Ping Shuai Qigong

[awarenessrules]

Hi, is any body here practicing ping shuai gong here? Its also called the swinging hands qigong. I have heard some great things about this qigong especially for healing chronic illnesses including cancer, immunity issues, blood circulation issues etc. It also helps with stuck qi and stagnation. Any experiences? Thanks

Edited February 23, 2019 by awarenessrules

[lifeforce]

Part of my practice involves arm swinging routines from the martial art Tongbeiquan. Since adding these routines recently I've noticed a huge increase in energy and well-being.

Some of the exercises in the videos I've just watched on ping shuai gong are identical to what I practice. 

I'd say go for it. As with any other endeavour, practice daily for a good length of time (at least 6 months) and then see where you're at.

Best wishes.

[awarenessrules]

On 2/24/2019 at 3:07 AM, lifeforce said:

Part of my practice involves arm swinging routines from the martial art Tongbeiquan. Since adding these routines recently I've noticed a huge increase in energy and well-being.

Some of the exercises in the videos I've just watched on ping shuai gong are identical to what I practice. 

I'd say go for it. As with any other endeavour, practice daily for a good length of time (at least 6 months) and then see where you're at.

Best wishes.

 

Thanks, I practiced it for 2 days and I feel my body much warmer. It does help with blood circulation.

[lifeforce]

On 25/02/2019 at 7:33 PM, awarenessrules said:

 

Thanks, I practiced it for 2 days and I feel my body much warmer. It does help with blood circulation.

 

Keep going. 

Repetition is the mother of all skills.

[oak]

A good article about Ping Shuai Gong

http://theinnozablog.blogspot.com/2017/12/swing-hands-can-cure-many-illnesses.html?m=1

[el_tortugo]

25 minutes ago, oak said:

A good article about Ping Shuai Gong

http://theinnozablog.blogspot.com/2017/12/swing-hands-can-cure-many-illnesses.html?m=1

 

 

The potential for the human body to heal is incredible.

 

[oak]

Just now, el_tortugo said:

 

 

The potential for the human body to heal is incredible.

 

 

I like the simplicity of this one and the immediate effect on blood circulation. Been practicing for the last few days and want to keep on doing it for a few months and wait for further results.

[el_tortugo]

1 minute ago, oak said:

 

I like the simplicity of this one and the immediate effect on blood circulation. Been practicing for the last few days and want to keep on doing it for a few months and wait for further results.

 

I've not heard of this but I like that it's something my body craves. It's like a confirmation to go for it.

 

[thelerner]

There's an Aikido warm up that is very similar and I've felt better doing it.  Just swinging hands up and down repetitively, though in this case they 'cup' a bit together at the top. 

[Dainin]

I just picked up a nice little book about this practice:

 

Arm Swinging Qigong by John Robertson

 

I first learned this with Dr. George Love, who would do 88 repetitions as a warm-up. He would sometimes do these slowly, other times quickly. I also learned it from Dr. Roger Jahnke, who did it slowly and called it Flowing Motion. Both of these teachers had the palms facing up on the upswing and facing down on the downswing. They would both lift the heels on the upswing and the toes on the downswing. It became a rocking motion with Dr. Love's faster version.

 

More recently I've been doing the "Ping Shuai Gong" version with Dr. Kevin Chen during his weekly Zoom classes. He does 300 repetitions during his warm-up sequence. This one is palms down on both the up and downswing. The arms are kept straighter, it moves at fairly quick pace, the feet are kept flat and the knees bend every five reps. The knee bends bothered me at first, now I'm used to it. Dr. Chen and Dr. Love both say this practice is very good for detoxification. It does seem to pump a lot of the lymph nodes.

[el_tortugo]

2 hours ago, thelerner said:

There's an Aikido warm up that is very similar and I've felt better doing it.  Just swinging hands up and down repetitively, though in this case they 'cup' a bit together at the top. 

 

My mind went straight to Aikido when I saw these. I also enjoy the arm swings that happen side to side when you twist your torso. 

[cheya]

Decades back, swing arms was the first qigong exercise where I started to feel the energy circulation. It was so subtle! I couldn't really tell, but something seemed to be happening, and it was the only exercise I wanted to do for awhile. Forty five minutes of swing arms.  Nobody wanted to practice with me, LOL.  

I think I learned it from Roger Jahnke, and I think he was the one who told us that, in parks in China, you would see some of the old practitioners, hardly making any movement at all, but benefitting greatly from the circulation they'd established over the years doing this simple movement.

 

I ordered the book. 
Thanks Dainin!

[liminal_luke]

I like swinging arms a lot.  It´s one of those practices that I start and stop but always come back to.  I´m attracted to the simplicity of the practice and also how boring it is.  Well, I suppose it´s not boring if you´re a mindfulness superstar, but that is not me.  I´m a big believer in simple, boring things.

Edited October 5, 2021 by liminal_luke

[el_tortugo]

 

Some different arm swinging that I happened across today . . . how about them sound effects?

 

 

Edited October 6, 2021 by el_tortugo

[thelerner]

On my walk yesterday I exaggerated my arm swings.  It slowed me down a little but felt good, like skipping to raise the arms higher during a walk.

[cheya]

On 10/3/2021 at 7:26 PM, Dainin said:

I just picked up a nice little book about this practice:

 

Arm Swinging Qigong by John Robertson

 

 Dr. Chen and Dr. Love both say this practice is very good for detoxification. It does seem to pump a lot of the lymph nodes.

 

This is a great little book, both as a review of the five versions presented, and as reminder/motivation to actually DO it, lol.  I'd already been doing a little arm swinging as an antidote to too much computer sitting, but not nearly enough to make a big difference. The book has encouraged me to do it more often, longer, and properly (according to Jahnke anyway)

 

One thing that stands out. I learned the exercise before I learned much about the lymphatic system, and now understand the many levers into the system this exercise provides. Swinging the arms loosens and stimulates the lymphatic dumping mechanism behind the collar bones, where the lymphatic fluid rejoins the blood stream enroute to the liver for detox and elimination of toxins. Modern life and aging have most of us tight and relatively immobile in this area, and arm swinging loosens it up quickly.

 

The deeper breathing from doing many repetitions (100-300?) activates the large lymphatic duct at the bottom of the diaphragm, which is one of two major pumping mechanisms for the lymphatic system.

 

Lifting the heels and toes activates the calf muscles, which are the other major pumping mechanism for the lymphatics.

 

Doubling down on this exercise is providing noticeable changes in blood circulation as well. I strongly recommend it!

[liminal_luke]

23 hours ago, cheya said:

 

Lifting the heels and toes activates the calf muscles, which are the other major pumping mechanism for the lymphatics.

 

 

Interesting about the movement of the foot; I´ve never done it that way.  I found this interesting page where Jahnke describes several fun simple exercises, including arm swinging.  http://www.feeltheqi.com/articles/rc-practices-movement.htm  I didn´t get it from my initial reading of the description but the toes actually lift off the ground as the hands come down -- is that right?

 

In general Jahnke seems to favor doing multiple short practices throughout the day, something I might try.  My usual way has been to do one longer daily practice and call that enough.  

Edited October 15, 2021 by liminal_luke

[cheya]

9 hours ago, liminal_luke said:

I didn´t get it from my initial reading of the description but the toes actually lift off the ground as the hands come down -- is that right?

 

Yes, when your arms come down, you rock back on your heels and your toes rise. In addition to the lymphatic push, moving the ankles activates a couple of the extraordinary channels, which is also really good energetically.

 

I think I learned his practice slower than I do it now, but I base the speed on where I feel the chi flow, too fast or too slow, I tend to lose it.

 

I was doing short practices a few times a day, but find a couple longer practices (100-300 reps) are doing a lot more for me now. The short practices weren't getting the breathing going much, and doing it longer creates a stronger, more global effect.

 

Edited October 16, 2021 by cheya

[Eduardo]

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Edited February 8 by Eduardo
Delete

[Bhathen]

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Edited October 29, 2021 by Bhathen
Understood something incorrectly

[el_tortugo]

Plumb Village style Swing Hands Qigong. 

 

 

 

[Vajra Fist]

I've been practicing this style 30min-1hr a day for the past few days (1.5k - 3k reps).

 

I suffer from tense shoulders, forward head posture and tension headaches. This feels pretty good.

 

I feel like this is more of a lymphatic exercise akin to rebounding, rather than a system of energetics, but would be happy to be wrong.

 

I've practiced hard martial arts quite intensely for a couple of decades or more and think I've probably done quite a bit of damage to my shoulders. So much so that I've been wondering if it's only a matter of time before I get a bit arthritic around there. 

 

I noticed a lot of popping and grinding in my right rotator cuff while practicing these arm swings. I wonder if this is helping stave off arthritis, or accelerating the wear and tear in my joints. 

 

It's also a very boring exercise, but I've been following this video which is quite hypnotic and oddly surreal.

 

 

Anyone else practice this regularly?

Edited October 26, 2023 by Vajra Fist

[EFreethought]

On 10/18/2021 at 9:28 AM, Eduardo said:

In the first book I mentioned, it is recommended to reach two thousand repetitions daily!
 

 

How long does that many repetitions take?

 

[Vajra Fist]

11 hours ago, EFreethought said:

 

How long does that many repetitions take?

 

 

Apparently the rule of thumb is 10mins = 500 repetitions.

[EFreethought]

On 10/3/2021 at 6:26 PM, Dainin said:

I just picked up a nice little book about this practice:

 

Arm Swinging Qigong by John Robertson

 

Here is a paragraph from that page: "An ancient Chinese proverb says 'Do this exercise five hundred times each day & you will be healthy for a long life. Do this exercise a thousand times each day & you will live forever.'"

 

I wonder if you start this later in life, like age 60. Would you still live forever? Or at least a long time? Is it ever too late to start qigong?