Qigong- 5 Animals

Wu Qin Xi (五禽戏) – The Five Animal Frolics (Play) can be regarded as the earliest form of Medical Qigong in Chinese history, dating back to the Eastern Han Dynasty (25-220).

The creation of Wu Qin Xi was attributed to the famous Chinese Physician and Surgeon Hua Tuo (110-207) who had great skills as a surgeon, acupuncturist, herbalist and knowledge of human anatomy. He is also believed to be the first person in the world to have developed the use of anaesthesia.

Besides treating his patients when they were ill, Hua Tuo was also keen to recommend physical exercises for people as a method of rehabilitation, recovery, and most importantly for prevention. Wu Qin Xi is a set of Daoyin (deep stretching) and Tu Na (deep breathing) exercise that imitates the actions of animals based on the habits of the tiger, deer, bear, monkey and bird.

Embrace your inner animal!

Feeling stuck in a rut, looking for a fresh perspective of just some fun? These movements will inspire and awaken your inner animals from playful monkeys to roaring tigers, rumbling bears, graceful deer and elegant cranes. Putting ourselves in someone else shoes or even paws can give a new and interesting view of the world.

We open the workshop with a simple breathing meditation that will encourage you into the present moment while calming your nervous system.

We will then instruct the 5 Animals Play giving levels of variation from easy to more difficult.

The workshop closes with a return to the breathing meditation we started, only now we'll practice visualisation to really deepen our sense of relationship with nature and the world around us.