Qigong is an age-old system of Eastern healing that promotes internal balance by manipulating energy fields within the body. The five element discipline is a sub-category of gigong which centers on the idea that human beings are inseparable from nature. In five element qigong, each body organ parallels one of what traditional Chinese medicine identifies as the five creative elements of nature: water, wood, earth, fire and metal. Certain qigong exercises are designed to tap into the strength of the individual elements, thus encouraging health in the corresponding organ.
Wood Element
The wood element technique centers on the gallbladder and liver. Stand upright, feet shoulder-width apart. Lay both hands, one on top of the other, across your lower abdomen. Slide your hands, in a clockwise motion from the direction you're facing, first under your left breast-bone, across to the right side and back around to your belly. Note how each area feels as your hands move across. Breathe in while circling the hands up. Exhale when circling them down. Perform this exercise in a slow and deliberate manner, keeping your breathing pattern smooth and steady. Continue this motion for one minute, then do the same thing in the opposite direction.
Fire Element
Fire exercises work on the heart, small intestines and surrounding membranes. Begin this exercise by standing upright with your back straight and arms resting to either side. Without bending your elbows, slowly rotate both arms up from the shoulders, hands open flat and turned palms up. Simultaneously, inhale in a steady and deliberate manner while lifting your weight up onto the balls of your feet. The moment your hands reach shoulder height, turn your palms over, folding them into fists and pulling them back down towards your waist, but bending the elbows as if pressing down on a bar or pump. At the same time, bring your feet flat to the ground and exhale. Again, raise to your toes while breathing in. This time, however, bring your arms up from the sides of your body with your hands open and palms up as before. Breath out and lower you feet to the ground while turning your hands over, closed into fists, and pressing them down at each side of your torso. Repeat both movements several times, raising the arms in front of your body with one and out to the sides on the other. When first extending your arms out sideways, turn your head toward either palm and focus your gaze into the center. The next time you do this motion, stare into the opposite palm. Remain relaxed throughout the movement. Continue in this way for one or two minutes.
Earth Element
The earth element techniques bring health to the spleen and stomach. Standing with your feet spread to shoulder-width, bring your hands up through the center of your body, with your palms facing down and your fingertips touching. As they extend over your head, flip your palms to the sky and look upward, as if attempting to catch a ball. Swing your hands in a chopping motion, so that your arms extend before your body and the side of your hands come together, with the palms turned upward. Bring your hands down to your waist while squatting slightly, then flip them over and continue into another repetition. Do this for up to two minutes.
Metal Element
This technique focuses on releasing energy within the lungs and large intestine. Stand upright, with your feet shoulder width apart and arms to your their sides. As you breathe in, raise both arms from the shoulders, hands flat and palms down, allowing your elbows to "wing-out" to the sides on the way up. As your hands reach chest height, arch both over and outward, as if attempting to form the shape of a valentine heart. Begin to breathe out, while continuing to circle your hands, until they are shoulder-width apart and facing palm-up. Breathe in while bending your elbows to bring your hands up from this position. Curl your hands backward until you are touching both sides of your collar bone. Holding your hands to the upper portion of your torso, exhale while squatting down until your thighs are parallel to the floor. Breathe out as you press back upward, raising your hands to the sky before looping them around in a large circle, allowing them to finally rest on your thighs. The entire set is one repetition. Repeat this exercise for one to two minutes.
Water Element
This exercise focuses on the kidneys and bladder. Remain standing with your feet shoulder-width apart. Reach around to your lower back with both hands, and massage your kidney areas for 30 seconds. From behind your body, swing your hands down, up and around, making a large circle with your palms facing the ground. Bring both hands together in front of your face so that the index fingers and thumbs form a diamond. Clinch your hands and bring them down into two opposing fists, resting just beneath your chest bone. Hold this position while stepping forward and crossing your right foot in front of the left. Squat down into a forward lunge and twist your trunk to the right until you're facing completely sideways. Turn back towards the center, step your right foot back to the starting position and bring your hands down to your pelvis, releasing the fists and flipping them over so that the knuckles touch each other. Squat down slightly, then press up in a forceful manner, springing the hands upward and outward into a giant circle once again. Bring your hands back to your kidneys and repeat the exercise, this time by stepping, lunging and twisting to the left side. Continue working each side in this manner for two minutes.
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