Energy Gates

Here’s a round-up of guided practice aides I’ve put together in various sections of the site. What else would help you with your current practice? Let me know here. To download the audio files below, right click and “save as”. Breathing Use these basic principles as a guide for your breathing and standing practice: Downloads: 20-Minute Guided Practice #1 20-Minute Guided Practice #2 Standing Qigong You can progress through longer standing sessions with these guided practice mp3s or pick one on any given day that matches your practice goals: ...

In this case study, you’ll see how Kevin improved his Cloud Hands and Swings through video feedback. While you can follow a guided practice for the standing qigong portion of Energy Gates, doing a follow-along for the moving exercises doesn’t really help you improve your practice, so feedback is key. Going through the process of not only getting a correction, but watching yourself before and after, helps you internalize the new movement pattern. If you are just told to change the way you are moving, sometimes the new pattern is so different from what you are used to that you can’t feel the difference, and the correction doesn’t stick. ...

Just a quick note to let you know that if you missed Sunday’s webinar on the Three Swings from Opening the Energy Gates, you can check out a replay here.

Lately, I’ve been trying to do somesinking during standing qigong, in addition to other practices, like opening and closing, but I don’t get the full calming effect of the sinking. This is a problem, because it gets a lot of energy moving and something this manifests as more anger than I would like. What should I do?

Sinking the chest while raising the spine is a key energetic alignment practiced in Tai Chi to facilitate a grounding, downward flow of energy. Martial artists use it to develop their root and anyone who “gets stuck in their head” will find some relief employing this principle. The question is: Do you have a good standing position to practice sinking the chest?

The Three Swings from Energy Gates are some of the most challenging exercises to do well in the entire Energy Arts curriculum. You have to relax, maintain good alignment, and coordinate stepping and turning while moving faster than most other qigong exercises. Let’s talk a little bit about why the Three Swings are important and what you need to integrate to do them well. Getting Started with the Three Swings In the Tai Chi Classics, it says, “the motion should be rooted in the feet, released through the legs, controlled by the waist and manifested through the fingers.” Think of practicing the swings as a way to test this concept. You will get much clearer feedback from the swings about how the motion you generate from the feet travels out to your fingertips than you will from solo form practice. ...

There is no other book I return to more for my qigong practice than Opening the Energy Gates of Your Body by Bruce Frantzis. It’s the one I consistently recommend to students and anyone who emails the school to inquire about starting a qigong practice before they have access to a teacher. Here’s how to get the most out of it, whether or not you have someone who can give you regular feedback on your practice: ...