Qi Extension Exercise 6
Walk
We move on with the exercises of extension – this time by walking. Practicing qi extension on the most fundamental body movements is excellent for developing your qi flow.
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Initially, you have to repeatedly remind yourself of the qi application when you do such unconscious things as breathe, look, or walk. Without your conscious effort, you are likely to forget all about qi and just behave as you have done all the years up to now. But by time you will teach your body and mind new habits, so that you will unconsciously work on the qi flow and extension no matter what you do. You practice qi without having to think about it. That is when the great rewards of it start to appear.
Walking with attention to qi is merely a continuation of the exercises with looking and pointing. You so to speak bring them outdoors. This really needs to be done outdoors, in the open air, with a clear view all the way to the horizon. Then there is room for your spirit to extend really far.
When you begin to work with this exercise, the free view can actually be a bit intimidating, because it feels too vast to be filled with your spirit. But this makes the exercise a challenge that you will soon learn to live up to. Once you have gotten over the reluctance to take your place in a vast space, and your spirit starts to expand over it, then you have a great inner movement going.
How to do it
- You should be outdoors. If you do this exercise indoors, choose something like a corridor, where you can see far ahead. Start by placing yourself so that you have a maximum of free space in front of you.
- Look straight ahead, not exactly aiming at a certain spot, but sort of unfocused in the general direction. Therefore it is good if you have nothing special to aim at – not even the horizon, if it is visible.
- Stand still and start a good qi breathing, preferably in the bottom of your abdomen, if you have learned to do so. Belly breathing makes you more stable, increases your balance, and gives you a stronger conviction when you start walking. While you breathe with qi, continue to look straight forward, without any other aim than the direction.
- Commence a long exhalation through your nose. As soon as you feel that the exhalation is steady and flowing, walk forward in the direction you are looking. It is important that you do not start walking before your exhalation is steady. Otherwise your steps will also lack steadiness.
- Continue to walk forward as long as the exhalation feels steady and extended. If you succeed in keeping this feeling even when you stop breathing air, you can go on walking.
- Stop walking before your exhalation feels weakened. It is important that you only walk when your exhalation feels strong.
- Take a few deep and calm breaths and repeat the exercise, by continuing to walk in the same direction. It should feel like your steps ride on your exhalation. You move forward by the power of your breath. What the feet do is of less importance. Remember to stop before your exhalation weakens.
- Continue this kind of walking for a while. After some time you will not need to stop and take a few breaths, to recommence the qi flow. Just stopping shortly to inhale is enough. Soon you will be able to continue walking through the inhalations, too, without the stability of your flow and the strong sense of direction in your steps faltering.
This is a wonderful way of walking. By the extension of your breathing and your qi flow, it is a bit like a train on its track. Even a dull promenade through a neighborhood you have crossed far too many times gets exciting and invigorating. You will also notice how clearly you feel the ground under your feet, although that is not what you concentrate on. In addition, the air that you breathe will become particularly refreshing. All those good effects combined, you may find yourself walking much farther than you originally intended, from the pure delight of it.
This exercise can also be done running instead of walking, when you feel that you get the hang of it. But do not run so fast that you lose your breath and find it difficult to keep the extended exhalations.
Qi Extension Exercises
Here is a set of simple exercises to extend your qi. Now, you'll start to really experience the use of it. I recommend you to follow the order given below, the first time around. Then you can safely make your own priorities.
© Stefan Stenudd
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