

If you try to fang song (loosen and relax) in yoga like we do in qigong, your teacher will not be happy.

And fang song is even more foreign in calisthenics.

Relax while doing pushups? No way! Tense yours muscles and your core!

Keep heart rate low? No way! Get it up into the target zone!

Really, qigong and calisthenics couldn’t be more different in their approach.

This is good news for people who hate calisthenics.

The truth is that many people come to qigong precisely because they hate calisthenics. And that’s fine!

As long as you’re doing REAL qigong, you’ll still get results even if what you’re practicing is super gentle.

What Is Real Qigong?

What is qigong then? I’m glad you asked! Let’s start with a simple definition.

qigong

n.

An ancient Chinese mind-body practice that cultivates the internal energy, or qi, to restore wellness, build mental and emotional strength, reduces stress, and increases vitality.

The key words in there are:

• mind-body
• qi
• cultivate

This is similar to what the guru was trying to tell the American about his yoga. And that’s what I’m trying to tell you.

Here’s a simple way to tell if you’re doing REAL qigong, or just calisthenics.

Can you get results with a simple, gentle exercise like Gathering Qi from the Cosmos?

(If you don’t know this exercise and you’d like to learn it for free, then click here for lifetime access to an online mini-course.)

This exercise is a good example because there’s no real stretching, no squatting, and no complex movement.

If you can get health benefits with an exercise like this, then you’re doing REAL qigong.

Essence, Mind, and Energy

In Chinese, there’s an ancient phrase that nicely sums up the difference between calisthenics and qigong:

nei lian jing shen qi
wai lian jin gu pi
(内練精神氣外練筋骨皮)

This translates to:

Internal training cultivates essence, mind, and energy;
external training cultivates tendons, bones, and flesh.

(It sounds better in Chinese. It even rhymes!)

Here’s another way to say this:

With internal arts, the most important stuff happens on the inside!

The Best of Both Worlds

Of course, not all qigong exercises are easy.

Some of them are downright challenging, even if you’re in good shape.

For example, Lift Heels Bend Knees (#18 from the 18 Luohan Hands) involves a full squat while balancing on the toes.

If you practice this as calisthenics, then yes, you’ll get the benefits of calisthenics.

But why would you want to do that when you can have the best of both worlds?

Here’s a profound truth that all great martial artists throughout history have known:

You get the best results if you train both internal and external.

Internal Vs. External Martial Arts

Tai Chi is considered an internal martial art. It focuses on cultivating essence, mind, and qi. This is why it’s so closely related to qigong.

Karate, on the other hand, is considered an external martial art. It focuses on cultivating tendons, bones, and flesh (i.e. muscles).

But is it really true?

What if you practice tai chi devoid of the internal aspects? Is it still an internal art?

Similarly, what about the tiny Okinawan Karate master that I met 23 years ago who showed me an exercise to train energy and mind? (I didn’t realize what it was until many years later, sadly.)

The truth is that internal and external overlap more than many people realize.

Ideally, you want is to train BOTH internal and external together.

People who train tai chi but can’t do 10 pushups are only training the internal side.

People who train karate but can’t feel their qi are only training the external side.

Train both, and you’ll not only be a better martial artist, but you’ll be happier and healthier too.

Qigong For The Win

But this article is about qigong, not martial arts.

For many people, qigong provides us with a simple solution to this problem.

No matter what, qigong should be practiced as an internal art. But it can also be practiced as calisthenics.

It gives us a simple way to train the internal side at least, plus the external side if we want to.

But don’t fall into the trap.

There are 3 possible ways to train qigong:

a) practice it as an internal art;
b) practice it as an external art;
c) practice it as both an internal and external art;

By now, you should realize that b) is the trap that too many people fall into.

Don’t be one of them.

More Internal Training, Please

In the 21st century, what the world needs is more internal training. Perhaps more than ever before, we desperately need to train essence, mind, and energy.

We don’t need another external art. We’ve already got plenty of those.

If you want to train qigong as BOTH internal and external, great. That’s option c) from above. That’s what I do.

The same goes for tai chi. If you want to use it as both internal and external training — great. I do this too.

But if you had to choose ONLY one aspect, if you had to choose between internal and external — then make sure you choose the internal aspect. That’s choice a) from above.

You can use other arts for your external training if you like. If you enjoy yoga, use that for calisthenics. (Just don’t tell Yoda.)

If you have a calisthenics routine built into your martial art, use that.

Or if you absolutely love the elliptical at the gym — go for it.

Just make sure that you’re also training the internal side.

So How Do You Train Internally?

If you’re interested in learning the true internal skills of both qigong and tai chi, then you’re in luck.

It just so happens that I teach these skills online. What an amazing coincidence!

In a recent article, I mentioned the 4 primary skills of qigong:

1. Discovering the Qi
2. Circulating the Qi
3. Aligning the Qi
4. Gathering the Qi

Different masters might use different terminology, but these skills are universal to all forms of qigong.

If you want to train qigong (or tai chi) as an internal art, then you need to learn to relax your body (fang song), clear your mind, and feel your qi.

You need to learn how to get your qi circulating through the 12 primary meridians so that it can heal your body (and mind).

You need to learn how to align your body properly so that the qi is able to flow.

And you need to learn how to gather more qi into your system.

And that’s exactly why I spent so much time and energy creating my flagship online course called Qigong 101: The Art of Healing for Busy People.

If you want external training, then this course is NOT for you. But if you want to learn the internal side of qigong, if you want to learn the 4 primary skills, then consider joining us.

Registration opens in November, but the 12-month course doesn’t officially begin until January so you can start the new year right.

I say “officially” because you’ll get lots of goodies to hold you over, including a special module on beating holiday stress with qigong.

If you’re not already on the waiting list, then you can join at the bottom of that page. Here’s that link again.

And keep an eye out for my free video training series that I’ll be releasing in a few weeks.

I’ll teach you some of the internal secrets of qigong in that series — for free. Yes, you read that right. FREE!

In the meantime, do you have a question or something to add about the internal nature of qigong? Comment below, let’s converse!

From the heart,
Sifu Anthony

The post Why Qigong and Calisthenics are NOT the Same appeared first on Flowing Zen.

“I’ll answer your question,” I said.

Here’s what I didn’t say: “This answer is going to get me into trouble!”

I was in Orlando, Florida speaking with a new student. I’ll call her Martha.

We were breaking for lunch during one of my qigong workshops. She approached me to ask a question.

“Which qigong exercise should I practice for ______ ,” she asked.

I don’t remember her exact condition, honestly. It was years ago, and I get this question so often that they all start to blend together.

For example, here are some common variations:

• Which qigong exercise should I practice for chronic knee pain?
• Which qigong exercise should I practice for Irritable Bowel Syndrome?
• Which qigong exercise should I practice for anxiety attacks?
• Which qigong exercise should I practice for diabetes?
• Which qigong exercise should I practice for Parkinson’s Disease?

The examples above are from actual emails, messages, and voicemails that I’ve received in the past month.

If I receive that many in a month, just imagine how many I’ve received since I started teaching in 2005!

A few!

X Exercise for Y Problem?

Look, Martha’s question was fair. And so were all the similar questions I’ve received over the years. 

And I want to answer these questions honestly. I really do!

But I know you’re not going to like the honest answer.

You want my answer to sound something something like this:

“Yes, if you practice Black Crow Teases Miniature Schnauzer for 10 minutes per day, then your _____ problem will magically go away in 6 weeks!”

But I’m not going to say that because it’s not true.

It’s more complicated than that.

The reason it has taken me almost 10 years to write a blog post on this subject is because the honest answer is also the more complex answer.

The honest answer is not only complex, but it will also get me into trouble.

Like it did with Martha.

The Inconvenient Truth

Look, I know you just want to get results with ____ problem.

To do that, to actually get results in the real world (as opposed to fantasy land), we need to dig a little deeper.

Back to Martha.

Before the workshop, Martha mentioned that she had already learned qigong from a Chinese teacher.

Here’s what you need to know about Martha’s qigong: It was truly awful.

I’m not talking about her form. I couldn’t care less about that.

A student from another teacher can have totally different techniques than mine, but I can still recognize the skill underneath — if it’s there.

With Martha, it wasn’t there. Nada.

Maybe she was just a new student, or maybe she hadn’t learned deeply enough from her other teacher.

It was clear to me that she was practicing qigong purely on a physical level, with zero awareness of the internal aspects.

This is ironic because that’s the exact opposite of how I teach.

If you’ve ever done a workshop with me, then you know that I often say this:

“You have my permission to butcher the form!”

Despite this, Martha was STILL obsessed with the form. She kept opening her eyes during meditative sessions, watching me like a hawk as I demonstrated the exercises, and asking irrelevant questions about the physical form.

All of my teaching about the internal secrets of qigong were lost on her.

We can, and should, learn from Martha’s mistake.

Here’s the lesson to be learned:  There is much more to qigong than just the physical form.

I’ll explain that in a moment, but first, let’s back up a bit.

The 5 Categories of Qigong

There are thousands of styles, but all of them fall into one or more of the following 5 categories

1. Medical Qigong
2. Longevity Qigong
3. Scholarly Qigong
4. Martial Qigong
5. Spiritual Qigong

Lots of schools, like mine, cover all five categories. Other schools focus on just two or three categories (which is not a slight on them at all).

If you are practicing the 1^st category, then your art should follow the principles of classical Chinese Medicine.

Makes sense, right?

But how do you know if it’s Medical Qigong?

If you’re asking me questions about medical conditions, then it’s Medical Qigong!

For example: “Which qigong exercise should I practice for acid reflux?”

That’s a medical condition.

By default, if someone asks me which exercises to practice for _____ problem, then they’re asking about Medical Qigong.

How Chinese Medicine Gets Me Into Trouble

Here’s where I often get into trouble.

If you’re teaching Medical Qigong, then you’re practicing a branch of Chinese Medicine.

Good! I believe the world could use more Chinese Medicine, especially Medical Qigong!

But if you’re simply telling students that X exercise will fix Y symptom, then you don’t know squat about Chinese Medicine.

Chinese Medicine is many things with many branches and many variations, and not everyone agrees on all of the classical principles.

But if there’s one thing that everyone agrees on, it’s this:

Chinese Medicine is holistic.

In fact, this is the defining characteristic of the medicine. Thousands of years before we in the West had any clue of holistic medicine, the Chinese were perfecting it.

What does holistic mean?

ho·lis·tic

If you are prescribing physical qigong exercises for symptoms like back pain, if you aren’t treating the whole person and taking their mind and emotions into account — then it’s not holistic.

And if it’s not holistic, it ain’t Chinese Medicine.

I’m not saying anything radical here. Pretty much any professor from any acupuncture college would agree with me.

But it still gets me into trouble with other qigong teachers and students.

Here’s why: The truth raises uncomfortable questions about qigong teachers and their understanding of Chinese Medicine (or lack thereof).

But My Master Said…

Martha was aghast after I tried to explain all of this to her.

Her response was a typical one: “But my master said that….”

I’d be happy to discuss her master’s theories and compare them to the fundamental principles of Chinese Medicine. But that’s not really what she was saying.

What she was REALLY saying was this: “I refuse to believe that my master, who is Chinese and has a really cute accent, could possibly be wrong!!”

This is a widespread phenomenon in the qigong and tai chi community.

(To be fair, this phenomenon also exists in many martial arts, yoga, and sitting meditation communities as well.)

And it’s not just the students. It’s the teachers too!

Far too many qigong teachers are brimming with ego and bravado. I know of one qigong master who — as a matter of policy — never admits when he’s wrong. He firmly believes that it’s bad for the students’ morale if they see that he’s fallible!

Yikes!

With attitudes like that, no wonder Martha was unable to accept that her teacher might be wrong!

As you might expect, these teachers and their students don’t really take kindly to me raising uncomfortable questions about their methods.

Sadly, the reaction from them is almost always the same: Mudslinging.

Have at it. Stick and stones. I’ve developed a thick skin over the years.

Here’s a pro tip for you: When a teacher presents himself as infallible, when the students believe he’s never wrong, and when all of them choose to sling mud rather than discuss theory and philosophy — that’s your cue to walk away.

That is — if you want the truth. If you prefer a comfortable lie, then, by all means, stop reading now because I am DEFINITELY not the teacher for you.

What REALLY Matters in Qigong

Some teachers might argue that ALL qigong is holistic and that prescribing X exercise for Y condition still follows the principles of Chinese Medicine.

Actually, I almost agree with this argument. Almost.

Here’s my corrected version of that argument:

All medical qigong that is practiced as an INTERNAL ART is holistic.

If you’re practicing Medical Qigong exercises, but you’re just doing the physical motions — then it’s not an internal art, and it’s not holistic medicine.

Here’s what really matters: With qigong, what happens on the inside is FAR more important than what happens on the outside.

This is a fundamental truth about qigong that people like Martha seem to miss.

An analogy may help you to understand.

Imagine 2 people practicing zuo chan (sitting meditation). One of them is sitting in the perfect double lotus meditation posture. The other is sitting on a chair.

Which one of them will get better results?

The answer is that it depends on who is actually meditating!

What if the person in the perfect lotus posture is just thinking with his eyes closed?

Just like in qigong, the physical aspect of sitting meditation is the least important thing for getting results.

With Martha, I knew that even if I gave her the absolute best qigong technique for her problem, it wasn’t going to help much.

I knew that she would take that technique and perform it on a physical level, ignoring the internal aspects of qigong.

In other words, I knew that she was barking up the wrong tree.

The 4 Primary Skills

All this talk about X exercise for Y problem ignores the elephant in the room — the issue of skill in qigong.

Skill is invisible and internal, but it’s what REALLY matters if you want to get results with qigong.

Do you want to get health benefits from your qigong? Then ask yourself the following 4 questions:

1. Are you able to relax your body, clear your mind, smooth your emotions, and tune in to your qi (energy)?
2. Are you able to get your qi circulating through the 12 primary meridians?
3. Are your meridians, your limbs, and your vertebrae properly aligned?
4. Are you able to gather more qi into your energy system?

All of these things are skills. In fact, those 4 questions highlight the 4 primary skills of qigong, which are:

1. Discovering the Qi
2. Circulating the Qi
3. Aligning the Qi
4. Gathering the Qi

(Note that other teachers might use different terminology, but we’re all referring to the same fundamental skills.)

“Gathering the Qi” is not a technique. It’s a skill. If you have that skill, then you can use any of the following techniques to gather more qi:

1. The Wuji Stance
2. Hugging the Tree
3. Monk Gazing at the Moon
4. Holding the Full Belly
5. Dragons Embracing the Sun
6. Unicorn Holding the Moon
7. Playing the Lute
8. White Crane Spreads Wings
9. Golden Bridge
10. One Finger Shooting Zen
11. Cosmos Palm

These are just techniques from my school. Other schools would have dozens of other techniques for gathering the qi.

In other words, the skill of Gathering the Qi is not imprisoned inside a specific technique or posture.

Here’s a quote that I love:

”For the unskilled, the best technique won’t help. For the skillful, even an inferior technique will suffice.” – Ke An Dao

Like that quote?

I like it too. That’s because I made it up. Ke An Dao is my Chinese name.

So Wait, Which Exercises Should I Practice?!?!

This isn’t my first rodeo.

Even after this lengthy explanation, I know that people will send me emails asking what exercise they should practice.

Want a simpler answer?

Let’s pretend that you’ve just asked me which qigong exercises you should practice for ______ condition.

Here’s my answer, no matter what you put in that blank:

For ______ condition, you should practice the following 12 exercises:

1. Entering Zen
2. Smiling from the Heart
3. Lifting The Sky
4. Pushing Mountains
5. Flowing Breeze Swaying Willow
6. Flowing Stillness
7. Consolidating Qi at Dantian
8. Washing the Face with Both Hands
9. Combing the Hair with the Fingers
10. Massaging the Vital Points
11. Rubbing Two Coins
12. 24 Heavenly Drums

My students will get the joke here. It’s a trick answer.

The exercises I just described form the basis of my 5-Phase Routine. Except for #3 and #4, we do all of these exercises during EVERY practice session.

Instead of #3 and #4, we might insert several other exercises. In fact, my best advice is for you to chose your favorite exercises.

But we always do the other 10 exercises.

Meanwhile, far too many qigong practitioners and teachers are ONLY concerned with #3 and #4. That’s it. Just those 2 parts of the larger equation.

In other words, they’re focusing on 1/6th (i.e. 2/12ths) of the equation. And that 1/6th isn’t even the most important part!

Looking at the exercises above, most of them focus on INTERNAL skills rather than external ones.

• Entering Zen and Smiling from the Heart get us into a meditative state.
• Lifting The Sky and Pushing Mountains are dynamic qigong exercises that help get our energy flowing.
• Flowing Breeze Swaying Willow is a subtle skill that circulates the qi through the meridians.
• Flowing Stillness and Consolidating Qi at Dantian help us store qi at or natural energy center.
• And #8-12 are part of what we call the Closing Sequence, a self-massage sequence that helps us transition back from a meditative state and also brings energy to the eyes and face.

I should mention that all of the exercises/skills listed above are taught in my online program called Qigong 101: The Art of Healing for Busy People.

People absolutely love this program. No really. Here’s some unsolicited praise from students in the program:

“I appreciate your systematic way of teaching. I have tried learning qigong from two other instructors in the past without great results. With your method, I feel I am making real progress and things are starting to make so much more sense to me!” – Holly Blackburn

Practical Next Steps

We’ve covered a lot of theory in this article. In a follow-up article, I’ll talk about practical next steps.

I’ll tell how to choose exercises appropriate for your situation, and also which 2 questions you should ask yourself before making any decisions.

Questions? Comments? Have something to add to the discussion? Go ahead and comment below, I’d love to hear from you! 

From the heart,
Sifu Anthony

The post Which Qigong Exercise Should You Practice For [Insert Problem]? appeared first on Flowing Zen.

Note: I won’t take it personally if you turn the speed up to 1.25x or 1.50x. Life is busy, and if you want to save some time, go for it! Click the gear wheel on the YouTube bar to adjust the speed.

Lately, I seem to be getting a lot of questions about tai chi:

• Is tai chi a form of qigong?
• What is tai chi really? 
• What is Medical Qigong and how does it relate to tai chi?

I decided to answer these questions in another video blog. 

Here’s an index of the topics covered:

Index

00:31 – What is qigong?

00:53 – What is tai chi?

01:44 – Overlap between qigong and tai chi

01:57 – Shaking the Tree, a popular qigong exercise used in many tai chi classes. (I teach this exercise in this free class here if you’re interested.)

02:42 – Is tai chi a martial art?

02:56 – qi vs. chi

03:13 – The correct way to pronounce “tai chi”.

03:48 – The 8 Brocades in tai chi class

04:16 – Learning complex tai chi forms

04:41 – What is Medical Qigong?

05:36 – A faster path to healing

05:47 – The historical origins of the word “qigong”

06:01 – Some historical terms for qigong (nei gong, nei dan, wai dan, dao yin, yang sheng, etc.)

07:35 – Medical qigong or kung fu pose?

09:22 – The spiritual dimension of tai chi

10:58 – It’s like a finger pointing to the moon…

As always, if you have questions just post them below. Or you can post them in our awesome community group on Facebook. Click here to join for free.

From the heart,
Sifu Anthony

The post [Video] Is Tai Chi a Form of Qigong? appeared first on Flowing Zen.

Too often, tai chi is performed in a stiff and rigid way.

It should flow! You should be soft and relaxed no matter what style of tai chi you practice!

This is a replay of a live class that I offered on Facebook on September 4, 2017.

In this video, I’ll give you some simple tips for creating more flow in your tai chi.

Beginners are absolutely welcome!

Please try this class even if you’ve struggled with tai chi in the past.

My approach to tai chi is uncommon, and you may find that my “flow first” method is more enjoyable than what you’ve tried in the past!

And if you’re a seasoned tai chi practitioner but you don’t feel enough flow during your practice, then this class will give you some helpful tips.

If you have any questions, go ahead and post them in the comments below!

Mindfully yours,
Sifu Anthony

I’m Anthony Korahais, and I used qigong to heal from clinical depression, low back pain, anxiety, and chronic fatigue. I’ve already taught thousands of people from all over the world how to use qigong for their own stubborn health challenges. As the director of Flowing Zen and a board member for the National Qigong Association, I’m fully committed to helping people with these arts. In addition to my blog, I also teach online courses and offer in-person retreats and workshops.

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