Tai Chi Chuan/Qigong/Chi-gung
Exercise – Carrying the Moon
- Stand with feet close together or sit in a comfortable position.
- Close eyes and start to focus on breath.
- Breathe in through the nose and exhale through the mouth. So keep your mouth slightly open and touch the tip of your tongue to the roof of your mouth.
- Relax and visualise your heart and smile internally or visualise yourself smiling from your heart.
- Bend from the waist and allowing your hands loose, go almost to tip your toes but you don’t stretch as far as your toes only as far as comfortable. Keep this movement really relaxed.
- Now start to move upwards with your spine, very slowly and in a relaxed manner, as if you are reaching for the sky.
- Stretch slightly backwards at the top and similar to lifting the sky you’re your palms facing the heavens and breathe out.
- Repeat exercise for ten or so times, but remember the exercise is a breath orientated exercise. At no point should your body be put under too much strain. Also the movement should be done relatively slowly in conjunction with breathing.
- When you are finished exercise just stand comfortably and relax and enjoy feelings of hopefully being less stressed. You may find your hands tingling or warm.
- Gradually bring yourself back and open your eyes slowly.
- Rub your hands together
- Either give your body or face a massage as shown originally.
- When finished shake your body or self out gently and move around.
Aim:
Exercise is aimed at achieving gentle exercise combined with breathing exercise. Overall after performing exercise, one should feel much relaxed. It gives the opportunity to shut or turn off the mind in a way that gives one a break from any negative thoughts or dissolve away any worries for a few minutes whilst practicing this exercise. The exercise is very good for back, but due care needs to be taken in relation to suiting the exercise to your own needs. There is no need to over stretch when bending towards the ground, rather as far is as comfortable and keep all movements relaxed. If you feel discomfort in this exercise or any exercise stop and just concentrate on breathing.