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Hi, my name is Ken Gray.
And I am a certified T'ai Chi Chih instructor at HSS.
In this video, I'd like to briefly explain and demonstrate
some of the easy-to-follow Qi Gong forms.
Qi Gong is the precursor to T'ai Chi.
And so it's very helpful to start with these movements
before learning T'ai Chi.
It's estimated that Qi Gong exercises go back
about 4,000 years.
And they emphasize breathing, stretching,
enhancing circulation, and calming the mind.
I'm going to demonstrate three exercises from a form called
Eight Pieces of Brocade that, when performed correctly,
can help regulate and balance the body, mind, and also
the internal organs.
The first exercise is called Push Hands to Heaven.
And this is very good for regulating respiration,
digestion, and elimination, also stretching the back
and relaxing tense and stiff muscles.
To begin, bring the feet about shoulder width apart.
Interlace the fingers below the navel.
And we're going to breathe in, and lift the hands up.
And now push the palms forward, and bend at the hips,
breathing out.
Flatten the back.
Straighten up.
Breathe in.
Stretch.
Push the palms up.
Look up with your eyes.
And breathe out, coming down, pushing the palms out
to the side.
And we repeat, and come up.
Breathe in, again, folding at the hips.
Breathe out as you push toward, flattening the back, weight
to the heels.
And straighten up, breathing in.
And breathe out.
And one more time, lifting up to the heart, and pushing forward,
stretch.
Flatten the back, and straighten up, breathing in.
And breathe out.
In between, we do what's called a harmonizing breath,
very gently bringing the hands up to the heart level,
and gently coming back down.
Our second exercise is called the Wise Owl Gazes Back.
And this is very good for neck and shoulder tension or pain.
And it's also very good for neurological conditions.
We start with the feet a little further apart,
palms facing back, relaxed here.
And we're going to turn, rotate the palms forward,
breathing in.
Turn the head and neck, looking over your shoulder,
slightly down.
And come back to the front, and breathe out.
And now the other side, so very gently,
breathing in, looking over your shoulder and down,
breathe out to the front.
And one more time, each side, breathing in, looking
over and down, And breathe out.
Come back.
And last time, opening, breathing in, and breathe out.
Back to the front, and again, that
harmonizing breath, lifting up, breathing in,
and breathing out.
In our third exercise of our Eight Pieces of Brocade
is called Clench the Fists and Glare Fiercely.
Glare means open the eyes wide, and have a little bit
of "umph" in there.
This is a punching exercise.
We got the feet a little wider apart in a horse stance here,
and we're going to punch forward.
Open the eyes wide, and roll the fingers.
And pull back.
As you punch, breathe out, open wide, and pull back.
And again, punching, open the eyes, glaring, and back.
This is very good for the liver.
And out, and roll back.
One more time, each side, punch, pull back.
And last time, open really wide, and back.
And we'll come back to a neutral position, and again, harmonize.
Come up.
We'll do this three times.
It's always nice to do things in threes.
And softly, this is very gentle, up and down.
And thank you for joining me today.
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