Longevity Stick is a 'qigong' in that it is an 'energy-work/practice,' it's performed while holding a long dowel. The thing I noticed about it right away is that the slow, controlled movements stretch every major muscle group in the body, all while following a deep-breathing technique. I have found it to be a very nice and beneficial practice.
It is a practice I have been doing weekly for the last 18 months, and advanced to the role of substitute teacher when one of our instructors is out. We do an hour-long class going through all twelve movements, taking a break of 10 minutes, then doing the entire routine a second time. Our class does 10 repetitions of each exercise. One time through, with 10 repetitions of each exercise, takes about 20 minutes. Other classes may do only 6 to 8 repetitions of each position as in the video below.
Origins, from the official Longevity Stick website:
"Longevity Stick Art (LSA) was developed by the late Master Mai Bac Dau, an officer in the Army of the Republic of South Vietnam. He was imprisoned for five years in a Communist camp where he suffered from malnutrition and lack of medical care. During this time he developed a series of exercises and self-massage for his own survival.
"After his release, Master Dau continued to develop his techniques and began teaching his fellow countrymen about Longevity Stick Art. He came to the U.S. in 1995 and introduced the practice to hundreds of people. Since that time, many people trained to become Leaders, and the practice has now spread to 30 locations Southern California, under the non-profit umbrella Longevity Stick Art-OC. LSA is also practiced in France, Canada, Australia and Vietnam."
To do Longevity Stick, you will need a dowel one inch in diameter, the length matching your height, and capped with rubber tips. You will occasionally be using the stick to steady yourself, and you don't want it to slip on the floor as you do.
The video is a very nice one showing the instructor face on with one practitioner to the left doing a modified version of the exercise, and an inset on the right showing another practitioner from the back, so you can view the movements from front and back at the same time. I suggest watching in full-screen size to see all the details. Of course, always be careful and feel free to modify any movement that you need to feel safe and comfortable.
Longevity Stick official video cannot be embedded in any other website, but here is the link to it on YouTube so you may watch for yourself.
