And shoulders. And arms, legs stomach, feet, hands.
Very briefly explained, this is a qi gong warm-up exercise, which gently stimulates the body's energy lines - the meridians - that chinese medicine and acupuncture see as essential in distributing energy in the body.
Qi gong is a medicinal variant of traditional Chinese martial arts, a branch of Kung Fu, like Tai Chi but even gentler and wholly specialized for healing. It is now used also in western hospitals in many parts of the world as mild and effective form of exercise that works well also for people with serious health problems.
This is a common start-up exercise in Qi Gong:
You stand with your feet shoulder width apart, knees slightly bent.
Start by rubbing the palms of your hands together, and then begin patting your face gently with your hands. Continue this patting movement around the head, down the neck and throat, over the shoulders down on the front of each arm and up on the back. Then pat down your back and buttocks, down the back of your thighs and calves to your feet, where you change direction. Keep patting, moving up th efeet, legs and belly, and maybe finish by patting down the front side of your arms again.
Stand still for a moment afterwards and breathe slowly, just feel your body tingle with new energy, before you go about your day:)
I'm spending two hours in the car today driving to Oslo, so I've been doing my Qi Gong routine now to prevent the pain from building. Hope it works for you too!
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