Learn How to Bring Tangible Energy into your Tai Chi; Follow Along Standing Meditation (Zhan Zhuang) and Qigong Practice. This follow-along video guides you through standing meditation (zhan zhuang) and qigong exercises specifically aimed at developing a tangible sense of energy (qi) that can then be brought into your tai chi practice.
Susan Thompson Tai Chi begins by guiding you to use the weight of an imaginary ball to deeply connect with the pull of gravity. You'll lift, feel the heaviness, then fully release downward, allowing your body to sink as the joints open. This process helps you surrender to and harness gravitational force.
Next, you'll explore using the elbows and knees as "kickstands" to support an elongated, rooted stance while embracing the space in front of your heart center. Breath work and imagery are used to condense energy into the lower abdomen before expanding it outward until you sense merging with the surrounding energy field.
Flowing qigong arm motions integrate the upper body as you open the chest and ground the wrists and fingers towards the earth. This helps circulate the felt energy throughout.
To close, you'll shake out any excess or stagnant energy from the limbs and fully release into gravity through bouncing and joint rotations. Rolling the feet releases fascial tightness.
By the end of this zhan zhuang and qigong series, you should feel energetically activated and able to bring that tangible internal energy into your tai chi forms and movements. The grounded, rooted alignments combined with flowing energy work create an embodied awareness to enliven your tai chi practice.
Timestamps
00:00:08 - 00:01:32 Opening Qigong: Handing Over to Gravity
00:01:32 - 00:08:05 Standing Meditation Zhan Zhuang
00:08:05 - 00:11:54 Qigong follow along
00:13:09 - 00:15:08 Cool Down Shake It Out
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