Three Things New Qigong Teachers Often Get Wrong

I've trained and mentored a lot of Qigong teachers over the years, and I've noticed there are a few common things that tend to trip people up when they first start teaching.

Qigong has many facets: movement, posture, breath, presence, perception, awareness and stillness. There are hundreds, if not thousands, of practices used across different traditions, lineages and styles. The way those practices are expressed can vary enormously, but there are some fundamentals that run through all of them.

When you begin teaching Qigong, it's easy to focus on getting the form right, remembering what comes next and making sure you're giving your students enough instruction.

Your students aren't only learning from what you say. They're watching you. They're following your movement, your rhythm, your presence and the way you express the practice.

Whether you realise it or not, you are teaching through your own embodiment.

This is important for new teachers to understand. Here are three things I see new Qigong teachers often get wrong.

Don’t Fidget

Your students are watching you. If you're lifting your toes, wiggling your fingers, shifting your weight or jostling your body while you're demonstrating, they're likely to copy you.

When you're teaching Qigong, there needs to be intention behind what you're doing. You're moving in a particular way for a reason, so it's worth noticing the little movements you might be making that aren't actually part of the form.

As a Qigong teacher, one of your roles is to be an anchor for your students. Your own presence helps create a sense of steadiness and ease in the room.

This includes the things you're wearing.

I remember buying a lovely loose cotton top that I thought would be perfect for Qigong. Nope. It kept riding up and catching on my bra, which meant I was constantly tugging it down and adjusting it.

It was distracting for me and it was equally distracting for my students.

Your hair is another one to think about, especially if it's long. If you're constantly brushing it away from your face or out of your eyes, it's going to interrupt the continuity of your movement. And then there's jewellery. Clangy, bangy jewellery is probably best avoided when you're teaching Qigong!

You don't need to become robotic in your attempt not to fidget. We're human, and little things happen. But if you notice that you're continually adjusting yourself, shifting around or doing things that aren't part of the form, it's worth addressing.

Your students are watching you, and what they see becomes part of what they're learning.

Don’t overload your verbal cues

Don't try to say everything there is to say about a particular Qigong form or movement in the first repetition.

It's common for new Qigong teachers to get so caught up in explaining what they're doing that they barely get going in their demonstration. Blah blah blah-ing away before you've even started the movement.

Just get going!

Give your students a couple of basic verbal cues and then let yourself get into the flow of demonstrating. You can say more as the practice unfolds.

When you're teaching in person, you're also watching your students. You can see what they're doing, where they're getting stuck and what needs more explanation. That gives you plenty of opportunity to add further guidance as you go.

If you're demonstrating the movement clearly and you're settled into your own expression of the form, your students have something to follow. You don't need to talk them through every detail before they've even had a chance to experience the movement.

This is something new teachers often struggle to trust. There's a tendency to think that being a good teacher means giving your students lots of information.

It doesn't.

Good teaching is about giving people what they need, when they need it. Use the fewest and most effective words you can, then let the practice speak for itself.

Go too slow

Qigong is typically slow and deliberate, but that doesn't mean the slower you demonstrate, the better.

When you're new to teaching, it's easy to go too slowly because you're concentrating on what comes next, trying to remember all your cues or making sure you're giving your students enough time to follow you.

The problem is that the expression of the form can become disjointed.

As the teacher, you need to find your own flow. Once you're familiar enough with the form that you can move through it without having to think about every step, your students have a much easier time following you.

This is also something to consider when you're thinking about who you're teaching.

For someone completely new to Qigong, particularly someone who tends to overthink, moving extremely slowly can sometimes have the opposite effect to what you intend. They can become more focused on trying to get every movement exactly right rather than actually being in the present moment.

Sometimes, speeding up your usual pace a little can help them find their way into the movement. That doesn't mean rushing or losing the quality of the practice. It means paying attention to what's happening in the room and adjusting your teaching accordingly.

Once you've found your own rhythm and your students are following along, you can encourage them to explore their own pace within the form.

The aim isn't for everyone to move at exactly the same speed. It's for them to become familiar enough with the movement that they can begin to find their own rhythm and stay connected to the energy and the practice.

My point about going too slow is only relevant from the teaching perspective. In your own personal practice of Qigong, you can explore the pace that feels right for you.

In my experience, moving slowly with presence makes it easier to feel Qi and develop your sensitivity to Qi. There is no need to rush your personal practice. You can slow things down, stay with a movement and notice what you feel.

Teaching is different.

When you're teaching, you're not practising for yourself. You're observing your students, responding to what's happening in the room and making adjustments that help them find their way into the practice.

This is why personal practice is so important for aspiring Qigong teachers. The more familiar you become with the form through your own practice, the less you need to think about what you're doing. You can move with greater ease and presence, and your attention becomes available for your students.

When you fully embody the form, you can teach from a place of experience rather than simply trying to remember what you're supposed to say or do.

Your personal practice is the foundation of your teaching. If you're considering teaching Qigong, developing your own practice is the place to start.

I offer Qigong Teacher Training through mentorship over nine months. This pathway is designed to support you to deepen your own practice while developing the knowledge and skills you need to teach others.

If you're interested in exploring what it means to embody what you teach, I share new writing and reflections by email.