Static Qigong - Dilution of Waters

The “water dilution” exercise is recommended for people suffering from muscle atrophy. It is difficult to overestimate its importance for infirm or convalescent people. If you are still facing problems related to the neck or shoulder girdle, then it will help you get rid of pain and stiffness. With its help, older people will regain their former stamina.

“Breaking the waters” is a “one-sided” pose, but different from the one we studied in the last lesson. In this pose, the body and hips are rotated at an angle of 45° relative to the front leg. In other words, one leg and head are pointing forward, and the body, hips and back leg are at an angle of 45° in relation to it. The arms are spread wide apart. The fingers are also spread apart; palms facing forward.

With practice, you will learn to surround yourself with a moving flow of chi. The very name of the exercise is associated with the image of a person resisting the flow of water. You will feel how an imaginary stream of water flows around your body and, going around your arms, splits into two streams.

The richer your imagination and the more clearly you can create mental images, the sooner you will become a master of Taoist yoga. Over time, what you thought was a figment of your imagination will become reality. My words should not be taken literally. I do not mean that after a while the power of imagination will take you to a real river. By “reality” I mean the future ability to clearly sense the flow of energy around you, which is constantly in motion, like the waters of a river.

Sometimes a thought form is more than a figment of the imagination. In the words of the Taoist sages, “what is false becomes true, and what is true becomes false.”

1. Take a “left-sided” pose (the main weight of the body falls on the left leg). The right leg is 30-45 cm apart from the left. The heel of the right leg is approximately at the level of the left heel.
2. Place 70% of your body weight on your back (left) leg.
3. Bend your knees slightly.
4. The hips and body are turned in the same direction as the left leg and form an angle of 45° with the front (right) leg.
5. The head is turned to the right shoulder and looks towards the right leg.
6. Extend your arms to the sides and keep them at navel level.
7. Palms face forward, fingers spread.
8. Keep your back straight. If this is difficult, lean forward slightly.
9. Close your eyelids slightly, as if you are peering intently at a point directly in front of you.
10. Imagine that you are standing in water, feel its flow. The movement of water is felt especially clearly by the palms and fingers.
11. Repeat the sequence of actions in the “right-sided” pose. This will help balance your core and relieve fatigue.
12. Perform one exercise for three to five minutes.

Once you have mastered the exercise, you can perform it with your palms facing backwards. However, it is important to learn the basic pose well first.
The “breeding the waters” exercise also uses the position of the hands, characteristic of poses with support on both legs. In this case, the legs stand parallel to each other, and the body and hips are turned forward. This pose is called "dilution of waters with double effort." There are many such poses, differing only in the position of the arms and legs, and you will become familiar with some of them in the following lessons.