In a world that is constantly moving, you may feel like you are being left behind or plodding along at the start of the day. If you often wake up feeling stiff, mind still in a fog or reluctant to get out of bed, your whole day will be affected. This may be a call to action by your lymphatic and circulatory systems to change your routine instead of defaulting to a standard dose of caffeine. A proposed approach is to dedicate six or seven minutes to a quick morning routine inspired by Qigong (pronounced “chee-gong”). Rooted in traditional Chinese medicine, this starves stagnation and refreshes your body and mind through simple, fluid movements.
What is Qigong?
Qigong is composed of exercises, movements, breathing and meditation based in Chinese medicine. Its purpose is to optimise energy within the body, mind and spirit. It’s used as a means for regulating the nervous system via gentle movements and deep breathing.
Travel-friendly
There are little barriers of entry in integrating this practice into your daily life. It’s perfect for travellers as it requires no specific equipment and takes just six to seven minutes each morning. All that is necessary is simply yourself
Routine
Take a moment to breathe
Before starting any movement, it is optimal to bring your mind and body into the present. With your feet hip-width apart, soft knees and relaxed shoulders and arms, take a couple of deep cleansing breaths: breathe in through the nose and out throught the mouth.
Shake out the stagnation (1 minute)
Keep your feet hip-width apart and your knees soft. Begin to gently bounce from the knees. Make sure your arms and shoulders are relaxed and continu
e to softly shake the whole body. This will stimulate your circulation, shake out muscular stiffness and energize the body.
Mobilising the neck (1 minute)
Drop your right ear toward your right shoulder and roll your head gently down to your chest and over to the left shoulder before slowly tilting your head backward. Rotate clockwise, then counterclockwise to release tension in the neck.
Vertical arm swings (1 minute)
Smoothly transition from bouncing to a relaxed, rhythmic swinging of the arms, where you swing the arms vertically up and down while taking deep breaths to open up your chest.
Twisting the torso (1 minute)
Gently twist your torso from side to side. Make sure your arms are fully relaxed so that they swing along and gently tap your lower back and abdomen. This helps loosen up the back and improves circulation along the spine.
Leg swings (1 minute)
Using a wall or chair for balance, smoothly swing one leg forward and backward and alternate with the other leg. This movement works to loosen any stiffness in the hips and improves circulation toward the lower end of the body.
Leg tapping (1 minute)
Stand with the feet hip-width apart and soft knees. Then, with either loose fists or open palms, softly tap the front of your hips and continue down the front and inner sides of your legs until you reach the top of your feet. Make sure you are bending down at the hips. If you can, move your hands to the back and slowly work your way up, rhythmically tapping the back of your legs. This stimulates lymphatic circulation and reduces stagnation in the legs.
Read more about Qigong and how it works here.
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