Years ago when I learned about Hui Chun Gong I also came upon one exercise where you have to bob very quickly in your knees. You had to bob about 170 times in one minute. This remarkable exercise is meant to shake out all bad qi, to loosen the muscles and give movement outside and inside. This is one important exercise to rejuvenate your body.

It was fun but the count of 170 was very quick in one minute and you have to concentrate on your balance. I was not very happy about this speed especially when seeing my 87 year old mom. Yes she could do, but we had to concentrate too much and qigong should not be connected with too much concentration. Qigong is most effective when done in the state of utmost relaxation.

How great was the joy when I came across this kind of exercise when I did research in meditation with plants. The most primitive family of the tea order (Theales) are the Ochnaceae

mostly tropical shrubs and trees. Many are natives of Brazil,

The plant I was doing qigong with was Ouratea spectabilis from the cerrado near Sao Paolo.

The genus of Ouratea comprises about 200 species - luckily, for this is the ideal qigong to move the whole body in latin style. I did a lot of Ouratea, also from Madagascar, they all dance in the specific bobbing way, but any kind with differences.

In the morning classes there will be a shouting of OurateaOuratea when I like to start other warm-ups. Well, these wonderful trees give us a typical latino bobbing. We focus the picture of the plant on the white wall and we form a circle holding hands. The plant is centered in the middle by imagination. I concentrate on the plant and go into meditation about one minute. When the contact is there I start bobbing and everybody joins. This bobbing is very rhythmic and soft with bending of the knees in a rhythm of about 2 bobs per second. It is calming down the body and loosens the interior. After some minutes arms and shoulders are involved with

dragging up and pushing down, but the rhythm of the arms is pushing down when bobbing up.

Sounds difficult but is not. Plant movements are by no way strict, they are flowing. They give any in the group a natural qi flow and happiness. Those who have learned to feel with the plant start breathing in a very deep and natural way and don't like to stop bobbing this way.

We also let latin american music play softly to this wonderful bobbing. Before starting we bow

in the Buddhist greeting posture to thank the plant and the cosmos for getting qi. The plant ends its qigong or morphic field with closing of dantian.

In my research on plant qigong I found that there is always closing on dantian. Every plant has its center or dantian in a place which is near the roots, in a big tree you will find it about chest height. But you can only detect by the sensitivity of your laogong or your yintang spot between the eyes. Any species in the Ochnacea shows this unique bobbing.

But plants and especially trees show that they do not only have an invisible life pattern they also communicate with man if they are really loved. In a deep connection with them they will treat your body by placing your hands on those parts and meridians which are affected with stagnant qi. Beech and ash trees are especially sensitive to complaints with liver and spleen stagnant qi. The hands focus on the meridians with laogong and after a while run down the channels to open and lead the qi down the legs to the feet and yongquan. Then the hands make a bow up in front and circle once or twice at the sides to fresh up laogong with qi from the earth. Then they start the same procedure going up to the ren channel and leading down the qi. This procedure has remarkable effects on your health.

I can only emphasize on the saying that plants provide mankind with Gods pharmacy without damaging them. In meditational qigong man and plants meet on the same spiritual level, I can assure everybody that the plant world provides us with a powerful source of qi. Another good example is the qigong with the wonderful orchids of the genus Ophrys. These orchids grow mainly in the northern hemisphere and are endangered everywhere. These plants could be the provider for martial arts qigong as they clench the fists and move the arms in a very powerful way. Their qi strengthen the qi of the spleen which is the provider of muscles. Your muscles will grow without any heavy weights but with the coordinated qi of your spleen and will trim away your excess fat. The arm movements will proceed in a robot like manner. Qi is gathered like behind a water dam, then the next movements come and qi will flow in great abundance.

We should remember that plants are doing this with us, because we love them and want to protect them from just wasting them for commercial use, then we will get qi from them in abundance.