Waidan Qigong: From the Outside In
Does Qigong, Yoga, Tai Chi or any mind-body practice count if we just do the motions? My short answer is that, yes, it absolutely does count. However, the secret sauce of Qigong, Tai Chi, Yoga, and any mind-body practice, is the quality of attention you bring to the practice. Your focus, your imagination, your intention can make any set of motions into a healing and strengthening elixir.
Consider the possibility that “going through the motions” when doing Qigong “works on you” from the outside in.
Qigong that focuses on the externals is known in some circles as vitality Qigong or Waidan and can include movements, herbs, gestures, and rituals. All of these things can work on you. Acknowledging the complexity (the sheer miracle or catastrophe) of the body and the 10,000 things the body must deal with in life, is the key to understanding the power of “going through the motions.”
Have you noticed that the body changes constantly? The body is always going through a phase of some kind whether that is digesting food or learning something important.
I learned a set of 18 movements that my teacher at the time called “Waidan Qigong.” This was years ago at a Omega Institute where I did training in bodywork. The Waidan Qigong set of movements I learned features moves that are playful and even silly. Over the years, the set of movements stayed with me, and I often use one or two of these exercises as the warm-up for the more challenging and meditative Qigong sets I lead. I like to think that the playful movements of the Waidan Qigong set are great reminders about having a body and how having a body can be an adventure we may or may not be ready for. As a rule, the human experience of having a body might involve experiencing your body in all its glory and chaos. A light heart helps and so does a little laughter. Laughing is actually a common reaction when people do the Waidan Qigong exercises, and I love to hear laughter when people practice, because laughter is release. Not all teachers agree that laughter in class is a good thing, though, because laughter at the wrong moment can feel like disrespect. I like to think laughter is a sign of relaxing and tapping into your true nature and seeing things as they are. In this way, laughing and smiling as you practice can help you feel the purity of your own existence.
A lighthearted attitude can help you in coming to your Qigong practice, and it may help you do so repeatedly, which increases the likelihood of experiencing beneficial outcomes from practice. Easy lighthearted Qigong can help you “break the ice” and get started, and then you can see the value of what you are doing. This increases the likelihood you will repeat it. One session is great, but repeating sessions will reveal useful things to you and perhaps feel like a gift you give yourself. Think about how one session every week or every day for a month or two can build momentum and energy in your life. Such an act of faith, simply showing up, adds up. So, it helps to find a way to get yourself there. Enjoying yourself in a lighthearted manner as you move your body and practice an easy set of movements like Waidan Qigong is a great way to do this. Lightheartedness as you move your body helps you appreciate movement for its own sake and can also help you make an appropriate combination of effort, concentration and focus that does not feel like work. In fact, it can feel like play!
Waidan Qigong, which translates to “external elixir” Qigong, is a set of good warm-ups that moves your limbs, your spine, your head, fingers, and toes. Moving your body like this reminds you that the body you have is, well, okay, and good enough in the moment, good enough for Qigong. Good enough for life! Remembering this might help you make peace with your body, especially if you feel your body has let you down in some way. Sure, the body can be more fit, and you can be more patient, more loving and kind, but you can also move gently and exist in life with a light touch and with the body you have right now. It’s a possibility. In this way, “external elixir” Qigong, Waidan Qigong, can be a way of practicing acceptance of what is. Who knew? Going through the motions might help you accept what is. The key is to focus on something easy and let the ease inspire you to keep going from there. Parts of you may need to move with more care and attention. Parts of you may move with ease.
But you can still move.
In the last ten years or so, science is showing that movement that is not necessarily aerobic or intense can help you maintain your healthspan. It is one thing to have a long life, and it is another thing to have a long span of healthy years, known in some circles as the “healthspan.” Moving your body every day will help you do maintain your healthspan, and it does not take herculean effort. But it does take consistent effort to get up, lift yourself up, and move the way your body was designed to move.
As you practice moving and going through the motions during a Qigong session, you are moving and breathing and focusing your mind on what is happening in your body, in the present. Sometimes, as you practice simple Qigong, you might go through the motions. That is okay. But as you go through the motions, your mind may relax, and you might also remember how your body moved when you were a child. You may have memories of when you learned how to crawl or walk and explore. Some of us have had to relearn these things later in life, post-childhood after illness or injury. Your natural curiosity about your own hands and feet can come back to help you and awaken that mysterious force inside that moves you to be consistent about moving your body every day. Moving while lightheartedly finding a focus on the breath and using your imagination as you do so can give your movement practice a sense of purpose or direction. “Going through the motions,” then can be meaningful, and it can take on a feeling that you are doing something important for yourself, for your life. This is intention! Intention is the secret sauce of Qigong that can make help you create health movement by movement, moment to moment to moment. So you use the movements to learn about yourself and what happens for you in the middle of ordinary life. Then, you might just move through the phases of existence in a new way that feels fresh and new and relevant to you.
Some of the signs to look for as you practice simple Qigong movement with intention:
Relief
Relaxation
Sense of humor
A feeling of coming home
Peace
Hearty appetite without overeating
Good digestion
Good sleep
Easier and more manageable mood
It is an amazing thing to consider that enjoyment of life is actually a part of health. In fact, joy may be the thing that helps you create health. But sometimes you can forget to enjoy the joy that is present. Some joy is ordinary and small. Don’t miss it. Experiencing little joys can add up to greater health and work on you from the outside in.
Join me for practice!