Qigong

For chronic pain to develop, it takes more than just one injury to result in a weak back, but a lifetime of poor posture and bad habits. Fortunately, qigong can produce relatively fast results, usually within several months of regular practice. The qigong horse stance is no exception.

If at first you have difficulty with the qigong horse stance and find that the backs of your thighs and buttocks are tight instead of relaxed, go back to the first lesson sitting down. (It is easier to relax them when you are sitting down).

Slowly rise from the sitting position. As you raise your trunk, feel the back of your thighs. They should continue to be relaxed and shake like jelly when you pat them. If you have correctly followed all the steps thus far, you should already feel less pressure exerted on your vertebrae, and any backpain significantly alleviated.

Try sitting down and rising again several times, until you can maintain the same posture standing up almost as easily as when you sit down. Each time as you rise, you should feel the back of your buttocks and thighs to ensure they are relaxed and shaking like jelly.

Don't worry if you don't get the posture correct right away; just consider this repetitive sitting and rising as part of your exercise routine in building a strong healthy back.

• Indent the kua, bending the knees slightly.
• Keep your spinal column straight, with the tailbone tucked in.
• Visualize your head suspended by a single thread, with your trunk or center of gravity sinking down.
• Pat the back of your buttocks/thighs to ensure they are relaxed.

And that's it, an excellent qigong exercise that lends back support, eases pressure from the spinal column, and creates perfect alignment for chi energy to flow uninhibited. In fact, if you are maintaining proper stance, you should experience immediate relief from back spasms and pain .

Practice this stance often. If you have back problems, keep your practice time short, until your back becomes stronger and you experience fewer back spasms and backpain. Then extend your practice time to as long as 20 minutes per daily practice session.

One month of qigong practice should eliminate most of your back spasms and resulting backpain. Six months of practice will ensure that you don't experience any more back problems. And regular practice of qigong will maintain a strong healthy back, in addition to many other health benefits as well!