Classes Archives: The Five Elements Dance
These recordings are of the Five Elements Dance classes. They begin with the basic, physical, movements before working with the Internal. We then go on to explore this Qigong at a deeper level than is possible in an individual course. This makes them an invaluable asset for practitioners.
I have seen many examples of this Qigong on Youtube and none of them has worked with the Qi. They have been no more than arm waving and big grins. Without the Qi this set of movements is of little worth. You need to know what you are working with, how to focus on it, have awareness of the Internal flows and enhance those flows for the beneficial effects of the Five Elements Dance to achieve their true potential.
I was taught this Qigong in 1988 and have been practicing it ever since. The Internal sequence is: –
- Secondary Fire.
- Primary Fire.
- Earth.
- Metal.
- Water.
- Wood.
The exercise must be practiced on both sides to maintain harmony and balance in the Qi.
The Five Elements Dance Qigong
2023.04.25
The Dance
- Learning the basic movements.
The Five Taoist Yin Qigong
- Spleen: The similarity with Earth in the 5E Dance.
- Lung: The similarity with Earth in the 5E Dance.
2023.05.02
The Dance
- Continuing to work through the physical movements.
The Five Taoist Yin
- Lung, version 1.
- Lung, version2.
2023.05.09
The Dance
- Shown in profile.
- Full exercise, both sides, focusing on the physical movement.
The Five Taoist Yin
- Kidney: Correct posture, correct focus.
- Spleen: Accurately connecting with Spleen 21.
2023.05.16
The Dance
Focus and awareness: How to use the hand postures used in the Five Elements Dance.
- Secondary Fire, from the Five Taoist Yin: Using the Fire hand posture for Heart Governor meridian.
- Earth: Using the Earth hand posture to access Spleen meridian.
- The dance, focusing on each pair of meridians in turn.
- Letting go of tension in order to have more awareness of the Qi.
- The Qi leading the physical movement (having lightness to the body).
2023.05.30
The Dance
My apologies for the hiccup at the start of this class………… I had just returned from a holiday and got my days mixed up!
- Some Ba Duan Jin (wrong class!)
- The Five Elements Dance.
- Breaking the the dance into each of the Five Elements and listening to the Qi of each.
2023.06.06
The Dance
- The correct method of turning during the Wood phase.
- Full exercise, increased focus and increased listening.
The Five Taoist Yin
- Secondary Fire: Working with Heart Governor and its Yang partner, Triple Warmer.
- Primary Fire: Working with Heart and its Yang partner, Small Intestine.
- Earth: Working with Spleen, enhancing the hand posture.
2023.06.13
The Five Elements Dance Qigong
- Full Qigong with focus points.
The Five Taoist Yin
- Metal – working with Lung meridian.
- Water – Working with Kidney meridian.
- Wood – Working with Liver meridian.
2023.06.20
The Five Elements Dance Qigong
- Full exercise, focusing and listening to the qualities of each pairing.
- Picking individual components in order to increase our awareness (if weak) of that pairing.
2023.06.27
The Five Elements Dance Qigong
- Using the Earth hand posture: How to programme the proper response in the Qi.
- The difference in the way that the Metal section of the Five Elements Dance and the Lung Qigong from the Five Taoist Yin work.
- The Five Elements Dance Qigong: Full exercise.
- Kidney, from the Five Taoist Yin.
2023.07.04
The Five Elements Dance
- Full Qigong.
- Listening to each of the Elements and increasing the focus on any that are weaker.
The Five Taoist Yin
- Wood – Liver.
- Primary Fire – Heart.
- Secondary Fire – Heart Governor.
2023.07.11
The Five Elements Dance Qigong
- 5 Elements Dance: Full exercise.
- Sinking and rooting to provide a stable platform.
- Spleen, from the Five Taoist Yin. Creating the link between the hand posture and working with Spleen meridian.
- 5 Elements Dance: Full exercise with keener focus on sinking and on Spleen meridian.
2023.07.18
The Five Elements Dance
- Q&A – Difficulty in accessing Water Qi.
- The Billowing Sail, from the Embroidered Brocade Qigong.
- The Five Elements Dance, full exercise.
- Spleen Qigong, from the Five Taoist Yin.
- Lung Qigong, from the Five Taoist Yin.
- Kidney Qigong, from the Five Taoist Yin.
2023.07.25
The Five Elements Dance
- Drilling down into the movement for Wood.
- Using the Hip Kua.
- Using sinking and rooting.
- Using the Yi.
- Awareness of your progress and the eventuality of the Qi moving in advance of the physical movement.
2023.08.01
The Five Elements Dance Qigong
- Proper posture. Why Wuji stance is so important.
- The skills involved – the Yi guiding the Qi and the Shen having awareness of the impact of that guidance.
- Sharpening that focus and being quiet enough to listen.
- The importance and the use of the Hip Kua during physical stillness and movement.
- Discerning where additional work is required.
- Wood – How many steps?
- Passive Qigong. Triggering the various points used and following the breadcrumbs of each quality.
2023.08.08
The Five Elements Dance
- Sharpening the focus and awareness.
Questions and answers
I am having difficulty in experiencing the Qi flow in the legs. Is there any advice you can give?
There are a few ways in which you can tackle this. Here are two of them. The first is to break this Qigong down into its components and pick the one (s) that involve the leg meridians that you are having the issue with. You then keep repeating this section until the awareness builds.
The second method is to do a different Qigong that works with the leg meridians and we will work with some examples here: –
- Spleen Qigong, from the Five Taoist Yin.
- The Commencement, from the Shibashi, working with Kidney meridian and Bladder meridian.
- Painting Rainbows, from the Shibashi, working with Liver meridian and Gallbladder meridian.
What is the difference between the two Yin / Yang moves in this Qigong?
- Passive Qigong, experiencing the qualities of the Dantien.
- The second Yin / Yang, working with that experience of the Dantien.
- The first Yin / Yang, bringing balance and centring the physical on the energetic.