10-Minute Morning Ritual Tai Chi | Improve Your Mind and Body with Flow

The hands can float down by the sides. As you breathe in, the arms float up. They circle in front as you gather in the energy, bring it into the heart, and send it down towards the earth, sinking the chi, the life force energy, our bioelectricity, our source of our power and strength. Breathing in, nice and easy. Breathing out, nice and slow. One more time, sink the chi. And then step one foot out to the side, either foot. The arms float up in front. The arms float down. The knees and hips soften. Breathing in, rising up. Breathing out, floating down. Opening the door. The start of the journey. Feeling into the body, feeling all the sensations that you can. One more time, open the door. Rising up, softening down. This time the arms float out to the sides like you're spreading your wings. The arms float down, the fingertips point up, very gently rotate to one side. One hand spirals forward, the other spirals behind. And then coming back to center, rotating the other way. The tiger claw. Making the tiger claws with your hands. Breathing in, spiraling the arms away. Breathing out, one more time, the tiger claw. Gentle rotation. And then the hands keep on going all the way up overhead. Rotating out and away. Silk-reeling upward spirals. Rising up, the hands spiral out and away. Spiraling the energy throughout the body. Creating healing and vitality. Opening the shoulders, opening the chest. Decompressing the spine. Breathing. One more time, silk-reeling upward spirals. And then reverse direction. The arms float all the way up and over. The fingertips point down. Then they spiral out and away once again. Silk-reeling downward spirals. Softening down. Moving nice and slow. It's really being here in the present. One more time. Downward spirals. And then circle the arms all the way around and hug the tree right out in front. Step one, put out a little bit wider. And then from here, the palms face up as we gather the seeds. And then we'll plant the seeds in the earth. The hands come down the center as you soften the hips and knees. The hands go out to the sides. Coming back up. Gathering more seeds. Planting them into the earth. And just softening down as much as you can comfortably. Breathing in. Breathing out. Taking as many breaths as you need. And one more time, planting seeds. And then circle the arms all the way around and hug the tree once again. Step one foot in a little bit closer. And then from here, the hands draw in towards the heart. And then push out to the side. And draw the hands back in towards the heart. Push out to the other side. The dragon stretches its tail. This time, as you push out to the side, the opposite foot touches down to the other side. So a little gentle reach. Other side, tap the toes right out to the side. Alright, this time you can even turn your head to the side opposite the hands. Nice gentle stretch side to side. Breathing in. Breathing out. One more time. The dragon stretches its tail. And then step back in and hug the tree right out in front. Draw the hands in towards the heart. Shift your weight to one side. And then step in. Step out to the corner as you push forwards in space. Draw the hands back in as you shift back. And then pushing forwards, pushing the mountain. Breathing in. Breathing out. And you can sigh out at any time. It's always encouraged. One more time, pushing the mountain. This time, draw the hands in. Palms face each other. The hands go out to the corner. Palms face away from each other. They open, circling out and around, scooping under. Back out to the corner. Parting the clouds. Breathing in, open. Breathing out. Really feeling into the body. One more time. Parting the clouds. And then step the front foot back in. The hands come back in towards the heart. Shift your weight and then step in. Step out to the other corner, pushing the mountain. Once again, moving nice and easy, nice and slow. No rush. Nowhere to go. How mindful can you be? Bring your attention to your hands. Noticing any sensations there. One more time, pushing the mountain. This time, palms face each other. The hands go out to the corner. Palms face away from each other. They open, circling out and around, scooping under. Back out to the corner. Parting the clouds. Breathing in. Breathing out. Once again, take as many breaths as you need. Just keep on breathing. One more time, parting the clouds. And then step the front foot back in. Hug the tree right out in front. And soften. And from here, both hands drift all the way over to the side, floating down. Drifting side to side once again. Soothing the nervous system. Activating the relaxation response. Just lowering the blood pressure and heart rate. Releasing the happy hormones. And then this time, you can make two loose fists. And then one fist goes overhead, the other by the lower abdomen. And then switching sides. Two loose fists, shifting the weight. Leaning over to the side, going up once again. This time, you can lift your leg if you like. Touching down as needed. Other side. Lifting the leg, or you can keep the foot down. The tiger hugs its head. Touching down or lifting up. You can even look to the side if you like. Other side. Breathing in and breathing out. One more time, the tiger hugs its head. This time, the arms float out to the sides. And then once again, making two loose fists. One hand comes up and over, the other behind the back as you gently rotate. And then other side. The arms reach out to the side, then making two fists. One fist behind the neck, the other lower back. Drawing the sabers. And you can always just move your arms as much as you can comfortably, even if it's still overhead. Just never forcing it, always easing in. Nice gentle stretch. One more time, drawing sabers. This time, the arms float out to the sides and then they drift down. Reversing direction, circle in front. Hug the tree. Step one foot out a little bit wider. This time, the hands meet each other in front of the heart as you soften down. And the fingertips guide the way as they drift out to the side. And then scoop around as they drift out to the other side. The dragon pierces through. We're piercing through the clouds and the sky. Just going side to side. Gentle rotation. Shifting the weight. Breathe. Then the hands can begin to drift up towards the mountain peak. Like we're going up the mountain trail. Just as much as you can comfortably. And then maybe going down the mountain trail as well. So finding your path. Or making your own path. And then finding whatever movement would feel good for you in this moment. The spontaneous dragon. Just really tuning into the body. Let the energy move you. Just letting go. Tapping into the body's intelligence. The body's wisdom. Feeling the flow. Alright, one more time. The spontaneous dragon. And then release. Round out, hug the tree, bring it to center. Then step one foot in a little bit closer. From here the arms open up wide. The hands float down. Palms face up. One hand on top of the other by the lower abdomen. And then this hand floats all the way up and over. Down the center line of the body. Other side. Breathe in as the hand floats up. Breathing out, centering. Calming the heart. Calming the mind. One more time, centering. This time both hands float up and over just as much as you can. The hands float down to the waist as you soften. Then circle the hands in front. Gather in the energy, bring it into the heart. To transform into loving kindness. And then down. One more time, opening the heart. Rising up and softening down. This time making a diamond shape with the hands in front of the heart. And then press out. Sending out all your loving kindness to the world. May all beings be free from suffering. May they be happy. May they be healthy. May they live with ease. And then turning your palms to face yourself, the hands come to the heart. May I be kind to myself. May I feel connected with all beings. May I love myself just as I am. Then the hands can float down to the lower abdomen. You can step your feet together or as close as you can. You can close your eyes or just keep a soft gaze. Letting your body rock and sway. Ever so gently. Bamboo in the wind. Strong and flexible like bamboo. Just feeling into the body. Feeling the breath. And then bring your attention into your heart. Creating an inner smile. Expressing gratitude to yourself for being here today. Then if your eyes are closed, you can slowly open them. The hands can come together in front of the heart. And we can finish with a bow.