Qigong: Animals and sinews

Five qualities, five animals

五禽戏 Wǔ Qín Xì

Each animal brings a different quality of movement, and that quality is what is practiced: the imitation is the teaching structure that makes it memorable, not the aim. Correspondences with emotions and elements vary across lineages.

Tiger

Stability and reach, without locking joints

Deer

Gentle trunk turning and small steps

Bear

Weight and center

Monkey

Attention and agility

Bird

Expansion and balance

Common mistake: Turning the tiger into maximal finger and shoulder tension. The claw is relaxed; the firmness is in the base, not in the hand.

Twelve forms of soft strength

易筋经 Yì Jīn Jīng

The Yi Jin Jing works coordination and sustained strength without maximal tension. Its historical narrative is popularly linked to Bodhidharma, and it is worth knowing that this attribution is part of a complex and disputed tradition, not an established fact.

Twelve forms

Coordination and soft strength, not gym repetitions

Vividly named

“Pull nine cows by their tails”, “three plates fall to earth”

The Bodhidharma attribution

A disputed tradition, not settled history

Sustained strength

It is held, not squeezed to maximum

A student does the monkey with a lot of facial expression and very little base. What do you correct?

1. Nothing: expression is part of the animal
2. Have them exaggerate the other animals too, for consistency
3. Have them swap the monkey for the bear, which is simpler
4. That the quality being practiced is attention and agility, and that lives in the base and the steps

Which routine does each name belong to?

• Draw the bow left and rightEight brocadesFive animalsTwelve forms
• Bear: weight and centerEight brocadesFive animalsTwelve forms
• Three plates fall to earthEight brocadesFive animalsTwelve forms
• Sway the head and tailEight brocadesFive animalsTwelve forms
• Bird: expansion and balanceEight brocadesFive animalsTwelve forms
• Green dragon extends a clawEight brocadesFive animalsTwelve forms

Each animal with the quality being practised

“Sustained soft strength” in the Yi Jin Jing. What does it mean in practice?

1. Many repetitions with little load
2. Squeezing maximally for an instant and releasing
3. Holding moderate tension without reaching maximal contraction
4. Moving very slowly so it costs more