Qigong with Plants

Many qigong exercises have been taken from the animal world. Animals behave instinctively and their meridians are open to cosmic qi. We know the famous White Crane exercises or Wild Goose where the behaviour of the birds

is copied. The dance of the monkey, the swaying of a bear or neck movements of the tortoise are just a few examples. These movements are taken in medical qigong to cure various types of qi stagnation. In China cancer patients are treated by letting them walk in the manner of the bear. It is a very relaxed walking with proper breathing. This opens the acupuncture channels.

Through intensive meditational praxis I can sense energy field of plants or in the sense of Prof. Rupert Sheldrake the morphic field. This field moves my body in a way which is specific to every plant genus. Many of these movements are very wonderful for qigong exercise especially those of trees of the northern hemisphere. It is ideal to do this with direct contact to trees, but it is also possible to do it in a mental way. Here are some advices how you could approach a tree to get its energy field and help you "dance" with the tree. Beside trees there are a lot of other plants, whose morphic field can easily be used as qigong exercise. Remember that the plants really exist and will infuse us with their energy and open our acupuncture channels, for we do qigong "as if we were the plants".

Many movements from the world of plants are new in qigong exercises. There is often an intensive use of the fingers (piano playing), hand clapping, leg shaking, shoulder rolling etc. These movements are very important as most of the meridians begin or end in the fingers and toes. Many points taken for treatment lie before and after the joints and lead to stagnant qi if not kept open. The intensive qigong movements of hips, knees, shoulders and head open the channels and smoothen the movement of the joints. The Daimai Channel is opened, the Du and Ren channels are kept in balance. The wave like qigong exercise of the spruce trees keeps the easily stagnant gates of the upper and lower spine open. So sufficient yang qi reaches the other channels. Such movements are not easily learned by will, but with the help of plants you feel these movements become soft and easy. Thus plant qigong offers a new perspective to use the power of nature, enjoy new harmonious movements until now unknown in qigong praxis and easily achieve ability to treat parts of the body.

I will now give hints how to approach plants and will give explanation of the oak tree qigong.

1) It is necessary to do plant qigong in a tranquil state

2) To get this concentrate on the tree or plant.

3) Contact your tree by greeting it with the Buddhist thanking gesture of the left hand. Lift it to your chest and bow lightly.

4) Embrace the tree with both arms without touching it. Stand firm. Let you slowly be attracted by the tree. Sometimes it refuses you some times, but then the front touches the stem.

5) Feel the energy flow in your arms and let it bring your arms slowly to Dantian. The tree will close the hands before Dantian.

6) After this position in front of the tree and close your eyes lightly to get the morphic field. Well, you must try many times.

7) Do your normal qigong exercises under your tree or do the specific qigong exercise of your tree. To know this you must contact me. This can only be shown on a video. It is possible to send a photo to my address so that I can get the qigong field of your special tree or plant.

8) If you want to exercise in a group, take yourself by hands forming a circle and put your tree mentally in the middle until you get a warm feeling in your hands. Qigong exercises with plants are done in a certain scheme, this is the characteristic field of the tree, but everybody can feel free in the velocity of the movements. The main thing is the softness of the body, always be relaxed and if you want listen to harmonious (Chinese) melodies you may do so. At the end don't forget to store away the qi in Dantian by closing first the left under the navel and put on it the other hand (in women first the right hand).

9) Feel easy in giving your tree a name. Trees have a certain pattern, but any tree has individualistic derivations. In fir trees some bend back the spine, some rotate the knees, some rotate the arms shoulder high, some are childish (when young) and some are sleepy. But every fir tree rotates the hip, the shoulders and waves the spine.

The qigong exercise of the oak tree

a) The arms are moving up the sides slowly with palms down. Over the head they turn down in front of the body with palms down in 4 circles.

b) Now in circling one hand claps slowly to the chest and turns down, the other following in a rhythmic circle. Both hands circle now in front of the body.

c) The circle is ended with both hands standing over head, turning the palms outside and go down the sides and move up in front of the body with hanging fingers, they go up to the head and begin another circle.

d) They slowly come to rest beside the hips. Now you breathe in deeply qi and after some pumping your clenched fists shoot to heaven. Now the fist open and palms are spread to the sun, the head also bending back to face the sun. Stand like this a while.

e) With the extended palms your whole body very slowly bends to the ground letting the qi of the oak soften your spine and extending your arms. Bend down as far as possible, but donīt force yourself. If possible touch the ground with both palms and slowly get up with your arms going back over the head. This is the rooting of the tree and opens your kidney channels.

f) Now the arms go down in front of the body and becoming quicker go up the sides building fist over the head and now do some quicker circles crossing in front.

g) Let the hands stand over the head with opened palms and slowly end the exercise with closing Dantian.

I know it is not easy to describe such an exercise. But always call for the help of the oak which will guide you more and more. When my hands are moved by the oak I feel a warm rail or pattern of water which guides my arms and hands. The more people contact the plant world in this manner the more they feel able to get the qi of the plants. The plants will help us to get a very agile body, help us with their strong qi. For this we should protect them and their natural habitats and stop cutting down the wonderful jungle giants.

Plants in this way can be used like remedies without cutting down barks and taking leaves. If you exercise with an Cymbidium orchid this qigong will let you sway in a very tranquil way with soft head rotating. After this you are calm and can go to sleep easily. Using the qigong of Dendrobium orchids will move the fingers like playing piano. This is useful for rheumatic persons. The beginning is always hard but with the power of the plants it will become more and more easy.

Also I want to express my gratefulness to the Qigong Association of America for letting me write on their web side.

Institute for Plant Qigong Peter Hagemann

Lessingstr.10

D-94327 Bogen Germany