Qigong Weight Loss Exercises (Part 2): Belt Meridian Qi Circulation Exercises and Relaxation Exercises

III. Belt Meridian Qi Circulation Rotation Slimming Exercise

The belt meridian is one of the eight extraordinary meridians, running horizontally along the waist, spine, and abdomen.

The belt meridian originates below the hypochondrium and descends obliquely to the following acupoints and locations: belt meridian acupoint → Wushu acupoint → Weidao acupoint → it runs horizontally around the body once.

The function of the belt meridian is to guide and restrain the meridians in the waist and abdomen. When it becomes diseased, it manifests as abdominal distension, weakness in the lower limbs, and a feeling of sitting in water. In men, it can cause deficiency and coldness in the lower abdomen and urinary tract infections. In women, it can cause leukorrhea and menstrual disorders.

The specific steps for this weight loss exercise are as follows:

Loosen your clothes and belt, and do high knee jogging in place for 2-3 minutes.

Stand in the bronze bell position with your eyes slightly closed. Slowly raise both hands and gently and slowly pat from the Baihui acupoint down along both sides of the Ren meridian, passing the temples on both sides, to unblock the meridians and stimulate the acupoints.

Gradually concentrate your mind on the dantian and mingmen. The mental guidance can be done using the "Dai Mai Qi Circulation Method". When circulating Qi in the dantian, you should: when inhaling, silently recite that the Qi and blood rotate clockwise along the Dai Mai; when exhaling, silently recite that the Qi and blood rotate counterclockwise along the Dai Mai.

This mental exercise of inhaling as the forward direction and exhaling as the reverse direction should be performed in a state of complete relaxation and tranquility.

Breathing is performed under the control of the aforementioned circulation of Qi in the Dantian.

When practicing the Dai Mai Qi Circulation Exercise for weight loss, you should consciously control the depth and length of your breathing, and require your breathing to be deep, long, fine, slow, even, and gentle.

This weight loss exercise can use the "reverse diaphragmatic breathing" method.

"Reverse breathing of the dantian" means that when exhaling, the dantian area-5 centimeters below the navel in the abdomen-protrudes outward, and when inhaling, the dantian area contracts inward.

In general, the goal is to: adjust the body – the bronze bell stance of the Anxiang Chanmi slimming exercise.

Regulating the mind-circulate Qi around the Dantian and along the Dai Mai meridian.

Regulate your breathing --- "Reverse breathing from the lower abdomen".

The gymnastic movement is as follows: When inhaling and raising the body, the internal energy rises from the Yongquan acupoint, along the midline of the inner sides of both legs to the Huiyin acupoint, and then rises segment by segment along the sacrum, lumbar vertebrae, thoracic vertebrae, and cervical vertebrae to the Baihui acupoint. At the same time, the arms are raised, with the palms facing each other, and raised slightly above the head. The waist rotates horizontally in a clockwise direction.

As you exhale and lower your body, the internal energy flows from the Baihui acupoint downwards along the path you took when you were rising, down to the Yongquan acupoint. At the same time, your arms and hands gradually return to their original position, and your waist rotates horizontally counterclockwise.

To conclude the exercise: mentally suggest that your limbs and bones should relax and stop moving, and open your eyes to look into the distance.

Do several dozen high knee jogs in place, then rub your hands together to warm them up, and finish the exercise.

IV. Relaxation Exercises for Weight Loss

The Relaxation Exercise was created by Mr. Chen Shaolian.

The relaxation exercise for weight loss emphasizes relaxation and stillness, combining relaxation and stillness with movement, and each movement has its own unique features.

Specifically, it requires the combination and alternation of ten elements: movement and stillness, internal and external, relaxation and tension, hardness and softness, speed and slowness, size, lightness and heaviness, rising and falling, intention and energy, so that all organs and systems can be exercised, and the muscles of obese people who have long lacked activity can be exercised.

The main advantage of this exercise is that it uses the waist as the axis, twists the spine, and moves the whole body.

This principle runs through the entire set of movements, in which the body rotates around a vertical axis, driving the limbs, and coordinating with the flow of qi, rising, falling, opening and closing, characterized by large range of motion and strong coordination.

Human fat is concentrated in the central abdomen, flanks, back, shoulder blades, and thighs. This exercise is especially effective in stretching, massaging, and squeezing abdominal fat.

Practice has proven that the relaxation exercise has a significant effect on removing subcutaneous fat.

This weight loss exercise combines movement and stillness, internal and external training, and is graceful and relaxed. It is suitable for middle-aged and young people who lack patience for meditation and qigong and have an outgoing and cheerful personality.

Many dieters feel that their joints are relaxed and their blood and qi flow smoothly after practicing the exercise; after practicing the relaxation exercise for 15 minutes, they feel their pores open and they sweat slightly.

Some people also experience a feeling of their body's energy being unblocked, making them feel light and agile. In particular, the blood flow in the small blood vessels at the extremities increases, and the ten toes and fingers experience a slightly sore, swollen, and numb sensation. The skin on the palms of both hands also turns red.

After 1 to 2 weeks of practice, most dieters felt their physical strength increased, their sleep and appetite returned to normal, their waist circumference decreased, and their weight dropped.

A survey of 52 patients with abdominal obesity showed that 32 patients (61.5%) experienced significant weight loss after practicing the exercise for one and a half months, while 19 patients (36.5%) experienced only moderate effectiveness.

An obese person who originally weighed 101 kg lost weight by practicing a relaxation exercise for two months without controlling their diet, and their weight dropped to 92 kg.

It is evident that this exercise is indeed very effective for weight loss.

The Relaxation Exercise for Weight Loss is a Qigong exercise that integrates martial arts, Qigong, gymnastics, and medical principles. It has been carefully refined through decades of practice by numerous practitioners and is a Qigong exercise that combines health maintenance and weight loss. It deserves to be widely disseminated and promoted.

Here are a few preferred stances for those trying to lose weight:

(1) Frame 1

Relax your whole body and enter a state of tranquility. After concentrating your mind and looking inward for a moment, slowly sink down with your waist and hips as the axis, and squat down with your knees bent.

After rounding the crotch, use the Qi from the Dantian and Mingmen points, and let the force come out from the waist and hips, spiraling upwards from the hips to the waist and spine.

The left arm leads the left elbow joint to tuck in, with the thumb close to the third rib of the sternum and near the breast, while the right arm swings out to the right, the face turns slightly to the left, and the backs of both hands face upward.

With a smile on his face and his gaze focused inward, under the influence of the Qi in his Dantian and Mingmen points, his waist and hips gradually turned 90° to the left, his knees straightened, his left foot landed firmly on the ground, his right toes touched the ground, his heel lifted, his right arm swung up with his waist and hips to eyebrow height, and his left arm swung to the left, slightly lower than his right hand.

Stand tall with your chest out and stomach in, tilt your head back slightly and gaze into the distance.

Keep your feet still and use your mind to guide the Qi from the Baihui acupoint down, along the cervical, thoracic, and lumbar vertebrae to the Dantian and Mingmen acupoint. Then, circulate the Qi along the Dai Mai meridian and rotate it clockwise several times. At this time, you will feel warmth in the Dantian, and the Qi of the whole body will gradually gather in the Dantian.

Rotate your waist and hips slightly to the left and stop. Press your right palm inward onto your dantian, place the back of your left hand near your mingmen point, palm facing outward, tilt your face slightly upward, and perform deep, continuous breathing for a moment.

(II) Frame Type Two

Face forward, eyes looking straight ahead, arms extended horizontally in front of chest at chest height, palms down.

Driven by the rotation of the waist, turn left and right, while simultaneously extending the hips and lifting the heels alternately.

Keep your eyes looking straight ahead, arms straight, mind calm, breathing naturally, and your whole body relaxed.

(III) Frame Three

Driven by waist rotation, with palms facing each other, swing arms back and forth in a crisscross pattern. Remember to inhale when swinging upwards, lift your heels, and extend your arms forward and upwards and backwards as much as possible.

Exhale as you land on your heels.

(IV) Frame Four

Driven by the rotation of the waist, the two arms move forward alternately from the sides of the body in a wheel-like motion.

As you rotate your arms for the first four times, gradually squat down while exhaling.

After rotating your arms for four full rotations, gradually rise up while inhaling.

Throughout the practice, a smile often appeared on his face, his whole body was relaxed, and he was happy, lively, and peaceful.

To conclude the exercise: Slowly stop all movement, with the head suspended as if suspended in mid-air, chest slightly concave and back straight, arms hanging down, crotch rounded, and feet shoulder-width apart.

Guide your Qi with your mind, exert force from the Mingmen point, and in a state of extreme relaxation and softness in your limbs and bones, shake your whole body from slow to fast for several minutes, paying attention to shifting your center of gravity to the balls of your feet, then slow down and stop to finish the exercise.