Qigong for Stress Relief

I recently picked up this DVD at a used book sale. Although I frequently do yoga, I have only dabbled a bit in Qigoing. However, I have been particularly stressed of late, and I was curious about this DVD's promise (on the case) to provide the "10 best exercises for reducing stress." That combined with the 30-minute length was enough to convince me to give the program a try.

This routine is led by a husband/wife team, Francesco and Daisy Garripoli. In their 2-minute introduction to this practice, they explain how Qigong involves the harnessing of energy in the body. The two teach the routine live, alternating in their instruction. The setting is a pretty outdoor birch tree grove, and the music is soft and unobtrusive. The total practice time winds up being 24 minutes.

The pair begin seated on stools. Francesco provides instruction for deep abdominal breathing, which he notes should be used throughout the practice.

Continuing seated, the exercises are as follows:

1. Cross-arm self-massage

2. Neck stretches

3. Rub hands, move energy over body

4. Rolling the ball

They then move to standing and continue with the following exercises:

5. Rolling the ball standing

6. Pushing hands

7. Alternating slow punch forward

8. Wave on the ocean

9. Tapping sequence

10. Conclude with pushing ball of energy down body 3x

I did feel like I experienced an increased energy flow with some of the moves, which I liked. Overall, however, I found myself distracted by the instruction. First, Francesco and Daisy do not mirror-cue--this is not a deal-breaker for me in exercise videos, but I found it difficult with this type of practice. I would have found it more acceptable had they included other form reminders, such as details about the placement of the hands, feet, etc. I was trying to follow their movements on screen, but unfortunately, neither instructor provided specific enough details verbalizing the entirety of the exercise, at least not for someone relatively new to Qigong. Furthermore, this was not a flowing practice; rather, between each new move, the instructors would stop and talk about what was coming up rather than providing a more continuous routine. The end result was that this DVD did NOT wind up relieving much stress for me, and I don't plan to keep it.