Energizing the Organs Qigong is a gentle, breath-centered practice designed to awaken vitality, improve circulation, and cultivate internal balance through mindful movement.
Slow flowing exercises, coordinated breathing, and relaxed attention help release tension while encouraging a calm, grounded state of awareness. The practice is accessible to beginners and adaptable for a wide range of ages and physical abilities.
What Is Energizing the Organs Qigong?
This practice combines relaxed movement, breath awareness, posture, and focused intention to support the body’s natural energy flow. Rooted in traditional qigong principles, the exercises are designed to gently stimulate and harmonize the internal organ systems while calming the mind and nervous system.
Movements are performed slowly and mindfully, allowing practitioners to develop greater body awareness, improve coordination, and cultivate a feeling of internal spaciousness and ease.
Rather than relying on force or intensity, the practice emphasizes softness, alignment, relaxation, and natural breathing.
Benefits of the Practice
Improves Circulation
Gentle full-body movements help encourage healthy circulation and overall vitality.
Supports Relaxation
Breath-centered practice helps calm the nervous system and release accumulated tension.
Enhances Body Awareness
Slow intentional movement develops coordination, posture, and internal sensitivity.
Encourages Mental Clarity
Focused attention and rhythmic breathing promote calm concentration and emotional balance.
Accessible and Adaptable
The movements can be modified for many ages, experience levels, and physical conditions.
Cultivates Grounded Energy
The practice encourages a balanced feeling of alertness, ease, and centered presence.
Practice at Your Own Pace
The exercises on this page are designed to be approachable and beginner friendly. You may follow along using the written instructions together with the accompanying video demonstration, moving slowly and comfortably within your own range.
There is no need to force movement, strain the breath, or rush through the practice. A calm and relaxed approach is encouraged throughout.
The Practice
Preparing the Body, Breath, and Mind
Begin with the Three Mindful Alignments, aligning the three treasures of body, breath, and mind in the Tao.
Feel the Earth below and the Sky above. Between Earth and Sky we gently lengthen the body and allow the muscles to relax.
Take a slow breath. If comfortable, breathe through the nose and allow the breath to settle deeply into the body. Let the breath become smooth, calm, and even.
Then bring awareness to the mind itself. Allow distracting thoughts to soften and gradually fade into the background. Rest your attention on the direct experience of the body and the natural rhythm of the breath. The gentle in and out of the breath becomes a quiet point of focus.
Bring the hands in front of the Lower Dantian and rub them together vigorously to warm the palms. Place your mental focus at the center of the palms to intensify awareness and sensation.
Then hold the hands facing each other about 10 inches apart and imagine a ball of energy forming between them. You may notice sensations such as warmth, pulsing, tingling, spinning, or subtle vibration.
As you inhale, allow the energy ball to gently expand. As you exhale, softly compress it back together.
The breath remains calm and relaxed, drawn deeply into the Lower Dantian through the nose whenever comfortable. The mind stays quiet, centered, and attentive.
Repeat the expanding and compressing movement several times, then gently warm the hands once again before continuing into the organ practice.
Energizing the Liver
Place your hands, palm over palm, over the Liver and Gallbladder on the right side of the body. A few fingers should feel the ribs while the others rest over the upper abdomen.
You may gently rub in a circular manner to bring awareness to the area.
As you breathe, imagine green light radiating from the center of your palms into the Liver. Visualize every cell becoming nourished, energized, and vibrant as it absorbs the green light.
With every breath the light becomes clearer, brighter, and more vivid.
Remain here for several slow breaths.
When ready to move on, create a gentle inner smile. Allow that smile to connect with the Liver, reinforcing the mind-body connection and expressing gratitude to your internal organs.
Energizing the Heart
Warm up the hands again if desired.
Place the hands palm over palm in the center of the chest.
As you breathe, visualize red light beaming into the Heart. The Heart encompasses the entire cardiovascular system.
Imagine all the cells of the Heart absorbing the red light and becoming stronger and more vibrant. Feel the steady rhythm of the Heart pulsing throughout the body.
With every breath the light becomes clearer and more vivid.
Remain here for several breaths.
When ready, smile into the Heart with gratitude for all its continual work.
Energizing the Spleen and Pancreas
Warm up the hands if desired.
Place the hands on the left side of the body over the Spleen and Pancreas. Some fingers will rest against the ribs while others contact the abdomen.
As you breathe, imagine yellow light radiating from the center of the palms into the Spleen and Pancreas.
This yellow light is rich and earthy like clay or golden sunlight. Imagine all the cells absorbing the light and becoming nourished and strengthened.
With every breath the yellow light becomes more vivid and clear. The breath remains deep, relaxed, and steady.
Remain here for several breaths.
When ready to move on, smile gently into the Spleen and Pancreas to reinforce the mind-body connection and express gratitude.
Energizing the Lungs
Warm up the hands if desired.
Cross the hands and place them on either side of the chest with the fingertips near the collarbone.
Imagine white light radiating from the palms deep into the Lungs. The Lungs are broad and spacious within the body.
In Taoist practice the Lungs include not only the lungs themselves, but also the bronchi, nasal passages, sinuses, and even the pores of the skin.
Visualize all these cells absorbing the white light and becoming strong, clear, and vibrant.
With every breath the white light becomes brighter and more vivid. Feel the breath being drawn deeply into the body.
Remain here for several breaths.
Then express gratitude to the Lungs with an inner smile.
Energizing the Kidneys
Warm up the hands if desired.
Reach around to the back of the body and place the palms over the Kidneys if comfortable. Some fingers may touch the ribs while others rest over the muscles of the lower back.
If it is difficult to place the palms directly on the Kidneys, the backs of the hands may also be used.
Begin to visualize deep blue light radiating from the palms into the Kidneys.
Imagine every cell of the Kidneys absorbing the blue light and becoming nourished, strengthened, and revitalized.
With every breath the blue light becomes clearer and more vivid.
Remain here for several breaths.
Then smile into the Kidneys with gratitude for the support they provide throughout life.
Integrating the Practice
Finally, allow the hands to rest palm over palm below the navel over the Lower Dantian.
Sit quietly and breathe naturally.
Feel the energies of the five organs — Liver, Heart, Spleen/Pancreas, Lungs, and Kidneys — flowing harmoniously throughout the body together.
Remain here for several breaths.
Then simply sit quietly for a moment and enjoy the calm and balanced feeling created by the practice.
If practicing outdoors, you may softly observe the colors of nature around you — green, red, yellow, white, and blue — reflecting the energies cultivated within the body.
What to Expect
Classes are taught in a relaxed and supportive environment with clear step-by-step instruction. Movements are practiced slowly and repeated mindfully to help students develop familiarity, comfort, and confidence over time.
Sessions typically include:
- Gentle warm-up movements
- Coordinated breathing exercises
- Standing qigong forms
- Relaxation and centering practices
No prior experience is necessary, and students are encouraged to work at their own pace.
This practice is gentle, accessible, and easy to follow using the written instructions and accompanying video guidance provided on this page. Many people comfortably practice at home on their own, while others enjoy the additional support and shared experience of attending a class.
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This is a powerful Taoist mindfulness exercise that will take about ten minutes to complete. You should find it deeply calming and restorative. I call it “Energizing the Organs”.
Begin with the “Three Mindful Alignments“, aligning the three treasures of body, breath, and mind in the Tao. Feel the Earth below and the Sky above. In between Earth and Sky we lengthen the body and relax the muscles. Take a breath. If possible the breath is through the nose. Allow the breath to go deep into the body. Let the breath become slow, and even. Then look at the mind itself. Clear it of distracting thoughts and focus it on what the body is experiencing. The in and out of the breath is always a powerful focus point.
Bring your hands in front of the Lower Dantian and rub the hands together vigorously to warm them up. Place your mental focus at the center of your palms to intensify the effect. Then hold the hands palm facing palm, about 10 inches apart and engage your imagination to create the sensation of a ball of energy in between your hands. Maybe you feel spinning, pulsing, or a vibration in between the hands. Then, as we breathe in we allow the ball to expand. Exhaling we press it back together.
Our inhales are through the nose and the breath is drawn deep into the Lower Dantian. Our mind is calm and focused.
Do several repetitions of expanding and closing the ball and then warm up the hands once again.
Energizing the Liver
Place your hands, palm over palm, over the Liver and gallbladder which are located on the right side of the body. A few fingers should feel ribs the others will be feeling the upper abdomen. You can rub gently in a circular manner to call your mind’s attention to the area. Then imagine you’re beaming green light from the center of your palms energizing all the cells of the Liver. Every cell is getting stronger and increasing in functional ability as it absorbs the green light. The light itself gets clearer and more vivid with every breath.
Do this for several breaths.
When ready to move on, in your mind’s eye create a smile. Even allow that smile to come to your face. Connect the smile in your mind’s eye with the Liver. This reinforces our mind-body connection and expresses gratitude to our internal organs.
Energizing the Heart
Warm up the hands again. (optional)
Place the hands in the center of the chest, palm over palm. As you breathe, visualize red light beaming into the Heart. The Heart encompasses the entire cardiovascular system. Picture all the cells of the Heart absorbing the red light and getting stronger. The Heart has a strong beat. It is rhythmic and it pulses throughout our body. The light becomes more vivid and clearer with every breath.
Do this for several breaths.
When ready to move on, smile into the Heart with gratitude for all its hard work.
Energizing the Spleen/Pancreas
Warm up the hands by rubbing them together. (Optional)
Place the hands on the left side of the body over the Spleen/Pancreas. A few fingers will feel ribs, the others feeling the abdomen.
Breathe and visualize yellow light beaming from the center of the palms into the Spleen/Pancreas. This yellow like clay of the earth. Imagine all the cells of the Spleen/Pancreas absorbing that light and getting stronger as they do. The light itself becomes vivid and clear with every breath we take. The breath is deep and relaxed.
Do this for several breaths.
When ready to move on, smile into the Spleen/Pancreas to reinforce the mind-body connection and express gratitude to our organs.
Energizing the Lungs
Warm up the hands. (optional)
To energize the Lungs, cross hands and place them on either side of the chest with the finger tips near the collarbone. Imagine beaming white light from our palms into our Lungs. The Lungs are broad they go deep in the body. In Taoist medicine the Lungs are more than just the Lungs themselves. The Lungs it include the bronchi, the nasal passages, the sinuses, and even the pores of our skin. See all these cells absorbing the white light and becoming strong and increasing in functional ability. The light becoming clear and vivid with every breath we take. We feel our breath being drawn deep into the body.
Do this for several breaths.
And then express gratitude to Lungs with an inner smile.
Energizing the Kidneys
Warm up the hands. (optional)
Energizing the Kidneys requires reaching around to the back of the body if possible place the palms of your hands flat over the Kidneys. A few fingers should be feeling ribs and others the muscles of the upper part of the lower back. If it is not possible to have the palms against the Kidneys you can use the back of the hand.
Begin to beam blue light from the palms energizing the Kidneys. Every cell of the Kidney absorbing that light and increasing in functional ability. The blue light getting more vivid and clearer with every breath we take.
Do this for several breaths.
Then smile into the Kidneys. So much gratitude for our inner organs.
All together
Finally let the hands slide around to cover our Lower Dantian, palm over palm just below our belly button and take a moment to sit and relax and breathe. Feel the energies of the five organs, Liver – Heart – Spleen/Pancreas – Lungs – Kidneys, coursing through our bodies together. They reinforce each other maintain homeostasis.
Do this for several breaths.
Finally, just sit for a moment and enjoy the good feeling. Often, especially if doing this practice outside, I’ll gaze around the environment and note the five colors, green – red – yellow – white – blue as I spot them.