Thousands of years ago, the ancients made a profound discovery.

Humans could experience a longer life with more radiant health simply by mirroring the movements of nature.

Over the centuries.

They developed practices known as Qi Gong.

During my last 25 years of teaching these practices I've seen remarkable transformations as my students tap into their own life force energy.

This is the real fountain of youth Not hidden in some far away land but inside each one of us.

Each episode is a complete Qi Gong routine focused on one aspect of preventative health and wellness.

So try them all to discover which leaves you feeling the most nourished radiant and uplifted.

These routines are simple, gentle movements that don't require any special clothing or equipment.

All you need to do now is stand up, get ready to move and I'll be your guide to your very own Fountain of Youth It is well documented that weight-bearing exercises and jumping has great benefit on the bones throughout life in this routine I'll show you exercises to improve bone density increase energy and circulate the life-force energy through the whole body enjoy this beautiful Yosemite mountain range as you circulate and charge up with more Qi Welcome to Qi Gong for the Bones in this routine we're gonna focus on bringing strength power and energy to the bones in Chinese medicine the bones were seen as an energy reservoir take a stance that's about shoulder-width bend your knees and turn from your hips and your waist this movement is called Knocking on the Door of Life take a nice deep breath relax your upper back your neck and your shoulders turn from your hips and your waist the knees stay slightly bent feel grounded and connected to the earth feel the joints in the spine moving this exercise tonifies the energy of the low back and the kidneys in Chinese medicine the kidneys support the energy of the bones now bring your arms up to the chest let one arm knock just below the collarbone take a nice deep breath bring some energy to the spine and the chest and bring the arms back down keep turning from your hips in your waist knocking on the door of life energizes the body it warms things up it prepares the energy system to move deeper to circulate that life force energy now knock on the chest go up and down the sternum the sternum is the center where we hold emotional stress this particular bone helps to clear tension and tightness charge the body up with more energy now slap down the inside of the arm this is the flow of the meridians it comes up the outside to the neck and shoulders when you knock on the body it stimulates the energy through the meridians the energy pathways as well as the energy of the bones now knock up the outside of the arm to the neck and shoulder one more time down the inside of the arm and come up the outside of the arm come to the other side slap down the inside of the arm and then slap up the outside of the arm to the neck and shoulders stimulate the pathways of energy stimulate the muscles tendons ligaments and the bones meridians mean river of energy like in nature when water circulates and flows it's healthy and we get the qi to circulate in the body we stay healthy and vibrant bring your arms down feel the qi flow from the chest down the inside of the arms to the hands feel the body's internal electricity now knock on the low back up and down from the kidney area down to the tailbone stimulate the meridians the energy pathways at the low back from the low back kidney area down to the hips and tailbone take a nice deep breath then slap from the low back down the outside of the legs and we come up the inside of the legs slap up the inside of the legs to the hips again down on the outside and backs of the legs and up the inside of the legs follow the pathways of energy through the body up to your hips knock a little bit on your hips in front of the hips feel the solidity of the bones at the front of the hips and then the sides of the hips these are the largest joints of the body bring good circulation to the hips the tops of the legs hold the hands here and feel energy moving through the legs again take a nice deep breath start to feel the qi waking up and circulating in the bones now shake the wrists and the elbows shaking is a way to clear stress and tension activate healing energy through the body and when you balance into the heels it stimulates energy in the joints and the bones take some nice deep breaths inhale through the nose exhale out through the mouth inhale through the nose exhale out through the mouth feel the neck shoulders and upper back nice and relaxed breathe deep relax and allow the energy to circulate take a deep breath and then relax and notice how your body feels see if we can feel the energy flowing down the arms and down the legs when qi circulates we feel healthy alive inspired by life let's do that again - we're gonna go a little bit deeper now into the bones shift your weight towards your toes and now knock your heels into the ground feel the vibration of the heels bouncing into the ground and through the bones bounce the heels into the earth into the ground and feel that vibration weight shifts towards the toes heels bounce into the floor knocking the heels into the ground this stimulates the energy of the bones all kinds of studies show that bone health is related to jumping so if we bounce and shake and vibrate the bones the bones get stronger now notice how the body feels feel the energy and the electricity vibrating through the bones the bones are like tuning forks when we shake and vibrate bounce the heels on the ground the bones start to vibrate now start a movement through the spine this is called the wave and we're gonna bring healing fluid energy into the spine into all the joints through the neck between the shoulder blades hips and waist extend the chin forward and roll up from the tailbone this is called the wave feel a flow and a fluidity moving through your spine exhale forward and inhale as you roll up exhale forward and down inhale and roll up take some nice deep breaths as you go into this movement start to move your body like water fluid relaxed flowing bring your hands now out to your sides up over the head and then participate in the flow inhale as you come up exhale forward and down take a nice deep breath bring the hands up over the head exhale forward and down full wave-like movement draw the energy up through the feet up through the legs over the head wrap the body with this energy feel like you can pull the energy right up from the earth through the bones out through the arms inhale coming up exhale forward and down let the energy flow through the body qi gong is called the art of effortless power these movements are fluid flowing relaxing and energizing now bring your hands in front of you arms round let your body soak up that energy knees are slightly bent arms round and in front take some deep breaths into your lower abdomen standing postures strengthen the energy of the bones weight-bearing exercises are shown to increase bone density now in Chinese medicine the bones were seen as a reservoir place where we could fill up with more energy next... draw the chin in towards the chest bend the knees come down then look up this is called turtle neck it's a wonderful exercise to bring more relaxation fluidity into the bones when the spine is flexible the whole body can fill up with more energy inhale as you come exhale drop down and forward feel that flow and flexibility through the spine and the ribs and the chest exhale as you drop down inhale as you look up synchronize the breath and the movement now bring the arms into the movement fingers come to the forehead and then drop down the front of the body inhale as you come exhale down this movement is called waterfall and you're pouring the energy down through the body inhale the hands up exhale pour the energy down through the body let the water and the energy flow through you the kidneys control the bones in Chinese medicine and the kidneys are part of the water element so we're filling up the qi of the body which pours in and through the bones making them strong and keeping your joints supple strong bones healthy joints now bring your hands down arms round and in front of you take some nice deep breaths let your body fill up with the Qi Feel as if you're breathing that energy into your bones there's always an abundance of energy in nature and we're allowing the body to fill up with it now bring your arms up shoulder height both arms are in front of the chest taking some nice deep breaths this posture is called embracing the tree the energy of the trees draws energy in from nature it draws in the sunlight draws in the energy of heaven and earth the tree has wonderful energetic principles the tree grows in both directions down into the earth and up towards the sky now bring your hands down and we'll go into a movement called the fountain arms come up and around the spine stays loose and relaxed exhale forward and down and then roll up through the body arms come to the chest and then out to the sides inhale rolling up exhale out to the sides your spine moves like a wave let it flow through you inhale as you come up exhale arms out to the sides take some nice deep breaths flowing movements draw energy in from nature creates strength and energy through the meridians when the energy in the meridians is full the qi settles deeper into the body like the bones and the internal organs inhale draw energy in then bring your hands in front of you arms round and now let all this energy that we cultivated soak up into your bones breathe it in take your arms now behind you holding a qi ball at your lower back breathe the energy into your spine your arms are round holding a qi ball behind you you can visualize golden light between the fingers and the arms let this energy expand see if you can breathe just a little bit deeper full deep breathing into the kidneys breathe that golden light and energy into the spine strong healthy spine strong body posture in alignment body like a tree growing up towards the sky feeling rooted and grounded into the earth now take your arms round and in front of you and float the arms up and float the arms down inhale float your arms up exhale float the arms down this movement is called opening the flow again flowing movements are gonna pull more energy healing energy into the body this creates deep relaxation inhale float the arms up exhale float the arms down allow this movement to flow through you your body moving like water soft relaxing yet powerful the qi the energy that circulates inside you is invisible it's like the wind it moves through things it animates everything it's the life force energy the body's internal electricity when you slow down move with fluidity we cultivate more energy from the inside out exhale arms come down inhale just float the arms up relax your neck and shoulders synchronize the movement with your breathing now bring your arms up chest height again embracing the tree we draw the energy in with the flows and now settle it into your bones with the standing postures inhale... feel your body drawing energy in when you exhale send the energy into your bones feel golden light coursing through the bones of the body inhale draw the energy in exhale absorb that energy into the bones bring your hands down to your sides and again open the flow this time we're gonna push forward draw the arms back and then come down inhale as you come up exhale push forward float the arms back and down relax into the flow push forward sink back come down inhale exhale as you push forward pull back and come down slow graceful movements bring more energy into the body allow your body to move with water like grace and flow inhale as you come up exhale push forward inhale back exhale down moving slowly with strength and power just allow your mind to relax into the flow as well you can feel the air move through your fingers and across your arms keep your energy expanded and open and take all that energy in arms are at your sides now holding this standing posture and breathe it into the bones breathe the energy into your bones inhale draw qi in exhale send it deep into the bones inhale draw the qi into the body exhale send it deep into the bones feel your feet planted into the earth the head lifted up towards the sky your body is strong and powerful now entering into the next flow this is called flying inhale arms come up exhale arms go down soften your neck and shoulders and just breathe the arms up as high as the breath takes them each breath the arms come up a little bit higher float the arms up and sink the arms down inhale expand lifting the arms up about shoulder height float the arms down flying gives us a sense of purpose and perspective like the view from the top of the mountain we can see our life clearly we have vision power and perspective inhale float the arms up exhale float the arms down let your mind expand gather healing energy from all around you bring your arms down to your sides hold that standing posture gather energy into your bones inhale absorb the qi exhale sink it in deep and now we're gonna do a movement called bone breathing you're gonna inhale and bring the arms up when you exhale you squeeze and flex all the muscles in the arms inhale absorb the energy and then squeeze the muscles and send the energy into your bones this is packing qi into the bones inhale exhale squeeze the muscles of the arms inhale everything's relaxed as you inhale everything tightens as you exhale now not only squeeze your arms but also squeeze your legs and your buttocks squeeze all the muscles around the back and the spine all that wonderful energy that we gathered through the flowing movements we compress and squeeze it into the bones inhale absorb relax and feel the body so the arms are down to your sides feel the power and energy circulating in the bones and in the meridians let's do flying again inhale float the arms up exhale float the arms down soft and relaxed inhale float the arms up exhale float the arms down everything soft and relaxed inhale and exhale once this energy is deep in the bones we feel light we feel calm and stress-free complete relaxation flowing through you effortless movement inhale float the arms up exhale bring the arms down and back into embracing the tree take some nice deep breaths absorb the energy into your bones inhale let your body expand exhale let your body relax inhale absorb the energy exhale relax this is called bone breathing inhale your hands expand and open exhale you relax inhale your whole body expands as if your bones are breathing inhale expand the body exhale relax your bones are porous they hold and contain energy when we hold this posture and breathe into the bones we fill up with more life force feel the density the power and your bones as you just hold this position now your spine like the trunk of a very strong tree your body glowing from the inside out golden light radiating in and through the bones hold this posture feel the power circulating inside the body let your breath be long slow and deep top of your head lifts towards the sky your feet rooted into the earth standing strong like a tree the tree absorbs golden light in through the leaves let yourself absorb golden light in through the skin into your bones slowly let the hands come down bring your feet together let your hands come and rest over the lower abdomen this is called the lower dantian which means reservoir allow all that wonderful energy that we cultivated to be stored inside you breathe deep and relaxed feel that combination of both being relaxed and energized centered and balanced strength power healing energy and light in your bones and take that feeling with you into the rest of your day thanks for joining me