Chen Qi

Chen Qi is one of the most powerful exercises in Chi Neng Qi Gong. Movements of contracting, stretching, shrinking, and expanding, open your chest and create a rhythm.

For me, Chen Qi became increasingly enjoyable once I mastered the exercise. I felt immediate changes in my shoulder area, where I sometimes experience tension. This practice helps create space. I did this exercise daily for one hundred days as part of my Gong. By doing it consistently, you relieve yourself of tension while also enhancing the overall flow of Qi.

Stretch your arms diagonally toward the ground, with your hands at navel height. Pull your shoulder blades together and push them apart, stimulating and mobilizing the body's Qi while activating the meridians. Your organs and ultimately your entire body will become filled with Qi.

You can start by making the movement large and slow a few times, then gradually increase speed and decrease the size of the movement. Be sure to stay connected with your breath and focus on the miracle point between your shoulder blades.

Visualize your arms as being in a tube or sleeve, allowing you to initiate the movement from your hands and Qi palms while keeping your arms extended.

This essential exercise is easy to do throughout the day, such as while cooking or during various moments, accompanied by your favorite music.

With just five minutes of practice each day, you can alleviate tension in the shoulder area, upper back, and neck. The exercise is also effective for chronic conditions and mucus formation and strengthens the heart, lungs, stomach, spleen, and kidneys.

Good for the Lymphatic System: The lymphatic system is activated, allowing for the elimination of waste products. This exercise not only stimulates your energy flow but also supports your overall health and purification.

Chen Qi Step by Step

• Stand with your feet close together or sit on a chair. Lean forward slightly from your waist.

• Raise your arms forty-five degrees beside your body, extending your fingers as high as possible.

• Keep your arms straight and your fingers relaxed.

• Focus alternately on the contraction and stretching of the movement.

• During the contraction, bring both shoulder blades diagonally toward the center of your body, your central axis. The shoulders lead, pulling the arms and hands inward and slightly upward, as if you are moving them toward your neck. Keep your arms straight.

• During the pushing movement, bring your shoulder blades, arms, and hands back down in a diagonal motion. Your hands lead this movement. Bend your fingers back while keeping your arms straight.

• Gradually build this up to five to ten minutes at a speed of seventy to eighty times per minute.

• Make the movements smooth, without stopping at the transition points.

• End the exercise with La Qi (something different than the usual version of La Qi). Gather the Qi forward with your palms facing each other and your arms at shoulder width. Your elbows touch the sides of your body: upper and lower arms form a right angle. Massage the Qi (Rou Qi) with your palms facing each other. Keep your thumbs relaxed and space between your thumbs and index fingers. This relaxed hand position is also called the ‘tigermouth’ or ‘hukou.’ Massage the Qi ball the size of a basketball, with hands moving up, inwards, down, and outwards for a few circles, then perform La Qi where your elbows massage the sides of your body. Observe the movement of Qi inside and outside your body. Gather the Qi and place your hands for a few minutes in the middle between your navel and your breastbone.

• If you are doing Chen Qi only, you can perform a simple eye massage to release excess Qi. Do this if you feel pressure in your eyes or if they feel warm. First, press with your middle fingers on Yintang, then your ring fingers on the inner corners of your eyes, and finally your thumbs on your temples. Massage with light pressure nine times counterclockwise and then nine times clockwise. This helps relieve pressure and can open your third eye.

  
  

  Points of Attention
  

• Stay focused on the correct performance of the movements throughout the entire exercise and attentively observe the changes in your body and mind. Being in a Qigong state allows you to absorb more Qi.

• Your hands should not rise above navel height. The pushing force comes from the area between your fingers and palms, not from the wrists.

• Beginners may experience tingly hands or swollen fingers. This is the effect of Qi flowing out through your hands and indicates that there is sufficient Qi present.

  Occasionally squeeze your hands into a firm fist to direct the Qi supply back into your body.

• You may experience sore muscles in your shoulders, back, and neck. Continue with your practice gently, being kind to yourself, using slower and softer movements while maintaining focus. The pain will subside over time. To retain your Qi sensation, you can bend your fingers slightly.

• You might feel small contractions of muscles in your face. These are the ends of the meridians that finish in the face. The meridians are being significantly stimulated, which is a good sign.