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Shibashi Qigong for Resilience
Shibashi Qigong for Resilience
By Nelda Rodillo | Founder of Vintage Vitality™ | Creator of The Unfreezing Hour™
A Flow That Carries You
A Flow That Carries You
Resilience is not about resisting change — it is about moving with it. In my own journey, I discovered that Shibashi Qigong offers a gentle, flowing rhythm that supports the body and steadies the mind. When grief, illness, or transition weighed heavily, these movements became a quiet companion, helping me breathe through pain and return to balance.
What Is Shibashi Qigong?
What Is Shibashi Qigong?
Shibashi Qigong is a sequence of 18 gentle movements, each designed to harmonize breath and body. Unlike fast or forceful exercise, it invites you to slow down, to notice the rhythm of inhaling and exhaling, and to let the body follow the breath. This simplicity makes it accessible for adults over 50, and powerful for anyone navigating emotional transitions.
Resilience Through Flow
Resilience Through Flow
Resilience is often thought of as strength — but it is also softness, adaptability, and presence. Through Shibashi Qigong, resilience looks like:
Breathing with awareness to calm the nervous system
Gentle movement to release tension and restore energy
Mindful repetition to anchor stability during change
Integration with Tai Chi for balance and grounding
Compassionate self‑practice that honors your pace
Why It Matters After 50
Why It Matters After 50
Life transitions after 50 often bring invisible challenges — grief, health changes, shifting roles. Shibashi Qigong offers a way to meet those changes with dignity. Its gentle flow strengthens the body without strain, while its breath‑centered rhythm nurtures emotional clarity. It is not about fixing pain, but about moving with it until resilience emerges naturally.
Integrating Practices
Integrating Practices
In Vintage Vitality™, Shibashi Qigong is woven together with Tai Chi and gentle yoga. Each practice complements the other:
Tai Chi grounds you in balance and strength.
Qigong restores energy and breath.
Yoga opens space for stillness and reflection.
Together, they form a supportive flow for healing and resilience.
Closing Reflection
Closing Reflection
Resilience is not a destination — it is a practice. Through Shibashi Qigong, I have learned that resilience can be as simple as a breath, a gentle movement, a pause in stillness. It is the quiet strength that allows us to keep moving forward, even when life asks us to bend.
This is the gift of Shibashi Qigong: a flow that carries us through change, with grace and compassion.
Start Here: Your Gentle Beginning
Start Here: Your Gentle Beginning
If you’re new to Tai Chi, mindful movement, or reflective practices, I invite you to begin here: Start Here: Vintage Vitality™ Pathways:
Explore More Pathways
Explore More Pathways
These blogs are collection of pathways within Vintage Vitality™, each supporting a different aspect of well-being:
Emotional Healing & Life Transitions
Resilience Through Movement (Life Applications)
Grieving and Moving Forward: How Tai Chi Supports Emotional Healing
Tai Chi as a Companion Through Grief and Healing
18 Shibashi Qigong
About the Author
About the Author
Nelda Rodillo is a certified movement educator and the founder of Vintage Vitality™, a holistic wellness philosophy designed to empower adults aged 50 and older to age with dignity, strength, and quiet joy. A certified instructor in Tai Chi for Arthritis and Fall Prevention and a 200-hour Certified Yoga Teacher (YTT-200), she is best known as the creator of The Unfreezing Hour™, a specialized Tai Chi program focused on building emotional and physical resilience.
Through her platform, Daily Movement with Nelda, she bridges community-based wellness across two continents, serving practitioners in Ontario, Canada—including the Town of Minto and Wellington County—and the Philippines. Her work is rooted in the belief that mindful movement, breath, and creative expression are essential tools for maintaining vitality and connection at every stage of life.
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