Qigong Move of the Month: Pressing Heaven
Shawn Cartwright, March 2009
Spring is the time of year that
everything in nature ‘springs out’ and reaches up towards heaven. Join the
birds and the trees with this excellent Qigong move from the
Eight Pieces Brocade form.
Movements
1) Interlace the hands together with
palms facing upwards at the lower Tan Tien.
2) Slowly lift the hands up the body’s centerline, coordinating the
inhale with the lifting motion.
3) At the face level, turn the palms upward towards the sky and press
upward. At the same time, drop the weight by bending the knees and sitting
into a deep horse stance. This creates a two way stretch of the interlaced
hands towards the sky to lengthen the spine. At all times, look straight
ahead, not up at the hands.
4) Hold this position for 3-5 seconds.
5) On exhaling, the interlaced hands open up and come down by the sides
while stretching outward. Simultaneously, rise up out of the deep horse
stance. Synchronize the arm movements with the rising.
6) Return hands to the interlaced position at lower Dan Tian to prepare
for the next repetition.
Benefits
This stretch gently elongates the body and
balances the metabolism of the Three Burners: the upper, middle, and lower
burner. The Chinese medicine system puts heart and lungs in the upper
burner, spleen/stomach and liver/gallbladder in the middle burner, and intestines and
bladder in the lower burner.