The physical exercise chart; a painting on silk depicting the practice of daoyin; unearthed in 1973 in Hunan Province, China, from the 2nd-century BC Western Han burial site of Mawangdui Han tombs site, Tomb Number 3.

By Anonymous - http://www.hnmuseum.com/hnmuseum/eng/collection/collectionContent.jsp?infoid=0130e49d2c374028848330e4348d000c

Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=7257307

Qigong - Healing Set

Contemporary qigong blends diverse and sometimes disparate traditions, in particular the Taoist meditative practice of "internal alchemy" (neidan), the ancient meditative practices of "circulating qi" (xingqi) and "standing meditation" (zhan zhuang), and the slow gymnastic breathing exercise of "guiding and pulling" (daoyin).

— https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qigong

Healing Set

  1. Feet together

  2. Double hands hold up the heavens

  3. Separating heaven and earth, alternating sides, hands slightly to the diagonal rather than straight up and down

  4. Press down

  5. Feet shoulder width apart

  6. Palms away at face height, finger tips pointing up

  7. Hands on hips - look left, look right, centre, look down, look up, repeat. Finish with a neck rotation in both directions

  8. L foot forward, swing arms, bending at elbows, slight bounce up and down with the rhythm. Jump change

  9. Swing arms across the front and back, alternating

  10. Feet together, knees together, rotate knees in both directions

  11. Work ankles (rotate about the ball of the foot)

  12. ‘Flutter’ ankles (light, loose shaking of the ankle)

  13. Lift knee and draw circles with the foot in both directions

  14. Mountain climbing stance, ‘pull the rope’, withdrawing as per snake creeps down, then pushing forward

  15. Hands starting crossed at the dantien, step forward, raising the back heel, opening the arms wide. Close / return, repeating on the other side

  16. Hold hands at shoulder height, palms towards you, finger tips pointing to each other

  17. Maintaining the hand shape, step forward, rotating the body from the waist up to the outside, back to the centre and then to the inside

  18. Hold hands at shoulder height, shoulder width, palms away, finger tips pointing up

  19. Drop hands to hip height, palms soft and ***facing each other at shoulder width*** (inwards? needs to be confirmed)

  20. Move palms outwards to sides, palms down, finger tips pointing to the sides

  21. Hands at waist, palms facing each other (hold the ball), finger tips pointing forward

  22. Palms pressed together in front of the breastbone, fingers pointing upwards

  23. Palms down in front of hips, finger tips pointing forward

  24. Push palms behind and hold, finger tips pointing down

  25. Arms wide at shoulder level, palms up, finger tips pointing out to the sides

  26. Palms at head height, facing away (looking up between the palms? needs to be confirmed), finger tips pointing up

  27. ***Raise fists (palms away) in front of shoulders, press down, lift up, push away, fists back to shoulder, rotate L from waist, rotate R, repeat***. Needs confirmation

  28. Close hands at dantien. Pause, breathe

  29. Open hands at waist/hip height, pushing the palms outward, close the palms towards each other, finger tips pointing forward, repeat

  30. Close hands at dantien. Pause, breathe

  31. Stretch out arms at shoulder height, finger tips pointing to the sides, and ‘flutter’ hands in and out (withdrawing and extending)

  32. Drop hands to sides and ‘flutter’ them up and down, finger tips pointing to the ground (withdrawing and extending)

Notes

  • The number of breaths / repetitions may vary. For example, in one where I did count, there were 6 repetitions. In other cases (e.g. ‘work ankles’), this is done for a few seconds

  • Almost all poses are with eyes forward (unless otherwise noted) and (optionally) closed

  • Knees are slightly bent and there is a slight rise and fall with each breath

  • Where applicable, perform moves equally on both left and right sides

  • Be soft

  • Some of the names and terms that I am using here are taken from well known Qigong sets such as Eight Pieces of Brocade (Baduanjin), and others are convenient descriptive labels that I have heard other teachers use, or that I have coined myself

  • The set lasts about 30 minutes.

Revison History

  • 12-Nov-2024

  • 01-Sep-2024

  • 27-Aug-2024

  • 26-Aug-2024