Health Qigong · Twelve-step Daoyin Yangsheng Gong

I. Origin

Health Qigong·Twelve-step Daoyin Yangsheng Gong is a dynamic meridians-based Daoyin routine created by Prof. Zhang Guangde in 2010 by organizing over a dozen experts from Beijing Sport University.

It was a project commissioned by the Health Qigong Administration Center of the State General Administration Sports of China.

This practice routine consists of 12 movements extracted from over 500 movements in the System on the basis of research on the creation theories as well as ancient and modern techniques. It is a dynamic meridians-based routine which combines, on the basis of the theories of and traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), the principles of modern sports biology and psychology and it integrates elements such as poetry and auspicious culture and has the Three Regulations (mind, breath and form) as the means and norm, with the goal of promoting health, improving wisdom, optimizing the life process, and prolonging life through the combination of and methods.

II. Content

This routine consists of the following sections:

Pre-practice Preparation
1st Movement: Beginning of Heaven’s Creation
2nd Movement: Double Fish Hanging in the House
3rd Movement: The Old Horse on a Continuing Journey
4th Movement: Ji Chang Shooting at a Louse
5th Movement: Bending the Body to Brush off the Boots
6th Movement: Rhinoceros Gazing at the Moon
7th Movement: Lotus Flower Emerging from the Water
8th Movement: Golden Rooster Heralding Dawn
9th Movement: Wild Geese Landing on the Sandy Beach
10th Movement: White Crane atop the Clouds
11th Movement: Phoenix Arriving in Pomp and Circumstance
12th Movement: Qi Returning to the Origin
After-practice Winddown

III. Applicable Scope:

degree of difficulty: low
site requirement: low
suitability: middle-age and elderly, suitable for lifelong practice
applications: body strengthening, fall prevention, entertaining (self and others), mood and temperament improvement, and quality of life upgrade

IV. Features and Functions

This practice routine has emphasis on the combination of practice and cultivation, not only physical and mental exercises, but also "moderation and harmony" between routine practice and physical/mental cultivation and nurturing so as to achieve the purpose of "avoiding harm" and "not hurting" and, further, the integration of the doctrine, TCM theories and physical exercise to reach the state of "harmony between man and nature, harmony between human and society, and harmony between body and mind".

Rotation with every move with the focus on extremities: pay particular attention to stimulation of the wrists, ankles, fingers and toes through inward/outward arms rotations, palm movements, nail-flicking, toe-lifting and ground-grabbing in order to achieve the effect of unblocking the three yin and three yang meridians of the arms and keeping the five internal organs safe and sound.
Working along circular paths and achieving harmony between man and nature: The body posture, moving process, movement track and exercise strength are required to follow a circular and arc path to be in conformity with the ways the heaven and earth revolve and rotate and, further, to make the human body's qi movement, emotional adjustment and behavior mode reach a harmonious state of yin-yang balance and harmony between humans and nature.
Movement and breath following each other: the movement is slow and the breathing is long: emphasize "gentle and slow" movements to serve "fine, even and deep" breathing, with the exhalation prolonged as appropriate; it helps regulate autonomic nerves, harmonize the stomach, strengthen the spleen, benefit the heart and help lungs.
Combine the mind with form, with the mind running like a clear brook: emphasize the close combination of form regulation and mind regulation; besides, when focusing on the mind, one should be "between focusing and not focusing" avoid "going to the extreme". The aim is to help relax both body and mind and dredge the meridians.
The routine with imbedded with poetry, auspicious culture and inspirational stories: to help practitioners have a pleasant spirit and cultivate their morality.
Strengthening the interior and boosting the exterior with the mind concentrating on the waist: the routine helps strengthen the limbs, bones, tendons, muscles and skin; it also has emphasis on exercising the abdomen, lower back and spine exercises by way of concentration on Mingmen (life gate) with a view to helping to prevent spinal diseases, dredge the Ren and Du meridians and thus, prolong one’s lifespan.

V. Efficacy and Promotion

Experiments show that this regimen has the following effects:

improving the excitability of middle-aged and elderly people's cerebral cortex nerve cells as well as their balance and flexibility, thus strengthening their overall physique
effectively improving college students' body shape and coordination, reducing their compulsion, anxiety, depression, anger, hostility and other bad emotions, thus improving their mood and other psychological qualities
effectively regulating college students' heart rate variability with a view to preventing and controlling cardiovascular, digestive, urinary and other systemic diseases.

Today, me one of the most popular Health Qigong routines for practitioners. Whether in parks, communities, practice sites, gyms or celebration events, performances and competitions, people tend to take it up as their first choice. Through the advocacy and promotion of the International Health Qigong Federation and the China Health Qigong Center, this practice routine has become popular in China and has spread to more than 40 countries and regions throughout the world. It is believed that the practice of this routine, which integrates culture, physical strengthening, mind and moral character cultivation, will further contribute to people's effective prevention and control of the “modern civilized illnesses” and improvement of our quality of life.