If you’d like to try qigong — a form of active meditation whose name means “energy work” — here are a few moves to get you started.
The big cat stretch: start on your hands and knees. Place your hands directly beneath your shoulders and your knees directly below your hips. Tuck your head down to look at your belly button and round your spine. Take a breath, then exhale. As you exhale, lower your hips towards your heels and let your arms extend forward. As you inhale again, return to all fours. As you exhale again, lift your head and drop your belly towards the floor. Repeat three to six times.
It took me a few tries — more than three repetitions — to get the rhythm and breathing right. My first few attempts were definitely NOT graceful and flowing, but it got smoother as I kept going.
Holding energy: stand with your feet about hip-width apart. Unlock your knees. Hold your hands in front of you at hip level, palms up and elbows slightly bent. Inhale and lift your hands to chin height. Turn your palms down and lower your hands as you exhale. Repeat three times.
Now turn your palms to face each other and imagine you are holding a ball of energy. Relax your eyes and concentrate on the space where the ball of energy would be. Manipulate the energy ball by moving your hands apart and together. Do you feel warmth or tingling between your hands? That is your body’s energy at work.
This one was nice and easy, and I felt graceful almost immediately. It reminds me of an exercise we used to do in an acting class I took in college — we would toss an imaginary ball of energy around the circle as part of our warm up. It was a great way to get us working together as a group!