If you are learning or want to learn QiGong it can be very beneficial to your overall health, however, for beginners, getting a grasp on the styles, poses and exercises can be rather difficult. 

You do not want to do it wrong because it would prove your efforts fruitless, and if you do any exercise wrong you can always end up injuring yourself. 

While it is always possible to seek out an instructor, some do not have the time to do this, or the finances, so self-teaching is a good way to go about learning QiGong (also learn how to pronounce Qi Gong here).

That is why we are here, with plentiful amounts of knowledge in QiGong, we will help you learn some of the best beginner exercises for QiGong. 

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Table of Contents -

1. The Circles Exercise 

The circles exercise is a fantastic one for beginners that will leave your hands and body buzzing with energy.

It is really simple and super easy to do, perfect for beginners. 

Let us talk you through how to do this exercise. 

  1. First, you need to be standing in a comfortable position, with your feet hip width apart and your knees slightly bent.
  2. Place your hands on top of one another out in front of your body. 
  3. Draw your hands slowly apart, as you lift your hands keep your shoulders relaxed and down. 
  4. Raise your hands, and as you do so raise your body slightly, standing up taller, do not lock out your knees though. Keep your shoulders relaxed to avoid any tension and keep length in the back of your neck. 
  5. Feel and gather in energy/ or Qi, from your external environment through your hands and your fingers as you raise your arms up. Observe how this feels, and be aware of any sensations you feel in your hands. 
  6. As your hands approach head level turn your palms inward to face each other. As your palms face each other and become closer, sink your weight by bending your knees and draw your hands down in front of you. Your shoulders you lead this movement and your hands should follow. Think of drawing the energy you have from the outside into your abdomen. 
  7. Do this at least three times, the more you repeat it the better you will feel. Once you have finished, place your hands on one another over your lower abdomen. Circle your hands first in your direction then the other. Drop your hands down to your side and simply feel. 

2. Awakening your Qi 

Awaken your Qi with this exercise.

Simply stand calm and relaxed with your toes pointing to each other. Keep your knees stretched and let your whole body hang.

Then stretch your hands away from you vertically, starting at your lower pelvis and pulling your hands powerlessly up. 

At shoulder height, turn your palms away from yourself and let them slide slowly to your pelvis, it can help to picture strings attached to your fingertips. 

5 best QiGong exercises for beginners

3. The MaBu/ The horse stand 

MaBu helps QiGong work, so it is one of the best poses for beginners as it helps to train your body and your mind.

MaBu is practiced often in Tai Chi, QiGong and many other martial arts, so it is a great pose to start with. 

  1. Start with a broad posture lowering your hips to knee level, keeping your back straight and having your ankles at a 90-degree angle to your shin, with your knees at 90-degrees to your legs and shins. 
  2. Turn your feet outwards at 45-degrees. Keep your hips stretched out and in a straight position. Pull your back behind your shoulders slightly. 
  3. Point your head forwards and stretch your hands out directly in front of you. Bend your elbows behind your shoulder, so your hands sit at the height of your lower chest. Your index fingers should point upward. 
  4. Maintain this position for anywhere between 10 and 30 seconds. 

4. Lifting the sky 

Start off by placing your hands slightly below your navel and with your palms facing the ground.

Lift them up to your head and turn your palms away from one another.

Then let them gently slide downwards towards your navel again until you return to your starting pose. 

Simple, but effective.

5. Meditation 

Meditation is not necessarily considered to be an exercise, however, QiGong without meditation is virtually impossible, so to do QiGong properly you should also learn to meditate, it will also be very beneficial to your mind and your inner serenity. 

QiGong meditation is called standing meditation, if you are interested in doing a special meditation such as Chi Meditation, then you can cut out the movements and simply concentrate on the inner purification of your emotions and thoughts, as well as on your breathing.

This is an exercise that you can do while sitting, standing, or even lying down. 

Any meditation, including QiGong meditation is focused on calming the mind and perceiving your thoughts as an observer rather than a subject.

This type of meditation is different from standing meditation in how it does not only focus on your thoughts, but it also focuses on the energy in your body. 

Overview 

QiGong is a very useful practice for improving your health, both mental and physical.

While it can be challenging to start up, it gets easier, and you will soon be reaping the benefits.

Try out some of these exercises and see how much of a difference it makes for you. 

Categorized in:

Qigong