The least mysterious of the seven and the one most likely to be rushed. Why 8 to 15 minutes is a phase rather than a formality, how it differs from stretching, and the injury that taught me not to skip it.

Most people arrive at practice having been still for hours. Not rested, just still. The Activate practices break up that stagnation and get the Qi online before you ask the body to do anything else. Shaking looks ridiculous and it is the one people skip.

Breath is the gateway to Qi, and that is an operating instruction rather than a poetic flourish. Why every other foundation sits on top of this one, what practices live here, and the one mistake that turns a deep breath into effort wearing a costume.

Every Qigong practice falls into one of seven categories: Breathe, Activate, Warm Up, Stretch, Flow, Posture, Rest and Meditation. Knowing which category a movement belongs to is what turns a pile of movements into a class you can actually build. The framework we teach in the certification, explained in full.