Lower Body Joint Mobility

What to Expect

Our joints tend to be a place where qi gets “stuck” – and they’re also parts of our body that we often don’t move in all the possible ways to release that stuck, stagnant qi.

In this practice, move the qi throughout your body as we focus on the lower joints – hips, knees, and ankles –  so that you can “lubricate” the joints and make them silky smooth.

Limited Joint Mobility? This one can be done if you have limited joint mobility due to arthritis or any other condition. Please stay within a range of motion that feels good for you. You should not feel pain doing these, and if you do, make your circles smaller, or do what you can. You can always try to build up to what I’m doing over time, or stay where you are if that is what feels best for you. Whatever you’re doing is right for you – no need to attain something just for the sake of attaining it!

Need to be seated? If you need to be seated I would recommend the following modifications:

* In “Move Your Body Like a River”, do what you can with your upper body to move your spine in the lateral side to side motion. If you’re in a chair you can put your legs on each side of the chair and shift your weight from side to side, placing your weight on each foot as you can. If you’re in a wheelchair or can’t put weight on a foot, just do the upper body portion.

* Ankle Rolls – just stick your foot out if you can and roll your ankles in each direction.

* Knee Slaps – Omit the bouncing

* I’d probably stop after there, as the knee circles and hip openers will probably be difficult to do while seated. But the other previous exercises can still help!