What To Expect
A typical session generally consists of seven various stages of practise, which can be mixed up, or skipped according to our time, inclinations, focus, even season, time of day, and goals, both shorter and longer term. These commence under three sections, of preliminaries, flows and meditation.
Generally, the first part of a practise session are the preliminaries, and breathing comes first, learning to breathe correctly and thus benefit tremendously. The next stage is known as activation, and includes aspects such as Qi self massage, tapping/knocking and acupressure as required. The third, warming up, the fourth stretching. These are our preliminaries for practise.
The next, main stage, is our flowing practise, often undertaken faster initially whilst learning the mechanics and correct breathing for the movement, and then gradually slowed down to experience the benefit.
Movements are repeated for a period and then the next flow is performed, and sessions can include anything from one movement to many different flowing forms. These are often grouped into specific Qigong Sets, such as The Five Element Flows, The Five Animal Frolics, Swimming Dragon, Silk Reeling, Eight Pieces of The Silk Brocade, White Crane, and many more.
Here with the flows what we find is initially it feels as we are moving our body and then as we slow, feels as if it is simply the energy in the body moving us.
These are frequently followed with static postures.
Our practise can, as we wish, for the concluding last stage end in a meditation, either sitting, standing or lying down.
In summary:-
1. Breathing
2. Activation
3. Warm Up
4. Stretching
5. Flows
6. Postures/Stances
7. Meditation
It is good throughout practise to keep checking in with how we are feeling, and a state of relaxation and calm, along with a feeling of increased energy through our body, become most apparent.
As we develop in the practise, we become more in tune with noticing this and also how the energy, Qi, or bioelectrical energy in Western terms, moves through our body. The word Qigong after all, means energy, Qi, and gong, skill or work.
Many of the movement names have wonderful imagery associated, and thus too are often very appealing to younger persons; such as swimming dragon, fair lady works the shuttle, the fountain, soaring crane, the tiger comes down from the mountain, cloudy hands, sways like a tree, dog wags its tail, move like a river, and various other great sounding descriptions.
Initially a qualified teacher really needs to instruct the correct performing and mechanics of each move, either one to one, or in groups, in person or even online, but once a core practise, such as the Five Element Flows are learned then people can practise together without the need necessarily for an instructor to oversee, even taking it in turns to lead the sessions as inclined.
It is most possible to learn Qigong from DVDs or online videos (Lee Holden is an incredible Qigong Master, as is Mantak Chia, both with many resources online, John Platt is another great Qigong Teacher, with decades of experience also), if they are well performed and instructed in accordance with tradition, in fact its accessibility and inclusiveness really is its star quality!
As we traverse this path we can develop with other practises too, as our inclinations and time dictate, in practises such as Iron Shirt Qigong (as made famous by the Shaolin Monks), Inner Alchemy, Microcosmic Orbit and the Three Treasures and delve deeper, as we wish, too into Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM).
If you want the energy to flow in your body, flow the body.