5 Elements Qi Gong

If you do qigong for preventive reasonsIf you practice Qi Gong for less than 15 minutes a day, you can achieve good results. Basically, it is better to do 6 times 15 minutes Qi Gong, than once 1.5 hours. Therefore, I show you here a short variant of the 5 elements Qi Gong.

At this point, it is very important to me to show you a way to practice Qi Gong regularly and on a long-term basis. It is a fact that most people stop practicing after only a few days. And that is really a pity! Success with this method can only be achieved through regular and persistent practice. But then the results are lasting and often very convincing.

When I look at the many comments on our YouTube channel "Simply Live Better", I am delighted at how many people regularly practice with our programs. And many of them have been doing it since the beginning, for several years now. For me it is still amazing and at the same time a great joy to read that people become healthier through Qi Gong and that health problems disappear. In many cases, complaints that have existed for many years, from back pain to depression.
For me it is undisputed that Qi Gong has profound health effects on the human organism. However, exactly how this happens has not been researched to this day. There are many approaches to an explanation. The easiest one is to adhere to the view of TCM, according to which Qi Gong, is the work with one's own life energy. Through breathing, one simply absorbs more vital energy through Qi Gong. That's how simple it is from the eastern point of view!

Over the years, one thing has become clear to me. The method basically works excellently, with regular practice. However, the Asian approach, according to which one should often practice Qi Gong for several hours a day, is completely overwhelming for us Westerners. Also the moderate eastern Qi Gong teachers, who consider only 1-2 hours of daily practice to be sufficient, do not find much appeal with us.

Personally, as I said, I recommend 30 minutes if there are physical problems and 15 minutes if you want to do something preventively. But here, too, it has been shown that even this period is often too daring. That's why I have the "3 minutes method" developed for me and my clients. It is basically very simple. All you have to do, if you are seriously interested in Qi Gong, is to practice Qi Gong for 3 minutes a day. No more and no less! Once in the morning or evening. Or whenever you can integrate it into your daily routine.

For example, you can do the warm-up program - and that's it. If you are still motivated, you can continue. But the goal is simply to do 3 minutes a day. Then you're done again. It's like running. Once you put on your running shoes and take your first steps, it's easy. The hardest part is putting on your shoes and taking the first few steps.

As I said, start with the warm-up program, or for my sake, pick your personal favorite exercise from the Qi Gong series.


In the first weeks you start with 3 minutes of daily Qi Gong practice. As I said, in the morning, in the evening, or whenever it suits you. Then, in the second week, you set yourself the goal of doing 6 minutes of qigong daily. And so you increase by 3 minutes from week to week. Take your smartphone and set a timer. This clarity will support you in your intention.

Your plan then looks like this, if you want to do something preventive for your health.

• Week: 3 min daily
• Week: 6 min daily
• Week: 9 min daily
• Week: 12 min daily
• Week: 15 min daily

The best and greatest program is of no use to you if you don't manage to do it on a regular basis. This point is given far too little consideration in the Qi Gong scene, but also in Yoga or Pilates. We simply have a strong inner pig dog that basically doesn't want any change. If you suddenly start doing a new exercise sequence for 30 minutes a day, that can be great on the first day. But on the second day you think of 1000 reasons why you don't have time today. And that's it for the training. And weeks later you realize that you actually wanted to do Qi Gong. Now you start again with the same method and probably fail again. This, of course, increases your frustration, and you end up telling yourself that it's just not for you.

Taking small steps to develop a new habit is essential. Another important point to consider at this point is linking a new habit to an old one. In terms of qigong, this means that you link your morning qigong practice to your morning coffee, tea or breakfast. So you do 3 minutes of qigong and then look forward to coffee, tea or your breakfast. In week two, you do 6 minutes and look forward to the reward even more. Without Qi Gong, on the other hand, there is no breakfast. Unless you decide to take a break 1-2 days a week, then that's an exception.

The longer version (about 30 minutes) of the 5 Elements Qi Sequence you can find here.