Standing At Attention, Regulating the Breath and Calming the Nerves - Starting Body

Stand in parallel, bend the knees slightly, hang arms naturally at the side of the body, open the shoulder blades, and then sink the shoulders with the relaxation of the body. Breathe naturally with smile and eliminate distractions. The brain is relaxed and lively, and get into the standing state of the unity of body and mind naturally. Although the standing time is very short and less than 1 minute, it is the basis of the whole practice process and it helps us to get into the doubtless awareness state of the unity of body, Qi and spirit quickly in practice; knees squat slowly, the fingers of both hands supporting on the ground, the palm and fingers are full of interior strength; sit cross-legged, put the palms on the inside of the knees, regulate the breathe. Body and mind are in a relaxed and nature state, face serene, and it appear calm and composed at ease.

Forgetting both Yourself and the External World - Musing and Clenching the Hands

Mind control the fingers, and the fingers lead the arms turn outward and upward and raise slowly, namely the tip part at first, and then the middle part, the root part at last. It seems like that the arms are supporting something, which is good for the successful completion of the gentle and leisurely movements. When holding on the arms and falling down the palms, the spine and the neck are upright, Qi around the Baihui point flows actively, with the feeling of forcing up slightly, this is due to the Baihui point is dredged basically, interior strength caused by Qi keeps hitting the around meridians, rather than brute force produced by the head move upward, or the hypothetical power on top; hold both hands in the inside of knees, close the eyes, sit upright, loosen and stretching the scapula gradually with shoulders sink slightly. At the same time, loose the belly, waist and spine, narrowed the chest and the mind is open and forthright suddenly. At this moment, there is no a worry or thought in the mind.  Breathing the air directly to Cinnabar field, the Qi movements begin to disperse, and the gradual harmonization of body, Qi and spirit contributes to achieve the highest level of the doubtless awareness state of Health Qigong, namely “forgetting both yourself and the external world”. The routine of “musing and clenching the hands” has lots of life nourishing effects, e.g. calming the mind, self-cultivation, getting rid of troubles, stabilizing the liver Qi, regulating the heart and lung, achieving the balance of systemic blood and being delightful.

Having Strong Teeth and Keeping Eyes and Ears Open - Knocking Teeth and Sounding the Eardrums

The arms turn inward and lift horizontally by the side of the body, and are same height with the shoulders. The scapula opens to both sides spirally, with the arms turning outward. Promoting the interior Qi flows from the scapula, shoulder, elbow, wrist to ten fingertips, which is conducive to open up the Well points in the three yang meridians and three yin meridians of both hands. Bend the elbows of the arms slowly, and it is intention to promoting the interior force directly to the middle fingertips in both hands and covering the ears. When knocking teeth, ideas as well as hearing are concentrated on the teeth, but not intended to too much, and the brain should not be too concerned about it and just half-listen, as long as the exerciser knows that he is knocking teeth. Both palms cover the ears, with the index finger hitting slightly around the Fengchi points in the back of the head. The sounds go directly to the auditory nerve through the skull, so it sounds like large bells, and exerciser feels that the sound comes from the inside of the body. Although it sounds great, it does not shake the heart and chest. Thus it does not make people irritable, and gradually the body and mind are entirely in the calm hitting sound. Naturally, the whole body is surrounded by the deep and penetrating sound of the eardrums, mind and body merge together with the sound, which makes the brain clear and keeps eyes open. Take the palms back to the front of the abdomen horizontally, and the palms are like floating in slow-flowing creek, which makes people relaxed and happy.

The upper body turns left and the arms intort inward and raise horizontally, the interior force caused by the interior Qi softly act on the palms or arms, and sometimes exerciser feels the surging force or slight drop-down force. Thrust comes from the strength, namely it is the acting force of same direction generated by the Qi of cinnabar field and vital gate with the movements. The slight resistance is the coordination between the interior Qi, which is the meridian dredging parts of the body, and the external Qi of the world. The interior Qi in the moving arms get through the interaction of the relatively static world of the outdoor air and generates adverse acting force, which is against the direction of the movements. As runners, we pass through the relatively still air, which produces by the body resistance. The interior Qi resistance in the palms often be experienced and it is also first perceived in practice. There is a sense of floating, when press it down, and there is a sense of holding something, when raising up. The perception of inside and outside of Qi and the resistance is by the luminous heart of naturally, but not intentionally. Half- understanding and know it well is all right. It is like a cloud floating in the sky, which comes and goes without a trace and generate and disperse naturally. The palms gently together in the front of the lower abdomen, the fingers cover two palms, with a hollow space in the hand, in which the Qi reserves in it. When he head turns left and move the palms to the inside of the right thigh, the interior Qi surging in the palm seems that it will pull the palms forward, and promote the completion of the soft and coherent movements, such as turning the head and moving the palm; left shoulder sinking, the root part of left palm evenly and slowly press downward the right fingers, while the chin moving upward, making the rise of the head evenly and continuously. There are feelings, such as stretch, pull, shaking in the entire spine.

When raise up the head, pay attention to Dazhui point, which is conductive to dredge the Du channel, thus contributing to the flow of blood and Qi in three yang meridians of the hand and foot.

（By Zhang Caiqin）