Arky Chu Gong: Chateau morning exercise regime

[PerfectCircle]

I started today and indeed some exercises are more difficult than they look like :)
Along with headstand, back yoga (backward bend over knees) and rocking are a problem for me.
But it is fun and a good combination of strength and flexibility. Thanks for the upload once again!

 

[SMM]

I do not do the headstand either (or at least not yet) while doing the exercises. It was mentioned, as far as I remember, that you can also practice it on the wall so you have something to "hold" you. Also, there may be some YouTube videos on how to do it properly (and how to do it step by step). Hope this helps!

Yes, that's mentioned in the video. I start the headstands against a wall and move my legs/feet away from the wall. I thought I would never be able to hold a headstand without support as I used to have low upper body strength/tonality and I've had two accidents in the past involving nerves and ligaments of the upper extremities plus a fracture to my right wrist.

While doing the headstands, I have been able to hold the headstand without the wall reasonably well; which was surprising to me (the length I could hold it for). Listening to my body, engaging the core and breathing (into the Dantien/Tandem) are really handy. Check out YouTube videos and keep an eye on posture.

 

[Keit]

Yeah, I am also hesitant to try the head stand. Not sure this moment will arive any time soon, if ever! But the rest of the routine is excellent, and although I am not able to do everything perfectly and effortlesly as the rest of you in the video, I am looking forward to it every morning. Thank you for sharing!

 

[Scottie]

For any exercises that you're hesitant to try (like the headstand), I would say go ahead and be hesitant.

Then, do the other stuff for several months.

You'll probably find that various muscles and joints and stuff suddenly become much stronger. After a few months have passed, then you might try other previously "verboten" exercises - slowly and carefully.

Yesterday, I carried 4 x 25kg bags of salt up on my shoulder. They're significantly lighter and easier to handle than they used to be! Even the Body By Science workout alone didn't give those results by itself. But after several months of "Qigong" + BBS, poof!

It really has made me realize how important strengthening your core is for overall fitness. And at least for me, the Arky Chu Gong routine definitely does just that.

I've also noticed a marked reduction in neck/shoulder pain and tightness. It's still there sometimes, but far more mild, and I can literally sort of shrug/stretch it off.

The BBS workout was intended to be a good workout in less time - and it IS that. But the Arky Chu Gong routine has so far yielded far more benefits overall than BBS. Your mileage may vary!

 

[aimarok]

Thank you for a great video of a great routine! Now I know that my balance factor is 0.05 and stretch factor is 0.1. Literally I'm a sharpened log Nevertheless I can do pretzel without any effort, probably because of stretching I received ~30 years ago in swimming section. There is a huge space for improvements on my side.

 

[Aiming]

Thank you to everyone involved for this video - and the Cheat Sheet! (Arky Chu Gong and Kung Chu...? Funny! )

It's really fun to do the exercises, and they are challenging. Granted, it's only the second day I've been doing them, but from my other exercises through the years, some of it is going relatively smooth already, for some I really need to practise, like the balancing exercises at the end. What I can't do yet is the headstand and the pushups - I'll take those very slowly, especially because the last time I did pushups, I ended up with an uptight back, because some of my back muscles tried to take over the job the other muscles couldn't.

These exercises come so timely, because my other exercises weren't as varied and I had wanted to expand them already.

Actually we're "360 degrees" equipped with everything we need on the mental, emotional, physical and even spiritual level: knowledge input, networking, breathing techniques, meditation, body exercises, nutritional health, crystals, singing, aligning with higher principles and calling each other out at taking wrong turns.

 

[seek10]

Last week, some body mentioned to me of weekly Yoga class in my office fitness center. I went to get some suggestions on flexibility issues and ended up joining the class. The instructor suggested to all to use ( which they already had to use) yoga blocks and yoga ropes to improve the flexibility. I only used for this one session, they seems to help to stretch and balance by positioning. I saw them before and thought as fancy un-necessaries, but after this session I bought some blocks, rope, knee pad etc. The instructor felt that I have less than average ankle flexibility and showed some poses using blocks to stretch so that ankle can more easily stretched. It is not magical, but they do seems to work to stretch little more than without them. I also have some challenges with knee because of knee bone , she suggested me to use blocks under the knee.

There are ton of products on the amazon in all sorts of attractive designs. I guess they do . few videos I watched.

There are ton of you tube video's which shows how to use these props. here is one for headstand

 

[Lys]

I've been doing the Arky Chu Gong for a week now (except the second day as I felt my body tired and sore) and it has been a great pleasure to do it!
I already feel some improvements: More flexibility, I'm able to do more push-ups and it helps a lot my motivation to do the cold shower right after.
I usually start with a warm shower and finish with a cold rinse. Those last 4/5 days I could do the entire cold shower!
It is really energizing and it helps me get started for the day.

I also have fewer cravings for sugar.

I noticed that I sleep a lot longer as I am exhausted before going to bed, and I may also feel a bit less tense during sleeping.

Really, this routine could get addictive!

I do not do the headstand either (or at least not yet) while doing the exercises. It was mentioned, as far as I remember, that you can also practice it on the wall so you have something to "hold" you. Also, there may be some YouTube videos on how to do it properly (and how to do it step by step). Hope this helps!

Thank you for the videos, it helps a lot, I would never think I could do the headstand and after watching those ones I've done it easily (Still keeping my legs bent though but surely want to improve it), so satisfying.

 

[Konstantin]

I just catch up this with this thread. It is very interesting. I will try it.
I know that I will have a lot of problems with flexibility. The strength part will be ok, but I will have to practice the flexibility a lot.
So, At first, I will try to practice only the flexibility exercises and when I will improve that part I will try the whole program.

I think that this will come very nice to me. At my job, I spent 9 hours in a seating possition so strengthening my core muscles will be great for me. Also, I often have a back, neck and shoulders problems because been in a seating position for so long all these years.

I always like trying and learning new things.

 

[Lukasz]

Thank you for this great set of exercises! It really helps to identify your weak points and strengths. And it really is a big challenge to do it correctly and to do it all at once. Some of the exercises are out of range for me at the moment (like the headstand), so I will start with about 80% of the program and I will build up to 100% slowly.

One observation I made is that when I woke up with muscle-related back pain, after the Arky Chu Gong, the pain disappeared. So it's kind of a substitute to a good massage I think

 

[Helle]

Wow I'm really impressed with your handstands and yoga wheel poses, those are hard work! I do not master these myself yet, but I practise.

I've been going regulary to yoga practise since february this year, and I can honestly say, that I'm a much more balanced, milder, stronger, and grounded version of myself, I absolutely love it.

 

[Learner]

Doing the Arky Chu Gong exercises outside this morning, I managed to sit on my legs (but with them still somewhat sidewarts) and lean back the first time. But I overstretched one of my back muscles, thus taking a little break for some self-Reiki while standing on the grass with bare feet. Helped almost immediately! So I think for those who can do Reiki, giving it to oneself in such cases may help.

And for some effect, it seems like the exercises contribute in making me less prone towards dissociation (with concrete stuff), though there's still the dreamy tendency. (However, let's see how things will be in like 2 months.) Also, I had some pouring out of negative stuff into my journal yesterday evening, quite a bit of what I harbored came out and was connected with some emotional release. I guess, the exercises helped with that as well, because I didn't know how to really voice those thought-emotions before and was anxious to voice them, and then it was kind of as easy as pie!

 

[Chu]

Wow, it's great to see others trying it out and having good results! Just remember to do it at your own pace, and to look for tips from professionals instead of only watching us. There may be some nifty things you can do. And we are always adding something, trying to perfect a move, etc.

Doing the Arky Chu Gong exercises outside this morning, I managed to sit on my legs (but with them still somewhat sidewarts) and lean back the first time. But I overstretched one of my back muscles, thus taking a little break for some self-Reiki while standing on the grass with bare feet. Helped almost immediately! So I think for those who can do Reiki, giving it to oneself in such cases may help.

It's good that you stopped and treated the area! Be gentle, that one is hard at the beginning, until your legs get used to it.

And for some effect, it seems like the exercises contribute in making me less prone towards dissociation (with concrete stuff), though there's still the dreamy tendency. (However, let's see how things will be in like 2 months.) Also, I had some pouring out of negative stuff into my journal yesterday evening, quite a bit of what I harbored came out and was connected with some emotional release. I guess, the exercises helped with that as well, because I didn't know how to really voice those thought-emotions before and was anxious to voice them, and then it was kind of as easy as pie!

Awesome! I think there is a lot of truth in how some emotions get "stuck" in certain areas of the body. So, this type of exercise can help you release and process them whenever you are ready. IMO, one of the nice things about it is that you are more grounded when it happens, so that you don't "re-traumatize" yourself again.

 

[mrtn]

How do you breathe during the Qi-Gong execise at 08:21 (moving the hands up and down). Do you breathe in/out with one hand moving up/down, or (as I'm doing it currently) breathe in when the hands diverge and breath out when the hands come together?

 

[Learner]

How do you breathe during the Qi-Gong execise at 08:21 (moving the hands up and down). Do you breathe in/out with one hand moving up/down, or (as I'm doing it currently) breathe in when the hands diverge and breath out when the hands come together?

I don't know for sure either. However, I breathe in when engaging one hand and one foot, and I breath out when engaging the other hand and other foot. In the end it may come to the movement-breathing combination that feels best for you

That's a guess, so maybe others might have more precise input on this.