Yi Jing Tai Chi Association of Cambridge

Every Wednesday Free Qigong class
Taiwanese 18 style Qi Gong
8:30 am
In front of the Idea Exchange on the Main Street

He-Tu Diagram 河圖

17 Ways To Relax The Body

This form is intended to relax the body by exercising movements that involve motion over the entire body.

To use this exercise to improve health, repeat each movement 8 times, for martial arts (wu gong) development, repeat each movement 9 times.

The motion should be done at a comfortable pace with softness and relaxation.

The form should begin by standing in a wuji stance, empty your mind and relax your body. Arms hang naturally at the side body, and a slight bend in the knees. To begin, sink down slightly and relax the arms at the side of the body.

1) Relax All Your Finger Joints (tz gwan zay song wha)/zhi3 guan1 jie2 song1 fua3

Raise arms in front of body as in the opening move of the taiji form. At shoulder height to turn the hands over and curl the fingers into a light fist and lower the arms back to the starting position beside the legs. Repeat.

2) Relax Your Wrists (won gwan zay song wha)/wan3 guan1 jie2 song1 fua3

a) Wave the hands in front of the chest drawing out the hands when opening the arms and pulling the wrists up when closing. (you don’t need to open your arms too much, the focus is on the wrists). Left hand should wave above the right hand.
b) Circle wrists inside out .c ) reverse from outside to inside.

Note: When hands are drawn together in the circular motion the pointer finger and thumbs of both hands should meet without touching, keeping the movement symmetrical and focus on the development of chi.

3) Relax Your Elbow (zo gwan zay song wha)/zhuo2 guan1 jie2 song1 fua3

a) Initial motion like 1) except don't curl fingers, just relax the fingers.
b) Circle hands from inside to outside, the right hand moves in a clockwise manner rotating around the elbows, the left hand circles counter-clockwise
c) Reverse the circular direction of b) moving outside to inside.

4) Relax Your Shoulders (jen gwan zay song wha)/jian1 guan1 jie2 song1 fua3

a) With arms down in front of the body and the back of the hands facing each other pull the shoulders back, not up. Draw a half circle back. Subsequent motions the hands will cross over one another.
b) Hunch shoulders up toward the ears
c) Circle both shoulders from back to front
d) Reverse and circle both shoulders from front to back
e) Rotate right shoulder forward, hunching the shoulder up, the left shoulder reacts to the motion naturally and it then rotates forward, alternating back and forth.
f) Reverse e), right shoulder circles backward.

5) Relax Your Neck (jing gwan zay song wha)/jing3 guan1 jie2 song1 fua3

Cross palms over lower Dantian (right hand over left, thumbs inward), keep body straight and upright for all the movements

- tilt head forward bring chin toward the top of the chest, hold 10 seconds
- tilt head backward and look up, hold for 10 seconds
- look left for 10 seconds, look right for 10 seconds
- looking straight ahead, tilt head to left, 10 secs, and then tilt right 10 seconds
- head drops forward, circle to left, reverse and rotate right

6) Relax Your Waist (1) (eow gwan zay song wha)/yao1 guan1 jie2 song1 fua3

Open the feet in a wide stance. Raise arms to the side and parallel to the ground. Slowly tilt the body to the left so that the left palm goes to the left thigh slightly above the knee. The right arm bends so that the right palm is centered over the head palm down. Hold for 10 seconds. Repeat on the right side.

On the second movement go as far as is comfortable without allowing the body to bend forward. (halfway down calf)

On the third movement bend as far to the side without straining. (some compensation toward the leaning knee)

7) Relax Your Waist (2) (eow gwan zay song wha)/yao1 guan1 jie2 song1 fua3

Feet shoulder width stance, bend forward from the waist and let the arms hang down naturally toward the toes. From the hands down at the feet rotate from the waist to the left in a circular motion, raising the body up to the left side, the left arm hangs down naturally and the right arm rolls across the chest/neck naturally as the body rolls and leans back and drops as you lower the body to the right side. Once at the bottom of the circle, reverse. Rotating the body to the right side repeating the same motion.

8) Relax Your Waist and Massage Mingmen (1) (eow qua gwan zay song wha)/yao1 guan1 jie2 song1 fua3

Massage either side of the spine with the fingers in a circular fashion. At the same time circle the legs to the left by bending the knees, lowering the body on the legs and then alternate to circle to the right.

9) Relax Your Waist and Crotch (2) (eow qua gwan zay song wha)/yao1 kua3 guan1 je2 song1 fua3

- Cross the palms over the lower Dantian (left hand over right) circle the legs and knees in the same manner as movement 8)

10) Relax Your Single Foot, Crotch, Heel and Ankle (daun jeow she qua low song fwha)/dan1 jiao3 xi1 kua3 lo2 song1 fua3

Standing upright, put your weight on the right foot and extend the left foot forward with the toes down touching the ground, rock the foot from side to side. Change to heel and rock from side to side.

Standing on the right foot, bend the knee of the left leg, elevate left leg to 90 degrees toe down, circle the foot from the inside to outside, and then reverse from an outside circle to the inside.

Circular inside and out, and then bike pedal backwards then forwards.

Rotate the ankle in a circular motion. Finish by shaking your foot out.

Repeat the above for the right foot.

11) Shaking Up and Down Body Vibration (sung shia zhun dun song wha)/shang4 xia4 zhen4 dong4 song1 fua3

a) Standing in tai chi stance, shake the body up and down for - 10 seconds
b) Extend the arms out front parallel to the ground, palms down - 10 seconds
c) Extend arms shoulder height to the side of the body, palms facing down - 10 seconds

12) Turn Waist Left and Right With Flop Hand Relaxation (zwan yeow zo eo swy so song wha)

Alternate swinging the arms one at a time with hands relaxed to the left and the right. Let arms fall and swing naturally with the body, bending at the knees a little with each twisting at the waist. Feet are shoulder width apart.

13) Turn Waist Stretch Relaxation (zwan yeow sue gin song wha)/zhuan3 yao1 shu1 jin1 song1 fua3

Turn the waist left while the left hand is over the head and the right hand is placed against the base of the spine. Alternate the movement and twist/rotate to the right, reversing the placement of the arms.

14) Bow Stance Forward with Arms in Running Motion, Backward Flop hand Relaxation (ghong zhen bo chen ho swy so song wha)/gong1 jian4 bu4 gian2 hou4 shuai1 shou3 song1 fua3

Swing arms in forward bow stance and sit-back. Back foot should be 45 degrees and grounded. Arm goes forward with the same knee. 70/30 80/20 13 times each side

The knee should not bend forward past toes on the forward stance.

15) Squat Your Body Relaxation (dwon sun song wha)/dun1 shen1 song1 fua3

Feet together, swing shoulders and arms starting from standing position and lean forward. Palms should face each other.

Squat down, feet together and flat to the ground. Rest, relax and empty your mind, then stand up and extend your arms up to the sky, do not lean back, look forward. Palms facing one another.

16) Lunging From Side-to-Side Relaxation (zuan tway song wha)/zhan3 tui3 song1 fua3

Stand with legs apart, lunge to one side, leg bent at the knee. This stretches leg muscles and strengthens upper thigh

17) Bend Forward and Backward Relaxation (chen who hoe yang song wha)/qian2 fu3 hou4 iang3 song1 fua3

Feet shoulder width apart, bend from the waist toward toes, and when bent down, swing arms wide with shoulders. Stand up, raise your arms to the sky, and lean back and look up.
Fingers and thumbs should face together when in the full arch position. Repeat.

Optional:

Kidney twist and slap, turning body from one to the next, allowing the hands to gently slap the back in the kidney area.

When complete the 17 Ways, follow-up with the 18 qigong form

18 Movement Qigong

This form is intended to relax the body by exercising movements that involve motion over the entire body.

To use this exercise to improve health, repeat each movement 6 times.

The motion should be done at a comfortable pace with softness and relaxation.

The form should begin by standing wuji stance, empty your mind and relax your body. Arms naturally hang at the side of the body, and have a slight bend in your knees. To begin, sink slightly and relax the arms at the side of the body. Drop your shoulders.

First Movement:

1) Set up stance to regulate breathing

Raise arms in front of body as in the opening move of the taiji form. At shoulder height the shoulders should relax and drop first, before the hands. Lower palms and sink in the knees until the palms, the knees and the toes form one line. Repeat 6 times.

What is Yi Ching?

The process of yi has taiji. Taiji produces two symbols, yin and yang. The two symbols then produce 4 symbols: Tai yang, sao yin, Tai yin, and shao yang. These are called the Four symbols, the four symbols produce the bagua. Eight trigram gua overlap becoming 64 hexagrams.
By studying the 64 hexagrams found in the YiChing people can navigate the future and prepare, creating peace and harmony in the world.
The ancient sages of the past explain the meaning of the process of Yi. It became a book called YiChing.

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