This morning, I headed up to the Shizuoka Prefectural Museum to grab some fresh air and exercise the stiffness out of my back. It was the perfect temperature for some QiGong, so I walked over to a nearby field and settled into a nice, 45-minute session.

QiGong (often pronounced “chi gung”) is a type of meditation that focuses on the cultivation and storage of vital energy. It has a history in China that goes back some 5,000 years. There are many, many forms – upward of 90,000 – so one has a bewildering array of choices available.

Over the years, I’ve studied 3 different forms and created one of my own. This morning, I found myself improvising, mixing my form, which I call Opening to the Sun, part of the form I learned in my study of Orthodox T’ai Chi and the form known as Standing on Stake. Even though it was a cool 6℃ (42℉), the sun combined nicely with the process of gathering chi to warm me up.

If you haven’t tried QiGong, I highly recommend it. It is an excellent adjunct to a regular meditation practice or T’ai Chi and stands completely on its on merit. I find that a practice under the trees is especially nice, with there seeming to be a richness of chi in the air 60-90 minutes prior to the sunrise that surpasses what one finds any other time of day.

Give it a try. You may be pleasantly surprised at what you discover.