Qì Gōng Movement Guidance
In this practical session, Bhante Bodhidhamma guides practitioners through a series of gentle qì gōng movements designed to prepare the body and cultivate mindfulness before meditation. The practice includes stretching exercises, joint rotations, and coordinated breathing techniques that help release physical tension and center awareness in the present moment.
While qì gōng originates from Chinese tradition, Bhante demonstrates how mindful movement can complement Buddhist meditation practice by developing bodily awareness (kāyagatāsati) and establishing a foundation of comfort for sitting meditation. The session emphasizes coordinated breathing—inhaling through the nose and exhaling through the mouth—while maintaining present-moment awareness throughout each movement.
This guidance is particularly valuable for practitioners who experience physical stiffness or restlessness before meditation, offering a skillful means to prepare both body and mind for deeper contemplative practice. The movements are accessible to practitioners of all levels and can be incorporated into daily routine as preparation for formal meditation sessions.
Pointing your hands in front and bowing. So putting your hands on top of your head, leaning the body to the right. To the left. Up hands at the back leaning backwards and straightening up, bending down on the knees and stretching the toes, rising and holding the knees and turning them round, first to the right and then to the left.
Hands on the hip and swinging the hips round to the right three times and three times to the left. Stretching up into the air and bringing the arms down behind you, lifting up behind you and stretching the arms in front of you, bending the fingers and then bending each finger one after the other, shaking the hands.
Standing on one leg, begin to turn one of them in a circle three times and then the other way, pointing outwards, stretching the foot forward. Standing on the other leg three times turning and the other way, and stretching forward. Legs apart and stretching the shoulders, just lifting them up and turning them in as great a circle as you can, and the other way, and giving them a shake.
Look behind you to the right and then to the left, to the right and to the left, to the right and to the left. Bending the head backwards, backwards and forwards, backwards and forwards. Bringing the hands down, twisting the arms round and coming to a stop.
From now on you're breathing in through the nose and out through the mouth. Just lowering the body downwards and lifting it up straight up into the sky, and with the out-breath drawing your arms down towards the front and back down to the sides. With the out-breath into the standing pose. Bending down and lifting up with the in-breath. Breathing out, stretching up. Breathing in and bringing the arms down and out and then turning the hands.