This is a replay of a live session showing you a Qigong routine for Spring, taught by myself, Dr. Janice Tucker. I have been teaching Qigong for two decades and am the founder of the Space To Relax Programme of Qigong video lessons. I’m also a practitioner of acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine. You can join my live classes on Zoom every Thursday at 4 pm Irish time. Click here to join us (lesson replays sent out by email in case you can’t make it).
These classes are free and everyone is welcome. However, if you’d like to contribute as a thank you for the class click here. 50% of donations will go to the ICU staff in my local hospital in Co. Kerry. The other 50% goes towards the upkeep of this website.
Qigong Routine For Spring – Introduction
In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), Springtime is the time for awakening the body. In nature, it is the time of new growth but also of letting go of what came before.
Spring is the season associated with the Liver/Gallbladder system which plays a role in the healthy functioning of the tendons, smooth flow of Qi, planning and decision making. It is also associated with the Wood element in TCM. We can think of ourselves as being like a tree; grounded and anchored solidly so that we don’t become easily blown off course. At the same time, like a tree, we are flexible, not rigid, so can easily go with the flow.
The Qigong routine in this video will help you to become more flexible in your physical body while remaining stable and grounded. Mentally it will help you become more clear and creative so if you are thinking of starting something new, practice this routine and then get started! 🙂
Six Healing Sound connected with the Liver system to discharge any waste Qi and let go of what you don’t want in the body or mind.
Chest opening, side stretch and upper back stretch.
Side to side groin stretch.
Gentle knee bends.
Abdominal breath and observation of how you feel after your practice.
Additional Video Resources
You’ll find a few other video class replays which also relate to this routine and can be combined with it if you wish to practice a longer Qigong routine.
Many other live lesson replays can be found on my blog page. I’d encourage you to take a look at some of them and find methods which you can easily combine with this one.
https://youtu.be/afUFym6xZ48
Click the image above to follow along with the Qigong class!
What Can I Do Next?
To sign up and attend the live online sessions please click here. Classes are free of charge and suitable if you’re a beginner or have more Qigong experience. Once you sign up I’ll send details to your email with links to the Zoom classes (check your junk/spam folders for notifications). Please share this information with your family and friends as everyone is more than welcome.
If you’d like to take your practice to the next level with my structured, step-by-step Space To Relax Qigong programme of 50 video lessons accompanied by audio and PDF files with support from me every step of the way then click here.
To get my free part video series of 3 Qigong lessons which will be delivered to you by email over the course of one week please click here. In these lessons you’ll learn more about abdominal breathing, Qi movement and how to rid waste Qi. This will help you to feel more relaxed and energised.
You can also click the red “subscribe” button to join my YouTube channel. That way, you won’t miss any future Qigong lessons from me.
This is a replay of a live session showing you a Qigong routine for Spring, taught by myself, Dr. Janice Tucker. I have been teaching Qigong for two decades and am the founder of the Space To Relax Programme of Qigong video lessons. I’m also a practitioner of acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine. You can join my live classes on Zoom every Thursday at 4 pm Irish time. Click here to join us (lesson replays sent out by email in case you can’t make it).
These classes are free and everyone is welcome. However, if you’d like to contribute as a thank you for the class click here. 50% of donations will go to the ICU staff in my local hospital in Co. Kerry. The other 50% goes towards the upkeep of this website.
Qigong Spine Stretch – Introduction
In this video you’ll learn a couple of simple Qigong spine stretches. The aim of these exercises is to:
– loosen your spine and improve flexibility;
– connect your whole body to the movement of the spine;
– practice cultivating your awareness and powers of observation by feeling into your spine;
– promote the 4 directions of Qi flow;
– help improve your posture;
– relax the nervous system;
Focus on:
Complete relaxation of your arms;
Slow and careful movement (never do anything that produces a sensation of pain).
How the limbs pull on your spine as you move in order to maintain your balance.
Method
Begin by adopting the correct Qigong standing posture and performing a few abdominal breaths (see more here).
Drop your chin to your chest to begin and roll your head and arms slowly forward feeling the arms and crown of your head being pulled down by gravity. Perform this movement SLOWLY, one vertebra at a time until you reach the lower back area. If you cannot reach the floor then place your hands on your thighs or shins (not your knees) when you reach the full extent of your movement. If you can touch the ground then at this point straighten your legs a little to create a gentle stretch in the hamstrings.
Feel the different sections of your spine as you descend. Pause as you descend if you feel any areas of tension or stuck Qi (energy) and release this by slowly exhaling, softening into the area.
To come back up, roll up slowly from the lower back to the vertebrae in the neck, keeping the head and arms down until the last moment. Then lift the head back to upright, drop your shoulders and feel into your spine (you may feel taller).
Repeat this Qigong spine stretch at least three times.
Perform the “Looking Back Over Shoulder” exercise which is one of the 8 Pieces of Brocade, a classical Qigong set of exercises that benefit the whole body and which you can learn in my Space To Relax 50-week programme of Qigong video lessons.
Consolidate your practice by finishing with a few abdominal breaths and taking a few moments with your eyes closed to notice how your body and mind feel.
Integrating The Qigong Spine Stretch Into Your Day
You can practice any of the movements shown in this video whenever you have 5 minutes. They are perfect for those of you who spend a large portion of your day driving our working at a computer as they will provide relief for your back and energise your body.
Many other live lesson replays can be found on my blog page so I’d encourage you to take a look at some of them and find methods which you can easily add to the end of this one. A good example is “Qigong For Back Problems“.
Click the image above to follow along with the Qigong class!
What Can I Do Next?
To sign up and attend the live online sessions please click here. Classes are free of charge and suitable if you’re a beginner or have more Qigong experience. Once you sign up I’ll send details to your email with links to the Zoom classes (check your junk/spam folders for notifications). Please share this information with your family and friends as everyone is more than welcome.
If you’d like to take your practice to the next level with my structured, step-by-step Space To Relax Qigong programme of 50 video lessons accompanied by audio and PDF files with support from me every step of the way then click here.
To get my free part video series of 3 Qigong lessons which will be delivered to you by email over the course of one week please click here. In these lessons you’ll learn more about abdominal breathing, Qi movement and how to rid waste Qi. This will help you to feel more relaxed and energised.
You can also click the red “subscribe” button to join my YouTube channel. That way, you won’t miss any future Qigong lessons from me.
Hip pain can take many forms. You may feel it in the front of the hip, the back (in the buttocks), on the side (femoral head) of the hip, travelling into the groin, close to the skin surface of deep within the joint. Wherever it is, and whatever the cause, it is generally a good idea to keep the area mobile in order to promote circulation to the area and speed healing (unless your pain restricts your movement completely). In this article you’ll learn some Qigong for hip pain and how to promote the flow of Qi through the hip area so that the pain is reduced.
Please head over to YouTube to subscribe to my YouTube channel by clicking the red “Subscribe” button. That way you won’t miss my regular videos which are full of useful health enhancing tips. These videos will help you to enhance your health and prevent illness from arising in the first place. Also please give this video a “Like” if you found it informative.
Use a horse stance, standing with feet about 3 feet apart, knees flexed and pushed outwards over the toes (do not let the knees drop inwards). Place palms on knees. Incline trunk of body to left (men) or the right (women) with head slightly lowered and look at the foot. Raise body up, twisting into hips. Lower body back down and sweep whole of trunk across to the other side (think of top of head as a lighthouse beacon). Look at foot then raise body up, twisting into hips. Lower body back down and sweep across to the other side once more. Weight changes from one side to the other and hips are relaxed, following the movement. Knees are bent all the time – do not lock the knee. Maintain strength in legs but be relaxed in waist and trunk.
Finish the exercise by stepping together as palms turn to face the ground then placing one hand (right for women, left for men) flat over Dan Tian with the other hand on top. Circle a few times in one direction and then the other to seal in the Qi. Allow the hands to drop down by the sides of the body and observe any sensations or changes.
Take care if you suffer with high blood pressure or dizziness not to lower the head below waist level.
Exhale as you look at foot. Inhale as body is raised slightly. Exhale as you look at foot again. Inhale as body sweeps across to the other side.
2. Using the Breath to Release Negative Emotions
Use Abdominal Breathing to exhale the pain out through your nostrils. Visualise it as a balloon that you are letting go and see it floating up and away into the sky. You can learn this method from a previous video I made. It is a very useful method of Qigong for hip pain or any other type of pain. Click here to watch it.
Where Can I Learn More?
If you would like to learn even more benefits of Qigong for hip pain then:
Head over to my Space To Relax homepage. There you can sign up for a free 3 part video series of Qigong lessons. Once you’ve completed the free series you’ll have the opportunity to join my Space To Relax online membership programme of Qigong video lessons. This will allow you to take your practice to a whole new level where you will learn many exercises to eliminate health issues before they become a major problem. I’ll guide you step by step through many more effective Qigong methods. You can adapt all of these methods for the condition of hip pain, regardless of where you feel it.
Subscribe to my YouTube channel by clicking the red “Subscribe” button. That way you won’t miss my regular videos which are full of useful health enhancing tips. Also please give this video a “Like” and share with me in the comments box what you thought of the exercise in the video.
Join my free Facebook group, “Space To Relax Free Qigong Group” and leave any comments or questions for me there. I’ll be happy to answer them. Also, by joining this group, you will receive regular posts of Qigong articles and videos with really useful tips about how to use Qigong to improve your state of health.
Feeling stiff and inflexible, or feeling pain in your joints is debilitating and can be a source of misery and depression for many people. Approximately 350 million people worldwide have arthritis (www.medicinenet.com) which makes this a huge problem for both the healthcare profession and the sufferers themselves. Although there is no cure for arthritis, there are many practices and methods we can adopt to help minimise the progression of this condition. In the video on this page you will learn how to use Qigong exercises for arthritis and other related bone and joint conditions.
Please don’t forget to subscribe to my YouTube channel by clicking the red “Subscribe” button. That way you miss my regular videos which are full of useful health enhancing tips. These videos will help you to enhance your health and prevent illness from arising in the first place. Also please give this video a “Like” if you found it informative.
What Are The Symptoms of Arthritis?
Symptoms of arthritis include pain and limited function of joints. Inflammation of the joints from arthritis is characterised by joint stiffness, swelling, redness, and warm. Tenderness of the inflamed joint can be present.
In Traditional Chinese Medicine terms your symptoms are due to a lack of smooth and open flow of blood, fluid and Qi (energy) through the joints. This is often where things tend to stagnate because there are lots of nooks and crannies in the joints for the blood, fluid and energy to flow though. The narrowing of these circulatory pathways is a bit like the narrowing of a motorway caused by road works; if a lane is closed everything backs up in the area!
The Solution – Qigong Exercises For Arthritis
Any moving Qigong methods in general are perfect for dealing with arthritis. This is because they smooth the flow of energy (Qi) and blood flow through the area. In Chinese Medicine terms, it is a stagnation or blockage of the flow of Qi and blood which can cause pain. However there are a couple of methods which are particularly useful to help you regulate arthritis more specifically.
1. Qigong for Cleansing. Watch my previous video on “Qigong For Cleansing“. You can use this method of Qigong for arthritis because it helps to rid any waste Qi from your body, i.e. stiffness, aches, heaviness and pain.
2. For back pain. Watch my previous video on “Qigong Standing Posture“. This method is exceptionally helpful if you suffer with arthritis of the spine or knees. This is because it provides you with a standing posture which will avoid any obstruction in the flow of Qi and blood through two areas which are particularly prone to stagnation and pain, the lower back and neck.
3. For morning stiffness and pain. If you feel especially stiff in the mornings and it takes you a while to get going then it will be very helpful for you to start the day with a few gentle movements. This will help you to get going quicker in the mornings! Click here for my Qigong morning routine.
4. For fibromyalgia and related muscle stiffness and pain. A few of my Space To Relax online Qigong members requested the video I made here as they suffer with fibromyalgia. If you also suffer with muscle stiffness and pain in addition to joint stiffness watch my previous video on” Qigong for Fibromyalgia“.
What Do I Do Next?
1. Head over to my Space To Relax homepage. There you can sign up for a free 3 part video series of Qigong lessons. These three lessons are perfect Qigong exercises for arthritis, in addition to the videos referred to above. They will help ease out stiff and inflexible joints. In addition they will help you to manage arthritis to the best of your ability.
2. Subscribe to my YouTube channel by clicking the red “Subscribe” button. That way you won’t miss my regular videos which are full of useful health enhancing tips. Also please share with me in the comments box what you do to help relieve pain in your joints.
3. Join my free Facebook group, “Space To Relax Free Group” and leave any comments for me there. I’ll be happy to answer any questions on Qigong exercises for arthritis. Also you will receive regular posts with useful tips about how to use Qigong to improve your state of health.
4. You may want to consider looking into how various supplements such as turmeric supplements and anti inflammatory foods can help you to manage arthritis and joint pain.
Shoulder and neck pain is one of the most common complaints I see in my Chinese Medicine and Acupuncture clinic. If you have ever experienced this before you’ll know how miserable this can make you feel. In the video on this page I’ll show you some simple Qigong for shoulder and neck pain so that you can feel much looser, more flexible and stronger in this area.
Janice Tucker is a practitioner of Traditional Chinese Medicine and Medical Qigong. She is also the founder of the Space To Relax online programme of Qigong video lessons.
Please don’t forget to subscribe to my YouTube channel by clicking the red “Subscribe” button on that channel. That way you won’t miss my regular videos which are full of useful health enhancing tips. These videos will help you to enhance your health and prevent illness from arising in the first place. Also please give this video a “Like” if you found it informative.
How Does Shoulder and Neck Pain Affect Us?
You will know all too well if you have ever suffered with shoulder or neck pain before that it can leave you feeling absolutely miserable.
• Physically you may be in so much pain that you have to take pain medication. This may then have its own side effects that you have to deal with.
• You will most likely feel restricted in your movement. This may mean that you can’t lift things, reach up in to cupboards, tie your bra strap or put on your coat.
• The restriction will affect you when you’re driving. You may not be able to turn your head fully to look behind you when reversing. Your shoulders may become more painful after driving as you are holding them in tension.
• If this situation goes unchecked you may feel pain in other areas of your body such as headaches or lower back ache.
• Mentally and emotionally you will be affected too. You may feel depressed, irritable and anxious that this pain will never improve.
So, it is obvious that this is not a situation which you would want to tolerate for any longer than absolutely necessary!
The Solution – Qigong For Shoulder and Neck Pain
Any moving Qigong methods in general are perfect for dealing with shoulder and neck pain as they smooth the flow of energy (Qi) and blood flow through the area. In Chinese Medicine terms, it is a stagnation or blockage of the flow of Qi and blood which can cause pain. However there are a couple of methods which are particularly useful to help you regulate shoulder and neck pain more specifically.
1. Neck movements. Tilt the head forward and back, tilt the head from one side to the other, turn the head from one side to the other. Each movement is performed slowly. Breathe out as you move away from your starting position, breathe in as you move back to the starting position. Caution: anyone with serious neck problems be very gentle with these movements and take care not to over stretch.
2. Watch Lesson 2 in my free 3 part video series which shows you the “Circles” exercise. This is an excellent method of Qigong for shoulder and neck pain as it improves the flow of Qi and blood through these areas. See below on how to get this free video series.
3. Practice any moving Qigong for shoulder and neck pain as this will promote the smooth flow of Qi so that you can lessen any pain or stiffness.
What Do I Do Next?
If you would like to start using Qigong for shoulder and neck pain then:
1. Head over to my Space To Relax homepage. There you can sign up for a free 3 part video series of Qigong lessons. Lesson 2, the “Circles” exercise is the perfect moving Qigong exercise to perform. It promotes the smooth flow of Qi through the shoulders.
2. Subscribe to my YouTube channel by clicking the red “Subscribe” button. That way you won’t miss my regular videos which are full of useful health enhancing tips. Also please give this video a “Like” and share with me in the comments box any tips you have to help relieve shoulder and neck pain.
3. Join my free Facebook group, “Space To Relax Free Group” and leave any comments or questions for me there. I’ll be happy to answer them. Also, by joining this group, you’ll receive really useful tips about how to use Qigong to improve your state of health.
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