Qigong #3 – Effortless Tai Chi Walking – 3/16/20

I was at Fort Worden beach today, and decided to go for a walk as the sun was shining and there was no wind. Eagles flying overhead, otters came to shore right by me. Clouds told stories if I cared to take the time to read them. I got into a meditative mood and naturally fell into Tai Chi effortless walking. Let me share with you one method of how to turn walking into a qigong exercise.

The early cultures walked everywhere, all the time. Mostly people walked because they had to get somewhere, not just for the pleasure of it. Some of these cultures would walk as much as 100 miles in a day. This technique will speed you along and energize your Three Treasures (lower, middle and upper dantiens) at the same time.

When you start your walk, gaze into the distance as far as you can in a straight line from where you are. Fix your gaze on a solid object – tree, rock, house, etc. Using your mind, attach a long line (a rope, for instance), from your lower dantien to that object. Now let the rope, attached to your lower dantien, pull you along. Breathe naturally, relax, and let the rope do all the work. Keep your torso erect, head up, don’t lean. When you get to this point you were attached to, pick another object, and attach the rope to your middle dantien. Same process. Then change to the upper dantien.

Notice how effortless it is to glide along. When changing dantiens, you can just stop for a moment and feel how you have charged up the dantien that is attached. You can play with attaching different combinations at the same time, like lower and middle, or middle and upper. Attach all three and feel how your mind and body are relaxed, energized, and integrated. This is fun and beneficial in any environment – forest or desert for instance. Enjoy your trip.

If you are feeling depleted or need extra energy in your physical body, do your walk and keep the line attached to your lower dantien. If you feel particularly affected on an emotional plane, for yourself or others, keep the line attached to the middle dantien. And if your mind is running around without being able to calm itself, attach to the upper dantien. Of course you can always attach to all three for a smaller, balanced charge. It works.