Structure and Flow: how you organize a class
Dimensions 6 to 10 of the 25 Dimensions. This is the mechanical layer, and it is the one most teacher trainings actually cover.
The five dimensions of structure and flow
6. The five-element container
Opening, Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water. Every class travels that arc, and it works at 20 minutes or 90. The structure holds, the phases stretch.
Full detail is at the Five Elemental Class Design Framework.
7. Pacing and rhythm
How fast you move is part of what you are teaching.
Teach the same class quickly one day and slowly the next, and feel the difference in the room. Then get comfortable with silence, because most new teachers talk far too much. The silence is teaching too.
8. Transitions and bridges
Nobody notices a good transition, and everybody feels a bad one.
The simplest ones tend to be strongest. Bring attention to the lower Dantian. Hands rest on the belly. Breathe. Then, when it is time, move. Those small moments of connection are where a lot of the real teaching happens.
9. Sequencing practices intelligently
Warm the meridians before deep work. Activate before deepening. Ground before closing.
Inside those guidelines there is room to read the room. Some days a breath practice belongs early to wake people up, other days late to lift them before closing. With experience you stop thinking about sequence and start moving with it.
10. Time management
A 45-minute class is not a compressed 90-minute class. Design for the time you actually have.
Know how long your practices take. If you always run over, start the next thing earlier or simplify what came before. Ending on time is a form of respect and people notice it.
Next: Guidance and Language. What goes into each phase is the Seven Foundations of Practice.
Part of the 25 Dimensions of Sharing Qigong.
A worked short class is at a simple 15-minute routine. For the practices that fill each phase, the beginner exercises.
By Christopher Grant, Great Energy.
Frequently asked questions
How do you learn to pace a Qigong class?
Teach the same class quickly one day and slowly the next, and feel the difference in the room. Then get comfortable with silence.
What makes a good transition between practices?
Simplicity. Attention to the lower Dantian, hands resting on the belly, breath, then move when it is time.
Where to go next
If you have never practiced Qigong. Jump Start Your Energy is a free beginner class. No background needed, nothing to buy, and it is the fastest way to find out whether any of this does anything for you. Most people know within one session.
If you practice and want to go deeper. We teach live classes online every week, and there is a self-paced Introduction to Qigong if you would rather work through it in your own time.
If you want to teach this. Everything in this library is drawn from the Great Energy Qigong Teacher Certification. The frameworks are here in full because they are more useful shared than withheld. The training is where you learn to deliver them.
Keep reading. The rest of the framework library is at the Library, and our longer articles are on the blog.
Great Energy is an independent educational organization founded by Christopher Grant and Daniela Hess.