Yoga and Tai Chi are familiar to nearly everyone.

It may not be long before Qigong matches them in popularity.

The ancient Chinese practice offers similar benefits, and is arguably even more accessible.

Kevin Siddons gives free lessons in Qigong (pronounced “chee gong”) twice a week at the Bethlehem Area Public Library. The Zoom lessons are recorded and can be viewed online.

He leads the participants in slow, gentle, graceful movements that can be done by anyone, even people confined to a chair. They are simple, but they can exercise muscles that you don’t often use, and are an excellent way to improve balance. Qigong has been used in the East for many years to promote health and disease recovery.

Siddons has written two books, filled with illustrations and detailed instructions, of Qigong exercises that he teaches:

“The Fifteen Taiji Movements Yangsheng Qigong” (137 pages; spiral bound paperback, $25 or $32 with US shipping and handling from ksiddons.gentleqigongforhealth@gmail.com, 2024)

“The Five Animal Frolics Qigong” (107 pages; spiral bound paperback, $20 or $27 with US shipping and handling from ksiddons.gentleqigongforhealth@gmail.com, 2022)

The frolics, one of many different forms of Qigong, imitate movements of animals, like the lumbering of a bear or the cautious steps of a deer. The other three animals included are crane, tiger and monkey.

At the Bethlehem library, Siddons explains why he likes teaching the animal frolics:

“The frolics are meant to be playful. They are serious, but lighthearted. My wife said I should be teaching this stuff to kids, but I just haven’t had the chance.”

Relating the movements to animals makes them easier to recall. “Hopefully, new people can remember one, two or three to do at home,” Siddons says. Over time, students can build a repertoire of the movements and perform them with increased attention.

The Taiji movements are individual ones that Siddons uses in his classes as warm-up and cool-down exercises. Many are also based on animals, including a peacock, crane, horse, elephant and a mythical dragon.

Siddons names five elements of Qigong: the physical performance of a movement, breathing, relaxing, attention or mindfulness, and a spiritual aspect. As people learn the movements, they can coordinate their breath to them, and relax as they get comfortable with the steps.

“Mindfulness means when I am in the moment I am just doing that movement, not worried about a ‘to-do’ list of everyday activities,” he says.

“Relaxing has us turning off the ‘fight or flight’ mode that we often live with. It can help make us a more patient and calm person. The spiritual has us recognizing Qi, the vital energy all around us, that connects us to everything.”

Siddons’ books are adaptations of instructions developed by Professor Jiao Guorui (1923-1997), which were inspired by Guorui’s teachers. Guorui was a doctor of traditional Chinese medicine. The original animal frolics came from Chinese doctor Hua Tuo, who lived from 140 to 208 CE.

Siddons moved to the Lehigh Valley in 1973 from Matawan, N.J. He and his wife Marifrances live in Bethlehem. He graduated from Moravian University with a degree in Psychology and received a masters and doctorate in Health Education from Temple University. His career includes 18 years as a drug and alcohol professional and 10 years as a health researcher.

Siddons began teaching Qigong in 2015 and has been teaching it at the Bethlehem library since 2018.

He began work in a pilot study at the Temple University School of Social Work, teaching Qigong to developmentally-delayed adults.

Siddons became familiar with the work of Master Guorui and adopted his work for Western readers. “I wanted to keep it alive before it turned to dust,” he says.

Siddons met his translator Ariel Ma’ayan from a social media group on Chinese Medicine. “He can translate the texts understanding the context. Chinese words can have more than one definition. They are dependent on the other words around them,” says Siddons.

Examples of the Qigong movements can be seen at Siddons’ website: www.gentleqigong.net

“Literary Scene” is a column about authors, books and publishing. To request coverage, email: Paul Willistein, Focus editor, pwillistein@tnonline.com