Through breath, movement, and rhythm, Arirang Qigong helps us reconnect with our true selves and express that truth so we can live with more balance and authenticity.
Have you ever heard a song that felt like it was calling you back to a place you’d forgotten? For centuries, the Korean folk song “Arirang” has been that song for many. As I discussed in a previous post, I believe this song calls us home to our deepest, truest selves.
Always nestled in our hearts, our true selves long for our attention and love. Through our true selves, we are connected to the rhythm and flow of the universe. Our brains can direct that flow when we’re aware of our true selves. It’s through the connection between our minds and hearts that we create a fulfilling and uplifting life.
From Body to Breath to Brain
The inward journey to our true selves encompasses more than our thoughts or our external senses. It is a physical and energetic pilgrimage—a journey we take through our very breath and bones by unifying our mind, energy, and body. Our true selves are fully realized in our lives when we embody them.
Practices such as yoga and qigong were designed for this process. By marrying awareness with movement and breath, these techniques help us peel back the layers of stress and ego that often hide the brightness we all hold inside. They also bring our bodies, brains, and energy into balance, creating harmony with nature.
Introducing Arirang Qigong
To facilitate this connection, I developed a new qigong form this year to open the body, ground the energy, and raise the spirit. The twelve steps of Arirang Qigong combine a strong, stable stance with flowing, circular arm movements. Performed to the song “Arirang,” the motions offer encouragement as we open to our true selves.
You can follow along with students from Global Cyber University in the video below:
The 12 Steps of Arirang Qigong
- Energy Line Activation: Awaken the energy sensation of the whole body through the unity of breath and movement. Press firmly into the Yongchun points at the bottom of the feet and imagine an energy line from the first to the seventh chakra. Inhale as your arms rise, awakening the energy of the whole body. Focus on aligning the energy from the soles of your feet (yongchun) through all seven chakras to straighten your spiritual center. As you exhale, draw the energy from the crown (7th chakra) down to the base (first chakra), focusing on the lower dahnjon (second chakra).
- Opening the Chest: To discover the meaning of Arirang and find the true self, open the chest and fully expand the energy. With feet 1.5 to 2 times shoulder-width apart, cross your hands in front of your chest, then push your palms out to the sides. Connect the yongchun to the first chakra (abdomen) and the fourth chakra (heart) to the centers of the palms; circulate energy through the fifth and seventh chakras (mind).
- Opening the Hips: Energy that opened above begins to root below and move in balance. Establish the center and circulate energy harmoniously from left to right. Shift your weight to the left foot. Balance while bringing the right arm and leg toward the center, then rotate the arm and hip joint outward in a large circle. Land with your feet 1.5 to 2 shoulder-widths apart, toes pointed out, and our arms straight out to the sides at shoulder-height, palms down. Repeat this three times, alternating sides.
- One Human Stance: Build and strengthen a solid foundation. Keep the lower body strong and the upper body light and relaxed to allow energy to form strongly. Shift your center to the left, crossing the left and right wrists with palms open away from you. Then, shift your weight to the right, bending your right knee and extending the left one. As you shift, rotate your waist while keeping your wrists in front of your face so they end up over the right knee. Then, extend your left hand outward with the palm edge leading until it ends up over the left knee. Perform this once on each side.
- Holding the Center: Establish the center and use the energy expansively. The more broadly you circulate energy, the more firmly you must stabilize your center. Pull in the right leg, cross both hands by the lower dahnjon (the abdomen below the navel), and circulate energy along your center of gravity, by drawing a large circle with your arms up and over the head, out to the sides, and down. As you move your arms, make a circle with your right knee, too. Finish with a wide stance and arms up at shoulder height, palms down. Right, left, then right again—repeat three times. Build and strengthen a solid foundation.
- Drawing the Taegeuk (Infinity Symbol): The upper body follows the flow of the lower body, embodying the principles of emptiness and fullness, above and below, and the harmony of yin and yang—the principle of Taegeuk. Cross your hands at chest height and extend them up and down diagonally with both palms toward the sky. Shift your weight and turn your upper body toward the higher hand. Then, keeping your hips from moving up and down, shift your center left and right as you move your upper body and arms in a Taegeuk (yin-yang) pattern. End up with your head and torso facing the higher hand. Do it once on each side.
- Face Circle + Mermaid Pose: Like a mermaid returning to the Dragon Palace, we move toward rediscovering our true nature. Pull in your left leg and step forward into a lunge. Push both hands forward from the heart center. Use the back of the right hand to draw a circle toward the left side of the face, then reverse the circle, and extend the hand forward at shoulder level with palm down. Repeat the movement with the other arm. Then, alternate your arms up and down, flowing and rhythmically, to circulate energy throughout the body. Step forward with your right foot into a lung and repeat the entire sequence.
- Pushing the Three Dahnjons: Align the essence, energy, and spirit upright, and push away all obstacles. Step the right leg back into a lunge position, push both palms forward sequentially from the middle (heart), upper (brain), and lower (abdomen) energy centers (dahnjons). Step back with the left leg into a lunge, then push both palms forward from the three energy centers. Firmly stabilize the lower body and align the center of the body and mind upright.
- Opening the Ahmun Point: Spread the sound of one’s true nature widely throughout the world. Bring the back foot forward so that your feet are parallel, about 1.5 to 2 shoulder-widths apart. At the same time, cross your hands at the chest and bring both up over the head and down to the base of the skull, extending both palms out to the sides at shoulder height with elbows slightly bent.
- Side Knife-Hand Block + Thumbs Up Wide Stance: Send energy to everyone because everyone is a star! Circle your hands back to your center line. Extend your right hand forward and up to chin level with palm up, leading with the edge of the pointer finger. At the same time, press your left palm down firmly at the level of your second chakra, about two inches below the navel. Alternate hands and repeat the movement. Then shift your weight to the left, bending your left knee while keeping your right knee straight. Make fists with both hands and bring them together on the left side of your waist. Extend the right hand with a “thumbs up” to shoulder height and twist your waist so that the hand circles to the right. Follow your thumb with your eyes and keep your lower body still. Then shift your weight to the right, gather your fists on the right side, and repeat the motion.
- OK Twist Stance: Everything is okay! I love myself, and I love everyone! Move the left leg forward into an Ilshim (one-pointed mind) stance. Gather both hands to the right side. Place the left palm down at the second chakra while forming an “OK” sign with the right hand and extending it forward slightly at the level of the fifth chakra. Gather your fists on the right side again, step to the left side with your left leg, cross the right leg over into an Ilshim stance, and bring both fists to the left side. Repeat the hand motion on this side.
- Great Unity Posture: One begins in no beginning; One ends in no ending. All things return to the One. Return to your starting position with your feet together. Inhale as your arms rise, and exhale as your arms lower, leading with the elbows, while pressing into the yongchun in your feet. Stop your hands in front of the lower dahnjon, palms down, as you focus on that energy center. Repeat three times.
Ultimately, Arirang Qigong is more than a series of movements; it is the art of bringing our bodies, breaths, and minds into a single, harmonious rhythm. By practicing these natural, circular movements, we clear away the clouds inside to let our inner light dominate our awareness and behavior.
Checking In with Our True Selves
As we practice Arirang Qigong more and more, we can go beyond a physical familiarity with the movements to a deeper understanding of ourselves. However, just as we can lose touch with the people we love, we can lose touch with our true selves, knocking us out of balance. When we’re out of balance, our energy turns upside down, and we may feel more tired or stressed. We become less resilient to life’s worries and less empowered to meet life’s challenges.
On the other hand, if we do a simple energetic check-in, we can right ourselves before we become “out of whack.” I recommend turning our attention inward once every hour and checking our internal temperature.
Are we feeling too hot-headed or stressed? Do we feel drained or foggy? If so, all we need to do is take action right away for just two minutes. We can move our bodies vigorously–jog, jump, dance, or do push-ups—to raise our body temperature if we feel fatigued or stuck. We can relax and breathe, feeling our breath, to cool a mind overheated by stress.
By checking in, we can prevent our circumstances from overwhelming us and overshadowing our true selves. Once we feel better, we can listen to our hearts and find the courage to carry on with our day.
The temperature of our bodies reflects the temperature of our true selves. In keeping our energy clear, bright, and balanced through regular practice, we will never wander far from home.
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