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 Welcome to this routine on the five elements the five elements represents the energy in nature this routine balances the five elements within us when the elements and energy are balanced inside we feel happy healthy and whole enjoy the power and grace of this classic sequence of movements feel connected to your inner power connected to your flow and relaxed into the present moment enjoy Let's begin this Five Element routine by taking a stance that's shoulder-width apart take a nice deep breath feel grounded and connected to your center take one hand over the abdomen and the other hand on the chest this first exercise is called wave breathing you're gonna start the breath in the belly let the breath rise all the way up to the chest and then exhale from the chest down through the ribs and into the belly full deep breath in and a full exhale all the way out it calms and relaxes the mind brings you into the present moment and prepares the body to work with Qi inhale belly ribs chest exhale all the way out chest down through the ribs back into the belly full deep breath in long exhale out when you inhale you inspire you breathe the Qi in and when you exhale you let go you release old energy out bring the hands down float the hands up on an inhale then exhale hands float down this is called Buddha holding up the earth bring the hands up over the head exhale down it's the same breathing as we just did inhale belly ribs inhale belly ribs - all the way up to the chest exhale chest through the ribs back into the belly Float the arms up exhale softly float the arms down when you slow the breath down and slow the body down the mind automatically starts to relax feel your mind relax and your body energized now drop your right hand down left hand up I'll do your mirror image here lean a little bit to your right feel that stretch the ribcage then switch bring your right arm up and your left arm down lean a little to your left side stretch the ribcage take a nice deep breath feel that lengthening and opening through the ribs now come in and we'll do this movement continuously reach up with the left hand right arm down spiral the arms in and then right hand up left hand down exhale as you spiral in and take a deep breath as you stretch exhale coming down bend your knees stand a little taller and stretch spiraling in now inhale when you stretch and feel that open through the ribs exhale coming down and inhale as you stretch feel that open through your ribs again let it flow feel that springy quality of the legs keeping you grounded feel the arm reaching up towards the sky and now take that right arm behind you left arm across the face and turn look over the shoulder come to the other side right hand comes across the face left hand behind you and stretch exhale as you twist now inhale as you come to the center this is an excellent exercise to open the spine feel that open through the ribcage bring more energy through the upper back and into the lungs left hand across the face right hand behind push the palms away from each other come in exhale press the palms away from each other feel the flow of the breath the openness of the body and the circulation of the energy Starting to flow through you bring your hands down to your sides take a nice deep breath notice how your body feels and then let's bring the hands up and start a movement called the pump bring the hands up and then just drop the arms we're pumping the legs so when the arms go back your legs straighten it's a bend -- straighten bend straighten of the knees pump the legs the arms and the shoulders nice and relaxed inhale up exhale out and back inhale arms up exhale the arms back it's a little quicker breathing exercise pump and circulate the energy through the system this exercise is said to be very beneficial to the lower back brings healthy circulation through the whole body the pump can be an excellent workout to get the blood circulating and the Qi invigorated now bring your arms down to your sides palms together now behind the back fingers are pointing down your hands can be as high up as you'd like if this is difficult or challenging you bring the hands a little bit lower now slowly circle the head ear to the shoulder head up ear to the other shoulder and then chin to the chest when the head comes up you don't have to bring it too far back focus the stretch when the ear goes towards the shoulders take some nice deep breaths move the head nice and slow feel the length of the muscles the opening of the cervical spine inhale through the nose and you can exhale out through the mouth as a way to release tension and tightness inhale through the nose exhale release out through the mouth go ahead and circle the head in the other direction taking a nice deep breath feel that opening that stretch through the upper back neck and shoulders this stretch clears the lines of tension where we chronically hold our stress the upper back neck and shoulders again nice deep breath lengthen and stretch this will not only open through the muscles and the tendons but it's a wonderful stretch for the joints through the upper back and the neck we often hold a lot of stress tension and tightness in this area of the body a slow circling of the head in this position helps to clear that stress Helps to clear that stress slowly release bring the hands down now bring your thumbs to the low back and circle your hips when the hips come forward press in with the thumbs the thumbs are going to be right next to the spine about a half an inch lateral to both sides when the hips come forward press the thumbs in when the hips come back move the thumbs to a different spot so you're working the thumbs in all different pressure points through the low back all the way down towards the sacrum the hips come back the thumbs move when the hips go forward we press in with the thumbs and now go in the other direction turn from your hips and your waist circle the hips and press in with the thumbs go all the way around hips to one side forward the other side and back sometimes this is referred to as silk reeling keeping the hips the tailbone and the lower back silky smooth which means supple and flexible take a nice deep breath feel that spiraling through your hips Then slow it down now let's begin a movement called shaking begin with the wrists and the hands shake the wrists the hands the arms then bounce into your heels and shake the whole spine loose anywhere in your body where you hold tension try to shake into that area relax the back of the neck the base of the skull scan down through the spine and notice anywhere that's tight or blocked and shake into that area take a nice deep breath exhale out through the mouth feel tension and tightness release and let go out of the body inhale through the nose exhale out through the mouth then slow it down arms to your sides notice how your body feels feel Feel the Qi active through the system feel that energy go down the legs to the feet hands and arms tingling and buzzing opening the flow as you inhale let the arms float up and then as you exhale arms float down opening the flow begins the process of relaxation and entering into your own personal flow relax the muscles across the shoulders the upper back and the neck flow happens through relaxation relax the muscles around your spine feel your feet on the ground spine moving like a wave in the ocean spine undulates up And relaxes back down feel this water-like quality flow up the back and then out through the arms feel that wave-like quality move up the spine and out through the arms feel that relaxation around the spine the shoulders elbows wrists hands moving through water feel that sense of flow and relaxation now inhale and open the chest this first movement is called soaring crane it's a flowing movement that tonifies the lungs and the element of metal inhale as the chest opens and exhale hands come towards each other inhale the palms are open and here when you exhale the first finger and thumb touch the end of the lung meridian goes to the thumb so when you touch that first finger it's gonna seal the energy in even though we're exhaling so here exhale inhale draw new energy into the chest touch first finger and thumb exhale old energy out exhale old energy out but keep good positive healthy energy in the body in Qi Gong we say the lungs are the commanders of Qi it's that first area where Qi enters the body breath is always a reflection of our internal energy it reflects the state of the mind the state of our emotions when we breathe deeper we bring more oxygen into every cell and charge up the body slow deep breathing calms and balances the mind revitalizes your body big deep breath in exhale all the way out your arms can come a little bit lower feel as if your hands are just floating along the surface of water to keep those shoulders relaxed exhale relax hands down bring your hands down to your sides just notice how your body feels take a nice deep breath relax into that energy that's circulating through you the next movement goes to the kidneys take your right hand behind the back the hand comes right across the kidneys in the door of life left hand is up by the face turn from your center and circle this movement is called Zen circles and it goes to the kidneys it's connected to the water element each element correlates to a specific organ inside which then feeds energy to the meridian lines inhale as you come up exhale down circle the energy the first part of the movement is a little bit bigger range of motion and this spirals energy through the body when you exhale down you're dipping into the water element and pulling it up through that left arm and then circulating it through the body this is especially good for the lower back and the kidneys now do the movement without hinging at the waist still circling that left arm you turn from the hips and the waist but don't hinge forward in Qi Gong we move from the center feel as if your hand is just caressing through the air inhaling up exhaling softly down moving with effortless power and ease feel like you're gathering energy towards you pulling it into your own personal space make that spiral a little bit smaller breathe it in feel like you're collecting just the right quality the right quantity of energy spiral a little tighter make it smaller and pull it right into the center now we'll switch the arms right hand in front left hand behind you left hand right across the lumbar spine connected to your kidneys turn from your hips and your waist the movement now is a little bit bigger come up and then hinge forward at the waist inhale as you come up exhale as you go down when you go down the imagery is dipping into water the water of life and pull that water up through the right arm and let it pour down the back into the kidneys now do the movement without hinging at the waist turn from your center take a nice deep breath exhale down moving from the center slow graceful movement gathers and collects energy and helps it to circulate Qi Gong is based on Chinese medicine focusing on the energy system slow movement improves the electrical system of the body it makes you more powerful more energetic and well integrated spiral in a little bit smaller feel as if you're gathering your energy gathering your resources into your center pull it all in and then we go into the next movement called repulse the monkey where we push away old energy gather energy and then exhale as you push your arms open palms face up exhale by the ear and down the inside of the arm repulse the monkey helps balance the wood element which correlates to the liver liver has a lot to do with mental stress or stress held in the body so here when you inhale you're gathering clarity and pushing away mental stress inhale let your mind be open exhale push away mental stress cleansing and clearing the worries of the day the old energy and then when your mind opens you'll awaken that inner potential awaken your creativity your ability to solve problems to push past limitations this movement helps to open the imagination your intuition and your insight let it flow exhale soft relaxed hands turn the hips arms open exhale push through body relaxes into the flow Your mind open to that limitless possibilities inhale feel your mind open to limitless possibilities exhale pushing through slow the movement down a little bit relaxed hands down to your sides notice how your body feels feel the flow of energy going down through the arms into your hands circulating through the whole entire body now bring your left arm up your right hand points to the elbow turn so that your right arm is by your forehead left hand pushes through then come across left hand points to the elbow cross the midline left hand to the forehead right hand pushes through this is called fair lady works the shuttle and it opens into the heart and the heart meridian the heart meridian is associated with the fire element exhale as you push through inhale as you come towards the center and rotate exhale out old energy inhale breathe in new energy feel that lightness permeate through the heart center this movement helps to clear out old emotional energy it benefits the heart for emotional balance exhale into that turn inhale gather lightness and relaxation to the heart exhale anything weighing heavy in the heart inhale lightness exhale any emotional stress this movement is very good for letting go of the past any old energy collected in the heart push it out create space for new energy to experience life to the fullest let go of the old create space so that we can bring life in exhale and inhale feel your heart light and open and bring your hands down feel connected to your center from the fire element we move into the earth element the earth flow is called pebble in the pond inhale as you come in and exhale float the hand out the earth element goes to the spleen and stomach as the internal organs you want to feel that power and connection to the earth's center of the body which is the digestive system and the lower abdomen exhale float the arm out and inhale bring that energy into your center exhale float the arm out inhale into the center When you float the arm out feel as if you're gathering Earth energy Palm is face down and bring it Into the lower abdomen gather that earth energy and bring it into the lower abdomen so feel that water water-like movement flowing out through the arm connected to the center feel as if your hand is floating along the surface of water that'll help to relax the shoulders and the upper back gathering energy pulling it into the center when your energy is centered we feel balanced and grounded the mind is open free and clear And the body is full of energy let your body relax into the flow and bring your hands bring both hands now over your center take your feet together and we'll do a little movement here called Bamboo in the Wind relax down through the feet feel rooted and grounded and then just let your body rock and sway very effortlessly let the body rock and sway feel a sense of unwinding into your center feel that combination of being both relaxed and energized your mind calm your body recharged feel connected to your internal power and to your center take one more deep breath exhale relax and take that feeling with you into the rest of your day