Lift the Sky

Lifting the Sky is the first exercise in two of the most famous Qigong sets in the world: The 18 Lohan Hands, taught by the great Bodhidharma, and The 8 Pieces of Brocade taught by General Yue Fe. It’s safe to say that it is the most widely practiced Qigong exercise in the world. And for good reason. It’s awesome.

Ideally, you need to learn this exercise face-to-face from a teacher as the real secret is not in the movement, or even the breathing.  The energy flow really needs to be learned face-to-face. But in the meantime, it’s safe to try this on your own by following the instructions below.

Practicing Lifting the Sky for about 2 minutes a day is a great habit, and I highly recommend that you implement it. You’ll feel great, and you’ll unwind a lot of stress, which is the start of self-healing. 

Lifting The Sky – Posture 1

Your feet are close together.

Your mouth is gently open.

Your toes are pointing forward.

Your hands are relaxed by your sides.

Your posture is upright but relaxed.

Your chest is soft and open.

Your nose is pointing forward. 

Lifting The Sky – Posture 2

Your palms face down toward the ground.

Your fingers point toward each other.

Your fingers have some space between them.

Your arms are as straight as comfortably possible.

Your neck tilts down, as if looking at the hands.

Your body remains upright.

Your shoulders remain relaxed.

Your jaw is still relaxed. 

Lifting The Sky – Posture 3

Your arms arc up smoothly to the top.

Your nose follows the movement of the hands.

Your head ends tilting back comfortably.

At the top, you lift up gently from your heels to your hands.

Your arms remain comfortably straight.

Breathe in gently through the nose as you arc upward. 

Lifting The Sky – Posture 4

Your arms drop smoothly down, like a bird slowly flapping its wings.

Your wrists are no longer bent.

Breathe out gently through the mouth as your arms are dropping.

The neck gradually returns to normal with the nose pointing forward.

Finish in Posture 1.

Repeat.

The four postures are not static, of course. There are some slight pauses, but they should flow from one to another. They big secret is to make the exercise as comfortable as possible. 

Sun Salutation – The Perfect Yoga Workout

This morning was my first day attempting to re-familiarise myself after a 15 year absence from Yoga.

I had forgotten how tough it can be for a beginner. Only 10 minutes of the sun salutation and my muscles were certainly feeling it, and even though it was a bit chilly this morning, I worked up a serious sweat.

I only did the Sun Salutation (Surya Namaskar) to begin with and it is a great single mantra to stay fit, the 12 powerful yoga asanas (postures) provide a good cardiovascular workout and these postures are a good way to keep the body in shape and the mind calm and healthy.

Surya Namaskar is best done early morning on an empty stomach. Each Sun Salutation round consists of two sets. The 12 yoga poses complete one set of Surya Namaskar. To complete the second half, you need to repeat the same sequence of postures, only moving the left leg instead of the right , so as to be sure to exercise each part of the body equally. 

You are certain to find several different versions of doing Sun Salutation. There are books and videos on youtube and apps. However, it is best to stick to one particular sequence and practice it regularly for best results.

This is the sequence that I followed. But I was focusing on my breathing rather than precise body posture, as breathing is a very important factor in any form of exercise and also my flexibility was rather poor. Another factor to consider is also your fluidity of linking each pose. It is a good idea to watch some videos.

I actually use an Android App called "Daily Yoga". It has lots of free workouts which are great for beginners. You can find out more about it here.. http://www.dailyyoga.com/

Besides good health, Surya Namaskar also provides an opportunity to express gratitude to the sun for sustaining life on this planet. My aim is to eventually achieve 12 rounds of Sun Salutation, followed by other yoga poses . 

Just start off simple.. and build it up, do not push yourself too hard. Enjoy it.

You too might just find that this could be your mantra to stay fit, happy and peaceful. 

A mantra whose effects last through the day.