Sinking + rising = fullness

... well, perhaps "=" is putting it a bit strong... but let me explain ;-)

Virtually every qigong instructor and/or instructional talks about rooting down to the earth and opening up to the heavens. A variety of analogies and visual aids are employed... roots literally growing down from your feet into the earth... your skull being suspended by a string... the vertebrae of your neck and back floating upwards... etc.

The concept of fullness (aka. Openness or Dynamism or Rich Awareness) is also given great significance... and rightly so! I would go so far as to say that cultivating this "opening dynamic fullness" in every cell of your body is the single most crucial and fundamental aspect of qigong.

At least for now ;)

What I'm finding quite powerful these days is using a combination of sinking and rising to guide me into this rich state of awareness.

First, sink. In any and every body part, let each muscle/cell/neuron drop effortlessly, as if sand were falling through your fingers. Smile a bit, too... you're happy to let the sand go.

Then, rise. Not instead of sinking, but in addition to... which sounds difficult yet the two are surprisingly compatible. While the sand of your body and mind are flowing effortlessly downwards, allow your body energy to rise upwards... bringing with it your skeleton.

In the confluence of these two activities, where sinking is complemented by rising, lies a dynamic yet stable state of fullness. From here you will know what to do!