Marrow Washing

Several weeks ago I picked up a book on Taoism called Scholar Warrior. My meditation teacher introduced me to the book a few years ago when she was exploring Taoism with us. In it I rediscovered a set of qigong exercises called the Marrow Washing Classic. This is a set of 24 exercises that work and stretch all the body's major muscle groups, joints, and tendons, making it a nice full-body workout.

In her classes, my meditation teacher had us try some of the exercises. At the time, I found it difficult to understand the exercises simply by following the written directions and illustrations provided. But now that I have been doing qigong for a while and I'm more familiar with the movement vocabulary of qigong, I found it much easier to do the exercises. I have to modify some of the forms that include deeper twists (which I still have issues with), and a few of the exercises are too vigorous for me at this point, but I have found I am able to complete about three-fourths of the exercises.

I have really enjoyed the Marrow Washing Classic. I do feel like I get a nice, though gentle, full-body "worked out" feeling. Indeed, I feel cleansed and refreshed after completing the set. The next day I can feel a slight soreness--the "good" kind--especially in my upper back, one of the areas where I am weakest right now. That lets me know this is the right level of exercise for me right now.

It takes me about 45 minutes to complete all the exercises of the Marrow Washing Classic. I'm still learning and have to back up and figure out the instructions every so often, so I am sure it will go more quickly as I gain more familiarity with the exercises. I am trying to do the Marrow Washing twice a week. As I get stronger, I should eventually be able to do all of the exercises in the set.