Scroll down for the transcript of this episode.
How to do this exercise:
- Take a moment to stand up straight with your feet together and take a few deep breaths.
- Keep your eyes forward.
- Keep your knees soft.
- Slowly shift your weight onto your left foot and step out to the side with your right foot.
- Palms face inwards, fingers relaxed and pointing down.
- Tuck your chin slightly, relax your shoulders, and keep your tailbone tight.
- Place your feet on the ground and relax your knees, armpits and fingers.
- Take a deep breath and exhale.
- Spend some time focusing on your natural breathing and relaxing your body.
- Next, step your right foot back and bring your feet together.
- Lengthen your spine.
- Take a moment to notice how your body feels as your breathing slows down.
- Next, place your hands together and rub them vigorously to create heat between your palms.
- Now wash your face with your hands.
- Wash from the sides of your ears to behind your ears and down to the back of your neck.
- Now, relax your arms in front of your chest.
- Repeat this exercise for 1 to 5 minutes.
Today’s Happiness Break host:
Shelley Chan is the founder of Tai Chi Solutions and a master Qi Gong teacher. She is on the faculty of Pacific University of Health Sciences in New York City.
If you enjoyed this Happiness Break, you might also like these Happiness Breaks:
Walking the Path to Calmness (Guided Meditation) by Dacher: https://tinyurl.com/4w37zwpy
Walking meditation by Dan Harris of 10% Happier: https://tinyurl.com/4dv4ckzc
Check out this episode of The Science of Happiness on movement-based practice:
How to calm your mind and body with Qigong: https://tinyurl.com/2ywsck4e
Take a walk outside with Pete Docter from Inside Out: https://tinyurl.com/2nfc94zb
We’d love to hear from you – let us know what movement-based exercises you’ve tried!
Email us at happinesspod@berkeley.edu or use the hashtag #happinesspod.
Find it on Spotify: https://tinyurl.com/6s39rzus
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Episode transcript:
Dutcher Keltner Welcome to another Happiness Break from Science Happiness. I’m Dutcher Keltner. Today we’re taking a look at a practice that’s over 4,000 years old: Qi Gong. Last week, we dedicated an entire episode of Science of Happiness to Qi Gong. We spoke with Harvard scientist Peter Wayne about the many proven health benefits of this ancient Chinese practice..
Peter Wayne Qigong appears to be a multimodal, non-drug intervention that affects the entire system: mind, body, cardiovascular, respiratory, muscular, and neurological.
Dutcher Keltner There’s a link to that episode in the show notes… now we’re guided Are standing Meditation by Qigong Master Shelley Chan. Shelley is the founder of Tai Chi Solutions and a faculty member at Pacific University of Health Sciences in New York City.
Shelley Chan In other words, chi is energy. It is life force. You cannot see it, but you can feel it, just like a flower blooming. When you are low on energy, you need to boost your chi. You need to cultivate your chi every day. Without chi, life force, energy, you have no strength.
Today we are going to do a really basic exercise called Wuji Standing Meditation. What is Wuji? Wuji is infinity. This standing meditation can be done repeatedly, you can start with one minute, five minutes or even more. The purpose of this standing meditation is to relax the body and increase self-awareness.
So let’s try this exercise: Stand up straight with your feet together and take several deep breaths. Breathe in deeply, exhale, exhale. Look forward with your eyes. Keep your tongue touching the roof of your mouth. Soften your knees. Shift your weight onto your left foot. Step your right foot out to the side.
Palms face inward. Fingers relaxed and pointing down. Tuck chin slightly. Shoulders down and relaxed. Relax chest. Relax lower back. Tuck tailbone down. Relax knees. Relax elbows. Relax fingers. Breathe in deeply. Exhale. Release.
Now, step your right foot back. Close it. This will anchor your feet firmly on the ground. This will lengthen your spine. Just observe. Feel your body. Do you feel tension in your shoulders, hips, knees?
Just breathe naturally, without worrying about anything, until your breathing becomes smooth, deep, slow and rhythmic.
Keeping your hands together, rub them together. Use warm hands, just like you would when washing your face. Wash your face. Comb your hair. Move your hands to the sides of your ears, behind your ears, to the sides of your neck, in front of your chest. Relax.
