Shuai Shou

SHUAI SHOU

Shuai Shou is a favorite exercise of mine . It is useful in a variety of ways and has been refered to as the aspirin of the qigong . The exercise was used after standing meditation to get the blood circulating . i noticed that it was also used in the beginning and the end of the Guo Lin anti -cancer fixed foot walking Qigong Set . i like to begin and end a training session with it to loosen up in the beginning and to circulate the blood after standing . i have also used it to fight off a sore throat many times . If i feel it coming on , i will sneak off and sway for five minutes . We usually call it swaying . David Saltman taught it to a person with Parkinson’s Disease and found that if the practitioner swayed for about one minute, his shaking went away for about two hours . i wonder what would happen if he trained longer . To begin, the practitioner stands in a natural stance with the feet parallel and at shoulder width .
The arms hang loosely at the sides with the palms facing backward squarely . When my weight is on both heels , the arms are swinging forward loosely from the shoulders . The eyes gaze downward about 45 degrees below the horizon . Now release the shoulders and swing the palms backward while looking ” slantingly upward” as BP Chan used to say . This action will put your weight on the Yong Chuan /Kidney 1 Point . When your arms run out of slack, they will rebound forward again sitting you back on you heels . You can repeat this cycle for a couple of minutes or much longer . If i was very ill, i would sway for thirty minutes to an hour . My fellow practitioners tend to sway for about fifteen minutes before class . It keeps the muscles in flux so then can’t tighten and become a blockage . It also moves lymph via the muscular actions of the rocking . i have seen variations in Beijing where the practitioner rises up on their toes and and drops on their heels , but this type of shocking action could damage the nervous system warned Mr.Chan . Feng Zhi Qiang , a top Chen Style Taijiquan Practitioner warned against forceful stomping in his later years as well . This is something that i train daily . It is an essential exercise that i have trained for over 20 years .It is part of my “medicine bag ” of exercises .i hope that it is helpful .

Shuai Shou – This variation is not the same as what i learned from Mr. Chan , but while still effective , it does not stimulate the Yong Chuan / Kidney ! Point in the same way as the version that i practice.