Exercising without stretching is like waking up without opening your eyes, especially if you lead a sedentary lifestyle. When you muscles are not in use they tend to constrict slightly, which lowers the flow of both blood and healing Chi throughout the body. If you are doing either resistance training or high impact exercises forgetting to stretch can actually lead to serious injury. If you watch professional athletes before they perform, from football players to gymnast, dancers and many others, you will see them stretching. In the softer movement arts, such as Tai Chi and Qigong, proper stretching is even more important. The reason for this is simple. Stretching begins the relaxation process and many students use yoga poses to stretch before mediation.

Qigong has its own set of stretching exercises. Simply follow the below steps::

• Begin in standard position, faced ahead, feet shoulder width apart, armes relaxed at your side.
• Regulate your breathing by focusing on several breathes, until the rythem is smooth, slow and gentle.
• Repeat several arm swinging exercises by rotating your waste from side to side until your arms life from your sides.
• Next, slightly bend your knees and curve your fingers in toward you body. Take a slow deep breath and move your arm up, with the palm of your hand facing 9:00.
• Move your left arm across your body, palm down, breathing slowly out as you do so.
• Shift your weight as you move as you turn to your right, allowing the weight in your left foot to empty into the right leg.
• Repeat the above exercise in the opposite direction.
• Follow this exercise with Cloud Hands by bending your arms as you keep your feet just slightly apart, moving your weight slowly from side to side, leg to leg.
• As you shift your weight back and forth, move each hand in a circular motion. Pace your breath to breathe in on the upward motion and out at the downward motion of your hands.
• Stand in standard position and bring both hands up, palms down and breathe in. Breathe out and face the palms outward and then, keeping the wrists bent, breathe in as you lower your hands to your sides, only releasing it as you straighten your palms.