Qigong Routine to Release Tension: 8 Minutes

Name: Qigong Routine to Release Tension and Stress (8 Minutes)
Uploaded: 2025-04-17
Duration: 7 min 45 s
Description: This is an 8-minute Qigong routine to release tension, with Christopher Grant. It uses shaking, shoulder and hip movements, a cleansing breath, The Tiger and Painting a Smile. Keep your knees steady and go only as far down as you like.

7:45 · Led by Christopher Grant · Published April 2025 · Watch on YouTube

What you will do

Christopher opens by inviting you to set aside the shoulds and everything you are trying to become, and to drop into what is here right now. He says great energy can include sadness and sorrow.

You shake one leg, then the other, then the shoulders and a hand in the air. With your feet wider than your hips and your legs rooted like tree trunks, you turn from the waist and let your hands slap your back to wake it up. You circle your hips and tap or rub any place that feels tight.

For the cleansing breath you breathe in through the nose and out through rounded lips, as if through a straw, about 10 times. Then you do The Tiger and close with Painting a Smile.

If stress or anxiety is persistent, talk with a doctor or counselor. If you feel unsafe or think about harming yourself, call or text 988 in the US, or your local emergency number.

What is in the video

0:00 Warm-up
0:50 Shaking
1:25 Knocking on the Door of Life
3:00 Open the shoulders and release tension
3:38 Hip rotations
4:45 Cleansing breath
5:50 The Tiger
6:45 Painting a Smile

Questions people ask

What does this Qigong routine include?

It includes a warm-up, shaking, Knocking on the Door of Life, a shoulder release, hip rotations, a cleansing breath, The Tiger and Painting a Smile. The video has eight chapters, from the warm-up at 0:00 to Painting a Smile at 6:45.

Can Qigong replace medical care for stress?

No. It is an educational movement practice. If stress or anxiety is persistent, please talk with a doctor or counselor as well.

What is The Tiger in this Qigong routine?

The Tiger is a move in this routine that builds heat and energy. You make tiger's claws, reach up as you inhale and squat as you exhale, and you can roar or hiss if you like.