The beauty of White Tiger Qigong is it takes the guess work out of which Qigong to choose, but within White Tiger Qigong, where do you begin your path? Which form should I learn first? In which order?
Here is a brief breakdown and primer of my experience of the forms to help you choose which one to study now.
I marked each form with on a scale of 1-10 of the easiest
This is the most potent feeling of all the Qigong forms. It is the greatest in terms of hip opening and deep dynamic stretching. The breath holds in conjunction with deep stances and powerful dynamic stretching make this a seriously potent Qigong form. It contains the deepest breathing of all the dynamic Qigong forms. It is great for strengthening the muscles with deep stances, while at the same time, opening and stretching the body. This Qigong form targets specific meridians and organs together.
This is the best Qigong form for the core of the body and for smoothing out the energy in the organs. It will make the core soft, supple yet strong. Taking this Qigong training regularly could lead to a 6-pack. It is good for dilating the meridians in the arms, while at the same time, massaging the organs. This form works on the meridians of the arms and organs. It is smooth and flowing.
This is the most fun of all the Qigong forms I have ever studied and or taught in a Qigong training course. It is one of the most dynamic of all the forms. It also has the most variety of movements than any other form. It can be playful or fierce, light or heavy, powerful or graceful. This form works on specific acupuncture points unlike the other forms. It contains deep stances to increase leg strength and has powerful compression and expansion movements for the organs. It is challenging enough for the advanced practitioner yet simple enough for a complete beginner to pick up. You really can feel the spirit of each animal in this form.
Ba Duan Jin
This is the easiest of the forms. It is the most basic yet has the deep benefits of a White Tiger Qigong form. This is not the generic one you can find on Youtube. This has the depth and challenge you can expect from a White Tiger Qigong form only. I use this as a warm-up for more difficult forms or when I have low energy and suggest the same to the students in Qigong training courses. It is light and gentle on the body and super easy to learn.
01
8 Trigram Meridian Kua Qigong Level I
This Qigong is filled with twists you never imagined that gives a deep opening and dilation of the meridians in the legs. It also opens up the hips (kua) in unique and unusual ways. It is very complementary to all your Qigong as well as it has many sports and healing applications. It is especially good for the hips, knees, ankles and even the toes when practiced bare foot.
03
8 Trigram Meridian/Organ Kua Qigong Level II
Prerequisites: 8 Trigram Meridian Kuo Qigong and 8 Trigram Organ Qigong. Building off of Level I Meridian Kua Qigong and 8 Trigram Organ Qigong you now have an even more dynamic Qigong that gets deep into the organs and the 12 main meridians. It is an incredible all-around Qigong that should be a part of your regular routine.
8 Trigram Carrying the Moon Qigong
This Qigong consists of snake like coiling movements in and out that are quite fun and really beautiful to look at. The smoothness of Qi that this form develops is quite nice. It is easy to and quick to learn for even a newbie, but physically challenging enough for even experts.
03
8 Trigram Bone Qigong
You need 8 Trigram Organ Qigong as a prerequisite.
I absolutely love these forms and enjoy teaching them at Qigong retreats and training courses. They are my foundation, bread and butter. These have infinite depth, grace and beauty and so much more. You can really get great leg strength, suppleness and dynamic flexibility from these forms. They massage the internal organs giving you such a good feeling all over. They work the meridians in the legs and arms. It is a great overall Qigong workout to get the Qi deep inside the body and get the Qi pumping. These forms are very the more advanced forms and only reserved for those who have completed the 8 Trigram Organ Qigong and done Qigong stance training prior to this. 8 Trigram Bone Qigong is the signature White Tiger Qigong. This is comprised of the following forms:
05
8 Stance Qigong
This builds from the 8 Trigram Organ Qigong which are then combined with the 8 White Tiger Qigong stances
- Spiral Palm
- Tiger Catches Its Prey 3
- White Tiger Qigong 3-4
06
Fire and Water Alchemy Qigong
All other Qigong except Circle Walking is a prerequisite for this form.
This is the most advanced of all the Dynamic Qigong forms as it is a culmination of most of the Qigong learned into an incredibly dynamic form that has fast and slow, hard and soft and combines various stances previously learned, but moving quickly from one into another.
01
Circle Walking Qigong
This is the most potent Qi building Qigong I know of. The depth of circle walking is like a bottomless well. You can train circle walking for a lifetime and still learn something new. It is one of the most hypnotizing forms of Qigong you will find if not the most. In addition to the above, Circle walking is great for the meridians through twisting and turning and also getting your walking in, which most people don’t do these days. It is a great leg strengthener and a way to boost your endurance. If you get good at it, you can even do Circle Running which I love. Some monks run the circle for up to 4 hours. I even do Circle Sprinting. The different levels of Circle Walking
- Circle Walking 1
- Animal Circle Walking 3
- Spiral Circle Walking 4
- Yin Yang Circle Walking 5
- Multi-pole Circle Walking 6
So, these are the six powerful Qigong forms. You must have got the idea which one to learn first.
You can visit the White Tiger Qigong website for all the details about the Qigong training programs and our two upcoming events.
