The Tiger game is a Qi Gong exercise that helps kids (and adults) stay healthy during the fall. The Tiger is the animal associated with the Lungs and with autumn. This exercise helps give the lungs a workout and build the immune system. It can be done daily to treat allergies, asthma, or a cold. (It may be done as a meditation if a child is physically unable to act it out). To be repeated three times, once a day.

The Tiger game may be done as a meditation, or, even better, acted out.

Start out by lying down on a comfortable surface in a spacious room. The game may be played outside on nice days when there isn’t a lot of wind, rain, or snow. Mom needs to slowly read the story as the child plays the part of the Tiger. Allow at least 30 seconds for each action to take place (longer if he wants).

You are a sleeping tiger.

You are curled up on a soft bed of leaves and grass on the jungle floor.

The jungle begins to awake around you. Birds begin to sing, bugs begin to buzz, and the warm sun begins to rise overhead.

You open your eyes and take a deep breath, stretching your four legs and shaking off any remaining sleep (and when tigers shake they shake every single bone in their body).

You begin to slowly strut through the dense greenery. You are the ruler of all the animals in the jungle.

As a tiger, you take deep, full breaths and let out a low Rrrrrrrrrrrrr….as you exhale.

Your body is covered in fur, and when the wind blows you can feel it with each one of the hundreds of thousand of hairs on your body.

You are keenly aware of everything around you because your senses are extraordinary!

Far away, on a mountain top, an old woman is making porridge for her family, and with your extraordinary nose you can smell her breakfast.

Up ahead on the path, there is a mouse digging a hole under a bush and with your amazing ears you can hear the scratch, scratch, scratch of his little hands.

More than ten feet in front of you a wild boar crosses the path and disappears into the brush and your whiskers can feel his movement even though you can’t see him.

Feeling frisky and awake now, you vigorously whip your tail back and forth to display your awesome power.

You decide to climb up a steep hill in front of you to see what’s at the top. In order to do this, you use your big, sharp claws to pull yourself up. The hill is steep and you need to push hard with your back legs as you pull with the claws on your front paws. The strong muscles in your legs propel you up the hill. Remember to take deep tiger breaths as you climb. As you exhale let out a low Rrrrrrrrrr that rumbles in your chest and that rumbles the whole jungle around you!

As you get to the top of the hill you come to a stop. You perk up your ears and listen…

-What do you hear?

You sniff the air to catch the scent of what awaits you at the top…

-What do you smell?

Your whiskers quiver and feel a movement in the air…

-What do you feel?

As you approach the top of the hill your fur stands up on end, you let out a deep “ROARRRRRRR!” and you … POUNCE!!!!

(Here the child may act out what happens as he surprises whatever is on top of the hill). …for you are KING of the jungle!”