Practice Library

Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water - the Five Elements of Daoist Qi Gong

A nine week course in the five elements of Daoist qi gong, recorded live on Wednesday mornings.

Qi gong is movement for health. That is how Dan Brierley begins this course, and it is the thread that runs through all nine weeks: a gentle practice, connected to traditional Chinese medicine, that asks nothing of you athletically and can be done seated if standing does not suit. The course works with the balance of the five elements, with the Earth element at the centre of the practice, building a more balanced relationship through body, mind and spirit, and supporting the relationship between our internal and external experience. It is a holistic practice for health and wellbeing, and it follows the seasons: earth at the middle, then wood for spring and rejuvenation, fire for summer and its upward and outward energy, metal for autumn, focus and boundaries, and water for winter, inward and downward and quiet. Each week opens the same way, with Wu Chi and two minutes of simply standing and noticing, then warm-ups, then the five Daoist breaths, and then one movement drawn from each element's complete form: the lion playing with the ball, the crane, the tiger, the cooling waters of the lake. The sequence is built up over the nine weeks and taken apart again in detail, so a beg

What this course covers

• The five elements in balance, with earth at the centre
• Wu Chi, the warm-ups and the five Daoist breaths, every week
• One movement from each element: the lion, the crane, the tiger, the lake
• Nine weeks, recorded live between June and July 2026

Sessions

1. Week 1 - What Qi Gong Is, and Meeting the Earth Element 67 minutes
2. Week 2 - The Five Daoist Breaths 56 minutes
3. Week 3 - Jing, Qi and Shen, and the Character of Each Element 60 minutes
4. Week 4 - Bringing Thought and Feeling to the Movement 67 minutes
5. Week 5 - Wu Chi, Breathing Like a Bellows, and Warming the Kidneys 66 minutes
6. Week 6 - The Whole Sequence, and the Spaces Between the Movements 70 minutes
7. Week 7 - Yi, and What Makes a Movement Belong to an Element 70 minutes
8. Week 8 - Flowing Through the Seasons 65 minutes
9. Week 9 - The Complete Five Element Flow 59 minutes