Dredge, Tone, Root, Relax

These are traditional practice notes, not medical advice. Move gently, adapt every exercise to your own body, and ask a health professional about any condition.

Dredge, Tone, Center/Root, and Relax Set.

Start

Warm-ups | pulling down the heavens | lifting up the qi | raise arms like a bird.

Dredge

Image: untie knots, cool water, snow, water wearing down rocks, prayers/mantras/ultrasound.
- Yang: back of arms, back of neck, back, back of legs, to ankle, disperse (x6).
- Yin: inside of legs, groin, front, front of neck, front of arms to wrist, disperse (x6).
Vibrate/shake it all loose | heel taps.

Tone

Image: bubble of qi: large, medium, smaller, storing in lower dantian / energy center.
- Liver: palms facing; turn left, right; reach and dredge inside of arm (x3 each direction).
- Kidney: big arm circles, big reach down and up (x3 each direction).
- Lung: push in/out to each side (x3).
- Heart: small bubble, reach/turn left and right, shrinking (x3 each direction).
- Spleen: push down, gather at groin, lift up, left, right (x3).
- Pulsate qi at middle dantian; nourish qi at lower dantian.

Root and Settle

Image: a tree with deep roots, immovable trunk, but flexible, flowing limbs.
- Turtle Breathing: lift, squat/gather at center/bend, rise (x3).
- Wide Horse Stance: still, sinking, centering, relaxing; push center, up, down.
- Taiji Push: stay rooted while flowing forward and back.
- Fly Qi Like a Bird: float hands back, reach, carry ball forward, release (x3 each side).

Relax

Image: Resolve to be present, to achieve calm and tranquility. Persist, come back after drift. Pay attention. Concentrate with ease. Be relaxed and ready with full awareness; not collapsed.
Inner voice and concentration: Quietly chant "relax". Focus all senses on each body part. Loose, light, open. "Expand like leavening bread." Find balance and equanimity.
Standing post
- Relax the analytical mind (brain). Direct attention to the effort. Direct senses inward:
  - Sight; hearing; smell; taste; sensation.
- Relax the emotional mind (heart). Think "shhh", like calming a baby. Let go of:
  - Sadness, fear, anger/frustration, shock/nervousness, worry/self-doubt.
- Relax the breath.
  - Hands to side, slightly outward, wuji posture. Long, smooth 85% breaths.
  - Inflate/expand; deflate/compress. Quiet, deep, easy, natural.
- Relax body parts, muscles, tendons, joints, ligaments, bones:
  - Top of head, between the eyes, ears, lips, lower jaw, neck.
  - Shoulders, upper arms, elbows, forearms, wrists, fingers.
  - Upper trunk, lower trunk, pelvis, calves, knees, shins, ankles, toes.
- Relax energy flows, starting from the top of the head each time:
  - Sides/arms: down each ear, to shoulders, to fingers.
  - Front: down the front, along the inside of each leg, to toes.
  - Back: down the back, along each side of the spine, to perineum/pelvic floor.
- Gather and nourish qi at lower dantian / belly / gate of life.
Gently shake, vibrate all over.