Qigong: exercises for weight loss, how to perform

doctor, specialist in Chinese Taoist medicine, founder of the Wu Min School of Wellness Practices

“During weight loss, it is the problem areas that are the hardest to lose pounds. In Taoist medicine there is a simple and clear explanation for this phenomenon, and most importantly – there are simple methods to “part” with stubborn fat in a particular part of the body”.

Taoist medicine is based on the idea that we have Qi energy, the main life force. Exactly how it circulates determines both health and body shape.

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Cold is one of the causes of excess weight

Taoist treatises explain the formation of “problem areas”, i.e. fat deposits, by the accumulation of cold.

It is believed that our energy bank – a reservoir of energy storage – is located in the pelvic area. If it stagnates, then, from the point of view of Western European medicine, microcirculation is disturbed and cold accumulates. In this area metabolic processes slow down, and the body tries to warm it in an alternative way: by creating a fat cushion, which serves also for transportation and assimilation of nutrients in the body.

Heating from within

In Taoist medicine, for such a symptom as localized obesity, heating of the pelvic area may be prescribed – but not so much for weight loss as for the prevention of inflammatory diseases of the organs. Where it is “cold”, bacteria multiply and various diseases like thrush or cystitis can develop.

However, heating should not be external – circulation of Qi and blood must be established from within. How to do it?

And here Taoists offer the following solution: to relax, firstly, the thoracic-abdominal diaphragm, and secondly, the pelvic region itself. Why exactly in this order and how does it work?

Theory of relaxation

We are used to the idea that “warming up” is all about exertion, such as strength exercises. Taoist medicine is based on an alternative idea: Chinese doctors believe that in order to normalize the circulation of Qi and blood, it is important to learn to relax the muscles – particularly the pelvis and pelvic floor.

When muscles are tense, they constrict small blood vessels, and no matter how much blood is pumped, it will move slowly. If the muscles are able to relax, however, circulation is faster and more efficient.

Taoist practice includes active relaxation practices: these are slow movements in which you must direct your attention to a particular area and try to release tension from the muscles.

Tiger squat

This simple squat from the qigong complex for the spine is important to perform very slowly.

Stand up straight, feet standing wide, arms out to the sides.
Turn your feet 45 degrees.
Do a squat – knees move towards the toes. Bring your hands together in front of your chest.

Now bring your attention one at a time: to the groin, sacrum, pelvic floor. Ask yourself questions: what else can I relax at this point? What can I let go of while maintaining the correct position?
Give your body a chance to “think” and respond to the task. Then observe how certain muscles respond. How will the position change?
Next – begin to slowly return to the starting position. The body will try its best to tense up. Your task is to remain relaxed. If a tremor appears, this is a great sign: it means you are developing new movement patterns.

Relaxing the diaphragm

We’ve covered how to relax the pelvis using Taoist techniques. However, to normalize blood and Qi circulation, it is important to relax the diaphragm as well.

Normally, this muscle should move quite amplitudinally: downward on inhalation, upward on exhalation. Thus, it, among other things, it performs the function of a pump: helps the outflow of blood from the lower extremities and pelvis.

If the diaphragm is tense, the amplitude of its movement is reduced, and it ceases to cope with its task. This, according to the Taoists, is one of the main causes of blood stagnation in the pelvis – and thus the formation of those problem areas.

There are many reasons for diaphragm tension, for example, the same stress: against the background of worries it can literally contract, and this tension can persist even in sleep.

To restore the amplitude of the diaphragm, let’s study an exercise from the course of Sing Sheng Juang – a system of exercises of the initial level of qigong.

The dragon breaks through the clouds

Stand near the doorjamb: the angle will become not so much a support as a reference line for the spine.
Press the thorax, lower back and if possible the back of the head against the corner, legs slightly bent at the knees, arms hanging down.
Find the place where the 12th thoracic vertebra transitions to the lumbar – this is the projection of the “solar plexus”. To do this, you can put one palm on the area where the rib cage converges with the upper abdomen, and another palm exactly opposite on the back: this is the space that we will relax.

Make a left-to-right rotation. Only the upper part of the body rotates. Now slow down this movement 10 times. The side-to-side rotation should take place for at least 10 counts.
Note how your breathing changes during the exercise. Any changes will be a signal that you “get” to the diaphragm.
Do this exercise for three to five minutes each day.

This simple practice will improve the outflow of blood from the pelvis, and therefore improve the circulation of blood Qi. This is how the process of getting rid of excess fat stores in problem areas is quickly and effectively triggered.