Qigong basics: a gentle morning routine

A 15- to 20-minute standing qigong routine based on the Eight Brocades, used by many people for gentle morning movement, calm focus and energy.

Research-informed

This page draws on published research and health authorities, listed under Sources at the end. How we rate pages

Time

15-20 min

Difficulty

Easy

When

Morning

Goals

Energy
Calm
Grounding

You need

Nothing needed

How to do it

Stand with your feet hip-width apart, knees soft, and take a few slow, long, deep breaths.

Move through Two Hands Hold up the Heavens, then Drawing the Bow to Shoot the Hawk, six to eight times each, moving with your breath.

Continue with Separate Heaven and Earth and Wise Owl Gazes Backwards, six to eight times each, keeping every movement smooth.

Do Sway the Head and Shake the Tail and Two Hands Hold the Feet six to eight times each, bending only as far as feels easy.

Finish the set with Clench the Fists and Glare Fiercely and Bouncing on the Toes, six to eight times each.

Stand still for about a minute with your attention on your breath before you start your day.

Origin

Traditional Chinese medicine; the Eight Brocades (Baduanjin) appear in Song-dynasty encyclopedias

Qigong is a gentle Chinese practice that links slow breathing, smooth movement and focused attention. This qigong morning routine uses the Eight Brocades, a standing set of eight movements. It asks for about 15 to 20 minutes, a little floor space and a willingness to move slowly.

Why people do it

Many people use qigong to wake the body gently, settle the mind before a busy day and feel steadier on their feet. It suits people who find brisk exercise too much first thing, and it works well as qigong for beginners because the movements are simple and can be made smaller.

Qigong developed in China thousands of years ago as part of traditional Chinese medicine. In that tradition, practitioners aim to cultivate qi, a concept usually translated as vital energy, through body, mind and spirit. Histories of qigong record the Eight Brocades in Song-dynasty encyclopedias from around 1150, and the set is still one of the most widely practiced forms today.

The practice touches three parts of you. The body gets slow, full-range movement. The mind gets a single point of focus, the breath and the next movement. And for people drawn to its tradition, the spirit side is the idea of gathering and circulating energy. If you want to understand why slow breathing sits at the center of all this, our guide Breath: the bridge between body and mind explains the link.

What the evidence says

Qigong has a real body of research behind it, though much of it is modest in size. A 2019 survey of systematic reviews in Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine, covering 41 reviews, supported qigong and tai chi as complementary approaches for people with cancer, COPD, Parkinson’s disease and heart conditions. The US National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH) describes the evidence across conditions as small or early. Reviews suggest benefits for fatigue and sleep in people with cancer, and for balance and fall prevention, while results for pain are conflicting. NCCIH also reports that qigong appears safe, with many studies finding no negative effects, including in older and chronically ill people. What the research does not show is that qigong can stand in for medical care. It is best seen as a gentle, reasonably well-studied form of exercise that may help alongside usual treatment.

Variations

Seated Eight Brocades. The same movements done from a chair. This suits people with balance concerns, limited mobility or anyone who prefers to sit.
Standing meditation. A still form of qigong in which you hold a relaxed standing posture and follow the breath. It suits people who want quiet focus rather than movement.
The two-minute break. Do just the first movement, Two Hands Hold up the Heavens, for a couple of minutes. This suits a desk break or a morning when time is short.
Pairing with tai chi. Use the Eight Brocades as a warm-up before a tai chi form. If that appeals, start with tai chi for beginners.

Common mistakes

Forcing the stretches. Qigong is not about reaching your limit. Move to about two-thirds of your comfortable range and let flexibility come with time.
Holding the breath. It is easy to tense up and stop breathing during a stretch. Keep the breath slow, long and deep, and let each movement follow it.
Rushing the set. Racing through all eight movements turns qigong into ordinary exercise. If time is short, do fewer movements slowly rather than all of them quickly.
Expecting it to replace treatment. Qigong may help as a complement to care, but it does not replace medical treatment. Keep taking prescribed medicines and keep your appointments.

If you are pregnant, or have back, balance or joint problems, check with a clinician before you start, and soften or skip the forward bend and toe bounces as needed.

Take care

Talk to your health care provider first if you are pregnant; there is no research on qigong's safety in pregnancy, and some movements may need changing.

Skip or soften the forward bend and the toe bounces if you have back, balance or joint problems.

Mild muscle soreness or headache can occur, as with other exercise; in neck-pain studies these affected under 10% of participants.

Instructors need no license and there is no national certification standard, so ask about a teacher's training and experience.

Questions people ask

What is a good qigong morning routine for beginners?

A simple option is the Eight Brocades, a common standing form with eight movements. Stand with your feet hip-width apart, breathe slowly, and repeat each movement six to eight times, moving with your breath. Finish by standing still for a minute. The whole routine takes about 15 to 20 minutes and needs no equipment, so it fits easily into the start of your day.

What are the Eight Brocades in qigong?

The Eight Brocades, or Baduanjin, are one of the most common qigong forms: eight standing movements with names such as Two Hands Hold up the Heavens, Wise Owl Gazes Backwards and Bouncing on the Toes. They appear in Song-dynasty encyclopedias from around 1150. Teachers sometimes change the order, and seated versions exist for people who prefer or need to sit.

Is qigong the same as tai chi?

Not quite. Qigong is a broad family of practices from China that coordinate slow breathing, gentle movement and focused attention. Tai chi practiced for health is counted as one of hundreds of qigong forms, so tai chi is a kind of qigong, but most qigong is not tai chi. Both are gentle, and research often looks at them together.