Valley Spirit
Taijiquan, Qigong, and Hatha Yoga

 

Eight Rivers Qigong

 

By
Michael P. Garofalo

April 9, 2005

 

(Note: The Eight Rivers Qigong will be published 
in installments at the Cloud Hands website beginning in June, 
2005. It will be published in its entirety by June, 2006.)

© Green Way Research, Red Bluff, California, 2005
By Michael P. Garofalo, All Rights Reserved.

 

 

 

These eight qigong exercises are a fusion of qigong and Hatha yoga exercises.  
They are combined so that, in general:

1.  All exercises are done standing up.

2.  All movements are coordinated with breathing so that there is one breath out 
during a movement segment, and one breath in during the following movement 
segment.  These are a variety of vinyasa style of mindfulness exercises.  

3.  Each movement requires a specific use of the eyes - a concentration point.

4.  The sequence of the eight movements comply with the general principles
of my Qigong-Yoga Exercise Cycle for a complete set of movements.  The set 
begins with a warm-up phase, moves to a heat building phase, challenges one 
with a vigorous exercise phase, shifts to a gradual cool down phase, and ends 
with a restful and relaxing phase.

5.  Many movements are combined with visualizations of circulating vital energies
in the body (i.e., blood, Prana, Qi) or the actions of animals or imagined activities. 
Emphasis is placed on using the mind-will to control the movements of the muscles 
and limbs of the body - developing a sense of the mind-will as Commander or Wizard.  

6.  The eight movements will be useful to students who decide to go on to study the
longer exercise sets of which these are a part, e.g., Grasping the Sparrow's Tail is
an essential and critical sequence in the Yang style Taijiquan forms.

7.  If time is short, then a person can perform a few of the exercises in this set.  
They can repeat one movement over and over to experience the "flow."
The entire eight movements will take about 30 minutes to perform.  The number
of repetitions of each movement will depend upon the time available, the
energy levels of the person, and the sense of enjoyment in doing that particular
movement for the person.  

8.  All exercises are to be performed with an emphasis upon the feeling 
state of Sung: relaxed, open, loose, flexible, energized, free.

9. The eight exercises all emphasize the feeling of "flowing" like a pure, clean, 
vibrant, living river.  The human body itself, composed mostly of watery substances,
is a system of "rivers" of blood, lymph, hormones, bio-electrical impulses, 
excretions, and cells of all types.  Block one or more of these "rivers" and 
illness or death results.  Keep these rivers clean, pure, moving, unblocked,
and properly channeled and good health, vitality, and well being are the 
result.  

 

 

 

Qigong and Yoga Exercise Cycle.  By Michael P. Garofalo.

 

 

 

Eight Rivers Qigong

 

1.  Turning the Thunderous Prayer Wheel

2.  Grasping the Tail of the Fire Dragon

3.  The Wild Geese Joyfully Return to the Lake in the Valley

4.  Salutation to the Stars

5.  The Wind Moves the Clouds

6.

7.

8.

 

 

Eight Rivers Qigong Movements

 

1.  Turning the Thunderous Prayer Wheel

 

 

 

 

Links and Bibliography
Eight Rivers Qigong

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


 

 

 



Cloud Hands: Taijiquan and Qigong

 

 

 

Michael P. Garofalo's E-Mail

 

 

Valley Spirit T'ai Chi Ch'uan Club

Red Bluff, Tehama County, North Sacramento Valley, Northern Central California, U.S.A.
Cities in the area: Oroville, Paradise, Durham, Chico, Hamilton City, Orland, Willows, Corning,
Rancho Tehama, Los Molinos, Tehama, Proberta, Gerber, Manton, Cottonwood,
Anderson, Shasta Lake, Palo Cedro, and Redding, CA, California.

Valley Spirit T'ai Chi Ch'uan Journal

 

 

 

Disclaimer

 

 

 

Zen Poetry

The Spirit of Gardening

Haiku Poetry

Index for the Cloud Hands Website

Valley Spirit T'ai Chi Ch'uan Instructional Program

Cold Mountain Sages

Cloud Hands: The Gentle Mind-Body Arts of T'ai Chi Ch'uan and Chi Kung

 

 

April 1, 2005

 

 

© Green Way Research, Red Bluff, California, 2005

 

 

 

 

 

Homepage: Cloud Hands - Taijiquan and Qigong