My Impromptu Qigong Lesson at a Mandarin Learners Meetup in Toronto

Last weekend i was invited to a Mandarin meetup group for an afternoon of cultural exchange. There was lots of food food and more food. Also we tried to keep with the spirit of traditional Chinese culture and play some Chinese games. Nearing the end the organizer knew i was a kungfu champion in the past and wanted me to show some simple qigong movements anyone can do while sitting. This was also a good idea as there were at least 11 people there and no space to move around. The houses in downtown Toronto are very small so seated exercises were a good idea.
I proceeded to talk about how qigong could benefit the average person in helping to give them more energy throughout they're day along with relieve stress and controlling negative emotions.

I started with 2 hands pushing forward in the first picture, inhaling coming in towards the body and holding the breath as you push the hands outwards, exhaling at the end of the movement.

The second picture was the start of bringing 2 hands to the sky from the 8 brocades qigong pattern. Starting at your waist continue to lift 2 hands up towards the sky inhaling, when you reach the top hold the breath for a count of 6-8 seconds, then proceed to bring the hands down exhaling at the same time.

in this next picture was a basic exercise also from 8 brocades entitled the bow and arrow exercise. One hand makes a palm while the other hand makes a fist and pretend you are pulling a bow with and arrow holding it with your fist. As you pull outwards hold the breath until you reach the end of the range of motion. Exhale when the front palm is fully extended, then change sides, inhale while changing hands.

In the final exercise that i taught , it was just a basic seated meditation with the hands in tree holding position. This is normally done standing and also more effective since it does rewire your nervous system and correct the posture. Since we just finished eating people were a bit lazy to stand up so we did it sitting down, still an effective form of meditation even sitting.
The participants were really grateful since most of them have not been exposed to qigong in the past and it is one of the most mysterious parts of traditional Chinese culture.

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